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EGM Review: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier—Arctic Strike DLC

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July 27, 2012

Not much Arctic about this Strike

The most memorable and entertaining levels in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’s single-player campaign were definitely the maps set deep in Siberia. Trudging through snowdrifts, squinting through whiteout conditions, and laying waste to your enemies left me immensely satisfied. So when Ubisoft first announced the Arctic Strike DLC, I was looking forward to seeing how those elements might work in versus multiplayer.

The Arctic Strike DLC comes with three new versus maps, a new co-op map, a new multiplayer mode called Stockade, and six new weapons. Unfortunately, to my surprise, not a single versus map has a single damn snowflake. The only snow-oriented level is the Guerilla co-op map, which, thankfully, does drop in a blizzard after hitting level 10. Still, not getting a versus snow map boggled my mind—especially given the Arctic Strike moniker—and if it weren’t for the co-op map, I’d think it was blatant false advertising. Typically, when you think “map packs,” you think versus first and co-op second.

At least the versus maps work with what they set out to do and provide a little diversity. The first map, Skyline, is set on a rooftop. I expected this to be a smaller map, but it also includes a pleasant vertical element. And with wide-open spaces in the middle perfect for a team with a sniper to mow down unsuspecting noobs, this was my favorite map of the pack.

The next map, Evicted, is a massive area set around an apartment building. Since it takes place during the day, the visibility lines are clear, and the map plays well to campers and snipers, as you can go long periods of time before bumping into someone. Due to the lack of regular conflict, though, I found it boring at times.

Rounding out the maps is Riot, which may be the smallest of the pack but definitely fits into the category of a more traditional medium-sized map. Don’t worry, shotgunners—you can still get your kills here, but I had a lot more success with a strong assault rifle. And since it’s an urban setting, there’s plenty of cover, as well as chances to flank unsuspecting foes.

But the best value for the $10 (800 MSP) price tag this DLC carries may be the new multiplayer mode. Stockade plays a lot like prison dodgeball; if you’re killed, you get sent to a queue. Only by someone on your team killing an opponent, and you being next in the queue, can you return to the match. If your entire team ends up in the queue, or “stockade,” the match is over. Unfortunately, if you’re on a team with a bunch of campers or snipers and you bite the bullet, this mode can get boring quickly, as you spend several minutes at a time waiting in the queue with nothing to do. With an experienced team, this mode could offer up some interesting matches.

In the end, this is a standard map pack in terms of quality versus price. The three versus maps offer a little variety, but they’re nothing exceptional—and the fact that the lone co-op map is the only actual “Arctic” map still sticks in my craw. The only element of real note is the new versus mode, but it loses its appeal quickly if your team’s inexperienced or likes to camp all day, so unless you’re a hardcore fan of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’s multiplayer modes, you can probably steer clear of this DLC and won’t lose any sleep over it.

SUMMARY: The new multiplayer mode definitely adds an interesting wrinkle to the online gameplay of Future Soldier, but with a name like Arctic Strike, shouldn’t there be, ya know, a bunch of snow and ice maps?!

  • THE GOOD: New multiplayer mode adds interesting dynamic to Execution-style gameplay.
  • THE BAD: Only three maps.
  • THE UGLY: Watching an entire match from the bench after only one death.

SCORE: 6.0

Tom Clancy’s Ghost: Recon Future Soldier – Arctic Strike DLC is available on Xbox 360 and PS3. Primary version reviewed was on the Xbox 360.    

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The Sleeper Hold – Episode 6

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It was RAW’s 1000th episode, and unfortunately the WWE still can’t find a way to work some solid wrestling into the show even at three hours long now. Although I understand that it was a bit of a celebration, and hopefully things will pick up a bit next week, I can’t forgive the blatant extra advertising and time wasted pandering to the WWE Universe. As a whole, those of us who grew up in the ‘Attitude Era’ had a few extra laughs and it was nice to see legends like Bret Hart again. All in all though, this was a monumental waste of time and I fear for the future of Monday Night RAW’s ability to entertain us.

Main Plot Overview: The big shake-up in the main plot of the show was The Rock re-inserting himself into the WWE Championship picture, proclaiming he has been promised a title match at The Royal Rumble in January. Of course, with that still being six months away, the title can change hands several times potentially, with the first time being that night with John Cena cashing in his MITB contract.

Not surprisingly though, the match was interfered with by The Big Show and Cena became the first man to ever win his MITB contract title match, but not the title as a title cannot change hands via outside interference. The most infuriating thing about this match though was the sad attempt by WWE to possibly turn CM Punk heel, as he did what everyone else in the world would do and tried to capitalize on the opportunity afforded him by The Big Show. It’s not good for a face to win like a heel though, so this move likely means Punk is turning his back again on the people, especially after he clotheslined The Rock during his People’s Elbow on The Big Show.

Match of the Night: In three hours of programming, the WWE put on two good matches. The first was a 6-man tag match between Sheamus/Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio and Jericho/Dolph Ziggler/Alberto Del Rio. The match of the night though was the other good match in Christian vs The Miz for the IC belt.

Marking the 66th time the title was defended on MNR (average one defense every 15 weeks on the show), Christian came out with a flurry against the Miz, quickly taking to the air and hitting moves like missile dropkicks and crossbodies. But Miz would counter often and Christian would be unable to hit The Kill Switch. Instead, the Miz would finally get his chance and would take advantage, hitting the Skull-Crushing Finale and capturing the IC belt.

This was significant not only due to a major belt changing hands, but because this completes the career Triple Crown for the Miz who was a former WWE and US Champion. It also shows WWE’s commitment to insert the Miz right back into some decent storylines after some time away by giving him this storied mid-tier belt.

Promo of the Night: After the failed wedding of Daniel Bryan and AJ (more on that shortly), Daniel Bryan threw a tantrum of epic proportions. And CM Punk came down to the ring to gloat. Daniel Bryan didn’t take too kindly to this and proceeded to proclaim himself the greatest of all-time.

The Rock then had issue with this and came down to the ring to not only tell the people about The Royal Rumble, but to put Daniel Bryan in his place. After putting together a rhyme about how Daniel Bryan looks like something out of Lord of the Rings and is nothing but a glorified Oompa Loompa, the Rock gave Daniel Bryan a present. A Rock Bottom. Seeing the Rock rattle off an old-school promo like that was very enjoyable and so it is no surprise to see The Rock take home something he would have often back in his heyday, and that is The Promo of the Night. 

Shocker of the Night: Shortly before Daniel Bryan’s tantrum, he was the happiest guy in the world, as he was about to marry AJ (a lucky guy indeed). But like most weddings staged in a WWE ring, all was not well. And so the shocker came when we found out when AJ was saying ‘yes’ to someone else. Specifically, Mr. McMahon. But as Mr. McMahon explained to Daniel Bryan, it was a business proposition she was agreeing to. AJ was to be the new GM of MNR, to which I broke out with a ‘yes’ chant of my own! Our lovely geek goddess then proceeded to skip around the ring in her usual care-free demeanor as Daniel Bryan, with special guest reverend Slick, were left standing in shock in the middle of the ring. This is one of the few reasons I can’t wait for RAW episode 1001 now. 

Cheap Pop of the Night: The night started off with a bang as promised, as DX came out to the ring to kick things off. I was a bit disappointed though because it was only HHH and HBK and I remember when DX was actually a much larger stable than these two WWE mainstays. But I should learn not to doubt DX as they always have something up their degenerate sleeves and after some humorous banter between HBK and HHH, almost all the rest of the crew came out. X-Pac, Road Dogg, and Billy Gunn, in a military jeep, came rolling out to ringside and the gang was back together and for the first time in a while, I legitimately cheered at the TV while watching MNR. And it only got better as they hit all their catch phrases and even embarrassed Damien Sandow, who is definitely turning heads as a heel and passed his initiation as one after he was promptly disposed of by DX.

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EGM Review: Wreckateer

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What a wreck

Continuing on with the Xbox’s Summer of Arcade promotion is the one required Kinect title of the group: Wreckateer. Best described probably as a 3D Angry Birds clone, Wreckateer sees you play as an up and coming trainee in the lucrative world of…well…wrecking. 60 Goblin infested castles await you and your Scottish-accented trainers as you have been tasked by your king to clear the land of these green, smelly little hellspawns. And, of course, the only way to do that is to destroy the castles they now call home and send them packing.

The controls for the game are simple, and as proven with many Kinect titles in the past, the more simple the controls for the sensor to pick up, the better. All you have to do with Wreckateer is walk a step forward to grab your ballista launcher, step backwards to ready it, turn to aim, and spread your arms out to let go and let buck shot fly, hopefully demolishing all in the shot’s path. And so yes, the controls for Wreckateer actually work and don’t require constant recalibration like some other motion control games, and their simple appeal make them perfect for gamers of all ages.

The only other motion you have to worry about is raising your arms above your head to activate the special abilities of some of the shots you can use. With six special shots in all ranging from the lift shot, which you can boost in mid-air up to three times, to the split shot, which breaks up into four smaller pieces and scatters its chaos across the screen, the game has a bit of strategy to it in that looking ahead and saving certain shots for certain targets is critical to reaching the best score possible. And only by medaling with at least a bronze high score, can you advance to the next castle.

Unfortunately, even with the controls of the game being as solid and as responsive as they are (for a Kinect game anyway), the game play itself loses its appeal rather quickly. I love blowing stuff to kingdom come as much as the next guy, but 60 castles was a bit much to be standing in front of my TV for and most of them really just seemed like excuses to try to bloat the game into a slightly longer experience.

My other major problem with the game is the hit detection. Often I would smash these massive, sprawling towers at their base, and when they came crashing down onto other parts of the castle, as I stood by proudly, like a mighty lumberjack after felling a redwood, much of the still standing castle wouldn’t see nary a brick crack after being pummeled by the concrete I brought raining down upon it. This proved frustrating as I longed to see towers and castle walls topple like dominos. And this is when the towers actually decided to fall. There were several instances where it looked like a single brick was holding towers up that should have fallen, again adding to my frustration as I fell just short of the computer generated high score due to the game blatantly ignoring several laws of science.

When all was said and done though, I reminded myself that at $10 (800 MSP) Wreckateer is the cheapest of the Summer of Arcade titles and even if it became dull or frustrating after a while, there was indeed some fun had, at least early on, and I could see this easily winning over a pre-teen audience.. And should it’s arcade-like game play, high score targets, and online leaderboards be your cup of tea, then this might prove worthwhile to a larger audience. The rest of us know however that it’s probably just a lot simpler to download Angry Birds for an even cheaper price tag and we won’t need to move around as much either.

SUMMARY: Entertaining at first, the repetitive grind of 60 cookie-cutter levels wears on you quickly in this Angry Birds clone.

  • THE GOOD: Simple controls that respond relatively well to the Kinect
  • THE BAD: Dull, repetitive game play becomes boring after short amount of time
  • THE UGLY: Having to listen to Scottish narrators for 60 levels

SCORE: 5.0

Wreckateer is a XBLA exclusive (Kinect required).

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EGM Game Over Podcast 005: The Dork Knight Rises

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July 20, 2012

EGM Game Over Podcast 005: The Dork Knight Rises

The EGM crew brings you the Game Over Podcast, our end-of-the-week conversation where we discuss some of the biggest recent events in gaming.

[Hosts] Brandon Justice, Andrew Fitch, Ray Carsillo, Josh Harmon, and Eric L. Patterson
[Date] July 20th, 2012

[News] The problem with patching Fez, EA accidentally announces Battlefield 4, you’ll be playing Borderlands 2’s campaign for 58 hours, Deadpool becomes the newest gaming protagonist, and a new website helps you shag gamers.

[EGM Reviews] NCAA 13, Heroes of Ruin, Rhythm Thief & The Emporer’s Treasure
[Bargain of the Week] Mass Effect 3 & Final Fantasy XIII-2

Want to send feedback to the show? Drop us a line on Twitter: @EGMLogin

[Subscribe via iTunes] http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/egm-radio/id538629924
[Subscribe via Feedburner] http://feeds.feedburner.com/EGMRadio

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The Pullbox – Issue #5.2

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After finally recovering from a SDCC caused coma, The Pullbox has returned! A busy week this week in terms of comics as we saw an enticing new #1, some crazy things happen in AvX, and a new entrant into our indie space. So without further ado, here is this week’s Pullbox!

DC – Batman Beyond Unlimited #6 – This collection of stories following Terry McGinnis, the Batman of the future, gives us three interesting continuations of tales started in earlier issues. First, Solomon Grundy reveals himself to Superman while Lex’s daughter’s plan comes to fruition. In another story, Batman and the rest of the future Justice League travel to Apokolips to help Orion and a blinded Darkseid fight a giant serpent. The final story follows Batman by himself and the Jokerz from all over the country continue their migration to Gotham and Batman needs to prioritize multiple attacks at once!

Honestly, I love this comic. I don’t mind paying an extra dollar each month to get several stories in an obviously extended book. I just hope that they don’t forget it’s called Batman Beyond as there is a lot of Superman love here. If they were going to do that, they should really give him his own future book as I think fans would snatch up both. Especially considering how epic the fight is between Grundy and Superman and Lex’s illegitimate daughter following in her daddy’s footsteps is priceless. The other two stories were okay in terms of writing and pacing, but the Jokerz story is starting to drag as so little happens month to month and needs a jumpstart again.

DC – Nightwing #11 – Nightwing starts to get to the bottom of this new villain named Paragon and his group called The Republic of Tomorrow. But with him fighting both the police for being framed, the banks for a loan to buy Amusement Mile, and these new bad guys, it’s going to be hard for Nightwing to come out on top!

This book did a good job of setting up the next issue where we will likely see the climax of this story arc where the villain and his connection to everyone in the past few issues will be resolved. Good action early on followed up by a lot of plot to maintain order within the story worked well for my tastes and shows why Kyle Higgins is the perfect guy to be writing Nightwing. My favorite part of the book though may have been Damian actually accidentally assisting Dick in putting the final pieces of this puzzle together and their banter back and forth.

Marvel – Captain Marvel #1 – After what happened on the Kree homeworld, Carol Danvers has donned a new costume and a new outlook on life. While helping Captain America battle The Absorbing Man though, Cap suggests that it’s time Carol changes her superhero name to something that fits her a bit more and pays respect to someone she clearly cared deeply about. This, Carol takes the mantle of the new Captain Marvel.

This was a good start to this new monthly. I’m not really sure how I feel about the new costume and haircut for Carol just yet, and the plain cover might turn some folks off, but once you crack this book open, you’ll be happy you did. The art inside is something special and its rare I’m this blown away more by the art than the writing of a book. Not to say the writing isn’t solid. Starting off with a B-level villain, but coming out of the gates with it, was a good move because Absorbing Man can be quickly dispatched and that allowed for plenty of time to develop Carol and her hesitation at taking the Captain Marvel moniker. Her banter/beating-up of Spider-Man briefly also added some necessary comedy relief to what was otherwise a very serious book. Good pacing, action, humor, and drama, all in the first issue, really shocked me and has made Captain Marvel a book I will at least be picking up a few issues of, if not making a permanent fixture in the Pullbox.

Marvel – Avengers Academy #33 – Emma Frost continues her tirade about why Juston’s Sentinel must be turned into scrap. And the entire Avengers Academy wants to fight her tooth and nail to stop that from happening. Has Emma become mad with power though or does she make a point about the Sentinel being an abomination? Either way, Juston doesn’t care and won’t stand for it!

This was an entertaining story arc from the first issue up to this conclusion. It subtly asks questions about artificial intelligence and what makes us human, while mixing it with a lot of over the top action and fighting between Emma and the Academy, even if the save at the end was a little weak. More importantly, this issue serves as a launching point for what could be the four most important issues in Avengers Academy history as things look to take a turn for the worst as this AvX event continues.

Boom Studios – Extermination #2 – Alien forces have invaded the Earth and its people have been utterly decimated. In order to survive, odd alliances have been made, most notably between a former superhero named Nox and a former supervillain named The Red Reaper. All does not seem lost though as the unlikely pair moves across the wasteland towards Nox’s secret lair for supplies, they are discovered by another band of survivors. Unfortunately, Nox and the leader of this rag tag band have a history and he’s having a tough time letting go of the past. 

The first issue was only $1 and it was an interesting concept that this Batman/Joker like team are forced to pair up in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies and other monsters that have destroyed everything they know and love. This second issue though was well worth the normal cover price as it completely blew me away. The relationship between Nox and Red Reaper is wonderful to see develop and Nox’s loyalty to his morals is admirable to a fault. The best part of the book so far has been the interspersed flashbacks showing us their world as it once was as they make off the cuff references to things that clearly no longer exist. I can’t wait to see where this book goes from here and being only two issues in, it shouldn’t be hard to find Issue 1 and get on board immediately, which I highly recommend. 

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The Creators/Cast of Nickelodeon’s Classic TV Show Pete & Pete to Reunite for One Night Only

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Only Petunia Might Not Be There

Like most children of the 90s, growing up I had my TV constantly glued to Nickelodeon. Whether it was watching Stick Stickley in the afternoons introduce cartoons like Doug, Rugrats, or Ren and Stimpy, game shows like Legends of the Hidden Temple or Double Dare, or live-action shows like All That or Salute Your Shorts, I could not get enough of the channel. One of my all-time personal favorite shows though was The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

Dozens of classic episodes, like when the younger Pete went for the world flashlight freeze tag record with his friends, when the entire Pete family had to strip down naked to win the unspoken ‘King of the Road’ challenge on a family vacation, or when the younger Pete tried to figure out the conundrum of where Mister Softee went when the summer ended, Pete and Pete was another example of unique Nickelodeon programming that somehow found an audience with kids.

So, if you were a fan like me, you probably wonder what happened to everyone from the show. Well, if you live in the Los Angeles area, you’ll have a chance to find out.

On August 28th, at Downtown LA’s Orpheum Theater, for one night only as a part of Cinefamily’s Everything Is Festival, almost everyone involved with the show will reunite for a lengthy discussion about the show.

If you’re interested in checking the show out, tickets are on sale now if you’re a member of Cinefamily. Tickets go on sale to the general public on July 21st. General admission tickets are going for $25 a pop and VIP tickets are going for $75, which not only gets you better seats, but gives you the chance to meet everyone who will be on stage at the after party. Maybe then you can finally see if Artie is indeed the strongest man in the world.

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EGM Review: Heroes of Ruin

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Need a dungeon-crawling hero on your 3DS?

When gamers think of expansive dungeon-crawling action-RPGs, they tend to think of games primarily on the PC. And with the popularity of these titles as of late, it’s no surprise to see Square Enix throwing their hat into the ring, too. With the help of developer n-Space, they’ve given us a hack-n-slasher that still provides that sense of collecting loot, leveling up, fighting off swarms of bad guys, and teaming up with friends—but, in this case, it’s on the 3DS.

Heroes of Ruin tells the tale of a world ravaged by war until nearly all-powerful Lords rise up and broker a temporary peace. When Ataraxis—who happens to be a Sphinx and one of the fabled Lords who rules the city of Nexus, which also serves conveniently as a hub world—falls ill, heroes far and wide are called upon to find a cure. And, of course, in the process, they’ll also uncover a sinister plot.

From the start, you can choose from four classes. The Gunslinger is your standard ranged badass type; the Vindicator looks like Lion-O from ThunderCats and swings a massive sword like him, too; the Alchitect is your typical mage character; and the Savage is your brutish tank that likes to get his hands dirty. Once you choose your character, you can do some minor customizing before your adventure starts, but as you start to collect bushels of loot, your character’s look will definitely change further as your progress.

Once you actually begin your quest to save Ataraxis, you’ll quickly recognize that each character has stat sheets that basically translate to “attack,” “defense,” “magic,” and so on. You’ve also got several slots in which you can equip items to bolster these stats, ranging from torso and leg armor to belts, rings, and shoulder pads. You also have three different ability trees, and you can assign one from each to the three corresponding face buttons. If you’re like me and play as the Gunslinger, you’ll find you can throw flasks that act like flashbangs and stun enemies from one button, while you can perform a sweeping arc of fire from your guns to perform a large area-of-effect attack with another.

In terms of gameplay, this is indeed your basic dungeon-crawling RPG, and it does little to differentiate itself from the crowd. If you’re expecting something on the level of Diablo out of this top-down action-RPG, you’ll certainly be disappointed—but, of course, if you were actually expecting Diablo, you might also be certifiably insane. Heroes of Ruin looks nice for a 3DS game, but compared to what you can get on your PC, it obviously pales in comparison. The same goes for the audio, as the voice acting and music push the 3DS’ tiny speakers as far as they can go. I probably could’ve done without the enemies respawning every 30 seconds as well, considering the backtracking required to complete a lot of quests. At least this leads to quick leveling and more new powers, though. So, on the surface, little stands out in a positive way about Heroes of Ruin—though there are also very few outright negatives, either.

But there’s one aspect where the game really shines, and that’s in the social and multiplayer aspects. The game features seamless 4-player drop-in, drop-out co-op and the ability to perform daily challenges via SpotPass, which helps with leveling as well. The most impressive feature, though, is the use of StreetPass to access Traders Network, where you can swap items you pick up as you play. If you’re playing by yourself, this encourages you to be a little social, as you’ll accrue a lot of loot for classes you aren’t using. Instead of just quickly cashing that loot in for a few gold coins, you can get its full value or an item of equal or greater use if you put it on Traders Network.

Overall, Heroes of Ruin won’t disappoint fans of dungeon-crawling RPGs. In fact, it’s a solid effort for a 3DS entry considering the scale and scope of the adventure; the game really only falters from its lack of originality and the fact that anyone expecting more from the hardware will likely end up migrating back to their PC sooner rather than later. If you’re looking to kill a few hours with a hack-n-slash dungeon-crawler that shines brightest when it links up with three other 3DSes for 4-player co-op, though, this might be a good way to get your fix on the go.

SUMMARY: Heroes of Ruin is a pretty game by 3DS standards, with a compelling story wrapped around unoriginal combat, quests, and leveling. 

  • THE GOOD: Seamless 4-player drop-in, drop-out co-op
  • THE BAD: Unoriginal story and gameplay
  • THE UGLY: Never-ending streams of respawning baddies

SCORE: 7.0

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The Sleeper Hold – Episode 5

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With Money in the Bank now behind us and Dolph Ziggler and John Cena the holders of the most coveted contracts there are in the WWE, things began to actually settle down a little as we move forward to next week’s monumental 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW. Several plot lines were tied up as several new ones started. And others took interesting twists in the hopes of making next week’s RAW the most historic episode ever. But before next week gets under way, we needed to get through this week first!

Main Plot Overview: After CM Punk’s successful title defense at Money in the Bank, he came out to tell the folks in Vegas that it was a year ago at that venue when he dropped his infamous pipe bomb and has reigned as WWE Champ for over eight months now. Interrupted by the Big Show though, Punk was reminded that John Cena can cash in his Money in the Bank at any time and if Show were to knock Punk out that evening in their main event match, that would be an awesome time to do it.

Flash forward to the end of the night and many thought that is just what John would do after Big Show DQ’d himself by hitting the referee and continued to swing away on Punk. Mind you, if this match had carried to a natural conclusion instead of a build up to next week, it was a strong contender for Match of the Night. Anyway, those of us who knew better that John would not cash in the briefcase because he is so honorable and righteous and…

…

Sorry, I couldn’t finish that last sentence without throwing up in my mouth a little. I’m good. I’m good. Back on track. But yeah, Cena instead gave Punk a week’s notice that at the 1000th episode of RAW the main event would be him and Punk for the WWE Championship, setting himself up as possibly the first man to lose his title match after winning his Money in the Bank contract match.

Match of the Night: This was very tough as few of the matches that went on were actually worth our time. The mixed tag match between AJ/D-Bryan vs Eve/The Miz was solid, but it was predictable for the most part and had only a couple of nice spots. The match that really impressed me, but wasn’t technically a match since the bell never officially rang, was Ryback vs. Jack Swagger.

First, thank you WWE for finally starting to push Ryback against real competition as I’m tired of watching him powerbomb some 130lb weaklings in a ‘handicap’ match. At Money in the Bank he had a handicap match against real wrestlers in Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins and then tonight he had some really good spots with Swagger.

Swagger started things off quickly by hitting Ryback as soon as he got into the ring. After tossing him around for a while and even hitting the Swagger-bomb for the first time in nearly forever, he tried to perform the ankle-lock. Twice. But Ryback countered each time and continued to show off his impressive power as he performed a TRIPLE powerbomb on Swagger before starting his chant ‘FEED ME MORE’ once again. Most impressive.

Promo of the Night: Another night of solid promos from several folks, but again Dolph Ziggler stole the show when he decided to ‘show-off’ his microphone skills talking about he’ll be the greatest undisputed world heavyweight champion of all-time. Better than The Rock, Stone Cold, and Bret Hart. Then Chris Jericho showed up.

But for the first time I can ever remember, Jericho didn’t say a word as Ziggler belittled him, saying no one even remembers the last time he won a big match as he’s been on the losing streak of a lifetime. And basically, he’s lost it. After several long minutes of being verbally broken down by Ziggler, it was like Jericho’s eyes started to glaze over…and then he hit a Codebreaker and walked out of the ring. I don’t know if it’ll actually lead to anything, but it was a great job by both men as Ziggler continued to cement himself as a great mic man and Jericho’s presence only helped intensify the entire promo.

Shocker of the Night: For once, AJ and the drama that follows her is no longer the shocker of the night although her and Daniel Bryan getting married next week was a close second. No, the shocker of the night was the long awaited return of the master of the 619, Rey Mysterio.

After Zack Ryder served as a jobber to let Alberto Del Rio take his frustration out on after blowing another title match against Sheamus at Money in the Bank, Rey Mysterio came back after almost a year ‘hiatus’ caused by Del Rio supposedly injuring Mysterio’s arm. To a huge ovation, Mysterio and Del Rio went back and forth for a short while before Del Rio set him up for and hit the 619 to start a new rivalry between the wrestlers. It’ll be interesting to see where it goes from here as both are very strong in the ring as well as to see how crisp the now 37-year old Mysterio is after such a long break.

Cheap Pop of the Night: What will likely be the last time this happens, Heath Slater took on another WWE Legend. Of course, the legitimacy of him as a legend as much as his bloodline being legendary is questionable, but the return of Rikishi was a nice moment for sure.

As has been the motif the past several weeks, Rikishi dominated and hit all his signature moves including the Stink Face as Slater did a nice job of putting an older wrestler over. The nicest thing about this moment though was when the lights went down and The Usos, who happen to be Rikishi’s twin sons, popped out and danced with their poppa. Definitely that moment alone made this worthy of the cheap pop of the week.

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EGM Book Review: Darksiders: The Abomination Vault

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Nation of Abomination

Many major gaming franchises have found numerous ways to break out of their digital worlds and continue to permeate the pop culture between game releases. This cross-medium promotion helps franchises like Halo, Gears of War, Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, and many more stay relevant while also expanding on the fiction started in games.

Another of these franchises is Darksiders, which had a comic book one-shot around the release of their first game. With Darksiders II just around the corner though, author Ari Marmell brings us a lot more words and pages (no pictures though) depicting the Darksiders universe in the new novel Darksiders: The Abomination Vault.

The main plot of the book revolves around Death who has just returned from exile for some unknown reasons and the secrets that he has kept hidden for millennia, back when his kind were a dominant, realm conquering species. Only with the help of key angel allies and his brother War can Death hope to keep these secrets safe from those would use them to pick up where Death’s people left off and once again bring pain and suffering to all beings in existence.

If you are a fan of the Darksiders game, this book does a tremendous job of laying a foundation for Death before you get a chance to play as him in Darksiders II. You learn about Death’s personality, his powers, and the lengths he is willing to go to reach his objectives. You also appreciate the brotherly rivalry he has with War as the two play off each other’s strengths in and out of battle very well and very often and it strongly establishes their relationship before you see Death go to battle for his brother in the upcoming game.

But this book isn’t just about building hype up about the game as it stands up as a wonderfully action-packed tale all on its own. The descriptions of the battles that take place and the sinister villains who rise up to face-off against Death and War are brilliant and fans of this kind of fantasy will not be able to put the book down as the pacing is intense and adrenaline fueled.

The only real downside I felt from this book is that there are four horsemen and although it was nice this book wasn’t a Death only adventure, what with War playing an integral part, I would have enjoyed more interaction with Fury and Strife, the other two horsemen in the Darksiders universe who really only had small cameos. Their descriptions were intriguing and their personalities were definitely different enough from War and Death to make them stand up on their own, so for them to never really factor into this grand, realm threatening adventure was disappointing.

All in all though, fans of Darksiders should blow through the 351 pages this book entails in no time once it becomes available July 24th as it’ll serve as a tantalizing appetizer to Darksiders II in August. If you have $15 to spare, this book is definitely a fun and enjoyable read and should be considered if you’re looking for a new fantasy book to pick up.

SCORE: 9.0

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SDCC 2012: EGM Preview: Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

Lucky there’s a family guy!

Note: Some language used may seem offensive, but it comes directly from the game and TV show and should be taken in context of such. 

When we first learned that we would be getting a full-fledged Family Guy game for consoles, all us fans of the hit animated sitcom jumped for joy. And when we learned it would revolve around the idea of Brian and Stewie bouncing around parallel dimensions once again like the classic Season 8 episode that introduced the Multiverse, we were ready to crack open a Pawtucket Patriot Ale and start playing.

Obviously, we’re still a couple months away from release though, so you can imagine how we’ve been chomping at the bit to see more of this game, especially after our brief view of the Amish level at E3 only whetted our appetites. So, when given the chance to hop on the Family Guy bus at San Diego ComicCon to see another new dimension, how could we refuse?

The level we saw, the third of the game’s ten dimensions the game will ship with, is a world where cripples are in charge. Every parking spot is handicapped, all sidewalks have ramps, and everyone rides the short bus (which also happens to spawn enemies from). And of course, Joe Swanson is something of a big deal here.  In fact, the menacing ‘Crippletron’ from the infamous “No Meals on Wheels” episode returns with Joe taking his prime spot once again as the head of this monstrosity comprised of hundreds of wheelchair bound enemies.

In terms of the game play, we saw Brian and Stewie effortlessly switch back and forth in mid-level to rain death and destruction upon those who traded in their crutches (one of them anyway) for AK-47s and others who had outfitted their wheelchairs with rockets to reach true ramming speed while carrying guns or clubs of their own.

Luckily, Brian and Stewie have plenty of tricks of their own up their not paralyzed sleeves. We saw everything from sniper rifles, assault rifles, automatic shotguns, flamethrowers, and laser blasters, all of which could be upgraded by earning cash from causing destruction in the environment and laying waste to your enemies. We also saw a variety of special items on the game’s item wheel, including golden eggs that hatch into fighting chickens and Stewie’s patented diaper grenade, to help Brian and Stewie move their way through these new and unusual worlds while also paying their own little tribute to some of the TV series’ best episodes.

One of the nicest things we saw with the demo though was how in just a short month the game’s look and feel seems to be a lot cleaner and crisper than the demo we saw at E3. And when you combine that look which falls directly in line with that of the show, some solid third-person shooter action, and some absolutely hysterical writing, as the game is being written by the folks at Fuzzy Door and everything is approved by Seth MacFarlane himself, its very easy to see how fans of Family Guy should start getting excited about this game. The only question now is what other dimensions besides the Amish and Handicapable worlds will Brian and Stewie travel to? We’ll just have to wait until September to find out.

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