MegaMan 9, Too Old School?
August 19, 2008
With the upcoming release of MegaMan 9 on the “Big 3″ consoles, will the 2D style graphics hold up?
MegaMan 9 will be THE first game to join Nintendo’s Wiiware, Xbox’s Live Arcade and PlayStation 3’s PSN. With the processor, memory and video cards these consoles posses why did Capcom select to go with their 2D graphics? My guess is that retro gaming STILL sells. As much as developers are trying to create the next Mario or Sonic gamers love where there roots began… back in the day.
MegaMan has always been an 8-bit classic, so I bet their release of MegaMan 9 will have those “old-timers” cracking their knuckles and ready to show the new bloods how to game. Nintendo first showed up MegaMan on the NES, but where will MegaMan succeed? Will it be the underdeveloped Wii? The pay for service XBLA? Or the supercomputer PS3?
While you ponder on these questions, check out Capcom’s latest screens. I’m sure they’ll get you to reminisce the 90’s.
The Force Unleashed Demo to PSN, Xbox Live August 21
August 16, 2008
We’re big fans of GameTrailers TV here at Kezins and, as fans, we look forward to the usual breaking news and exclusive trailers the show provides. In case you guys missed it last night, their reveal Godfather II episode made an exclusive mention of a Star Wars: The Force Unleashed demo landing on Xbox Live and PSN this Thursday, August 21.
Kezins got a chance to play the same demo at Comic Con in July and we came away impressed with how fun the force powers were to use. Fun enough that we forgot we had a lightsaber with us the whole time.
Considering the likely quality of Quest for Booty, Galaga Legions, and the above mentioned demo releasing this week, we must be heading into fall early this year.
Via GameTrailers TV
Braid: Do NOT Use a Walkthrough (Xbox 360)
August 15, 2008
Braid is one of the most interesting games to hit the Xbox LIVE Arcade in some time. At first glance, it seems like a tough game. Once you are adjusted to the strange physics, it’s really not that bad. Creators of the game are urging gamers to avoid using walkthroughs. I definitely have to agree with them this time. Walkthroughs and FAQs tend to ruin the challenge of beating a game. Do you not lose the entire point of playing when you basically look up the answers? I have yet to purchase a guide to a single video game I have played and I avoid game FAQs and walkthroughs, because I love the challenge and reward of beating a game with my own mind.
CGS Pro-Am Division Registration Open (Video Games)
August 13, 2008
The Championship Gaming Series (CGS), the only sanctioned worldwide professional gaming league, opened free registration for the inaugural CGS Pro-Am Division, greatly expanding the opportunity for aspiring professional gamers to take on the CGS pros. I can’t even count how many people I know who claim they are just as good as the pros, but they always have some excuse. Now it’s time for the bitchassness to end because the CGS is giving all of us a chance to show what we’re made of.
Full Press Release with registration follows:
LOS ANGELES – August 12, 2008 –
Championship Gaming SeriesTM (CGS), the only worldwide professional gaming league, opened free registration for the inaugural CGS Pro-Am Division, greatly expanding the opportunity for aspiring professional gamers to take on the CGS pros and see if they have what it takes to compete alongside the best of CGS, perhaps winning some cold hard cash in the process.
First announced earlier this summer, amateur and professional gamers from North America will have the chance to showcase their talent against CGS’ most elite gaming stars for a share of a prize purse totaling US$40,000 during the Pro-Am division’s inaugural season.
The CGS Pro-Am division features one official PC league title – Valve’s Counter-Strike®: Source® (CS:S), along with two other popular Valve games, Counter-Strike®: 1.6 and Team Fortress 2 (TF2). CS:S, CS 1.6 and TF2 represent three of the most popular and successful eSports PC titles of all time and now gamers throughout North America can step up to prove they have what it takes to challenge the CGS pros.
Xbox 360 gamers will also have a chance to compete against CGS stars on Xbox LIVE via the league’s official Xbox titles, Tecmo’s Dead or Alive® 4 and Forza Motorsport® 2 from Microsoft Game Studios, as well as on other popular Xbox 360 games that will be featured in upcoming Xbox LIVE matches. Competitions will take place every other Friday featuring CGS pros, kicking off this Friday, August 15, when Xbox LIVE gamers from around the globe can take on Dallas Venom players Michelle “Phoenix” Pleet and Manny “Master” Rodriguez in DOA4. For more info, visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/calendar/playthepros/2008/0815-dallasvenom.htm
PC gamers interested in testing their skills against the pros should register at http://pro-am.thecgs.com/ now through September 3, 2008. The first season of the Pro-Am Division kicks off September 10.
New ‘NBA Live 09′ Screenshots
July 31, 2008
Nine new screenshots have been released by EA for NBA Live 09. This game series has come a long way since ‘Lakers vs. Celtics’ was released in 1989. 09 features Tony Parker on the cover and is set for an October 7, 2008 release. Some of the new features include “pick and roll control”, “signature playcalling”, “NBA Academy”, “lockdown control” and “Quickstrike AnkleBreakers”. According to EA, the AI has also been upgraded. I haven’t actually played the game yet, but from what I’ve seen, it looks like it is a considerable improvement over NBA Live 08.
Game Review: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (Xbox 360)
July 30, 2008
When the Xbox Live Arcade initiative was just being rolled out back in 2005 with the launch of the Xbox 360, a genuine neon-emblazed classic came out day one on the service, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Fast-forward three years and we finally get a sequel for it; is it worth your 800 Microsoft points?
The short answer: yes. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is not only an upgrade to the first title, but a real step forward in accessibility, variety, and fun even if you weren’t a hardcore player of the first. Whereas GW1 let you putz around the game and easily blast a few of the geometric enemies for ONLY a few moments (before quickly dying after the barrage of enemies were released), GW:RE2 is a longer, more rewarding experience.
First off, the higher ticket price means you get new modes and added four-player support. The game is split up into six different modes and each one has its different leaderboards — the scores amongst you and your friends are prominently displayed at boot up — and each one varies the gameplay slightly.
A couple of the standouts modes are “Pacifism” and “King,” but the rest are welcome additions, as well. What once used to be an achievement in the first game, becomes a reality in GW:RE2 with the first mode mentioned as you’re stripped away from your power to shoot and have to, instead, traverse the map shot-less and hit “gates” that explode as you pass through them. The latter mode asks you to only shoot in designated “zones,” or circles, moving from one to the next weaseling through the numerous baddies.
Faithful fans of the first game shouldn’t fret though, as the original “Evolved” mode is included along with a few other great modes. Fundamentally, Bizarre Creations has made a few significant changes with this iteration that introduces a “geom” system to the original gameplay. Geoms are specks that the enemies leave behind after shooting them and each one adds to your overall multiplayer. Before, when you died that’d be the end of your multiplier, but GW:RE2’s geom system keeps it going when you’ve respawned. Expect even higher scores this time around.
Multiplayer in Geo Wars 2 comes in two flavors: co-op and competitive. You can play with up three of your buddies and take on every mode that’s available in single-player. Unfortunately, you can’t upload the scores that you acrue with your team of crackshots, but its still an entertaining diversion for when you have company over. Online is noticeably absent, but for a game that relies on split-second reactions and decisions its understandable why it was omitted; sometimes unreliable net lag would’ve killed the experience. Make sure to play multiplayer on a bigger screen than the 13-incher reserved for the kids’ table, though, as the camera pans out far enough to make your ship look like a distant star.
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 does so much with the single “map” that it easily warrants the 800 Points ($10) price of entry without going into Geometry Wars: Galaxies territory and adding tons of levels. The six different modes (including the meaty, 20-level “Sequence” mode) are more than enough game for this DLC marvel. Log into your Xbox Live account and download it now.
Halo’s ‘Chill Out’ Remake Bound for Xbox Live — FREE
July 3, 2008
Bungie’s third Halo game has been regulated to second place in the Xbox 360 online space for a while now by a certain future-proof’ed Call of Duty, but it sure loves its fans.
In a move that Microsoft will likely see as a missed economic opportunity, the remake of the Chill Out map from the Halo 1 days, Cold Storage, will be available for FREE on July 7, according to Bungie.net.
Luke Smith also talks a bit about an interesting throwback wrench being thrown into Halo 3’s online game play on Bungie Day:
“Beginning on July 7, there will be a 48-hour long seven-player FFA playlist in Halo 3’s Matchmaking where you can turn the calendar back to 2001 and control l Rockets, Invis and Snipe.”
Via Bungie.net
Microsoft Bans ‘Ben Dover’
July 3, 2008
If you currently have a variation of ‘Ben Dover’ as your name on Xbox LIVE, you will be required to change it if Microsoft hasn’t already banned your name. It seems to me like Microsoft is getting a little too “PC” and trying to eliminate any kind of creative screen names that may have adult meanings behind them. Recently, Microsoft also decided to ban any screen names with the word “gay” included.
Are they going too far with name restrictions? What do you guys think? I realize that Microsoft is worried about offending people, but perhaps they are going a little too far. How about banning the foul-mouthed punks who continually plague XBL? Screen names are really the least of my worries.
