Digital Chumps

This weekend, despite having several a variety of enticing gaming options to choose from, I ended up spending most of my time on the iPhone. I didn't expect to, but I wound up sinking eight or nine hours into a new one from Venan Arcade entitled Space Miner: Space Ore Bust. The game's got a lot more than a clever title; space shooter fans and those that like a funny story and a light, accessible but nonetheless cool RPG game will want to be sure to get this one.

THQ's popular and successful Smackdown Vs RAW series was released for the first time on the iPhone earlier this month. WWE fans looking for a wrestling fix on the go will want to look elsewhere, however. I've spent a few hours with this iPhone version and truth be told, it's got a lot of problems. I can't recommend this even to die hard wrestling fans.

Southpeak Interactive has just dropped its first entry into the App Store with Schrodinger's Rat. We've done some previous coverage of the game in the last couple of weeks, and over the past few days I've had the chance to play the game for review. If you're into accelerometer based maze games, you can't go wrong with Schrondinger's Rat, but other than that niche audience, it's hard to outright recommend.

I've been getting a lot of iPhone gaming in this holiday and recently I've spent some time with a new SHMUP from Gamelab Innovation Center entitled Roswell Fighter. Roswell Fighter is a top down, vertical scrolling shooter that has players piloting a bi-plane against endless droves of alien invaders in the 1950s. Let's take a closer look...

I've recently spent a few hours with Babel Rising, a new iPhone game from White Bird Productions and Bulky Pix. Babel Rising is a tower defense game, but not quite in your typical style. This is one of those games you can learn to play in two minutes and then you'll spend many hours enjoying. Let's take a closer look.

Nintendo’s putting the heart and soul back into some of the best titles of their time.

Editor's Note: This review features comments from co-editor Steve Schardein as well, who happens to be playing the Gold/Silver entries for the first time via these remakes.  His comments are shown in italics.  If you're a newcomer, you might appreciate Steve's take on the subjects that Pokéveteran Greg introduces throughout the article.

Zero to Hero? Or is this Hero a Zero?

Publisher Aspyr and developer Big Blue Bubble recently got together for a Nintendo DS game based off of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's popular book series, Fighting Fantasy. These books from the 80s blended classic D&D style universes with the creative possibilities of being able to choose multiple story paths (not unlike the Choose Your Own Adventure books). I haven't read any of these books but I've been impressed with this video game adaptation. So is Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain worth your attention? That largely depends on if you like (western) RPGs, but if so, don't miss out on this one.

A full band experience for your DS (or was it half full?)

Sadly, this is in every way the weakest entry in the Monkey Ball series to date.

Make no mistake about it; this is a massive game.

Travis Touchdown is back, and he's ready to chop up more dudes and scream as many swear words as necessary to get the job done. This one is just as insane as the first, and you'll probably have even more fun.

With our Nintendo crew and in house Silent Hill guy at CES, it was up to me to take on the chills in Konami's newest title in the franchise, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Released for the Wii on December 8th, and upcoming for the PS2 and PSP in a week, Shattered Memories puts players in the middle of a dark and twisted psychological tale. While not without its flaws, Shattered
Memories is an impressive title that deserves your attention.

It’s Final Fantasy, but it’s hardly RPG. That doesn’t make it bad, though.

Aspiring hotel moguls or fans of The Sims might want to give Hotel Giant 2 a look. Developed by Nobilis and published by Southpeak Interactive, Hotel Giant 2 will let you build and manage the hotel of your dreams with a plethora of options and an intense amount of micro management. The subject matter is niche enough, but the tedium of constant management made this one tough to enjoy. I'm not a fan of The Sims either though, so if you are into games like this, your mileage may vary. Nobilis certainly gives you a lot to tinker around with anyway; let's take a closer look at Hotel Giant 2...

Get your stuff on.

Twin Sector is a first person puzzle solving game developed by DnS Development that definitely takes its cues from Portal. I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but this low-budget imitation from production value to game play is far from flattering.

Serious Sam was all about fighting against what seemed endless hordes of enemies. Once you’re done with the first wave, you catch your breath, find power ups and do it all over again. Even way back in 2001, this style of game play in a first person shooter was starting to wane as squad based, class selection player vs. player became the status of quo. So here we are, 9 years later with a HD update, but is it worth the entry fee?

Having already beaten the Playstation 3 Dragon Age: Origins, I felt compelled to try out and review the Collector's Edition from EA on the Macintosh. Is there much of a difference or was it more of the same?

Read on....

Indiana Jones is back for an all new third person adventure that has him trotting the globe to find the Staff of Kings, the staff used by Moses to part the Red Sea. Can he find it before Magnus Voller and the Nazis do? Let's get to the review!

Sony's San Diego Studio is back this Spring with their fourth entry in their growing MLB series with MLB 09: The Show. This year's Show includes a handful of new additions and features while still providing a solid baseball sim experience.

SNK Playmore and Ignition have a lot of fighter fans buzzing about their upcoming King of Fighters XII release, due sometime this summer. To help hold over fans of the fifteen year old series, King of Fighters 98 Ultimate Match was recently released on the PS2.

Saving the Best for Last

Legends are stories about mythological figures or events centering on individuals who do extraordinary things. In music, legends are the artists who help shape or change the face of music. They craft and perform the tunes that are the soundtrack to a generation.

As the Joker said in the last Batman film....

"Where do I begin?"

Heavy Rain wasn't the only PS3 exclusive released on February 23rd. There was also NIS America's Last Rebellion, a JRPG which casts players as Nine and Aisha as they attempt to restore peace and balance to their world. The quest took me just under fourteen hours according to the timestamp on my save game, and I had a lot of fun throughout. However, Last Rebellion's casual difficulty and lack of any side quests may ultimately make this a tough purchase decision for the JRPG crowd.

MLB 2K10 has arrived! Baseball fans across the country couldn't be happier, unless you're a Reds' fan. Things have come and gone for the series and this looks to be the best out of the bunch.

As with life, though, nothing is perfect and the same rules apply to MLB 2K10.

MLB: The Show series has been ever so close to being spectacular for many years. The game has always had one or two elements that has kept it from moving even or ahead of the 2K competition. With that said, Sony has pulled out all the stops in attempts to pull ahead of MLB 2Kxx for the title of best ball game around.

This year SCEA added a Home Run Derby and Catcher's Point of View to their library of neat add-ons to their ongoing baseball series.

Would it be enough to pull ahead and steal second? Or will they simply be out at the plate? Let's play ball to find out.

SNK has been the home of many great franchises over the years. Any list of those would have to include Metal Slug, the hit 2D platforming/side-scrolling shoot'em up. Metal Slug has been on a variety of platforms in the last twelve-plus years, most recently making its return to the PSP with Metal Slug XX. Featuring an all new campaign, six playable characters, wireless two player co-op, and dozens of challenges, Metal Slug XX is fun, although very familiar entry to the series.

Back in 1992, I was introduced to Mechwarrior running on an IBM 286 (it didn't have a hard drive connected to it, it ran off of 3 1/2 disks (with a 'k')). I was enchanted and absorbed into mech gaming forever after that experience. Since then, there have been several variations of mech titles, including an Xbox title that cost $299. On top of this, I've also been to the Battletech simulators in Chicago and at your local Dave & Busters, more than once.

Fast-forward into the 2000's and a series called Armored Core raises its head and the bar when it comes to mech gaming. I always thought that Mechwarrior was detailed, but MW has nothing on AC.

More recently in February of 2010, FromSoftware releases Armored Core: Silent Line (SL) for the PlayStation Portable. Could the PSP version maintain and retain the amount of detail that the Playstation 3 (and previous versions) toted? Only a review will tell.

SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 is arriving on the PSP and PSPgo on February 16th and SOCOM fans have a reason to be happy. Armed with a short, but sweet, single-player mode and some nice co-op and online modes, there's enough here to keep a gamer entertained.

Is it well armed, though? It is, but there are some jams here and there in the weaponry.

In November, Sony released Buzz! Quiz World for the PS3, the newest entry into their popular trivia game series. Now, Buzz is back -- this time on the PSP. We reviewed and are still enjoying the PS3 version, but how does the PSP version stack up? Quite well, in fact. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Namco's popular Tekken series returned to the PSP late last month with Tekken 6. A couple of weeks earlier, Tekken 6 was released on the Xbox 360 and the PS3, and our resident Tek-head Eric Layman was impressed. Normally when you think of console to handheld ports, you expect a lot of missing content and other short cuts, but I'm pleased to say Tekken 6 on the PSP is a full featured fighter that is well worth your consideration.

In Metro 2033, a novel turned video game, mankind's worst fear has been realized. Twenty years prior, in 2013, the apocalypse happened and the last remnants of humanity were forced underground. Earth as we've known it is no more -- cities are leveled, the air is poisonous, and violent mutants kill humans at every chance. As the player, you will control young Artyom, who was born twenty years ago in the metro subway system of Moscow. These miles of interconnected tunnels are where humanity makes its final stand against the harsh reality of a spoiled earth and the unrelenting brutality of the mutants and Dark Ones. For mankind to avoid extinction, something must be done -- and it's up to Artyom and brave Rangers to make it happen.

Gearbox and 2K released the third DLC pack for Borderlands recently, and it's considered by many to be the best. The first DLC, Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, had gamers fighting off zombies while DLC #2 was arena based and featured Mad Moxxi. This third DLC, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, picks up from the end of the original game and is packed with some great new features.

W! Games released a new turn based strategy game last week on XBLA and PSN, and it's impressive. The game is Greed Corp, and the goal is to outlast your opponents as the world around you crumbles. A bit confused? I was too, even after the tutorial, but stick with Greed Corp, and it'll stick with you thanks to its addictive and well designed gameplay.