Tag Archive: video games


Originally Published: June 28, 2011, on EGMNOW.COM

EAT YOUR HEART OUT, JOHN CONNOR

Binary Domain boils down to a futuristic sci-fi shooter against sentient robots, akin to something like Terminator, but there is so much more going on with this game that just grabs you by the balls and yells “PLAY ME!” The controls for one felt very natural for a shooter and the game itself had a very polished, cinematic look already going for it. “The team is really dedicated to the look and feel of the game. And that’s one of the things they really concentrated on graphics wise was to give it a different look and a different texture. Something different, but still giving it a shooter look and feel,” said Dan Gallardo, part of the Marketing team for SEGA.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the integration of the RPG-elements, like squad selection pre-mission and path selection once you move into the mission. This adds replay value to the game as each mission could be done multiple times and play out differently each time. For example, do you want a demolitions expert to blow a hole through a wall to get to your objective, or a sniper to provide cover fire while you try to sneak around back? When taking on the boss of the first level, a giant bi-pedal robot laden with turrets and missile launchers, I chose to use my heavy machine gunner to draw the big bot’s attention while I ran to the roof of a nearby apartment building and took fire at its barely exposed weak point on the top of its head. Lots of guns, lots of options, and a sci-fi feel all make me very excited for Binary Domain.

Originally Published: June 28, 2011, on EGMNOW.COM

TRY CONQUERING A MOUNTAIN WHEN THE MOUNTAIN FIGHTS BACK

From the second you start playing SSX, you know you’re in for a wild ride. Using Google Earth and various other mapping technology, SSX paints a 3D globe while highlighting some of the world’s biggest peaks like Mt. Everest or K2. After selecting your mountain, you then enter into one of three game modes that revolve around the game’s theme of “Race It, Trick It, Survive It”.

The first two games modes are standard to a SSX game and deal with racing to the bottom of the mountain or getting the highest score possible by pulling off insane stunts. With some crisp graphics and the fact that you can perform a trick or grind anywhere leaves these modes with so much new potential. “It really speaks to our physics system that allows you to trick off anything, ride anything, and do things you’ve never been able to do before,” said SSX Producer Connor Dougan in regards to pulling off stunts in the game.

But the third mode, titled “Deadly Descent”, offered so much more in terms of testing your ingenuity and boarding skills. Likened to a boss battle where the mountain took center stage with each battle revolving around a particular element of being up in the mountains. The one we saw featured a beautifully rendered avalanche, that almost seemed alive as it kept reaching out to swallow our boarder whole, which we of course had to outrace to the bottom in order to win. This mode provided a completely new twist on not only the franchise, but snowboarding games in general. I’m looking forward to catching some fresh powder when SSX drops in January 2012.

Originally Published: June 21, 2011, on EGMNOW.COM

A WAR OF THE WORLDS

WHAT ITS ABOUT: Set in the early 1960s, the world is under attack from an unknown alien force. As a member of the secret government organization known as XCOM, you must put together a crack field team to analyze and somehow subdue this threat to humanity.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: This franchise reboot sees a major facelift from the original’s tactical tradition. Not just a first-person shooter, XCOM will put your wits to the test in not only building and leveling up your team, but also how you act in the field. Will you capture enemy weaponry for personal upgrades later or turn them against their alien masters right in the middle of the fray? The choices are near endless.

WHAT RAY THINKS: Easily one of the longest demos at E3, I wouldn’t have minded seeing even more. XCOM has a strong, cinematic feel while mixing in elements of both Bioshock and Mass Effect. Weird and wonderful weaponry will constantly be at your fingertips while you command your units on the fly in the field and also dish out as much punishment as you can yourself from the first-person perspective. I can’t wait!

-Ray Carsillo

Originally Published: June 21, 2011, on EGMNOW.COM

Game: Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Grezzo
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS

Release: 06.19.11

Players: Singe Player

ESRB Rating: E10+ – Everyone 10 and up

The Good: One of the best games of the past 15 years revamped for a new generation
The Bad: Need to complete story once to unlock Master Quest
The Ugly: New hint system is completely unnecessary

When I was 13, I remember waking up Christmas morning and one present stood out above all else. It was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a golden cartridge that would redefine what I thought of action/adventure games and that I would beat a dozen times over the next several months as each time I found something new.

A few years later, I would wake up early on a random Sunday morning and drive to my local toy store to pre-order The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker in order to get Ocarina of Time: Master Quest for the Gamecube. Again, I would devote many hours to this evolved version of the original Ocarina of Time.

Now, I’m older and wiser (sorta) and I don’t wake up early that often anymore if I have anything to say about it. So when my phone starting going off early one morning, much like Navi trying to wake up Link in his Kokiri tree house, I was not happy. I felt a familiar thrill though when it was my boss assigning me Ocarina of Time: 3D.

The biggest difference between this version of Ocarina compared to the others is obviously the graphics. The flawless 3D gives you a whole new sense of depth that you feel on every step of the journey, but especially when using your slingshot and bow. Not to mention the painstaking detail put into every corner of Hyrule now. Every house and shop is full of life and color (in the past anyway) from the ceilings to the floors and really shines through.

Score: 9.5

-Ray Carsillo

Originally Published: June 21, 2011, on EGMNOW.COM

IT’S GONNA BE A SLOBBERKNOCKER!

WHAT ITS ABOUT: This is the latest installment of THQ’s hit yearly WWE wrestling franchise, which sees a much needed facelift while still featuring some of the sports entertainment business’s biggest names.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: This franchise had been just coasting along up until last year’s revolutionary online Royal Rumble feature. But that was only the beginning as this year’s entry marks not only a branding change that falls in line with the WWE’s slow movement to dissolve the rivalry between their RAW and Smackdown TV programs, but adds a brand new submission system and new “Predator” gameplay mechanics in honor of the game’s cover boy, Randy Orton.

WHAT RAY THINKS: I was able to take control of “The Awesome One” himself, The Miz, for a brief demo against a CPU Randy Orton and was amazed at not only how smooth the new animations for the game seemed, but how much easier it was to just pick up and play, which should please old and new fans alike. I just hope they work out the glitch that wouldn’t let me pin Orton after performing four finishers before November’s launch.

Originally Published: June 14, 2011, on Youtube.com/Rcars4885

I come to you once again with your weekly geek fix. This week I review L.A. Noire from Rockstar. My hot chick pick of the week is Carrie Keagan and this week’s theme is New Beginnings Pt. 3 from L.A. Noire.

Back in December I had the chance to attend the 2010 SpikeTV VGAs and work the red carpet. It was here that I got a chance to speak with the man behind Call of Duty: Black Ops’s Sgt. Frank Woods, Mr. James C. Burns. We talked about how it was to voice a character who has quickly become somewhat iconic in the Call of Duty mythos and doing voiceover work in general.

Back in December I had the chance to attend the 2010 SpikeTV VGAs and work the red carpet. Here I got to catch up once again with old friend and Oscar winning director Guillermo del Toro. Instead of talking about vampires this time around, Guillermo, Danny Bilson, and I chatted about THQ’s new game that Guillermo is working on called Insane.

Back in December I had the chance to attend the 2010 SpikeTV VGAs and work the red carpet. It was here that I got a chance to chat with the man behind the music for all of the God of War games, Gerard K. Marino.

Back in December I had the chance to attend the 2010 SpikeTV VGAs and work the red carpet. Here I caught up with my old friend and host of GameTrailersTV Geoff Keighley to talk to him about putting on the show year after year and what we could expect from that year’s show.