Nothing. But. DRAGONS! How awesome is that? Pretty friggin awesome.

Sick DL’d this game weeks ago for the iPhone (it’s also available on iPad) and I never even gave it a gander until a couple days ago. I was bored and decided to open it up and check it out. I loved it.

The premise is easy: you’re given a floating island to start your very own Zoo/Theme Park dedicated to Dragons. DragonVale starts you off with an easy tutorial on how to care for your dragons, manage your park, make money, and buy buildings and habitats from the market.

Everything is time based. Each egg you hatch, each building you put up, growing food, and breeding (yes, I said breeding, but we’ll get to that later.) — takes a set amount of time to occur.

That’s where a currency called “Gems” come into play. These red “Gems” help by speeding things up and instantly readies the task at hand. The tutorial sets you up with a few from the start so you breeze right through it, but these gems are limited, and to replenish them you have to Purchase them through an in-app market.
(DragonVale is a Free-2-Play iOS game with in-app micro-transactions.)

Now don’t get started on the whole “OH, That’s how they get ya” routine. These guys at Backflip Studios gave you an AWESOME free game to play. You don’t HAVE to purchase their in-game content… but if you like the game enough to play it, then they deserve a little somethin somethin to help bring you the next piece of awesome they’re working on. So buy some friggin Gems. AND, you should look at ALL the “Freemium” games that way. I’m gonna buy Gems JUST for the Strong Bad reference in the game. There are meme references, too. Let’s see if you find ‘em.

I digress. You can also earn gems through your Game Center friends. You have the opportunity to grant a certain number of gems per day to anyone on your Friends List. You hook them up, they’ll hook you up. It’s that simple… Unless you have no friends playing… Get them to. EVERYONE should check this game out. I want more friends playing too. (Hit me up! GT=PsychoVandal) You can also link your Facebook account to invite all those lovely friends, too. Friends, Friends, Friends!

Above is a shot of the floating islands. You get one to start, but after a while, you’ll have an entire floating fleet of them harboring your massive Dragon park. The amount of stuff you can buy is crazy. You’ll fill ‘em up quick when you get the cash flowing.

OK, to the Breeding. Each Dragon has an element type. The basic Elements are Fire, Earth, Water, Lightning, Air, Plant, and Cold (Ice). I almost said “Heart”… Captain Planet came to mind… Anyway, you hatch the egg, feed it to maturity, then send it to the Breeding Cave and wait for the “Magic” to happen. The cool part is that there are MULTIPLE Dragons for each combination, as well as rare ones that come from breeding the hybrids. I counted 32 types from different combinations, but I heard they’ve added MORE. I also assume they’ll KEEP adding them in the future. This just makes me think of Pokemon, “I gotta catch em all”, I know I want to see them all.

Anyway, I’m done telling you about the game. you need to see this thing for yourself. Go Download(desktop, click here to open in iTunes) this bad boy NOW. And, while you wait for that to happen, watch this…

The boys at Backflip have done good. Real Good. A great game idea with great artwork and usability like this should be in your Top Games folder on your iPad or iPhone. This game will keep you entertained for a LONG time. Follow them at @BackflipStudios on Twitter to keep up to date on new DragonVale additions and new games they produce!

I’m using this to start another trend here. “In My Opinion” will be popping up here when I want to give you guys my opinion. You care. Don’t lie.

This IMO is coming to you on a special day and is brought to you by 343i; Climbing in your playlists and snatching your Reticule Bloom up… It was lame… Don’t laugh.
Today is the 343rd day of the year, which is very special to 343 Industries. I do hope you see the correlation…

So, despite the fact that I told Sick that I would not play CE until she was ready… and her not having the time to do so, I took to the Anniversary Maps in Reach. From seeing that they included Headlong, I was SO excited. It is quite a bit fun to run through this map to see what has been improved on, but that was CRUSHED oh so painfully by the fact that you DIE in three shots. Yes. That pistol with the zoom… and its power is back from CE Multiplayer. It is awesome that they put the Original Magnum and its 3-shot magic crap in the game as an option, but I DO NOT want it.

When these maps are fully integrated into matchmaking without the Magnum, THAT’S when I’ll be happy to play them.

I came here to tell you my opinion on the maps themselves, not the crap that came with them… so…

• High Noon/Hang’Em High- I absolutely HATED the remake of this map for Halo 2. HATED IT! Know why?… the long range “I keeeel you” from EveryWhere. Yes the stupid Battle Rifle from across the map. Of course, now we have the CE Magnum, which is NO better. BUT, this remake has added tunnels connecting the upper and lower areas to the towers. It makes it a tad bit easier to sneak around. There’s still the “Boom, Pow, Dead” thing if you don’t sneak from tombstone to tombstone, but I learned how to do that in Halo 2…

  Let’s just say that I will no longer be dreading this map in Matchmaking.

• Ridgeline/Timberland- I NEVER had the opportunity to touch this map until now. This was the first map I ran around in Custom Games when I DL’d this Map Pack. I was like, “Meh.” I wasn’t impressed with the layout. It just seemed…. Meh. But, when I got the opportunity to play this map in Big Team, my outlook on it changed, BIG TIME. There isn’t too many Big Team maps that I can say that I “love”, but this one just made that list.
• Solitary/Prisoner- I played the original map once… and a fan re-creation of it, but I was unimpressed. This is a vertical map. There are four floors, and NO space to run. Smallest. Map. EVER. It’s like the upscaled volume of L-shaped Tetraminos laid on its side and stacked four high. I do not like this one. I can say they added a bit to make it better, but I can see this being the unpopular kid that no one wants to play with. Add Jet-Packs and forget having fun.
• Penance/Damnation- This map will definitely get the most play-time out of me. It is fun as a Slayer map, as well as Objective-based matches. This is the ONLY instance where I’d prefer the Objective. Yeah, I said that. This map’s improvements have made it easier to traverse and more balanced. It still may be a pain to get in on a team that holds the Objective room, but it now has more routing options. I will choose this map 90% of the time when playing Team based Objective games.
• Breakneck/Headlong- Headlong is my all-time favorite Big Team map, and a playlist with this and Ridgeline/Timberland in it just straight wins. This map will always have the most hectic battles on it. Not once have I played this map and been bored. And Sniping? OH, so much fun. I have nothing but kind words for Breakneck.
• Battle Creek/Beaver Creek- This is THE most pain in the ass map I have ever played. Don’t get me wrong, it is probably the most balanced for Slayer AND Objective types, but it’s still a PITA. It’s a love/hate thing. We all love this map, but then we hate it when we’re done with it. Either we’ve played it until we’re sick of it, or the other team stomps us so hard we look at it in disgust. Though, Battle/Beaver Creek can give you some of the most fun matches as well. Again, balanced. Zen-like almost.

Along with these Multiplayer PvP maps, 343 has included another FireFight map. This one is different, though. You actually have the ability to play with AI controlled Allies. Freaking Awesome.

• Installation: 04 With the addition of AI allies, this FireFight map may actually create a bit of Nostalgia straight out of playing Halo:CE. That’s if you’re playing alone, of course. Now if you have a team of SPARTANS going in, you won’t get the Marines’ help. I think every FireFight that takes place on this map will be dominated by the Warthog. From playing HALO:CE over and over… and over again in the past, it’s just muscle memory at this point.

343 has impressed me every step of the way with their “Remakes.” They’ve definitely raised the bar on what we should see in remakes in the future. We can’t forget Certain Affinity, they deserve much of the credit as well. These maps are much more vibrant, better balanced, and a decent improvement on those from the past. I did not find ONE alteration I did not like. But if you DON’T like the aesthetic changes, they’ve also given the HD version of the original maps as well. Of course, certain things HAD to be changed to fit the Reach engine. Don’t bitch. You got the maps.

We’re gonna do something else here. For those of you who did not get Halo:CEA or purchase this awesome map pack, We’re going to give you a chance to win these maps right here!

Anniversary Map Pack Contest:

I’ve linked each map’s Heading with a Gameplay/Flythrough video. Take a look at each one and share with us which map you think has had the best makeover. You could also share which map you are most interested to get down and dirty in.

This contest is reserved for those who do NOT have the maps yet.
We will choose a random winner on Monday, Dec. 13th at 10pm EST. You have until then to comment. Your comment MUST have the content requested.

Good Luck! And Happy 343rd day of the Year!

Ryo here, popping in to chat briefly about an Arcade game I picked up recently and tried out with a few friends.

During one of the XBL weekly deals they decided to offer a bunch of Castlevania stuff on the Marketplace for reduced prices. The Arcade game Harmony of Despair being listed at half its usual price. Admittedly, I had heard very little of the title before actually playing it so I went in without any preconceptions of the game.

After spending a bit of time on the first chapter, I knew that I would love the game once I managed to boost the abilities of my characters. This is one of those games that if you have friends that are also fans of Castlevania, you are likely to enjoy it more since you will have people you know to assist you. Having up to six players running around a level independent of each other can lead to some undead wrecking mayhem, but I have yet to personally play with more than three people total.

The few gripes I had about the game during my playthrough are mostly petty. I’m not afraid to admit the first chapter kicked my ass until I brought out the magic user Shanoa and spammed fireballs at the level boss. Since then the chapter is easy to complete with my characters due to having better skills and equipment on them. To remedy getting your ass handed to you every which way, play with friends and team up on enemies.

One thing I love about this game, it is a multiplayer Castlevania game. I mean, it can’t really get much cooler than that thought alone. Can you imagine running around with two Belmont’s showing Dracula just how weak he is? Well now you don’t have to. I also loved the fact they bring back characters from previous games rather than dream up a bunch of new ones. The whole game takes place in a book that has various versions of Castlevania, and the heroes that traversed it, imprinted into its pages so completely brand new characters would have been a little out of place.

For Castlevania veterans and newcomers alike, this is a pretty good deal. If you picked it up during the Deal of the Week, all the better. If not, it is still worth a buy, particularly if you have a few buddies who also pick it up.

Just remember while playing this game, it is completely alright to farm souls for Soma and gold to buy equipment. Also, the Puppet Master is a cheap bastard.

Platforms: XBLA

AMMIH Rating: 4/5

SMS: 1/5

When I say Fallout. What images does that single word conjure up? For many old school gamer types, days of top down turn based combat in a post apocalyptic wasteland are called forth from the depths of their minds. For the newer generations of gamers, Fallout 3′s FPS and RPG elements are called to mind. Either way, gamers remember the Wasteland.

New Vegas is the next in the Fallout game series. It takes us back to the West coast where the games all started. The New California Republic is back and trying to impose their law on the land in an effort to bring back some form of civilization to the radioactive Wild West. Along the way you will also meet Caesar who intends to destroy New Vegas and trample anyone who gets in his path of conquest much like the Roman Emperors of ages gone by.

During the year up until launch date, I followed all sorts of things about New Vegas just to glean the information I’ve touched on so far. Needless to say this was a highly anticipated title for me and I’m sure the same rings true for many others. Fallout fans have been wanting the series to return to the West coast to see what The Vault Dweller and The Chosen One’s actions have done for some time now.

My excitement was gradually on the rise, then I had my hands on my own copy. I’m not sure where all my time went. One day I am pulling the plastic off of my fresh copy. The next thing I know, a week and a half have gone by and I still have yet to even make mention of my experiences in New Vegas here. So now, I tear myself away from gambling in the casinos and robbing people blind in Caravan to give a quick rundown.

New Vegas looks very much like Fallout 3, which makes sense considering they re-used the game engine. Things almost seem a bit sharper and the models a bit more polished though. Could be just me playing on a better TV or a placebo effect. One thing I really thought looked pretty awesome was to find yourself a nice hill and look off in the distance towards New Vegas at night to see the halo of light emitting from around it.

The guns have had some changes and some new ones added in. You can now attach weapon modifications to a gun permanently to add some kind of bonus. Extra magazine size, scope, silencer, faster firing rate, and so on and so forth. If you play on Hardcore mode, make sure to manage your ammo wisely because it can get hefty lugging around ammo for all the weapons you have in your inventory.

If I had to nitpick about a few things about this game, I would have to go with the occasional graphical glitch I would run across. Most notably the heads spinning around on the people when you talk to them (fixed now) or enemies spawning half inside the terrain of the game but still able to move around (not fixed yet).

Enough on that. There is one aspect of the game that will likely make me keep playing over several characters (read: a dozen or two) and that is the gambling. I love to gamble with virtual currency. My first character ended the game carrying over fifty thousand in bottle caps and who knows how much in NCR and Legionary money. Quick note: use NCR and Legionary money to buy small amounts of chips at the casino to start your gambling sprees.

For sixty bucks, I find this a fair game to pick up. It offers the same re-playability as Fallout 3 and there are still DLCs to come that could add in some worthwhile content. First content pack is scheduled for release in December so keep your eyes peeled.

Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

AMMIH: 5/5

SMS: 2/5

Dead Rising 2: Multiplayer

Welcome to Part Two of my review of Dead Rising 2, in which I address the games Cooperative play, Multiplayer modes, and some other stuff I might’ve missed in my initial review of the Single player Campaign.

Now, like some other reviews and many other gamers, I, on average, prefer a single-player campaign or story over multiplayer. Co-op is perfectly fine, I mean, Left 4 Dead is just stupid fun for me, but, I hate it when developers focus too much on the multiplayer aspect than the story or main selling point of the game (see: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, BioShock 2). I don’t believe in Multiplayer being a box blurb. I believe in it as a fun feature (Halo) but in addition to something that I could pick up and play if I was offline.

Loved:
Co-op Doesn’t Break things: The drop-in/out cooperative features behind Dead Rising 2 are actually pretty simple, and I like that. Two players (both as their chosen save files version of Chuck Greene) basically in the same game space, playing through the game, or just having some Zombie killing fun. Going out into the outside portions of Fortune City, taping some Chainsaws (or stuffed animals. . .) to your Dirt-bike and heading straight into a horde is just as much as fun as before. The co-op adds some fun and keeps things moving when you may be replaying the story for some achievements, and want some companionship outside the game’s needy survivors. The co-op isn’t revolutionizing – it’s just there. And I’m comfortable with that. Two Chucks are confined to the same space, and have to voluntarily be near each other to transition to another.

Terror is Reality. I’m a big fan of World War Z and just Zombies in general. While Dead Rising conveys a world where Zombies, while not the norm, are still a real thing, Terror is Reality perfectly conveys to me what we (or at least, America) would do if we got the situation contained and had a couple thousand left-overs. Enter the multiplayer mode of Dead Rising 2, in which four players compete in American Gladiator-like challenges in the form of ‘Terror is Reality Seventeen: Payback’. Things are simple enough, you’re given an objective and go nuts with three friends (Or online opponents) compete with you. The player can win cash that they can use in-game, and anyone who enjoyed the beginning of the game with the ‘Slicycles’ will revel in these challenges. I encountered some glitches while playing, but nothing game-breaking, and I didn’t mind the challenges difficulty as they were pretty balanced.

This multiplayer mode, like the Co-op, fits into its own little niche that really isn’t a bad thing. It’s there as a feature and isn’t something as devoted to as other games. It has Ranked Matchmaking but from what I can tell, Ranks are invisible and limited to victories or kills, not so much overall skill (They’re A.I Zombies, not Jimmy-Screams-A lot in Jersey). The events are narrated by two commentators not unlike those in professional wrestling or Football. These two are fun to listen to and will make some jokes that may catch you off guard (See: Sparkling Zombies).

Hated:

You Won’t Chop Til’ You Drop. Maybe I’m missing something here, and haven’t unlocked it or something, but, the first Dead Rising had a game-play mode in which the player was perpetually in the Willamette Mall, and was basically just seeing how long they could survive, and how many Zombies/Psychopaths they could kill. This would be so freakin’ awesome with two (or, dare I suggest. . .four?) people, but instead, you can’t even play it with one as it has been removed (or is cleverly hidden…). Now, I understand if the Single-player is easy enough to just save and then go nuts, dealing with a bad ending later down the road, but come on. This was a missed opportunity for some shenanigans that would’ve added a good amount of replay-ability. Maybe it’s because this Dead Rising feels easier, maybe it’s because missing the first Case just kills the story missions anyway, but I would’ve liked this mode.

Dead Rising 2’s prologue, and epilogue (CASE: Zero and CASE: West, respectively) are downloadable content that are (that we know of) exclusive to the Xbox 360 version of the Dead Rising story. Now, other than “Chop ‘Til You Drop” on the Wii, the first Dead Rising remains an Xbox 360 exclusive. ‘Chop’ had way less content than the 360 version (not all because of technical limitations). Normally I don’t really care about exclusitivity (I don’t own a PS3, and a good chunk of the time, 360 gets most of the exclusives) but since Zero and West are out so close to the launch of DEADRISING 2, I wonder why the game couldn’t wait a few months to just add these onto the disc. Maybe they came about after the game was ‘completed’, or maybe the game had gone gold before they were ordered but with them being launched so close to the full release, they may as well have been bundled in the game or maybe even just ‘High-Stakes’ Editions of the game getting early access to West and a free download to Zero. I’m sure down the line the ‘Game of the Year’ or whatever edition will come out and it’ll have this content booted in, but, just to nit-pick a little, it would’ve been nice gesture to add these into the full game.

Dead Rising 2 is everything that they said she’d be – and that’s a good thing. The co=op and multiplayer are balanced in the fact that this is a game about killing zombies. Even if players controlled the Infected, they’d just limp slowly. It’s balanced because of the medium. I just hope Dead Space 2 takes a page from this and makes sure the Co-op isn’t breaking. . . .

[OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER]: Right off the bat here, I want to say that this is my first of a two-part review for Dead Rising 2. I’m going to be giving to scores, for your interpretation. I’m doing this because I, on average, detest multiplayer in games. So, Dead Rising 2 has CO-OP and Multiplayer, and I won’t be touching those until I beat the main story (one more boss).

The first Dead Rising was really a mixed taste for me. One the one hand, it was a great zombie game, had hundreds of zombies on screen at a time for me to kill, and was clever with its story, bosses and usage of weapons (other than firearms). But then there was the fact I’d just gotten my 360 and I couldn’t read the damn text, the difficulty was rather steep for me, and save points were at times few and far between.

Dead Rising 2 was announced, many assumed there would be a sequel to the surprise hit of the first game, on the ninth of February 2009 – and thank god they announced it within a year of release because I was actually pretty excited. 2009 had a bit of zombie fever going on, and I couldn’t wait to be choppin’ zombies again as Frank West. . .yeah. Not so much; I slowly began to learn about how we had a new hero named Chuck Greene, father of an infected child, and a regular handyman who didn’t have a camera and has never covered a war. Wasn’t too thrilled.

So, it was announced the game would be on PS3, the previous installment had a very cut-down version ported to the Wii, but would still retain some exclusivity to the Xbox 360 in the form of DLC packs. The first was ‘Dead Rising 2: Case Zero’, which sold me on reserving the ‘Zombrex’ edition of the game.

Here are my impressions of the single player story.

PROS:
Fortune City. This city is pretty much the new Vegas (see what I did there?), and is the home to the new season of TIR. While the TIR stunt doesn’t last all that long, as you can assume from the cover of the game, you will be exploring the surrounding area of the Arena where the game starts. Fortune City is a very fun sandbox to play in, completely replacing the Willamette Mall from the first game. There’s strips lined with Casinos and stores that have been overrun. There are a few small malls even, and plenty to do. While killing zombies will likely be the main attraction, sometimes just exploring is its own reward, yielding weapons for creative customization, or just solving the ‘Cases’ that make up the game’s story.

The story. Chuck’s story is a much more emotional one than that of our favorite journalist. Two years have passed since the Las Vegas outbreak and Still Creek Incident. His daughter is still infected, daily doses of Zombrex keeping her human, and still believes her father is the hero that will always be there for her. While Case Zero made me play the world’s smallest violin for Chuck a few times, I did, over the course of 2, become sympathetic with him. There’s one point in the game where a character told Chuck to save people even though he’d much rather stay close to his daughter, and he sighs, frowning and cutting into their sentence saying ‘It never ends’. Chuck is on the run from the law and doesn’t know why – needing to do what he can to uncover the truth behind the Fortune City outbreak with a 72 hour countdown to Military intervention. While popular commentaries are laced within, Chuck’s struggle is the focus of the story, and I’m comfortable with that.

Customization. Chuck’s no photographer – he’s a handyman. Chuck can duct tape anything, and knows his way around a zombie or two. Dead Rising 2 carries the humor of the series forward with some inane but hilariously awesome weapons for Chuck to use. My particular favorites are a Sledgehammer taped with a Fire Axe (The ‘Defiler’ if I recall) and a Shotgun with a Pitchfork bayonet (Boomstick). Chuck is also a pretty good shot, with fire-arms being much better to control. While you still have to carry different guns instead of just picking up ammo, guns are actually fun to use now. And you’ll need them.

Psychopaths. Dead Rising 1 had a good cast of nutballs for Frank to dispatch and fans of those crazy survivors will not be disappointed. The Psychopaths occasionally are more referential to the previous game than I’d like, but most are new and improved, making for some real tense fights (read: frustrating). My favorite was against a very determined employee who went postal, and a close second was a fight with a child’s mascot who was voiced by Brad Swaile (Light Yagami in Death Note, Nightcrawler in X-men Evolutions, Gohan in Dragonball Z). While this is more of a personal thing, I really liked debating with friends whether or not some were all that Psycho, or just normal people who’d just had a rough time.

Standard Definition support. I can read. Thank you, so, so much Capcom.

CONS:
No cover. Why the hell can’t I crouch or take cover? I mean, I can understand this not being a cover shooter, but damnit, some of the Psychopaths are just total powerhouses and require long-range weapons – but carry their own. Chuck can’t crouch or do much to avoid bullets. While this makes for some frenetic fights, it can really make things unfair, especially with a certain Desert Eagle packing boss.

Conspiracy Weary. The story, while good, and being quite realistic (for what it is) starts to lean a bit towards the road the Resident Evil story took. While it’s waaaaay better in Dead Rising 2, and makes a lick of sense, I am legitimately afraid this gem might try to draw inspiration from a series that I, and a good many, lost faith in just after ‘Five’ released (and that’s ignoring the American films).

Dialogue. It wouldn’t be a great Zombie tale without some quirky commentary (humanity’s the real monster, businessmen gonna business, etc.) but I was a little sad to realize that only a few characters get a particular amount of depth, and others are just faces until specific points in the game. I was hoping that with this being a Zombie-aware world now, the humans would have more to say about their overall situation or something. It isn’t really a big deal, but it was a bit of a letdown for me not to be able to talk to the many survivors I’d brought to the Safe House.

The single player aspect of Dead Rising 2 has a method to its madness, and it’s a formula that works. The story is surprisingly good, and the game play is good enough to stick with (again, I can use a gun and smile instead of looking for another bat). I totally recommend the game. When it comes to pricing, the standard edition should satisfy anyone, but I did enjoy the fun I had with my Zombrex Edition. I haven’t looked through all of the extra content yet, and haven’t seen much of the other versions, but I’ll be sure to give them some mention in my second part of this review. What I can say though, is that I whole-heartedly recommend Dead Rising 2 and its way worth the sixty-whatever bucks.

Dead Rising 2 was made by Blue Castle Games and Capcom.
It is available on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, with the exception of Case Zero and Case West being exclusive to XBLA.
Rating: 5/5
SMS Rating: 3/5

When the release for Dead Rising 2 hit the streets, my first thought was, “Eh, wasn’t too thrilled for the first one.” So I didn’t give the info much more thought. Enter: Dead Rising 2 Case: “0″(Zero) for the XBLA. This would be Dead Rising 2′s prequel to its upcoming release. I saw people on my Friends List playing it, so I asked one of them how it was. The response I got was better than expected. I then asked the local GameStop’s Assistant Manager about what he had heard…

The AM gave me an “uninformative” answer, but threw in a couple excited remarks about “upgrading” weapons and the price tag; $5 (400 M$ Points) He also said that it was easy to get all the achievements. This got my attention. Killing zombies with a chainsaw is one thing… but strapping that TWO chainsaws to a Kayak paddle and flailing it carelessly and getting GamerScore for it is squeee-tastic! I’m fairly certain that as soon as I got home that day; I Queued it up for download, poured myself a drink, and loaded it up.

The story took a page from an old horror flick right from the start. Refugee Protagonist pulls into a small town in the middle of nowhere, something happens to his vehicle, Hell breaks loose. Chuck Greene and his daughter, Katey is running to find a “living” civilization and they come across Still Creek, a small town already quarantined by the military at one end… they just didn’t make it to the other. I’m not going to give you the full story here, I want you to play it and experience it for yourself. It’s $5, take my word for it, “You won’t regret it!”

The Good: –>Combo Weapons.<-- There are many ways for you to dispatch these zombies, then you can put weapons together for even more ways to do so. The "Boomstick" is my favorite, of course. You can even make combo food items to help heal yourself as well. (The “Beer Hat” is amazing!) <-- and there's a free hint for you. For an XBLA game, it's got hours of zombie killing fun, better storyline, and Broadswords…that is all.

The Bad: The AM at GameStop said it’d be easy and quick… easy?; depends on who you ask…quick?; only if you’ve played it five or six times already… The town is small, but you have to learn the layout quick because you don’t have much time to do everything. It will take a few playthroughs to get there… but at least you have six different endings to view. Yes…I did say SIX.

SadFace: No Bruce Cambell yet…

The Price: $5 (400 M$ Points) as previously stated. WORTH IT. You’ll play it a few times, see the endings, kill thousands of zombies….but best of all; your progress in leveling up Chuck (Cap at 5), Combo Cards, and money moves from your game save to the full version of DR2 when it’s released!

If you plan on getting DR2, pick Case “0″ up, who doesn’t want a head start in leveling and upgraded weapons?

Platforms: XBLA
AMMIH Rating: 5/5
SMS Rating : 0/5

So, Plants Vs. Zombies finally hits Xbox Live! We’ve been patiently awaiting its arrival, too. (If you can believe that…)

We became addicted to this game a while back, and since have given it a rest. But now that PopCap has dropped it to our favorite console, it’s on once again. The game comes with its original zany madness peppered with new twists that make it that much better.

Choose sides in the new Versus Mode or take up arms (or leaves) against the Zombie horde in Co-op, either way, PvZ is a lot more fun with friends. Unfortunately, you can’t do it over Live. It is strictly local only. This was done intentionally from what I’ve read earlier. ( I will post the link as soon as I find it. )

• Versus- This mode was indeed a blast! Plants side is played just like the Adventure mode, meaning you have to protect your houze (yes…that was intentional), but you need to kill Zombies that are holding targets at the other end of your yard. Zombies side is a bit different, you need to protect those targets while trying to get just one zombie to eat the other player’s brain. The zombies get Tombstones that give you “brains.” These brains act as a currency just like sun for the plants… Creative, isn’t it?
• Co-Op- This is where it gets interesting. Each player gets to choose what plants they can use in the yard, but only have four slots for seed packets. In this mode you can play short, quick games, or go all out in Adventure mode. Be sure to do the quick games first so that you have your strategy down before you take on Adventure Mode. You need communicate to your partner to keep a sound strategy. Sun is shared. So you each need to be careful not to bogart all the sun. Another thing that’ll keep you on your toes, is this thing they call a “double-sun.” Occasionally two suns will appear side-by-side, when this hits your grass, both players need to hover over it to pick it up.

With the new modes to play in, it seems like this game is full of zombie-killing fun…But wait, there’s more! PopCap has also given you more mini-games, puzzles, and survival mode to conquer, and of course, the Zen Garden is still waiting for you. Did I mention the Tree of Wisdom? Yup, it’s there too. There’s even a cool way to view the Leaderboards for Survival mode. You get to view what your friends have done by what their virtual house looks like.

The Good- Plants Vs. Zombies is chock full of replay value! So much to do in such an addicting game, it will be hours of undying fun!

The Bad- The only problem I have with it is the inability to play with my friend over Live. They say that Live would be an ill experience (with people dropping out of the game just because they’re losing) for this game, but I’d like for them to let us judge that. I would say just make it an invite only deal, I just want to play with friends anyway. Other than that, the game is phenomenal.

The Price- 1200 M$ Points ($15) This alone should be the reason to buy it. The PC/Mac version is $19.99 and you get MORE with this version. How sweet is that?!
Add it to your Xbox Queue now!

Like it on Facebook
AMMIH Rating: 5/5
Sicky’s Motion Sickness: 0/5

First thing’s first, this is not a game for kids. It’s creepy, there’s gore (you can turn that off, but it wouldn’t be the same experience), there’s suicidal tendencies, and the main character is a little boy that gets F’ed up repeatedly. Now that that’s over with… This game, in it’s simplicity, is probably one of the most creepiest games I’ve ever played.

The story starts with you waking up in the forest. That’s it. That’s all they give you. But, that’s all they need to give you, really. As you progress, you get hints as to what you’re doing there. But let it be known they are very, very subtle hints. The final parts of the game working up to the end are very interesting, though. I’m gonna stop there. You just have to experience it for yourself.

Gameplay is simple; Jump and Action (Moving boxes, pulling switches, etc). Now the Achievements are different. There is one for beating the game, one for beating it with dying 5 times or less, and the rest are for finding hidden eggs all over the world and breaking them.

The Good: This game will keep you entertained for hours trying to figure out each puzzle. You will also die… A LOT. There is no way around that. But you say, “How is that a good thing?” It is…Trust me. The only way to learn is through trial and error. Also, every different way you can die is almost unexpected. Not only will you *gasp*, *flinch*, and *cringe*… but you will laugh hysterically at least once.

The Bad: This game could be frustrating is so many ways. Not only that, but the replay value behind it is based on the Achievements. After finding all the eggs, beating it in under 5 lives (it’s called “No Point in Dying”) is the toughy. But once you’ve done that… What else is there to do?

Price: 1200 MicroSoft points ($15) To be honest, I’m not sure it’s worth that much just because of the weak replay factor, but, to each his own. I had a really fun time playing it.

Overall this game is awesome. It’s a great play, it’s entertaining, and it’ll keep you thinking all the way through.
Limbo
Platforms: XBLA (Xbox 360 only)
AMMIH Rating: 4/5
Sicky’s Motion Sickness Rating: 0/5

In Retrospect. . .

So, I’ve reviewed a few games for this site – Mass Effect 2, Modern Warfare 2, Read Dead Redemption, Metro 2033 and Pokémon: Soul Silver. I stated my opinions on those games, but some time has passed since they were released. Some downloadable content released, and some opinions changed. Now, due to technical issues, I cannot state my opinion on Metro 2033, as my disc has become corrupted. Keep in mind however, I still feel it is a fun horror game, and my original review holds true, though I cannot speak for the new ‘Ranger’ DLC.

Mass Effect 2:

This is still an impressive game in its cinematic qualities. I’ve come to learn that two members of the now defunct STEAM Machinima group ‘Lit Fuse Films’ worked on the use of the in-games models. It shows. Mass Effect 2 is in fact still fun, as I recently completed a play through for this exact article, carrying a save from the first part of the series. Recently, BioWare has announced that the story will soon be turned in to a feature film, and that the Sony Playstaion 3 will be getting a port of Mass Effect 2 . . . with no word on ME1.

DLC: Most of the DLC for Mass Effect is some new gear, like, helmets or armor permutations, along with some weapon packs. There is, however, a few packs worth looking at. For free, is ‘Zaeed, the Prince of Revenge’. Zaeed is a Day One DLC character to be added to Shepards crew. His loyalty mission is intense, though nothing all that new, but in the end yields a flamethrower and, depending on if you’re not a particularly paragon person, or a great motivator, you’ll have a loyal Merc following you to hell and back.

‘Kasumi’s Stolen Memory’, is a pay to play DLC pack that includes some fun action, gives you a pretty decent SMG, and features a new character; the titular Kasumi Goto. She’s a self described kleptomaniac with a thing for ramen, who has had her lover’s memories stolen in the form of a Neural Implant. Shepard dons some new threads and hob nobs it up to get into the holding pen, and win over Kasumi. The DLC is fun and Kasumi can be a useful character (I personally use her on Ilium during the Assassin’s recruitment mission).

‘Fire-Walker’ a free DLC, five or so missions featuring the new ‘Hammerhead’, the spiritual successor to the ‘Mako’ tank from Mass Effect one. The missions are easy and don’t really yield much, but seem like a very good attempt at a more action oriented moment than previous levels, and bigger environments, as seen in . . .

‘Project: Overlord’, a meaty story line that revolves around some Cerberus experimentations with Geth technology. There’s some puzzle solving, some running and gunning, and even some fun between missions in the ‘Hammerhead’, not unlike the Mako segments in the first game (except the Hammerhead doesn’t suck). The pack is fun–as-hell, and shows a level of commitment not entirely seen with the other DLC’s. There’s some hiccups and areas that are unfinished that can be glitched into, or simply fallen through with the Hammerhead, but the DLC pack is worth the price, and makes for an interesting look into how things may go from now on.

Coming Soon:

BioWare has announced a new DLC coming soon revolving around ME1 protagonist, Liara T’Soni. The protagonist and his party will be battling the mysterious ‘Shadow Broker’, who was mentioned in ME1, a villain in the ‘Redemption’ comic series, and now? The head between your crosshairs. No word yet on whether this will add Liara to your party, or a launch date, or a price.

BioWare also states that soon, we will be getting DLC connecting ME2 to ME3. While not exactly specific on this, they’ve mentioned choices from the first and second games will continue to carry over, and will be important.

• Cerberus Network DLC: Free with new copies of ME2 – 1600 MS Points
• Normandy Crash Site: Free, requires Cerberus Network
• Zaeed – Prince of Revenge: Free, requires Cerberus Network
• Cerberus Weapons and Armor Pack: Free, requires Cerberus Network
• Arc Projector: Free, requires Cerberus Network
• Firewalker Pack: Free, requires Cerberus Network
• Alternate Appearance Pack (Clothing for Archangel, the Assassin, and Subject Zero): 160 MS points
• Kasumi –Stolen Memory: 560 MS Points
• Equalizer Pack (Weapons and Armor Parts): 160 MS Points
• Overlord: 560 Ms Points
• Aegis Pack: 160 MS Points
• Firepower Pack: 160 Points
• Lair of the Shadow Broker: No price or launch date announced.

Red Dead Redemption:

I still enjoy this game and often go into it just to screw around, espically with cheat codes. Red Dead, fun as it is, and as alluring as the multiplayer is, lacks more replay value than I thought. Rockstar has a promised a steady stream of DLC for the multiplayer, but, so far nothing much has entirely seduced me as John Marstons story. The co-op mission pack, however, is free and is entirely worth every second. It’s a good time with friends.

I never enjoyed the ‘griefing’ in Red Dead. It’s too common place, and more so than back when I roamed Liberty City. It sucks. Recently a new packcame out giving players the option to play some new gang wars and a new throwing weapon, and some new character skins, but I’ve yet to obtain it, as it is not a priority to me.

Red Dead Redemption is good, and I’ll enjoy its story always, and roaming with friends, or by myself causing havoc is always great, but it’s loosing allure to me. Maybe I’m asking too much, but I’ve never enjoyed most multiplayer heavy games.

• Outlaws to the End Co-op Pack: Free
• Legends and Killers Pack: 800 MS points, or $9.99 on PSN Network.

Pokémon Soul Silver:

I really don’t have much to say outside of my previous review. It’s a Pokémon game, which is masterful in its time killing casualness. I’ll always break it out on a car trip.

Metro 2033:

I have not been able to play Metro, due to my disc having issues; however, there is a DLC pack out adding two new weapons, and two new difficulties for Free on STEAM and 240 MS Points.

Modern Warfare 2:

I stated it bluntly enough in my review that it’s a good game, but not without its fair amount of shortcomings. The thing is, I refuse to download its map packs (Somewhat out of protest, but mostly because there’s better deals) and I am finished with the Call of Duty series after Activision lopped off the head of Infinity Ward. Something that no other Call of Duty game will ever have like Modern Warfare, and its sequel, is the heart and spirit of Infinity Ward. I understand how idiotic that statement is, but I simply feel that this game is a very valid swan song, even with its faults, and I do enjoy playing it on Xbox LIVE (With friends).

Frankly, I recommend everything as I did before, though, I still believe Modern Warfare 2 to be a lackluster experience past the initial high, as does the repetition with Red Dead Redemption once the main story has been concluded. Pokémon will always be repetitive as well, but it’s a fun repetition I grew up with. Metro, from the last I was able to experience an entire play through, is still delicious, but not an entirely new genre setter – but still damn fun.