Waking Badger » Gaming

E3 2009 (Day 2) – Sony/Nintendo's turn

bill — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:49:05 +0000

Here’s the only real things I’ve found of value from Nintendo/Sony’s days. Their new motion sensing technology seems interesting, but paired with SD-only output (Wii) or pitiful online offerings (PS3), I see little to be truly excited about. Now, the following games look like winners to me regardless…

Metroid: Other M

I love Metroid games, but their still a hard sell for me given the Wii’s video capabilities. That being said, I’ll still enjoy playing them if I come upon a copy…

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Super Mario Bros. Wii

I LOVE 2D side-scrolling Mario, so yes…definitely!

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Super Mario Galaxy 2

The first game was fun and this looks to be excellent as well…

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Assassin’s Creed 2

Played the first edition on PS3, I’ll definitely play this on the Xbox 360.

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Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted is hands down the best game to hit the PS3 in my opinion and one of only a couple of franchises that could get me to buy to play on the PS3…

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God of War III

Haven’t been able to play the predecessor’s as it has been a long time since I’ve had a PS2, so this looks like a game I have to at least rent!

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E3 2009 (Day 1) – What's coming…so far

bill — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:00:42 +0000

So, GameTrailers has some great stuff for all the new E3 titles that hit today. Yes, Beatles Rock Band (yawn) and Metal Gear Solid: Raiden for Xbox 360 stole the show (neither does it for me in the least), but the titles below are the ones that have me excited right now. I’m curious about Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, but the vids for both didn’t really get me ready to drop any cash yet. I’ll need to see more…

Crackdown 2

The first title was a favorite of mine, so I can’t wait to see what this brings to the table…

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Star Wars: The Old Republic

The cinematics look amazing and I think the game is likely to be a lot of fun…

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Left 4 Dead 2

Somewhat disappointed that this is coming before even an SDK is released for the original, but the new content looks great. Can’t wait to try it out!

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Project Natal

If it works as described this could be a truly exciting new game mechanic, but I’m waiting for reviews to be sure…

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Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2

More super hero action that looks to have substantially upped the graphical intensity…what more is there to say?

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Lego Rock Band

This might finally get me to buy Rock Band as this looks more friendly to playing with the family

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Blow that theme song

bill — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:53:36 +0000

Tetris is an awesome game and playing the theme song with glass bottles would be I imagine … challenging. No real world value here, but really cool.

[youtube width="425" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkDBlEvfbgg[/youtube]

God of War 3 trailer

bill — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:04:48 +0000

I checked the God of War 3 trailer out last night and it looks interesting (if you search, you can find a downloadable at 720p or 1080p, but I’ve lost the link I used). I’ve heard the video is supposed to be actual game video, but it’s hard to know if that’s true or if it’s really just a render that is used as an opening or transition in the game. I doubt I’d buy this, but I’ve been jonesing to play a God of War in HD for some time, so I’ll at least half to rent it or grab a demo.

Note: the video is very bloody, so I would watch in the presence of children (possibly NSFW depending on your work)

[youtube width="480" height="295"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d_3yKKEiKM[/youtube]

Penny Arcade serves up roasted Playstation Home

bill — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:06:13 +0000

Wow, seems the Penny Arcade guys really hated Playstation Home. And that was just the post discussing the comic beating on Home. I’ve downloaded it, but thus far haven’t actually started it up. Home is a risky proposition as many will ridicule it regardless of its potential quality and likely few will truly love it. Outside of those camps, the great masses may never use it. Considering all of this, is it truly worth it?

Not sure and I’ll withold judgement until I try it and see how it begins to evolve. I enjoy new social networking opportunities. Only time will tell…

Guitar Hero advertising…the good and the better

bill — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:35:47 +0000

I heard about this video on Buzz Out Loud and I thought it was pretty interesting…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlMYWuGUZlM[/youtube]

but really, this is the one that did it for me MUCH better than the scene from ‘Risky Business’

[youtube width="480" height="295"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BddCq1zFI4[/youtube]

Waking Badger's Movie & Game Holiday

bill — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 03:38:58 +0000

I’m home alone for the next week or so I’m trying to get the chance to watch/play a bunch of flicks & games. I jumped on the Blockbuster “2 out at once” plan to augment my Netflix subscription. So far, the list is small, but I hope I’ll be able to grow it and see some great stuff…

Movies:

Stargate Continuum (DVD)
Patriot Games (Blu-ray)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (Blu-ray)
Starship Troopers (Blu-ray) – Ooops, Blockbuster put it on the shelf a bit early
Chaos Theory (DVD)
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Theater)
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (Blu-ray)
Stranger than Fiction (Blu-ray)
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (DVD)

Games:

Soul Caliber IV (PS3)
Battlefield Bad Company (XBOX 360)

…to be updated over the next week or so…

Simpsons Quake 3 Arena Map

bill — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:30:52 +0000

Video of Simpsons Map for Quake 3 Arena | Laughing Squid

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34LtrnnXQTc[/youtube]

Great map for Quake 3 and I have to say that I seeing lots of great things on Laughing Squid so make sure to check them out!

New PS3 firmware coming with in-game XMB and trophies

bill — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:07:34 +0000

PlayStation.Blog » Firmware (v2.36) coming soon, (v2.40) to include trophies, in-game XMB

Woohoo! First a stability release and the 2.40 with in-game XMB and trophies. I’m glad the PS3 is going to offer some new functionality that I think may be critical. In-game XMB may finally deliver in-game messaging while trophies begin to adopt the “gamerscore”/”achievements” concepts from the Xbox 360 world…

Picked up the new Mario Kart today

bill — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:05:47 +0000

Mario Kart has always been a fun game in all of its incarnations. I can definitely say that if you enjoyed any of the past versions, you’ll probably find a good bit here to like.

Just to get the obvious things out of the way first. Yes, like ALL Wii games the graphics kind of suck, but luckily it’s damn fun Also, they have modified the game play options since the previous home console version. There doesn’t seem to be a coop mode where you can ride together in the same kart. Another annoyance is that the maps are pretty much pulled right from the Nintendo DS version. I was surprised to have played many of the maps before

I haven’t touched multiplayer yet, but I’m sure I will soon. The game is a lot of fun and Ben has been playing with me which has been a blast. He can’t seem to keep the button for gas pressed though. Well, all things come in time. I think it will be a rather successful title. All in all, it seems solid and like any top tier first party game from Nintendo. They always do a good job.

All in all, I would give the game a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars based on what I have seen so far. Oh, and the Wii Wheel accessory is very nice and well made. Not too heavy and quite comfortable to use.