Category: Written


Bungie Finally Snapped

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April 20, 2010

Originally Published: July 31, 2009, on Examiner.com

It put both Bungie and Xbox on the map back in 2001 and proved to be one of the most prolific first-person shooters in video game history with its second and third installments. Its original characters and compelling plot helped usher gamers into the current age of gaming and set a high bar for all who would follow in its wake. Of course, I speak of the Halo franchise.

Recently, though, Bungie’s Lars Bakken spoke to IGN about Halo: Reach, next year’s FPS that looks back at the beginnings of the Halo story and he mentioned some possibly grave news for the series.

“After Reach that’s it for us. We’re already working on a new IP that we can’t talk about yet, I don’t know when we’ll be talking about it – when we’re ready I suppose,” said Bakken.

Although there is much speculation as to what this new intellectual property could be, the move isn’t all that surprising if you think about it.

With the recent recession affecting the gaming industry just as much as everyone else, it wasn’t a surprise for Bungie and many others to return to the hits. Sequels for popular gaming series are almost always to be sure winners, as long as the games are worthy of the originals, and Bungie has made sure not to disappoint with the Halo series since it has developed one of the strongest followings in games today.

Halo: Reach will mark nearly a decade of dedication to this single franchise, though, and with the market beginning to show signs of bouncing back, and the sure numbers that Halo 3: ODST, coming out this fall, and Halo: Reach, coming out next fall, will provide for Bungie, 2011 looks like a great time to start taking a few chances again.

Also, don’t forget that the recent real-time strategy game Halo Wars showed us that another publisher, in this case Ensemble Studios, could take the franchise and change it around and still be successful with it.

These factors make me confidant that Bungie’s wish to develop this new IP and not be typecast as simply the guys who brought us the Halo series will be a successful one as we wait with baited breath as to what this new IP could potentially be. Until then, I guess Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach will just have to do for now.

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Xbox Portable in the Plans

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Originally Published: July 24, 2009, for Examiner.com

San Diego Comic Con is always a magical time of the year as announcements from all spectrums of the geek media rainbow permeate the culture and help us salivate over new details for upcoming releases or announcements of brand new projects. It’s why Microsoft felt it was the perfect forum for them to confirm their plans for a portable system.

Microsoft’s VP of Strategy and Business, Shane Kim, confirmed earlier in the week that the internet rumors are true and that Microsoft is hard at work on a handheld device. When pressed as to what the device would be, whether something multi-purpose along the lines of the iPhone to compete in another field with Apple, or something more gaming related to try to cut into the DS and PSP’s profits, Mr. Kim admitted that he himself did not even know.

Because of this, I’ll keep the mindset that I’ve had since the rumors began to surface, I’ll believe it when I see it.

I hate being skeptical considering how much the Xbox 360 and Microsoft look to be giving us in the near-future, but why even bother confirming rumors on a product that even your top brass don’t know about?

Personally, I’d rather Microsoft continue to focus on Project NATAL and worry about a portable system after they master that first. And considering how many resources are probably being poured into NATAL to try to have it released in time for the 2010 holiday season, I wouldn’t be surprised if this “Xbox Portable” wouldn’t even come close to enter existence until late 2012-early-2013.

The possibilities are fun to think about, though. A portable Halo or Gears of War would surely make a strong impact for Microsoft in the handheld wars, but the device itself would have to be something spectacular considering how late in the game Microsoft is throwing its hat into the handheld ring.

In another press release from Comic Con, in order to maybe take the heat off of Mr. Kim’s comments, Microsoft confirmed that there will be two new Dashboard updates in the near future. The first will be August 11th, which will include the “Games on Demand” feature. Confirmed with the launch of this feature were Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed, and Mass Effect among others. Shortly after this update, around August 25th, original Xbox programming like the new exclusive Girls Go Geek and the third season of The Guild will return for your viewing pleasure.

The second Dashboard update should be released late in the fall. This would be the update that we heard of at E3 that promised us Facebook, Twitter, last.fm, and Zune HD coming to Xbox 360. Microsoft had promised us to attempt one major Dashboard update a year, but like many major conglomerates, they failed to keep this promise. For once, though, this broken promise is probably a good thing. The more updates the better!

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The Highway to Hell

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Originally Published: July 31, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Examiner.com, and Lundberg.me

Fallen angels, hellfire-based powers, mind-control, and a lost god are all rolled into the new game for the Xbox 360, Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance. You would think that all these amazing action elements would spell a sure winner, but this port of the 2007 third-person shooter for the PC, Infernal, should have stayed put.

The basic plot has you playing as Ryan Lennox, a renegade angel whose methods were called into question a few times too often by the holiest of causes and is banished to the earthly plane. His amazing talent with a firearm draws the attention of Lucifer, though, and he offers Ryan the chance to serve him in an attempt to maintain the balance between good and evil as heaven has supposedly procured a weapon that would vanquish sin from the Earth for all time. Now an agent of vengeance, Ryan Lennox must fight both an internal and external battle to maintain the eternal balance.

A decent sounding plot aside, this game is abysmal. The glitches in this atrocity are beyond anything I have ever seen on the current generation of consoles. Freezing after dying, while saving, and/or just standing around and you have easily the most frustrating gaming experience that I’ve had in years.

And that is just from the glitches! Never mind that there is no auto-save or quick save feature so when you do actually get into the plot of the game, on those rare occurrences, and forget to save and then die and get flung back two levels…THAT’S FRUSTRATION.

I understand how easy it is for a PC game to be directly ported to the Xbox due to the Microsoft connection, but you have to fix these small, irritating, repetitive errors when you do because console players expect a more streamlined playing experience than those who deal with the PC.

Add in that the graphics haven’t been brought up to speed and do not take advantage of the 360’s capabilities, the music is annoyingly repetitive, and the A.I. tries to overwhelm you more with sheer numbers than any sort of strategy, and you have a horrible gaming experience reminiscent of Goldeneye: Rouge Agent. There is no stealth required in this game and it is more about conserving ammo as you mow down seemingly limitless enemies in each room as the game tries to hold your attention through five sleep inducing levels.

Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance was full of potential considering the abilities to wrap your bullets in hell-fire, teleport, and consume people’s souls for energy. The lack of polish on this game, though, along with a plethora of glitches and a poorly implemented plot leaves me with no choice but to only recommend this game if you find it at the bottom of the $5 bargain bin somewhere.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 5.0: Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance looks exactly like the PC game it was ported from. No upgrades or polish added to visuals that were only on par in 2007 leaves this at a sub-par level now, especially considering the capabilities of the Xbox 360. This game is best described as visually lackluster and dull.

Audio: 4.0: Repetitive, uninspired music really takes away from the already poor experience with this game. On top of this, the voice acting sounds like it was done by a cast of anime voiceover rejects. The SFX are solid and is the only audible saving grace for Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.0: This gets a passing score because the overall plot is actually an awesome idea. Fallen angels trying to maintain the balance between good and evil sounds like it could be full of great action sequences that would keep you entertained for a long while. Due to awful story telling and glitches galore, though, the plot is implemented poorly and knocks this back down.

Gameplay: 1.0: Considering all the glitches, lag, and lack of firing accuracy (that’s a big problem since it is a third-person shooter) and I could not give this anything more than my worst possible score.

Replay Value: 2.0: Aside from the three difficulty levels, there is nothing to bring you back to play this again, especially since you should be able to beat the entire game on the hardest difficulty without much effort, just like I did.

Overall (not an average): 3.0: Horrible glitches, abysmal gameplay, no replay value, and a lackluster attempt on the peripherals leaves this game towards the bottom of the bargain bin at best. This was a pitiful effort on porting over what was once a decent PC game over to the Xbox 360. I expected much more from this effort and am horribly disappointed. I would avoid this game at all costs.

Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance is available now for Xbox 360.

-Ray Carsillo

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A Whole New World

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Originally Published: July 24, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

When you look at the surface of Treasure World for the Nintendo DS, there really doesn’t seem to be a lot to the game.

When you turn the game on you’re immediately introduced to a mystical being that travels the cosmos collecting stardust. As his ship travels around the Milky Way, it runs out of fuel and crash-lands in your backyard. He asks for you to help his robot assistant explore your world and collect enough stardust to refuel his ship so he can go back to exploring the universe.

The game is pretty straightforward, but the difference between it and any other game you will play is that the in-game exploration revolves solely around your real-world interactions. As you walk around the real world, like you’re on an actual treasure hunt, the game utilizes the DS’s wi-fi compatibility to latch onto new wi-fi signals. As you collect more signals and, therefore, more stardust and unique items, you get closer and closer to powering your mystical friends’ ship. This is the entire premise of the game; to walk around the real world and attempt to locate more unique signals in order to have the game’s spaceship return to the stars. It’s almost like a real-world treasure hunt (hence the name of the game).

It sounds simple, right? But when you add in that the collectibles can be used to make original musical compositions, the items can be used to help “disguise” your robot friend, and you can trade items with others who own the game, the game gets a new layer of depth that immediately made me think of the Pokémon series’ original catch phrase, “Gotta Catch’em All!”

After finding enough stardust, the mystical being blasts back off to the sky, but leaves his robot friend behind to help you continue to explore their digital universe (and your real one) as you attempt to collect all of the more than 2,600 items available via trade, stardust purchase, and random exploration.

The game isn’t going to blow you away in terms of looks or plot, but solely on the gimmick of the real-world interaction that the game revolves around. It is a solid premise and it will keep you entertained for a good amount of time as you carry your DS around, knowing that with every step you take you could be getting closer and closer to completing your collection. The game also includes a great safety feature in that you can actually close the DS and put it in your pocket as you travel and it will still collect items and signals. This way, you don’t have to worry about walking into lampposts as you try to collect more items.

Another nice feature that really appeals to the social aspects of the game is the ability to go online and trade codes you find for some of the more rare items in the game, as well as the ability to trade with friends via the DS’s already preeminent wi-fi capabilities.

Unfortunately, most people don’t have the means or the opportunity to just randomly explore and try to collect wi-fi signals in order to beat a video game so once you’ve gone through your daily routine for a few days, the game really loses its luster and appeal as you walk by the same wi-fi signals. This is especially difficult if you’re a child, who is the main target audience for the game, and you rely on your parents as your main source of transportation. Even if you’re out riding your bike, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find 2,600 wi-fi signals.

It’s pretty difficult, too, if you live in a more rural area where the wi-fi signals are fewer due to it being a less populated area. I walked around New York City and found half the treasures in the game in a single day of exploration. I don’t think someone in Omaha, Nebraska, would have the same ease in tracking down signals.

Still though, the collection and trade aspects and, as Nintendo has proven with the Wii, real-life interaction gimmicks are big nowadays, so this game is a solid pickup if you’re looking for something to keep your Nintendo DS warm for a while.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 7.0: The visual aspect isn’t going to be the selling point for this game since you can spend most of your time playing the game with the DS closed. When you do look at the screen though, the graphics are average.

Audio: 9.0: An enjoyable, simple melody serves as the theme for the game and with solid SFX, so you can’t complain about the audio. The aspect that boosts this score, though, is that different items also represent different notes and you can compose your own, more varied music as you collect more items, a la old school, Mario Paint style.

Plot/Plot Development: 3.0: A friendly alien ship crash lands in your backyard and you walk around in the real world in order to fill up its fuel tank so it can blast off again. Obviously, plot was not a big consideration when making this game.

Gameplay: 5.0: This was difficult for me to score because there really isn’t a lot of “playing” going on in the game. The game is glitch-less, which is nice, but most of the game really is just you walking around the real world. So, in good conscience, I couldn’t give it a passing score.

Replay Value: 10.0: One of the major selling points is trying to collect all 2,600 treasures, and that reason alone is enough to give this a phenomenal replay score.

Overall (not an average): 7.0: The social aspects required to trade online and/or in person are nice, but not enough to make this a must-have title. What makes the game so interesting is the avatar customization and the gimmick of walking around trying to collect wi-fi signals like you are on a real-world treasure hunt, and considering there are 2,600 treasures to find, if you really want, you can devote a lot of time to this game.

Treasure World is out now for the Nintendo DS.

-Ray Carsillo

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June Swoon – June Video Game Sales

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Originally Published: July 17, 2009, on Examiner.com

Being an admitted geek, things like charts and numbers and tables always make me smile a little, especially when tracking things like video game software sales. It’s a great way to see how your favorite systems are doing and which third party developers are hot at the moment.

Being the Xbox 360 Examiner, I will focus on the Xbox games in terms of analysis, but will give the entire list of top 10 in terms of software sales in terms of both worldwide sales and United States sales.

The June month time period is measured from May 31st through to June 27th and further information can be found at http://www.vgchartz.com

Worldwide Sales:
1. Wii – Wii Fit – Nintendo – 745,576
2. Wii – Wii Sports – Nintendo – 691,255
3. Wii – EA Sports Active – Electronic Arts – 587,434
4. Xbox 360 – Prototype – Activision – 526,434
5. DS – Pokémon Platinum – Nintendo – 459,899
6. Xbox 360 – UFC 2009 Undisputed – THQ – 412,482
7. Xbox 360 – Red Faction: Guerilla – THQ – 382,115
8. Wii – Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo – 356,149
9. Wii – Wii Sports Resort – Nintendo – 349,411
10. PS3 – Prototype – Activision – 345,388

United States Sales:
1. Wii – Wii Fit – Nintendo – 387,170
2. Xbox 360 – Prototype – THQ – 358,515
3. Wii – Wii Sports – Nintendo – 339,350
4. Wii – EA Sports Active – Electronic Arts – 339,138
5. Xbox 360 – UFC 2009 Undisputed – THQ – 312,410
6. Xbox 360 – Fight Night Round 4 – Electronic Arts – 268,942
7. Xbox 360 – Red Faction: Guerilla – THQ – 237,754
8. Wii – Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 – Electronic Arts – 208,010
9. Xbox 360 – Ghostbusters: The Video Game – Atari – 188,923
10. PS3 – Prototype – Activision – 185,692

This short list provides countless amounts of information. First off, Nintendo’s worldwide dominance is still clearly evident with having not only six of the top 10 titles worldwide (5 Wii, 1 DS), but five of those six are all first party published, which means Nintendo is just raking in the profits on the worldwide market.

Xbox 360 is making a nice showing, though, by having three of the top 10. Microsoft has to be pleased considering its poor influence overseas, especially in Japan.

This poor overseas influence I speak of can be seen most clearly by comparing the United States list with the Worldwide list. Even though Nintendo and the Wii still have the top spot in the US, it’s a much closer deficit between one and two and on this list an Xbox 360 game is listed as number two.

Aside from having the second best selling game, Xbox 360 has five of the top 10 slots compared to four for the Wii showing that Xbox 360 is competing very well in the United States with the Wii right now and if Xbox 360 could take a larger chunk out of the worldwide market, which seems to be trending towards all these workout games, then it could make a case for the top spot that Nintendo has held since the Wii’s release.

A consistent sales trend showing a continued pattern towards workout games might make Microsoft want to push harder for Project NATAL to become a reality a little sooner than first planned. If a workout game is what the people want, then the tools and means to have a workout game is what the people should get.

In terms of total software sales in the United States for June, even though the Wii had three of the top five, Xbox 360 sold 92,876 more total software units in the top 10.

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Take Me to Your Leader

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Originally Published: July 13, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Collider.com

During Nintendo’s press conference at this year’s E3, the Nintendo brass revealed an interesting statistic: 60% of all American households still do not have any home console whatsoever. After making pledges to wage their own personal war against this statistic (in much nicer terms since it is Nintendo) by promising more games to appeal to the casual gamer, they also said that they were afraid of isolating their hardcore audience (guess the Wii’s gimmick is finally wearing off).

To appeal to the hardcore gamer, Nintendo showcased games from third-party developers like Red Steel 2, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Measures (both published by Ubisoft) and a decent selection from SEGA.

The presentation by SEGA was surprising since many associate them with the now-tired and mediocre-at-best Sonic the Hedgehog series. Following the release of the solid hit Madworld (a Running Man meets Sin City gore-fest exclusive for the Wii), many felt that SEGA was ready to re-stake a claim as a strong third-party developer. With that in mind, I give you SEGA’s newest exclusive title for the Wii: The Conduit.

In The Conduit, you play as Michael Ford, an agent for a secret government organization known as “The Trust” tasked with keeping the world at peace while protecting America’s interests. You begin by following the orders of your shadowy leader, John Adams, as you attempt to retrieve stolen technology by a terrorist known only as “Prometheus”. As you explore the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, you begin to uncover a conspiracy that reaches into the highest levels of government and involves a lot more than an experimental piece of technology.

In a decision that will change your life and the fate of a nation, you befriend Prometheus as you realize that Adams has his own agenda and that the stolen technology is not of earthly origin. Now, you must wage a one-man war against your government as you try to single-handedly prevent an alien invasion that would spell the fall of life as we know it.

With a game that had as much hype and potential as this one, it’s no surprise that it fell short. It is a surprise, though, that it did not even come close to what was expected of it. As the only true first-person shooter for the Wii, it would have been difficult for hardcore gamers who play the Wii (is that an oxymoron?) to not be satisfied with this game but this game disappoints on every level.

The story had potential, but as it unfolds, it looks and feels like a Perfect Dark rip-off from the N64. It’s a first-person shooter, has government agents, alien invasion, crazy technology, you befriending an enemy, and your friends becoming enemies; an original storyline would have been appreciated.

The game also looked like something from two console-generations ago. Horrible enemy models with environments that looked like amorphous blobs painted on a canvas combine to make this one of the worst looking games to come out in years. I understand the Wii does not have the graphics power of the other consoles, but I’ve seen it do so much better than this.

The music sets a good feel and pace for the game and the sound effects work, but the voice acting is abysmal. Even with Kevin Sorbo (star of the television hit Hercules) as Prometheus (interesting that he is best-known for a Greek demi-god and his character is named after a Greek god), the voice acting is over-the-top to the point of utter absurdity.

Aside from being one of the few first-person shooters for the Wii (namely Metroid Prime 3 and Red Steel with everything else worth mentioning really being a rail-shooter), the other appeal for the game was the most highly-touted multiplayer for Wii since Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This is something that would compare to the best of the best on other systems as it allows up to 12 players to play.

This feature may be one of the few saving graces because it reminds me of the old game: Goldeneye (arguably the greatest multiplayer game ever). Unfortunately, with quickly depleted health bars and a horribly-long lobby-load time leaves this needing more polish to be ranked up there with a classic like Goldeneye or modern marvels like Gears of War or Halo.

When all is said and done, this is a short game (8-10 hours of gameplay max) that seems to have been thrown together with spare parts from other games two generations ago. If this is Nintendo’s best effort for hardcore gamers, maybe they’ve accidentally figured out the reason why 60% of people don’t own a home console.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 3.0: I can’t remember giving a game this bad a graphics rating, mainly because the game looks like something from two generations ago. I actually forgot what polygons were until I saw this game. It’s a current generation abomination.

Audio: 6.0: Solid SFX and a catchy soundtrack lay a decent audio foundation, but the instant a character opens its pixilated mouth, the entire experience goes down the toilet. Horrible voice-acting all around drops this score below passable marks.

Plot/Plot Development: 5.0: An old, tired plot that has already been done before and done better at that. The story flows at a break-neck pace that also affects the length of the game itself and gives you the feel that SEGA just had spare parts lying around and wrapped it around an alien-invasion story.

Gameplay: 5.0: The game has slow, unresponsive controls, enemy A.I. permanently set to cannon-fodder, and only 8-10 hours of gameplay. Then again, maybe only 8-10 hours was more of an act of mercy than anything.

Replay Value: 8.0: There is a decent amount of collectibles, achievements, and unlockables that if you are a diehard completionist, it will have enough to bring you back for a second or third playthrough. Add in a multiplayer mode that clearly takes up most of the system’s processing power, even if it still responds poorly after doing so, and you have enough that, if you actually enjoyed this game, you would play it again.

Overall (not an average): 3.0: Aside from the multiplayer mode, this is one of the worst games of the year. It looks like something from 10 years ago that they forgot to touch up before releasing it for the Wii. Avoid The Conduit at all costs.

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It Must Be The Greatest

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Originally Published: July 7, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Examiner.com

With its unprecedented dominance in most sports games, EA Sports felt it was a good time to continue another one of its majestic, untouchable franchises. Fight Night Round 4 was green lit and, after months of hype, was being touted as one of the most anticipated games of the year (it even had a sticker on the cover saying so) with two of the all-time great heavyweight champions serving as the game’s cover boys in Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali. Could such a highly publicized title live up to its positive press, though?

One of the major appeals for the game churned out by EA’s hype machine was the “what if?” premise. Upon your first time selecting Exhibition mode you’re provided a roster that features some of the greatest fighters of all time combined with the greats from today as you mix and match to answer those questions fight fans have always had like, “Who’s better: Ali or Tyson?” or “What would Frazier or Foreman do to Lennox Lewis’s weak chin?”

Disappointingly, there could only be so many boxers included in the game and so some of the other all-time greats, like Rocky Marciano and Floyd Mayweather, had to be excluded. Fortunately for die-hard fans though, there are rumors that they could be available via downloadable content at a later date over Xbox’s or Sony’s respective store systems.

After living out your boxing fantasies in Exhibition mode, you can jump into the create-a-boxer feature and try your hand at the impressive “Legacy Mode” to see if you could work your legend up to somewhere near that of the two athletes that grace the game’s cover. With hundreds of customizable features for your boxer, ranging from blocking styles to the color of your trunks, you’ll feel as if you’re actually living the dream as you begin to work your way up from dingy gyms to some of the most spectacular arenas in all of boxing in an attempt to become the “Greatest Of All Time” (or G.O.A.T. as the game prefers).

The legacy mode isn’t difficult once you’ve figure out the patterns for the mini-games, which constitute the fighter’s training, to raise his stats to near unbeatable levels. On the first go-around, I received the max reward on half the mini-games and began maxing out my stats to the point that “Legacy Mode” just didn’t have the luster to bring me, a more casual boxing fan, back for more after I was 12-0 with 11 KO’s.

Continually, it is once you step into the ring as your created fighter where the game’s hype starts to show a few openings in its airtight defense. If you build up your stats enough (so you turn that chin of yours from glass to granite), you can just button-mash (or analog-stick mash, either way I averaged 1200 punches per 10 round bout, that’s about a punch every 1.5 seconds) your way to victory over almost any opponent. You might not always get a knockout, but unless you’ve imported someone like Ali (whose stats are off the chart) as an opponent you can just keep dropping haymakers and straight rights until the match is over and you have your hand raised.

Aside from the lackluster A.I., the game does deliver on most other fronts. Instead of the system used in previous versions of the franchise (where you would physically apply ice to different parts of your boxer’s face to keep the swelling down and allow him to fight longer) a new, three-level system has been implemented that measures your boxer’s health, stamina, and damage.

Depending how your well your boxer performs, points are awarded to your corner, allowing you to heal and prepare your player as the fight continues. A high punching-accuracy will net you a lot of points. Stunning or knocking down your opponent is worth even more. These points can then be applied to healing your fighter’s damage, restoring health, or rejuvenating his stamina. Obviously, the longer you keep these bars filled up, the better your boxer will be as the fight goes on. A low stamina will mean your punches will have less bite and can be thrown less often. Having high amounts of damage inflicted on your boxer, along with a low health bar, will mean he is more likely to be knocked out. This new system makes it much easier to gauge how well your boxer is doing as the fight progresses and where you might need to make some in-between round adjustments.

Along with the Exhibition and Legacy modes, there is also a strong multiplayer mode where you can fight other boxers, either online or off, and use either imported boxers that you create yourself or boxers from the roster.

Overall, considering that EA Sports lacks any real competition in most sports franchises, it was nice to see the improvements they made on this more distinguished one. It might not have the long-lasting appeal for more casual boxing fans, but hardcore fans will keep thinking they have a puncher’s chance for a long time.



Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 8.0: The boxers themselves look great, but the backgrounds and in-between round animations lack the polish I would expect from an EA Sports game, considering the time they usually pour into their hit franchises. However, it is still a very strong game visually to the point you can see sweat flying off of your opponents after landing a devastating haymaker.

Audio: 9.0: Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas do a great job with authentic ringside commentary and the soundtrack provides you with a beat to get your blood pumping before you step into the ring. Joe and Teddy do get a little repetitive after a while, but that is just expected with sports games nowadays if you play them long enough. The punching sound effects are solid, but not special.

Plot/Plot Development: N/A: It’s a sports simulation.

Gameplay: 7.0: A lackluster A.I. and repetitive motions keep this from being anything more than average. This game is too much of a button masher to make it great, but the new health bar system is one of those changes you didn’t realize you needed until you saw it.

Replay Value: 7.0: Unless EA Sports begins to have other great boxers added as downloadable content, there isn’t much to bring to bring the casual fan back for more. A strong multiplayer or the chance to be known as the G.O.A.T. will bring hardcore boxing fans back for more for a long time, though.

Overall: 8.5: Most of the improvements and changes that EA Sports made between rounds were welcome additions to this franchise that many would argue were needed to be fully rejuvenated. Hardcore boxing fans will be happy to pick this up since it is the best pure boxing game out there right now, but more casual fans will tire of it quickly.

Fight Night Round 4 is out now for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

-Ray Carsillo

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To Be A Kid Again

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Originally Published: July 6, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

With steroids, luxury taxes, and overpaid, under appreciative players usually being what people first think of when they think of modern baseball, it is easy to forget the beauty in the simplicity of this child’s game.

When people think of baseball games for the Wii, they usually think of glitchy, unresponsive, second-rate games that don’t compare to other systems’ exclusive franchises.

Both of these problems are solved with Activision’s Little League World Series 2009 for the Nintendo Wii and DS.

Little League World Series 2009 allows you to take control of an already established little league team, or create your own, and try to guide a young group of dreamers to a title run in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

If you choose to take a pre-loaded team, you can choose from teams from 16 different regions: eight American and eight from the rest of the world.

If you choose to create your own team, you can customize everything from the state or country your team hails from to the color of your catcher’s mitt. Batting stances, equipment brands, hair, eyes, and more are all customizable to the point where you’ll feel like you were playing with the little league team you played for when you were 12 years old.

After selecting your team, you can then take them through the extensive World Series mode as you can go from the regional championships all the way to Williamsport. This is a much more difficult task than it sounds due to the fact that it is round-robin play meaning it is one-and-done for your team if you lose.

To try to help stack the odds in your favor, the game does include two things that can make your team more competitive against the top-tier squads. First, depending on how well your team performs, you can earn attribute points to assign to your players after each game. A little extra juice on your starting pitcher’s fastball or a little more pop from your second baseman could be the difference between a stalled run in the regional tournament and immortality.

The second helpful feature harkens back to the old days of the Madden football games. Stellar performances can earn you special trading cards that can be played in the middle of a game to boost your stats or diminish your opponent’s. Having trouble running the bases? Play a card to boost your team speed for an inning. Need that fly ball to sail over the wall? Play a card to boost your power for an at-bat. This old-school, sports-game feature is a nice addition and will surely change the tide of a game if played properly.

In addition to the World Series mode, there are also a plethora of mini-games and the standard exhibition mode if you want to play a friend in a Midwest versus Mid-Atlantic grudge match.

After playing through a couple of tournaments, I can say that if you only have a Wii, this isn’t a bad way to get your baseball fix, considering your only other option is the abysmal MLB2K9. The controls are simple, but respond well to the Wiimote. If you’re more comfortable using both hands while playing your games, Little League World Series 2009 is also classic controller compatible.

When it comes down to it, if you are looking for just a pure, fun baseball experience on the Wii, this game is probably your best bet. Fun mini-games, a competitive A.I., and none of the superfluous trimmings that usually come with the pro-based games leave this as possibly the best baseball game on the system. Plus, who wouldn’t want to pretend to be a kid again?

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 6.5: The cartoony look will turn a lot of people off because it looks like another game for the Wii that is meant to appeal to only younger players. The vibrant colors and over the top animations do play well and without a glitch, but I think a lot of people would prefer a more serious looking game.

Audio: 8.0: The clang of the aluminum bat and the snap of the catcher’s glove after pouring in a great fastball over the outside corner are sweet sounds to hear that define Little League baseball. Add in Gary Thorne and Brent Musberger for authentic play-by-play and the only thing the audio lacks is a decent soundtrack.

Plot/Plot Development: N/A: It’s a sports simulation.

Gameplay: 8.0: If you play the game without any assists, the fielding can be a bit difficult if you aren’t used to playing with just the Wiimote, but with the game being classic-controller-compatible, it provides a way to remedy this problem. The pitching system could also use a little tweaking since there is a minimum of control over where you can aim the pitch. Otherwise this is a solid baseball game in terms of controls.

Replay Value: 7.5: No online capability is a serious downside for this game, but it is compatible for up to four players offline and has an abundance of mini-games and collectibles to keep you coming back for more.

Overall: 8.0: Considering all of the other options there are out there for the Wii, this is probably your best baseball bet. With the combination of solid controls, good atmosphere, and an authentic feel from professional play-by-play, you have an enjoyable experience on your hands. It could use online capability, less cartoony graphics, and just a little more overall refinement, but otherwise this would be a great pick up for the entire family or any pure baseball fan.

Little League World Series 2009 is out now for the Nintendo Wii and DS.

-Ray Carsillo

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More Than Meets the Eye

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Originally Published: June 30, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Examiner.com, and Lundberg.me

Continuing with my summer series analyzing blockbuster movies and the video games based off them, today I look at Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.

This sequel to the smash-hit based off the Hasbro toys and cartoon of the mid-’80s picks up two years after the first movie. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (still voiced by Peter Cullen, the same man who voiced him in the cartoon), are now known by the world’s governments and work in tandem with them to cull the persistent Decepticon threat, even after the defeat of their leader Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving of the Matrix, V for Vendetta, and Lord of the Rings fame).

After extinguishing the sixth Decepticon attack in eight months against the humans, this time in Shanghai, Optimus receives an ominous threat from the dying Decepticon Demolisher that the Fallen shall rise again. Unsure of how to perceive this threat, the Autobots return to US shores to try to appease political red tape that has arisen from the damage their latest excursion.

Meanwhile, Autobot ally Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) prepares for college on the East coast by consoling his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox). After delivering her a long-distance-relationship survival kit and breaking the news to Autobot Bumblebee that he will be leaving him behind, Sam begins to pack. As he rummages through his closet, he comes across a shard of the all-knowing All-spark (which was the focus of the first movie) that embedded itself in his clothes.

Upon touching the fragment, Sam has the language of the Autobots and Decepticons, Cybertronian, embedded into his mind with a map of where an ancient Autobot artifact, the Dagger’s Tip, is located. Unable to decipher the information, Sam goes off to college, spasming all the way. Now, as the mystery of the Fallen begins to unfold, the Autobots and Decepticons race to the East coast in order to procure the map from Sam; one side trying to prevent a worldwide catastrophe, the other trying to ensure its outcome.

This movie was amazing. I loved almost every second of it. From the first fight scene in Shanghai five minutes in, to Optimus battling three Decepticons at once midway through, to the final climatic battle between the Autobots and Deceptions in the deserts of Egypt, this movie was non-stop action. It is no surprise, though, that the fight scenes between giant alien robots would look phenomenal from director and special effects guru Michael Bay.

Die-hards of the Transformers will be thrilled with this movie because it held true to a lot of the original cartoon. From the inclusion of the Decepticons’ moon base to Soundwave unleashing his pet robo-dog as an advanced scout were both brilliant moves that only fans of the cartoon will truly appreciate. Die-hards would also recognize all of the extra Transformers that were thrown in to flesh out the rosters, from Mudflap and Beat for the Autobots to Grindor, Sideways, Long Haul, and Devastator for the Decepticons.

These additions though may ostracize more casual fans because they see these brightly-colored robots dropping bombs (literally and figuratively) and they’re barely acknowledged in the movie by their more popular counterparts, such as Bumblebee for the Autobots or Starscream for the Decepticons.

I felt that all of the main characters were used almost perfectly in this big screen visualization of a giant alien robot war. With all the new robots though, I was surprised, as a die-hard myself, that Breakaway wasn’t included for the Autobots (an F-14 fighter jet and the good counterpart to Starscream), but I guess too many planes might take away from everyone’s favorite evil second-banana.

The only other point that takes away from the overall experience is that the movie is two hours and a half hours long. For the most part, it flows surprisingly well for a long movie, but there easily could have been 15 to 20 minutes cut from the entire Cairo excursion scene. It felt drawn out and you just keep asking yourself, “When is Sam going to get to Optimus already?”

Aside from those minor complaints, this movie really delivers the goods. You have funny, memorable characters, like Leo, and John Turturro coming back to reprise his Sector 7 role from the first movie (some would say there were a few too many of these characters, but I understand the need to have a counter-balance between the human and robot characters), deeply dramatic moments, a compelling plot combined with over-the-top action, and giant robots. What else could you ask for from a summer blockbuster?

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen gets 4 out of 5.

One of the problems with most summer blockbusters is that the movie will typically deliver the goods and you’ll have a sub-par video game that takes away from the overall experience. The only exception to this trend, where both the movie and the game have been exceptional, was Spider-Man 2.

Spider-Man 2 finally has some company on that short list.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is also an awesome video game. Getting a chance to hop into the driver’s seat of both your favorite Decepticons and Autobots as you follow the plot of this amazing summer blockbuster is a thrill. It appeals to both die-hard and casual fans because it fleshes out the roles of more minor characters from the movie while also letting you wreak havoc or save the day with Megatron and Optimus Prime.

The transformations from vehicle to robot and back are seamless and often necessary to complete the missions in the fastest possible time. You need a fast time in order to get an energon reward (energon is the life force for Autobots and Decepticons) and upgrade your characters’ firepower, speed, recovery time, etc.

As you progress, you can also go back and perform the same missions with different robots. Sometimes Starscream’s fighter jet is more apt for a mission than Long Haul’s dump truck or Iron Haul’s turret ability is more of an asset against a large group of foes you’ll face compared to Bumblebee’s EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) ability.

Along with the ability to replay missions for better scores or to play through two different storylines as either Decepticons or Autobots, there is also an online versus mode that will pit you against different people in team or single death-match, capture-the-flag mode, or Guardian mode where a team has infinite re-spawns until one of the teams’ leaders is defeated. This really ups the ante in terms of the game’s replay value.

Included with these aspects, the unlockables are probably the best feature of all. By meeting certain mission requirements, you can unlock original episodes from the mid-’80s cartoon. There are six episodes in total, three from the Decepticons and three from the Autobots, and this will bring die-hards back time and time again.

The only real knock on the game is that the high-end graphics, such as the transformations and explosions, create a real strain on the system’s processing power. In order to prevent further slow-down, developers had to tone down the backgrounds. Not to say the terrain graphics are bad, they’re just a little bland.

The sound effects are perfect for the game in terms of transformations, explosions, and jets screaming through the air, but the music is generic at best. Aside from this minor complaint, the audio works pretty well.

Overall, this game is a must-have for any Transformers fan because you’ll flash back to all of your battles with your action figures as a kid, except the explosions will be more than you making swooshing sounds. Casual fans will appreciate the game because it will help them get into the lore of Transformers and probably help them understand the movie better because it cuts away all of the superfluous comedy of the plot and gets to the heart of the matter. Either way, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is a great game that is worthy of this great movie.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 7.5: Nothing special in terms of graphics. The transformers themselves look great and the transformations look smooth, but this needs extra processing power and it leaves the terrain looking bland and monotonous.

Audio: 8.0: The SFX are great and fit the game perfectly, but some generic music takes away from the overall experience enough to dock it a couple points.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: The plot follows the movie perfectly in the Autobot storyline and only deviates slightly towards the end for the Decepticons (obviously so that they can win), but does so in a way that was a little bit of a stretch. Aside from this blemish, the plot is just as good as the movie.

Gameplay: 9.0: No glitches to speak of keeps the game flowing at a great pace just like the movie. The only thing that knocks this down a peg is that the targeting system can be a little fickle at times, but not enough to take away from the overall experience.

Replay Value: 10.0: When you offer entire cartoon episodes as unlockables, you’ll be working towards them all night long if need be. Add in high score online leaderboards and a near flawless online versus mode and this game is definitely worth the $60 pricetag.

Overall (not an average): 9.0: Minor aesthetic complaints aside, this game delivers on all fronts. Die-hards will love taking control of their favorite characters and wreaking havoc or saving the day with them and casual fans will love how it fleshes out a story they might have a little difficulty understanding at first. Couple this with tremendous replay value, classic cartoons, and just as many explosions as its movie counterpart and you have a sure winner on your hands.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is available now on all platforms.

-Ray Carsillo

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A New Prototype for the Superhero Genre

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Originally Published: June 25, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Examiner.com

With super hero popularity at an all time high, one of the premiere super hero video game publishers, Activision, teamed up with DC and Wildstorm to create a brand new anti-hero and to put out a brand new game.

In Prototype, you fill the shoes of Dr. Alex Mercer after he wakes up on a morgue slab with amazing metamorphic abilities; the ability to change his body’s structure at the molecular level into almost anything he can think of. Along with enhanced speed, strength, leaping, and the ability to run straight up walls, Dr. Mercer must use his new found powers to piece together his lost memory and figure out the nature of a pandemic virus that turns those it infects into uncontrollable, zombie-like beasts.

Many people have already found out how good Prototype is considering it sold nearly 500,000 units combined for PS3 and Xbox 360 in its first week, but for those of you who haven’t and are looking for a solid action/adventure game, this is something you should probably consider picking up. The action is frenzied and there are always missions to complete and upgrades to collect. The experience reminded me of the Spider-Man 2 game from the last generation of consoles (also an Activision product), which was easily the best super hero movie/video game adaptation in a long time.

The bounty of powers and possibilities is obviously the biggest draw for this game. From making hammer-fists or blades come out of your arms, creating full body armor and developing limited flight, to absorbing your enemies into your body to regain heath, it’s hard to see how you couldn’t have fun with this on your quest to becoming the ultimate weapon.

The main drawback I felt for the game though was also the big draw; there might actually have been too many powers. All of those choices left a lot of room for experimentation, but usually you filtered out powers you never used and only used these powers during the missions in which you earn them. I never used the heat vision or the shield feature once you developed the full body armor; they were pointless.

Aside from the abundance of powers, there really wasn’t much to complain about with this game. Running up buildings could be difficult at times because it seemed Alex had trouble with any uneven surface; this glitch could be frustrating. But, when you have streets full of New York City residents screaming in terror as hive zombies emerge from infected buildings without any lag, it can be forgiven. Add in music that set the mood perfectly and your senses are kept constantly stimulated.

Unfortunately, again, aside from the powers, there isn’t anything that sets this apart from any other super hero game either. I was able to draw too many parallels to games that come before it. This prevented Prototype from feeling as if it was something truly special and original.

Although the game lacks multi-player, there are plenty of collectibles scattered around New York City and the opportunity to try and get gold medals on any and all challenges will keep you coming back for more. Plus, there aren’t many things I enjoy more in gaming than climbing to the top of a virtual Empire State Building and then flying off into the skyline.

Prototype is out now for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 9.0: The graphics weren’t overly flashy, but being able to have an abundance of Non-Player Characters on screen at once and having some awesome live-action cut scenes when absorbing enemies make this a visual gem.

Audio: 8.5: There isn’t a theme song that will stick in your head or anything truly memorable, but the music does a fine job of setting the mood. The SFX are all solid and the voice acting is top-notch with voice-acting vets like Phil LaMarr or big screen talent like Barry Pepper lending their talents to the game.

Plot/Plot Development: 8.5: The story is a little predictable in most aspects, however, a surprise ending and the overall mystery to the game makes this a memorable plot more-than-worthy of the super hero genre.

Gameplay: 7.0: A minimum of general glitches in terms of lag, but the difficulty with running up curved walls, switching between powers in the middle of battle, and aerial attacks make the gameplay only on par with most games of this nature.

Replay Value: 6.0: A lack of a multiplayer mode hurts this game, but it still gets an okay score because there are plenty of collectibles and the chance to replay side-missions for higher scores.


Overall: 8.0 (not an average): The game really revolves around your powers and their development more than anything and this is a huge plus and downfall for the game at the same time. Even considering this dependency on your powers and not a great amount of originality, this game is still worthy of the super hero genre and deserves a look from any action/adventure fan.

-Ray Carsillo

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