Who called it?
Me.
Beatles Rock Band won by a major margin, 595,000 to 499,000, though I find it pretty unsurprising. We will see how the DLC fares, but “All You Need is Love” already appears to have done quite well at 100,000 downloads.
For the longest time, the Playstation 3 was criticized for its high price point, lack of quality platform exclusives, problematic development and bugs for multi-platform titles. It’s developers like Naughty Dog, however, who defy this stereotype with the Uncharted franchise. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune holds a special place in my heart. It’s an often-overlooked gem in gaming of this generation. Drake’s Fortune had its flaws, namely in gameplay. Yet its stellar graphics, voice acting and cinematic style all stood out to me. So when the sequel was announced I was certainly excited. Awards at E3, incredible trailers and the general media stir were enough to make it one of my most hotly anticipated Q4 releases.
After logging considerable hours in the multiplayer and completing the main story, here is my take on the PS3’s killer app this quarter, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (after the break). Read the full story
I realized this past Tuesday that I would have a couple extra hours to kill going from the mid-week into the weekend. I stopped into my local Blockbuster store to check out if there were any new games I would be interested in renting. I saw Brutal Legend on the shelf, and I thought to myself, “Hmm….Jack Black is sometimes funny. And I enjoy classic rock music. And Tim Schafer’s last game was brilliant. Shouldn’t any combination of these be extraordinary?” Of course I assumed the positive, and paid the 9 dollars (Sidenote: NINE DOLLARS TO RENT A VIDEOGAME IS PRETTY RIDICULOUS.) to check out Brutal Legend for a few days.
Years ago I remember sitting around with friends discussing which band, song or album would work perfectly in a rhythm game. The legends of classic rock, were the source of much discussion, and Van Halen, along with Eric Clapton, ACDC, the Beatles, Queen and others seemed like a logical fit in Guitar Hero.
Though some great bands over the years have certainly been featured in rhythm games of some sort, few have been given a full game treatment. Unfortunately, the approach Activision has taken to these band-devoted games has been a little disappointing. Typically half of the songs in them are from the featured band, while the rest are a ragtag mix of artists who inspired or were inspired by the band. This half-and-half strategy just comes off as cheap on the developer’s part, as if loudly announcing that either they couldn’t get the rights to the rest of the songs, or the band they chose simply doesn’t have enough hits to begin with.
So you can imagine my skepticism going into Guitar Hero: Van Halen. I received an advance copy of the game with the Guitar Hero 5 promotion, months ahead of its official release this December. The Van Halen aspect of GH:VH is spot on: all the songs you’d expect are in the game, and all are generally a blast to play (Sorry Sammy Hagar fans, there is no love for you in GH:VH). Yet it’s the strength of GH:VH that make its weaknesses so much more pronounced. Read the full story
You know the type. Maybe it’s the Birkenstock’s they’re wearing as they intently stare into the T.V. screen, hands gripped on their Xbox controller. Perhaps it’s the double tall latte stains surreptitiously hidden in creative ways once they found out their new PS3 slim didn’t hide it as well as their old console. Or maybe they’re just good old fashioned nerds, here in the Northwest, and you love them no matter what.
Whoever they are, this is Northwest Gamer so we are starting a new piece to showcase our Nerds of the Northwest, if you will. For this first segment, we thought it would be a good opportunity to 1. test this new format, and 2. give everyone a chance to get to know the original Northwest Gamers a little better.
Meet Jeff (the idea-haver of Northwest Gamer) and Zack (the buddy that agreed to such a nerdy concept)… Read the full story
Halo 3: ODST, to me, is this year’s Orange Box. Don’t get me wrong, I think that The Orange Box is Valve’s magnum opus (and quite possibly one of the greatest achievements in recent gaming history), but ODST is probably the second best game compilation I’ve ever played. The gameplay experience on this two-disc set is so diverse; everyone can find something to love.
Quarter 4. As Jeff has already pointed out, this could be a challenging quarter. However, for some of us, this season is bringing on a whole new level of excitement. I am talking about, of course, the girly gamer’s Q4 picks. While Jeff’s list contains some gems that I myself am quite excited about (namely Uncharted 2 and Fallout 3 GOTY) there were a few names that slipped through the cracks that I’m looking forward to. Read the full story
Beatles Rock Band. Halo 3: ODST. Batman: Arkham Asylum. These are just a few of the names that likely already have a home in your collection. Now that this dust has settled, you might be thinking that the gaming gods would grant you a period of respite to enjoy said games. But we already know such peace does not exist in the fourth quarter of the video game industry. Read the full story
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