Yesterday at a GDC press conference, Sony revealed the official name for their motion controller, the Playstation Move. While its been no secret that Sony was developing this peripheral, there haven’t been many details as of yet. All of this changed with the official name, pricing, and initial supported games announced today. In my observations of the various gaming news sites, and the community itself, Sony’s motion controller offering has had a tepid reception.  With the Wii already entrenched into motion controller technology, and Microsoft’s Project Natal on the horizon, Sony’s answer to this technology seemed well…uninspired. Read the full story

There are a few games that have a ton of things going for them; i.e. this and this. Most games on the market only have a few things going for them, but those few things pull the game along and ultimately make them fun and replayable. (example) And there are some games that really don’t have anything going for them. Darksiders is one of those games. Awful story, terrible graphics, boring gameplay, bland environments. The list could go on for a long time. Darksiders is truly a lesson in how not to design a video game. Ever. This game is one of the most overrated games of the last several months, and I would not recommend it to anyone. Go play this, this, or this instead.

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Hello all.

Just thought I’d give a little explanation about a new post that I, MidwestGamer, will be starting. Hopefully those other fools who do this site will eventually do them too.

My new type of post is called the “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” reviews. These reviews will all be extremely short in length, so they’ll be very easy to digest. In these posts, I’ll address games that I heard “through the grapevine” were amazing, great, revolutionary, genre-definining, etc. You may like some of the games I discuss, and that’s fine. As a matter of fact, I encourage you to comment on the posts or message our Twitter account @NorthwestGamer and let us know what you think. We’d also like to hear from you if you have any suggestions for further “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” reviews.

These reviews will all have a ranking system, which will be quantified by “sour grapes.”

The worse I felt the game was, the more “sour grapes” it shall receive.

Example: Late last year I reviewed “Brutal Legend,” which heralded copious praise from all possible outlets. I played through the game, and disagreed. It was fun at times, but some parts really chapped me.

So I would give Brutal Legend 2 out of 5 Sour Grapes.

Hope you enjoy this new type of post. Please let us know what you think!

MidwestGamer

Did you like Devil May Cry? Or Ninja Gaiden? If so, you’ll like Bayonetta. If you read the reviews of Bayonetta, you’d probably want to try it regardless of how you feel about DMC or NG. The reviews of it are that good. But Bayonetta is not, and I quote, “The best action game I’ve ever played.” I’ve already played Devil May Cry, and this is pretty much the same exact game. Bayonetta has a completely throw-away story, and adds absolutely nothing new to the genre. (If you say that it does, you, sir, are a dirty rotten scoundrel.) If you like mashing the X and Y buttons continuously for 11 hours, you’ll definitely want to pick this one up.

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There’s an aspect of First Person gaming that has largely been ignored by mainstream multiplayer developers: skill-based mechanics.  More specifically, these are game mechanics that require practice and skill to master.  I’m talking about Matrix-style fine control and physics manipulation that, when pulled off correctly, pushes the game to new levels of competitive depth. Read the full story

Thank you for checking us out today, the final day of our Countdown of 2009′s Best Games. Today we reveal our Number 1. First, let us just say that 2009 was a great year for games, and it was very difficult for both of us to pick our Number 2-5 on our GOTY lists. But, in all honestly, it was not a struggle at all for us to pick our Number 1 Game of 2009. Both us of knew the instant we started playing this game that it was destined for greatness, and destined for the coveted Northwest Gamer #1 Game of 2009 spot. So, without further adieu, our Number 1 Game of 2009. Read the full story

Thanks for checking us out today! Today’s the day we reveal our Number 2 spots in our 2009 Game of the Year Countdown. Make sure to read our other GOTY picks, and check back tomorrow for the big reveal of our Number 1 Game of 2009!

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Today we reveal our Number 3 spots on our Top 5 Games of 2009! Have you read and commented on the previous two days? Please do, and also stay tuned for our Number 2 and Number 1 spots Thursday and Friday!

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Thanks for checking us out today to see our Number 4 Games of 2009! As we count down each day until we reveal our Number 1, please leave some comments and let us know if you agree or disagree, and also let us know what your favorite games of this year were.

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As 2009 draws to a close, we here at Northwest Gamer wanted to reflect on the amazing year this has been for gaming. We carefully deliberated over our choices for the top 5 games of 2009, and Zack and Jeff have each selected their picks. We will reveal one set of picks each day leading up to the new year, so check back often for updates! Do you agree with our picks? Disagree? Leave a comment!

We start the countdown at #5, check out our picks after the break! Read the full story