Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days Demo

Every once in a while a game will come along that I don’t know much about but I take a leap of faith and buy it. I had seen a screenshot of Helsing’s Fire on another website and the art style had me very interested so I decided to drop the measly $0.99 and buy it.

I’ve never come across a game like this before in my life and I think that’s great because it shows that developers are still innovating.

Helsing’s Fire is a game in where you place a torch in a specific spot so that it shines on monsters, once it shines on those monsters you tap a colored potion and that potion kills all the monsters that the torch was shining on. Each monster can only be killed by the color potion that matches its own color. So red potions kill red monsters. But to make it more interesting a red monster could have a blue shield around it, so first you would have to use the blue potion to take down that shield and then a red potion to kill the monster. You have to be careful though because if you use a blue potion on a red shield or monster it adds a blue shield to it.

The art style in Helsing’s Fire is also what really sticks out at me. I’m the type of gamer that can have art style alone make a game worth a purchase. This game has a great art style for the iPhone and I think it fits perfectly with the gameplay. HF let’s you jump in jump out so it’s perfect for on-the-go gaming which is what works best on an iDevice.

Check out the screenshots below to help you get a better idea of the game:

At $0.99 you can’t go wrong with this game. It’s games likes these that make me fall in love with iPhone gaming over and over again.

Helsing’s Fire is simple to learn but can get pretty difficult as you progress. The bottom line is that its a great game and I highly suggest you download it right now.

DeathSpank

http://everydaygamers.com/videos/Crackdown%202%20Demo%20Walk%20Through.mp4

Listen in as Patrick, Eric, and Jordan talk everything E3 2010.

EDG Podcast Episode #65

Rayman Origins Trailer

Shaun White Skateboarding Trailer

Gran Turismo 5 Trailer

Medal of Honor Trailer

inFamous 2 Trailer

Child of Eden Trailer

Fable III Trailer

Driver San Francisco

http://everydaygamers.com/videos/Donkey%20Kong%20Country.mp4

http://everydaygamers.com/videos/Kirby%20Epic%20Yarn.mp4

http://everydaygamers.com/videos/Zelda%20Skyward%20Sword.mp4

Here is a full list of all the upcoming games for the Nintendo 3DS:

Activision Publishing, Inc.
DJ Hero® 3D

AQ INTERACTIVE
cubic ninja

ATLUS
Etrian Odyssey
Shin Megami Tensei
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

Capcom
RESIDENT EVIL® REVELATIONS
SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV 3D Edition (name not final)

Electronic Arts
FIFA Soccer
Madden NFL
The Sims™ 3

Gameloft
Asphalt GT

Harmonix
Music game

HUDSON SOFT
Bomberman franchise
DECA SPORTS franchise
KORORINPA franchise

KONAMI
Baseball franchise
Contra franchise
Frogger franchise
HIDEO KOJIMA’S METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D
“The Naked Sample”
PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER franchise /
WINNING ELEVEN franchise

LEVEL-5
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (name not final)

Majesco Entertainment
BloodRayne: The Shroud
A Boy and His Blob
Face Racers: Photo Finish
Lion’s Pride: Adventures on the Serengeti
Martha Stewart
WonderWorld Amusement Park

Marvelous Entertainment
BOKUJYOUMONOGATARI 3D (name not final)

NAMCO BANDAI Games
Dragon Ball® franchise (name not final)
Gundam® franchise (name not final)
PAC-MAN™ & GALAGA™ (name not final)
RIDGE RACER® (name not final)
Super Robot franchise (name not final)

Nintendo
Animal Crossing™
Kid Icarus™: Uprising
Mario Kart™
nintendogs™ + cats
Paper Mario™
PilotWings Resort™
Star Fox 64™ 3D
Steel Diver™

ROCKET
Crash-City GP
VS-robo

SEGA
Sonic (name not final)
Super Monkey Ball (name not final)

SQUARE ENIX
CODENAME: Chocobo Racing® 3D
DRAGON QUEST® franchise
FINAL FANTASY® franchise
KINGDOM HEARTS franchise

Take-Two Interactive
Carnival Games® franchise

TECMO KOEI GAMES
DEAD OR ALIVE® 3D (name not final)
DYNASTY WARRIORS® (name not final)
NINJA GAIDEN® (name not final)
SAMURAI WARRIORS® 3D (name not final)

TOMY
LOVELY LISA 3D
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN ACTION

THQ
de Blob 2
Kung Fu Panda Kaboom of Doom
Marvel Super Hero Squad Infinity Gauntlet
The Penguins of Madagascar
Puss N Boots
Saints Row: Drive-By

Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed™ Lost Legacy
Battle of Giants™: Dinosaur Strike
Driver® Renegade
Hollywood 61 (name not final)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon™
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory™

Warner Bros
Batman franchise
LEGO franchise

Sony has just announced that Playstation Move will be available September 19th in North America. Europe gets Move on September 15th.

In North America Move will be priced at $49.99 for the controller and $29.99 for the navigation controller.

There will be a a bundle that includes both controllers, a sports game, and the playstation eye for $99.99. A second bundle will include all that was mentioned before with the addition of a PS3 for $399.99.

Today during their official press conference Microsoft unveiled the next version of their popular Xbox 360. The new Xbox 360 is a slimmed down version with a sharp new shiny black look. The new console sports a 250 GB hard drive, an internal wireless-N adapter, and is said to be “whisper” quiet. Lastly, the new Xbox 360 will be shipping today!

Check out the images below to see the new Xbox 360.

Below is an unboxing video of the new Xbox 360.

Everyday Gamers will be at E3 this year and we’ve been invited to the Sony and Nintendo Press Conferences. Our very own Eric Bouchard will be live-blogging those two conferences as they happen, so feel free to watch a live stream of the conferences on a website such as IGN, but keep our live blogs open for some great discussion while the conferences are happening. We will be using CoverItLive for the coverage of the Press Conferences, including Microsoft’s, even though we will not be in attendance of that one.

Microsoft Press Conference Live Blog – Goes live Monday, June 14th at 10:30 AM PST (1:30 PM EST)

Nintendo Press Conference Live Blog – Goes live Tuesday, June 15th at 9:00 AM PST (12:00 PM EST)

Sony Press Conference Live Blog – Goes live Tuesday, June 15th at 12:00 PM PST (3:00 PM EST)

Our coverage of E3 will not end there, keep an eye on the site for podcast updates from each day of the expo, impression articles of each of the press conferences, breaking news and much more. Eric will present his own unique view of the Electronic Entertainment Expo and this post will act as our ‘hub’ to help you easily navigate our coverage of E3 and we will be updating it constantly so keep checking back.

Everyday Gamers E3 Feed – This is your one-stop-shop for all things E3. Here you will find a list of all the latest news, features, and podcasts from the entire E3 Expo all in one place.

Also remember to follow all of the EDG Crew via Twitter as well. Our Twitter names are as follows: Eric Bouchard – @AZRockSlide, Patrick Adams – @CrownOfThornz, Chris Maeurer – @HolyHeadshot, Jordan de Bouer – @AbraCadaverD0g, Kevin Clark – @SLYRIV, Everyday Gamers – @EverydayGamers

To access all of our Twitter accounts at once just visit this link http://twitter.com/CrownOfThornz/everydaygamers

Lastly, don’t forget to catch our post E3 podcast. We are shooting to get that posted not long after Eric gets back from E3, and it will contain our views on the conferences and many of the stories and impressions Eric gained from attending. You will not want to miss it.

EDG @ E3 Podcast Player:

Field and Stream Demo Footage

Transformers: War for Cybertron Demo

Gelaskins for iPad and Xbox 360

Lego Harry Potter Demo Gameplay Footage

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Dead Space 2 Multiplayer Confirmed

EA’s John Riccitiello mentioned during a interview with Industry Gamers that a Multiplayer componet is to be expected for Dead Space 2.  When asked about the game he was quoted as saying “It’s got some really innovative online gameplay.”  While there isn’t a great deal of information as of yet, you can bet to hear the scoop at E3 in just a few more days.

Keep your eyes on the site for more information during E3 about Dead Space 2 news.

Source

Bioshock Switching Developers?

With 2K Marin now busy with X-COM, we could see a possible change in developers for the next installment in the Bioshock series.  Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick mentioned during a second quarter financial call.

We think BioShock is still one of the most important franchises in the industry, we do intend to support it; doesn’t necessarily have to be at 2K Marin, but we do intend to support the franchise.

He goes on to say there goal first and foremost is too continue supporting Bioshock 2 with lots of DLC.

It will be interesting to see where they take the franchise when Bioshock 3 gets started.

Source

Team Fortress 2 Available on Steam for Mac

Looks as thought Valve is slowly rolling out all of it’s big hits over to the Steam for Mac platform. I’m sure Mac users are happy.

Source

3D Graces the Playstation 3 Today

In case you haven’t heard 3D is the future…for people with money? Anyways, Sony isn’t slowing down their support and due out today is an update that makes the PS3 supportive of 3D. If you have the equipment you can play WipeOut HD, PAIN, Super Stardust HD, and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift in 3D. As of right now those are the current titles that will support 3D. Expect more games to be announced in the future.

Source

This early in the iPad’s life it’s hard to find any apps worth your while. I’ve come up with a list of ten iPad apps that I find to be real winners and I thought it would be a good idea to share them you with you. You know the best thing about it? They are all free.

10. Goby – Goby is a great app to find things going on locally. It takes your current location and shows you activities and places you can go while you are there. This app is very useful for people who are not familiar with the area and want to do something with their time.

9. Twitterrific – At the time of writing, this app is currently the best Twitter app out there. It does what it needs to do and it looks good doing it. Until Twitter drops their official app this one is the one I’ve chosen to get the job done.

8.  ABC Player – Basically this app lets you watch all of ABC’s TV shows right on your iPad. Me being such a huge fan of LOST this is a good thing.

7. Pandora – If you are reading this article then I probably don’t need to tell you what Pandora is. This is Pandora on your iPad just like Pandora on your iPhone or computer.

6. USA Today – This app is my favorite app for getting my news for the day, they update it constantly with all the latest news from across the world. USA Today also has a great layout that makes it fun to read.

5. Bible – This is YouVersions.com’s Bible application in HD for the iPad. It has all the features of the iPhone version which means you can start a reading plan, choose any translation you want, bookmark verses, etc. It’s the best Bible application out there.

4. IMDB – This is the Internet Movie Database on your iPad. You can search any movie ever made and you will get all of the information you need about that movie. You can even search by actor, actress, producer, director, etc. It’s all here.

3. 1000 Experiences – When this app was released it jumped right to the top of the most downloaded applications, then it kind of disappeared. It’s out there so go and download it. It gives you the top places to…well, everything. Just download it and you’ll see what I mean.

2. Movies – This app gives you information about movies that are currently in the box office as well as upcoming movies. You can also get info about nearby theaters. This app is just like the iPhone version but better looking.

1. Beatwave – This application is available on the iPhone but is best used on the iPad. It’s an amazing app that lets you create music with no effort at all. I am totally addicted to it. The application is free but you can buy different sounds and an option to record your creations and save them as mp4′s. My daughter could even make a sweet beat with this and she’s only a year and a half.

Check back for my Top 10 iPad Launch Games feature coming soon.

Check out the gallery below to see screenshots of each application mentioned above.

http://everydaygamers.com/videos/Snoopy%20Flying%20Ace.mp4

I’ve been looking forward to ModNation Racers ever since it was announced at E3. Originally I thought it was supposed to be a PSN downloadable title but I guess I was wrong. ModNation Racers is basically Mario Kart on the PS3 but with loads of customization. You can customize your characters, your karts, and also build tracks. The options while creating are endless too. As you probably would have guessed there is a campaign mode in which you participate in races against AI kart racers. Winning these races gives you items for customizing your karts and characters. For each track there are 3 goals to achieve which makes the game very re-playable, for each goal you unlock more goodies for your character or kart.

Kart Customization

My time spent with the game was great. The controls feel so tight that you don’t even have to brake, you can keep your finger on the gas and never let go. Compared to how colorful your character and kart is, the tracks in ModNation are kind of bland in the color department. It may just be because I am used to the bright colors of Mario Kart but I felt like they were not diverse enough in their coloring schemes.

ModNation Racers has the standard modes you would expect in a kart racer: Campaign, Online Multiplayer and Split-Screen multiplayer. I had a chance to sit down and play the split screen multiplayer with my wife and she really enjoyed it. I was trying to get her to play at least one track and we ended up playing 6 or more. My biggest complaint about ModNation is the load times. The average load time for loading a race is 1 minute (I timed it). You may not think this is long but try sitting at your computer for a full 60 seconds and you will see what I mean. Now imagine sitting there each time you want to start a race. This is unacceptable, especially for a fast paced kart racing game. ModNation is what I consider a “just one more track” kind of racing game you’d want to play with your friends. The minute load times really kill that mood. This is a huge downfall for ModNation Racers in my opinion. I have however read there is a patch in the works to decrease those load times, the question is when will it be released? I remember the Fat Princess lag fix took over a month to roll out.

Track Creator

Other than the loading time problems ModNation Racers is a solid racer. While I didn’t really care for the cut scenes the campaign mode is lengthy enough, especially with the challenges you can complete. The bread of the game is going to be the customization and the multiplayer. I’m sure you will spend hours customizing your character and creating tracks, it’s kind of like the LittleBigPlanet of kart racers. This is a great game to play with people on the same couch as well, split screen works great and I honestly think it’s best played that way and it’s a shame that the load times have to kill the mood. The menu, also known as the “ModSpot” is basically a menu in which you drive around in. You drive to the campaign to start it, you drive to multiplayer to start it, etc. You can also browse the characters that people have created. When I first started the game there was Mario, Luigi, and Spiderman available to download. The sharing option is a great addition to the game.

ModNation Racers is definitely worth the money. If you are a little on the fence about the game then go check out the demo that is available in the PSN store. If I had to pick between ModNation, Blur or Split/Second, I’d go with ModNation Racers, but that’s just my style. One more thing: It has the same announcer from Crackdown and Red Faction: Guerrilla which is a plus. I’m giving ModNation a 3.5 out of 5 star simply because of the load times, if this wasn’t a problem it would be a solid 4 out of 5.

http://everydaygamers.com/videos/New%20EDG%20Website%20Rundown.mp4

http://everydaygamers.com/videos/Iron%20Man%20Demo%20Gameplay%20Footage.mp4

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Sonic 4 Pushed Back To Late 2010

Sega decided to push back Sonic 4 Episode 1 from a summer release to “late 2010″. The official press release had the following to say.

The additional time will allow the Development Team to focus on ensuring overall high-quality throughout the game by continuing to tune, balance, and maintain the kind of polish that an important title like this demands, and ultimately providing fans with an unrivaled classic sonic feel

Also very interesting news mentioned is that a iPhone/iPod touch version will be available. No word if its a same day release as the XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare.

Source

EA Confirms List For E3

EA has mentioned the games they will be showcasing at E3 this year.

Bulletstorm-set for release in 2011

Dead Space 2-set for release in 2011

Crysis 2-no scheduled release

Medal Of Honor-set for release October 12, 2010

Keep your eyes peeled here at EverydayGamers.com for your E3 News.

Source

Want To Do A Ollie With Isaac Clarke?

Dead Space’s main spaceman Isaac Clarke can now be a playable character in EA’s Skate 3.  Just simply enter the code DEADSPACETOO into the game and you will be doing jumps and tricks in no time.

And I thought there wasn’t much personality to Mr. Clarke..I was so wrong.

Source

The official Everyday Gamers iPhone application is now available in the app store for free. Here is the official iTunes description:

This is the official iPhone app for Everyday Gamers, a gaming website created by everyday people who share a strong passion for videos games. Use this app to access all the latest site content on your iPhone or iPad.

*Features – Check out all of our unique original features written by the staff at Everyday Gamers.

*Reviews – Check out all the latest video game reviews for all current-generation consoles including Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC, and iPhone.

*News – Check out our daily news round-ups titled ‘Daily Bits’ gathering all of the interesting gaming news for the day and also our Weekly Bytes specializing in all of the week’s PC news with a hint of console news.

*Videos – Check our video reviews and gameplay footage videos for all of the recent Xbox 360 and PS3 demos and games, as well as our original video podcast titled “The Fishbowl” where we discuss a specific game and give you the rundown of what we think of it.

Podcasts – Check out all of the recent episodes of The Everyday Gamers Podcast hosted by Eric Bouchard and Patrick Adams.

This app is the best way to view EverydayGamers.com on your iPhone. To experience Everyday Gamers in all it’s glory visit our website at http://everydaygamers.com where we have forums, HD videos, and more.

Like I mentioned before, the app is free and it’s the best way to view EverydayGamers.com on your iPhone/iPod Touch. If you like the application then please leave us a review in iTunes. To download the application just visit this link http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/everyday-gamers/id372014113?mt=8

Check out the screenshots of the app below:

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Walmart Unleashes “Gamecenter” Online Store

It looks like Walmart is trying to compete with the big boys, specifically Amazon.  Gamecenter’s specialty is pre ordering incentives on future games and shipping for a single game will cost you under a buck.

The best deal I’ve seen as of now is if you pre-order three titles from a predefined list you will receive a $50 egift card.  This is definitely something Im interested in, I just hope they guarantee shipping on release day.

Source

Would You Like To Pre-Order DLC?

This spring Gamestop will be launching a DLC program in 35 locations with a “limited catalog” to start off.  They will also have a customer loyalty program but no word on details involving that until May 28th.

We’ve been working on the technology for DLC for well over a year

says company COO J. Paul Raines

and I think what’s important to understand is that we’ve had to create proprietary point of sale technology in partnership with Microsoft to be able to show that DLC catalog at retail. We’re also working on merchandising and marketing the DLC content in our stores. So this is something that we feel like the industry is moving our way, and our investments are starting to really be timely and publishers see us as the destination for sale of DLC in stores.

So now I have to hear if I want to pre-order DLC?

Source

UFC 2010 Will Beat The $5 Bucks Out Of You

EA isn’t the only company now punishing the used game customers. THQ have decided to add a similar formula with UFC 2010. For those that buy the game new have no worries, but for people who gamefly, borrow from a friend etc will have to pay 400 Microsoft Points/$5.00 to gain multiplayer access.

Yet no word from THQ if they will offer the free 7 day online trial like EA is doing.

UFC 2010 will hit stores May 25th for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Source

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Treyarch Debuts “Reveal Trailer”

Last night during the NBA Eastern Conference Finals a new Call of Duty: Black ops trailer was shown.  Taking place during the cold war era it shows some actual gameplay footage of what you can expect and even boasts some of the new weapons.

Take a look for yourself, and let us know what you think.

Source

Gears Of War 2 Gets New Title Update

Gears of War 2 is receiving Title Update 6, which is set to fix Exploits, Matchmaking, and Balancing issues.  No set release of when you can expect that little update message popping up on your 360 yet.

Seems like Epic could just never get the multiplayer right for the sequel. Lets hope Gears Of War 3 is more promising.

Check out our source for the huge list of fixes.

Source

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Premium PSN Service Rumored to be Announced At E3

It has been said in a previous statement by Sony’s Kaz Hirai that they have been looking into adding a premium subscription service, adding additional content but still keeping the free services of the PSN.

Sony may also offer “two to four” free PSN titles each month to premium subscribers which could cost a whopping $73.00 per year. Some additional features are said to include the long awaited cross-game chat and a music streaming service which lets you play in the background while playing your games.

Again this is all just rumors and speculation so we will just have to see what Sony has to say about the matter at E3 2010 which kicks off June 15th.  Be sure to keep an eye on Everyday Gamers as we will have some great news regarding E3 this year.

Source

Alan Wake Trailer Builds Up the Hype One Last Time

If you are STILL on the fence about Alan Wake Remedy has put together one last trailer that shows what you can expect playing as the confused writer.  The floating review scores really shows the love this game is getting.  I plan on taking a trip to Bright Falls later tonight.

Alan Wake hits stores today exclusively on the 360…As if you already didn’t know that.

Source

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Delayed to Early 2011

Ubisoft announced today that there futuristic shooter will have a short delay and now could come out between January and March 31st.  Chances are they didn’t want to go against Call Of Duty: Black Ops and Medal of Honor.

Ubisoft will be revealing much more on Ghost Recon: Future Solider at E3 next month.

It already looks like Q1 of 2011 is going to be a busy first couple of months.

Source

PixelJunk Shooter 2 Coming to a PSN Store Near You

Many people fell in love with PixelJunk Shooter and its no surprise that we would see a sequel in the near future.  In the July issue of Official Playstation Magazine it shows some of the new tweaks they’ve added to the game including a new lighting mechanic.

If you haven’t yet tried PixelJunk Shooter, there will be a demo releasing on the PSN on May 25th.

Source

Fat Princess was a silent hit on the PS3.  It took a “cutesy” art-style and it added some blood and it became a slightly mature multiplayer title. Fat Princess was a PSN title priced at $15.00. I was pretty excited for Fat Princess as it had a really cool multiplayer aspect that we’ve never seen before. The main mode is to capture the princess, this is a lot like capture the flag but there is a twist. The twist is that you can feed the princess cake to make her fat, thus making her harder to move. The more people helping you carry her, the easier it is. Fat Princess also came with modes such as team deathmatch, invasion, and a few others. It was a great PSN title, but it was plagued by many online lag issues. I remember playing for 2 hours at a time and only being able to get a few games in. It was a nightmare and it turned a lot of people off of the game. Fixes were promised but they took too long to issue and most of the people were already on to the next game by the time they came around.

He makes it look easy.

Now Fat Princess is on the PSP via UMD and/or download. It’s priced at $20.00 and includes a bunch of new features. In my opinion Fat Princess is a perfect fit for the PSP. The simplistic art style and the online multiplayer make it a great game to lay around in the house and play. The art style is slightly dumbed down from the PS3 version but you really can’t even tell. It looks great. As I mentioned before, Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake comes with a handful of new features including 6 new maps, 4 new multiplayer modes, an Ad-Hoc mode which let’s you do 4 vs. 4 locally and an extended single player campaign.

As in the PSN version, the game has 5 character classes which are the mage, warrior, worker, ranger, and priest. These classes each have their own set of weapons and abilities. For example the worker will go out and chop down trees and mine rocks to help upgrade all of the classes. This is what I love about Fat Princess, the teamwork aspect, and when it all works as it should it’s an amazingly fun game.

Red vs. Blue

This is the main problem, it rarely ever works perfectly. In my time spent with Fistful of Cake I could barely get any games going. Anytime I would search for a specific mode I would always get a return message telling me that no games were found and that I should change modes or search again. I did a search for any mode and was connected to a game but it only had about 10 players total when it can hold at least double that. I had to wonder if there was anyone out there playing the game. Maybe I was checking at the wrong times. I’m not sure, but it was frustrating. If I could get more games going then I’m sure I would have had a lot of great things to say about Fistful of Cake but if I can’t even connect to the mode I want to play how am I supposed to write anything more about it?

Fat Princess is a great concept, one that is a whole lot of fun when things are working correctly. It’s a shame that Fistful of Cake isn’t catching on because I was really in the mood to save some princesses.

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Release Date List- 5/16-5/23

The biggest gaming week of this year is upon us with four major triple A titles. Want to know which games I’m talking about? Click the link below, but beware you may be taking out a loan to be able to afford all the goodness.

Source

PS3 Gets Red Dead Redemption Exclusives

Even though we are only a couple days short of release for Rockstar’s wild west shootout, some retailers are selling early copies of the game.  People who have received early copies have stated that on the front box it says “Playstation 3 exclusive content” like “Solomon’s Folly Gang Hideout” and the “Walton Gang Outfit”.

Nothing has been said at this time from Sony or Rockstar regarding this “Exclusive Content”.

Source

Maps Reveiled For Modern Warfare 2′s “Resurgence Pack”

Details on the second map pack from Infinity Ward have came together. The Resurgence Pack will feature once again, two rehashes from Call of Duty 4 and three brand new maps with a price tag of $15 (12oo ms pts).

Vacant, Strike, Carnival, Fuel, and Trailer Park are the five featured maps.

Check our source below for some screens of the new war zones.

Source

Splinter Cell Conviction Executes New DLC

Ubisoft revealed the Deniable Ops “Insurgency Pack” today for the Xbox 360 and PC to be released on May 27th for 800 ms points/$10.00.  You can expect new missions for Archer and Kestrel on four additional maps for Deniable Ops. Everything from a New Orleans Cemetary to sneaking around on the docks in San Francisco.

Also for all the achievement junkies there are a additional 250 points to be earned.

Source

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

NPD List Revealed for April: Splinter Cell Takes #1

The NPD list for the month of April has come out today, and it was a very slow month. In fact it’s the worst its been since July 09 explained by NPD analyst  Anita Frazier.

Some of the decline is explained by the shift of Easter timing. In April ’09, consumers attributed $55 million of industry sales to Easter as a purchase occasion, which would account for about 21% of the decline from last year since Easter purchasing happened in March this year.

Top Ten Games Sold (Units not recorded 6-10) – April 4 through May 1, 2010

1. Splinter Cell: Conviction* (Ubisoft Montreal, Xbox 360) – 486,100 units
2. Pokemon SoulSilver (Game Freak, DS) – 242,900 units
3. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo, Wii) – 200,300 units
4. Pokemon HeartGold (Game Freak, DS) – 192,600 units
5. God of War III* (SCE Santa Monica, PlayStation 3) – 180,300 units
6. Wii Sports Resort* (Nintendo, Wii)
7. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA DICE, Xbox 360)
8. Wii Fit Plus* (Nintendo, Wii)
9. Just Dance (Ubisoft, Wii)
10. Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom, PlayStation 3)

Top Five Hardware Sales (No mention of PS2 sales) – April 4 through May 1, 2010

1. Nintendo DS – 440,800 units
2. Wii – 277,200 units
3. Xbox 360 – 185,400 units
4. PlayStation 3 – 180,800 units
5. PSP – 65,500 units

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Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Mafia II Shows Some Good Ol’ Mobster Mayhem

What would a gangster game be without tommy gunns, molotovs, and complete destruction? In the recent dev diary we get a glimpse of all of the above.  Take a look as 2k discusses there upcoming open-world wise guy third person shooter.  Just dont tell anyone what you saw, or you could end up getting whacked.

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Battlefield 2 Adding Cooperative Play

EA has announced co op play for there award winning multiplayer with a new game mode called ‘Onslaught’.  It will support for up to 4 players across 4 maps.  Valparaiso, Atacama Desert, Isla Inocentes, and Nelson Bay with new touches to lighting, time of day, and also adding vehicles.

We’re thrilled to bring something new and fresh to Battlefield: Bad Company 2 while still keeping Battlefield’s signature gameplay intact

says Patrick Bach, Senior Producer at Dice.

We want to consistently support the over 4 million fans playing the game with new ways to get into multiplayer and also challenge the elite players with new experiences to improve their performance online. Effective squad play is the key to success in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer and this new mode will provide players with a dedicated environment to test their team skills and rank against the competition

Yet there has been no confirmation whether or not this new mode will come to PC.

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Bulletstorm Trailer Inflicts Pain

The debut trailer for Bulletstorm has made its way online today. It shows what brutality you can expect to create from People Can Fly/Epic Games FPS.

Bulletstorm is slated for a Q1 2011 release on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

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Modern Warfare 2 “Resurgence Pack” DLC Announced

The 2nd Modern Warfare 2 map pack is set to hit XBL on June 3rd.  It will once again be a Xbox Live timed exclusive, while the PC and PS3 will see a later unannounced date.  The pack will include 5 maps yet no pricing has been mentioned.

I’m sure we can expect another $15 price tag considering the “Stimulus Package” sold over 1 million downloads in its first 24 hours. At this point Activision can only make a profit.

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Alan Wake Gets A Signal

While Alan Wake wont even hit stores until this Tuesday, Remedy has already announced the first downloadable episode for the long awaited survival horror. I guess there trying to make up for lost time.

‘The Signal’ will hit July 27th.  People who purchase the game new will receive a token to download the future episode for free.

No details on pricing if you decide to get a used copy or wish to go the gamefly route.

How do you feel about these little incentives developers are giving you for purchasing new copies of there games?

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Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Confirms 2-4 Player Co-Op

Cooperative play for 2-4 players has been confirmed for Treyarchs next Call Of Duty installment. Although it was also mentioned that it will be beyond the single player campaign.  Looks like we could see something like Modern Warfare 2′s spec ops which offered 2 player missions in small doses.

Also confirmed with Activision is a Wii version of Black Ops to hit store shelves alongside the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 9th 2010.  The game will also see a cold war era setting and will follow “at least 2 main characters”

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Slick Fallout: New Vegas Collector’s Edition Revealed

Fallout: New Vegas publisher Bethesda today showed off there collectors edition for the much anticipated Post-Apocalyptic RPG.  It will run you $70.00 on PC and $80.00 on the consoles.

Below is a list of the goods.  Will you be spending the extra cash on the collector’s edition?

- Lucky 7″ poker chips. Each of the seven poker chips was designed to represent chips from the major casinos found on the New Vegas strip and throughout the Mojave Wasteland.

- A fully customized Fallout: New Vegas deck of cards. Each card in the pack has been uniquely illustrated to depict characters and factions found within the game. Use the cards to play poker, blackjack or Caravan, an original card game that was created by Obsidian especially for New Vegas!

- A recreation of the game’s highly coveted “Lucky 38″ platinum chip.

- A hardcover graphic novel “All Roads”, that tells the story of some of the characters and events that lead up to Fallout: New Vegas. “All Roads” was written by Chris Avellone, the game’s creative director, and created in conjunction with Dark Horse Comics.

- The Making of Fallout: New Vegas’ DVD. This documentary DVD will contain exclusive video content, including interviews with the developers in which they take you from concept to creation and discuss topics such as story, setting, legacy of the Fallout franchise and more.

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Metro 2033 DLC Coming Soon…

The first attempt of DLC from 4A Games and THQ’s Atmospheric FPS Metro 2033 is almost “wrapped up” according to a tweet.

like a fine single malt, the DLC is almost done… we hope to be able to take the wraps off it this week

The DLC could have some fans a little uneasy due to a previous tweet saying:

testing the DLC over the weekend… it’s probably not what you expect, but we think the true Metro 2033 fans will love it…

We’ll just have to wait and see what they have up there sleeves until the official news comes out.  Which could be as early as this week.

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Split/Second’s Air Attack

Two new game modes for Split/Second have been unveiled. Say hello to Air Strike and Air Revenge.

In Air Strike mode you must race around the track while trying to dodge missles from a helicopter up above.  You have 3 lives and the longer you can stay alive the better off you will do in the end.

Air Revenge is a little bit more interesting  because you create the chaos.  By avoiding missles you earn power instead of points which allows you to jam the helicopters radar and sends the missles right back at it. Blow up the chopper and you win, simple as that.

Sound like fun? check out the link below for a little gameplay footage and a taste of what to expect.

Split/Second races onto store shelves May 18th.

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Dead Space 2 Creeps It’s Way To The PC

Looks like Visceral Games is showing some love for the PC. Stating earlier today Dead Space 2 will see a release on windows, according to Dead Space 2′s official twitter feed

Dead Space PC lovers can relax! Dead Space 2 is officially coming to PC.

What is also worth mentioning is that the game is also listed for a release on “handheld/mobile”. I assume this could be PSP, DS, IPhone, IPad, or maybe even Nintendo’s 3DS.

Dead Space 2 is due out fiscal year 2011 which could be anywhere from January 1st to March 31st.

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Henry Hatsworth Developer’s Next Title Is?

It’s no secret we at Everyday Gamers loved Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure. Well, developer Dreamrift, formed by the previous game’s designer Peter Ong and programmer Ryan Pijai, is hard at work on a new game that will combine two genres not normally connected to each other. The game is called Monster Tale, and in you you pay Ellie, a girl fighting her way through Monster World to free its citizens from the Kid Kings. You collect items along the way which are then dropped to the lower screen, home of a monster named Chomp. Items Chomp eats or plays with then affect him, even changing him into different forms that can be called into the Monster World to protect Ellie. Sure, it seems odd to be combining platforming with what appears to be Monster Training, but if anyone can pull it off, it would be this crew. Monster Tale is slated for a December release.

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http://everydaygamers.com/videos/Left%204%20Dead%20in%20Johnstown%20-%20Act%202%20-%20Old%20Mills.mp4

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Bioshock 2 ‘Metro Pack’ Out Today

Back in one of our early Daily Bits we mentioned the Bioshock 2 Multiplayer pack being delayed and that there was no mention of a new release date.  Well today on Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Store the Metro Pack will be available for 800 ms points/$10.00 which will add 6 new multiplayer maps.

2K is also releasing additonal DLC if your looking for a little more than just maps. A $2.00 character pack which adds two new characters to play as, and a new game mode titled “KillEmKindly” which is described as “Fight to the death with golf clubs”

Doesnt sound like a whole lot of content for 12 bucks does it? Not sure how 2k will do with this considering….Who is still playing Bioshock 2 multiplayer?

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Blur Is Just Around The Corner

The Blur Multiplayer Beta finally came to a close yesterday as Bizarre Creations are prepping the last final touches on the game before it releases May 25th.  To wet your appetite just one last time, Activision has posted two trailers.  One explaining the different power ups your going to faced with in the multiplayer.  The last one is something we havent heard much about at all…the single player.  It will show you what goals you can expect to achieve in the career mode.

Is Blur a Day 1 buy for you? Or are you going to hold off and pick up Split/Second?  Let us know in the comments.

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Gears Of War 3 Covering New Game Informer

Gears Of War 3 will be Game Informers next cover choice for June.  With it will be a shrine of pictures and new information about the upcoming trilogy.  On the GI site you can take a look at the “Gears Of War 3 hub” which reveals something new about the game every couple days starting this wednesday May 12th.

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http://everydaygamers.com/videos/Left%204%20Dead%20in%20Johnstown%20PA%20-%20Act%201%20-%20Backwoods.mp4

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Release Date List Week of 5/9/10

Another busy gaming week is ahead of us and it doesnt seem like it’s slowing down anytime soon.  Check out the list of games that are coming out this Tuesday and let us know if there’s anything you might be picking up.

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Little Big Planet 2 Confirmed

Rumors have been circulating around the net the last couple weeks about a Little Big Planet 2 being developed.  Well those rumors can finally be put to rest.  June’s issue of Game Informer will feature a extensive article with details on Media Molecules upcoming game.

Little Big Planet was one of Sony’s most successful games back in 2008, which was the reason for its PSP release last year.

Expect more news to surface the week of E3.

UPDATE: It was announced earlier today that Little Big Planet 2 will drop this “Winter 2010″ on the PS3

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Call Of Duty: The War Collection Coming To The 360?

Nothing has been finalized, but it is said that a Call of Duty bundle for the 360 is in the works.  Which would contain Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, and Call of Duty: World at War. The trio could run you $59.99.

Amazon has a release date of June 1st.  Gamestop has it as June 8th.

Treyarch is currently working on Call of Duty: Black ops and is set for a 11/9/10 release.

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Remedy Pleased With The Reception Of Alan Wake

Over the last week or so, reviews have been surfacing for the long awaited Alan Wake.  Currently Metacritic has the game at a 84, which is a very respectful score.

Well, it’s certainly no secret that we’d love to make a second one if the first one does well. But since the game isn’t even out yet, it’s really up in the air.

Let’s take it one step at a time there buddy, But I really have no worries that I will absolutely love this game.

Alan Wake releases next week May 18th for the Xbox 360.

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Xbox Live Deal Of The Week: Ballad Of Gay Tony

The Ballad Of Gay Tony, the 2nd expansion pack for Grand Theft Auto 4 is on sale this week from 1600 ms points to 12oo ms points.

In fact, if you havent played the Lost and The Damned expansion you can pick both those up for 30$ at Gamestop or on Amazon.

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Listen in as Patrick and two special guests talk about what they’ve been playing as well as what games they are most looking forward to this year.

EDG Podcast Episode #59

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Guitar Hero 6, DJ Hero Announced This Fall

Activision has confirmed on an earnings call that Guitar Hero 6 and a DJ Hero sequel will see store shelves this fall.

Guitar Hero remains the leader in the category with more than 44 million games sold to date, and that both releases this year would be foll0wed with a full lineup of exciting downloadable content.

Says CEO Bobby Kotick

Seems like this is a common cycle for Activision spitting out the Guitar Hero and Call Of Duty sequels yearly.  But with the amount of money they bring in I really cannot fault them.

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Modnation Racers PSP Demo Due This Week

For those who weren’t lucky enough to get a early code for the Modnation Racers PSP demo, no worries because you can snag it up this Tuesday, May 11th on the PSN Store.

According to SCEA San Diego the download includes:

A couple of our favorite tracks, some familiar Mods and their karts, and of course, a sneak peek of our amazing Track Studio

Make sure you listen to our latest podcast as you may have a chance to score a early code before your buddies

Modnation Racers on the PSP and the PS3 will release simultaneously on May 25th 2010.

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Nintendo Announces ‘”Wii Party”

Nintendo has announced it’s next big Wii game titled “Wii Party.” Expect it to be like Mario Party but with your Mii’s and an art style similar to the Wii Sports titles.

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“Edge” For the iPhone is Back…Yet Again

Mobigame has announced that their game titled “Edge” which was having issues due to the Edge name trademark held my Edge Games is now back in the app store at $0.99. It’s one of my top iPhone games and I highly suggest you buy it if you haven’t already.

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Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

F.3.A.R. Box Art Revealed

The official box art for F.E.A.R. 3 has been revealed for the third installment of the upcoming horror FPS.  The game is scheduled for a late 2010 release, which already seems like a busy time of the year.

Check out the link below for a look at the new box art.

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Medal Of Honor Trailer Hits Home

To celebrate the recent release date announcement, EA put out a new trailer for Medal of Honor. Instead of guns blazing and mass destruction, this trailer shows a more heart felt approach: a soldier calling home leaving a message for his wife and daughter to let them know everything will be ok.

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Reach Beta Reaches more than 1,000,000 On First Day

As it should be no surprise, the Halo: Reach Beta numbers are to say the least, Outstanding.

If you want to get a better idea of what I mean, Bungie concluded that the Reach Beta has seen more action on it’s first day than Halo 3′s beta did in the entire three week run.

Take a look below at the exact numbers calculated from the multiplayer madness.

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Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Two Worlds Release Date Set

Many were upset with the quality of the original Two Worlds back in 2007.  But Reality Pump this time around have said that they are taking alot of fan feedback into a lot of consideration, in saying

If the reaction we’ve seen so far from the press is indicative of what’s to come, we have a game that will be seen as a benchmark in the genre. ‘Epic’ is a word that’s overused and worn-out when it comes to games like this, so we’ve created a new word for Two Worlds II: Astronepic. Yeah, it’s that good

Are you buying into the Two Worlds 2 hype?

The sequel will be released on the Xbox 360, Ps3, and PC on September 14th 2010.

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K-Mart? The New Go-To for Games?

Thats right, K-Mart of all places is having a pretty amazing deal on Final Fantasy XIII, Modern Warfare 2, Darksiders, and others for $30.oo.  These deals are only good thru May 10th.

This offer is good in-store or online. Check the link below for the other list of titles on sale.

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God Of War Ripping It’s Way Back On To The PSP

God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta has been announced for the PSP for “later this year in 2010.” Ready At Dawn studios who were responsible for the Chains Of Olympus title on the PSP are back again for this one. Ghost of Sparta is set after the original God Of War to tell “The Story of Kratos ascension to power as the God of War”

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Red Dead Redemption Free DLC Announced

Rockstar’s Open-World Western is set to have free DLC this June titled “Outlaws To The End.”  The pack is said to support 2-4 player co op action with more to come “this summer.”

Click the link below for more info on the three missions that you can expect to tackle this June.

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EA Shoots a Release Date for Medal Of Honor

EA announced today that we will see the highly anticipated Modern day shooter Medal Of Honor on October 12th in North America (Oct 15th in EU).

Medal of Honor is an authentic look into today’s war. Inspired by real people and real events, the game puts players in the boots of today’s warrior — from the infantry ground pounder to the Tier 1 Operator

said Greg Goodrich, Executive Producer of Medal of Honor

It will be interesting to see how it compares to its multi million dollar competition in Modern Warfare 2.

Are you looking forward to what they can do? Or have you totally given up on Medal of Honor at this point.

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MLB 2K10 1,000,000 Winner Finally Revealed

Remember back in March when 2K announced that the first person to throw a perfect game would win 1,000,000 dollars? Well on the first day of competition the contest was already over.

It was actually my wife who convinced me to go for it,” said 24-year old winner Wade McGilberry of Semmes, Alabama. I never thought I’d actually win a million dollars playing a video game, it’s all still sinking in for me.

Players who competed for the prize had to send in a taping of the game which had to be submitted to 2K for proof.  Twin Galaxies even partnered up with 2K for the contest.

Looks like Mr McGilberry has a lot of spending to do.

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Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Mass Effect 2 “Equalizer Pack” Hits The Marketplace Today

Bioware today came out with another piece of DLC for ME2, but it has some fans a little upset due to the fact that it doesnt add anything to the Mass Effect storyline.  The new pack will run you 160 space bucks, and will include three new pieces of apparel for Shepard.

Hit the link at the bottom for more info and some screens of the new DLC, and let us know if you’ll be picking it up.

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Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow Coming to the…..PS2?

Thats right folks almost 3 years after Logan’s Shadow graced the PSP, Sony Bend is working on a PS2 port.  Sony Bend have mentioned that they have made some nice improvements on the control scheme for the upcoming shooter, to make it easier to get in and out of cover and a few other interesting touches.

Logan’s Shadow is set to hit store shelves June 1st 2010.

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Alan Wake Shows off it’s Weather and Lighting Effects

As we are quickly approaching the release of possibly one of the biggest games this year, Another trailer has surfaced for Alan Wake depicting the game engines lighting and weather effects. It is quite impressive and I urge everyone to check it out.

Alan Wake will be haunting the Xbox 360 on May 18th and as a reminder for all people who purchase the game new will receive vouchers to download the first pack of DLC for free later this year.

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Halo Reach MP Beta Gameplay

Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Release Date List for May 2-8

Check out the link below for all the new releases coming out this week. Drop us a line and let us know what you’ll be picking up.

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Modern Warfare 2 Coming to A Town Near You

Activision and Play N Trade games recently teamed up to start a international in-store tournament. Registration for the event is now open so get to your local Play N Trade to get in on all the fun.

Click the link below for more information and what sweet prizes you could win!

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Halo: Reach Beta kicks off today!

Dust off those ODST discs people because the day that everyone has been waiting for is finally here. Check out our source below for a layout of some of the new controls that you’ll be faced with in the game.

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New Wii bundle, Also available in Black

On May 9th a new Wii bundle will be coming out which includes, Wii Sports Resort, and the motion plus peripheral  in addition to wii sports and a controller. The system will also sport and new shiny black look.

The bundle will run you 199.99$

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StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty Gets July 27th Retail Release Date

Yes you read that title right. The long-awaited game from Blizzard is getting a summer release date. I have a feeling I won’t be seeing many people outside or at the beaches comes end of July.

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Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Title Announced

It was confirmed today that Treyarch’s  newest call of duty title will be called Black Ops. Yet, no information has been included on a actual setting for the game. Be sure to tune in tonight for the teaser trailer on spikeTV, check out our 4/29 bit for more info on that. Call Of Duty: Black ops is scheduled for a November 9th 2010 release date.

Check back after the trailer hits the web tonight as we will be updating the Daily Bit.

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UPDATE: Click link below to check out the teaser trailer

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Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Call Of Duty 7 Teaser trailer on GTTV

Activision’s newest Call of Duty game developed this time around by Treyarch is set to show off a teaser trailer this Friday night at 12:40 am (techincally saturday) on Game Trailers TV which airs on Spike TV.

Rumor has it that this installment will be set during the Vietnam War. We will soon know the answer to that.

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Buy Singularity for the Xbox 360 and get Prototype for free

Purchasers who pick up Ravens FPS Singularity are entitled to a free copy of Prototype in the form of a mail-in voucher.

This may be a limited time only, and while Prototype is a older game, we all love free stuff.

Singularity will be released on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on June 29th 2010

UPDATE: Was also just confirmed that this deal is US only.

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Bad Company 2 meets Medal of Honor

Dice, developers of Bad Company 2 who are also now working on the multiplayer componet on Medal of Honor announced that they want to reward people with a new gun that you can use in upcoming Medal of Honor game which ships this Q4.

Said Dice on their blog Battlefield Bad Company 2 players who have bought the game new and played online will automatically get early access to the M24 in Medal of Honor

They do make it some what clear that each game purchased must be NEW copies. The same EA account must be used and offer ends March 31, 2011

I like these little incentives that game developers/publishers are putting into there games for buying them new. But I’m sure Gamestop hates it.

Is this a new trend of cross game promotion? Drop us a line and let us know what you think.

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New Dead Space 2 Trailer

The newest Dead Space 2 “Dementia” trailer has surfaced the web.  Seems Isaac Clarke has alot of demons to deal with in this highly anticipated sequel.  The trailer also shows a glimpse of what the man behind the mask looks like with a cool looking new mining mask

Click the link below for a trip through Isaac’s mind

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Playstation Weekly updates…Now on Tuesdays!

I’m pretty happy excited about this one. Instead of waiting until Thursday every week now PSN will update every Tuesday to bring you all the latest arcade titles and other goodies. Looks like they’re trying to get ahead of Microsoft’s Wednesday arcade day.

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Daily Bits is a collection of all the gaming news that has happened for the current day that we deem as interesting and relevant to our readers. Check back daily for more news round-ups and feel free to send your suggestions to dailybits@everydaygamers.com

Rapture Metro Pack Delayed

2K Games Bioshock 2 DLC titled Rapture Metro Pack has been delayed this week.  No mention of why or when it will be coming to Xbox 360 Marketplace and the PSN Store. When the pack drops it will include six new multiplayer maps taken from the sequels beautifully crafted world and will also include three achievements (three trophies for PS3) and a Rebirth option, letting players who’ve maxed out at level 50 to start over and rank up again.

The DLC is priced at 800 MS Points/10$ PSN Store

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PS3 Marked & Executed

There have been rumors circulating that Sam Fisher will be coming to the PS3. But these rumors have recently been shot down by Ubisoft, saying on there twitter feed

Rumor Control: Splinter Cell:Conviction is exclusive to the Xbox 360. The PC version is coming out next week

It’s a chance we could see Sam Fisher in the future on the PS3. If Ubisoft thinks there’s money to be made there, you can guarantee they’ll change there mind rather quickly.

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Apples WWDC Dated for June 7th -11th – iPhone 4.0 Announcement Most Likely

Apple has announced it’s Wordwide Developers Conference for June 7th to the 11th. WWDC is none to most people as the time when Steve Jobs’ announces the latest iPhone hardware. Maybe we’ll see the ever-so-popular Gizmodo graced iPhone 4.0? Hopefully.

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Red Faction: The Movie coming to a SyFy Channel near you!

According to Gamespot, Syfy has plans to make THQ’s recent masterpiece “Red Faction: Guerrilla” a SyFy movie. If the 2-hour long movie does well then SyFy says it’s going to turn it into a TV series.

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Split Second Demo Video

I have to admit, I am a faithful supporter of the PixelJunk series. I’ve been a fan of the games ever since Racers so I’m always excited to see whatever game is going to be next in the series. I had been following PixelJunk Shooter ever since the naming competition a while back and was especially excited about the art direction of the game.

PixelJunk Shooter is a game in where you control a spaceship that flies underground in caves trying to rescue workers and collect gems. Along the way you are faced with the elements of water, lava, ice, flammable steam, and magnetic matter. The elements are used in unique ways throughout the game making you think before just going in guns blazing. The workers can die really easily so you have to do some planning first. To switch up the gameplay you are also presented with suits that change the way your ship acts. For example you can obtain a suit that shoots water or lava instead of your regular missiles.

The third world

Your default weapons are regular missiles which you can fire non-stop or homing missiles which are more powerful but heat up your ship. Your ship can get overheated by getting shot by enemies, getting too close to lava, or shooting homing missiles for too long. Your ship will cool down eventually but if fly through water you will cool down instantly.

PixelJunk Shooter is a great game for the series. My only complaint is that it’s too short and a little too easy in the first two worlds. It’s not until you get to the third world that it starts to get challenging. This is what I want more of. As with all the PixelJunk games there should be an “Encore” pack released eventually that will have more levels. I am looking forward to that because I haven’t had my PJ Shooter fill yet. I want more!

Fallout: New Vegas has been officially given a “Fall 2010″ release time frame. Here is the game summary taken right from the press site:

Experience all the sights and sounds of fabulous New Vegas, brought to you by Vault-Tec, America’s First Choice in Post Nuclear Simulation. Explore the treacherous wastes of the Great Southwest from the safety and comfort of your very own vault: Meet new people, confront terrifying creatures, and arm yourself with the latest high-tech weaponry as you make a name for yourself on a thrilling new journey across the Mojave wasteland. A word of warning, however – while Vault-Tec engineers have prepared for every contingency,* in Vegas, fortunes can change in an instant. Enjoy your stay.

Here is the official teaser trailer:

Just recently I started craving a good word game. I personally love word games and I’ve played a few good ones on the iPhone but most of them got old pretty quick. I was considering buying Scrabble but I had heard about this game called “Words With Friends” so I decided to check it out.

Words with Friends looks and plays exactly like Scrabble. You have 7 letters which you are to use to make words on a board. As you use your letters you are given new letters. The object of the game is to have the most points at the end of the game. The game ends when all of the reserve letters run out and both players use all of their letters. Words With Friends is played with only one other person. You can either play online against someone you know, online against a randomly selected person, or on the same iPhone by passing it back and forth.

I'm losing

So far I’ve only played against random people over the internet and this is the reason why I have become so addicted to Words With Friends. This game is perfect for when you are on-the-go or even sitting in the office. I love the fact that you can start more than one game and with push notifications you are notified when it’s your turn. So for example, I’m sitting at my desk, working on something, my phone vibrates letting me know it’s my turn. Most of the time the games are slow, this is why it’s so great that you can start more than one game. Usually I have at least 5 games going and I’m just doing everyday things while playing this extended game of Scrabble. Some games I’ve completed in less than an hour, some games have taken almost 2 days.

At the time of writing this review I am currently addicted to Words With Friends. It was everything I was craving in a word game. I don’t suspect it will get old either because it’s not something overwhelming, it’s just a simple game of Scrabble played online or with a friend and you can play it at your own pace. This is why Words With Friends works so perfectly on the iPhone.

Ever since the release of iDracula and Minigore I’ve been craving a dual-stick shooter that has a “get from Point A to Point B” style of gameplay. Both of these games are great but they are about survival only, similar to geometry wars you have a set area that you must stay and defend yourself in for as long as you can. I wanted something that let me go through a “level” if you will.

Guerrilla Bob is the game I’ve been waiting for. It’s a dual-stick shooter in where you are to get from Point A to Point B while shooting enemies along the way. You’ll even encounter a boss or two along the way. The great thing about dual-stick shooters is the fact that you don’t normally have to worry about ammo, this is the case in Guerrilla as well. Once you pick up a weapon it stays a part of your arsenal the rest of the way through the game.  There are 8 levels total. Once you complete a level you are given an A, B, C score based on how well you did.

While GB is exactly what I’ve wanted in an iPhone game I still have some complaints. First of all, it takes some time to get used to the controls. When I first jumped into the game I was a little put off by how sensitive the controls were. This made the game a little harder because the automatic rifle fires at such a slow rate (but improves a little once upgraded). My other complaint if the fact that the setting never really changes all that much. It’s basically just desert the whole time. I like when games switch up the environments.

Other than those minor complaints Guerrilla Bob is an awesome game. It’s the kind of game I’ve been wanting ever since games arrived on the iPhone. I hope to see regular updates to GB because this is a game I can see myself following closely. Guerrilla Bob is currently $2.99.

Instead of trying to be the first to post any information about the long-awaited “iPad” I’ve decided to just use this wonderful post to redirect you to…Apple.com/ipad Enjoy!!

Expect our impressions of the iPad in a future post.

With so many crappy iPhone games out there it’s hard to know which ones are worth buying. This list was created to help you decide what to spend your pretty pennies on. Some of the games on the list are free so it looks like we all win. Check out my 15 must-have iPhone games in order.

15. 2079 Tilt! – This game has to be the closest game on the market to the XBLA title Geometry Wars. It’s a very simple but impressive dual-stick shooter, and it’s only $0.99 so that’s awesome. iTunes Link

14. Sudoku Unlimited – I was never really into Sudoku until I got an iPhone. This version is one of the best I’ve played so far. I like how you can customize the look by changing the background. This game will run you $2.99. iTunes Link

13. Touch Hockey: FS5 - This is a simple but very polished air hockey game that lets you play vs. a computer, another person on the same phone, or another person over wi-fi. Oh, and it’s free. iTunes Link

12. Harbor Master – Maybe it’s a rip-off of Flight Control (with ships) but it’s a pretty great rip-off. With regular updates this game doesn’t get old. Direct the boats to their ports by drawing a line. Harbor Master is a steal at $0.99. iTunes Link

Flight Control

11. Flight Control – I think everyone knows about this game. You direct the airplanes to their landing strips by drawing a line with your finger. The object is to make sure they don’t crash into each other. FC is only $0.99. iTunes Link

10. Modern Combat: Sandstorm – This game is kind of like Modern Warfare on your iPhone. It’s the first FPS that really caught my eye out of the whole bunch. MC:S is currently $4.99. iTunes Link

9. Sol Free – This is a simple solitaire app that is free, hence the name. It’s the best looking and playing free solitaire app that I’ve seen so far. iTunes Link

8. Stone Loops! of Jurrassica – Even though it’s temporarily unavailable due to a copyright complaint it’s the best match-three zuma clone in the appstore. It’s very polished and quite lengthy.

7. Peggle – I’m sure you’ve played Peggle on just about every gaming console you own but this is the most intuitive version. The touch controls work great and the screen resolution makes the game look super sharp. Peggle on the iPhone is the cheapest you’ll see it on any console at $2.99. iTunes Link

6. Eliss – I can’t even explain this game but it’s one of the my favorite because it breaks the mold of your typical iPhone game and brings multi-touch into the picture. Eliss is only $2.99. iTunes Link

5. Edge – I would consider Edge to be one of the classics but it still outshines so many of the current iPhone games out there. The object is to roll the cube from point A to point B in a certain amount of time. It’s not as easy as you think. Edge is temporarily unavailable due to the stupid “edge” name copyright issues.

4. Labyrinth 2 – Labyrinth 2 is probably one of the most polished iPhone games I have come across so far. With the option to download user-made labyrinth levels as well as create your own this game really brings the concept of a labyrinth to the next level. Labyrinth 2 is $4.99. iTunes Link

iDracula

3. iDracula – Minigore? I don’t think so. iDracula is easily the best survival game on the iPhone. It’s full-featured and highly addictive. This is the only game on the list that made me sweat while playing it. It’s currently $2.99. iTunes Link

2. Star Defense – I’m a sucker for tower defense and Star Defense is the best TD offering on the market if not one of the best TD games I’ve ever played. Forget Fieldrunners. Star Defense is beyond a steal at $0.99 (originally $9.99). iTunes Link

1. N.O.V.A. – This was an easy pick. NOVA is a Halo clone for the iPhone and it’s easily the best game available. If you want a solid, highly-polished FPS that isn’t a struggle to play then NOVA is the way to go. It’s also great for making your non-iPhone/iPod Touch friends jealous. NOVA is currently $6.99. iTunes Link

Honorable Mentions: GTA: Chinatown Wars & Guerrilla Bob – At the time of this writing I hadn’t had a chance to play either of these games. I did play the DS version of Chinatown Wars so I know how great of a fit it would be on the iPhone. As for Guerrilla Bob, it’s the dual-stick shooter in where you have to get from point A to point B. GTA is currently $9.99 while Guerrilla Bob is $2.99. GTA Link. Guerrilla Link.

There you have it, my 15 must-have iPhone games. Don’t agree with the list? Think there is a game that I forgot? Express your opinion in the comments section below.

The long anticipated dual stick shooter Guerrilla Bob is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Guerrilla Bob reminds me a lot of the XBLA title “Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3.” It has the same type of art-style and same type of gameplay. GB is priced at $2.99 which is very reasonable. Check out the official trailer below.

Everyday Gamers has been nominated by DSi-XL.co.uk to win a Nintendo DSi-XL. Please head on over there by visiting the link below. This is a great opportunity for Everyday Gamers to get known especially if we end up winning the contest. I think we have a good chance so please take 5 minutes to vote for us! Thank you!

http://www.dsi-xl.co.uk/dsi-xl-nintendo-website-contest/

There is so many junkie iPhone/iPod Touch apps to sift through these days I decided it would be best to help you guys out and give you my 15 personal favorite iPhone apps. I am very picky about keeping my iPhone organized so I am always deleting apps that I don’t use, these apps are applications that pretty much never leave my phone. I’m limiting this list to just applications because I am also working on a “15 must-have iPhone games” article which should be posted in the near future. Just so you know, this list is in order. Enjoy!

15. TV Forecast – Just add your favorite TV shows and this app will tell you how many days until the next episode airs. If you have trouble keeping track of days this app is perfect.

14. The Weather Channel – This app is the one to download if you don’t think the included weather app is enough. It gives you an hour-by-hour, 36-hour, and 10-day forecast.

13. YP Mobile – This is the official Yellow Pages app. Anytime I need a number for a store I just open this app and I am ready to go. It also gives you direction to the place just by tapping on the address.

12. Movies – This app shows you the lastest movies currently showing in theaters as well as upcoming movies. Watch trailers, rate movies,  list movies you want to see and share them with people on Facebook.

11. IMDb – I’ve been waiting for this app for a while and it’s finally here. The complete Internet Movie Database on your iPhone. Search by actor, film, etc. This is a must-have for any film buffs.

10. Shazam – Here a great song on the radio or in the store? Just open Shazam and it will tell you what the song, artist, and album is. It even let’s you buy the song off iTunes if you’re that impatient.

9. Facebook – This app is a mobile version of Facebook. You can’t do everything that you can do in the browser version but I wouldn’t be surprised if you could by the time the next update comes out.

8. RedBox – RedBox is a rental service where all rentals are $1. This app let’s you reserve the movie right from the phone, then all you have to do is pick it up at the designated redbox.

7. Awesome Note (+Todo) – This application is the ultimate notes and todo list app. Categorize your lists, pick different paper styles, font styles, add photos, etc. This app does it all.

6. NewsRack – Don’t be tricked into buying any other RSS reader. NewsRack is the best. Just trust me and go buy it. At the time of this writing Newsstand is currently not available in the appstore.

5. Giant Bomb – As you already probably know Giant Bomb is the Wikipedia of video games. If you love video games as much as I do then you need an app like this on your iPhone.

4. TextNow – My current texting plan has a limit of 200 texts a month so this app really comes in handy for me. If you are in the same boat as me I’d suggest you check this app out, it’s the best alternative texting app I’ve seen so far.

3. Amazon Mobile – I am addicted to Amazon.com. It’s the only place I ever buy anything these days. This app is a mobile version of it which makes it easy to spend more money than you currently have in your bank account. My advice: Be careful with the one-click purchasing.

2. Bible – This Bible app by LifeChurch.tv is by far the best Bible app on the market. You can read the Bible in any translation you want. Tap on a verse and you can email it to a friend, bookmark it, and even tweet it. You can also start a reading plan like I have which makes it very easy to stay on top of reading the Bible everyday. The app even syncs with the browser version which is located at http://youversion.com.

1. Tweetie 2 – I hate to have to put this one before the Bible app but the truth is, I am checking this app the most throughout the day. Tweetie 2 is in my opinion the best Twitter application for the iPhone. There are a lot of choices out there and I have tried them all. I was using Twitterrific for a long time but decided to switch to Tweetie 2 after learning about all the awesome features.

So there you have it, my top 15 must-have iPhone apps. Do you agree? What are some apps that you think should have made the list? Let your thoughts out in the comments section below.

2009 graced us with many great titles, but 2009 is gone. Let’s take a look at what 2010 has in store for us. The writers of Everyday Gamers have each made a list of their top 6 most anticipated titles of 2010.

Laren Hawkins:

MGS: Peace Walker – Being the proud new owner of a PSP Go, I am really looking forward to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. I have played the demo and while it is challenging, it is very good. I have to admit though, this is the first time I have played anything MGS. The graphics are amazing controls work very well. I like how you can choose to use stealth or just run-in and gun. The current release date is set to 3/18/10!

Pokemon: Heart Gold and Soul Silver – This is the most anticipated DS game I have for this year so far. Yes, I am a pokeaddict and I can not wait for these games. The graphics seem improved, and I like how your partner Pokemon can walk around with you. I may be about to turn 16 but, I can not help but, love these games. The current release date is set to 3/14/10

Lead and Gold:  Gangs of The Wild West – This game looks absolutely amazing. I do not many details about this game however, I do know its from Paradox and they have a pretty good track record.

Lost Planet 2 – I really liked the first Lost Planet and found it original and refreshing. The graphics were pretty good and it had a solid story. I am greatly looking forward to see what Capcom has up their sleeves with this one!

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep – I heard about this release recently and am excited for two reasons. 1: it is on the PSP. 2: I have NEVER played a Kingdom Hearts game before. It is also an action-RPG.  I have seen some screenshots and it looks amazing! The release dates are as follows: Japan: January 9th, 2010 US: TBA 2010

Mod Nation Racers – We first got a glimpse of this game back at E3’09 and I have to say , I was very impressed. It is the product of taking LittleBigPlanet and merging it with Mario Kart. Not only is is coming to the PS3 but, it is supposed to be released for the PSP ( as per a Gamestop listing).

Chris Maeurer

Mass Effect 2 – After finally finishing the first game, I can’t wait for the sequel, it’s easily my most looked forward to game of 2010.  The conversations, the combat, the universe created stands out as one of the best new IP’s of late, and with Bioware pushing the limits for the sequel, anticipation couldn’t be higher!

Assassin’s Creed 2 – No, Ladies and Gents, that’s not a typo.  While the console release has picked up quite a bit of steam, the PC iteration of this hopeful title will not hit until March 16th, and once again anticipations are high.  From all accounts, it would seem Ubisoft took gamer’s criticisms of the first game into consideration and made this second installment a better, more evolved game, and I can’t wait to take it for a spin on the PC!

Alpha Protocol – Mix Mass Effect and Modern Warfare, and you will have gamer’s chomping at the bit!   This game gets more amazing the more I see about it, and I worry if it will live up to the hype, but I am still on for the ride.  Take a solid shooter, and infuse the story-telling and conversations from Mass Effect and I am so sold on this game.  Not to mention the three ‘classes’ offered to the player sound intriguing, and may just be the icing on the cake if this title delivers.  Who says revenge is a dish best served cold?  I want it piping hot, and that’s what Alpha Protocol is shaping up to be!

Aliens Vs. Predator – What’s not to love about this franchise?  The two previous PC iterations garnered lots of praise, and the Jaguar game was easily a system seller, so there’s a lot to love about the universe and characters if Sega and Rebellion can pull this off.  Solid Single and Multiplayer with next-gen graphics and this is a must win for 2010.

Tron : Evolution – I know, I of all people should know how licensed games turn out, but I can’t help holding out hope for Tron.  The first movie was beloved, the second is anything but rushed, and I am praying this game gets the attention it deserves to cater to the fans.  Set between the upcoming film and the original, this game has me intrigued to see if it can break away from the monotonous junk pile of licensed games.  It has amazing potential, so I will hope against hope that Disney Interactive can make this game better than a light cycle ride!

Metro 2033 – Everything I’ve seen from THQ’s new IP has me waiting with baited breath for a game I never knew existed.  With elements of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Fallout, with maybe a sprinkle of Hellgate, it is really going to be interesting to see if this game can turn out to be great or if it will jsut be a bad knock-off of any of the titiles I’ve just mentioned.  So far the screenshots and previews are looking good, and the game is set to ship in March, so we won’t have to wait long to see how the apocalypse looks in Russia.

Eric Bouchard

Mass Effect 2 – This has been on my list since I finished the first Mass Effect. I cannot wait to continue the adventures of Commander Sheapard and his team. New characters new environments and a storyline that appears to be shaping up to be even better than the first have made this the fist game I have pre-ordered in a long time. Add a revised combat system, smarter teammate AI and controls, new weapons and the intereupt feature…. Well, I could go one forever listing why I am looking forward to this game, but you are all probably tired of hearing about it buy now.

Alpha Protocol – First read about this game in Game Informer, and it is one I have looked forward to ever since. A spy RPG that lets you take the main character along 3 unique training paths, shaping your spy in the mold of Bond, Bourne or Bauer. This shooter meshed with an RPG is one that hopefully hasn;t fallen off too many people’s radars. Oh, and don’t let issues you may have had with Knights of the Old Republic II scare you off this game. Obsidian was never given the opportunity to finish the sequal to Bioware’s RPG. Given a chance to take the time to build its own game, Obsidian has all the makings of a hit.

Alan Wake – I am generally not much of one for survival horror games, but this thriller from Remedy, the makers of Max Payne, has really caught my eye. The game follows Alan wake, a horror novelist who is facing writer’s block. His wife takes him to a small town to help get the creative juices flowing, but everything starts to fall apart as he losses his manuscript, and his story starts to come to life. Alan’s only real weapon against these “creatures” is light, and from what Remedy has shown, the studio intends to use that rather creatively. The story is being told in mini series style, with the chapters being broken up with flashbacks of what happened on the “last episode.” What was shown at E3 really piqued my interest, and I cannot wait to play it.

Puzzle Quest 2 – Puzzle Quest is one of my top 10 games of all time, but D3 Publishers has not done a good job with the games following it. Galactrix was a disapointment, and Puzzle Kingdoms came and went without much fanfare. With that in mind, you may be wondering why I so looking forward to Puzzle Quest 2. It’s because D3 is returning to the franchise and formula it just about perfected with the first one. As long as the company does that, I can see myself once again spending a lot of time with this puzzle based RPG.

Just Cause 2  – I have to admit, this one snuck up on me. It was not until I saw the video of the demo of the game done at E3 that I developed any kind of interest. Even if the storyline ends up being completely forgetable, there is just something about the gameplay combinations of the grappling hook and parachute that will make this a game worth playing. Imagine using the two in combination to rise above enemies, grapling them to exploding barrels and finding other creative ways to take on entire armies. Just watch some gameplay footage; you will want to play it as well.

Star Craft 2 – Many of you may be thinking my listing of this game in my 2010 most anticipated is wishful thinking, and maybe it is. Still, Blizzard has said it intends to get the Terran campaign for Star Craft 2 out by the end of 2010, and if that happens, I will probably be forced to buy a new computer just to play it. Star Craft is hands down the best Real Time Strategy game I have ever played, and the sequel looks to be ever bit better than its predecessor. New units, improvements to an already top-notch multiplayer and the continuation of Star Craft’s incredible story makes this game and absolute must own.

Patrick Adams

Crackdown 2 – This is easily my most anticipated game of 2010. I was a major fan of the first one and I am totally siked that Microsoft decided to keep this franchise alive. I know that this game will  be pure fun.

BioShock 2 – Whether you are skeptical about this one or not you can’t hide the fact that the first one was one of the best games you ever played (well at least it is in my book). My fingers are crossed that the second one is just as great but it has a lot to live up to. None-the-less it’s still going to be a day one purchase.

Red Steel 2 – Why not? I am one of the few people out in the world that thought the first Red Steel was fun. I’m not sure what it was exactly about the game but I liked it. With WiiMotion Plus out now I think that the developer will be able to fix all the problems the first one had and they will finally be able to achieve the quality first person shooter that they’ve wanted to since the beginning.

Splinter Cell: Conviction - The first look at this game that we got a while back had everyone worried but now it looks to be the best yet. I think as long as it sticks with the core gameplay that made the Splinter Cell series so awesome I’m sure it won’t dissapoint.

Halo: Reach – I’m not the biggest Halo fan but I appreciate a good shooter, especially after playing crap like Rogue Warrior. Halo Reach has huge potential. I expect Microsoft will milk this one as much as they can with a lot of commercials, themes, controllers, limited edition consoles, etc.

Fallout: New Vegas – If New Vegas is Fallout 3 with a new setting them I’m sure to love it. The only problem is that we don’t really know what New Vegas will be. Either way it’s still one of my most anticipated games of 2010. I absolutely loved the first and I trust Obsidian’s ability to make a great game.

Honorable Mentions: Fable III, EyePet, HL2: Episode 3 (maybe?), ModNation Racers, and DeathSpank.

Jordan de Boer

Mass Effect 2 – I don’t know what is harder, counting down the days to the release of Mass Effect 2…or trying to avoid the spoilers while doing so. The internet is absolutely bursting at the seams with hype and excitement for this game, and for good reason. I don’t question whether or not I will be playing this game through to completion; I just question how many times and in how short a period of time.

Heavy Rain – I can confirm that my jaw is still firmly in place on the floor from the original 2006 teaser video for this game. The visuals, the voice acting and the facial animation..even back then they were amazing. The grand promises of arching story paths and heavy in-game consequences in reaction the players choices has me at full attention.

Splinter Cell : Conviction – Yes, the last Splinter Cell game was a mess, I’ll be the first to admit that. They stepped in it big time. I don’t, however, want to let that cloud my judgment of what has been shown so far of Conviction. Ubisoft Montreal is behind the wheel now and things are looking up in a major way. Just watching this new (less emo) version of Sam Fisher flawlessly combining stealth and action has many people drooling, including myself.

Ghost Recon 4 – We don’t exactly know what this game is going to be, but if it’s anything like the previous Ghost Recon games, it’s going to be awesome. The title “Ghost Recon : Future Soldier” was recently trademarked by Ubisoft and 2010 is floating around as the release date. I’m all ears.

I Am Alive – My dark horse of the bunch. The preposed post-disaster survival story set in Chicago originally got me interested and what little we have seen of the game visually also has had a funny way of drawing me in. Some troubling news about development issues has contributed to an overall lack of excitement for this game, but the year is young.

Honorable Mentions: Mirror’s Edge 2. Make it happen!

It’s that time of year. The time where everyone gets together and starts to put together their year in review articles and podcasts. If you caught podcast 41, you heard what we at Everyday Gamers feel were some fo the biggest news stories of the year. We have at least one more year in review podcast coming, but when it comes to these kind of lists, there is one that is expected from every video game website: Game of the year.

So, we here at Everyday Gamers decided we would come together and give you and idea of what each of us feel are the five best games we each played this year.

Eric Bouchard:

5. Tie: Scribblenauts/Henry Hatsworth and the Puzzling Adventure (DS) – Yes, I know starting out with a tie seems like a bit of a cop out, but I cannot help it. In what seemed overall like a down year for the DS, Scribblenauts and Henry Hatsworth were 2 absolutely can’t miss games. Scibblenauts adds a whole new twist to puzzle solving with no set way to beat each level, while Hatsworth combines platforming with puzzle gameplay in a way that is just astounding. The games stand out as the best on the handheld, and I dare anyone to play either one and not enjoy them.

4. Torchlight (PC) – In a world of big releases, it is rare to see an indie game catch on the way Torchlight has. Made by many of the creators of Diablo, Torchlight manages to be both a deep dungeon crawler and yet an accessible game for those not used to that type. You can pop in and play for just a bit or get lost for hours, something most games cannot balance. Excellent gameplay, an inventive inventory system with the ability to have you pet sell you items and 3 truly unique classes to play set Torchlight apart from other Diablo clones, and that’s not counting the mods people are already making available for the game. Heck, it deserves to be on the list if for nothing else than it has gotten me back into PC gaming.

3. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360, PC) – When Left 4 Dead 2 was announced at E3, there were many people, including some 0n this site, who thought it was too soon after Left 4 Dead. Many were afraid the game would just be Left 4 Dead 1.5, but it did not take long for that to be proven wrong. The sequel has surpassed its predecessor in every way, from tighter controls to longer, more involved campaigns. Add to that plenty of new weapons including melee based, new special infected, the uncommon common and more multiplayer modes, and Left 4 Dead 2 ends up feeling like much much more of a complete game than the original. This version is worth the $60.oo price point.

2. Dragon Age Origins (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) – This game was in the running for Game of the Year when I was first started playing. Bioware set out yo make Dragon Age Origins to be the spiritual successor to Balder’s Gate, and the company has achieved that. A deep storyline, excellent character interaction and a rich combat system make this an RPG to make hardcore RPG fans proud. In the end, however, that is part of why it did not make number 1 on my list, as the one the made it there was much more accessible and has the best Co-op I think I have ever played.

1. Game of the Year: Borderlands (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) - There is something magical about this game. Gearbox has managed to do the best job so far of combining an FPS with an RPG, and the cell-shaded look to Borderlands just helps add to the joy you get while playing it. Though the single player campaign is strong, you are really doing this game and yourself a disservice if you do not play it Co-op, and as such the 360 version may be the best because of Live. Random weapons, 4 unique character classes that can be leveled up in many different ways, enemies who level up based on the number of people playing and a wry humor that just permeates the game make Borderlands the clear choice for GOTY.

Honorable Mentions: Uncharted 2 (PS3), Street Fighter IV (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), Batman Arkham Asylum (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), Assassin’s Creed II (PS3, Xbox 360)

Patrick Adams

5. InFamous (PS3) – I was a little skeptical about the game until the demo released, once I got my hands on it I instantly knew it would be a day-one purchase. I’m not one to pay attention to the story in a game but InFamous made it hard not to with it’s sweet comic book art-style. The platforming elements in InFamous were very refined and overall the game is one of the best on the PS3.

4. Shadow Complex (XBLA) – Shadow Complex was so good that I almost added it to my top 10 favorite games of all time list. Yes it pays homage to Metroid but for someone like me who has never played Metroid it was still an amazing game. The game was very polished and overall just plain fun. Once I completed the game I only wanted to play more. I hope we’ll see a sequel sometime in the near future.

3. Uncharted 2 (PS3) – Everyone knew U2 looked beautiful and the hype for it was pretty high. Naughty Dog delivered and the game lived up to the expectations. Like the first one, U2 is like an adventure movie that you play and that’s awesome. With a thin line between the cutscenes and the actual gameplay U2 is right next to Killzone 2 as the best looking game to grace the PS3.

2. Red Faction: Guerrilla (Xbox 360) – I think the main reason RFG is #2 on my list is because it really caught me by surprise. I had heard nothing about the game until I played the demo and that demo was enough to make me go out and buy RFG on day-one. RFG is about destroying everything and destroying everything is as fun as a game can get.

1. Game of the Year:  Borderlands (Xbox 360) – I went out on a limb and bought this game purely because of reading good things about it on Twitter and here it is my #1 one pick, my game of the year. The funny thing about my experience with Borderlands was that I played the entire game by myself. It was exactly what I needed, a blend of the action in an FPS and the addiction of collecting loot and leveling up in an RPG. Borderlands also has an art-style that hits the spot for me. With the announcement of plans to make it a franchise I am excited to see more of Borderlands in the future.

Honorable Mentions: Killzone 2 (PS3), GTA: Chinatown Wars (DS), Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360), and N.O.V.A. (iPhone).

Yuoma

Watch as Patrick and Kurt talk about the Army of Two: The 40th Day demo that was recently released via Xbox and PS3.

The Fishbowl – Ep. 103 – Army of Two: The 40th Day Demo

Gameloft has released the much anticipated N.O.V.A. (Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance) today and you may notice by looking at the screens below that it looks pretty darn close to that game we know as HALO. I haven’t had a chance to play N.O.V.A. yet but if it controls anything like Gameloft’s other iPhone FPS, Modern Combat: Sandstorm, I’m sure I will like it a lot. N.O.V.A. is $6.99 and you can get it by click here.

Check out the trailer below:

I want to be very honest with this review of Rogue Warrior. I played about an hour of it and decided that it was not worth my time to continue. With all the triple A titles that have recently been released I am surprised that Rogue Warrior even made it to stores let alone with a $60 price tag. Games like Rogue Warrior make me wonder if the people who developed the game really even support it. How could you? Are they blindly thinking they are creating something worth playing or are they just doing it for a quick buck? I may never know.

Bottom line, Rogue Warrior is not worth the purchase and probably won’t ever be, even if you can get it for $10 used. The controls are janky, the campaign is very short (from what I read, only 2 hours), the F-word is constantly used and the multiplayer is not even worth touching.

I really respect Bethesda and hope that they will continue to publish great games but I have no idea what they were thinking taking on Rogue Warrior.

When Left 4 Dead 2 was first announced I was surprised, but I wasn’t one of the people planning to boycott the game. Yes, it caught me off guard, but I was excited none-the-less.

In my opinion the original L4D was too short and not worth the $60. Yes, it was a really fun game but I didn’t think it was a $60 game. Especially if you never play the multiplayer modes. I completed L4D2′s campaign yesterday and unlike the first I felt the campaign actually had a nice length to it. I was very satisfied. At first I felt like the game was too hard and I wasn’t having much fun because it didn’t feel like anything new to me, just shoot the zombies like always. I was playing through it with my wife and we both agreed that it was really frustrating and difficult. This is because the emphasis of “work as a team” is really enforced in the sequel. It’s not as easy as the first, where you can run ahead and finish the level without having to work for it. This was annoying at first but once I accepted the fact that I needed to stay close to my team I started to really enjoy the difficulty.

Another thing that took me time to appreciate was the melee weapons. I didn’t plan on using them but about halfway through I got the samurai sword and the machete. With these melee weapons I came up with the strategy of backing myself into a corner and just slicing all zombies that came up to me. Melee weapons are a huge addition to the game. I found myself using them more than my shotgun. They made everything a lot easier. All you have to do is run up to a zombie and slice rather than try and aim for each individual zombie with your gun, specifically the shotgun. The game felt totally different once I learned to appreciate the melee weapons. I became a zombie slaying ninja assassin running through hordes of zombies without breaking a sweat. This didn’t feel like the original game at all, but it was still a lot of fun if not better.

Left 4 Dead 2 brings a lot to the table especially with the new special infected. My least favorite addition has to be the Jockey as I found him to be the most annoying. He often took you away from the crowd and made it hard for them to save you. I do however like the addition of the Spitter, the green slime spewing beauty.

Another thing  I liked about the game was the addition of new items such as the boomer bile vial that you can throw on anything to attract zombies to it. You also have special explosive ammo and a defibrillator kit that lets you revive dead teammates. In addition to the pills you have a adrenaline shot that boosts health and agility.

Overall Left 4 Dead 2 is a very satisfying experience. My fingers are still crossed that they will somehow incorporate both the original and this one into one game so that you don’t have to switch between the two. With the recent announcement of a new DLC campaign I am hoping that Valve will continue to support L4D2 and make it something that I can keep coming back to for a while.

Check out my video review of the game below:

For more Zombie action check out Act 1 and Act 2 of our Left 4 Dead parody.

I have to admit I’ve been kind of slacking in the iPhone gaming department. I’ve been so annoyed by how many un-stellar games there are out there that I’ve given up on trying to find a game worth playing. Most of the top 25 games are just stupid gimmick games. So believe me when I say I was very excited to see that Labyrinth 2 was a game actually worth playing. One of the first games I ever remember playing on my iPhone was Labyrinth. I thought the concept fit perfectly on the accelerometer based device. Now the sequel has been released and it’s everything I would want in a Labyrinth game.

In L2 you have more obstacles to overcome, not just wooden mazes anymore, L2 is packed full of magnets, fans, lasers, ball-duplicators, cannons, and much more. It makes sense though doesn’t it? You’re playing the game on an electronic device so why not create things that you wouldn’t normally see on a Labyrinth table. This is why L2 is so much fun, the gameplay is really unique and never feels boring. With all the new factors at play you never know what to expect in this game.

Besides being a lot of fun L2 is packed with a lot of features. There is single player mode where you go through each level trying to get the fastest completion time. There is even a ghost ball that you can turn on and off so you can see how you achieved your current best time. There are 21 level packs included in the game each with an average of 10 levels. You also have the ability to create your own levels and share them with everyone. This in turn means you can download any packs that are available in the Labyrinth 2 “store” for FREE. All of these levels are user created so the replay value of this game is very high. The L2 store is similar to the App Store in that it’s broken up into “What’s Hot”, “Random”, “Top 25″, and “Newcomers.”

The other mode available in L2 is the multiplayer mode. I haven’t had time to test it out yet but it is possible to play against your friends via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. I’m guessing you choose a level and both compete to get the best time. I think this sounds like a lot of fun and I plan on trying this out with my wife very soon.

Lastly, like a lot of games, L2 has included more incentive to play the game by adding “Awards” that you can strive to achieve. For example you can be given an award by completing “50 levels without falling into a hole.” It even tells you the percentage of completion for each award.

Little thing like this make Labyrinth 2 very polished and very fun. I highly recommend this game to anyone and strongly believe it is worth the $4.99 that it is listed at. I hope more developers will start producing titles that are actually worth playing for more than 1 hour. Let L2 be an example that it is possible.

Check out the gameplay video I made of L2 below:

I am proud to announce that we have officially released our brand new HD video podcast titled “The Fishbowl”. The Fishbowl will be a bite-sized podcast showcasing one video game per episode. We are willing to take requests if you have any. The Fishbowl is available on our YouTube page at: http://www.youtube.com/everydaygamers or via iTunes at this link http://bit.ly/4JJYhN so that you can view it on your iPhone or iPod while you are away from your computer.

We hope you guys enjoy watching it as much as we enjoy making it. Please feel free to send us any feedback on what you guys would like to see us do in the future.

Check out the first episode of “The Fishbowl” below:

Watch as a group of zombie apocalypse survivors trek through some zombie infested mills to find a good place to call for help. Cast includes: Patrick Adams as Louis, Kary Roberts as Bill, Scott Walsh as Francis, Daria Adams as Zoey, Dale Anderson as Zombie 1, and Lydia Adams as Zombie 2. This is Act 2 of a continued series. Please share this with everyone and check back soon for more!

Left 4 Dead in Johnstown – Act 2 – Old Mills

The Fishbowl – Episode 102 – New Super Mario Bros Wii

The Fishbowl – Episode 101 – Borderlands

Watch as a group of zombie apocalypse survivors trek through the woods to a safe-house where they can defend themselves from the horde. Cast includes: Patrick Adams as Louis, Kurt Roberts as Bill, Scott Walsh as Francis, and Daria Adams as Zoey. This is Act 1 of a continued series. Please share this with everyone and check back soon for Act 2!

Left 4 Dead in Johnstown – Act 1 – Backwoods

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard and Chris Maeurer

EDG Podcast Episode #37

I remember growing up playing A Boy and His Blob for the NES with my best friend John. We never really got very far in the game but just the fact that they made a game called “A Boy and His Blob” was reason enough to make us play it. It’s funny to see that someone has taken the initiative to make a re-make of the title. Ever since it was announced I thought it was a great idea, especially with the art direction the developers decided to take. The original NES version was not a pretty site so to make the game any bit of interesting the developers had to turn it into something worth looking at. I believe the art direction is what made the game get the attention that it did.

Even though the art direction is totally different the gameplay still holds true to the original game. As you may have heard the game does not take advantage of the Wii’s motion controls which is a good thing because that’s usually more of a gimmick than anything else. The main concept is that you feed a white blob different jelly beans to make him change in to different objects. For example a red jelly bean makes him change into a hole in the ground or a black jelly bean turns him into a ladder. There are 15 total objects the blob can transform into. Each level is preset with certain jelly beans and this forces you to think about the steps you need to take to collect the three treasure chests that are in each level. There are 10 levels in each world and there are 4 worlds. If you collect all three treasure chests for the level a bonus level is then unlocked for you to play. The concept of trying to collect the treasure chests kind of reminded me of the puzzle piece collecting in Braid.

ABAHB’s controls do take some time to get used to. Not because they are mapped poorly but because the game is kind of tedious…switch to the black jelly bean, throw the black jelly bean, climb up the ladder, switch over to the red jelly bean, call the blob, throw the red jelly bean, jump through the hole, etc. It is this reason alone that made me get a little tired of the game after playing longer sessions. The repetitive nature takes its toll after a while. Other than that minor gripe I would say A Boy and His Blob is a perfect remake of the classic NES title. It’s polished, fun, and challenging. I honestly couldn’t ask for more in a remake of this game. Hopefully ABAHB will inspire developers to remake the more unique NES titles we’ve come to know and love.

If you haven’t dusted off your Wii in a while and you are looking for a solid game to play on the system then I would highly suggest A Boy and His Blob. The game is very cute so it will definitely attract younger kids but don’t let the game fool you, it is not easy.

Hosts In: Patrick Adams and Kurt Roberts

EDG Podcast Episode #36

Hosts In: David Lange and Eric Bouchard

EDG Podcast Episode #35

PixelJunk Monsters, in case you didn’t know, is a tower defense game that was originally released on the Playstation Network back in January of ’08. An expansion pack titled “PJM Encore” was then released in May of ’08. PJM took advantage of the remote play function of the PS3 and PSP but it looked blurry and wasn’t even comparable to the crisp look of playing it on the PS3. The way I looked at it was that if I was in the house then I may as well play it on my PS3. A few months back Q-Games announced that they were releasing PixelJunk Monsters on the PSP. Nobody knew whether it was going to be on UMD or if it was going to be digital download only. Later on more details surfaced stating that it would be packed full of new stuff, hence the official name “PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe.” I’ve been siked about PJMD since it was announced and am happy that it has finally arrived. PJMD is available on the PSP as a digital download and costs $19.99. That may seem a little steep to you but to anyone who has played PJM it’s no problem.

PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe is definitely the ultimate version of PJM. It brings new music, new enemies, new towers, challenge modes that unlock goodies, all the maps that were included in the original game and the expansion pack and even a whole new island. While the graphics of PJMD have been redone for the PSP it still looks beautiful. The art style is what makes PJM stand out and it continues to shine, even on the PSP. I was really impressed with how they kept the total download size under 70MB, that’s crazy for how much stuff is packed into the game.

If you would head on over to the About page of this website you might notice that PJM is currently #4 in the list of my top ten favorite games of all time so maybe I am not the best person to be reviewing this game. This is why I am going to cut my review short and say this: If you like tower defense games then you should definitely play PixelJunk Monsters, it’s the game that took tower defense genre to the next level. If you’ve never really given TD games a try PJM is the best one to bring you into the genre. And for all the TD haters out there it may be the game that changes your standpoint. Bottom line – If you have a PSP buy PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe no matter what. It’s awesome. If you don’t have a PSP and you do own a PS3 then make sure you at least buy the PSN version of the game.

Below is a video so you can see PJMD in action:

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard, David Lange, and Chris Maeurer

EDG Podcast Episode #34

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard and Chris Maeurer

EDG Podcast Episode #33

I first saw WET when it was announced a while back and I wasn’t very impressed. I thought it was a joke and I was positive it would be a flop or not even get published. Well, the day has come and WET has been released into the wild and boy did it exceed my expectations by far.

WET reminds me a lot of Stranglehold, the emphasis is on slo-mo and acrobatic kills. Basically you do certain actions like jump, wall-run, or slide which then trigger slow motion that lasts about 5 seconds. One of your guns aims automatically and you aim the other gun manually, this makes it possible to kill two people at the same time. Combine this acrobatic gameplay and a highly stylized art direction and you have the basis of WET. WET reminds me of the Kill Bill movies and I think it was made like this on purpose. You will even see drive-in commercials in between some of segments. The whole art direction, I would say, was made to make WET look like a movie.

Rubi Malone, the main character, wields guns and a sword. Guns are for slow motion combat and the sword is for close combat. There are certain areas in the game that I like to call “battle areas” and you will know you are about to enter one of these areas when a cut-scene of Rubi doing some gun-slinger tricks plays. In these areas you are to destroy the enemy spawn points by slashing them with the sword. Once all spawn points are destroyed you are to defeat the rest of the enemies. After you complete a level you are taken to a screen where you can purchase new moves and perks. You gain “style points” in each level based on how well you do. Once you complete a chapter of the game you are taken back to your “junk yard” which is basically where you can practice all of your skills. There are also challenges to be completed there. I wasn’t sure I actually liked the idea of the junk yard, I felt like the game would be better suited as a campaign with no stops from start to finish. There are also other sequences in the game that stick out from the rest and make you go “Wow” like the “Rage Mode.” Rage Mode happens at random points in the game and basically just makes the graphics look similar to MadWorld but with red, black, and white. To watch Rage Mode in action check out my video here. There are also quick time sequences in the game. One of them took place on a highway during a fast paced car chase while Rubi leaped from one car to the other shooting enemies in slow motion. It was these sequences that made the game feel unlike any other game I’ve played.

WET is a great looking game, the art direction is fantastic and I was also impressed with how gritty the game is. Usually I am not a fan of intense violence but it fits well in WET. Again, WET feels like a movie and I almost wish they would turn it into one as I think it could be very enjoyable. One last thing I want to add is that the soundtrack to the game is stellar. It fits the game perfectly and really adds to the action on the screen.

I was a little surprised to hear that Bethesda decided to take on publishing WET but I can see now they made a great choice. Hopefully WET will get the attention it deserves. The bottom line is that I really enjoyed it,  it’s pure fun, very artistic, and I would recommend picking it up if you like Stranglehold or if you like the idea of a Kill Bill game.

If you are interested in WET check out my play-through of the demo here. You can also download the demo on Xbox 360 or PS3.

I’ve always been longing for a solid First Person Shooter on my iPhone and never have I truly been satisfied. A lot of the FPS games I downloaded were horrible. Not just the controls but the polish and graphics. The FPS on the iPhone was not something that was looking too good, until Modern Combat arrived. I knew that with Gameloft being the developer this game was going to be something different from the rest, not necessarily different from First Person Shooters in general but different from the ones I had seen on the iPhone.

Gameloft has done a great job with Modern Combat, first off, the controls work great. There are three control options and the only problem I had with them was the fact that all of them worked so good and this made it hard to just choose one and stick to it. I decided to stick with the default control scheme. This control scheme has a left virtual thumbstick which you use to move forward, backward, strafe left, and strafe right. The way you look around, what would normally be the right thumbstick, is by touching anywhere on the screen, the best place to touch is right by the cross-hairs, this is where you get the most accuracy. Then you touch a button located on the right side to shoot. There are other actions like crouch, throw grenades, zoom to cross-hairs, reload, and switch weapons. All of these controls feel great and never once did it feel like I was struggling (like when playing an FPS on the PSP). My only suggestion is to turn the sensitivity the whole way up. This was the only way I could play.

Modern Combat is an FPS similar to the console versions, everything we’ve seen before but nothing we’ve seen on a mobile device. I was playing it on a 3GS so there was no lag at all, everything ran smooth, the graphics looked great. The gameplay has a lot of variety, at one point I was using a sniper rifle to take down enemies on a ledge in an underground passageway, the next moment I was defending a palace from tanks and RPG’s. The gameplay definitely gets switched up and it’s easy to get sucked in. There are 10 levels total and most of them are completed in 15 minutes on average.

Overall Modern Combat: Sandstorm is a must buy for FPS fans. Gameloft put a lot of effort into the game and it came out very polished. Not only is it a lot of fun but it’s a great game to show off to people and say “Yea, my phone can do that.” The thing is though, this phone doesn’t really feel like a phone anymore. With games like these the iPhone is a tough competitor to the handheld gaming market. Modern Combat is currently $6.99 in the app store and I also hear there is a multiplayer mode in the works as a future update.

Check out some footage of the game below:

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Eric Bouchard, and Matt Lenz

EDG Podcast Episode #31

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard and Chris Maeurer

EDG Podcast Episode #30

App Store Link

First, let’s get this out of the way.  Batman: Arkham Asylum is an exceptional game worth the price of admission.  Your wait for a game that actually makes you feel like the Dark Night himself is over.  Doing my best to keep you hidden from spoilers, your trek through Arkham Asylum will have you swinging, sneaking, destroying, bludgeoning and detectiving (wait is that even a word) until the very end.

This next paragraph is the well known plot of the game but if you don’t want any spoilers skip it. Your long night as Batman starts out with returning Joker to his rightful home at Arkham Asylum, an island near Gotham City which houses the criminally insane.  Batman realizes that the Joker surrendered too easily and feels like something is amiss.  Before you know it Joker has the upper hand and his capture was a setup to extinguish “The Bat”.  Arkham Asylum is now under the Joker’s control with the help of his groupie Harley Quinn.

Batman is an everyman hero, built from revenge striking fear in the hearts and minds of criminals without the use of “super powers”, which is exactly how you feel when playing with your enemies.  Unarmed inmates are handled with earth shattering combos; each hit feels like you just dropped a sledge hammer on your foe, quiet satisfying to say the least.  Combat is smooth and effortless never feeling awkward.  Your 4 face buttons are assigned to attack, counter, evade and stun.  Dealing with armed enemies demands a more stealth-like approach.  Even though Batman is built like a tank a few gunshots can take him down like the rest of us.  In order to stay out of harms way you can grapple up to the rafters by way of strategically placed gargoyles where you are basically invisible.  This can feel a bit cheesy at times, once spotted all you have to do is swing to a few of these and it was like you were never there, enemies seeming unaware that you just swung 40 feet to the left.  You will also find other environmental aids to hide in the shadows like air ducts and trap doors.  Sneak up on an enemy and you’re rewarded with a silent takedown, cutting off their air supply until they are out cold.  One of my personal favorites is hanging from a ledge and at just the right moment you can smash their head against a guard rail and drop them over the edge.  Many tools are at your disposal to rid yourself of these pests.  Batarangs, grappling hooks and explosive gel all lend to the fun.  Let your imagination run wild here, drop a baddy near an electric door and when their buddy comes to check on them, kindly guide them into it.  Effortlessly string up a villain to a gargoyle and startle their partners by cutting him down with a Batarang, at just the right moment.  Those are just a few examples of how much diversity can be had with the combat system, half the fun is seeing what you can come up with.  Batman has a leveling system based on experience points which are rewarded for stringing combat moves together and mixing up your fighting style.  Each “level” progression provides you with an unlockable item; enhanced Batsuit, detective aid, combat increase or Batarang upgrade.  The upgrades are handled nicely and there is not an overwhelming amount to try and unlock.

Arkham Asylum’s immersion factor rivals the underwater world of Rapture in Bioshock and it’s a good thing it does because backtracking is a very familiar task.  It’s certainly not without reason.  In most games it would feel like a cheap tactic to extend the game play, no so with Arkham Asylum.  Backtracking never feels tired or bothersome.  The environment also changes as the events of the night unfold.  Your first play-through will take around 10-12 hours depending on your play style, I say first because I definitely feel this game warrants at least another run.  The Riddler left behind plenty of riddles to challenge your detective skills, finding them is worth while as they unlock character bios, interview tapes and help increase your overall experience.

Rocksteady has created something special with Batman: Arkham Asylum.  Many may not care for the ending as it seems somewhat out of place but of the few gripes I have, are all trumped by the sheer impressiveness of the entire package.  The pacing, graphics, attention to detail and overall presentation are exceptional and I will say it again this is a must play.

Frontier is proud to announce a brand new title in the LostWinds series is coming exclusively to WiiWare™.

LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias is the follow up to 2008’s best-selling, award-winning WiiWare launch title ‘LostWinds’. Wield your Wii Remote™ to use the elemental powers of Enril the Wind Spirit to protect and guide the young boy Toku – power his jumps and glides, suspend and smash new enemies, and explore all-new expanses of the stunningly presented, magical land of Mistralis as you experience Toku and Enril’s continuing quest to overcome the evil Balasar.

“The power of the wind is once again in the palm of your hand”

For more information on what new features LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias includes, visit the official website which launched today where you can check out the latest screenshots, videos and information on this exciting new WiiWare title.

Shadow Complex was released while I was out of town with no Xbox 360 in sight so I had plenty of time to read all the hype before I got a chance to sit down with it. Going in with high expectations is always a bad thing. This isn’t the case for Shadow Complex however, it definitely lives up to the hype.

In case you live under a rock Shadow Complex is a downloadable title from Xbox Live Arcade. It’s 1200 MS Points which totals $15. SC is probably the best looking XBLA title I have downloaded to date if not the best overall game. The visuals are top notch and the environments are very detailed. SC is a side-scrolling shooter which means you can only go up, down, left and right on a 2D plane even though the environments tease you into thinking you can move in a 3D plane. Even though the movement is from left to right, you can still shoot enemies that are located anywhere in the 3D plane. Confusing right?

The gameplay in Shadow Complex may be a little slow in the beginning until you get familiar with how it plays. In the beginning I was taking my time, exploring it all but then once I completed the first area I found myself flying through the rest of the game, kicking butt and taking names. I think the game was built like this on purpose. Another reason SC is so enjoyable is the fact that you never have to find ammo for your gun, it has an unlimited supply of ammo. This helps shift the focus of the game from being stressful to being fun. The items that you are to search for throughout the game help give the game depth. Finding items is crucial to your success in the game as well. These aren’t just items you have to find to get achievements, these are items that increase your total grenade count, your total health, your armor, etc. By the time you’ve collected all the items you are indestructible. The one thing that stuck out for me about Shadow Complex is that I never wanted to put it down, it was so easy to just keep playing. Even once I finished the game I didn’t want to stop playing it so I went back and collected all of the items I missed. In case you were wondering, I completed Shadow Complex in 8.5 hours so it is a pretty lengthy game for an XBLA title.

I’m hoping that Chair has plans for some DLC in the near future because I want more. With the game doing so well I can almost guarantee a sequel will be in the works very shortly. Overall Shadow Complex is an amazing game. It looks great, it plays great. I highly recommend downloading it. I would even go as far as to say it may be very close to my top 10 favorite games of all time. Yes it’s that good!

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard and Chris Maeurer

EDG Podcast Episode #29

I have to admit, I hadn’t heard anything about Trials HD until the demo was released. I downloaded it out of curiosity and was instantly hooked. I’m not a huge motorcycle fan but you don’t have to be to like this game. The formula is simple for anyone. The great thing about Trials is that it’s easy to keep trying to perfect your run. You have two options when on the track, press the back button to start over from the beginning of the track or press the B button to start from the last checkpoint. Starting from the last checkpoint counts as a “fault” which will in turn affect your overall time so it is best to start over from the beginning if you want to get the gold medal. For each track you are either rewarded a Bronze, Silver, or Gold medal. You can also compare your times with friends that have the game. For example one of my friends has Trials and we’ve been competing back and forth to get a faster time on each track. This is what makes Trials so addicting. Yes competing for Gold medals is tough enough but trying to beat your friend’s score is added incentive. I almost wish I could host an Xbox Live party to bring my friends in the game so that we could watch each other race the tracks and see who can get the fastest time. I also like how Trials loads fast, if at anytime you want to restart a track you press the back button and instantly you are at the beginning ready to give it another shot. Because of this I always find myself saying “okay, one more try” even though it really is never my last.

You may ask yourself, “What is so hard about Trials HD?” Trials is physics-based meaning you must tilt your body either forward or backward at the right time to get the smoothest ride possible. It’s the combination of tilting your body and pressing the gas that makes this game what it is. In the later levels your skills are really tested, you must be pinpoint if you want to complete the track with a gold medal. Take for example the video below, this level requires a lot of precision:

Other tracks in Trials just look plain awesome, like the one titled “Dreamscape” that has pieces of wood floating in the air and doesn’t look like a track at all. RedLynx definitely knew what they were doing when they created these tracks. Not to mention Trials also comes with a track builder which you can use to create your own tracks and share them with friends. Check the video below to check out the “Dreamscape” track.

Overall I love the game, it was a pleasant surprise and that might be the main reason I like it so much. Trials HD is fun, simple, and addicting, everything a game should be. If you have an Xbox 360 and 1200 points I highly suggest Trials HD even if you don’t particularly care for motorcycle games.

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Eric Bouchard, and Chris Maeurer

EDG Podcast Episode #28

There are 4 modes: Rescue the Princess, Snatch N’ Grab, Team Deathmatch, and Invasion. Rescue the Princess has to be the most popular of the group as I would say it’s what the game is built around. Each team has the other teams princess locked up in their castle, the object of the game is to steal your princess back and bring her to your castle so that you have both princesses in possession. Then you must defend the castle for a short amount of time. The Team Deathmatch mode is self-explanatory. Each person you kill is worth one point, first to 250 wins. In the Snatch N’ Grab mode you are to capture the enemy princess as many times as possible in the amount of time given, once you capture her she goes back to the castle to be captured again. The team with the most captures wins. The last mode, Invasion, has both teams trying to capture and hold outposts while defeating the enemy team.

Fat Princess is a very overwhelming game at first. When I started playing it for the first time I had no idea what I was doing. The “How To Play” section helps a bit but really it’s a lot of reading and you won’t understand the game until you play a few rounds. There are 5 different classes in FP: The Mage, the Priest, the Ranger, the Warrior, and the Villager. The Mage can throw fire and ice from it’s magic wand. The Priest can heal teammates and suck the life from enemies, the Ranger uses ranged weapons like the bow and arrow and when upgraded, a gun. The Warrior has a sword and shield and when upgraded can use a longer sword. The Villager is in my opinion the most interesting class. The Villager is the work force, he is responsible for cutting down trees and mining for silver. If enough wood and silver is collected the Villager can then upgrade the classes. The Villager can also build stuff such as ladders to the enemy castle, catapults, and even trampolines. When upgraded the Villager can throw bombs at people.

Fat Princess is in my opinion a great game but the game really depends on who you play with. Sometimes if you get lucky you will have an awesome group who knows how to use teamwork, other times you are stuck with people who run off and try to win the games by themselves. FP relies heavily on teamwork, when the team works together it almost always results in a victory. My only complaint would be that there are not enough people using headsets. Every once in a while I hear someone say “good game” and didn’t even hear them say a word during the match.

But honestly, I love the rush I get when I capture the princess and slowly make it back to the castle with all of my teammates defending me. It’s a great feeling. If you have a PS3 and $15 to shell out for Fat Princess then I suggest you do it. You will have a great time.

Crash Course Campaign Due in September

August 4, 2009 – Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life,Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the next major downloadable content (DLC) update for its co-operative zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead (L4D), the #1 new game title on Xbox 360 and PC in 2008 

Entitled “Crash Course,” the latest DLC delivers new single-player, multiplayer and co-operative gameplay to both platforms. Targeted for release in September, “Crash Course” bridges the gap between the end of the “No Mercy” campaign and the beginning of “Death Toll” in the original game, expanding the game universe with new locations, new dialogue from the original cast, and an explosive finale 

While containing both Survival maps and a Co-operative Campaign, the primary goal of “Crash” is to deliver a complete Versus mode experience in just 30 minutes, resulting in a streamlined version of the game’s existing Versus campaigns. A recharge timer for infected teammates has also been added, and item spawn behavior has changed for more balanced gameplay. 

“Since the release of Left 4 Dead last November, the design team has been excited about creating new experiences for this world and allowing players to do the same, by releasing much of our internal toolset, like the Survival Pack and Authoring Tools,” said Gabe Newell. “We’re working with the fans toward the ongoing entertainment value of the product.” 

Left 4 Dead is an action horror game from Valve that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Released in November of 2008, L4D has earned over 50 industry awards from outlets around the world and sold almost 3 million copies worldwide. 

Left 4 Dead: Crash Course is targeted for release in September and will be available free of charge on the PC and for 560 Gamer points on Xbox Live. 

For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

Source

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard and Chris Maeurer

EDG Podcast Episode #27

Hosts In: Patrick Adams and Chris Maeurer

EDG Podcast Episode #25

DICE, an EA studio, today announced that Battlefield 1943 will be exclusively available July 8^th on Xbox LIVE^TM Marketplace and July 9^th on the PlayStation Network. Battlefield 1943 is an all-new download-only action game that brings DICE’s first-class vehicular warfare to gamers for just $15, or 1200 MS Points.

Battlefield 1943 is a critically-acclaimed First-Person Shooter (FPS) multiplayer game that puts players in the middle of a dogfight on land, sea or in the skies. The game introduces two thrilling new modes that can be played across four classic Battlefield tropical WWII maps: Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Coral Sea. These maps are inspired by the award winning Battlefield 1942^TM game, but have been redesigned and reengineered using the DICE destructible Frostbite^TM engine which takes down walls, blockades and cover spots, leaving players with almost nowhere to hide. The game delivers endless hours of social online gameplay – an extraordinary value at just $15.

The Coral Sea map which is included in the game will be unlocked as part of a worldwide community challenge, where players will work together to reach 43M kills on both Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network. To help gamers reach that goal, up to 24 players can play together online in countless matches. They will have the freedom to compete by land, air and sea as either the US Marines or the Imperial Japanese Navy. Whether they choose to play the role of a rifleman crawling through the trenches, a steel-fisted tank commander, or a dog fighting ace pilot, gamers will have the power to rule the Battlefield.

“Battlefield 1943 is going to change consumer expectations of what a downloadable game can be. By offering Frostbite’s next generation destruction technology with a full Vehicle Warfare FPS multiplayer experience at a mere 560MB, Battlefield 1943 sets a new standard,” said Gordon Van Dyke, Producer on Battlefield 1943. “Our goal is to blow people away with a fully accessible, retail-calibre game for veteran Battlefield fans and shooter fans alike to enjoy for only $15.”

For more information on DICE, please visit www.dice.se. For more information on Battlefield 1943 please visit the official Battlefield 1943 game site. Or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/OfficialBF1943.

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Thomas Pine, and Eric Bouchard

Intro Music by: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #22

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Eric Bouchard, David Lange, and Thomas Pine.

Music By: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #21

There are three different modes. The first is Practice where you can practice making words without a time limit. The second is Examination where you are to complete as many words as possible within the time limit of 3 minutes. You can choose to move onto different letters if you like after you complete a certain amount of words. The last of the modes is Challenge where you can challenge other people on Facebook via Facebook connect. You can also challenge people on your phone’s contact list by signing up to the 99games server. Wordulous also supports Local and Global high scores.

Wordulous is a lot of fun if you are into word games. If you enjoy Wordsworth then I suggest you pick this one up as well. At the writing of this review Wordulous is a mere $0.99 which is well worth the money.

Red Faction: Guerrilla takes place on Mars and your character is Alec Mason a former miner who rebels against the EDF (Earth Defense Force). Basically the EDF are the bad guys along with with Marauders which are the original inhabitants of the planet. RFG is an open-world game similar to Far Cry 2 and the Grand Theft Auto series. You can do what you want when you want. There are different types of missions that you can complete. The first type is the Gorrilla Actions, these are kind of like side quests, they aren’t necessary but they are pretty fun. Most of these missions consist of doing something in a certain amount of time, for example, destroying the building in front of you with only your hammer in under 2 minutes, or use the turret to destroy the windmills in under a minute. Some of the Gorrilla Action missions consist of going to rescue hostages from a building or stealing a truck from EDF territory and bringing it to a safe house. Each GA mission has a reward whether it be to raise the morale of the Red Faction or give you salvage. The currency used in the game is known as salvage. Salvage is picked up from destroying things as well as rewarded for completing missions.

The second of the mission types are the Destruction Targets. Destruction Targets are exactly what the name says, EDF targets that are to be destroyed. These can range from windmills to office buildings to huge EDF bases. These targets are to be destroyed to weaken the EDF’s forces. The last of the mission types is the actual campaign missions. These missions are usually pretty long and consist of doing more than one thing. If you played the demo you saw one of the campaign missions. Infiltrate an EDF base camp and steal a Walker. Take the Walker to the truck and then defend the truck as it escapes. The campaign missions usually have more of a structure. It’s these missions that when completed will get you further in the game. As you complete these missions you also unlock new areas of the map to explore and conquer.

By completing missions you receive salvage. Salvage is then used to buy upgrades. Some examples of upgrades would be being able to carry more remote charges, or being able to increase the amount of charges you can lay down at one time before detonating them. Other upgrades include better weapons and increasing the amount of damage your armor can withstand. It’s these upgrades that I look forward to most in the game. They change the game up and give you a reason to get more salvage.

There are a few things that instantly stood out about the game for me. One being the fact that the shooting is very accurate and feels great. Another being the vehicles. There is a wide range of vehicles and they are all fun to drive. Some vehicles even have turrets which you can switch to at any moment. Another thing I liked was the fact that they took the narrator from Crackdown, this gave it a great feel. The last thing and also the most important aspect of the game is the fact that everything is totally destructible. Everything. You can go up to a huge tower, destroy the foundation and the whole building will fall down and crumble to pieces. This is at times pretty amazing and this is what makes the game so fun.

Overall Red Faction: Guerrilla is in my opinion a day one purchase if you like open-world games. If you are skeptical, try out the demo, I bet you will enjoy it. I did not play the multiplayer modes at the time this review was written but the single-player campaign alone is enough to merit a day one purchase in my opinion. I plan on putting many more hours into the game so I am happy it was released right in time for the summer months. It looks like all my time is going to be spent on Mars this summer.

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Eric Bouchard, David Lange, and Thomas Pine.

Music By: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #20

It’s been a while since I’ve played a “family” game, probably since LEGO Indiana Jones and I didn’t even play much of it. I personally felt the gameplay was a little bland for the LEGO games. UP on the other hand is the exact opposite. It was really fun. Besides the recently released X-Men Origins: Wolverine most video games based off of movies are pretty lame. UP in my opinion is the second game to get it right.

UP is an adventure/action type game like most movie games. You can take control of and switch between either Carl or Russell (and later Dug) but honestly this game is best played with a friend controlling the second character. I played through it with a friend. What I liked most about the game was that each character had a specific role that they did in specific spots. For example Carl was always the one who would jump up and use his cane to reach a ledge and then pull Russell up and Russell was always the one who would shimmy across ledges and pull Carl up with his rope. These actions weren’t interchangeable, they could only be done by the specific character. This made team-work crucial. I almost feel like UP did the whole co-op thing a lot better than Army of Two did.

The basic gameplay is get from point A to point B while collecting coins and smashing bugs. You also collect artifacts and mementos along the way. Being a perfectionist it was great fun smashing all of the rocks and mushrooms to collect things. I never was bored of the game, I always wanted to keep playing. This was mainly due to the fact that the environments were very diverse and looked very polished. The game is definitely a great looking game. Another thing I enjoyed was the fact that the movie scenes wouldn’t start until both characters were present, this was actually helpful because I would sometimes hang back and collect more coins than my friend would, so I didn’t have to worry about a movie scene cutting into my coin collecting.

The two things I didn’t like about the game were the dogs, these are the only real “enemies” you encounter other than spiders and wasps but they were all kind of annoying. I could never quite block their attacks at the right time. The other thing was the camera, while the camera was great most of the time it did sometimes hang back and do weird things that made it hard to play the game. Sometimes we would have to back track a little to get the camera to reset and follow us.

There are 11 levels total in the game and the game is disappointingly very short. We finished it in about 3-4 hours. This is my only major complaint. The $40 price tag for the Xbox 360 version (which I played for review) is great but might be a little too expensive for the length of the campaign. There are 3 multiplayer modes however. All of them consist of flying a plane but they are all pretty fun. The first mode is “Attack” which is the basic shoot your friends down mode, the next is “Pop” where you are to be the first to shoot and pop 100 balloons, and the last mode is Team where you are to shoot the vital parts of the other teams “drigible” to destroy it. There are 7 maps that you can play these modes on.

Overall UP was a lot of fun. Even though we breezed through it I enjoyed it very much and would love to play it again just to collect all of the mementos and artifacts. I do recommend picking this one up if you have a second person to play it with. While the campaign is short the multiplayer modes are enough to keep you busy for a little longer.

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Thomas Pine, and Eric Bouchard
Music By: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #19

As with most iPhone games I just decided to get it on a whim. I wasn’t sure if I would even like it but I trusted the people who suggested it so I went ahead and purchased it for the wonderful price of $2.99.

The main concepts of Eliss are actually very simple. It may look intimidating but it’s really not. The object is to combine the circles that randomly appear with each other to make bigger circles. Once a circle is big enough you drag it into a “pod” that also appears at random. The pod then disappears. Each level has a specific amount of times you are to do this and once you do that amount the level ends and you move on to the next. The second concept in the game is splitting the circles to make them smaller. There will be smaller pods that appear so you must split the large circles by using two fingers and dragging them apart.

The way you die in this game is when you let the different colored circles touch each other. The longer they touch the more your life goes down. In the later levels there is a lot going on on the screen so it can be very hard to keep the circles from touching. I even found myself holding my iPhone in ways I didn’t know where possible just so that I could use four fingers.

I’m currently on the 10th level and there is 25 levels total. One last thing I want to mention is the art-style of Eliss. It’s very plain and simple but this plain and simple look is what makes Eliss so appealing.

Overall I love Eliss and I highly recommend it. Don’t be intimidated, you will get the hang of it no later than 5 minutes in.

Check out the video below for the first 3 levels of Eliss:

Make sure to check out EDGvideos.com for more videos

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Yuoma, Eric Bouchard, and Thomas Pine
Music By: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode 18

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Thomas Pine, and David Lange
Music By: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #17

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Thomas Pine, and Eric Bouchard.

Music by: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #16

Hosts In: Patrick Adams & Thomas Pine

EDG Podcast Special: Nintendo DSi

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Eric Bouchard, Thomas Pine, and Yuoma.
Music By: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #15

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard and David Lange

EDG Podcast Episode #14

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard, Thomas Pine, and Yuoma.

EDG Podcast Episode #13

“Versus” Brings New Online Gameplay Excitement To Resident Evil^TM 5 Via Digital Download

Additional Mode Adds A New, Deadly Twist To RE5 Multiplayer Gameplay

Tired of working together with other players in Resident Evil™ 5? Ready to show your co-op partner exactly what you think of their gaming abilities? Capcom is pleased to announce that a new multiplayer mode for the soon-to-be blockbuster, Resident Evil 5, will be released post-launch as paid digital content via Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network. The new mode, called ‘Versus,’ adds a deadly twist to Resident Evil 5’s multiplayer, pitting players against each other in a contest of survival, a marked departure from the central co-operative nature of the game.

Versus allows up to four players to match wits in online battles across two very different game types. Slayer’s Rule is a point-based game that challenges players to kill Majinis. In Survivor’s Rule, players hunt the most dangerous game, each other! Players can begin the hunt as Chris, Sheva or other secret characters, and choose from either one-on-one or two-versus-two team matches for either of the two gameplay styles.

Versus will be available on Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network a few weeks after Resident Evil 5 is available. Versus will be available for 400 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE or $3.99 on the PlayStation Network. Versus mode requires the Resident Evil game software in order to be played. A broadband internet connection is required.

-Brand new mission and level introducing a hot and furious killing machine as a new playable character

-Be the Doppelganger – Lara’s deadly double and play with her unique ‘Shadow Powers’

-Use Shadow Power to slow down time and massively increase the speed and force of her devastating melee attacks.

-Utilize Shadow Power to grab and move along surfaces that would be to dangerous and tough for Lara to ever climb.

-Gunplay gets serious with Shadow Fire; the weapon’s speed, accuracy and impact shatters impossibly dangerous enemies into pieces.

-125 Achievement points

Too many times do I find myself downloading an iPhone game, playing it for a day or two, and then totally forgetting about it. I even had trouble getting into Rolando. Edge is unlike any other iPhone game I have played thus-far. It is that one game that I keep coming back to, it’s levels are short and sweet and it has that addictive gameplay that Echochrome should have had, but didn’t.

Edge is a very basic looking game, with some pretty bare colors and a cut and dry look, Edge is not exactly the greatest at first impressions. Do not judge Edge by the way it looks, this cut and dry look fits perfectly with what Edge is all about. I was instantly impressed with the amount of polish Edge has, as soon as you play a level you will understand. It is a pretty basic platformer and the controls are very basic as well, just slide your finger in the direction you want the cube to roll. Edge has 26 levels that you must navigate through by pushing levers and rolling across moving platforms and it will keep you busy for a fairly long time.

Overall I think Edge is a game that can work on any platform and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw it come to XBLA, PSN, PSP, or DS. I do hope that someday it will come to that. Edge was released at the end of December so it is considered an ’08 game. If that’s the case then Edge is my iPhone GOTY hands-down.

Mobigame recently released an update for Edge. Some of the new features include:

-17 New Levels

-5 New Tunes

-Global Ranking

-New Controls

From what I’ve played, the new update really adds a lot to the game. The 17 new levels aren’t just tacked on at the end, they are spread throughout the campaign. I’m also really enjoying the new control option, this option is the one I choose every time. I find these new controls easier and more precise than the other two options. Overall, the new update is great. I didn’t think it was possible to make this game any better but they did so right now I’d say Edge is at about 5.5 stars, if that was possible.

Below is a video of the new control option for Edge:

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard, David Lange, and Matt Lenz
Music provided by: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #12

“The newest entry into the Operation Flashpoint series is one of the most highly-anticipated games of 2009, and today marks the release of a behind-the-scenes video where key developers will take you through how Codemasters’ EGO technology is able to power a game as wide in scope and detailed in focus as Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.

The keen-eyed readers out there will note that we’ve dropped the number 2 from the title, to make it a bit punchier, and to tie the game more to its illustrious forebear.

So, check out the new video at the Official Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising site!“

Source

Hosts In: Eric Bouchard, David Lange, and Matt Lenz

Music By: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #11

Cavalry Bootlegger:

Manhattan Spirit:

GT Nighthawk:

88 Special:

The object of WordsWorth is to link letters together to create words. The longer the word, the more points you receive. Some letters are worth more than others creating an even higher score.

WordsWorth has two modes, one being “Classic” and the other being “Timed.” In the Classic mode you aren’t timed and you can go at your own pace but once a timed letter falls into the mix you must use that letter before the time runs out, if you fail to do so it will end the game. In the Timed mode you must reach a certain amount of points before the timer ends. If you reach that amount of points before the time is up, your time is extended and you move on to the next level. In both of these modes there are “buzzwords” which are shown in the starburst at the bottom of the screen. If you spell the buzzword you will receive even more points.

To make the game more interesting there are a few different tiles that come in to play. Green tiles are worth more points, Gold tiles are earned by creating words two letters longer than the minimum word size required, Blue tiles are also known as “wild cards” and they can be used as any letter in a word, and lastly there are Auto Shuffle tiles which will shuffle the letters without penalty or without decreasing the shuffle count.

My Thoughts:

I being a fan of word games really enjoyed WordsWorth and still come back to it regularly. It’s easy to pick up and play and highly addictive. WW is very polished and pleasing to the eyes. If you like Scrabble or any other word puzzle games then WW is a must have. WordsWorth is available for a mere $1.99 which means there is no reason not to download this one.

Some features included:

-The camera which lets you take and share pictures with friends as well as use it in games that take advantage of it.

-DSi Sound which lets you record voice and use it with music and games.

-DSi Store – similar to WiiWare you will be able to download games with DSiWare points.

I personally am really looking forward to the DSi and will most likely purchase it on day one. The DSiWare has a lot of potential so I am excited to see how that goes. Anyone else considering picking it up?

]]> http://everydaygamers.com/2009/02/18/nintendo-dsi-gets-price-and-release-date/feed/ 3 http://everydaygamers.com/2009/02/12/know-what-street-fighter-iv-needs-more-of-you-of-course/ http://everydaygamers.com/2009/02/12/know-what-street-fighter-iv-needs-more-of-you-of-course/#comments Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:29:38 +0000 Patrick Adams http://everydaygamers.com/?p=5374 Capcom takes game immersion to the next level.  The “My Fist Your Face” campaign allows you to upload a mug shot of your choosing (in my case give Chun-Li a case of the uglies) and then apply it to in-game video.  Is Guile sandbagging or shocked by Chun-Li’s strange metamorphosis, you decide.

My Fist Your Face

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Thomas Pine, Eric Bouchard, David Lange, and Matt Lenz.

Music by: Manuel Marino

EDG Podcast Episode #10

Another year is upon us and with the new year comes the inevitably long list of anticipated games. It already appears as if 2009 is going to be another great year for gamers (and more bad news for my bank account). With titles like Street Fighter 4, Killzone 2, Resident Evil 5, Heavy Rain, etc. – which games are the must have day-one releases?

Have no fear. The staff of Everyday Gamers have compiled a list of games that WE think you should pick up on day one. Read on to find out our picks.

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Thomas Pine

Killzone 2

Console: PS3 – Release Date: Feb 28th

Why is Killzone 2  a day one purchase? Duh… have you seen the videos? No really, this sequel to what was supposed to be “The Halo Killer” seems to be on target to potentially be the best FPS of the upcoming year. Add on top of this the fact that K2 is releasing during a time of the year that is notoriously gaming’s “slow” period, and you have all the more reason to pick up this game at launch. This game also promises to add some incredible online play to the somewhat lacking PSN scene. Many of the early reviewers have stated that this is the most gorgeous game to ever grace the console market. I guess we’ll all have to wait for February 28th (5th if you have early demo access) to find out the truth.

Resident Evil 5

Consoles: PS3 and Xbox 360 – Release Date: March 14th

Any gamer who played through RE 4 will likely proclaim that it was one of their most memorable gaming moments. That in and of itself makes picking up Resident Evil 5 on day one a no-brainer. Capcom is also throwing in coop for this outing, which only adds to the day one anticipation. Throw into the mix an awesome limited edition, likely to vanish off store shelves before the first week is up, and you have a version that collectors (like myself) will want to get their grubby little hands on. Even somewhat dated controls can’t detract from the must have nature of this next gen entry in gamings greatest horror survival series.

Bionic Commando

Consoles: PS3 and Xbox 360 – Releases: June 3rd

Another Capcom title that you need to pick up on day one? Definitely. The truth is that Capcom rarely dissapoints. This full on re-envisioning of the NES classic looks to redefine the limited controls of the original. Free swinging through levels, and what appears to be an incredibly unique online experience makes this a game that I will definitely be purchasing as soon as it hits retailers. It’s not often that we as gamers get the chance to see a classic remade, so this is definitely a game that you’ll want to experience as soon as you get the chance.

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Patrick Adams

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Console: PS3 – Release: Q3 2009

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was the first game I bought for PS3 and probably my favorite PS3 game behind LBP. Drake’s Fortune brought a movie to life right on your TV screen with an outstanding score and some really great environments. I couldn’t get enough of it. If you haven’t played it you must pick it up ASAP so you will see why this is going to be a day-one purchase for me hands-down.

GTA: Chinatown Wars

Console: Nintendo DS – Release: March 17th

Ever since I heard that GTA was coming to the DS I was siked. After seeing screenshots and videos of Chinatown Wars I am even more impressed. Depending on how it plays and controls (hopefully a lot like Zelda) I think it could be an awesome game. I personally am a huge fan of cel-shaded games so this is always a plus. The mini-games will also add that DS flavor we’ve come to love. I am guessing this version of GTA will outshine the PSP iterations by far. Chinatown Wars is definitely a day-one purchase for me.

The Sims 3

Console: PC – Release: June 2nd

The main reason I am excited for The Sims 3 is because my wife is one of the biggest fans of the Sims 1 & 2. We have all the expansion packs (the ones worth getting at least) and sometimes she can go for 4 or 5 hours without even knowing it’s been that long. This time the Sims is giving us all that good stuff from the start, a living breathing world that we can explore much like Fallout 3 and GTA (maybe not as big). I was really disappointed to hear that The Sims 3 was being delayed until June 2nd but hopefully by then our daughter will be old enough and independent enough for my wife to get some quality time with the Sims.

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David Lange

BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams

Consoles: Xbox 360 and PS3 – Release: Q3 2009

Bioshock in my opinion was the best game of 2007 and one of the greatest of all time. It was a shame to see it’s accomplishment somewhat eclipsed by the more mainstream popularity of Halo 3 and COD 4. From the moment you step into the lighthouse, players where enveloped by the haunting mystery and tragic beauty of Rapture. One of the greatest places ever created for a video game, the superb art direction and sound design permeated the sunken city with the nostalgia of a lost era and the foreboding destiny that overtook it. The stirring ambiance moved me in a way few games have and the malleable gameplay grew even more enjoyable the longer I played. Though the inclusive nature of the original story has me concerned about how they will introduce a new chapter practically, I am excited more for the sequel than any other game this year. Anyone who doesn’t pick this one up, or for that matter hasn’t played the first, should have their gamer credentials revoked.

The Conduit

Consoles: Wii – Release: Q1 2009

Built from the ground up using High Voltage Software’s proprietary Wii engine, The Conduit, a modern sci-fi FPS, is a Wii exclusive that has been hand crafted and fine tuned to optimize the system’s full potential. High Voltage made a point of this early on when it released it’s “Quantum3″ tech demo showcasing a variety of effects rendered on the engine. Dynamic lighting, reflections, and shimmering ripples promised to push the Wii’s graphics to the limit. Maximizing the full range and capabilities of the Wii’s motion controls, The Conduit is being groomed as one of the tightest, most immersive FPS experiences ever devised. It’s this obvious level of effort and craftsmanship that demands the attention of every Wii owner. Throw in an awesome art style and an intriguing Half-Life-esque plot involving aliens, conspiracies and shadowy government agencies and you’ve got one of the most promising games of the year. Keep your eye on this one.

Halo Wars

Consoles: Xbox 360 – Release: March 3rd

Created by Age of Empires developer, Ensemble Studios, the unoriginally named Halo Wars looks to adapt the frenetic action of Bungie’s praised FPS into an equally engaging RTS. Eschewing much of the time consuming tedium of micromanagement and laborious resource accumulation, traditional to the genre, Halo Wars seeks to streamline the experience and allow players to focus primarily on combat. It’s hard to argue with a pedigree that includes lineage from one of the most prolific and beloved RTS series, and the namesake of the most acclaimed shooter franchise of this generation. Come March we won’t be finishing the fight, we’ll be starting all kinds of new ones.

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Eric Bouchard

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix

Consoles: DS, PC, XBLA – Release: Feb 24th

Who would have thought you could combine the addictive puzzle game stylings of Bejeweled and cross it with an RPG? D3 Publishers did, that’s who. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords was a surprise hit, and the creators are back with a whole new take on the series. Gone is the medieval setting, replaced by a new Sci-Fi setting and a whole new take on the puzzle. This time you are dealing with a hexagonal board, with replacement pieces coming in from three different sides. The strategies will be different, but the core gameplay promises to be just as addicting as its predecessor.

Street Fighter 4

Consoles: Xbox 360, PS3, and PC – Release: Feb 17th

After as much time as I have spent talking about Street Fighter 2 recently, this one should come as no surprise. Street Fighter 4 looks to continue the intense fighting that made its predecessor the premiere fighting game in the arcades. Combine that with new characters and absolutely stunning graphics, and you have a game that I will not only buy on the first day, but I will also probably pay for an arcade stick to play. I cannot wait to get my fireballs and lightning kicks on.

Alpha Protocol

Consoles: Xbox 360, PS3, and PC – Release: Summer 2009

For some of you, this one may be coming out of left field. If so, you really need to check this game out. Obsidian Entertainment has been working on this spy RPG for a while, and every time I look at it, it keeps getting better. In Alpha Protocol, you take on the role of Michael Thorton, a spy charged with figuring out who took control of a top secret missile defense system and used it to shoot down a commercial plane. With a completely immersive world and the option to mold your character to play as one of three spy archetypes (Bond, Bourne and Bauer), this game definitely makes my list of day one purchases.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., February 11, 2009 - Electronic Arts Inc. today announced that development is underway to bring Hasbro’s legendary G.I. JOE® brand to all major console and handheld gaming platforms in summer 2009 to coincide with the theatrical release of the G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA live-action movie from Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment, in association with Hasbro, which opens in theaters August 7, 2009.  EA will unveil a “first look” of the G.I. JOE® video game at Hasbro’s Showroom at Toy Fair on February 15-17, 2009 in New York City.

“As Hasbro and Paramount Pictures reignite the G.I. JOE® property this year with an all-new toy line and film, EA is excited to play a major role in bringing this icon of pop culture history to a new generation of enthusiasts through interactive gaming,” said Chip Lange, General Manager and Vice President of EA Hasbro.  “G.I. JOE® offers exceptionally rich storylines and a cast of characters that lends itself incredibly well to creating an over-the-top action adventure video game that will thrill gamers as well as G.I. JOE® fans.”

For  fans of all ages, 2009 is gearing up to become another watershed milestone in the timeless franchise by introducing even more new ways to engage, immerse and play within the G.I. JOE® universe.   The G.I. JOE® video game will feature an exclusive storyline that picks up where the live-action movie leaves off, allowing players to re-create and re-live the greatest moments from the film, cartoon series and action figure toy line.  The game will feature 12 G.I. JOE® characters, each with unique abilities and weapons.  Adding to the adrenaline rush will be an intense single-screen co-op mode allowing two players to easily unite as a team in a classic struggle between good and evil as they work together to defeat the powers of the COBRA organization.  The G.I. JOE® video game is under development for Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Wii^TM, PlayStation®2, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), Nintendo DS^TM, and mobile devices.

“G.I. JOE® has been an icon of action for 45 years,” said Mark Blecher, General Manager of Digital Gaming and Media at Hasbro.  “EA has tapped the legacy of the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA saga to create an amazing interactive experience inspired by the movie, comic books, animated series and iconography that we hope will resonate with millions of fans.”

For more than four decades, G.I. JOE® has been one of the premiere brands in the history of boys’ toys.  Originating the term “action figure” in 1964, Hasbro’s G.I. JOE® brand ushered in a new play pattern that forever changed the scope of the toy industry.  The G.I. JOE® brand made another revolutionary introduction in 1984 with the release of the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA toy line, which introduced a generation of boys to the heroic G.I. JOE® forces, led by Duke, and their epic struggle to defeat the evil COBRA organization.  The G.I. JOE vs. COBRA saga featured a diverse cast of characters – both good and evil – that became a part of pop culture through Hasbro’s toy line, an animated television series and best-selling comic book franchise.

For more information about the G.I. JOE® video game and to sign up for updates, visit gijoe.ea.com

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February 11, 2009 — The recently announced Left 4 Dead Downloadable Content (L4D DLC) will be delivered to Xbox 360 and PC gamers free of charge.

Due for release this spring, the DLC for 2008′s best-selling new game property on the PC and Xbox 360, is dubbed the L4D Survival Pack and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode (Death Toll, Dead Air). A Critic’s Choice Edition of the game will be heading to retail stores this spring, and will include access to all the content introduced in the L4D: Survival Pack.

Left 4 Dead is a survival action game from Valve that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Released in November of 2008, L4D has earned over 25 industry awards from outlets around the world.

For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

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THE DEAD WALK AGAIN AS CAPCOM CONFIRMS DEAD RISING 2
Sequel to 1.5 million-plus seller announced for multiple gaming platforms
London – February 9, 2009 – Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today confirmed that Dead Rising™ 2 is in development for three different gaming platforms: the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment’s PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and the PC. The sequel to the 1.5 million-plus selling Dead Rising™, Dead Rising 2 will take the franchise to a new level of zombie-killing fun with tens of thousands of zombies, the all new gambling paradise of Fortune City to explore and conquer plus a host of new in-game objects that can all be used as deadly weapons to stave off the zombie assault.

Edge – http://everydaygamers.com/2009/01/30/edge-iphone/

Chocolate Shop Frenzy – http://everydaygamers.com/2009/01/23/chocolate-shop-frenzy/

Touchgrind – http://everydaygamers.com/2009/01/18/touchgrind/

Zombie Mansion – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/12/13/zombie-mansion/

Paradise: The Beginning – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/12/13/paradise-the-beginning/

Ivory Tiles – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/12/13/ivory-tiles/

Dizzy Bee 2 – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/12/13/dizzy-bee-2-2/

Dr. Awesome – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/12/13/dr-awesome/

Space Deadbeef – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/12/13/space-deadbeef/

2079 – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/12/04/2079/

Dessert Dilemma – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/12/03/dessert-dilemma/

Blue Defense – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/12/03/blue-defense/

Movie Challenge – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/11/29/movie-challenge/

Sapus Tongue – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/11/20/sapus-tongue/

Trace – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/11/19/trace/

Touch Hockey: FS5 – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/10/17/touch-hockey-fs5-2/

Cloud Girls – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/10/10/cloud-girls-3/

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, David Lange, Eric Bouchard, and Thomas Pine.

EDG Podcast Episode #9

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Thomas Pine, Jody Driggers, and Yuoma.

EDG Podcast Episode #8

EA, in recent years, has positioned itself as a brand gamers love to hate. Micro-transaction fiascoes coupled with annual title releases, ad-nausea, give you the feeling EA has gone to the well too many times. Dead Space is definitely a step in the right direction for EA. Brand new IP’s are few and far between these days, which is why Dead Space is a welcomed entry into the survival horror genre, however new and interesting does not always equate to worth playing. Is Dead Space worthy of finding a place in your game library? Let’s find out!

On the surface, the story masquerades itself as a throw away. Gigantic interstellar space ship gets taken over by an alien life form that threatens the human race, Event Horizon anyone? Dig a little deeper and the story becomes very intriguing, with details begging to be discovered (I’ll leave that up to you). You take control of Issac Clarke (clever combination of science fiction writers Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke) a futuristic engineer sent on a routine maintenance trip to the USG Ishimura. The “planet cracker” known as the USG Ishimura harvests precious raw materials from planets throughout the galaxy, aka mammoth sized space craft. Along for the ride is token pretty girl/technical specialist Kendra Daniels and hardened security office Zach Hammond. Both supporting characters lend to the story nicely, never feeling out of place. Isaac’s love interest is also stationed on the ship which adds to the tension. After executing a less than desired landing on the USG Ishimura you quickly realize all is not well.

Dead Space sends a clear message right from the start. You are the prey not the predator. These predators, kindly referred to as Necromorphs, are mutations of their human carriers sporting organic, razor sharp limbs. Rather than a traditional headshot, Necromorphs must be relieved of their aforementioned limbs, know as “Strategic Dismemberment.” The AI is extremely resourceful and intelligent. During the early stages of the game I found myself running low on ammo and trying to flee the scene. Retreating into a previous “safe room” proved fatal, as the Necromorphs can take advantage of the ships ventilation system and track you down. Which is a nice change from the enter room, kill everything, door magically opens mechanic of several games. Not to mention, when the AI feels out manned they will retreat into these vents for a strategic flanking maneuver. Controlling Isaac takes a little practice but those used to Resident Evil 4 will have no problem as the controls closely mirror Capcom’s gem. Unlike Resident Evil 4, Isaac’s movement is very agile and responsive; you never feel like a lumbering tank trying to adjust position. Dead Space is devoid of any HUD system which really adds to the immersion of the game. Everything you need to be aware of is displayed on Isaac’s gear or from holographic images, all in real time. Weapons are not your standard fare either, consisting of engineering tools rather than traditional firearms. One unique tool, known as the ripper, suspends a rotating saw blade perfect for slicing and dicing Necromorphs. Projectile weapons are not your only resource; the stasis module grants the ability to slow enemies and objects allowing for some nice puzzle solving scenarios. The kinesis module allows Isaac to pickup and shoot objects, a la Half-Life 2’s gravity gun. Weapon and gear upgrades are handled through “work benches” spread within the game world. Power nodes are required in order to upgrade your equipment which can be found or purchased in the various store locations. Zero-gravity sections are dispersed throughout the story leading to some very interesting and exciting game play moments.

Everything about Dead Space screams polish. The visuals are amazing, the audio is incredible and the lighting is some of the best I have seen. Due yourself a favor, play this game with the lights off and the volume cranked to 11, your neighbors will forgive you someday. After completing the game, around 10 hours, you next play though keeps your current upgrades. One major design flaw; is the inability to change the difficulty level while keeping your upgrades. I still can’t understand why EA would cripple this particular feature.

All in all Dead Space in a refreshing new look at the survival horror genre. If grinning from ear to ear, while your heart is pounding out of your chest sounds like good fun, then look no further. Don’t get me wrong it is not without its faults. For many the lack of multiplayer, amount of backtracking (which fits within the story), and numerous you fixed this, now this is broken moments may deter you. Another thing worth mentioning is how the difficulty level is handled. Hard is the new normal. If you are looking for a challenge start there, while the normal difficulty will satisfy the casual gamer. I encourage you to look past the flaws as clearly Dead Space was developed by gamers for gamers. This game is easily a rental, if survival horror is your thing, you can feel confident in adding it to your game library.

In the beginning you basically just serve the customers chocolate in three different shapes of boxes: square, circle, or triangle. Later on in the game you have the option of playing the Recipe Lab mode to help you unlock different stuff in the game like new machines, new chocolate shapes, candy for unhappy customers, a hot chocolate machine to give you a boost, a paper machine to wrap the boxes in nice paper, and a coloring machine to color the chocolates. The Recipe Lab mode mini game is similar to Hexic in that you have to connect three shapes. This mini game comes up about every three days but you can access the Recipe Lab mode separately from the main menu to work on unlocking new things at any time. As you move further in the game your machines will update. They will get bigger so you can produce more chocolates at a time and produce them faster.

Each level brings a different kind of customer. Some of the customers are regular people, some are grandmas, others are police men. Each character has a different rule. For example police men are always on call so they could leave at any second, business men are impatient but will leave good tips and so on.

There are too many features to list here which is why Chocolate Shop Frenzy is such an awesome game. It has beautiful graphics (much better than Diner Dash) and runs perfectly. If you like Diner Dash or any other game similar to that then you will love Chocolate Shop Frenzy.

Chocolate Shop Frenzy is published by Digital Chocolate. The full game is $4.99 but there is a free version available in the app store for you to give it a try.

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Thomas Pine, and Eric Bouchard.

Special Guest: Nick Suttner

Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes

EDG Podcast Episode #7

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Kurt Roberts, Thomas Pine, Eric Bouchard, Jody Driggers, Yuoma, and David Lange.

Music by: Vampire Weekend – M79

EDG Podcast Episode #6

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Eric Bouchard, Jody Driggers, and Tom Pine.
Music Provided By: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure

EDG Podcast Episode #5

Hosts In: Patrick, David, Eric, and Tom

Music: “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” by Frank Sinatra

EDG Podcast Episode #4

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Tom Pine, and David Lange.

Music from the Fallout 3 soundtrack.

EDG Podcast Special: Fallout 3

Hosts In: Patrick Adams, Eric Bouchard, Kurt Roberts, and Tom Pine.

Music: Vampire Weekend’s M79

EDG Podcast Episode #3

Hiqup – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/10/10/hiqup/

Fieldrunners – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/10/10/fieldrunners-3/

The Stone of Destiny – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/10/02/the-stone-of-destiny-2/

Garden Marbles – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/09/23/garden-marbles-3/

Blue Skies – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/09/12/blue-skies-2/

Blocked – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/09/11/blocked/

Billy Frontier – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/09/02/billy-frontier-2/

Sudoku Unlimited – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/08/12/sudoku-unlimited/

Bug Bounce – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/08/08/bug-bounce-2/

Sol Free Solitaire – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/08/08/sol-free/

Dizzy Bee – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/08/04/dizzy-bee/

Super Monkey Ball – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/07/27/super-monkey-ball-2/

Chopper – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/07/27/chopper/

Crash Nitro Kart 3D – http://everydaygamers.com/2008/07/27/crash-nitro-kart-3d/

With all of the great made-for-iphone games out there it seems like first person shooters still have to find their place on the iPhone. Zombie Mansion does a great job of showing that it is possible to run a relatively smooth FPS on the iPhone. The problem with Zombie Mansion is more about the polish than the gameplay. Zombie Mansion in my opinion is very generic. The music and graphics give me that 90′s low-budget PC shooter feel. It’s also not as zombified as I had hoped it would be. Zombie Mansion is more mummies, skeletons, wizards, and knights than it is zombies.

I was also turned off by the weapon you are given. This weapon just happens to be a magical wand that kinda looks like a large stogy. I was hoping more for some kind of gun than a stick. I can see some people out there really enjoying Zombie Mansion but me being spoiled with all the great console FPS’s this game isn’t really worth my time. I give Source IT Software credit for bringing an FPS to the iPhone but I am still yearning for one that doesn’t just play great but also looks like it came out this century. Bring Zombie Mansion down to $1.99 and I might call it worth the price.

Paradise: The Beginning looks and controls very similar to Assault Heroes for the Xbox 360. In Paradise you control a tank that shoots green electricity. Enemies will spawn and come after you and the object of the game is to stay alive as long as possible racking up as many points as you can. In addition to your electricity shooting gun you have the ability to release a goo that will destroy enemies if they touch it. You will also come upon some health boosts and power ups as you get further.

Paradise controls surprisingly well and it feels almost exactly like an analog controller. You stick your thumbs down in the bottom right and bottom left corners and play like you normally would when you play a top down shooter with an analog controller. The background to Paradise is all hand-drawn which gives it a great touch.

At this point in time Paradise seems pretty bare bones, with no leaderboards (not even a personal leaderboard) you have to try and remember your score or write it down to even compare it to your later scores. There is also no pausing in Paradise and for the time being there is only one level. These minor drawbacks could easily change with an update so I am looking forward to see whats next for Paradise: The Beginning.

I am really having a lot of fun with Ivory Tiles and would suggest it to anyone. With over 80 levels to perfect there is a lot of game here to challenge your brain with. Ivory Tiles is price at $1.99 which isn’t much for such a great game. If you are into puzzle games on the iPhone then I would say Ivory Tiles is a must-have.

The overall look and feel of Dizzy Bee 2 is exactly the same as the previous version. You still tilt to control the round shaped bee and the colors and are still generally the same. If you haven’t studied everything about the first one you may take a look at it and see nothing different at first, but after you play through it you will start to see that this is truly a sequel.

The one aspect of the game that I noticed first was the enemies as far as I have played I’ve only seen about 1 enemy that is the same as I had encountered in the first Dizzy Bee. Enemies are more unique in this version and they bring some really fun elements to the game. There is one enemy that if you touch him he sucks you in his “stomach” for a few seconds and then spits you out. No longer do enemies just kill, they act in cool ways and change up the gameplay for the better.

Now I have to admit I was never really that great at Dizzy Bee so it always seemed to kick my butt but in Dizzy Bee 2 you are given the option to choose your difficulty. You can choose from Easy or Normal. I naturally went for Easy so I am having a lot more fun with Dizzy Bee 2 than I did the first one. I’ve noticed that with the Easy difficulty the bee seems to float around more than fly around, this is great and I am very happy that Igloo Games decided to add this option to the game. Another thing that Igloo Games decided to change with this sequel was to do away with the “too flat” warnings from the first game. Now you can hold your iPhone perfectly flat and control the bee with more precision.

Overall, Dizzy Bee 2 is the perfect sequel. With over 80 levels to master DB2 is priced very reasonably at $2.99. Believe me, this game is well worth it. Even if you haven’t played the first Dizzy Bee I suggest you pick up Dizzy Bee 2 first.

I went into Dr. Awesome thinking that it was going to be a Trauma Center clone. Once I booted it up I was really anticipating seeing all of the unique gameplay elements that ngmoco was going to bring with Dr. Awesome. Imagine Trauma Center on the iPhone, I personally think it could work perfectly. Little did I know, Dr. Awesome is one gameplay element repeated over and over with a higher difficulty as you progress. No there is no drag your finger across the screen to cut open a stomach, no there is no use the laser to burn off polyps. Now I know you get what you pay for and Dr. Awesome is only $1.99, not $49.99 like Trauma Center, but there was still hope in me that it could be a smaller version of Trauma Center. I was wrong though.

What Dr. Awesome does, it does… awesome. The main gameplay mechanic at work here is the tilt function of the iPhone. In Dr. Awesome you tilt your iPhone to control the “powerful surgical device” that is used for cutting away pieces of a cell. To cut pieces off you must draw a line from one end of the cell wall to the other end. Once you have cut off a certain amount of the cell the virus will perish. If the virus swims over and hit’s the line you’ve drawn before you complete it then you die. You have three chances to save the person and some people have more than one virus. As you progress in the game you are faced with more types of viruses and different factors that affect the difficulty of the game. For example later on a smaller virus will actually travel up the line you drew and kill you if you don’t end your line fast enough. Another example is that some viruses travel along the outside of the cell walls so you must avoid trying to end your line where they are located.

Dr. Awesome looks and plays great. The one feature that I found most unique was the fact that Dr. Awesome takes the names from your address book and uses them as the patients names in the game. I have to admit it makes you chuckle when you find out you are doing surgery on your best friend, or your father-in-law. This little added features brings a lot to the game in my opinion and if that isn’t enough ngmoco has thrown in achievements for your to strive after.

All in all Dr. Awesome is a great game for $1.99. If you don’t set your expectations too high then you won’t be let down. I hope to someday see ngmoco give us a full fledged Trauma Center clone but until then I think Dr. Awesome will feed that surgical hunger.

Space Deadbeef is an amazing game with an amazing price, that price would be $0.00. With tight controls and a unique gameplay mechanic that I haven’t seen in any shooter thus far Space Deadbeef will have a special spot of it’s own under the shooter genre. I give the team behind SDB some credit for thinking up such a simple but great way to play a shooter. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up right now.

The one thing that I love most about 2079 is the fact that it controls perfectly. To control the ship you tilt the iPhone/iPod in the direction you want the ship to fly, the laser/gun on the other hand is controlled via a small circle in the bottom right corner of the screen. You just slide your thumb around the circle to point where you want to fire. To blast everything on the screen at once you just shake the iPhone/iPod. Once you get your hands on it and start playing the controls will feel like second nature, there is no learning curve with 2079.

2079 offers two modes, one which is called “Traditional” which is a full zoomed out playing style and the other is “Normal” which focuses the camera on the ship itself. Both modes are equally fun. The art style of 2079 fits the game perfectly as well. The “playing square” is filled with circles that flip over when you fly over them, this reminds me of the way Geometry Wars’ grid would distort as you would fly over it. It’s little things like this that make this game look great.

I highly recommend 2079 to anyone who likes Geometry Wars or anyone who likes shooters for that matter. Controls are very important in a game like this and 2079 nails them. At $0.99 2079 is a must buy.

The twist in Dessert Dilemma is that you have to get the dessert free by moving the utensils around the screen. The puzzles get harder as you go along and there are 50 puzzles total. In the later levels you are faced with coffee mugs and dirty dishes which you must move as well. You have access to each puzzle from the beginning of the game which puts an emphasis on replaying the levels to achieve better scores. Once you complete the puzzle you can enter your name. You can then compare your best time with the world’s best time.

Dessert Dilemma is a great “block moving” puzzler for the iPhone if you haven’t given “Blocked” a try yet. It offers world score boards and 50 unique levels to keep you going for a while. At $1.99 I don’t think you will be disappointed.

As you move on in Blue Defense the location of the planet will change. Sometimes it will be located at the bottom of a vertically positioned screen, other times at the bottom of a horizontally positioned screen, and in the later levels it’s positioned in the center of your screen for full 360 degree tilting. These position changes really break up the gameplay in a great way.

Overall Blue Defense really utilizes the iPhone’s control scheme and fluid controls are the most important thing for a shooter. At $0.99 Blue Defense is a steal.

The story of the game revolves around many Japanese folk tales and Shinto mythology. You play as the titular character, Okami Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun who inhabits the form of a white wolf. As you begin the story you will battle the forces of Orochi, an 8-headed serpent demon who’s annual ritual involves devouring a young maiden from the village of Kamiki. The story starts out simple enough but gradually unfolds into an epic tale that spans the expansive world of Nippon and beyond. The dialogue is excellently written and often very humorous, especially the lines delivered by your bug-sized traveling companion Issun, who speaks for the silent Amaterasu, whom he affectionately refers to as Ammy. The game is heavily story driven, and weighs in around 30-40 hours depending on skill level, and can take much longer if all the side quests are attempted.

The methods Ammy uses to do to battle with the forces of evil are as unique as the rest of the game’s experience. From the beginning of the game you will carry a divine instrument on your back. You use these weapons much in the same way of a standard sword weapon such as Link or any other Adventure/RPG might wield. There are 3 basic types of divine instruments: Reflectors, Rosaries, and Glaives. The controls for using these weapons are much more unique on Wii than the previous PS2 version. However, they are not as simple, as the “waggle” controls you may have in mind. The reflectors are most like a standard melee weapon and attack at short range. You use the reflector by swinging the Wii remote, but not simply wildly around, you must time each swing carefully and precisely and the learning curve for doing so is actually fairly challenging. Using a Rosary will cast out a string of beads like a whip, and the Glaives resemble swords and are the most powerful in terms of raw offense. Each of these weapon types have totally different control schemes and are very creative. Ammy can keep two divine instruments actively equipped. The primary weapon is the one used for melee attacks and are employed using the aforementioned motion controls. Each weapon can also be equipped as in the secondary slot, which will use them for a totally different purpose using the Z and C buttons on the Nunchuck controller. For instance the reflector becomes a shield, the rosary beads are fired in rapid machine-gun like succession over a distance, and the glaives become a lunging charge or a powerful single charged strike.

However, Ammy’s most unique method of attack isn’t her divine weapons but her Celestial Brush. This is where the Wii’s controls really shine. Pressing and holding the B button will freeze the world around Ammy as a giant brush is superimposed across the now scroll like scene. Use the Wii remote to draw certain symbols to utilize Ammy’s divine powers. These powers are used both in combat and in solving puzzles in the story, for purposes as common as restoring an old woman’s clothes line, to calling lightning from the heavens to decimate your foes. There are many different brush strokes to be collected by the end of the game, and each is unique and feels very powerful when used against your foes.

Arguably the most unique aspect of Okami is its visual style. Okami uses cel-shading and watercolor graphics to give the impression of an ancient Japanese painting. The world is colorful, and each environment is unique from the beautiful Kamiki village where cherry blossoms gently waft through the air to the majestic Agata Forrest where tall trees tower high above the landscape. As you play the game you get the distinct impression that you are playing a painting.

In conclusion this game is an experience; like a great work of art and is a delight to the senses, with its beautiful graphics and epic musical score, combined with truly unique game-play. If you own a Wii, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this game. I can’t say if the game surpasses the Legend of Zelda series or not, but the fact that such a comparison is even merited should give you a clue of the magnitude of this game’s quality.

I found all of the modes fun and they did a good job of keeping things varied. I especially liked the Trivia, True and False, and Order. They really make you think. The only mode I came to dread was the hangman like ‘Preview’ which I felt had less to do with trivia and was fairly random. I’m sure it would require a lot of space, but a ‘Guess the Screenshot’ mode would be neat where you had to name a film based on a random screen capture. Movie Challenge also offers what are known as “power-ups” these are meant to help you along the way. Each power-up is different according to the type of mode you are playing.

At $1.99 you can’t go wrong with Movie Challenge. It is a fun way to test your film knowledge. I consider myself a pretty big film buff and I was pleasantly surprised by being stumped by some questions while feeling proud that I knew others. With three difficulties to master Movie Challenge has plenty of content to bring you back time and time again. Movie Challenge is the must-have movie trivia application for the iPhone.

The campaign of this game can be played single player with three A.I. controlled friends or the recommended four person co-op.  You can play as one of four survivors; Francis who is a biker, Zoey is who in college and is into horror movies, Louis who works in his company’s IT department, or Bill who is a former Green Beret.

This game plays a little different than most games I’ve played in that there are four locations and you can play them in any order.  These locations are titled Blood Harvest, No Mercy, Death Toll, and Dead Air.  Your main goal is to get to the rescue spot without getting killed by the “Infected” zombies.  Along the way there are several “safe houses” that you have to work to get to, these allow  you to save and stock up on health and ammo.  These items are also available along the way if you explore your surroundings enough.

The zombies come in a few different forms.  There is the horde, also known as the “normal” zombies and then there are the special “Infected” zombies.  All of the special infected have special attaches that you have to watch out for.  The Boomer is the easiest to spot as he is about as much round as he is tall.  Like the name hints, when you shoot him he blows up and if his blood gets on you it will alert the horde.  Also if he throws up on you before you shoot him, then you will not be able to see and it will also alert the horde.  The next special zombie is known as the Hunter. To me the Hunter is one of the most dangerous because he leaps out of nowhere and pushes you down on the ground.  You can usually spot him as he is always crouching and tends to make a very shrill scream each time he leaps.  The Gene Simmons version of the infected is the Smoker.  This special infected has a frog like tongue that will grab you and pull you towards him.  Unless your facing him, it takes a teammate to shoot him to get you free.  Once killed the Smoker blows up leaving lots of… well, green smoke.  One of the hardest special infected to kill is the Tank.  The hulk/king kong looking infected will usually target one of the survivors.  He will throw things at you like cars and it takes a lot of blast to take him down.  You can easily hear him coming and feel the room or area that you are in shake because of him.  Last but definitely not least is the witch.  You can hear the witch crying before you ever get to her.  If you spot her and don’t shine your flashlight on her, most of the time you can walk around her without disturbing her.  However if you disturb her watch out as she is very fast and strong and will knock you down 99% of the time.

Teamwork is the name of the game in Left 4 Dead.  Staying together and working together are very important if you want to make it past the harder levels.  One nice thing about the game is that your teammates are highlighted so you can always see were they are.  You can even see their outline through walls.  This is great in case you do get separated.  When you go down your outline with flash orange to let your teamates know that you need help but if you go down too much the screen will turn black and white which lets you know that if you get attacked one more time you will die.  If you die early you will likely respawn in a closet and your teammates will have to find you and let you out.  This is a very nice touch and give you some hope that you will return to the game.

Then there is the versus mode.  This mode is 4 vs 4, with 4 people getting to be the survivors and 4 getting to play as the special infected and after the chapter swapping sides.  The survivors get points for how well they do and if they die before reaching the safe house, they will get points for how far they made it.  When playing as the infected you will randomly respawn as different infected but never as the witch.  You will also be alerted when someone is about to take over as the Tank.  When respawing as an infected you get to pick were you want to respawn but you can’t respawn in site of a survivor.  As the infected you can see the survivors through walls every time they move or shoot but if the survivor stays still long enough they will disappear.  This mode can only be played on Blood Harvest and No Mercy.  It can be challenging and the group that works better together will usually win.

With all the great games coming out right now it may be easy to overlook Left 4 Dead but I have to tell you, you would really be missing out.  This is one of the most fun games I’ve played all year.  It has very high replay value and is a must buy.  So go grab three friends and start kicking some zombie butt!

Additional Comments from Patrick Adams:

I agree Left 4 Dead is an amazing game. The replay value is very high and I believe that because there are so many different combinations of playing L4D this will cause people to come back to it time and time again. I am also very excited to see Left 4 Dead become part of the Valve family of awesome games and I hope we will see some DLC for L4D sometime in the near future. This is a franchise that can easily be expanded and I don’t think they will have a hard time making a sequal out of it as well. I can’t wait for some L4D2!

Once downloaded the first thing that you’ll come across is the custom avatar screen. I have to be honest – I first knocked MS for blatantly ripping off Ninty’s Mii idea, but after spending some time with this new feature I was surprised at the level of depth involved. Don’t get me wrong it’s still XBL’s equivalent to Miis, but that doesn’t take away from the fun of it. I still have a problem getting my character to look like me though?!? There are other more impressive features with this new update. What I appreciate the most is the new group chat feature where you can gather together a group of friends and talk about whatever. It’s a nice experience that only adds to the community aspect of live. I expect to spend a lot more time group chatting with friends. The other feature that I feel is well implemented is the ability to now download your games to the 360′s hard drive. This still requires you to have the disc in your 360′s tray in order to play, but now you won’t have to worry about the added stress from the constant spinning of the disc (and let’s face it the 360′s not exactly notorious for build quality). Also with this added feature you can now worry less about scratched discs, and at $60 a pop that’s a nice quality. All of this will inevitably push those who have not upgraded to the 120g HD to now do so. The only negative thing that I can see with this dashboard update is how the blade system is now handled. By pushing the guide button on your controller it will, for the most part, bring up everything that was available with the old dashboard. The problem is that it just doesn’t look as nice to me as before, and almost seems to be displayed in a lower resolution. It’s a minor criticism for an otherwise beautiful build. In all, I really like the new dashboard, and the features that it’s included. While I haven’t had a chance to mess with Netflix yet, I look forward to doing so. With a price tag of free what is there to complain about? It’s just another example of how MS really has a lock on the online gaming experience.

David Lange:

When I first saw the concept for the NXE and it’s Avatars I was…skeptical. Since the runaway success of the Wii, Microsoft has suddenly developed an interest in the, apparently profitable, casual market (another ship to plunder). They began launching adds imitating Nintendo’s own, with a similar play-together theme aimed at the casual crowd. Though these me-too blurbs died down, the NXE, I believe, is a continuation of this trend and Microsoft’s intention to expand the Xbox audience, with a tamer user friendly aesthetic more approachable for the non-gamer. The Avatars are a ripoff of the Mii’s and the expanded community features of the interface are an attempt to channel peoples’ attention and interest into Microsoft’s new ‘all inclusive’ online community. However, regardless of corporate agendas, I would have to say that after my first “experience” I was fairly impressed, though mostly with the polish, ease and style of the aesthetic (I haven’t delved deeply into all of the features yet.) The uber-slick, Hi-Def visuals and character models make Nintendo’s cutesy Mii’s and their cut-out features look like kindergarten art projects and the Wii’s sparse interface, might as well be DOS by comparison. Old features are improved, new ones have been added, including a simplified but functional Netflix interface (we’ll talk about that later), navigation is easier than ever and overall the environment is far more appealing. It may not attract the casual revolution Microsoft needs to compete in the same ocean as Nintendo (the real hook is the motion control after all) but it’s a stepping stone for the next generation. As XBL evolves with each cycle, so too will the breadth of it’s community. It signifies the reshaping of the industry and things to come.

Patrick Adams:

Microsoft has truly achieved a great thing with NXE. Now more than ever I feel like I am hanging out with my friends, playing games, even if they are playing different games and playing them across the country. With NXE it feels like it’s just one big party. No other console has this effect on me. When I sign on to my PS3 I usually can see maybe one or two friends on but it’s nothing that feels “alive.” As for the Wii, it feels like a total dead zone. Anytime I turn on my Wii and play something I feel like I am playing alone and missing out on the Xbox crowd. This is definitely a positive thing for Microsoft and with the release of NXE it feels like a whole new console. Everything (except for a few minor things) seems to run a lot faster and smoother. The menu’s are very organized and have a sharp look and feel to them. I have to admit when I first saw NXE I was kind of dissapointed. Especially with the new avatars but these feelings have all changed now that I have gotten some hands-on time with it. I am very satisfied with the change. I am also looking forward to the avatar options to expand. Hopefully they will be releasing more and more things for your avatar. How cool would that be to have a L4D t-shirt?! The one thing that I think I enjoy the most is the menu button, it does everything that the original 360 design did and it does it a lot better. Overall I really like NXE and am enjoying all the new features. I can’t wait to see some more Community Games as well.

Eric Bouchard:

I have been looking forward to the NXE for quite a while. Granted, I could take or leave the avatars, but I was looking forward to seeing how well the Netflix streaming would work and testing things like installing games to the hard drives. What have I learned since the download? I like the avatars more than I thought I would. The Netflix streaming is impressive, with the only real downfall being having to pre-queue your movies. The party system is better than advertised, giving friends a chance to keep in contact over multiple games and battles. The hard drive instalation is a bit of a mixed bag right now; while it does not improve a game like Gears of War 2, it makes a huge difference while navigating menus in Fable 2. As more games are designed with this feature, it will be more than just something that keeps you from wearing out your DVD Rom drive. What has impressed me more that anything else is just how clean the new interface is. After using the blades for more than a year, it is taking a little getting used to, but I think NXE is a major step in the right direction for Microsoft.

Sapus Tongue has a very kid-friendly art style and music style, one that I’ve come to like in iPhone games. The presentation is also very well put together. You have the option to view your own personal scores or check out the global scores. Also they took some time to throw in a video in the instructions section if you just can’t get the hang of it. It’s these little things that make this games presentation very professional.

The one downfall to the game is the fact that it is such a short game. With only one objective, to launch your character as far as possible, this game could get boring fast for the non-competetive type. I have to admit though, I was sucked in for a bit trying to beat my score over and over but I do not think this is a game that will have any long-term playing value. I do in fact believe there is a crowd out there who will greatly enjoy this game so if you think you may be interested then give it a try, for only $0.99 you can’t go wrong. I think Sapus Media is on the right track and I am very interested to see what they will cook up next.

The controls are standard. One button to jump, two buttons to go left and right, touch the screen to draw, and hit the erase button to erase. The art style is just a simple MS Paint-style direction. Everything is hand drawn but that’s what gives this game a different feel to it. The music also adds a lot to the game. Each world has a different style of music to compliment the type of terrain. Trace has a whopping 120 levels total spanning 6 worlds including Paint, Water, Plant, Chalk, Flame, and Space. Each world brings a different flavor into the mix. You can also go back to any level and work on improving your time.

Trace is a great platforming game for the iPhone especially since it’s free…yes it’s free so you may as well go give it a try.

Music provided by MGMT’s “Electric Feel.”

EDG Podcast Episode #2

Pure is an ATV racing game with some epic hundred foot jumps, off the wall tricks, great graphics and great courses, the ability to build your own ATV and three different event types, Racing, Sprint and Freestyle. In “Racing” the courses are long and there are a lot of jumps, from small to really big, while in “Sprint” the courses are much shorter and there are fewer jumps. In the third mode “Freestyle” you must pull off as many tricks as possible to get the highest score before your gas tank runs dry.

The controls are very simple, pressing the A, B or Y buttons will allow you to do Basic, Advanced and Pro tricks, respectively. You also have your Thrill Bar which fills up when you do tricks. You start all events with only basic tricks but once you start filling up the Thrill Bar you will unlock Advanced and Pro tricks. Your Thrill Bar also measures the amount of boost that you have, using boost will make you lose your Advanced and Pro tricks (until you fill up the Thrill Bar again) but most of the time it is necessary to win. When building your ATV you build it from the ground up, luckily there is an auto-build feature where you can have the game build either an optimal racing or optimal freestyle ATV for you. You can also choose your ATV’s color and you can select from some decals to put on it. You can also unlock stuff like new tricks and new parts to upgrade your ATV with.

I have not run into any problems except a small one and that is after doing a trick you crash despite your rider being fully back on their ATV, while it is annoying it doesn’t happen too much. The graphics are great which makes for some really cool courses. There are 32 courses and all of them look great. With seven different locations around the world you have some really cool scenery, for example one course is in a jungle and another on sand dunes. Other then the main mode, “Pure World Tour”, there is a “Single Event” mode, a “Time Trial” mode and a Multiplayer Mode, but for whatever reason no local multiplayer. You are also able to compete in any of the 3 events online, including a Freeride Mode, which can only be played online. Pure is a fun game with great graphics really adding to the experience, but the thrill of jumping a hundred feet in the air and doing wacky and unrealistic tricks kind of just wore off after a few races and I found myself getting bored, however, I am not a huge fan of these types of games usually, but I did enjoy this for awhile. If you aren’t usually a fan of these types of games I’d say it is at least worth a rent, fans however may want to buy this one.

Another Take: I downloaded the demo after hearing many people say the game was awesome and I am glad I did. I myself am a huge fan of the SSX series and Pure feels right at home. Pulling off insane tricks on huge jumps feels very similar to the SSX. Even though I loved the demo I still haven’t had time to pick it up so I cannot comment on the full game but I do wish I would have picked this one up instead of wasting my money on Mercenaries 2. - Patrick Adams

]]> http://everydaygamers.com/2008/10/29/pure/feed/ 0 http://everydaygamers.com/2008/10/23/saints-row-2/ http://everydaygamers.com/2008/10/23/saints-row-2/#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:40:55 +0000 Patrick Adams http://everydaygamers.com/?p=3252 This review was originally written by Brian K. who is no longer with Everyday Gamers.

If you have played the first Saints Row before then this game will feel very much the same, in fact, save the storyline and some new features, this game looks the same and plays the same as the first. If you were a fan of the first then you will like this game but if you didn’t like the first one then none of the new features will make you a fan.

The storyline in Saints Row 2 continues right off of the first game, however if you haven’t played the first catching on to what is going on isn’t very hard. Your character wakes up in a jail infirmary, bandaged up, just waking up from his coma which happened because of an explosion. This is where you get to create your character. You get to choose your characters race, age, weight and gender. With plenty of sliders to mess around with to scale your character you can make him/her look how you want them to look, then you can choose their voice and some taunts for them as well. Once your character wakes up and escapes from jail they find out that the 3rd Street Saints are no more and 3 other gangs have taken over. Once you have finished the prologue and recruited a new gang you are free to do whatever, especially since the entire city is open from the start.

The main missions are fun, with decent characters and a decent storyline, nothing fantastic but it is good enough to at least stay fun. Most of the missions consist of shooting your way through a bunch of gang members to get to where you want or to who you want. But there is a nice mix of different kinds of missions to keep it from getting too repetitive. For example, in one mission you have to take down a gangs lieutenant by sword dueling him. Also a new feature is the checkpoint system, which is very useful. You can also play any of the side-missions, called diversions. There are a lot of side-missions and all of them are fun. There are some like the “Insurance Fraud Diversion” where you dive in front of cars and try and get as much money as you can, or the “Riot Control Diversion” where you play bodyguard to a celebrity and you have to keep crazed fans away from them by any means necessary. None of the Diversion missions are all that serious or realistic but I think that is why they are so fun. There is also multiplayer with objective-based modes and a death match mode.

Some new features include being able to take a human shield which can come in handy. And you also earn stars for doing certain things like killing a gang member or doing stunts in a car, the harder the kill/stunt is to pull of the better the star rating from 1 bronze star to 3 gold stars. The better the star rating the more respect you earn from it. Also you are able to unlock extra stuff as you play like different taunts or fighting styles, faster health regeneration or better accuracy. Also there is a co-op mode where anybody can join in at any time, I have not used this feature though. You can change it to where anybody can join or just your friends. You can also make it invite only. While I have run into some glitches they were all graphical and didn’t affect gameplay at all. Speaking of which, the graphics aren’t anything special compared to other new games. But all in all this game is good and one of the main reasons I like it is because it isn’t all that serious all the time. If you have played the first Saints Row and liked it you will like this game, if you didn’t like it then this game won’t interest you either. If you haven’t played it but like the Grand Theft Auto games or at least like the idea of an open-world game then I’d say Saints Row 2 is at least worth a rent.

First of all Touch Hockey: FS5 is free, this is the best thing about it, so go download it before you even finishing reading this post. The reason Touch Hockey: FS5 can get away with being free is that it runs ads every once in a while, in between the games. You have the choice to visit the sponsors or continue on your way. This is barely a nuisance. Some other good features include the sound, the sound is very crisp and clear as are the physics. Physics are something that iPhone developers tend to have trouble perfecting, Touch Hockey’s physics are very accurate, this is the main reason I love the game so much. FS5 also claims the game runs at 60 FPS so that would explain why everything runs so smoothly. Another cool feature is the instant replay. Now you can see exactly how you managed to hit the puck into your own goal.

Touch Hockey offers three ways to play: Single-Player, which lets you play against the computer, Two-Player, which lets you play against a friend, or Local Wi-Fi, which lets you play against another friend on their iPhone. I’m pretty sure this has to be local so you can’t just search for some random person to play across the globe.

Overall Touch Hockey: FS5 is a must download. It’s simple priceless fun. I am giving Touch Hockey: FS5 a 5 out of 5 stars simply because it does what an Air Hockey game is supposed to do and it does it well.

*Update* – I played a local wi-fi game with my uncle and was very impressed, the game connected instantly and the gameplay was smooth for the most part, there was minor lagging at some points but nothing that affected the gameplay. Overall the online wi-fi is great. I hope that someday we can get some “non-local” multiplayer going in some iPhone games.

Download Touch Hockey: FS5 now for free!

I am in no way a hardcore online multiplayer kind of person but I do play online pretty often and I’ve had my fair share of victories with the Call of Duty 4 online multiplayer so you can trust my judgment. For anyone who is afraid of Treyarch taking the lead on this one, don’t be, World at War, at least as far as MP goes, is exactly the same as COD 4. Yes it takes place in WWII but honestly it doesn’t take away from the game at all, it still plays great.

The one thing I noticed right away with WaW was the sound. Maybe it’s been a while since I’ve played COD 4 but the sounds in WaW are spectacular. The music was intense without being too distracting, the artillery strikes sound brutal, and even the footsteps of the soldiers around you sounded crisp. Overall the sound really adds to the mood of WaW and helps to get you in the zone. I actually found myself listening for footsteps in the wooden huts of Makin to help me try and snuff an enemy in the dark.

As with COD 4 you are rewarded for your kill-streaks. 3 kills will reward you with a Recon Plane which shows where the enemies are on the map, 5 kills and you are rewarded with an artillery strike, and for a kill-streak of 7 you can unleash the dogs on your opponents, no more annoying helicopters. If you happen to be on the team being chased by the dogs you can earn 3 experience points for killing one. The maps included in the beta are Makin, Roundhouse, and Castle. All bring very new settings to the series and I hope that the maps in the final version will be this good.

All-in-all the Call of Duty: World at War beta got me hooked and made me realize why Call of Duty 4 was such a good multiplayer experience. I honestly don’t see a need to go back to Call of Duty 4 once the full version of World at War is released this November. I’m sold.

Cloud Girls is a simple game just like the rest but it has an addictive vibe about it. The object of Cloud Girls is to rotate the three paneled sphere around your “Cloud Girl” to make sure the color corresponds with the color of the falling star. The star will then hit that panel and disappear. Every once in a while bonus and health stars will fall and you are to let them fall to your cloud girl. The main thing I had trouble getting over with Cloud Girls was the fact that you must double-tap left or right to change colors instead of one tap. It took me time to get used to this as I expected it to only be one tap to the left or one tap to the right to switch colors. However the double tap does make sense because of the falling health and bonus stars, these must fall to your girl so this is why there are gaps between the colors. After a few runs this became second nature to me. Once I got in the zone I really enjoyed the game.

As with all of the CTG games the art direction is great. Daniel Cook of Lost Garden may be the best thing that CTG has going for it. Cloud Girls has a simple but intriguing art style as with the first two games from CTG.

If the games keep getting better and better then I can’t wait to see what Cocoa Touch Games cooks up next. Head on over to cocoatouchgames.com to see what’s in store.

Hiqup is fun, addictive, and easy to get started with. The tutorial will teach you in a snap so don’t feel intimidated, give it a try. Hiqup Lite is available now for free to give you a taste before you plop down a measly $1.99 for the full game which is well worth it. Hiqup is proof that there are great affordable iPhone games out there…somewhere.

First I will tell you the positives of Fieldrunners. As I said before FR is an amazing looking game. It is also very intuitive. The object is to place the towers strategically across the map to prevent the armies from getting through to the other end and through the gate.You can build a Gatling gun tower, a goo tower, a missile tower, or an electricity tower. Pretty much all towers work on all enemies so there is not really any strategizing on that end. The cool thing about Fieldrunners is the fact that you can build pathways with towers to force the armies to go in specific directions. This is very helpful if you want to proceed further in the game.

Now for the negatives. This is the problem with FR, it’s such an amazing game but at the same time it is very lacking, with a few more months of work this game could have climbed right to first place on the “Top Paid” list for iPhone apps. The main surprise with FR is the fact that there is no sound. It seems like a basic feature but for some reason there is no sound. Next, there is only one map. I know this is fine for most people but after playing PixelJunk Monsters for hours on end I feel like there needs to be at least a few more maps to switch it up a bit. Next, I wouldn’t mind if they made it more like PJM in that you have to complete maps to move on, consisting of maybe 20 or 30 waves for each map instead of wave after wave until you die, maybe a little more structure. I know the developers, Subatomic Studios, are promising many new features with the next update but right now I am reviewing this game off of what is available now and that isn’t much.

Fieldrunners is a great start of a game that has a lot of potential. With the addition of the promised features this game could easily jump to a 4 out of 5. It even has the potential to rise up to 5 out of 5 if they deliver more than what we’re expecting.

Music provided by Vampire Weekend’s M79.

EDG Podcast Episode #1

In the beginning of the game you will be searching for objects such as helmets, swords, frogs, etc. Later they switch it up a bit and they give you the silhouette of the object you must find. In between the object finding games you will be presented with 3D puzzles such as moving tombs, placing rocks into their respective holes, rearranging symbols, and drawing symbols. These 3D puzzles are awesome and I think it would be great if they were the whole game. Imagine a 3rd person adventure game that you must go through and solve puzzles to get further. Some of the 3D animations in TSOD looked great and got me wanting more, a whole game based off of them.

Now, even though there is something very addicting about TSOD I still have some complaints that make this game short of 4 stars. One of my main complaints is the fact that the colors are so bare in some of the stages which makes it practically impossible to see some of the objects. The size of everything doesn’t really help either, anyone with the slightest case of bad eye sight will do horrible at this game. I am very surprised I could even find some of the stuff I’ve found as some objects are the size of a pin head. There is an option to zoom in but I don’t find the zoom to be far enough and the backgrounds and objects aren’t the clearest, they could be much better quality than they are. I also tend to find objects by accident. I will be scrolling along and accidentally tap on an object, this happened a lot. I don’t see how they could really prevent this anyways. Overall the game is still highly addicting and I suggest it to anyone who likes a good object finding game. The added puzzles bring a nice feel to the game. The Stone of Destiny runs for $1.99 in the appstore. Check out the trailer below to get a feel for what TSOD is all about.

The object of TLG is to find survivors scattered around the city, once you find them they will start to follow you, creating a long trail of humans behind you. You are not however a human, you are a zombie turned good guy trying to save the human race from the other bad zombies. Once you have the humans following you, you are to bring them back to the safe zone. You are required to save a certain amount of people in a certain amount of time, these two things will fluctuate along all the levels. Sometimes you need to save 1,500 people in 8 mins and sometimes you need to save 800 in 3 minutes. Now you can go the route of grabbing people and quickly dropping them off or you can keep growing the trail behind you, if you do this your stamina will increase letting you run longer and gather your people quicker. Different zombies will appear in each of the different levels each posing a unique threat. The one thing that interests me about The Last Guy is its use of a Google Earth style layout design. The levels in TLG are taken straight from Google Earth and tweaked a bit. You will encounter many different real-world locations along the way.

I had a lot of fun with The Last Guy and I am very happy with my decision to purchase it. My wife is also very addicted to it. It’s the simple gameplay mechanic of gathering people and returning them to safety that makes this game a great play for anyone. Although it does get pretty challenging in the later levels it is fun enough to make you want to keep trying without getting too frustrated. It does suck however when you have 999 people out of 1000 and your time runs out, this has happened to my wife.

The Last Guy is a unique game from all angles but it’s the Google Maps level integration that makes this one unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Go download the demo now on PSN to try it out for yourself.

Garden Marbles is typical CTG. It’s simple and addictive and can be played in short bursts. My one complaint with the game is the fact that the marbles don’t look like marbles, they just look like circles sliding across the screen. If they can update the game to have the marbles look more like they are rolling and give them more realistic marble-like physics then this game would be perfect for me. As with Bug Bounce, you can upload your high score to worldwide leaderboards.

Garden Marbles has a great art-style and is fun for short periods of time. If the $2.99 price point doesn’t scare you then you might want to look into picking this one up. Cocoa Touch Games still shows a lot of promise with its upcoming titles and I am personally looking forward to Star Tumble and Flick Car. Keep an eye out for more from Cocoa Touch Games.

**Creator David Janik-Jones stated in an email that they are working on a 1.0.1 update which will include a fix for scores being orientated wrong in some cases and a fix for making sure the iPhone’s auto-lock doesn’t come on while playing the game because it is not triggered by the accelorometer. David wants to let users know that he is quick to respond to fixes and these fixes should be out soon.

Patrick: I too have been waiting for Castle Crashers to release for a long time now, the first time I heard about it seems like forever-ago. One of the main things that draws me in to games these days is the art-style. I was instantly hooked to CC once I saw the typical Behemoth art-style we are accustomed to. After waiting forever, Castle Crashers has finally released and it is all that I was hoping it would be. CC brings back fond memories of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time on the SNES, the hack and slash side-scroller that I grew up playing. It’s this simple style of game combined with some great RPG elements that make Castle Crashers the ultimate XBLA game.

Werner: The gameplay is very fast paced and hectic at sometimes, and other times it can also be very slow and steady and very combo driven and tactical. It all depends on how you choose to make your character grow. Before beating the game I had already created a green knight who fought using mostly magic, a grey knight who was a powerful combatant and a high speed thief whose agility was so high that he could kill most enemies before they had a chance to get close to him, or even come into the screen. I beat it with the thief, of course, so now I have to go make some sort of a tank who can take any punishment anyone could dish out.

Patrick: Unlike Werner I tried to even my orange knight out pretty evenly with an emphasis on magic. This made the game pretty steady throughout and I was thankful to have my wife beside me as a blue knight who leveled everything evenly also but with an emphasis on strength. This made the game turn out to be a standard medium difficulty game.

Werner: The game is not flawless though, and the flaws it does have are only made worse by the irony that they make this multiplayer aimed game be impossible to play online reliably, and frustrating to play offline. Online play is terribly laggy, followed by random disconnects which cause you to lose any progress gotten during that stage. Offline play requires the other players to each have their own gamertag. It only takes a few minutes to create these new gamertags, but this should really be “pick-up and play”, with the option for others to log in. Another problem with the game is a random bug which causes people to lose their saved files. This is extra annoying if you spent hours powering up your red knight to level 50 one day, and he’s back to level 1 next time you play.

Patrick: Yes, I agree. One of the main aspects of CC is the fact that it is meant to be played with at least 2 but preferably 4 people. This is also the downfall of the game. I tried to play by myself and I found it very difficult, the more people you play with the better, but this also means more chaos on the screen which makes it hard to even find your character, which brings me to my next complaint. Even though I absolutely love the art, the screen doesn’t seem big enough (even my 52″) and some of the enemies and characters are too big which makes it hard to know what is going on. I was playing with my two cousins and a friend and one of my cousins had been button-mashing for at least a minute before he realized he was already dead and had been for at least 30 seconds. This is how chaotic it can get on the screen. If you keep it down to 2 knights it keeps it pretty clean. I’ve noticed the later levels tend to me less-chaotic as well.

Werner: Castle crashers is an awesome game. Maybe my favorite XBLA game, and a game I know I will be playing on the down time in-between the Gears of Wars and Fables and Skates. Yes, the game does have it’s flaws, but these are being looked into, and fixes have been promised, so when that happens feel free to add another star to this rating.

Patrick: Yes, despite these two downfalls Castle Crashers is still an amazing game and I am still a huge fan of it. It is everything I was hoping it would be and more. With 3 different modes this game is truly a game to bring out during a party. Even non-gamers can get in to Castle Crashers. You need to buy this now.

I am very satisfied with Blue Skies but there are a few drawbacks to the game. One drawback is the way the bombs are handled, I wish they dropped straight down instead of forward, then down. This would make it easier to position a tank under you and drop bombs on it. Another drawback to the game is the repetitiveness. I was only about 4 levels in when I realized that the gameplay has been exactly the same, shoot either tanks or other planes. I haven’t played far enough to see if they switch it up a bit but I can’t see how they would really go about that from what I’ve played.

Overall the game is great, it’s perfect for the iPhone, it controls great and it’s a lot of fun. I hope to see more games like this for iPhone soon.

I purchased Blue Skies at the original price of $9.99 but it is now available for $5.99. It’s a hefty 84mb so you may want to download it through the iTunes appstore instead of the iPhone’s.

The Dueling mode consists of pushing the circle and triangle buttons on screen in the same pattern they appear on the screen. The more accurate you are the better the outcome. I didn’t spend much time with this mode. The next mode is Shootout which is a simple shooting game, you clear the area of aliens and then move forward to the next area. You can turn left and right in this mode. The next mode is Stampede. Stampede doesn’t involve any guns and is just a simple accelerometer based mode. In this mode you are running from stampede, the camera shows your character running towards you and the stampede right behind you. You are to avoid rocks and logs and can jump by tapping on the screen. You control the direction your character moves by tilting the iPhone. The last mode is Target Practice. Target Practice is just what the name suggest. In this mode you shoot things that are being launched in the air. Sometimes the camera will shake to make it harder.

Overall Billy Frontier seems as if it launched before it was perfected. When I was playing Shootout the game would just end randomly and send me back to the games menu screen. I also really didn’t like that the camera shook in target practice, I didn’t think this was necessary. I do like the fact that they let you choose between an offset or centered crosshairs which means you can have the crosshairs aim and shoot directly where you tap or have it offset above your finger so you can see better. Options like these are key to a good iPhone game. Billy Frontier is fun while it lasts but it’s not a game that seems very top-quality. $5.99 is not much for a game but if you aren’t sure you will like this game then wait for the price to go down a bit before you get this one.

Billy Frontier is available in the iTunes and iPhone appstores for $5.99.

Sudoku Unlimited is available in the iTunes and iPhone appstores for $2.99 as of the writing of this.

Braid is a simple platformer which means you have all the basic abilities such as walking and jumping but there is one ability that you will learn in the very beginning of the game and that is the ability to rewind time. This ability instantly shifts the focus from making sure you don’t die to something a lot deeper. Dying is no longer a concern and you must focus on the more difficult tasks ahead. The main goal in the game is to collect puzzle pieces. Each world has it’s own puzzle that you are to complete by collecting the pieces scattered about the world. There are a total of 6 worlds including your own little “house” which acts as your base where you can work on the puzzles and travel to different worlds. Even though each world introduces a new game mechanic none of these mechanics travel over to any of the other worlds and you don’t have to do any backtracking, you are given the tools you need to get the puzzle pieces the moment you enter that world. This is hard to grasp as some puzzle pieces seem impossible to get and initially you will think “oh, I am to come back to this later” but this is never the case.

Braid is one of the hardest puzzle games I have played in a very long time and I am proud of myself every time I reach a puzzle piece. As of the writing of this game I have to get 3 more puzzle pieces in world 6 and then I will have completed the game. Once you complete the game you will unlock a mode called “Speed Run.” I had my wife along for a few levels and noticed that even though it is not a co-op game per say, it is definitely a game that is fun to watch and help with. Braid doesn’t just shine with its gameplay it is also a brilliant work of art with a painting-like style that you won’t be able to put aside. I’ve noticed that recently music has been a big part of my perception of a game and this music is very relaxing and fits the game perfectly.

Braid is a game that everyone needs to play. It is a game that breaks all the rules and teaches us a totally different way to play a game. It shatters what we know as conventional and utilizes what we think as unconventional. Braid really knows how to stretch your brain and make you think in ways you never have before.

When I had first played the demo of PixelJunk Eden I was a little frustrated with it. The controls were hard to get used to and I didn’t understand why people said it was a relaxing game, I thought it was very intense. Well once the full game was out I decided to purchase it because I knew I had to give it more time. I am a huge fan of the Pixeljunk series and knew that I would like Eden if I would just take the time to learn it. I am very happy I took the time because this game is great. There is some out-of-this-world feeling you get from playing this game. The colors are beautiful and the game is such a work of art. I know that it takes place in a garden but part of me relates this garden to outer space. I think of the pictures I saw before of the Eagle Nebula and it Eden reminds me very much of deep space. The higher you get the more this is made plain. Once you learn the controls and get good at playing Eden the game is taken to another level. You get sucked in and everything starts to flow.The main thing to remember is take your time and don’t try to rush or else you will end up falling and you don’t want that to happen.

The majority of the time I play PixelJunk Eden with my wife. I find it really fun to play with her. We have to work as a team and make sure that we stay together or else we will get penalized for either of us going off screen, this is the one thing that makes co-op play sometimes frustrating. If you go to fast and don’t wait for the other player then that player will go off-screen and you will lose half of any pollen you’ve collected in the pods. This is not good especially when you are in a time crunch. I understand that co-op would be too easy if they hadn’t made it like this.

This game also sports a YouTube video upload function. This lets you record yourself playing the game and upload it directly to your YouTube account. I found this feature pretty pointless. The quality isn’t the greatest which makes it hard to even see your grimp and I don’t think anyone will really be interested to watch them as there isn’t really that many interesting things you can do in Eden other than collect pollen and spectra. It may be put to good use if you want to show your friends the game to convince them to buy it but that’s about it.

PixelJunk Eden is a great game. It’s very fun and addictive and I highly recommend it. First impressions may not be the greatest but if you stick with it for just a little longer you will see why everyone’s making such a big fuss about this one. PixelJunk Eden is proof that games are definitely art.

If any of you have played LocoRoco then you will feel right at home with Dizzy Bee. Dizzy Bee is controlled by tilting the iPhone every different way to get your “Dizzy Bee” to roll around and collect frozen fruits which then become alive just like you. Your goal is to bring them back home to safety. Along the way you can collect flowers. Dizzy Bee is set up in bite-size levels for a great pick-up-and-play feeling. You are scored at the end of each level for how many fruit you’ve saved, how many flowers you’ve collected, and lastly you are scored on your “chain” which means they encourage you to get all of the fruits first and then bring them all to safety at once. The longer your chain of fruits the higher your score. You are then awarded either a bronze, silver, or gold medal based on your performance. This is great because you aren’t just beating levels you are trying to perfect them which gives you a reason to come back to the levels once you’ve completed them.

Dizzy Bee is a very cute and artsy type of game. The art direction is what initially drew me into the game and the gameplay is what kept me there. With over 8 islands to explore Dizzy Bee will keep you busy for hours. It is a great game for the iPhone in it’s bite-sized chunks and I hope to see more titles like this from Igloo-Games in the future. Dizzy Bee is a must download for everyone. If you are interested in trying out some levels before you buy the full game Igloo has released a free version of Dizzy Bee called DizzyBeeFree which lets you try before you buy.

GW2′s new modes are great. They all bring something very interesting to the plate. The first of the modes is Deadline, Deadline is similar to what you are used to playing in the first GW but this mode is timed. You have 3 minutes to score as many points as possible. You also have unlimited lives. I really enjoyed this mode and it is really fun to play. The next mode you will unlock is King. King is one of my favorite modes. In King you are given safe zones, basically all they are is circles that you can enter but enemies can’t. You can only shoot when you are in these circles and the circles will disappear after a certain amount of time. I relate this mode to holding your breath. You get in a circle, start shooting enemies to clear your path and then “hold your breath” until you get to the next safe circle. I enjoyed this mode a lot because I found it was very clever. It was also one of the most intense modes for me. The next mode you will unlock is Evolved. Evolved is your basic GW right down to the core. Just survive as long as you can. After that you will unlock Pacifism. Pacifism is one of the hardest modes. You can’t shoot in this mode and you must make your way through the “gates.” These gates will explode and kill any enemies around them. You must survive as long as possible while going through gates to kill enemies. I did not have an easy time with this and my top score shows it.

The next mode is Waves. Waves is probably my favorite mode right up there with King. Waves is just like the names sounds, waves of a rockets will glide across the screen. Once that wave gets across the screen a new wave will appear. Some waves span the whole length of the “arena” and some only span half. The key is to destroy the wave before the next one comes or they just keep stacking up and then it gets hectic. Waves is a really fun mode and my wife also really enjoys it. The last of the game modes is Sequence. Sequence gives you 30 seconds to destroy all the enemies on the screen. If you do this then you are moved to the next sequence where you must destroy all of those enemies within 30 seconds. This continues for 20 levels. If you lose a life you are automatically moved to the next level. This mode is fun but is one of the harder ones. I don’t usually get very far as it gets difficult very fast. You can play all of these modes cooperatively or competitively. A new addition to GW2 other than the modes is the presence of “Geoms.” Geoms are dropped by enemies which you then collect to increase your score multiplier.

Lastly I must say Geometry Wars 2 is a work of art. Watching this game is just as fun as playing it. With all of the colors and shapes combining and moving across the screen you will never find a dull moment. It is absolutely beautiful. GW2 is a great game, it has all of the things the hardcore love about it while still catering to the newer and less hardcore crowd. With 6 new modes this game has a high replayability and will bring you back time and time again for that quick adrenaline rush. Geometry Wars 2 is truly worthy of being called a sequel.

Everyday Gamers: In short, how did you get to where you are today?

Dylan Cuthbert: Blood, tears, sweat and a lot of work.

Did you plan from the beginning to release different types of games all under the PixelJunk name? What was your initial vision of what PixelJunk would become?

This is exactly what my vision of PixelJunk was – right from the start I planned to make it a brand for PSN games of a certain type, not casual and bland, but invigorating and interesting.  We don’t do anything the normal way, why copy when you can innovate?

What made you decide to focus strictly on the Playstation 3 console and PSN?

I have a long history with Sony and I like the way their console set its sights solidly on Full-HD/HDMI.  This was really important for the PixelJunk series.

How do you come up with a title as unique as PixelJunk Eden? Where do you start?

You keep trying and throwing out stuff that doesn’t work, then when you think you have it just right, you give it yet another long hard think over.  We were tuning stuff even right at the very end to get everything as exquisite as possible.

Why do you think PixelJunk Eden is a game that everyone should play?

Not just Eden, but the whole PixelJunk series – the games are considered hard but I want to try and encourage players to not be afraid of new things, otherwise everything ends up with the same controls and the same kind of scenarios.  Racers, Monsters and Eden all have some hard core elements in them – these hard core elements are where games originated from.  We’ve tried to wrap them up in a way that allows people who don’t necessarily play games to try them out and feel that “rush” we all used to feel in the era of video arcades. (70’s-80’s)

The more people feel that “rush”, the more they will search out games that give them unique experiences rather than just the “Hollywood blockbuster” type games the market is inundated with at the moment.

Any advice/tips on how to make the most of PJE?

Take it easy!  Learn the rhythm of the game…

Do you have any plans to release more gardens as DLC?

Most likely we do, but no comment as of yet.

How is the future looking for Q-Games and the PixelJunk franchise?

Right now, a day after the simultaneous worldwide release of Eden, it is looking pretty good!  It’ll be interesting to see what is happening around this time next year though.

…one last question, Will you become a fan of Everday Gamers on Facebook?

When I get the hang of Facebook I might just do that.

Stop back for my full review of PixelJunk Eden in the coming days.

I originally was introduced to Super Monkey Ball when it first came out on the Gamecube. Personally I think it should have stayed there. I picked up SMB for Wii and had to return it because it was just too hard and more frustrating than fun, now comes the iPhone version and I feel the same way about it, it’s more frustrating than fun. The controls are very hard. If you aren’t holding the iPhone at the exact correct default position than your time with SMB won’t be long. You pretty much have to rest your arms on a table to play this game correctly which makes this game hard to play when you’re not at home, it’s definitely not pick up and play anywhere. Yea, that’s great there is 110 levels but that really doesn’t matter if you can’t get past the first 10. During my time with it I only made it past the first 10 levels and had no will to go on any further. The difficulty excels drastically right after you’ve completed the first few levels which makes the game become more frustrating than anything.

Super Monkey Ball may look great and make your jaw drop when you see other people playing it (like the people who created it) but it’s not something that you can just jump right into and have a great time with. I think the way Super Monkey Ball was meant to be played is with a controller that has two analog sticks.

Chopper is one of those games you would think was made specifically for the iPhone. The controls are perfect. You control the helicopter by tilting the iPhone. Tilt it away from you to go up and towards you to go down. It takes a little time to get used to the machine gun which you control by touching the machine gun icon in the top right corner. You have to make sure your chopper is pointing down to make the best use of that weapon. Another option is to use the bombs that are provided. These drop straight down. Both of these weapons are unlimited so there is no rationing here. Again, it looks like the developer is making sure the user has fun and isn’t frustrated. The main goal of Chopper is to get to the civilians, drop down and pick them up and bring them back to base alive. Along the way you will encounter tanks and men with rocket launchers. Some of the environments include snow, desert, night time, and rainy weather. The graphics look really good on the iPhone’s small screen. I was very impressed.

I would have to say Chopper is probably the funnest game I have played on iPhone thus far. With 60 levels spanning three difficulties it will definitely keep you busy for a while.

Crash Nitro Kart in my opinion is a game that everyone should have on their iPhone. The controls are perfect, the graphics are amazing, and with modes such as Quick Race, Tutorial, Cup, Story, and Time Trial there are plenty of things to do. I was very surprised at the controls, this is what made me fall instantly in love with the game, after playing Cro-Mag Rally and having to have my finger on the screen to push the gas I was happy to see that the gas was automatic and all I had to worry about was stearing. It seems like they worried more about the user having fun than anything else, which is a great way of thinking.

With a total of 3 cups spanning 12 tracks and 8 missions in story mode CBNK3D is pretty much a full-fledged racing game right on your iPhone. It’s a great game to show off to your friends too. I bet their phones can’t run Crash Nitro Kart. Crash will run you $9.99 but it is well worth it.

First of all the game has a really interesting story that makes the gamer want to know really what happened down there in Rapture. I think that this story is interesting because we’ve never experienced a game based on a non-futuristic underwater city. I love that they didn’t make it futuristic. Same thing with the art direction, amazing. If it wasn’t set in the 50′s then this game probably wouldn’t have caught my attention as much as it did. All the levels were very interesting. You might look at it and say it looks pretty much the same throughout but if you are really into the game you can see the difference in the places you visit. One of my favorite experiences is when you come down into rapture for the first time and you can really see the art direction that they were going for.

One of the main things that I really liked about the game was the interaction. I would take the time to check every box, cabinet, corpse, and storage case in hopes of finding something, anything. At first you were collecting money and eve, but eventually you started finding little pieces like screws and tubing in which you could use to invent things. I love that about this game. It’s not like most games in where you get pushed through, and most of the people that played that game went through it the same exact way you did, it’s more of an experience. There are so many ways that you could have gone about the game. Whether you want to hack everything, destroy everything, harvest everything, or save everything. It’s your choice but you make that choice without even knowing you are doing it. Whether you want to use plasmids or weapons or a combination. You decide. There is no wrong decision either. BioShock is truly an experience. I know that everyone out there who plays it is going to experience it differently.

The only thing that I was worried about the whole time while I was playing the game was the chance that I might get “stuck.” What I mean by “stuck” is, no money, no ammo, and no health, and no eve. Because everything is connected. I can say though now that I finished the game I never got “stuck” and I think it’s pretty hard. There are so many ways to go about the game that it’s practically impossible to get stuck. A few times I had low ammo and wondered how I was gonna make it through, then I would come back to an area and find that ammo and other things magically appeared there. I’m not sure if it was placed there for me or if it was just a coincidence. The respawning was also a big help. I was surprised to find out that you didn’t get penalized for the respawning. This helped when fighting Big Daddy’s.

Another thing that I didn’t expect when going into this game was how much of a horror game this really is. I would find myself at times turning the volume down a bit. But this wasn’t like most horror games. There was blood spattered everywhere throughout the whole game but rarely did you ever really experience it. I think you were left to wonder what happened to those people and use your own imagination there.

All in all this game is a masterpiece. I never wanted it to end and that is rare in a game for me. What you should do if you haven’t played it is quit reading about it and just go buy this. I know most people will be satisfied. This is what a game should be. I believe that BioShock will be what people will compare games to from now on. It just hits the nail straight on and hopefully this will be a wake-up call to all the developers out there just trying to pump games out ASAP to make some money. I know I will play BioShock a few more times before I put it down and I can’t wait to see what Ken Levine can cook up next.

Lost Winds really sets a good pace for WiiWare. It also gives me a great idea of the potential that WiiWare has. I have no problem spitting up $10 for a game that is better than most of the $50 Wii games out there. If developers will sit down and take the time to utilize the Wii controls and create games that are up to speed with Lost Winds then WiiWare could over shine PSN and XBLA in the near future.

Lost Winds is a must-download if you have a Wii. If you already have the game…do you agree?

So far my wife and I completed 12 maps and out of those maps we have 6 rainbows. We’ve been playing it every night since the release and are addicted once again. PJM: Encore seems a little harder than the original maps but it could just be me. We are actually stuck on getting a rainbow on one of the Easy maps. Sick! I find the balance of PJM: Encore to be very inconsistent as some of the Hard maps were easier than the Easy maps. Overall PJM: Encore is a great addition.

I highly recommend it to anyone who owns a PS3. I hope Q-Games considers doing at least one more expansion pack before pushing PJM by the way side. Oh and I found out the other day that PJM is officially my wife’s favorite game ever

The game does have the word “Vegas” in the title but you will only see a casino maybe once or twice. The setting is more of a behind the scenes of Vegas. That was fine with me because I played through enough casinos in the first one. I really enjoyed the settings in Vegas 2. They took us through backyards, convention centers, and even a Vegas junkyard. These new places gave it a fresh feel. The controls felt great as they did in the first one. At first they may feel complicated but you will get the hang of them within the first few minutes and after a while you will really be happy with the way they are laid out. Kurt and I did encounter some random problems such as disk read errors and some freezing up but not enough to make us quit playing. I was excited to hear they were adding experience points to the single player campaign as well as the multiplayer modes. This gave me a reason to go back and play some more of the campaign even after I finished it. I have a habit of looking at the bottom of the screen to see how many more points I need to rank up. I’m always looking forward to unlocking new armor and guns.

After Kurt and I finished the campaign we jumped right into “Terrorist Hunt” mode. We’ve been working at the “complete every map on realistic difficulty” achievement for a few nights now and so far we’ve been having a great time with it. This is definitely a great way to hone your skills before going into some death matches over Xbox Live. It forces you to work as a team and try different techniques to get the job done. The only thing I didn’t like was that it felt like the terrorists were set to spawn only when you reached a certain point. Once you walked past that certain point or threw a grenade into it they would then react to you. A few times I swore nobody was around and then I would look a second later and 3 or more people would just be standing there. This made the terrorist hunt mode a lot more difficult, it forced you to come out into the open and search instead of waiting for them to come to you.

Vegas has a very high replay value and I don’t think I will be setting it down anytime soon. I highly suggest playing through the campaign with a friend. If you want to join Kurt and I for some terrorist hunting just send me a message over Live.

In the game you play as Arin Costello, an Associate Editor for Supple Magazine. Her goal is to work hard and be promoted to Style Editor. During the game you are found competing against your coworker Hugh Chadwick who is trying for the same position. You will also meet your boss Margot Winterbottom who you must impress along the way.

Supple is very similar to The Sims in the way it is set up. But like the title says, it is an interactive sitcom so it is definitly different than The Sims. During the game you have to become friends with your boss and coworker and to achieve this you’ll have to do certain things like go shopping for clothes and gifts, be social, go to the bar, take courses on the computer, drink coffee, etc. I ended up really enjoying the game and finished it on every difficulty. You never really know what to expect and that makes it interesting. Because they actually talk it makes the conversations a lot more engaging. The graphics and quality of the game aren’t that great compared to The Sims but it’s still fun if you enjoy The Sims but want more of a story behind your game.

If your interested in downloading the free 60 minute trial click the link below:

http://supplegame.com/download.html

The full version of the game doesn’t require a disk and is available to download through the site as well as the demo.

The first of the titles was Culture. Culture was a flower themed game. Surely the people who developed this were Botanists or something. Culture had 3 mini-games included in it. The first was called “Bloom Game.” Bloom Game was the funnest out of the 3. Basically you are given a little planet/sphere and you must defeat the weeds on it by planting flowers around them. You press A to plant and just move the sphere to “draw” the flowers around the weeds. Weeds will grow if you don’t take care of them fast enough. It was an interesting game. Next was “Paint With Flowers” which I didn’t understand much. You have a plot of land broken into cells each with different numbers. You place a certain flower in the cell and any cell with that number will also have that same color flower. I’m guessing by the name this is basically Color By Numbers but with flowers that create different colors when they are fully grown. It wasn’t very interesting to me so I moved onto the next game. The next game was titled “Flower Garden.” Flower Garden wasn’t much of a game at all but more of a garden where you experiment with breeding flowers. The more flowers you breed into existence the more you will have to use in the other two mini-games. Culture was interesting but it was time to move to the next game.

The next XNA title that I played was Jelly Car. Jelly Car is a basic racing game where you have to get from the start to finish but the path isn’t necessarily from left to right either, the goal can be located anywhere. This game made me laugh when I first started it as the sound effects are made by human voices and the graphics are very “kids and crayons.” I had fun with it and at this point realized that XNA could change the future, no longer do the developers have the pressure on to create these Triple-A titles, they can just create something as simple and fun as Jelly Car and the customers will be satisfied. If it flops, then no big deal. Jelly Car was good squishy fun but it was time for the next game.

Next up was a title called Little Gamers. Little Gamers was my favorite title of the pack and I’m sure it will be a favorite of everyone else. Little Gamers is a side-scroller where you use a wide array of weapons to get the job done. The art of LG reminds me a little of South Park, friendly and innocent. It’s a little surprising though the first time you pick up a shot-gun or a knife and finish the enemy. LG is a great game, very fun and I love the huge selection of weapons. LG also has a great variety of levels from zombies to samurai’s to secret agents. The sound effects really add to the game as well. This game is great fun and I can’t wait till the full version is released. I gave the controller to my wife and she played through the whole demo till the end. She said she knows right away if she likes a game or not and this one was one that she really enjoyed. I recommend you download it now.

The next game on the list was RocketBall. Rocketball is a fast-paced dodgeball game. The wife and I played two-player and didn’t have much fun with it. It was too hectic and also the level we played was very confined and we didn’t have much room. I also didn’t like the controls that much. Luckily the game glitched in the middle and we couldn’t continue unless we restarted it and we decided it wasn’t worth it. The idea of a dodgeball game is cool I just didn’t have a great experience with RocketBall to tell you how good of an idea that is.

Next game I played was an oddly titled game called The Dishwasher. The Dishwasher is a side scroller similar to Little Gamers. It has a very dark setting and an amazing art-style. I think that the characters are all hand-drawn and it sort of has that ink and paper feel to it. The gameplay is very fast paced and will leave your fingers numb as it is definitely a button-masher. TD is a very gothic, dark, and bloody game but at the same time very addicting. The music is also very interesting. Later on I got to a part in the game where I unlocked the ability to teleport across the screen just by pressing the right analog stick. This added a whole new element to the game which made me interested to see what other features will be packed in the full version. This was my second favorite of the 7 games available.

Next on the list was Proximity HD. Prox HD is a basic puzzle game. I played this one with my wife. You place a hexagon into any of the available spaces on the screen. Each hexagon has a number. If that number is higher than the number it is touching then you will take over that spot (if it’s an enemy hex). If the number is lower than that lowers the numbers of the enemy hex’s it is touching. The whole object of the game is to take control of as many hexagons has possible. It’s easier to learn it if you just try it out. The art style was plain and we had some trouble picking the right places to place our hexagons. I would only purchase the full version of this game if it was a total of 200 ms points.

The last game that I played was TriLinea. TriLinea was not my type of game. I didn’t read the instructions so I guess that didn’t help much but I couldn’t understand it and I didn’t really care to. The art-style was very basic and unappealing. Maybe if I take the time to understand how the game works then will I learn to appreciate it but I just didn’t have the patience at this point.

All-in-all the games were very fun. The XNA Game Launcher is a big step forward for Xbox 360 and game developers. I can’t wait to see what other games people are working on. I hope that Microsoft will do regular demo releases of games created with the XNA Game Studio. I can honestly say that by playing these games I was inspired to work on my own. Knowing nothing about game creation I don’t think I will get very far. Is there an XNA Game Studio for dummies book out there? If you haven’t downloaded the XNA Game Launcher I highly recommend you do it as soon as your done with this sentence.

*Note: I did not do this in forge, I am not sure if it’s even possible.