Tag Archive: video games


A Slobberknocker to Remember

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April 18, 2010

Originally Published: April 3, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), ESPNVideoGames.com, and Lundberg.me

It’s that time of year again: Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, 250-pound men are hitting each other with steel chairs and baseball bats covered in barbed-wire…

That’s right, it’s time for Wrestlemania! Wrestlemania has grown over the years into an event that encompasses an entire weekend and the days leading up to the event, almost like the Super Bowl. The WWE Hall of Fame ceremonies are always the night before and with Friday Night Smackdown, ECW on Tuesdays, and Monday Night Raw, the buildup is almost as big as the Pay-Per-View itself.

This year is extra special because it is the 25th Anniversary and in that vein the WWE has released a new video game titled Legends of Wrestlemania. This game takes 38 of the greatest WWE wrestlers to ever grace the squared-circle and allows you to pick your favorites as you re-enact the greatest matches of all-time.

Before we even get into how great this game is, though, I had a chance to catch up with the voice of the WWE, “Good Ol’ J.R.”, Jim Ross, and talk to him about this year’s Wrestlemania matches, Hall of Fame class, and the video game itself.


CLICK HERE – to listen to my interview with the voice of the WWE, Jim Ross.

Now, like I said above, Legends of Wrestlemania is amazing. Unlike other wrestling games that struggle to find a storyline or to immerse you in the action, this one is all set in that regard because the storylines were used 10-25 years ago and show they stand the test of time in terms of immersion because everyone remembers where they were when Hogan body slammed Andre at Wrestlemania III, when Bret Hart won back the WWE Championship against Yokozuna at Wrestlemania X, or when Stone Cold stunned the Rock twice at Wrestlemania XV. And if you forgot (shame on you!), there is a short 2-3 minute montage highlighting the development of the rivalry between the opponents before each match which can be reviewed anytime you like in the movie gallery. The opportunity to play through “Relive” mode for these great matches is one of the key selling points of the game and if you are a fan of wrestling then you don’t need much more than that.

But wait! There’s more! Along with the “Relive” mode for all those great matches, there are also “Rewrite”, “Redefine”, and “Legend Killer” modes. “Rewrite” mode has you take on the role of the loser of some of the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history and has you complete objectives to “rewrite” history like Junkyard Dog vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine in Wrestlemania I for the Intercontinental Championship.

“Redefine” mode adds new stipulations to classic matches from Wrestlemania lore like turning the Undertaker vs. King Kong Bundy in Wrestlemania XI into a No Disqualification Match or Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka vs. Rick “Ravishing” Rude at Wrestlemania VI into a Steel Cage Match. It’s a great way for the game to introduce different match dynamics, from climbing ladders and steel cages to throwing your opponent around the arena for some hardcore action, without forcing you to sit through a tedious tutorial; or reading what should be an instruction booklet, but what looks more like an instruction novel.

Then there is the “Legend Killer” mode, which has you use the expansive “Create a Wrestler” feature and put your fictional wrestler up to the test as he takes on a random stable of legends in 10-man gauntlet matches. If you win all the 10-man gauntlet matches, you can also test your mettle by taking on the ultimate gauntlet match, a 38-man gauntlet comprised of the entire roster of Legends of Wrestlemania.

There were only a couple of things I found this game lacking. Some really great legends were excluded and the fact that there are no special unlockable wrestlers also takes away from the time you can spend playing the game. No “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Mankind” Mick Foley, or George “The Animal” Steele is a real disappointment.

There were also no female wrestlers in the game. Being a geek who watches wrestling, one of the major drawing factors is the divas in the WWE (sex, violence, and humor sells what can I say?). I understand that there weren’t as many lady wrestlers as there were guys 25 years ago, it’s just the way the business was, but a handful in their primes might’ve been a nice touch.

Another problem was that the A.I. is beyond simple. I would run through gauntlet matches with nary a punch being landed on me. Only a handful of the objective based “rewrite” matches gave me any difficulty and even then it only took the second or third try before victory was again within my grasp.

Aside from a lackluster A.I. and dearth of wrestler choices, this game delivers everywhere else. Gameplay was as solid as it can be for a wrestling game, with only a minimum of physics problems and glitches (wrestlers falling through one another when missing a clothesline, for example). The attack/counter system is easy to pick up and the new “chain” attack system for certain grapples is a true test of reflexes where you have to punch in button combos to execute moves or counters. When playing in the standard-equipped multiplayer mode, this is a great safety mechanism to prevent relentless friends or online opponents from bashing you into submission.

Graphics were solid for a wrestling game and the audio was as good as could be, with “Good Ol’ J.R.” and Jerry “the King” Lawler doing ringside commentary, and with original entrance themes as the soundtrack for the game. Authentic entrances are always nice to see and having ones like the movable mini-ring to escort the wrestlers through the crowd at Wrestlemania III with accurate character graphics introducing each wrestler was a great touch and shows the meticulous detail that went into this game to make it feel like you were watching the moments live all over again.

Another nice detail is that wrestlers who traditionally had managers, also have them in the game and they make certain matches even more difficult. It isn’t easy trying to avoid Mr. Fuji’s white powder AND wrestle Yokozuna; or how about Bobby “the Brain” Heenan jumping onto the ring apron, when you wrestle Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, distracting you just enough for Valentine to apply the Figure-Four Leg Lock. Jimmy Hart isn’t a picnic when you wrestle Honky Tonk Man either and Paul Bearer wielding that damn golden urn is especially a nuisance when wrestling the Undertaker.

This game delivers for the most part on every front you would want from a game highlighting the greatest matches in wrestling history. The few minor complaints aside, if you are a fan of wrestling or are just getting into it and need a history lesson, then this is a must-have game.

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

Graphics: 7.5: This has the standard graphics for a wrestling game on this generation of consoles. The only real unique effect is that when you make someone bleed, the blood will usually stain the mat like in real life, which has been a complaint for years. Still though, audience members look only good in the distance, for when you get close shots of them in an entrance or a match that ends up around different parts of the arena, they look like polygon zombies. That’ll shock you back to reality.

Audio: 8.5: All the original entrance themes for the wrestling roster serve as the soundtrack (I forgot how much I loved “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes’ theme). Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler is a great touch as the legendary ringside commentators for the WWE, but their limited phrase track begins to get tiresome quickly and is a major factor for me taking points away.

Plot/Plot Development: 5.0: There isn’t an original plot to the game, but that is also part of the appeal. If you picked this game up, it is because you most likely remember the storylines and matches when they happened live and you want to be a part of those historic moments. Still, the plots and development were great on weekly TV 20+ years ago, a 2-3 minute montage fills in the necessary gaps, but doesn’t give all the details you would want as a wrestling fan, and for that the score has to suffer.

Gameplay: 8.0: A sub-par A.I. takes key points away from the greatness of the game. The physics system has a couple of glitches, but that is to be expected with most wrestling games considering the complexity of many maneuvers and this game is fairly smooth compared with those that have come before.

Replay Value: 6.5: After beating all the gauntlets and individual matches and their variations, this game doesn’t have a real lasting appeal. It has a standard multiplayer mode with online capabilities that you can get in any wrestling game. It barely gets a passing score.


Overall (not an average): 7.5: This is a game devoted to the hardcore wrestling fan and that is all. It does not pull any punches by trying to deviate towards any other audience and it is that single-minded focus that makes it so great and yet so flawed. Only the lack of a broad appeal takes it down a notch. The bottom line is: If you’re a wrestling fan, this is a must have.

Legends of Wrestlemania is out now for the PS3 and XBOX360.

-Ray Carsillo

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Played on the 4th of July

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Originally Published: March 29, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

When I first got my hands on Big Bang Mini (created by Arkedo and brought to you by SouthPeak Games for Nintendo DS) I was pleasantly surprised. I had in my head that the game would be some sort of Space Invaders knock-off with brighter colors and fireworks from what I had seen and heard of it. Oh, I could not have been more wrong.

Although simple in design, it more than makes up for its lack of depth with non-stop, straight-shooting fun and addictive mayhem; I couldn’t put this game down! If you’re strapped for cash and need something to eat up some battery life on your DS, Big Bang Mini is a solid choice at only $19.99. If you’re anything like me, by the time you’re three stages in, you’ll be pleasantly surprised as you will be completely hooked.

You’re given a ship and the objective of the game is to shoot fireworks at enemies to blow them out of the sky and then collect the stars they drop to advance through the levels. However, it’s not as simple as it may seem; as your missed shots explode and the debris from their ensuing explosions are just as dangerous as enemy fire to your avatar. Not much of a plot, I know, but the game more than makes up for it in gameplay.

The controls are simple yet add a degree of difficulty you don’t find in most of these retro arcade-style shooters. To shoot your fireworks you simply drag the DS’s stylus over the screen to fire in all different directions. To move your ship, you also need to use the stylus to drag your ship around the screen to avoid enemy fire. This lends itself to you only being able to do one thing at a time, dodge or fire, and you can’t advance through the stages by just dodging.

It is difficult at first, but it soon becomes second nature as you develop the necessary balance to start flying and firing all over the screen. This balance gives the gameplay a nice level of difficulty; it’s not impossible, but not a cake walk either. Add in interesting special level-specific powers (usually shields or enemy weapon nullifiers) and a couple of permanent upgrades (homing missiles, stronger fireballs) and what started as a simple Space Invaders or Asteroids-like shooter because a fully fleshed out modern game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

Aesthetically the graphics are simple compared to what the DS has shown it can support, but they get the job done. The vibrant colors and themes of each level are a nice change from the dull monotonous palettes in most games nowadays. Each level has its own specific theme and most work well. From the bottom of the ocean, to a snowy mountaintop, to Hong Kong and New York City, the levels are different enough from each other to hold your attention relatively well throughout the game.

The music, on the other hand, is uninspired and the SFX become repetitive to the point where you’ll end up playing most of the time with the volume on your DS off and your iPod on in its place.

There are 90 stages over nine levels, each with its own unique devices to help you or hinder you over the course of the game. If you survive all 90 levels, then you can unlock a Mission Mode that notches up the difficulty even more for hardcore gamers. Add in some other secondary modes (setting high scores, versus, etc.) to flesh out the game and it has enough content to keep you coming back for a long time. Space Invaders…what was I thinking?

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

Graphics: 6.5: The graphics are solid, but nothing spectacular, especially with the DS’s capabilities. I enjoy bright colors just as much as anyone else, (“The colors Duke, the colors!” You know it’s a good commercial if you’re quoting it a decade later. Kudos to the Popsicle people.) but it takes a lot more than that to impress me graphically. Barely average.

Audio: 5.0: The music is original, but along with the SFX, gets very repetitive very quickly. By the time you get to the 4th or 5th stage of each level, you’re turning off the DS’s volume and plugging in your iPod. Points for originality and that’s it.

Plot/Plot Development: 1.0: You fly, you fire, you dodge, and you blow stuff up. There isn’t anything else to this in terms of plot so I can’t give it a good score.

Gameplay: 9.0: This game more than makes up for the poor score in plot in gameplay. Challenging, yet still fun, this game gives you hours of solid gaming as you blast your way through nine completely different levels with a variety of powers and abilities to help you on your way. Add in several different modes of play and you’ve got a game that will eat up your time like a fat chick shoveling food down at a Chinese buffet.

Replay Value: 8.0: Lots of levels, lots of modes, lots of fun. This will keep you coming back for more for a long while until you beat every level and every extra mission. Or until your battery dies. Whichever comes first (probably the battery).

Overall (not an average): 7.5: A lack of plot aside, this is in the same vein as all the classic arcade shooters. Add in the different take on the control scheme and you’ve got a really solid shooter. Not spectacular, but solid, and for $19.99 it’s a great way to spend some free time.

Big Bang Mini is available now for Nintendo DS.

-Ray Carsillo

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Ha-dou-ken! 20 Years of Street Fighter

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Originally Published: March 25, 2009, for 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and ESPNVideogames.com

It started as an arcade unit in Japan in 1987. Then it was ported to home consoles in late 1988 and it finally hit American shores in early 1989. The Street Fighter phenomenon has been an integral part of video gaming culture ever since.

There were only two fighting franchises you ever spoke of in public during the beginnings of the video game revolution, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, and lines would be drawn in the sand for which one you preferred. I admit, I was a Kombat-freak, but I still enjoyed and appreciated the nuances of the Street Fighter franchise. Now, 20 years later, Capcom has pulled no punches for its American anniversary with the release of a new movie, video game, and national tournament. In this article, I will take a look at each part of this celebration that has been going on since early February and will wrap up in April with the crowning of a national Street Fighter IV champion.

The first aspect of the celebration was the release of the new video game, Street Fighter IV, on February 18, 2009.

In Street Fighter IV, M. Bison has fallen from power and Shadoloo is no more. All the combatants of Street Fighter have gone their separate ways when a mysterious organization known as S.I.N. has sponsored a new tournament. All the classic characters return with a few new faces to fill out a 25 fighter roster (12 to start including the four new ones, and 13 unlockables from previous Street Fighter incarnations) in what is to be the greatest of all Street Fighter tournaments as the fighters come together to figure out why exactly this new organization has put together a new tournament.

I’ll tell you why. The evil CEO of S.I.N., Seth, is a weapons manufacturer and he has turned himself into the ultimate weapon by injecting himself with a virus that allows him to absorb and mimic all the fighting techniques of those he comes into contact with. Only one person remains to absorb before he can become the most unstoppable force on Earth; he must absorb Ryu, the champion of the Street Fighter tournaments. Thus, the events of Street Fighter IV begin to unfold.

The story has never been the selling point for the Street Fighter franchise. It has always been about the fighting mechanics more than anything else. The story in this is similar to those that have come before; it’s like any anime you would see at 4 AM on Adult Swim so I will not spend any more time talking about the lack of a decent storyline.

What makes or breaks a fighting series is the combat and any additions made over the course of the series. Street Fighter IV, in my mind, disappoints on this front. This is the first entry into the series in nine years (all those Street Fighter III special additions like Alpha or 2nd Impact do not count) and all they added was an “Ultra Combo” that is easily avoided or lacks the power that you would expect with all the work that goes into building up that bar, and a “Focus Attack” that does add an interesting aspect to strategy, but after nine years you would think they could have come up with something with a little more “oomph” than one decent extra attack per character.

For everything else involving the fighting mechanics, it is all the same. Light, medium, and heavy punches and kicks, press both light attacks for a throw, retreat to block, and the special moves are all the same. So after nine years of waiting, all that has been added is four crappy new characters, one new regular move, and one extra combo bar that always misses? “Disappointed” is an understatement. The best aspect of the new game is the awesome opening movie. After that, you might as well break out your Super Nintendo and stick Street Fighter II Turbo in there. Even the cut scenes are disappointingly done in a cheap anime style, which pales in comparison to the amazing looking opening movie.

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

Graphics: 6.5: Considering how great the opening movie was, the rest of the game wasn’t up to par visually. When you have a 2D fighting game, I understand you can only make it look so much like a 3D game before you actually just make it a 3D game, but the lackluster anime cut scenes and the fact that it only looked marginally above the Street Fighter games of old gets this a barely passing grade.

Audio: 8.0: The voice acting reminded me of a badly dubbed kung-fu movie from the 70s. Since I’m not sure if that was the effect they were going for, I can’t dock it a lot, but I do doubt it. The music was catchy and original and the SFX were solid enough to strengthen the score some.

Plot/Plot Development: 5.5: I get that no fighting game ever has a great plot, but again it seems like a bad anime you find in a bargain bin at the grocery store. I miss the days when Bison was the bad guy and you had to fight through his Shadoloo henchmen. At least it was a system that worked.

Gameplay: 7.5: The game had the typical fighting game glitches so there was nothing to get all up in arms about, but considering all the time between titles, they could have added more to this to make it stand out from the rest of the series. I love nostalgia, but give me a break! I didn’t want Street Fighter 2.5, I wanted Street Fighter IV. I wanted something completely new to break the mold and reshape the franchise.

Replay Value: 8.0: Great online play and tons of unlockables make it so that if you enjoy playing the game the first few times through, you’ll probably keep coming back for more.

Overall (not an average): 6.5: The plot was poor, there was a minimum of new features and characters, and the graphics were not concurrent with this generation’s consoles. The voice acting was horrible and the control scheme was the same as it was 20 years ago. For a 20th anniversary installment, this falls on its face faster than Zangief while performing his power bomb. It’s just the same Street Fighter with a new number on the front and for me, that’s not enough.

The next aspect of the 20th anniversary was the national tournament that began on February 21st, 2009, and will continue on until the middle of April.

The national tournament was put together with help from Microsoft and GameStop to provide locations and systems for the tournament and the first round was to be held on the first Saturday after the release of the game, which was February 21st, 2009 at 2PM EST. 2,419 GameStops around the nation would host 64 participants in each location with the top two from each advancing. This totaled 154,816 people competing at the same time nationwide for only 4,838 2nd round spots at another 288 locations, again with the top two advancing leaving only 576 sports for the 3rd round. From these remaining 576 spots, the top 16 players would be taken to San Francisco to compete in the final tournament for a $15,000 Street Fighter IV arcade style unit. Also, all 16 finalists would be given automatic bids into the semi-finals of the Evolution 2009 fighting game tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, in July.

The rules were simple. Do not interfere with your opponents during gameplay. First to 3 wins would advance. The loser is eliminated. One must be at least 18 years of age to compete or over 13 and accompanied by a parent.

We put together a nice little video here showcasing some of the footage of me competing. Due to legal issues, we could not show any footage from inside the GameStop, only of the game itself.

Street Fighter IV National Tournament – Round 1 w/ Ray Carsillo
Video by Jared Bodden

The stakes were high, but I would advance to the final four of the 1st round with E. Honda before I lost to one guy playing as Balrog. I was one win away from advancing to the next round. It was my best showing in a tournament since my early days in college when I was a Madden and Super Smash Bros. Melee freak.

I had a major gripe with the tournament, though. It seemed fixed. Several of the participants did not show. Not an uncommon situation in a tournament of this size. The problem was that the managers at the GameStop failed to re-bracket the people who did show up.

Now, in situations like this, a re-bracket is expected in order to try to prevent unfair advantages as much as possible. At this particular GameStop, no re-bracketing was issued, which allowed the person who ended up winning the tournament, and defeating me as Balrog in the Final Four, not one, but two rounds worth of byes. On top of this, the participant in question was not requested to leave the room and therefore was allowed to watch all other participants compete and watch their patterns. It gave him a clear, unfair advantage over the rest of the field.

When questioned on this, the manager on duty, whose name I will not reveal to protect him, responded that the participant in question was very good to begin with since he had won a Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament the previous year at that location, insinuating that the managers had stacked the odds in his favor because of his success in a previous tournament for a completely different game.

Since then, the 16 national finalists for the title have been chosen and are preparing for the final tournament to be held in less than two weeks from the posting of this article. It felt great to compete again for the first time in a long time. I just wish I didn’t feel that the tournament was tainted by outside sources and it makes me question the credibility of tournaments that are held by the GameStop Corporation. The reason why this article was not posted sooner was because I had to struggle with myself on whether to include this part or not. I finally came to the decision, as the Finals approach, that it is necessary to help serve as a warning for other competitive gamers in the future to know what standard tournament procedure is and to be not be fooled when told otherwise unless shown in writing by an official tournament representative.

The final aspect of the 20th anniversary was the movie Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li starring Kristen Kruek as Chun-Li, Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog, and Neal McDonough as Bison.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is a prequel to the entire Street Fighter series, taking place months before the original tournament. It gives you an interesting take on the origins of some the staples of the franchise like Bison, Vega, Balrog, Gen, and, of course, Chun-Li.

I had a chance to catch up with Kristen Kruek back in December at the SpikeTV Video Game Awards and talk to her some about the movie. I think she was scared of me.

Ray Carsillo w/ Kristen Kruek
Video by Jared Bodden

Kristen was really sweet, but I was afraid I was going to break her hand when I shook it after the interview. The girl needs to have a cheeseburger.

The basic premise of the movie is that Chun-Li is a girl born in America and that moves to Asia at a young age when her father, a hugely successful businessman, is transferred. Here, he gets involved with an unsavory character (Bison) who steals Chun-Li’s father away one night for his own diabolical purposes. Chun-Li then begins training for revenge on Bison and to find out her father’s fate.

Anyway, I have to say, even if you are a die-hard fan of the franchise, you will hate this movie. This is the most abominable thing I have ever seen on screen (and I saw Elektra with Jennifer Garner). Clearly the people at Capcom know nothing about modern cinema. I think their entire special effects budget went into Chun-Li and Gen’s fireballs and everything else had to be scraped together at the last minute. From seeing the clear seam of Bison’s pregnant wife when they show her abdomen, to the cheesy and clearly fake explosions that were added in post-production, to the overly grainy text of the entire film, this movie was beyond low-budget.

Add in that they found Chris Klein probably drinking himself into a stupor in some alley somewhere and threw him on screen and I threw up in my mouth, just a little. He played Charlie Nash, the rough-around-the-edges-but-still-a-great-cop character that was chasing Bison around the world. He read his lines like William Shatner in those Priceline.com commercials. Chris Klein has no purpose being in any kind of film. Ever.

The only positives were that Kristen Kruek and Moon Bloodstone, who played Nash’s partner Det. Maya Sunee, looked amazingly hot in the movie. That’s it. Michael Clarke Duncan’s amazing skills were wasted on three lines and a crappy fight scene with Gen. Neal McDonough was solid, as was Kruek, but the script was just so awful that there was nothing they could do to save it. If you’re smart, you’ll continue to avoid it as it probably only has a week or two left in theatres.


Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li gets 0.5 out of 5.

So, the game was okay, the movie was awful, and the tournament was fixed. Maybe Capcom should have taken all that money they put into the movie and put it into making a better game and finding a better host for their tournament. I really hope that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters franchises work a little harder on their anniversary galas! (TMNT celebrates 25 years in April; Ghostbusters celebrates 25 years in June)

-Ray Carsillo

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Stepping Up to the Plate

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Originally Published: March 4, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

For many the wait is torturous. The gap between the Super Bowl and the beginning of baseball season is like a walk through the Sahara of the sports world in which basketball and hockey simply serve as a reminder of a once full canteen now vapid of nourishment.

Don’t fret, though, the gaming world has attempted to provide an oasis to fill our needs for the next month. Just released this week was MLB2K9 for all systems and MLB: The Show ’09 as a PS3 exclusive.

Normally, MLB2K sets up 2K sports for the rest of the year since they have coverage of all three systems and their competition has only the PS3. You would figure that 2K would attempt to provide the best gaming experience out there as they need these sales to get through the fall when they typically get punished in sales by EA Sports in hockey and basketball. You would figure.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. MLB2K9 is as sad an attempt at a video game as Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li was as a movie. 2K is blatantly taking advantage of the fact that they control the market during this time of the year as they are the only MLB title that reaches all three systems, a combined total of 97.29 million hardware units, which gives them a far more reaching audience than MLB: The Show, which only reaches the roughly 7.98 million American PS3 owners, which also happens to be the worst selling of the three main systems. (Numbers provided by http://www.vgchartz.com/ and accurate as of February 28, 2009)

Knowing they have the baseball game market cornered, 2K’s oasis is simply an illusion. This game has more glitches in it than New York City has potholes. While playing the game, I would position my outfielder directly in the circle censor to mark where the ball will fall only to have the ball literally fall through my glove. No error animation, no misjudging the ball, it falls through my glove and this happened several times a game.

And this is only the icing on the cake. The player animations are unrealistic and many stances and motions are recycled from player to player. The graphics are poor to the point that players look blocky and unrealistic, a problem that was corrected in the last generation of video game systems.
Even the menus on the pause and start-up screens are difficult to navigate. You have to go through multiple sub-menus before you find the game doesn’t even have the options you were looking for to begin with. Then again, that might have just been the difficulty in navigating the menu. After trying three different sub-menus looking for controls, I just gave up and played with the game’s defaults.

This game is an abomination and will sell well only because for about 75% of gamers out there, it is their only MLB option.

On the other side, MLB: The Show ’09. This game teleports you out of the Sahara to the French Riviera. And there are no French people around. That’s how good this game is.

First off, the basics are all covered. Smooth mechanics and animations, solid graphics, easy to navigate menus, and good gameplay. From there, The Show ’09 takes you above and beyond your typical baseball video game.
The greatest aspect of this game is the overall accuracy to real life. Every player’s stance, motions, and mannerisms have been emulated in this game to at least some degree. The batter’s hot and cold zones have been mapped out accurately and strongly enforced. If you connect with a fastball in one of your cold zones, it is a lot less likely to travel out of the ballpark than if one floated into your wheelhouse.

Add in a batting reticule that you have to maneuver to aim your swing and then watch it contract depending on your skill as a hitter makes offense a lot more challenging than in previous games.

Amidst a plethora of new features and innovations for The Show ’09, the most impressive easily has to be the one called “Sounds of the Game”. This is one of the most exciting features in any sports game to date.

The “Sounds of the Game” feature allows you to download 30 second music clips for everyone in the game. In other words, the music accompanying every at-bat as each individual player approaches the plate, every reliever entering from the bullpen, even hecklers in the crowd can be customized to your liking. You want an authentic Mariano Rivera entrance? Metallica’s Enter Sandman is there. You want Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline after every Red Sox game? Not a problem. And yes, Yankees fans, the Bleacher Creatures are available as well.

Of course, you don’t have to have it be authentic either. You can have Mariano come out to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell if you prefer. The possibilities are near endless and allow you to truly customize the game to your liking and give it an authentic feel you just don’t see in other sports games.

Even though MLB: The Show is far and away the best baseball game out there, it’s a stretch to warrant going out to buy a PS3 for this alone and that forces most people to end up having to settle for MLB2K9. This is really a shame because the only thing that MLB2K9 has better than The Show is their cover athlete. Tim Lincecum over Dustin Pedroia. I’m a Yankees fan, what can I say? I despise the Red Sox.

Whether you have a PS3 or not, both these games are out now and will hopefully provide you with enough sports nourishment to last you another month before baseball season finally gets underway.

-Ray Carsillo

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In Space, No One Can Hear You Jump for Joy

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Originally Published: February 24, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

They can hear it here on Earth, though, and if you are a fan of RTS (Real Time Strategy) games or the Halo franchise then that is exactly what you’ll be doing after playing Halo Wars. After acquiring a review copy of the game, I played the whole way through its 15 campaign levels and played some multiplayer against the computer and can see already this game has everything you could want from it.

Many skeptics out there worried that if you combined the long history of RTS failures on consoles with a prequel to one of the most successful franchises in gaming history you were going to get burned for playing with fire. Then when they heard it would be an XBOX360 exclusive with no PC port, they almost wrote this gem off before a demo had even been released. However, the folks at Ensemble Studios knew exactly what they were doing. Hailed for RTS staples like the Age of Empires series, Ensemble Studios proved they were the right ones to make what I am declaring to be the first successful RTS game for a console.

As an RTS, Halo Wars plays as if you were using your computer. Using the paintbrush tools and hot buttons to select troops and move from base to base make basic commands a breeze to the point that you forget you’re using an XBOX360 controller and not a mouse and keyboard. Supplies gathering and building upgrades are simple and have been streamlined to fit the console’s RTS scheme and make it so that you can build your supply depot and forget about it and know your supplies will continue to stream in (as long as you keep the supply depot from getting razed by enemy fire that is). The gameplay is crisp and there isn’t an ounce of lag throughout the game.

The only problems were the usual ones you find in most RTS games, such as trying to send a group of three or four large units, like tanks, through a narrow opening in the land and instead of them naturally deciding to go one at a time, they keep running into each other as all four try to fit through at once. This pathfinding bugginess is forgivable since that has been a problem with RTS games for years, not just on consoles. The battle engagements are challenging and most missions require more thinking than “I’ll just build more units than the enemy and unleash my entire army in a barbaric charge when the time comes”. With four levels of difficulty to play through and an online co-op mode, the Halo Wars story mode will keep RTS fans happy for a long time.

In terms of the head-to-head multiplayer, I will admit I wasn’t able to get a true feel for it due to there being only so many early copies out there for us media outlets, but I did play a few Deathmatches against the computer and it had everything you would expect from an RTS Deathmatch. Standard rules: wipe your opponent off the map. It gives you a huge amount of starting supplies and it’s a race to see how fast you can build the largest army to try and eradicate your opponent. The maps are all based off planets and locales you come across in the main game, but on a smaller scale to encourage constant engagements. Everything taken into consideration, the Halo Wars head-to-head multiplayer has a strong foundation for some great XBOX Live battles ahead for itself.

If you’re a follower of the Halo canon you can rest easy. The story is not only compelling, but it does justice to the series and highlights some obscure key events in the Halo timeline that many might not be familiar with that lead up to Master Chief’s escapades. Troops, vehicles, and buildings are all as accurate as can be for both the Marines and the Covenant and follow in line with what you’ve learned from previous Halo games. For example, you can’t make an army of Spartan soldiers; if you’re lucky you’ll get a couple at the beginning of the level to help you out and that’s it. Add in collectibles that concur with the Halo universe like a skull on each level and black boxes to reveal more of the Halo timeline feature and you’ve got plenty to keep this game warm in your machine for a long time. The only real drawback I felt was that the story seemed a bit short. The plot developed too quickly for my tastes and to have as much action as it did spread across only 15 levels felt like you had unfinished business. Then again, it does take place 20 years before Master Chief so that might have been on purpose.

If you want to learn a little bit more about the story and the characters, take a look at the interview I did with Lead Story Writer, Graeme Devine from Ensemble Studios.

Ray Carsillo with Graeme Devine, Lead Story Writer for Halo Wars
Video by Jared Bodden

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

Graphics: 8.5: Not a tremendous amount of detail is usually necessary for an RTS game. As long as the terrain is has some variations and is glitch-free, then you’re usually set. This being said, Halo Wars’ cut scenes are spectacular to view and bring up the overall visual quality of the game and are something to look forward to after each mission. A solid display to say the least.

Audio: 9.5: The voice acting was crisp and clean and the SFX were fairly solid. In-game explosions could have used a little work. I just didn’t feel it when I destroyed a Covenant base. The music was taken straight from the trilogy which was a smart move. Minor complaints, but really great overall.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: The plot seemed a little rushed at times and developed too quickly considering the grand scale of the Covenant’s master plan in this game. I understand that it was probably a lot of story to fit in over only 15 levels, but it left you feeling with unfinished business at the end. Then again, this is only one short series of events over a war that spans decades and is still 20 years away from Master Chief’s adventures.

Gameplay: 9.0: The game was mostly smooth and the A.I. was pretty impressive. The only problems were the usual ones you find in any great RTS game, such as trying to send a group of three or four large units through a narrow opening in the land. They decide that running into each other, as all four try to fit through at once, will be exactly the kind of reinforcements you need in any altercation. This has been a problem that has plagued RTS games for years and until someone figures out how to fix that, no RTS will ever earn a perfect score on gameplay.

Replay Value: 10.0: The telltale sign of an RTS game’s greatness is if you want to keep playing the missions over and over and this one succeeds. With hidden collectibles on each mission, co-op and versus options, and like any good RTS game, no mission can be completed the same way twice, this game will stay in your XBOX360 for a long time.

Overall (not an average): 10.0: Let me start off by saying that 10 out of 10 does not make a game perfect, there is no such thing as a “perfect” game. However, to not give this game the highest possible score would be a tragedy. What pushed this up from a 9 to a 10 is that this game is the first to break the stereotype of RTS games being abysmal on a console. Never before has an RTS been able to successfully transition from the PC to the home console or go straight to the console with such fluidity. This game could revolutionize the RTS genre and open up doors we had only begun to dream of. This alone would have garnered a great score, but combined with an awesome plot, stellar controls, and visually stunning cut scenes, I could not think of giving this game any less than a “perfect” score. Thank you to the people at Microsoft and Ensemble Studios for FINALLY getting it right. Halo Wars is available everywhere on March 3rd, 2009.

-Ray Carsillo

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The Gears Keep on Turning for Gearheads

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Originally Published: January 30, 2009, for 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

I had said last week that running over a platoon of Covenant troops with a squadron of Warthogs might threaten Gears of War 2‘s Lancer Chainsaw Rifle on the fun-level food chain. In response, the genii at Epic Games unleashed the new Combustible Map Pack for Gears of War 2. Three new maps to freshen up the multiplayer mayhem that Gears of War 2 brings to your XBOX360 to keep you up till 3 AM swearing at kids who can’t even spell the words you are using when you get forced into an Imulsion bath. Ummm…maybe that’s just me, but it still gives the multiplayer a nice new kick to the teeth to make sure the disc stays warm in your system.

First, we’ll look at the Gold Rush map. You are situated in an old, still running, Imulsion refinery with multiple tiers. Oh, and it just so happens to have a mortar launcher smack in the middle of it. A symmetrical level with plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in, if you can grab the mortar positioned in the most open part of the level and make it back to a nook; you can easily control the battle. You can imagine the problems that arise with it being in the middle of an open platform, though. Talk about risking your neck. Not my favorite level personally because of a lack of level hazards, the level’s symmetry, and that any well-coordinated team could easily dominate, it is still a solid multiplayer level.

The second map became near and dear to my heart quickly because it revolves around pyrotechnics. Fuel Station is located around an abandoned fossil fuel station and several well placed re-fueling trucks. The station itself is the center of the map and anyone who controls the station can control the tide of battle very easily. With little cover around the station that does not explode, getting to the station from across the street can be difficult at best if your opponent camps out on the roof and starts setting off all your cover in a blaze of glory with the Mulcher Mini-gun, conveniently located in the station. Maybe all these explosions give you an idea why they call it the “Combustible” Map Pack. Word of advice; do not get discouraged if you aren’t spawned at the station to start the level. A well organized unit could still work their way to the rear of the station and the fight for the stairwell to the roof is always memorable.

The last map is my personal favorite. Flood is the smallest of the three new maps as you are stranded on an island consisting of freeway rubble and debris surrounded by a golden sea of poisonous Imulsion. And if you think it’s a small level to start, wait till the Imulsion level starts rising. The battle that ensues for the raised piece of crumbling freeway is always exciting as there are several paths leading onto that little slice of salvation and a couple of decayed cars that like to go off like the Fuel Station tankers. With little to no cover left, a winner will be forced to emerge from this hazardous situation every time.

These three new maps bring multiplayer mayhem to a whole new level and will keep everyone grinding their gears as these levels successfully keep the game fresh. With the maps themselves providing just as much danger as the opposing teams and, for the most part, preventing anyone from camping out and being a pesky sniper (and no pesky snipers makes me a happy Gearhead), these levels are well worth the download to your XBOX360.

The Gears of War 2 Combustible Map Pack is available now for download on XBOX Live for 800 Microsoft Points (roughly eight American dollars) and there is still nothing more fun in games than sneaking up behind someone and slicing them to ribbons with the Lancer Chainsaw Rifle.

-Ray Carsillo

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Halo Wars!

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Originally Published: January 21, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

Ray Carsillo with Graeme Devine, Lead Story Writer for Halo Wars
Video by Jared Bodden

The name of the game says it all. Halo Wars is a prequel in the canon of Halo, but some would consider it a look forward for the series in terms of its grand war-like scale. Halo Wars turns the Halo series on its head by taking it out of the 1st person shooter perspective and pulling the camera way back to a satellite view and turning it into a Real-Time Strategy game.

Now, initial reactions when this game was revealed were a chorus of moans and groans because, traditionally, it is impossible to have any good RTS on a console and people were afraid of what it would do to the Halo series. In terms of problems, many times in console RTS games it is hard to manage and find your resources, difficult to choose units and the glitches with troop movement are enough to make you throw your controller through the TV. I had a chance to play an early make of the game and it seems that most of these problems have been corrected.

Managing resources is a breeze because all the resources have been streamlined into one resource that is produced right next your base. Basically, the construction that manages your resources is a helipad and you are constantly getting supplies from your mother ship sent to your base of operations planet-side. Finding and managing resources, taken care of.

Choosing groups of troops and commanding them has also been streamlined. By pressing the A button, you can either choose unit by unit, or if you hold it, the cursor turns into a larger paintbrush type tool that will select troops highlighted by this large circular cursor. This method simplifies making groups of troops to the point that you’ll be sending scouting parties, making flanking maneuvers, and leaving no man behind in barely any time at all.

The gameplay is smooth and crisp and the story has been reworked repeatedly to sit well with all those hardcore Halo fan-boys. I also have found something that might compete with the Gears of War Lancer Chainsaw Rifle fun-level; running over a platoon of Covenant ground troops with a squadron of Warthog vehicles. Their screams of fear and pain followed by a satisfying *squish* may be my new guilty gaming pleasure.

Also, for you die-hard Halo fans, wrap your heads around this. You enjoy controlling one Spartan in Master Chief. Think about controlling an entire platoon. Let the geek-gasms commence. (I know, there is still only one Master Chief, though)

This game could pave the way for the RTS genre to finally find a foothold on consoles. It solves the traditional problems that come with an RTS on a console and has the backing of the powerhouse Halo franchise. It’s easy to just pick up and start playing and once you start playing, you don’t want to stop. I had to have the controller forcible ripped from my hands once my time with the demo was up and I spent three days in a dark room going through painful Halo Wars withdrawal involving the sounds of muted screams of Covenant troops and flashes of images of Warthogs and dropships. And, of course, a Master Chief with a rotating head.

I soon won’t be the only one addicted because Microsoft announced a couple of weeks ago at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show that a downloadable demo for Halo Wars will be available on February 5, 2009, via XBOX Live. If you can’t wait for the downloadable demo, then take a look at the video above where I had a chance to sit down with Graeme Devine, Lead Story Writer for Halo Wars, and take a look at some awesome in-game gameplay and cinemas and hear from the source how the plot unfolds. Be sure to check back here when the game comes out for a full review, but early impressions have me saying that Halo Wars looks like one of the first must-haves of the year, and if you want a little more than a demo, look for it on store shelves March 3, 2009.

-Ray Carsillo

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Nine Must Haves for 2009

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Originally Published: January, 6, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

A new year means a whole new heaping helping of games to help whittle away the hours. There are so many that have been announced this year already that look so good. So which ones are the MUST HAVES? Which are the ones that no boy or girl should be without and should start saving their pennies for now? That’s simple. Just look at this list:

1. GHOSTBUSTERS – After being pushed back several times and threats that it would never be made, the closest thing to us ever seeing a third Ghostbusters movie is coming straight to your XBOX360, PS3, Wii, or PC in June. Set just a couple of years after the end of Ghostbusters II, the game sees our heroes as just that, heroes. Still “savin’ the day” on a regular basis, the boys are finally getting the just rewards they were denied in the beginning of the second film. An abnormal amount of activity from the other side, though begins to take its toll on the fabulous foursome and so they decide to add a fifth.

The fifth is your character. You get trained in all the Ghostbusters’ patented gadgets as you go around the city trying to unravel a ghoulish mystery worthy of the Ghostbusters name. Screens and demos have this being more fun than both movies combined. With the original cast coming back to voice over all their characters and with a tremendous amount of input from Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, ‘bustin’ will make you feel good, all over again.



2. BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM – Based on one of the greatest graphic novels of all time, DC made up for not coming out with a movie-based game for The Dark Knight when they announced this game. Batman must once again hunt down his arch-nemesis, the Joker, but this time it is completely on the Joker’s terms as he is causing havoc from inside the walls of Arkham Asylum. Early screens show a gritty, well-detailed Batman looking like he leapt straight from a Jim Lee drawing as he fights his way through inmates turned Joker henchmen in what looks to be the sub-levels of the asylum. This one is due out closer to Halloween and we are all holding our breath that it does not get pushed back farther than that. It will be released on PS3 and XBOX360.

3. RESIDENT EVIL 5 – After Resident Evil 4 saved the series by giving it a new 3rd person shooting perspective to FINALLY fix those pain in the neck controls that plagued the series for far too long, Resident Evil 5 takes a look at another character from the famous Raccoon City incident. Whereas RE4 followed Leon Kennedy in Europe, RE5 follows Chris Redfield through Africa as he seems to have stumbled on a similar plot to the parasitic zombie virus that Leon found while chasing the president’s daughter in Spain.

Capcom realized that to top RE4, they were going to have to do more than change the camera angle again. This time Chris has a partner that can actually defend herself and the co-op play will be critical to beating the main story mode. Add in that you can expect enemies to be anywhere now due to current-gen graphics, no shadow is safe. If you jumped at the surprises in RE4, you just might need to keep an extra few pairs of pants around while playing RE5. It’ll be out on, of course, Friday, March 13th, 2009 for XBOX360 and PS3.

4. MADWORLD – It is rare to see any Wii-exclusive, Sega made game push the envelope, but that is exactly what Madworld seems to do. Imagine Sin City meets The Running Man and you have Madworld, a black, white, and red cartoon romp with enough violence to satiate Charles Manson in the form of a game show. With rewards being given for more and more inventive ways of killing your enemies beyond the use of your chainsaw, which you start the game with, (and we all know how much I loved that in Gears of War 2) and the comic book-esqe onomatopoeia for explosions and crashes, this has a chance to be a big underground hit along the lines of No More Heroes. The only question is the plotline that is still unrevealed beyond the game show aspects, but is promised to be enthralling by the higher-ups at Sega. Sega and Nintendo coming together again, what is the world coming to? It will be a mad, mad, mad, Madworld on March 10th. At least it has nothing to do with a little blue hedgehog this time.

5. DANTE’S INFERNO – Part of one of the all time great works of literature, it painted an amazingly detailed picture of what one man believed hell to be. The idea of layers or levels of hell was still a relatively new concept, and by the amazing looking trailer, this game will have you fighting through every single one of them. Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery (try saying that five times fast)…I always knew I was going to go to hell, just never like this. How the plot of the epic poem will actually work into the game is still a mystery, but it looks like if you know what’s good for you, it’ll be a warm winter in hell when this is released just in time for the holidays on PS3, XBOX360, and PC.

6. BIOSHOCK 2: SEA OF DREAMS – This has been one of the most tightly kept secrets in games since it was announced that BioShock would be a trilogy. All that we have to go on is a teaser trailer that shows almost nothing (here’s a screen from it), a title, and a release date around August. I mean, what is that? A little sister all grown up? No one knows ANYTHING.

Easily one of the best games I have ever played, the original BioShock was a masterpiece. I cannot praise it enough. So the fact that we still have so little to go on but the reputation of the first one keeps this from being at the top of my list. The mystery is part of the beauty though and if they let me, I’ll camp out for this one and take a week off of work if it is anywhere near the first one. The very thought though that we are only seven months away from another BioShock, though, makes me want to run screaming through the halls here at ESPN with tears of joy streaming down my face for this XBOX360, PS3, and PC release.

7. BRUTAL LEGEND – What happens when you take Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Jack Black and throw them into a video game? You simply get the MOST ROCKING VIDEO GAME OF ALL TIME! At least according to them you do. Their biased opinions aside, this does look like an amazing game as you control Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black) as he takes part on an epic quest during the “dark days of metal” and attempts to work his way up from meager roadie to rock god.

I don’t know how good this game is going to be, but I know I am going to have a good time playing it. It just looks absolutely hysterical. Riggs is obviously modeled after Jack Black and his one-liners along with what looks like a lot of carnage and I am sure you will enjoy this game. If you hate metal, humor, or all things good in the world, this game might not be for you, though. It just looks like a fun action-adventure game that will make you laugh and bang your head as you trek through the metal-inspired universe. Prepare to rock out in August on XBOX360 and PS3.

8. PUNCH-OUT!! – Another Wii-exclusive, the long dormant Punch-Out series has been revamped, retooled, and will be released for the Wii in April. Bringing back all your favorites like King Hippo and Glass Joe to take on the ultimate underdog in Little Mac, this will be instant nostalgia heaven for anyone who played the original Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out for the NES. For obvious reasons, Iron Mike is no longer associated with the game since Nintendo, after all, is a family company. Although the graphics look a little on the cartoony side, if the controls are anywhere near accurate in terms of sensitivity, this is going to be a great throwback for old fans of the game and a great new boxing game for the Wii for the newcomers. (In the screenshot, what’s up with that pineapple in front of King Hippo though?)

9. GOD OF WAR III – Before I continue with anything, the God of War series takes place in Greece, centered on Greek mythology. So why have they been using ROMAN numerals for the game? Never mind; moving on. It is the conclusion to one of the most popular trilogies in history and has more riding on it than just doing the series justice. God of War III is the ace in the hole for a struggling Sony company. One on a short list of exclusives this year for the PS3, Sony needs this game to have gone platinum a month ago.

In terms of the game itself, it looks just as good as the first two so if you enjoyed the first two, then you need to get the third to know how everything finishes and see if Kratos finally gets the mythological Prozac he is so desperately in need of. There are new weapons, more mythological creatures, and the climax to a tale that Homer himself wishes he crafted. God of War III will keep the PS3’s heart pumping for a little while longer as it is released just in time for the holiday push.

So that’s it. If a game you are looking forward to didn’t make the list, don’t worry. There are a lot of GREAT games coming out this year. These are just, in my opinion, the top ones. Trust me, I will still be looking at Halo Wars, Godfather II, House of the Dead 4, DC Universe Online, Watchmen: The End is Nigh, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion, Damnation, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad (you cannot tell me you aren’t the least bit curious about that one), and Street Fighter 4. It is going to be a great year for games and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I will.

–Ray Carsillo

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Video Games’ Biggest Night

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Originally Published: December 30, 2008, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

Ray Carsillo Reporting for 1050 ESPN at the 2008 Spike TV Video Game Awards
Video by Jared Bodden

It was a beautiful night at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, this year’s site for the 2008 Spike TV Video Game Awards. The 6th annual awards show proved to be the biggest and best one yet with such stars as Neil Patrick Harris, Eliza Dushku, and Kiefer Sutherland on hand, Weezer, 50 Cent, LL Cool J, and the All-American Rejects performing, and hosted by the larger-than-life Jack Black (some of whom you can see in the video of my exploits on the red carpet before the actual show).

The show kicked off with a bang with Jack Black coming out and doing what seemed like an endless tribute skit to all of us video game geeks, while at the same time poking fun at us as he sang about reading and healthy relationships being our mortal enemies as we progress onto video game heaven. Healthy relationships maybe, but reading the subtitles in cut-scenes is integral to the plot of any video game.

Aside from all the celebrities, and awesome musical performances, the thing a lot of us geeks were most anticipating were the reveals of new game trailers, giving many of us hope that 2009 would be even bigger and better than 2008. Trailers for God of War III, Mafia 2, Watchmen: The End is Nigh, Dante’s Inferno, Fight Night Round 4, Uncharted 2, and the highly anticipated Brutal Legend were just a few of the many reveals that had fans salivating over the new year. Only time will tell whether these games end up walking away with some awards next year since trailers are always supposed to look good. It doesn’t mean the game actually will be good (except God of War III; I have total faith in that dominating).

We are still in 2008, though, even if for only a short while longer, and the night revolved around the best of what this year had to offer. Some games were clearly head and shoulders above their competition, while others were tougher to call, and then there were some that I flat-out disagreed with. Just like other awards shows, whether it is music, movies, or whatever, some of the nominees get a huge gust of positive hype in their sails and it propels them to the trophy when they are not worthy of the title. In my opinion, this was the case on several occasions for this awards show, as well.

“So just who walked away with what?” you may ask. Well, the video game community gathered, as many developers waited nervously to see how their years of hard work would be received by the expert panel, and here are how some of the biggest awards panned out:

Best Team Sports Game is pretty dull when it comes to nominees. You’re always going to have nominees from the five biggest sports (yes, soccer is included due to its worldwide appeal). This year was no different. Madden 09, NBA 2K9, NHL 09, and FIFA 09 were the nominees. Madden is always a favorite due to its mass appeal, but there were rumors that it would fall short this year because most hardcore Madden gamers had a lot of complaints about it compared to previous years. NBA 2K9 was almost a pity nominee just so that EA Sports did not sweep the nominees. This left FIFA and the NHL, two of the least popular sports in the U.S.A. and more popular sports worldwide with a chance at the trophy. To my pleasant surprise, NHL 09 arose victorious and I agreed on every level. It was easily the most accurate sports simulation of the year, with new features like “Be a Pro” mode to compliment the thorough “Dynasty” mode, this was the right choice for Best Sports Game.

Best Shooter was another category that I thought the panel nailed right on the head. The nominees were Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead, Resistance 2, and Far Cry 2. I knew this was going to Gears of War 2 the instance I beat that game because I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, there is no more satisfying feeling than sneaking up behind someone and slicing them to ribbons with the Lancer Chainsaw Rifle. Plain and simple. The others games did not even come close in my mind. Resistance 2 seemed like they had tried to copy as many things from Gears as possible and had taken away the heart that Resistance 1 had. Left 4 Dead was nice, but it was just another carbon copy of all zombie shooters that have come out since Resident Evil 4. Far Cry 2 did not even register on my radar it paled so much in comparison to Gears of War 2. In what seemed like the year of sequel, Gears of War 2 was a sequel that went above and beyond the first in ways you could only hope for and was very deserving of the Best Shooter trophy. Gears of War 2 also walked away with Best XBOX360 Game, giving it two awards in the five categories it was nominated in.

One of the categories that made me grind my teeth in frustration was Best Wii Game. I thought the system was very well represented with the nominees. Boom Blox, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, No More Heroes, and Wii Fit were great selections because it showed the range of the Nintendo Wii. The fact that the award went to Boom Blox though shows that most people do not give the Wii the respect it deserves. Yes, you do not think of the Wii for hardcore gamers, but when you have Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was also robbed of Best Fighter by another overrated game in Soul Caliber 4, that is another in the long list of dominate franchises Nintendo has and had an amazing story mode to go with the combat, you just have to shake your head when the trophy falls to something like Boom Blox. Even if No More Heroes had won, you could agree with it. No More Heroes comes from the insane mind of Suda 51 and the anime graphics style that it was created with, the over the top combat, and the fact that the hero had the greatest weapon ever created as his main tool, a lightsaber, made this guilty pleasure more than worthy. Instead, the award went to Jenga on steroids. Have we not learned that everything Steven Spielberg has made in the past 10 years or so is absolute garbage? Yes, Boom Blox is a fun multi-player game, especially for kids 10 and under, but in terms of showing what the system could do, or being revolutionary, this game was ridiculously overrated. The people who voted for this probably also loved Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Curse you Steven Spielberg, why do people still love you for things you did 20 years ago and fail to look at the crap you have been force-feeding us for the past 10? I also just realized that Steven Speilberg and Brett Favre must be related somehow.

Another category that made me just shake my head with frustration was Best Studio. This award goes to the game studio that went above and beyond its competition for 2008. The nominees were Media Molecule for Little Big Planet (on the PS3), Rockstar North for Grand Theft Auto 4 (on the PS3 and XBOX360), Harmonix for Rock Band 2 (on the Wii, XBOX360, and PS3), and Bethesda Game Studios for Fallout 3 (on the PS3 and XBOX360). Media Molecule walked away with this, and no offense to Media Molecule, but Little Big Planet is another game that Sony sank so much money into its advertising that, I guess, people were hypnotized by the simplest game I’ve ever played. Little Big Planet is a cute game, but again, this is a game better suited for gamers under the age of 10 that just had a revved up Create a Level mode. For the work and time that went into GTA 4 and considering the high level of product that was produced, there was no way Rockstar should not have come away with this. Especially since GTA 4 was named OVERALL GAME OF THE YEAR. GTA 4 is one of those rare occurrences when a game with so much hype and press actually lives up to it when it comes out. It is a travesty that Little Big Planet and Media Molecule got as much as it did for such an overhyped game. Little Big Planet also won Best PS3 Game over Metal Gear Solid 4 and GTA 4. I just have trouble understanding how a game that wins Overall Game of the Year, like GTA 4, does not come away with more awards. Were they trying to just “share the love”? At least GTA 4‘s getting Overall Game of the Year I agreed with.

So that was a taste of the 2008 Spike TV Video Game Awards. Check out the VGA page here http://www.spike.com/event/vga to see some of those amazing trailers I mentioned and to get the list of winners from all 25 categories. I want to give a special thanks to Geoff Keighley, Aileen Budow, David Schwarz, and the rest of the great people at Spike TV for extending me the invite and for accommodating me on the red carpet. It was easily the highlight of my year as a gamer and a journalist and it meant a lot to me to be there. Also, special congratulations to Will Wright for winning the Video Game Lifetime Achievement Award for creating Spore and The Sims series.

This was a great way to honor everything that happened this year in gaming and here is to a great 2009. See you in the New Year, folks.

-Ray Carsillo

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Triple DS Review for Holiday Travel

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Originally Published: December 21, 2008, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

It’s late Christmas morning and all the presents have been opened and little Billy and Susie Cunningham are enjoying their new toys. Then, suddenly, their mother’s voice pierces the frozen air, “Get ready! It’s time to go to Grandma’s house!” Billy and Susie are forced to leave many of their toys behind as they are herded into the family car for the 90 minute drive to their grandmother’s house, after which they will have to wait several hours until after Christmas dinner to open a second round of presents, and then endure another 90 minute drive back before they see their new toys again. And the entire time they will nag their parents, “Can we open presents now?” By the time everyone gets home, no one wants to see each other for at least another three days, the children playing with their new toys, and the parents happy to not hear the whining about unopened presents.

A tragic story, I know. I remember many of my childhood Christmases having a similar story. Twenty years later though, there are so many new and innovative things that children can fit in their pockets to keep them occupied for the normally tortuous drives and to keep them from chewing their parents’ ears off. One of these ingenious devices is, of course, Nintendo’s DS system. Standing for “Dual-Screen”, the DS fits in the palm of an adult’s hand and plays some great games that will keep the children occupied on any long drive. The DS is great for plane rides, car trips, sitting in the doctor’s office. It’s one of the reasons why I have one myself because even for adults it is a great, portable way to pass the time.

Now, most of you already probably have a DS since it is the most popular selling handheld of all time so I don’t have to sell you on it anymore. The real question now is what games you get for it. With the holiday quickly approaching and that DS needing a new game to keep the kiddies occupied, here are a few quick reviews on some of the newest games for Nintendo DS.

NINJATOWN

Recommended in my last article, I felt this was a good way to go more in-depth into a good kid’s game. Ninjatown is based on the popular Shawnimals plush toys that your children are already probably familiar with. It is a RTS (real-time strategy) game that is a great way to introduce them into strategy games and develop those critical thinking skills while actually being fun to play. The graphics are simple, but so are the toys so that is no surprise. It lacks replay value due to no unlockables or the like, but it does have a multi-player mode which is crucial to all RTS games.

With many different types of ridiculously cute ninjas to train for your war on the evil Mr. Demon and only one resource to maintain, this is a great introductory RTS game that will keep your children occupied for a solid 10-15 hours.

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

Graphics: 6.5: Nothing special in terms of graphics. This is a simple game that is more about the characters and the strategy than about looking good. Still though, for a DS game, it is about average.

Audio: 5.0: No voice acting to speak of and the music is pretty much the same for most of the game and can get very repetitive and annoying by the time you advance to the harder stages. It is the same for the SFX, you want to stab yourself in the ears with the stylus as you hear the same enemies with the same groans over the course of 36 stages.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.5: The characters are plush toys so the fact that they came up with a relatively coherent plot is impressive. Reminiscent of something out of a CareBears movie, the plot was enjoyable and got a few laughs out of a more hardcore gamer such as myself that your kids might really enjoy. Not bad.

Gameplay: 9.0: Crisp, smooth, classic RTS style gameplay. A little difficult to conduct everything with the DS’s stylus, but overall no hitches make this a solid gaming experience.

Replay Value: 5.0: With no unlockables to think of, once you beat the 36 game stages, there isn’t much to bring you back to it aside from the multi-player mode, which is a must have for all RTS games anyway. The fun gameplay, though, makes the multi-player very enjoyable at least.

Overall (not an average): 7.0: An average RTS game that was made well for the Nintendo DS. Its appeal to younger kids cannot go unnoticed and carries a lot of weight in my recommendation for those long car rides. It does have some appeal to older folks, but more as something to just laugh at. Overall, Ninjatown isn’t a bad way to kill 10-15 hours if you need something to help pass the time.

METAL SLUG 7

Nothing quite like the old school, button mashing, shoot everything in sight, arcade game. Yet another installment in the Metal Slug series, Metal Slug 7 is pretty much the same as every other Metal Slug game. You choose a character and you shoot everything in sight through several stages and a handful of continues. With the DS version, though, you can go back with a full batch of continues to the last level you reached and since there are only seven levels, to say this is a fast game is the understatement of the century.

Sure, there is some replay value if you want to go back and try to rescue all the prisoners or if you are an old school buff that loves trying to beat your own high score over and over, but aside from that there really isn’t that much to bring you back to this after you beat it the first time. If you need a game for one car ride, then this works. That’s it. After that, the case makes a great coaster. The graphics and music are around Super Nintendo level so don’t expect to be dazzled visually either.

It was given a T-rating, but it could easily have been an E-10+ because there just is not enough in this game to warrant the T-rating. I’ve seen a lot more cartoon violence with a lot more questionable language be given a E-10+, but since previous Metal Slugs have been given that rating, the ESRB decided probably to just mail this one in. I guess when you have a horse and it runs, you just keep beating it until its corpse turns to a fine powder.

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

Graphics: 6.0: Reminiscent of the Super Nintendo days, this doesn’t even push the DS at all. It’s colorful, but nothing that really screams out at you as impressive.

Audio: 5.5: Another game with no voice acting. Another game with repetitive sound effects. At least this game had different music in different levels to give it the extra half point. Super Nintendo quality music though.

Plot/Plot Development: 4.0: It is as simple as it gets. Evil tyrant escapes. You and your army cohorts have to stop him. Again. For the seventh time. No twists or turns or anything special. Pitiful.

Gameplay: 7.0: The game handles well. Although it is a little bit difficult to flick switches or judge all your jumps. But, then again, how hard is it to just keep pressing the shoot button and aim your gun?

Replay Value: 3.0: Unless you are obsessed with increasing your high score, this is not a game that you can replay much, especially when it you can beat the whole thing in only 2-3 hours the first time through.

Overall (not an average): 4.5: If you like Centipede, Space Invaders, and other arcade-style games that are more about score than the game actually being difficult, then this is the game for you. For the rest of us who have evolved past the coin-fueled twitch stage, Metal Slug 7 is a waste of $30.

CHRONO TRIGGER DS

With games like Final Fantasy IV and VI, Earthbound, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the SNES was a haven for RPG fans. Another classic game was a little known hit called Chrono Trigger. The first game with multiple endings depending on what you accomplished over the course of the story, it would set the table for what many RPGs, and games overall, are today.

Now, over a decade and a port to the PS1 later, it is back in the hands of Nintendo and has been given a facelift for the Nintendo DS. With some new, awesome anime cut scenes to help develop the characters and a new look to the battle sequences; Chrono Trigger DS is even better than the original.

The story is the same. You are the young, rambunctious Crono and you bump into a beautiful girl at the fair named Marle. She asks you to show her around and being young and rambunctious, you go along. You happen upon your friend Lucca and you all have a wonderful time until Lucca’s latest invention malfunctions and Marle gets sent back in time! One of the most developed plots in the history of RPGs then begins to unfold as you begin on a quest to not only save Marle, but all of time itself.

This is still one of my favorite games of all time. The characters are timeless. The plot is well written with twists and turns in every major chapter. The graphics are still only Super Nintendo level, but considering that was the original system it was made for, it is forgivable. The music is timeless. I was playing this a few days ago when a friend called and I had to pause the game. The music kept playing in the background and my friend who had not played the game since it first came out, recognized it instantly. It doesn’t get more timeless than that. It was a sleeper hit when it first came out, it was a hit when it was ported to PS1, I say it should be a smash hit now that it is back home on a Nintendo system. A must have for RPG fans and a great way to help pass some video game history onto the kids. Add in that it will kill at least 20 hours and you know you’re set with the kiddies on that car ride.

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

Graphics: 7.0: Still with the same old Super Nintendo graphics, it has at least been upgraded with some awesome anime cut scenes during major moments of the game to update the look and feel of the game a bit.

Audio: 8.0: Again, only Super Nintendo level sound: there are no voiceovers and the SFX do leave a little to be desired. But considering that the music is the kind that passes the test of time (fitting, it being a time travel game), I can’t take off too much for it.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: A quest to save time and the girl. A classic plot, classily done, and it still holds up even now. Just as fun playing through now as it was a decade ago.

Gameplay: 9.0: The new battle system takes a little time to get used to and it can be a pain fighting multiple enemies to select who you want to hit, but other than that, this is a crisp playing game.

Replay Value: 6.0: There is a no co-op or true multi-player mode, however this does include a new arena mode where you can buy monsters that you find in the game and raise them to do battle. Sounds a little too much like Pokémon to me to really appeal to die-hard Chrono Trigger fans, but the multiple endings are something that might bring you back to play it through a few times.

Overall (not an average): 8.5: The game could use a facelift in terms if graphics and music, but aside from the aesthetics, it is still a classic RPG that stands this test of time. This game is definitely worth it, both as a way to introduce to new gamers to great RPGs and for the older gamers looking for a little bit of nostalgia. This is a must have.

So there it is, folks. Some ways to pass the time on those holiday drives. Peace on earth is a nice thought, but we got to have peace in the household first, right?

Have a happy holiday season.

-Ray Carsillo

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