Tag Archive: video games


And the Winner is…

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April 19, 2010

Originally Published: June 5, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Examiner.com

After four days of press conferences, huge announcements, and new demos, E3 has drawn to a triumphant close. Only now can we look back and truly analyze the full goings-on of the conference and draw the undeniable conclusion that Xbox 360 was the clear winner amongst “The Big Three”.

Now, this isn’t to say that Nintendo or Sony did not put up gallant fights, because they did.

Nintendo came out with the big news of a new Metroid game and that Retro Studios, the developer of the Metroid: Prime trilogy, would not be working on this game, but that Team Ninja of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive fame would be mixing first- and third-person shooter elements in Metroid: Other M. An early trailer with Samus fighting against Ridley looked breathtaking, but I’m not sure if the strong anime style graphics will appeal to Nintendo’s hardcore audience. Fanboys everywhere though will rejoice from the many scenes of Samus outside of her famous gold and red spacesuit.

Along with this, Nintendo’s other surprise reveal was Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario’s first true sequel since the SNES and the first in 3D. The early trailer showed that the Yoshi clan will return with many different powers and colors, much like in Super Mario World for SNES, to lend Mario a hand once again. These reveals, along with New Super Mario Bros. for Wii, another remake of the all-time classic, this time with 4-player co-op action and new powers like the propeller suit, were the only real eye-openers to Nintendo’s presentation.

Other news from the Nintendo front was the reveal of a Wii Vitality Sensor which monitors your heart rate as you play games. I appreciate Nintendo always trying to think outside of the box, but unless it is packaged with one of their Balance Board workout games like the newly revealed Wii Fit 2 (basically Wii Fit with more exercises; Heath Bell will be thrilled), this sensor looks like the biggest waste of money since the Virtual Boy. This lack of earth shattering reveals means that Nintendo is simply staying the course and that they are beginning to hit the same problems they had with the Gamecube: a lack of third party development, aside from a look at No More Heroes 2: Desperate Measures and Red Steel 2. Of course, in terms of economic times, it’s also safer just to push established titles (which you see from everyone now; we are living in the era of the sequel), hence another Metroid and two more Mario games.

Sony led with the worst-kept E3-secret since they were promoting the PS1: the PSP Go! The Go! is a smaller, sleeker, touch-screen-enabled PSP with 16 GB of flash memory and the ability to download games directly to the system. Along with the new system, Sony announced exclusive Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Assassin’s Creed, Gran Turismo, and Little Big Planet games for their PSP line that will be able to provide exclusive content for their PS3 brethren when you link the PSP and PS3 games.

On the console front, Sony had a couple of blockbuster games up their sleeves to try to steal thunder back from Xbox’s press conference, which revealed a lot of Sony’s formerly exclusive titles would no longer be exclusive. However, Sony did unveil Final Fantasy XIV to be an exclusive. Unfortunately, a nice trailer does not mean the game is anywhere near finished, and considering we’re still months away from FF XIII, I don’t think we’ll see FF XIV for a long while. Along with this, Sony revealed Mod Nation Racers, a game that looks like Little Big Planet, but with go karts.

Much of Sony’s press conference revolved around two things though, God of War III, which was expected (and the live demo of Kratos ripping harpies apart looked fantastic!), and a new motion controller that looks like a remote with a light bulb on the end. This new 1:1 motion controller won’t be released until Spring 2010 and requires the purchase of the PS Eye with it. Its best feature, aside from the 1:1 movement, is the light bulb changes colors depending on the game and actions you take during the game.

Nintendo may not have been the winner, but it definitely wasn’t a loser. Sony on the other hand should just fold up shop at this point like SEGA did after the Dreamcast because the PS3 is going nowhere in terms of innovation. This new motion controller is clearly a rip-off of Nintendo’s Wiimote and adds nothing to the gaming experience besides a light bulb. I understand that bright lights and colors often grab people’s attention, but I’m pretty sure most gamers will want something with a little more substance in the long haul. Considering that Nintendo’s Wiimote will be 1:1 in a few weeks, the Sony motion controller doesn’t have any special features that Nintendo hasn’t thought of.

The PSP Go! is a direct response the DSi as the inclusion of a touch screen seemed necessary as the DS and its variants are outselling the PSP and its variants at about a 2.5:1 ratio at this point and will most likely continue to as long as the PSP and its variants are $100 more than the DS.

In addition, one of the games they spent the most time on, Mod Nation Racers, is nothing more than a Mario Kart rip off with a create-a-track mode, just shows that Sony has run out of good ideas and is the exact opposite of Nintendo in that they have to rely on their third-party developers to survive because their lack of originality is leaving them floundering in the game community. The fact that the games they announced that were the most interesting, Agent, a Rockstar developed game that deals with international espionage, and God of War III, had the least amount of time spent showcasing them just shows how backwards Sony is at this point in time.

This leaves Xbox 360 as the only one to come out with true blockbuster announcements and reveal an actual step forward in motion sensor technology with Project NATAL, which if when released is anywhere near as good as the demo at E3 was, will fly off shelves like the Wii did with its release over two years ago.

With a little help from Steven Spielberg (yes, that Steven Spielberg) and Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios (of the Fable franchise, who coincidentally, looks like a bad James Bond villain), Xbox 360 unveiled a motion sensor that would eliminate controllers altogether. With graphics reaching their fullest-potential with current technology, the next step in gaming is apparently going to be finding ways to give gamers a more immersive experience beyond the television set. The Nintendo Wii had capitalized on this with their pre-set waggle commands (which the Xbox 360 folks took a bit of a shot at) and this left Xbox 360 asking “what would be the next logical step in gaming technology?”. They would give us an answer.

Imagine a sensor that connects to your current Xbox 360 and could scan your face, your clothes, objects in your room, and then follow every motion you make perfectly. You would become the controller. No more rechargeable batteries. No more tripping over cords. No more limitations. As development kits are being shipped as you read this, Xbox 360 showed to everyone at E3 several of the endless possibilities this device could have.

They began by playing a Brickbreaker-type game, where you served as the paddle that would deflect projectiles at the bricks. The woman doing the demonstration danced around in a small circle as she hopped, punched, and kicked her way through the first three levels. It was a simple demonstration, but enough to start making eyes bug out of heads.

The next demonstration reminded me of Mario Paint for the Super Nintendo, a game that debuted almost two decades ago. It was a simple program where your arms served as the brush and your voice commands were recognized when you wanted to go to a more detailed or broader painting tool. An interesting concept, but how many gamers would really drop their hard-earned cash on it?

The demonstration that took my breath away though was done with a small film presented by Molyneux, one of the first to get their hands on the development kits. Peter proceeded to introduce us to “Milo,” an A.I. program that responded with original thought to the context of questions and answers it was given and reacted to objects that were scanned into the system, recognizing colors and shapes. This mind boggling revelation means that, in theory, for truly the first time ever, the game could intelligently interact back with you.

It is a bit of a scary thought when you think of all the sci-fi movies that always begin with a benevolent A.I. that runs amok, but also think of the gaming possibilities: Calling out commands to squad mates in Call of Duty, climbing up towers that nearly touch the sky in Assassin’s Creed, ducking for cover in Gears of War, all with never pressing anything more than the “on” button.

Of course, I’m sure there are a lot of additions and changes that need to be made before an optimistic release for the Fall of 2010 (and to get the image of SkyNet out of people’s minds when they see it ), but Project NATAL’s announcement was the left hook that Sony and Nintendo didn’t see coming. Nintendo is strong enough to withstand it, I’m not so sure about Sony.

Project NATAL aside though, Xbox 360 also dropped major game and system announcements that will have repercussions throughout the ongoing console wars. The announcement of exclusive relationships with Twitter and Facebook that can be accessed via your Xbox Live account and all Netflix movies coming in at 1080p HD brings Xbox Live to a new level in terms of providing quality entertainment and interactivity to home consoles and this comes at no extra charge to your Xbox Live subscriptions.

Add in the announcements of FF XIII and a new Metal Gear, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, will be coming to Xbox 360 as well as the PS3 is a huge blow to Sony’s dwindling exclusives list. This just shows how little of the market Sony is actually appealing to right now and that Xbox 360 is still going strong, even though the Wii is far and away the number-one seller as of this moment.

Aside from snuffing out some of Sony’s exclusivity for certain franchises, Xbox 360 also made strong showings from their own exclusive titles as well as a few new ones. The first one, which did not surprise many people, was Forza Motorsport 3. With the promise of over 400 available cars, new tracks, and better controls, this was an expected announcement that had racing fans nodding with approval.

Then the big guns came out. Halo 3: ODST was revealed as expected along with a new Firefight mode that resembles Gears of War 2’s Horde mode. As everyone knows by now, ODST is a side-story that follows a new character during the events of the third Halo, expanding on the already rich lore of Xbox’s premier franchise. What no one expected though was the announcement of Halo: Reach, another new game in the franchise due out in 2010 that takes you through the fall of humanity’s main colony. Although only a teaser was revealed along with the details that it will be a first-person shooter, this announcement shows that the Halo franchise is alive and well and should have Nintendo and Sony a little worried considering how well Halo always does.

Xbox also revealed an Xbox Live exclusive download called Shadow Complex. It reminded me of a Metroid game in that you start off with all your upgraded devices and weapons in the first level, only to lose them all and have to search through a giant complex that you can go forward and back in as much as you want as you find new weapons to open new doors. Considering it is an Xbox Live game, the promise of a 10+ hour campaign, it is made by the guys who brought us Gears of War over at Epic, and that it reminds me of a great classic franchise like Metroid, will have this at the top of my Xbox Live list when it comes out later this year.

The last exclusive that really knocked my socks off was Alan Wake. Set-up almost like a murder mystery TV show, this survival horror game redefines the idea of lighting effects, especially since it is your main weapon in the game. Alan is a novelist who has lost his inspiration and hasn’t written anything worthwhile in over two years. His wife suggests a nice relaxing vacation in a backwater town up in the state of Washington. Everything seems picture perfect until Alan’s wife disappears and his only clues are pages he keeps finding to a book he hasn’t begun to write yet. With a feel like Stephen King meets Silent Hill, this looks like it will be a worthy addition to Xbox’s exclusive library in the Spring of 2010.

Along with these exclusive titles and announcements, Xbox also revealed that along with PS3 it will have Tekken 6 and a new re-launch of the Castlevania series that is being developed by Hideo Kojima of the Metal Gear series that people are already comparing to God of War in terms of its style. On top of those announcements, looks at Bioshock 2, Assassin’s Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Fight Night Round 4, Madden ’10, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, The Saboteur, Brutal Legend, and Alpha Protocol, which will all be out this year for multiple systems along with the console exclusivity Left 4 Dead 2 (now you can wield an axe!) and Xbox 360 looks very strong in the coming months in terms of their library and the direction they are headed in.

Therefore, as the only system to make an actual technological advancement and to have both strong first- and third-party projects coming out that after a long week of gaming greatness being on display, as the dust has now settled, Xbox 360 walks away the winner after quite possibly their best showing ever.

-Ray Carsillo

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Xbox 360 Project NATAL initial reactions

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Originally Published: June 1, 2009, on Examiner.com

Many people believed that Xbox 360 was going to have a quiet E3 this year. You knew that there would be the major franchises: Halo, Gears of War, Forza. But what Xbox 360 revealed was more than anyone could have expected.

As if the revelation that MGS 5: Rising (starring Raiden and not Solid Snake) was coming to the Xbox 360 as would Final Fantasy XIII from Square Enix (probably due to Sony’s awful sales) were not enough, Xbox 360 dropped the bomb of what could be the next step in gaming.

With a little help from Steven Spielberg and Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios (the Fable franchise), Xbox 360 unveiled a motion sensor that would eliminate controllers altogther. With graphics reaching their fullest potential with current technology, the next step in gaming was going to be finding ways to give gamers a more immersive experience beyond the TV set. The Nintendo Wii had captalized on this with their pre-set waggle commands (which the Xbox 360 folks took a bit of a shot at) and this left Xbox 360 asking “what would be the next logical step in gaming technology?”. They would give us an answer.

Imagine a sensor that connects to your current Xbox 360 and could scan your face, your clothes, objects in your room, and then follow every motion you make perfectly. You would become the controller. No more rechargable batteries. No more tripping over cords. No more limitations.

Xbox 360 has very likely created the next step towards virtual reality with what they have dubbed at this point “Project NATAL”. As development kits are being shipped as you read this, Xbox 360 showed to everyone at E3 several of the endless possibilities this addition could have.

They began by playing a Brickbreaker type game where you served as the paddle that would deflect projectiles at the bricks. The girl doing the demonstration danced around in a small circle as she hopped, punched, and kicked her way through the first three levels. A simple demonstration, but enough to start making eyes bug out of heads.

The next demonstration reminded me of Mario Paint for the Super Nintendo from almost two decades ago. A simple paint program where your arms served as the brush and your voice commands were recognized when you wanted to go to a more detailed or broader painting tool. An interesting concept, but how many gamers would really drop their hard earned cash on it?

The demonstration that took my breath away though was done with a small film presented by Peter Molyneux that was done at Lionhead Studios, one of the first to get their hands on the development kits. Peter proceeded to introduce us to “Milo”, an A.I. program that responded with original thought to the context of questions and answers it was given and reacted to objects that were scanned into the system, recognizing colors and shapes. This mind boggling revelation means that in theory, for truly the first time ever, the game could interact back with you.

It is a bit of a scary thought when you think of all the sci-fi movies that always begin with a benevolent A.I. that runs amok, but also think of the gaming possibilites. Calling out commands to squad mates in Call of Duty, climbing up towers that nearly touch the sky in Assassin’s Creed, ducking for cover in Gears of War, all with never pressing anything more than the “on” button. The possibilities are nearly endless and my mind is already racing with these very thoughts.

Of course, there could also be limitations. Not many people have the space in their living rooms to re-enact a futuristic war or sneak along shadowy corridors before assassinating their target. It will be interesting to see how Xbox 360 overcomes this question of space recognition, but the thought of this revolutionary immersal into video games is nearly beyond belief.

There was no date as to when we could expect to see the bugs worked out of NATAL or the complexity of games we could see to go along with it, but even without Sony of Nintendo’s press conferences taken place, Xbox 360 may have already stolen the entire show. So much for a quiet E3, eh?

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Well I’ll Be Damned

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

If someone came up to you and said they were going to make a game that combines the plots of Wild Wild West and Terminator, what would you do? I know I would be pretty damn excited.

That was exactly what was attempted with Damnation, a new third person shooter for Xbox 360. Unfortunately, this Frankenstein-like hodgepodge of plots falls flat on its face before the disc can even get warm in your system.

In Damnation, along the timeline of American history, somewhere during the Civil War, things have taken a nightmarishly drastic turn. Steam powered weapons have been invented by a man named Prescott and sold to both sides of the war. This war profiteering has extended the conflict to the point where people cannot remember a time of peace. Using his now immense wealth, Prescott has emerged in an attempt to reunite the country under his own tyrannical fist with the help of a handy mind control drug he uses to poison unsuspecting towns’ water supplies and an army of robots. As Captain Hamilton Rourke of the resistance, you set off in search of your lost fiancée while undermining Prescott’s advancing robot/zombie army at every possible turn.

Aside from a plot with unrealized potential, this game is a total and utter waste of time. It resembles something from the previous generation of consoles instead of the current. There are more glitches in the first level than most game trilogies have in them.

On top of that, most third person shooters allow the character to duck behind cover, but this game conveniently forgot that so most of the game you’re stuck in the open during a fire fight hoping your trigger finger is faster than the A.I.’s. To make up for this shortcoming, the A.I. was made so abysmal that they won’t use cover either, leaving you and your enemy just out in the open shooting at each other. To say the game play leaves something to be desired is like saying the Palestinians and Israelis have a misunderstanding.

Add in that when you’re not fighting, you’re unnecessarily climbing up walls just because the game wanted to have some Assassin’s Creed elements to it or roaming around on a boxlike motorcycle just to get from desert outpost to desert outpost so they can say they had vehicle levels and the only thing left in the dust is the 10-15 hours of your life that you lost playing this piece of garbage that you’re never going to get back.

There are multiplayer vs. and co-op modes, but why you would ever want to put another person through this kind of torture is beyond me. The worst part is that, if you should play it, you need another person to get about 60% of the Gamerscore for this game and unless you’re in Guantanamo Bay, people are going to be a little hesitant when it comes to torture like this.

Along with horrible, last-gen graphics, insane load times even for Xbox 360, and the worst voice acting I’ve ever heard in a game, Damnation is just plain damned and not even worthy of serving as a coaster for my coffee mug, never mind ever seeing the lens of my Xbox 360 ever again. Avoid it at all costs.

-Ray Carsillo

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Searching for Salvation

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

Continuing the trend of movies geared towards the geeky genre this summer, we look at the second movie and game combination of the summer blockbuster season with Terminator: Salvation. After X-Men Origins: Wolverine fell flat on its face in the theatre, but delivered a strong performance on the home gaming consoles, you were wondering if T4 would be this summer’s best hope for salvation; would it rise up and be able to provide that rare combination of great movie and game that we haven’t really seen since Spider-Man 2?

Terminator: Salvation takes place in the year 2018. John Connor (Christian Bale) has always had his fate intertwined with the fate of the world and is now one of the top heads of the resistance against the machines in California as Skynet’s global network has overridden the entire world and established itself as the dominate form of “life”. Now he searches for Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), the man Connor will send back in time (the original Terminator movie) to protect his mother and end up becoming his father before the machines can find him and wipe Connor from the timeline of existence by killing Reese.

Along the way, Connor also discovers that the machines have begun making the necessary advancements in order to upgrade the common, but still very deadly T-600 model (the famous skeleton-looking foot soldiers that comprise the bulk of the machines’ army), to the T-800 infiltrator unit that could mimic a human’s appearance with living flesh and tissue covering the silver skeleton of the Terminator units (made famous by Arnold), just as he had always known they would.

Meanwhile, a “too good to be true” fault in the machines’ programming is found and Connor must weigh the decision to go after Reese or lead an assault that could possibly end the war with one massive offensive.

While Connor searches for Reese, Reese stumbles across Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a convict given the death penalty back in 2003, but signed waivers to donate his body to science upon his demise. An un-aged and amnesiac Wright was released from a human holding pen that was supposed to be used in the T-800 experiments after an attack on a Skynet base by the resistance and was sent stumbling through the California desert before being found by Reese.

Reese saves Wright from a “Skin Job”, a T-600 covered in rags and rotted rubber skin to appear more human from afar and lure resistance members close before mowing them down with their mounted mini-guns. Reese proceeds to catch Wright up on everything he has missed over the past 15 years and they set off to look for John Connor in the hopes of meeting up with the resistance, all the while Reese not realizing his fate is pre-ordained should he be able to survive the machines for a little while longer.

As Wright and Reese head out on a grueling mission to find John Connor, Connor struggles with his decisions on what orders to carry out, his superiors’ or fates’. The two groups don’t realize though they are headed for an explosive collision course that will change the fate of the resistance forever as Wright is not exactly what he appears to be on the surface…

This was a spectacular action movie from start to finish. Everyone involved gave great acting performances from Bale as John Connor and Sam Worthington as Wright to smaller characters like Common as Connor’s left hand man Barnes, his wife Kate played by the beautiful Bryce Dallas Howard, or sympathetic Blair Williams played by the lovely Moon Bloodgood.

The special effects and settings were unbelievably real and you couldn’t tell what was CGI’d or not. The robots moved and acted with a realism that you just don’t see and the post-apocalyptic California countryside was amazing to behold.

The story was well-written and kept well with the continuity of the first three movies, making sure to keep the set-up of the story of Kyle Reese having to go back in time and the resistance getting their hands on a T-800 model to send back in time later in tact.

Watching this already established story unfold and be expanded upon was easily the most wonderful part of the movie though. From robots that lurked in rivers and attacked humans looking for a drink to giant Hunter Killer aerial units patrolling barren patches of desert to smaller motorcycle units racing down highways void of any and all traffic, the thought that Skynet ruled the world was not a stretch to believe from the picture portrayed in Terminator: Salvation.

The only problems I had with the movie was that there were a lot of nukes going off in relatively close vicinity to humans and usually if you can see the mushroom cloud coming, you’re not going to survive, and from the looks of a “Skin Job”, I don’t see how anyone could get fooled into thinking this thing was human.

Aside from these minor complaints and add-in a special CGI’d Arnold cameo and this movie gave you everything you could ask for in the 4th in the series. Terminator Salvation has at the very least saved the Terminator series as we look forward to a 5th film to continue the futuristic adventures of mankind’s last hope in John Connor after watching this fun, action packed gem.


Terminator Salvation gets 4.5 out of 5.

After such a wonderful viewing experience from the movie, my hopes were raised that the game would deliver at least a par experience, but it would be all too soon before my hopes were markedly dashed.

The Terminator: Salvation video game, out for XBOX360, PS3, and PC, is set two years before the events of the movie, which immediately had me groaning knowing that it would not follow any of the events of the movie that I enjoyed so much.

The plot follows John Connor, of course, but as a low-level member of the resistance instead of one of the higher-ups as we’ve always known. He receives a distress signal from fellow resistance member David Weston that he is trapped behind enemy lines with his unit. John sets off alone to try to rescue his comrades since “every life is sacred” and so against all odds, he is joined by his good friend Blair Williams as the two of them set off against the machines and work their way deep into Skynet territory.

What I liked about the game is it finds a way to introduce all the main resistance characters from the movie and show how they joined up with John, but aside from this point, the game is a complete waste of time. Even on Hard mode, I beat the entire game and got every achievement in less than eight hours, nowhere near worth the $60 price tag this baby carries.

The graphics are easily subpar for any current generation console. It looks similar to Fallout 3‘s unpolished graphics, but at least that had the excuse of cramming a massive world, 30+ hour plot, and an open-ended decision based path onto one disc while this is a small, linear world with no room to explore and only nine short, simple levels. It was supposed to look like a post-apocalyptic world, not like it had been made in one.

The audio is one of the few bright spots for the game since it takes the music straight from the movies and the constant din of gunfire and explosions work. Unfortunately, Christian Bale refused to do the voice-over work for the game or have his likeness used and his replacement had some big shoes to fill and fill them he did not. Although getting Rose McGowan to serve as another resistance fighter, Angie, and getting Common and Moon Bloodgood to reprise their movie roles was nice, the voice acting overall was still subpar.

The gameplay was full of glitches and frustrating as both you and the enemy would occasionally find holes in the cover that you could both shoot through. Last time I checked though, grenades could not be lobbed straight through steel girders.

The game does feature a co-op mode where a friend could take on the role of Barnes or Blair, but this makes the game an even more simple experience as flanking the robots is about as easy as turning the game on to begin with. Even when Blair or Barnes is computer controlled, they understand how simple it is to flank the robots since most of the time your computer controlled partner will do it on their own. I don’t know if it is good A.I. for your partners or bad A.I. for the robots, but this is part of the reason why the game is a breeze as enemies refuse to use or find cover and can only target one character at a time allowing one of you to just fire away with the enemy’s back turned. Add in that there is always an abundance of ammo lying around when you are about to get into a firefight helps eliminate any element of surprise for the enemy and allows you to camp out in good positions to pick them off one by one as they haunter by.

Combine these poor experiences with no unlockables, no collectibles to search for, and no vs. mode and the replay value on this game has been nuked like Skynet dropping bombs on Judgment Day. Terminator: Salvation is easily one of the worst gaming experiences you can have on a modern console and probably isn’t even worth a rental for the die-hard Terminator fans.

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

Graphics: 4.0: No current console game should look this bad. For such a big budget movie that ended up so good, you think they could’ve thrown the game developers a few dollars to get some designers that knew what they were doing.

Audio: 7.5: The audio is passable as the game takes the soundtrack straight from the movie and the firefights sound great. The voice acting was awful though considering the talent and I think part of that falls on the poor writing for this movie prequel storyline.

Plot/Plot Development: 5.0: John Connor sets off on another suicide mission, but survives because it is what he does as humanity’s last hope against the machines. Simple, to the point, and not nearly fleshed out enough to get any kind of a decent score. It was nice to see how Blair and Barnes join John and the resistance and how John begins to get some real recognition in the ranks, but even adding in those minor points, the plot is still a stinker.

Gameplay: 3.0: A bevy of glitches with a beyond simple enemy A.I. makes this game a quick and simple once playthrough, even on Hard mode, and I still unlocked every achievement.

Replay Value: 1.0: No unlockables, no collectibles, no vs. mode, and a co-op mode that makes the already simple story mode even more of a cake walk means you should start getting ready to trade this one in before the disc even gets to speed.

Overall: 2.5 (not an average): Even the most die-hard of Terminator fans should steer clear of this game unless you have a free rental coming your way and you want to see some poorly animated T-600s on your home console or are looking to bolster your achievements score with a ridiculously easy 100% completion. The game is lacking in every way imaginable and is just another victim added to the list of horrible games to follow great movies.

-Ray Carsillo

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Little Mac Comes Up Big for the Wii

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Originally Published: May 21, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

It started as an arcade game all the way back in 1984. It then invaded homes in 1987 riding some star power with Mike Tyson for the Nintendo Entertainment System. A sequel five years later for the Super Nintendo continued the game’s popularity even after distancing itself from Mr. Tyson and his legal problems. And then…we waited.

Now, after a 15-year hiatus, after throngs of fans screamed for a sequel, and after Nintendo came out with the perfect system for boxing video games, Punch-Out!! has finally returned to our home consoles.

Donning the green gloves of everyone’s favorite video game underdog pugilist with the big heart, Little Mac, and taking the odd words of advice from his trainer Doc in stride, (“There are many ways to eat chocolate, but only one way to eat a chocolate bar,”…thanks Doc.), you return to the ring once more to attempt to become the WVGA’s (World Video Game Association?) greatest boxer.

The control system is solid and with three ways to play, it gives you plenty of options. You can use the Wii Balance Board to duck and dodge while swinging the controls to punch if you want more of a workout. If you are a little less coordinated (like yours truly), you might want to just swing your arms and use the control stick on the Nunchuck to duck and dodge. And for others who might not feel like swinging their arms around for three rounds at a time, you can turn the Wiimote around and use the classic controls from the NES. These controller options, along with minimal lag in the control sensors and the over-the-top nostalgia factor, and the gameplay is even more fun than it was 15 years ago.

The graphics are superb. The cel-shaded visuals and the new cut scenes introducing each opponent and giving some depth to all the characters and plot are a great touch. The revamped original soundtrack along with original and brand new SFX will have you flashing back to 1987 in no time.

The best part of the game though is all the extras that have been added to the game to flesh it out because a straight remake would not be worth $50, no matter how strong the nostalgia factor is. Along with being almost as difficult as the original (curse you Piston Honda and Bald Bull!), there is a new title defense mode after you beat the game the first time. You have to attempt to defeat each boxer all over again as they have been training long and hard after you pummeled them on your way to the top. Even Glass Joe isn’t a pushover anymore due to some interesting new headgear on the second time around.

Add in challenges to help motivate you to try exhibition mode, a practice mode if you don’t want to tarnish your record as you attempt to figure out each boxer’s patterns, and a VS. mode for the first time in the franchise’s history and you have enough here to easily keep you coming back for more since the initial playthrough shouldn’t take you more than five hours for even the worst of gamers.

With many of the old favorite foes from the first two home editions being brought back, along with one new boxer added to round out a nice baker’s dozen for the stable of competition, a revamped edition of the original soundtrack, and the classic controls being implemented in brand new ways, and all the pieces are in play to make Punch-Out!! for the Wii a knockout.

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

Graphics: 8.0: Since cartoony, cel-shaded graphics seem to be the Wii’s staple now, it’s no surprise to see this game chock full of them. On that note, they look beautiful and I think they work perfectly for Punch-Out!! If you want realism, Fight Night Round 4 will be out in a month.

Audio: 9.0: The original soundtrack has been completely revamped and sounds great. Mix that in with some of the original NES SFX when throwing your punches and the game does not disappoint in terms of sound, even if it does get a little repetitive after a while.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.0: It’s the same plot as in every boxing game: no-name underdog fights his way up the ranks to glory. The only difference with this game that gives it a passing grade is there are short cut scenes that flesh out the history and nuances of the boxers you go against which no other boxing game does. It’s a nice change to see a game, even a cartoony one, give some depth to not only your boxer, but the boxers you have to fight as well.

Gameplay: 9.0: A minimum of glitches, considering the amount of motion control this game relies on, gives this a great score. Add that to difficulty reminiscent of a NES original and you have a great experience on your hands.

Replay Value: 7.5: I don’t see devoting more than 10 hours to this on the first couple of playthroughs, but that nostalgia factor coupled with a VS. mode will probably keep you coming back to it somewhere down the line just to relive the one hit KOs of Glass Joe and realize how far we’ve come.

Overall: 8.5 (not an average): When it comes down to it, this game is fun for all ages. The cartoony graphics appeal to younger audiences while the gameplay and characters strike a cord of nostalgia with us older gamers that you just can’t replicate. Why it took this long to come out with a sequel is beyond me, but now that it is here, it will stay warm in my system for a long time.

Punch-Out!! is available now exclusively for the Wii.


-Ray Carsillo

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Like Staring into a Crystal Ball

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Originally Published: May 18, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

One of the major selling points for any video game nowadays is its potential beyond the confines of the disc itself. Sequels are usually the first things that come to mind, but what has become increasingly popular have been the map and expansion packs that can keep you immersed in some of your favorite worlds. Whether it is ruined industrial wonders that you find in Gears of War 2, or once immaculate cities left in scarred shambles by nuclear war in Fallout 3, expansions packs have been key in keeping these great titles warm in our systems months after their release.

Continuing along these lines was another of 2008’s highly anticipated sequels and one of the best RPG’s out there, Fable II. With the success of one expansion pack already (Knothole Island), the developers knew that the world of Fable II was still ripe for new wonders to be discovered and explored. Thus, for the meager amount of 560 Microsoft points (roughly $7 American dollars) four new quests along with promises of great things to come for our heroes have been released in the new See the Future expansion pack.

Murgo, the traveling salesman of wonders both exotic and mysterious, and who unknowingly sets you on your fate in the beginning of the game when he sells you a mysterious music box that grants its bearer a wish that usually has unforeseen consequences a la the Monkey’s Paw, has returned to Albion with new magical wares. When the great hero approaches, Murgo realizes that he has found just the customer to help him push a few of his more difficult items. He reveals that he has several items that have been cursed and he needs someone to lift the curses to help his shop prosper.

Along with the cursed items, he also has several new goods to add to the game that you might find interesting including potions to turn your mutt into a pure-breed of a canine of your choosing (I chose the husky) and many new face paints and hairstyles to strike that extra bit of fear into your enemies (or friends).

The first item he sells to you, for the same paltry five gold pieces that he sold the cursed music box to you for, is a snow globe that contains a shrunken village that has been cursed (sounds like something from a Superman comic). Supposedly you can hear tiny screams emanating from the snow globe when you place it against your ear like a sea shell.

With a quick flick of your wrist, the curse is activated and you are instantly teleported to a world similar to your own, but lacking any color. Upon exploration of the black and white Albion look alike, you see blue demons sapping the color and strength of one of the snow globes’ denizens. It is then you realize that your weapons are glowing with the colors of your special abilities, blue is your melee weapon, yellow your skill weapon, and red for your will abilities.

After dispatching the blue demons with only your melee weapon, you realize that you must mix and match your styles as you begin to hunt down these color vampires in order to restore order and vibrancy to the miniature Albion.

Once this mission is complete, for another five gold pieces, Murgo gives you a skull, which when activated, teleports you to a graveyard separate from the rest of Albion. A fallen warrior pleads to you from beyond the grave that his soul has been wrongfully entrapped from an odd tomb that you encounter at the beginning of this mystical mound of death. You then acquire special costumes of some of your more bestial foes in order to mimic statues set about the graveyard opening up new doors and releasing the spirits that keep the fallen warrior entrapped.

Though, after freeing all the spirits, you realize you have been tricked: the fallen warrior is actually a ruthless necromancer who was imprisoned amongst those he conjured as an ironic punishment by benevolent spirits.

After defeating the necromancer and lifting the curse of the skull, Murgo sells you a dark item from your hero’s past; a model of Lucien’s tower. Upon activating the tower, you are teleported to where you had to defeat your greatest foe and are met by Theresa once more. She still keeps guard over the tower and reveals that she had sold the items to Murgo in order to test if you were ready for the visions of the future she was ready to impart to you.

After seeing your future, a final item is given to you. A model of what looks like a great Roman Coliseum where you can test your mettle (and earn fantastic prizes!) against wave after wave of foes. This can be repeated again and again for varying prizes and gold and is a sure fire way to build up you bank account (if you can keep surviving).

This expansion pack was a lot of fun because it encompassed everything that Fable has come to stand for, but if you’re a decent player who has leveled up their hero enough, you can blow through these extra quests in about two hours. So, the question then becomes, is two extra hours of gameplay worth seven dollars?

Considering the small price, I think it is well worth the buy and if you are a Fable-freak then you will definitely love the excuse to go exploring Albion again. The See the Future expansion pack is downloadable now via XBOX Live.

-Ray Carsillo

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Smooth as Velvet

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Originally Published: May 14, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

I admit that I have never been a fan of World War II or other historically based games. I felt that it limited the imagination of the player and the developers because at the end of the day, no matter what happens in the game, we know the outcome of the war. Sure, these specific era based shooters are great and the gameplay and graphics usually try to make up for the lack of originality, but I usually can walk away from the game without finishing it and not really care because in my mind, I still know the ending.

That leads us into today’s review. In Velvet Assassin you play as a female British secret agent during World War II with the gameplay revolving around your lurking in the shadows and undermining the Nazi regime in 1943-1944 Western Europe. I had heard rumors about this game in the later part of 2008 and then saw a demo at NY ComicCon and my interest was immediately piqued: A semi-original storyline (it’s based off a real-life WWII British agent) that didn’t revolve around troop movements and taking out tanks with bazooka launchers. It dealt with the grittier, darker side of war; sneaking cyanide capsules to captured double agents, infiltrating enemy strongholds and single-handedly sabotaging their oil lines or railways, and assassinating high-ranking officials in the middle of the night.

The great thing about this game is that it emphasizes stealth more than anything and it is rare to a see a game do this nowadays. Yes, the Metal Gear series has stealth elements as a strong part of the game, but then again you could hide in a crappy cardboard box and had a wealth of weapons and devices at any moment to help dispatch your enemies. At no time during this game do you have more than three weapons, one of which is your ever-present knife, to remind you that the best kill is the one that doesn’t make a sound (aside from the satisfying noise of your defeated foe gurgling on his own blood). The gameplay was a nice changeup from the run-and-gun style of most of today’s games.

While the game makes you think and work to succeed in ways that most games don’t anymore, the story engrosses you in the character with what has always been a limited subject matter for originality. Firstly, the female lead, Violette Summer (almost sounds like violent summer, any irony there?), is an attention grabber just due to the lack of female leads in games. Add in that she is one of the main weapons for the British on the frontlines doing the unthinkable and you’ve already got me hooked. But that wasn’t enough for SouthPeak Games. To add on top of it, the entire game is her memories of the war while she is in a coma from injuries that are explained as you progress. This also ties into one of the more interesting aspects of the gameplay. You can collect morphine over the course of most levels that represent an increase of her real-life dosage to help slow things down for her and make her dreams less strenuous (and less difficult for you).

Along with the great gameplay and plot, the game is graphically beautiful. From lurking in the shadows of ancient European cathedrals to trudging through the sewers of French ghettos, the visuals are superb. And the shadows are so critical to the entire game as you cross in front of floodlights and watch your silhouette raise the attention of the dozing off guards, or knock the lights out to bathe a room in obsidian safety.

Include a haunting soundtrack and you can actually feel your blood begin to race from the tension, as if you were in the shoes of the heroine, as you know that the wrong move could alert the enemy to your position and almost assuredly forfeit your life. The atmosphere that was created with so little and the clandestine nature of the game leaves you breathless like when you stare directly into the vapid eyes of the gasmask of a flame-trooper while he patrols right by you.

Time-accurate weaponry and locales, stunning graphics, and powerful atmospheric elements that stay with you well after you turn your XBOX360 off, makes this game a great stealth experience. If you’re tired of the usual run-and-gun and looking for a little more strategy from your shooters, this is a must have. Velvet Assassin is out now for XBOX360 and the PC.

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

Graphics: 8.5: Although beautiful, the game is mostly spent in the dark so I can’t give it a perfect score. The lighting effects are top of the line though. Along with some very smooth NPCs (Non-playable characters), this game is not going to disappoint you visually.

Audio: 10.0: There purposely isn’t a lot of music to help immerse you in the experience of being this character and to stress the stealth aspects of the game. The music that is there is moving and sets the mood beautifully. Along with great voice acting by all involved (even if most of it is in a foreign language with subtitles, you could still feel the emotions of the characters) and Melinda Cohen who plays Violette (and doubles as the physical basis for Violette very nicely as well) does a brilliant job.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.0: It is another game based off of real-life events so you still know the historical outcome, but it is a story that hasn’t been told in a WWII game before and super-spies always play better to me than Saving Private Ryan rip-offs. This is more along the lines of Splinter Cell or No One Lives Forever, minus the fictional megalomaniac villains and replacing it with one of the original, real-life megalomaniac villains. This is one of the best stories for a game that you know the ending to that has come out in a long time.

Gameplay: 9.0: Difficult (at least on the hard difficulty I played on) but addictive, this game will keep you entertained for a solid 10-15 hours (I beat it in 11), and for this, that is the perfect length of time. The game is so engrossing that any longer and you would probably start speaking German and lurking in the shadows on your way to work in the morning.

Replay Value: 3.0: There are some interesting WWII inspired collectibles throughout the levels, but aside from that there just isn’t enough to bring you back for a second playthrough once you beat this. Great game, but definitely a one and done.

Overall: 8.0 (not an average): I thoroughly enjoyed Velvet Assassin as it was a nice alternative to all the run-and-gun shooters that usually permeate the market. Although it didn’t have enough to bring me back for more, and the last level was frustrating because it deviated from the stealth theme of the rest of the game, the game as a whole is engrossing and deserves a look from any shooter fan.

Also, I just want to include a special shout-out to Jino Song of Video Game World at 58 Broad St. in Bloomfield, NJ, 07003. Jino was kind enough, for a nominal fee, to fix my XBOX360 after I burned the lens out (it’s what I get for playing games for 10-12 hours a day) in just 24 hours. No hassle, no six week wait for Microsoft to replace my system, just a single day. Without Jino’s help, this review, and any game reviews coming in the next couple of months, would not be. If you have an XBOX360 that is giving you problems or are tired of the lack of personality you usually get from the big chain stores like Best Buy or GameStop, check out Jino’s shop and tell him that Ray Carsillo sent you.

-Ray Carsillo

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Adamantium Abound!

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

This year’s summer blockbuster movie season is geared more towards geeks than any other in recent memory: G.I. JOE in August, Transformers 2 in June, and Terminator: Salvation and Star Trek later in May. Of course, most have corresponding video games as well so our first double review, to kick off the summer blockbuster season with a feral roar, is X-Men Origins: Wolverine. To hear my initial movie review on The Seth Everett Show this past Friday, you can
CLICK HERE!

Be sure to tune in to Seth’s show every weeknight from 7PM-10PM right here on 1050 ESPN and be listening this Friday when Seth and I talk about Star Trek.

Now that the obligatory plug has been sufficed, on with the review. Geeks have been salivating for years since this movie was announced as Wolverine is the most popular comic character in history (as per Wizard magazine last year). Would the movie live up to the unparalleled hype? What changes would be made to the story to fit the original trilogy?

Well, after seeing the movie, I can decree that this was easily the biggest disappointment to start the movie season in a long time. Classic characters like Deadpool and the Blob were destroyed and the unnecessary need to tie every character in with each other was annoying and inaccurate to the original stories. And if there was one more shot of Wolverine screaming at the sky a la Shatner from the original Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry would have crawled out of his grave and sued for copyright infringement. The basics of the original plot were there, but the discrepancies were abundant.

Young James Howlett was a sickly Canadian from a well-to-do family who saw his father slaughtered and his mutant power emerged from the trauma. In this movie, it also wielded the first change in the story as a young Victor Creed was revealed as Howlett’s half brother. Immediately I knew bad things were coming for this movie.

After an entertaining montage of Howlett and Creed over the years through war after war and how their mutant abilities served them over and over again in bloody combat, the mutants were imprisoned in Vietnam after failing to obey orders.

Freed by Col. William Stryker after James and Victor’s healing factors allowed them to survive a firing squad, they were offered them a deal they couldn’t refuse and the events were set in motion that would change mutant history.

James and Victor join Team X along with fellow mutants Wade Wilson (later Deadpool), Fred Dukes (known in the comics as Blob), John Wraith, Bradley (known in the comics as Bolt), and Agent Zero (better known as Maverick), a group of military trained mutants that handle missions that only their special talents could pull off. After some misgivings on an African mission, James, now called Wolverine, leaves Team X, much to the dismay of Victor, now Sabertooth.

Team X also had the second obvious inaccuracy as Bradley is never given his codename and Maverick was depicted as Agent Zero and an Asian dude. In the comics, he was only Agent Zero after being brainwashed and he was as German as a blitzkrieg. Christoph Nord doesn’t sound very Asian to me. I’ll let that slide and remain more furious over the Agent Zero codename.

After leaving Team X, Wolverine goes off to marry a Native American woman named Silver Fox and become a lumberjack. Sabertooth kills Silver Fox in cold blood to, supposedly, try to force Wolverine to embrace his feral side. This is a self-explanatory sequence and was relatively accurate to the comics.

The next big disappointment in the movie though came with the ENTIRE Weapon X sequence. Wolverine doesn’t have his memories erased here like in the comics, he doesn’t kill anyone when he escapes, (him going “berserk” in the comics is an understatement and one of comics’ most classic moments) and the entire sequence seems as a weak plot tool to give him the adamantium and give a gratuitous butt shot to Hugh Jackman instead of the major character changing moment it was in the comics. This lack of respect to the character and the blasphemy of changing a major portion of his history turned my stomach.

Then the story begins to really get ridiculous (even more so for a comics movie). He kills Agent Zero, which is a major no-no if it wasn’t done in the comics (and it wasn’t) and then tracks down Wraith for help. In order to get the info he is looking for, Wraith tells Wolverine he will have to beat it out of Fred Dukes. Only after a misunderstanding is Dukes even referred to as Blob, which in and of itself made me just shake my head in disbelief, but then they explained this as an eating disorder. In the comics, Blob was always a big guy who was proud of his bulk and had a secondary mutation to make him even more massive. This cheesy write off of his appearance made me feel like they were trying to be politically correct or trying to say “Come on fat people! You can fight back just like Fred Dukes!” This turn of events was beyond depressing because what would have been an epic battle in the comics was anti-climatic in the movie as it was in a boxing ring in the hopes of helping Dukes shed a few pounds. Gym trainers everywhere rejoiced.

The lead that Blob gives to Wolverine an hour and fifteen minutes into the movie was that a mutant named Gambit knows where to find Sabertooth. FINALLY. Aside from Deadpool and Blob, Gambit was a mutant that fans were clamoring to see on the big screen and this was one of the few times it did not disappoint in terms of the character. However, the way he was used in the plot, again this movie falls short. Instead of a major battle or drawn out exposition, he is simply another tool used to further a mediocre script.

Gambit leads Wolverine to “The Island”, the secret facility where Sabertooth is, before conveniently disappearing during the climax of the movie. At “The Island”, we find Stryker, Sabertooth, and Silver Fox (who faked her death) are all working together to round up mutants to allow Stryker to do tests for his most insane experiment yet, Deadpool. After stealing the opening scenes, you hoped to see Ryan Reynolds as the disfigured “Merc with a Mouth” in the red suit. Instead, his mouth is removed by Stryker so he could be the perfect weapon and the worst depiction over the character’s 20-year history. Deadpool is given several mutants’ powers, including Cyclops’, which again, was nothing more than a flashy special effect and simply another way to tie everyone in the entire X-Men universe together, and ultimately is the undoing of Stryker.

Before he gets away though, Stryker shoots an adamantium bullet through Wolverine’s skull to destroy his memory. (Since when has Wolverine been a vampire or werewolf?) With his memory destroyed, he only knows his name due to his dog tags that say “Logan” on one side and “Wolverine” on the other.

The action sequences were great. I’m not taking away from the pure action that the movie had and the acting from all involved was amazing. Liev Schriebrer did the character of Sabertooth credit and Hugh Jackman was great as Wolverine as usual. Everyone involved did really well considering it looks like the script writer was fired after the first 30 minutes of the movie and a kindergartener was hired in his place.

Professor Xavier, Cyclops, and Emma Frost all making cameos was beyond ridiculous and having Silver Fox conspire against Wolverine and work willingly with Stryker because Emma is supposed to be Silver Fox’s sister doesn’t make any sense and is beyond comic continuity comprehension.

The movie did mostly keep with the continuity of the original trilogy, but this is right on X-Men 3‘s level of competency in terms of justice to the comics. It gave people a lot of what they wanted to see, but in the entirely wrong context and it destroyed the spirit of the characters from the original comics.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine kicks off the summer movie season to a disappointing 2 out of 5.

When a movie is as bad as X-Men Origins: Wolverine, you don’t expect much from the game, but the corresponding video game was actually good, borderline great.

The same basic storyline from the movie serves as the plot here except the entire game is told in flashback as if from Wolverine’s memories. The only problem with this is that if he lost his memories at the end of the flashback, then how can he remember the story to tell it?

Aside from this obvious flaw, the video game is chock full of action and goes far more in-depth with the Weapon X program than the movie. Along with this, a few continuity surprises along the way make this game a far superior product to the movie.

The game is graphically beautiful. Wolverine takes real-time damage and heals as he runs around. You can see straight down to his skeleton and Activision even took the time to make sure that in the flashbacks to Africa he doesn’t have adamantium claws. At least they follow that part of the continuity and wait till he actually receives the adamantium at Alkali Lake.

The beautiful graphics and bountiful amount of enemies for Wolverine to rip to shreds does cause some lag in the gameplay though, but aside from this and the overly linear levels, the game is as technically sound as it can be. With hundreds of ways to tear your enemies apart, you truly feel like your character is a living weapon.

The music is taken straight from the movie and having Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber, and Will I Am reprise their movie roles for the game was superb and anything less would never have worked. No Ryan Reynolds though meant not having any Deadpool until the final confrontation and this was a bit disappointing because I was really looking forward to his original wit, but I blame this more on the movie script writing (or lack there of).

The addition of the right characters from Wolverine’s past into the game that weren’t in the movie and some of the best battles in recent gaming history, including a battle with Wolverine taking on a full-sized 50ft. Sentinel (yes, Sentinels were worked into the video game story and it made more sense than anything from the movie), and you have one of the best action gaming experiences out there if you can look past the sub-par movie plot at its heart.

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

Graphics: 9.0: Aside from a few glitches, this game is beautiful. From the lush jungles of Africa to the frozen shores of Alkali Lake, to Wolverine’s real-time battle damage and tearing enemies to shreds, this game is gorgeous.

Audio: 8.5: There is nothing too special in terms of sound. Great voice acting from all those involved, especially the three big stars from the film and proper sound effects whenever necessary. Just hearing the SNIKT! of Wolverine’s claws though in a video game is enough to bump up the score.

Plot/Plot Development: 5.0: I expressed my displeasure with the plot in the movie review and do not need to compound my frustration by repeating myself here. The game does slightly better than the movie because of additions made by Activision in order to flesh the game out some.

Gameplay: 8.0: Glitchy at times due to the amount of enemies and detailed surroundings on screen at one time, but everything else came out solid. The fighting mechanics and physics were effective and I enjoyed the fact that the game had friendly fire so that some enemies could take each other out if they missed you. A little more open-endedness would have been appreciated, but I can’t fault Activision too much for making it as linear as they did.

Replay Value: 5.0: The game really falters here because after you beat it once, there just isn’t enough to bring you back for more. You could try to find extra collectibles to unlock classic costumes or max out Wolverine’s stats, but after that, the game is over and this will end up probably sitting on your shelf until the next movie comes out and you need a refresher.

Overall: 8.5 (not an average): Epic boss battles, great gameplay, and classic comic characters brought to life is enough to warrant a buy from this game more than a ticket to see the movie. A lack of replay value and the proper comic plot knocks some points off, but at the end of the day you still feel like Wolverine and it feels good to be the best there is at what you do, even if it isn’t very nice.

-Ray Carsillo

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The Coldest Summer in Gears History

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April 18, 2010

Originally Published: April 27, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

We’re getting close to the summer push for video games when blockbuster after blockbuster will be dropping for the next two months. With the tough economy, not everyone is going to have the chance to drop all that money on the plethora of hits coming out in the next 60 days, though. So you’ll see people maybe get a game or two, but they’ll need more. Well, for those penny-pinchers out there I have been given a solution.

More maps from Gears of War 2!

Now, everyone knows I play a lot of games (I’ve beaten 70 over the past 8 months) over many different genres (fighting, first- or third-person shooters, RTS, RPG, adventure, racing, etc., etc.), but I keep coming back to Gears of War 2 because it is rare nowadays that a game will have the lasting power and deliver the multiplayer mayhem most of us crave like this game.

On top of this, the brilliant minds at Epic Games like to keep things fresh for all its die-hard and casual fans alike and at an affordable price. For only 800 Microsoft points (roughly eight to ten American dollars) you can purchase four brand new multiplayer maps that bring the pain like no others have so far.

Included with the download of the four new maps are nine brand new achievements you can unlock, worth 250 Gamerscore points, as well.

This map pack will have you washing off that Lancer Chainsaw Rifle with Locust blood in no time. I just don’t recommend you eat the red snow…

That reminds me of a critical detail. It’s called the Snowblind Map Pack. That’s right. Soon it may be warm enough to cook eggs on the city sidewalks outside, but inside it’ll be nice and frosty as the new map pack has a wintery theme to help keep you Gearheads cooled off.

The first map included in the new map pack is Fuel Depot. Gear veterans will know that Fuel Depot was an original map in Gears 1, but this time it is blanketed in freshly fallen snow to give the all-time classic a revamped look. Add in Gears 2‘s Guardian mode and heavy weapons and suddenly this familiar map gets an entirely new twist as you re-familiarize yourself with its open and unforgiving sections to the lovely sound of Gatling gun bullets whizzing by your frostbitten face.

The first brand new map we’ll look at is Courtyard. What once was a hustling and bustling metropolis’ civic center is now an arid kill zone with clear lines of sight for whatever team can maintain the elevated sniper’s nest. There is a boiler room though that you can take refuge in and regroup with some grenades/proximity mines should your team lose or fail to grab control of the nest in the onset of the battle. It’s a great map for every mode of play; I found Courtyard to be a particular favorite of mine for Annex or Submission matches.

The next new map is Grindyard. Once used to recycle scrap metal during the more industrial days of Sera’s history, Grindyard has a gutted main office that could act as a guard tower if your team can fortify it first. Some of my best Execution battles have been won and lost in the walkway leading to the top of the tower where there is usually a heavy weapon waiting for you to dole out punishment from high above. If you can’t get the tower, you can try to snipe off opposing team members from two corner offices that are well fortified from enemy fire, but watch your back! There are two ways in and out of the lower offices, unlike the tower office, making it much easier for a less organized team to be picked off from behind. This map is a spectacular arena for Guardian or Warzone game modes.

It’s hard to pick favorites, but this last map would probably be the one I choose out of the new map pack. Under Hill is a scene that many people who have to drive into New York City everyday would appreciate. Snowbound tunnels and tollbooths set the scene here as wrecked cars provide cover as you attempt to reach the top of the paved helix for some prime weaponry. Often higher ground gives you a tactical advantage, but that’s not always so here. The top of the helix is wide open and accessible from two lanes whereas you could always fortify yourself near the bottom inside a garage with an impenetrable steel door and wait to mow down enemies foolish enough to stumble through the narrow rear walkway. Also easily fortifiable are the two far corridors on either side of the garage that always have grenades/proximity mines ready to help you defend it from enemies. While wider than the garage and with much more cover, with the help of some well placed mines, the corridors could easily be a deathtrap for anyone brave enough to wander in by himself. Under Hill is a great map for King of the Hill and Annex matches.

This map pack is a must have download for any Gearhead. If you’re a more casual gamer and you’re looking for some fresh gameplay and are a little strapped for cash in the coming months, a new map pack might be just the thing you need to keep yourself satiated until that tax return check arrives. Gears of War 2’s Snowblind Map Pack is downloadable now on XBOX Live.

-Ray Carsillo

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Looking Like a Knockout

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Originally Published: April 15, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and ESPNVideoGames.com

It’s getting close to summer and everyone wants to look their best. One of the recent big fads in gaming has been Nintendo’s releases of fitness games to help you burn calories and shed pounds and to continue lasting the vein of last summer’s sensation, Wii Fit. The best part of most of these games is they have proven that if you keep up the regimen dictated by the games, you will actually get into better shape and lose weight.

Of course, a lot of these exercises depend on the Wii’s Balance Board so it is almost like a gym membership since you’re dropping $90 for the board and Wii Fit and another $40-$50 on any supplemental games.

So, jumping on the fitness and working out at home bandwagons, a couple of recent releases for the Wii are trying their best to help you fit into that itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini for the ladies or, for the guys, to look good to pick up that lady in the yellow bikini.
These two games are Ubisoft’s Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout and 2K Sports’ Don King Boxing.

Don King’s Boxing

Now, the Gold’s Gym game is an obvious title for a workout game, but Don King Boxing? In order to appeal to a larger audience, yes. One of the key features of this game is a workout mode that has you jumping rope, hitting a speed bag, shadow boxing, doing squats, or hammering a punching bag and the exercises work, especially the jumping rope. My calves were on fire after that. The problem is that the game awards you “fitness points” as you workout instead of just telling you how many calories you’re burning so you never know how effective your workout is going and what areas you need to work on more.

Another nice feature about the workout mode is that the Wii Balance Board also acts a scale before each workout so you can track your progress each day, but this feature comes standard with Wii Fit so it’s nothing spectacular.

If you can’t just get yourself up to working out, even with video games, the game has an interesting story mode to help you get moving and shedding pounds. The cinematic scenes for the story mode are great because they are live action and the story plays out like a documentary feature as you progress. The only problem with the story itself is it sounds like an adaptation of the first four Rocky movies.

You start off as a kid on the streets. You work your way up boxing in dilapidated gyms when the champion gives you a shot after he cannot find any decent competition. You beat the champion and become best friends with him. Then you beat some difficult heavyweight contenders coming after your belt. Then a behemoth boxer from overseas comes out of nowhere and challenges your friend in an exhibition. The behemoth knocks out your friend so hard that he dies in the ring. You then avenge your friend and retain your title by pummeling the behemoth in the ring for the entire world to see. All played out, of course, to “Eye of the Tiger” by Foreigner.

Add to the lack of originality, the fact that you can’t even customize your boxer and he has to be known as “The Kid” for the entirety of the game is frustrating.

The only real interesting aspect of the story mode was when you got the chance to get into the shoes of Archie Moore, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, and many other legends and replay some of the great matches of all time in order to teach your boxer a cliché lesson like “it ain’t over till it’s over”. Considering though the licensing rights that have already been snatched up by EA for Fight Night Round 4, the real legends you would want to see like Ali, Tyson, or Holyfield for the more casual fan, are nowhere to be seen.

You would hope from a boxing game for Wii that you would have better controls than Wii Sports’ boxing that launched with the system, but the ones in Don King’s Boxing might actually be worse. You never throw the punches you want to throw with your motions. Not that it matters since the A.I. is so sad that you can get away with just flailing your arms wildly and still walk away with a win. The entire story mode only takes a maximum of four hours to complete because of its simplicity. At least you’ll break a sweat if you play it through enough.

Combine the lack of an original story, awful motion controls, lack of boxer choices, and horrible A.I. and this game is easily my worst game of 2009 so far. Don King is a spectacular promoter so I’m sure he’ll find a way to sell a few copies of this, but he once said “You go for the quality of the performance, not the longevity of it.” Well, this has no longevity and the quality is even worse. Another bomb from 2KSports.

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

Graphics: 5.0: Visually this game is barely worth your time. There are no real-time effects to the face or body of your adversary as you pummel him. The only saving graces are the live cinematic scenes in-between each bout in story mode.

Audio: 6.5: The audio is barely up to par. Jim Lampley from HBO Boxing does a nice job with the commentary, but his script is ridiculously short and he starts repeating himself by your second or third bout. The music is only great if you are an “Eye of the Tiger” fanatic.

Plot/Plot Development: 5.0: When a game steals its plot from the first four Rocky movies, I can’t even consider giving it a good score. There has to be a different plot out there for boxing fans.

Gameplay: 3.0: The controls never do what you want when you swing and the amount of haphazard punches is mind-boggling.

Replay Value: 6.0: The workout feature does help you break a sweat, but not being able to view how much you should work-out doesn’t help if you’re trying to use this as a workout tool, which is a shame considering Wii Fit has shown that, when properly applied, these games do work as a mild substitute for an actual gym. Add in a lack of boxing options from the lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight divisions, and the limited “legends” roster and even the vs. mode is disgraceful.

Overall (not an average): 2.5: This is one of 2K’s saddest attempts at a license in their, rather extensive, history of badly-licensed drivel. Considering it is out 4-6 months before Fight Night Round 4, 2K could have established a strong position in the boxing genre, however, this game just falls down flat on the mat. This game isn’t even worth buying for the die-hard boxing fans. I would steer clear of this at all costs.

Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout

Now at least Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout doesn’t try to pretend it is something it isn’t. This is straight up a workout game. I played this game for only an hour and I ached for days after.

I’m going to get my two complaints about the game out of the way quickly. First, there is no feature that weighs you with the Wii Balance Board. This means you have to weigh yourself and enter it in for the game to calculate how many calories you burn off per exercise. It’s a little inconvenient, but not a big deal.

The second issue is a bit more personal. For a lot of people it is more a mental struggle than a physical struggle to lose weight, and this aspect got under my skin a little. When you enter your height and weight, your avatar’s body shape changes to accommodate what the game feels your BMI and general appearance should be. I admit that I am 5′ 9″ and 205 lbs, this is a little overweight, but I’ve kept myself in decent shape over the years so it’s not like I’m rolling down the halls here at ESPN. If you looked at my avatar, you might say something different though.

For people who are using these games as the legitimate weight loss tools that they are, this could discourage them right off the bat. You know who else was 5’9″ and between 200 and 205lbs.? Tiki Barber in his final year with the New York Giants (at least that’s what he was listed as). Muscle weighs more than fat so maybe next time Gold’s Gym should remember that, especially considering all the meatheads I’m sure they have in their employ.

Of course, one could argue the opposite: Some people could use this demeaning representation of themselves as a motivational tool; once they see the image the computer spits back out at them they will be more likely to work harder to rectify the insult. And if you’re relying on video games to get back in shape then it might be a fairly accurate image for most people.

I digress. The game is a great game for its purpose. Like I said earlier, after just an hour of shape boxing, squats, push-ups, crunches, leg lifts, jogging, and jumping rope, I was ready to collapse and was in serious pain for three days afterwards.

To help motivate the regular gamer, the more you workout, the more you can unlock for your avatar as well. Every gamer loves unlockables.

This game has a purpose and it delivers. It helps you get in shape with a variety of exercises and makes an awesome compliment to Wii Fit‘s Yoga and Strength Training exercises to help you take that next step in your video game workout (I cannot believe I just typed that).


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

Graphics: 7.0: This is a visually average game. It’s got that cartoony Mii look going for it, but at the end of the day, the visuals aren’t going to sell you on this game if you’re looking for a workout.

Audio: 8.0: The audio is solid. It gives a variety of generic music choices and “Eye of the Tiger” because everyone loves working out to that cliché (I guess). A lot of the exercises rely on audio cues because it is hard to look at your TV and do push-ups and everything seems to work adequately.

Plot/Plot Development: N/A: It’s a workout game…

Gameplay: 8.0: The controls are accurate and respond properly to your motions and it gives you solid feedback.


Replay Value: 9.0: In the end, the replay value is really going to depend on your will to want to keep working out, but the game helps nudge you along by offering unlockable content and a variety of exercises to keep it interesting enough for you to come back a half hour a day or more.

Overall (not an average): 8.0: I still think Wii Fit is the premiere exercise game out right now, but this makes a great complement, especially since it is only $29.99 in most stores. If you’re looking to get in shape quick before the weather really starts to warm up, pick up Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout, out now for the Nintendo Wii.

-Ray Carsillo

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