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EGM Review: UFC Undisputed 3

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February 14, 2012

Stepping into the Octagon

It is one of the fastest growing sports around the world and as it has begun to move solely from Pay-Per-View and into the primetime realm of various cable and standard channels, its move into the mainstream is all but guaranteed. Of course, the UFC knows to really grow a relatively new sport in this day and age, they’d have to have at least a small foray as well into the number one entertainment industry in the world: video games. But unlike anything else the UFC had done, they fell into a pattern similar to other sports where they tried to release a game on a yearly basis and after only two attempts they realized that was not the way to go. So they took their time on working on this new title in the hopes of silencing their critics.

Well, I’m happy to say that in many ways the extra time in the gym has really paid off for UFC Undisputed 3. This third chapter in the UFC series sees a bevy of new additions that both hardcore and casual fans have been clamoring for. The first new feature you’ll see as you soon start playing the game is the chance to pick one of two controls schemes. The first, Advanced, controls are the ones that the series used in its first two iterations, where a series of half and three-quarter right joystick turns were required in your ground game. The second, Amateur, controls though is what will make this game much easier to just pick up and play, and maybe help in the education of those more casual fans.

The Amateur controls replace a lot of the right joystick movement that turned the other two games into a waggle-fest for less experienced players and instead a simple flick up or down allows you to perform the transitions necessary for you to lock in some devastating holds. And speaking of the devastating holds, a new submission system mini-game has been put in place to help fans understand if they are winning or losing with their hold and how close they are to tapping or making their opponent tap out.

Unfortunately, even with the new Amateur control system, for people who aren’t as familiar to the sport and are looking to learn more about it, you will still likely have a difficult time as there are so many button and hold combinations, you might be intimidated quickly and feel like you might be better off with a keyboard in front of you than a controller just so you can quick assign your favorites instead of trying to memorize some three-button finger contortion just to pull off a feint. There is a tutorial system, but it is long and boring and will turn you off to the game in the first place if you should choose to suffer through it and so you are left really only with the trial by fire option again.

If you can get past this factor though, there is a great reward for the hard work you’ll put in learning the controls. The career mode is deeper than ever before with better pacing as now you only have to train once or twice between each of your fights and you can better see just how each exercise will benefit you. From speed punching body bags to tire flipping to sparring in the octagon at the gym, there is a plethora of new games just waiting for you to try out in between fights as you try to take your personal fighter, who you create through one of THQ’s celebrated customization modes, from WFA scrub up to UFC superstar. And along the way when you have key moments, you’ll see some never before seen interviews with some of the UFC’s best and brightest talking about how they bounced back from their first loss, how great it felt when they won their first title, or how nervous they were their first time in the octagon.

If you’re not a career mode kind of guy though, don’t worry as the online versus modes have also been fleshed out. For the first time in the series, mirror matches are allowed as well fighting tournament rules that equalize combatants stats to truly see who is the best of the best. There are also all seven UFC weight-classes available now including Bantam and Featherweight fighters. But the most exciting part, especially for old-school MMA fans, may be the new Pride Mode where you can take some of your favorite fighters from today and take them over back in their prime when they fought in Japan or even have fantasy match-ups like pitting Rampage Jackson when he was in Pride against Jon “Bones” Jones. And included in this mode are Pride’s rules meaning face stomping and punting are now allowed. Talk about a game changer.

All in all, this is easily the best UFC title yet and the new additions definitely make it more pick up and play friendly than any other in the series, but that’s not really saying much. And much like an actual fighter in the UFC, you’re still going to have to work relatively hard at the controls if you’re ever going be a force online, but at least now you should stand a chance. Plus, with the additions to career mode, the game at least offers a decent enough single player experience that should online be too much for you, especially as Advanced control schemes trump Amateur ones in lock-ups, you’ll at least get your money’s worth as it will take a decent amount of time to turn your custom fighter into a hall of famer and you’ll have a good time doing it.

SUMMARY: A new control scheme and deeper career mode should lure fans back that were turned off by the last game for one more go in the octagon.

  • THE GOOD: New amateur control scheme helps pick up and playability
  • THE BAD: Even with new controls, hard to shake that button masher feeling
  • THE UGLY: My opponent’s face after dropping a dozen haymakers in a row on them

SCORE: 8.5

UFC Undisputed 3 is available on Xbox 360 and PS3. Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.

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EGM Review: The Darkness II

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With Great Power Comes Great Executions

The first Darkness game introduced us to young Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman whose usefulness had run out on his 21st birthday. Just when all seemed lost, a dark legacy that had been passed down Jackie’s family for generations came to fruition as the two-headed snake, dark elemental force that is The Darkness took control, saving Jackie. Once word got back that Jackie had survived the hit though, his girlfriend Jenny unfortunately got caught in the crossfire of the target on Jackie’s back. Enraged, Jackie fully embraced the Darkness and its near omnipotent power and brought a bloody revenge upon all those in the mob.

Flash forward two years later to the start of The Darkness II. Jackie is now the Don of the mafia. With the help of estranged occultist Johnny Powell, Jackie has kept the Darkness under wraps for almost his entire time as Don. But there are people out there who know what Jackie hides and if he isn’t willing to satiate its murderous hunger, they’ll take it from him and do it themselves.

Much like the first game, The Darkness II does a brilliant job of storytelling, opening up with Jackie sitting by himself in a dark room, acting as narrator once again between chapters, recounting the adventure we are about to play through. And what an adventure. From the opening scene with Jackie sitting in an Italian restaurant (which you just know is going to go wrong because what self-respecting Don sits with his back to the door), the action is almost non-stop as Jackie uncovers a plot to steal the Darkness away from him while also fighting his guilt driven demons that haunt him from the death of Jenny in the first game. But terrific storytelling technique aside, there is so many new elements to The Darkness II that it’s almost impossible to compare this to its predecessor aside from how it pushes the story forward.

The first change you’ll notice comes visually. Using what they call “graphic noir”, 2K and Digital Extremes hand-painted all the environments you fight through and then laid the cel-shaded characters on top to really make the game seem as if the Top Cow comic book came to life. And there are no more telling moments for this than in combat as you rip your foes to shreds. And you literally rip your foes to shreds as the combat has gotten a complete overhaul too. I will say that it took more time than I’d prefer to get used to, but once you do, you’ll be tearing through your foes like a man possessed (pun intended, pun always intended).

The major new feature that was a tad difficult to adapt to at first is quad-wielding. Quad-wielding allows you to shoot guns in each hand as well as wield each demon arm at the same time. But once you get used to it, you can literally be attacking in four different ways at once with this. Include a new physics system that allows you to interact with the environment more and you can grab a car door and rip it off its hinges and use it as a shield with one demon arm, while picking up a parking meter and throwing it like a javelin with the other demon arm, all while you’re shooting through your door-shield’s broken window with a shotgun and an assault rifle.

I’ll give you a second to pull yourself back together after your head exploded from the awesomeness that was contained within that last sentence. And speaking of making your head explode, the new executions you can do with the demon arms are absolutely brutal. From the wishbone that tears guys apart right down the middle to more classic decapitations, Jackie knows no mercy.

Now, you’re probably thinking that this could get monotonous as time goes on. How many ways can you skin a cat and all that. But in that comes another new RPG-like feature where for every execution Jackie does you earn “dark essence”. Dark essence allows you to improve upon Jackie’s abilities and you can gain more essence by getting more creative with your kills and also eating enemies’ hearts (which also regenerates health in a pinch) or unlocking and then using a plethora of special moves.

As time goes on, you’ll definitely need to learn new and more harrowing moves to even the odds as your enemies start to get very creative very quickly in combating you. Yes, you are no longer just facing some mob grunt with spaghetti stains on his shirt as the A.I. has clearly been improved as well. The Brotherhood, the folks looking to take the Darkness from Jackie, is prepared. Along with having some nasty mumbo jumbo of their own up their sleeves, they are also armed with light cannons, grenades, and other weapons that can temporarily debilitate The Darkness and leave you wide open for feeling the pain.

But what kind of Don would Jackie be if he didn’t have a few friends? And one in particular just happens to be of the demonic kind. Unlike the first game where you could wield a small army of Darklings, now you are limited to but one little chaos-causing imp, but with it comes a bevy of new powers for him, too. From throwing him across the room as a distraction, to taking over control of him and gauging out the eyes of your enemies with his thumbs, this is no ordinary Darkling. But Jackie has some human friends, too, and there are going to be some tough choices for Jackie down the road that will really have an affect on things. But that’s all part of being a Don, right? Needing to make the tough choices? The bottom line is that all of the new and improved combat features fit very nicely into the game and offer enough variety that will keep you from being desensitized as you’re constantly splashed with enemy blood in a bevy of ways you didn’t think possible until playing this game.

There are a couple of small things that irked me the wrong way with The Darkness II though. For as good as all the combat is and as much as I wanted to really love the story itself and not just the way it is being told, Jackie himself gets on my nerves. He tries to be a pitiful character, but he is not a good guy. He killed people for a living before wielding the Darkness and now you expect me to believe he has a conscience and he’s depressed because his girlfriend is dead? The dichotomy of the character just doesn’t work for me and I often wanted to reach through the TV and smack him and be like “YOU HAVE AN OMNIPOTENT DEMON INSIDE YOUR HEAD AND ARE A MAFIA DON. STOP WHINING AND GO KILL MORE THINGS AND LIKE IT!”

Another minor negative is the demon itself. Mike Patton returns to voice The Darkness (Kirk Acevedo is no longer voicing Jackie, instead replaced by Brian Bloom) and the scratchy, almost gurgling voice of the demon is like nails on a chalkboard every time he screeches out a command. If you’re trying to tempt me into embracing you again, don’t try sounding like Krang from the late 80s-early 90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. I think they replaced the wrong voice actor there.

And speaking of replaced, the versus multiplayer from the first game is gone. Admittedly, it had its problems with lag and what not, but we’ve come a long way in four years and I would have liked to have seen what the versus multiplayer could’ve done now, especially with the quad-wielding and the fact that the game is a first-person shooter at its core. But, in its place at least we have the new co-op mode called “Vendettas”. And Vendettas is pretty sweet. Taking place at the same time as the single player campaign, Vendettas is its own standalone story where you can choose from one of four colorful characters who all wield a small piece of The Darkness and represent one of the powers that Jackie can wield himself. And if the single player campaign is an action drama, then Vendettas is a dark comedy and is a great change of pace from the main game. So much so, it feels like it could have been on a separate disk itself or as a DLC addition and it would have been worth it.

All in all, Darkness fans will likely have a field day with this game as the extra time between titles (four, almost five years at time of release) seem to have been well worth the wait considering the polish that this title exudes.

SUMMARY: Better A.I. and combat mechanics than the first Darkness, gorgeously painted environments, and the same ol’ omnipotent snake-headed dark force makes for one heck of a game play combination.

  • THE GOOD: The “graphic noir” backgrounds make the game feel like a comic come to life
  • THE BAD: Jackie isn’t the most lovable of protagonists and so it is hard to root for him
  • THE UGLY: The remnants of the poor cat your Darkling skinned to make a hat

SCORE: 9.0

The Darkness II is available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.

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EGM Review: The Simpsons Arcade Game

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Doin’ The Bartman

The Simpsons Arcade Game was the first video game to feature our favorite family fivesome of yellow beings, all the way back in 1991, and would pave the way for classic console games like Bart vs. The World and Bart’s Nightmare, not to mention the franchise’s more recent console iterations. It also would help Konami pull off a string of arcade hits based on licensed products with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time and The X-Men Arcade Game following soon after. But for many of us, this cabinet was what introduced us to the Simpson clan, the side-scrolling beat ‘em up, and the concept of literally pouring quarters down the gullet of a machine whose A.I. at the time wasn’t considered “unforgiving” as much as it was the “norm”. And so looking to cash in on that nostalgia factor for those of us who grew up in the arcade, Konami has re-released The Simpsons Arcade Game for XBLA and PSN.

The game opens up with the Simpsons walking through Springfield one day when Waylon Smithers, for some unknown reason, is stealing a massive diamond for his already wealthy billionaire boss, Charles Montgomery Burns. Smithers, in his haste, bumps into the Simpsons and Maggie, the youngest of the Simpsons, catches the diamond that Smithers drops, and so Smithers snatches Maggie as well. Here you get to choose to be one of the remaining Simpsons as you chase down Smithers over the course of eight levels that take you all over Springfield in the hopes of saving your sister/daughter.

The action is your standard arcade fair of the early 90s with one button serving as your jump, another as your attack, and by pressing them in succession you can pull off a jump kick. Aside from this, there really isn’t much else to the game play. Lisa wields a jump rope as her weapon of choice and is surprisingly probably the best offensive character. Bart is the fastest wielding his skateboard. Marge has the most range with her vacuum cleaner. And Homer is the most well rounded as he uses his fists, feet, and general bulk to get the job done.

After playing through the game on XBLA a half-dozen times, the first times I’ve played the game in almost a decade and a half, I have to question my younger self’s memory, or at least his taste. The most glaring flaw with the game, which is evident throughout and the main flaw that holds its back, is the hit boxes the game provides. Often never being able to line up your characters perfectly for an attack, you have to either be above or below your foes when attacking to do any damage, often completely obscuring your characters when taking on the massive level bosses. Of course, Konami fixed this in later arcade games, but this made coordinating an attack more difficult than necessary as I had to get up close and personal to my enemies, often taking just as much damage as I dished out and making me realize that it wasn’t the A.I. that was difficult as much as some technical shortcomings that Konami still hasn’t fixed in this particular title even after all these years.

The Simpsons Arcade Game, like many licensed games back then, is also so loosely based on the franchise that hardcore fans of the TV show will likely just start laughing as they continue to progress through the game as Moe’s Tavern is located under a graveyard, which is also next to Krustyland. And then of course having all The Simpsons fly on screen like superheroes after every life, which only really makes sense for Bart, or Mr. Burns for some reason being a 7-ft. tall behemoth when you face him finally in the nuclear power plant, and clearly Konami was not set on sticking to the brand when it came to making their game.

I think really the most disappointing thing about the game is the lack of extra features you get with it though. You’d think that after 20 years, we could at least get a graphics upgrade like TMNT: Turtles in Time: Re-Shelled that would have fixed the hit boxes. But aside from access to the Japanese ROM of the game, or the 4-player mayhem you might be able to have if you have a few nostalgic feeling friends, this is one arcade game that just hasn’t stood the test of time. Only the most nostalgic of arcade dwellers should drop the full $10 (800 MSP, 40 quarters) on this, otherwise, I’d try to wait to see if The Simpsons Arcade Game goes on sale at some point in the future before making my purchase.

SUMMARY: The nostalgia factor will drive many to want to purchase this, but numerous flaws, possibly covered up the first time around by childhood innocence, and a lack of extra features should have you waiting for this to go on sale first.

  • THE GOOD: Nostalgia factor is through the roof for veterans of the quarter gobbling arcade cabinet
  • THE BAD: Poor hit boxes makes us question what we loved about the game in the first place
  • THE UGLY: Dancing thriller-zombies in the graveyard level

SCORE: 6.0

The Simpsons Arcade Game is available on Xbox 360 (XBLA) and PS3 (PSN). Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.

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EGM Review: NeverDead

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Fall to Pieces

There are many people out there who wish they could live forever. But Konami and developer Rebellion show that 500 years really can take its toll on a person. And unfortunately it doesn’t do any favors for game players either.

NeverDead is the story of a demon-slayer named Bryce who in an epic battle with the demon king Astaroth, loses his wife and is damned to walk the Earth forever. Five centuries later and Bryce spends most of his time now drowning his sorrows at the local pub in between wreaking his own bit of vengeance as a freelance hunter, trying to keep demons from overrunning the modern world.

The most interesting aspect of his curse is that Bryce may walk the Earth forever, but in his line of work, you’re due to take your lumps, especially when you’ve been doing it as long as he has. So when he gets slashed by weird four-legged demons with giant knives on their heads (ironically named “Spoons”), Bryce doesn’t really take damage in the traditional sense, although he does go to pieces. Literally. You see, as Bryce takes damage, he loses life AND limb until he is just a decapitated head sputtering around the battlefield trying desperately to put himself back together.

What is great about this concept is that it provides a clearly unique challenge you won’t find in any other third-person shooter out there, and fits in with the wonderfully abstract character designs you’ll see throughout the game, from the colorful demon lieutenant Sangria to the twisted demon minions you’ll face in every level. And the physics system is phenomenal as explosions scatter your parts to the winds and you can find some twisted humor in trying to roll Bryce’s head around the level trying to find them again before some smaller demon finishes you off.

But having the game play revolve around this concept does have its drawbacks. It becomes irritating that there is no way to really strengthen Bryce so that he’ll fall apart less often, and as the enemies become more difficult, you end up spending more time trying to put yourself back together than actually fighting demons because of it. And with the two-bit voice acting that is wrought throughout this game, including no more than a handful of nickel and dime lines that Bryce says whenever you put him back together, this mechanic will soon become the bane of both your and Bryce’s existence.

Speaking of strengthening Bryce though, there is an RPG system where you gain XP by obtaining collectibles or striking down foes, but it feels more like a tacked on system that came in later than being a game play pillar from the beginning of development as there are several seemingly useless powers and it just seems too easy to gather the XP you need to get the handful of good powers that are offered to you.

This also leads us into the enemies and how you combat them. I will say that the boss battles are some of the more ingenious and entertaining boss battles you’re likely to find in any game. They feel like a reward for working your way through each level. The problem is they feel like such a reward because the levels themselves are cut from the same uninspired cookie cutter design and each room you enter consists of the same pattern. Kill enemy spawn points, kill enemies that spawned before you killed spawn point, repeat. Over and over again.

And the weapons you use do not help break up this monotony either. Bryce can wield a bevy of modern day weapons in each hand, or use his patented Butterfly Blade. But, and this is especially true in the early levels, Bryce’s Butterfly Blade is so much more powerful and effective than many of the firearms offered to you that there is little to no point to ever not use your sword. And this turns the already monotonous levels into an even more monotonous hack ‘n’ slash fest. Of course, you also later learn how to use Bryce’s body parts as projectiles, but doing this defeats the purpose of trying to keep yourself together if you actually use it in battle and so only is useful in solving the handful of simple puzzles scattered throughout the game.

When all is said and done, there are some glimmers of great things in NeverDead. An interesting life mechanic, solid physics, epic boss battles, and colorful characters. But monotonous combat, boring level design, and tacked on game play elements keep this from rising above mediocrity.

SUMMARY: NeverDead is a classic example of an interesting premise falling flat on execution. A brilliant exercise in game physics and boss battles, this game is weighed down mostly by the mundane combat across nearly a dozen dull and uninspired levels.

  • THE GOOD: Great physics and boss battles that feel like the reward they should be
  • THE BAD: The grind that is working through the levels leading up to said boss battles
  • THE UGLY: The toll 500 years can have on the human body

SCORE: 6.0

Neverdead is available on Xbox 360 and PS3. Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.

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EGM Review: Quarrel

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January 26, 2012

Become a Vocabulary Assassin

Remember all those vocabulary tests and SAT Prep courses in high school that attempted to expand your language skills? Me neither. But if I did, they sure would probably come in handy with Quarrel. Originally for iOS, the XBLA port of Quarrel maintains the original’s Words with Friends wordplay addictiveness and its Risk style strategy. Now, though, the game has four single-player modes, including 12 different boards, a variety of difficult board-based challenges and match stipulations, and nine distinct AI opponents, to go along with its 2-4 player online versus mode. Not to mention the inclusion of your Xbox Avatar into your game icon.

The purpose of Quarrel is to eliminate your opponents and conquer the entire game board. At the start of the game, depending on the number of players, the board is divided up evenly, with each space being occupied by 4-6 of your troops. In order to conquer a territory, you must attack a neighboring space to one of your already occupied spots. In order to conquer this space though, you must form a word in a limited time worth a higher score than the word your opponent forms when revealed eight semi-random letters. Depending on how many troops you are attacking/defending with, determines how many letters you can use, with no more than eight and no fewer than two ever being available at a time. There are so many more nuances to the game though that strategy truly does reign supreme as you get further into the game. You can take prisoners, call in reinforcements just before a battle, or even earn more points towards reinforcements when other players are battling and you are on the sidelines.

There are a couple of minor drawbacks to the game though. Some words are not recognized by the game, including some interesting proper nouns. Like I tried to use the word “SATURN” and found out the hard way that the sixth planet from the sun would not be accepted. A minor inconvenience to be sure, but now that the game is using the joystick or d-pad to select and de-select letters, it can be a bit more time consuming when trying to fix a misspelled or unacceptable word in the time limit, compared to when you could use the iOS touch screen before.

The game also starts to lose its luster a bit when playing against the computer constantly, especially in the earlier matches of each mode so if you can’t get a couple of your friends hooked on this game it might be something that slowly drifts to the backburner of your gaming priorities.

Despite this though, the game for the most part is very fun. The cute little critters who serve as your troops and bash your opponents into oblivion with their letter cards when you win are very enjoyable and I love the fact that with each word you and your opponents makes, you see the definition come across the bottom of the screen telling you what it means. I had no idea that a “KO” was a New Zealand gardening tool similar to a hoe until I played Quarrel. If only I had this game around back when I was studying for those SATs, I might have actually retained some knowledge. On top of this, it also gives you the 8-letter anagram each random assortment of letters can make, really doing its best to trick you into expanding your vocabulary while you play the game.

The best and most surprising part about Quarrel though may be its price. Coming in at only 400 MSP (about five dollars), if you are a fan of word games, strategy games, or board games, Quarrel is a fantastic bargain if you’re looking for that next great product in any of those genres. I was really pleasantly surprised at the tremendous amount of content I was able to get for such a small price and even more pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had with it. If you’re looking for something to workout your mental muscles and don’t want the commitment of a plot driven game, then I can’t more highly recommend Quarrel.

SUMMARY: Quarrel is an addictive and fun strategy game that might actually trick you into learning a few things as you attempt to go for “Word Domination”.

  • THE GOOD: The addictiveness of Words with Friends with the strategy of Risk
  • THE BAD: Can lose its luster if you don’t have friends who play the game as well
  • THE UGLY: The look on your face after realizing the computer is smarter than you

SCORE: 9.0

Quarrel is available on Xbox 360 (XBLA) and iOS at the time of this review. Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.

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EGM Movie Review: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos

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Brothers to the End

After attending the US Theatrical Premiere of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, I walked out of the theater more pleased after watching a movie than I had felt in a long time.

When a mysterious prisoner breaks out of prison in Central City using alchemy, it’s up to the Elric brothers to track him down! But this prisoner holds many more secrets than just his electric and ice based alchemy abilities. As the Elric brothers chase him down to Table City in the southwestern country of Creta, Alphonse rescues a young girl being hunted by the escaped prisoner and in the process accidentally pulls Ed and himself into a grassroots rebellion where a small valley of downtrodden people are trying to rise up against the two countries surrounding them and holding them back from retaking what they believe to be their holy land and birthright! But just how far will they go for freedom when a Philosopher’s Stone enters into the mix?

From the moment the movie starts to its final climactic battle, you can’t help but be sucked back into the wonderful and intriguing world of Fullmetal Alchemist as you root once again for the Elric brothers in this brand new original adventure. Keeping true for the most part to the tone of the original series in terms of humor striking a fine balance with the action and drama of the series’ more serious moments, this movie is a microcosm of the greatness of this franchise.

Now, clearly the movie is more geared towards the hardcore fans of the franchise, but what I think made it even greater is that even as a casual fan I was able to enjoy the development of the new characters the movie introduced while still giving me a beginning, middle, and end that left me entirely satisfied when all was said and done. And because you can go into the theater with a very loose knowledge of the Elric brothers and the world they live in and still come out smiling I think is a major testament to the quality of film this is.

The only thing that might make some people a bit uneasy is the killing in the film. Not to say there wasn’t drama like that in the cartoon series, but the wholesale slaughter and unnecessarily gruesome and graphic deaths of some characters may rub fans new and old alike the wrong way if not prepared for it as it happens a lot over the course of the one hour 50 minute running time of the movie.

Still, with amazing animation from BONES studio as always, the return of all the original voices from the cartoon series, and a plot worthy of a summer blockbuster, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos is a must-see for casual and hardcore fans of the anime alike and hopefully you live near one of the 100 or so theaters that plans to carry it during its limited release.

SCORE: 8.5

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EGM Review: Choplifter HD

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Get to the choppa!

A big trend in gaming recently has been “what is old is new again” as we’ve been seeing a lot of classic franchises get HD remakes to fit in new levels, modes, and whatever else they couldn’t the first time around on top of a new coat of HD paint. Well, Konami and inXile Entertainment have gone a bit further by digging up a game from a by gone era that many modern gamers may not have even been born for, never mind missed playing it the first time around.

Choplifter HD is the spiritual sequel to the early 1980s Apple II, Atari 5200, and arcade game, Choplifter. In this game, you play a helicopter pilot and must save stranded soldiers and civilians from various opposing military forces as quickly as possible by clearing the area of enemy soldiers and touching down on the ground to pick them up before returning them to your base. In this sense, the main purpose of this remake is still very true to the original. But, aside from just rescue missions, there is a lot more here that proves this a far cry from the original Choplifter of 30 years ago.

Securing a hospital and staving off a zombie invasion (yes, there are zombies, much like in every other game out there), destroying a dozen AA turrets to clear a path for your forces’ military jets, or just hightailing it out of there in a mad dash to the finish line with a dozen soldiers in tow definitely deviates from the original game’s simple, fly along a straight line, arcade style and provides the mission variety that you need to have nowadays to try to keep people interested. Unfortunately, even this unique mission variety can get dull as the game does start to repeat itself well before you complete all 30 missions that will be available to you. If you’re like me, by the time you make it through the first of the game’s three major campaigns (not including the obligatory tutorial campaign), you’ll find yourself tiring of how the game really just ups the difficulty by throwing more enemy soldiers in your path, no matter what the objective may be.

Another interesting new element added to the game is how you can rotate the chopper with the bumper buttons to attack enemies now stationed in the foreground. This added depth of field, taking advantage of modern processing power, makes it sometimes difficult to tell if an enemy on the ground, as you of course spend most of your time in the air, is in the foreground or the main ground though. And when you combine this with a poor control layout as you try to fly, aim, change perspective, and fire all at the same time, there is almost too much going on at once.

Aside from your 30 campaign missions, the game does offer some limited replay-ability as you can unlock a dozen or so different helicopters, all with different weapons strengths, top speeds, and person carrying capacity. And going back and replaying a level with a new chopper can help you climb the online high score leaderboards. After all, it wouldn’t be an arcade classic if it didn’t have high scores. The game also features some solid visuals worthy of a modern console with a bright color palette and fun and entertaining banter between the pilot and co-pilot to help keep you entertained and break up what will become the monotonous task of rescuing downed soldiers.

When all is said and done, for $15 (1200 MSP), this isn’t a bad game, but it is not spectacular either. Choplifter HD fits into the mold of classic arcade games of the 1980s and much in that vein, can become tedious and repetitive if played for long periods of time, especially considering there is a good amount of length here for the price tag. But if you’re looking for just 15-20 minutes to kill at a time between now and when some more AAA titles begin to drop, this might be a decent distraction as it can provide some old-school arcade style fun in short bursts.

SUMMARY: The fun of this arcade classic remake fades quickly as repetition leads to boredom, but its unique objectives might make it worth looking into if you have some time to kill and cash to burn.

  • THE GOOD: An old-school arcade game brought back to life in an entertaining way
  • THE BAD: Repetitive missions can cause the experience to become boring quickly
  • THE UGLY: The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder you’ll develop if you leave too many men behind

SCORE: 6.5

Choplifter HD is available on Xbox 360 (XBLA), PS3 (PSN), and PC (Steam). Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.

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EGM Review: NFL Blitz

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — 1 Comment
January 15, 2012

Gridiron Grit or Grime?

Arcade sports games have been part of the gaming landscape for generations now, but have often taken a back seat to their full-on simulation brethren. Then in the late 90s, an arcade sports game unlike any other smashed onto the scene and redefined arcade football for a generation. This game was NFL Blitz. Unfortunately, as later iterations of the game were released and the NFL sank their hands deeper and deeper into the franchise, it became a watered down shell of its former self before finally shedding the NFL license in the hopes of keeping the franchise afloat. It did for a short time, but once Midway filed for Chapter 11, this beloved franchise was thought lost to the limbo of the once great franchises of yesteryear.

Flash-forward to the present day though where EA Sports has decided to resurrect this once great franchise in the hopes of catching fans ready for a return to arcade greatness. But is this new downloadable NFL Blitz even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath to those original smash mouth games of the late 90’s?

In some ways, yes it does. In other ways though, EA Sports’s version of NFL Blitz is very much the same watered down game that forced Midway to abandon the NFL license in the first place. The most glaring omission while playing the game is the infamous late hits that were allowed in the original version of the game. Elbow drops, suplexs, and various other maneuvers performed more by professional wrestlers than football players have been taken out, allowing those cocky players who we used to make pay for dancing in our end zones now plenty of time to work on their cha-chas.

The most frustrating aspect of the game though comes in the form of something I wish did not return: the rubberband A.I. At first, I thought most of my frustration came from the controls in that passing required you to look at your intended receiver, often resulting in misfires and interceptions. Although still a bit more sluggish that I would like for an arcade game, after changing the controls to the more traditional icon based passing (which is under Settings instead of Controls for some weird reason), I found that where I had placed much of my frustration in the controls came instead with the rubberband A.I.

I played against four human opponents and four computer opponents with the icon based passing after playing more than a dozen games with the look based mechanism, and no matter how big a lead I had, or how big a hole I had fallen into, the game never ended by more than a touchdown meaning the game had almost nothing to do with skill, like I had originally surmised, but more about what player could weather the storm of adversity the computer would throw its way better. The first game I played in Blitz Battles saw me to a 21-0 lead halfway through the 2nd quarter. My next three possessions saw me throw two near impossible interceptions (one was a deep ball picked off by a defensive lineman at the line of scrimmage…what the heck?!) and then fumble the kickoff after it was 21-14. It didn’t matter if I was looking at the receiver or pressing the B, X, or Y buttons. I would end up losing that game by a touchdown because once we were all caught up, the other player had the ball last and would have me swearing up a storm. I think I may have caused at least a few trips to therapy for that poor 10-year-old who was sick home from school.

On the flipside, a game I was losing 28-14 at the half, would cause the player on the other headset to start swearing up a storm, much to my chagrin, as I would inexorably break five tackles, without stiff arming or being on fire, on the opening half kickoff and sack him four times in a row and get the ball deep in his territory on his next possession. I didn’t have another sack for the rest of the game, but still won that one, also by a touchdown. And similar outcomes happened against the computer in the Blitz Gauntlet and Play Now modes.

I will say though in terms of positives, NFL Blitz may have the deepest online modes of any sports game out there, including simulation titles. If you can overcome the sometimes sluggish QB throwing animations and cheap A.I., competing in the online Elite Leagues and Battle Boards in order to earn Blitz Bucks is a deep experience full of team customization aspects that could make this a very addictive experience for some more enthusiastic players. Of course, the idea of having to play online with people in order to unlock many of the better aspects of the game like cheats and cheerleader load screens via Blitz Bucks seems like a clear way to bait players into playing in these leagues. Ahhhh…paying for cheerleaders…has shades of my prom night written all over it.

Anyway, when all is said and done, EA Sports’ version of NFL Blitz is a well put together game in terms of look and sound (the announcer from NBA Jam does the play-by-play and is just as hysterical in Blitz), but it feels like the watered down versions of the game from the early 2000s that got too far away from what made the original NFL Blitz really great. Horrible rubberband A.I. and clear influence from the No Fun League removes a lot of the potential fun of the game and makes me long more for the steroid inducing mini-games and good ol’ crazy Lawrence Taylor from the Blitz: The League spin-offs than anything else, even with just a $15 (1200 MSP) price-tag.

SUMMARY: Strong online modes and a crisp look and sound for the game can’t hide the fact that this is a watered down version similar to what caused many fans to leave the series in the first place.

  • THE GOOD: More online depth than most sports sims, never mind an arcade game
  • THE BAD: NFL influence waters down arcade greatness of original
  • THE UGLY: Zombies in football pads

SCORE: 6.5


NFL Blitz is available on Xbox 360 (XBLA) and PS3 (PSN). Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.

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EGM Review: Joe Danger: Special Edition

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December 14, 2011

The Man Without Fear

Whenever there is an accident, our voyeuristic nature has it so that we can’t help but want to look at it and even if we turn away, we often look back just to make sure we saw what we thought we saw the first time. Couple this with the spectacle of someone willingly putting themselves in harm’s way and many people can’t help but be attracted to watching daredevils perform their death defying stunts. It is why even though he didn’t perform for years before his passing in 2007, guys like Evel Knievel were still often part of the popular vernacular for the stunts they pulled in the 60s and 70s.

Inspired by those great stuntmen, we have Joe Danger, another forgotten legend that could jump buses, shark tanks, and canyons with the best of them. Well, Joe wants to come out of retirement and prove to the world he’s still got it and unlike many of those real-life daredevils, any accidents that Joe may have can be fixed with a simple press of the reset button (which will likely occur often).

Joe Danger: Special Edition is an interesting game in that it combines a pair of gaming genres rarely seen working in conjunction with one another: platforming and racing. In the Career Mode, you take Joe over several dozen courses littered with stuntmen staples like jump ramps and shark tanks and a bevy of items that look like they were taken from a Sega yard sale with Sonic the Hedgehog style loop de loops and spring bumpers. When you put these all onto one track, you’ll have the time of your life performing Superman handlebar stunts and wheelies while trying to clear these ridiculous courses, re-establish Joe as an entertainer for the ages, and even take down his rival stuntmen in Team Nasty. And you’ll do all this while trying to earn points and collect items to unlock more and more tracks to prove Joe’s dominance.

This item collection, and the control with which you can control your bike in mid-air, gives these rather linear racing levels some platforming traits and introduces a strong dose of replayability as it will likely require you multiple playthroughs on many of the levels to collect all the items or beat the time to win the race as it is near-impossible to do both on a single run. Of course, having to play multiple levels over and over again could become tedious and frustrating for all but the most die-hard of completionists and may start to feel like a chore during long game sessions.

But there is so much more to this “Special Edition” compared to the version that was released last year for PSN. First off, the DLC that was added to the original game later on like an online versus mode and the ability to upload custom designed levels to share with friends now comes standard with this version of the game. There are also a series of special “laboratory” levels where the game’s designers added some extra wacky challenges to courses they specially designed for the Special Edition for XBLA to really push your platforming and racing skills to the test should the career mode or level creator begin to bore you.

At the end of the day, Joe Danger: Special Edition is a very solid game with great physics, easy to pick up and play controls, and more than enough levels and collectibles to really drive those hardcore completionists up a wall. The only major knock on the game is that it does become tedious if you play it for long stretches and the challenge of trying to collect all the items in a level begins to feel forced onto you as your progress later and later into the game. But if you have an extra 1200 MSP lying around, this game is definitely worth a test drive for its uniqueness alone.

SUMMARY: A unique blending of genres and interesting new modes added to the XBLA version make this a solid buy, even if the luster wears off quickly.

  • THE GOOD: A unique blending of genres makes for an entertaining experience
  • THE BAD: Repetitive obstacles and challenges can make the game feel like a chore at times
  • THE UGLY: How you look after falling into the shark tank

SCORE: 8.0

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EGM Review: Gears of War 3: RAAM’s Shadow DLC

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Shadow of the Past

He was one of the bigger and uglier Locust that we had seen up to that point. His stoic ruthlessness was evident from the first time we saw him as he laid waste to Gears left and right, protected by an all consuming cloud of Kryll that he could control with a flick of his fingers. Only after a barrage of Torque Bow arrows into his thick hide could we finally claim a small victory in the war for Sera. And even though he never spoke more than some unintelligible grunts, his mere presence and difficulty catapulted him up as one of the better video game villains we ever had to face off against. But so many questions always surrounded the great Locust General RAAM. Until now.

The first campaign based DLC for Gears of War 3 is a prequel that takes us through events all the way back before the very first Gears of War. Shortly after E-Day, Gears everywhere are trying to find survivors who cannot defend themselves and get them to safety. This is where we find Zeta Squad, comprised of some old and new faces alike, as they try to evacuate a city before an approaching Kryllstorm that will consumes all human life, paving the way for the city to become yet another Locust overrun fortification. The Kryllstorm is being led by General RAAM. Opposing him directly in Zeta we have Minh Young Kim from the original Gears, Tai Kaliso from Gears 2, Barrick from the Gears comic books, and the new Alicia Velera rounding out the squad.

What is great about this DLC is that while it is telling the story of some great characters who we only had fleeting moments with in the main trilogy and fleshes out their stories, you’re basically getting an additional Act with 3-4 hours of content that fits perfectly into the Gears mythos and that alone makes this worth it for Gears fans.

But what really makes this DLC special is how it takes Gears 3 attributes and mixes them with Gears 1 moments that make perfect sense. Representing Gears 3, we were given segments to actually play as RAAM and finally feel the true power of the Locust General as we control the Kryll now, giving us the balance we found in Beast Mode vs Horde Mode. Meanwhile, we’re thrown back into Gears 1 situations like plugging emergence holes and ducking and dodging RAAM’s Kryll, giving us that strong sense of nostalgia that makes us appreciate even more how far the franchise has come. There are other little moments that remind us of scenes and scenarios from both ends of the franchise, but I’m not going to spoil any of the surprises that the DLC has in store for players.

Along with this, there are the infamous multiplayer features that are staples of Gears DLC. With the pack comes the chocolate weapons skin option, basically making your weapons a rich, dark brown color and making you almost want to take a bite out of your Lancer Chainsaw Rifle yourself. Not recommended in game, of course, although Epic may want to look into chocolate Lancer licensing for real for next Easter. Those Peeps will never see what’s coming to them. Unless they’re Locust Peeps shaped like tickers…

Anyway, another key component for the DLC’s multiplayer additions will be to actually play as RAAM and the members of Zeta squad in multiplayer versus and Horde modes and allow those fans of Minh to maybe exact revenge on RAAM or simply re-enact that grueling scene from Gears 1 where RAAM shows off his brutal might against Minh.

All in all, if you are a Gears of War fan, this is a great little untold story in the timeline of the series and when you throw in new characters and weapon skins for multiplayer, this is a must have for all fans of the series and is most definitely worth the price tag.

SUMMARY: An entire new act in the Gears’ universe highlighting some old favorite characters is more than worth the price for anyone who is a fan of the series.

  • THE GOOD: Fan favorite characters return to flesh out some more of the Gears’ backstory
  • THE BAD: Being a prequel, you know how the story already has to end
  • THE UGLY: The exploding human bodies after they are swarmed by RAAM’s Kryll

SCORE: 10

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