The first big game that we have for this month is Rocksmith. It was released on October 18th for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

This game looks like it’s going to be one to buy for anyone who just wants some fun, or even for those of you who want to learn, or are learning how to play guitar. The easiest way to learn something is to have fun while doing it and this is the way to go.

I’m probably not going to be picking this one up anytime soon, I’ll probably put it on my Christmas list this year and give it a shot around the Holidays!

Next up, we have a game that is being released cross-platform again, so for anyone on the PS3, Xbox 360, or PC, you’re going to want to check out Kingdoms of Alamar, Reckoning.

The projected release date for this one is on February 7th, 2012, so we have a little time between now and then, but this game looks like another well done RPG that I will put on my maybe list for if I have extra time.

The way this game has been put together, it has been created and aimed at those of us who are avid RPG players and it’s made to skip the things that we already know and allow us to get right into the meat of the game, which is what we all want anyway!

Everybody loves a good classic game that’s been around for ages, so get excited because Soul Calibur V is due to be released on January 31st, 2012.

Graphicwise, the Soul Calibur series has always been on the front lines leading the the gaming industry in graphic amazingness and I don’t think that Soul Calibur 5 might disappoint in that area!

The overall customization in this game is extremely impressive and it’s always more fun when you can create a player that looks exactly like you, facial shape and all, so this is going to be a good one for those of you who need another fighter to fill some space on your shelf.

For anyone who owns a Playstation 3, February 12th, 2012 is a sacred day that must be marked on your calendar immediately, because this is the day that Twisted Metal returns to the Sony platform and you are not going to want to miss this game!

I will put this on my to get list and it might even make it to my launch day purchase list depending on how many other games are being released during that time frame in February.

I really don’t think that I need to say a whole lot about Twisted Metal, as it’s been around since the Playstation 1 days and if you seriously don’t know what it’s all about, you need to wake up and open your eyes!

As for all of you Xbox 360 owners out there, don’t worry, I didn’t leave you out on this one, because you have The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings to look forward to sometime in Quarter 1 of 2012.

This is another RPG to add to the already overflowing ocean of RPG games that are being released so often these days, but as far as I can tell, this is being ported from the PC and already has a thriving fan base that is looking to be expanded to the console platform.

There is already some news of DLC that will be released for The Witcher 2, so there’s no way that this game is going to get old too fast, unless the game itself is just a failure.

Personally, I won’t be purchasing this game as it’s for the Xbox 360 and also because there are so many RPG games being released now-a-days that my plate is already full, so I would suggest that this might be one to skip for you.

This wraps up this overview of the November Update 2011, so be sure to enjoy the Holidays with family and friends and you will hear from me next month!

The best way that I can describe Beat Hazard Ultra is to take Super Stardust HD, put all your favorite dance/electro/dubstep music behind it and put thousands of music strobing lights on the screen at the same time.

When I first looked at a gameplay video of this game I couldn’t even keep track of what was going on, but soon after I downloaded it, I was already playing on Suicidal and it was pure fun!

Overall, graphics-wise I would say that it was pretty well done. I would have liked to see a little more detail on the various ships and bosses, but by no means does this deter me from playing Beat Hazard Ultra.

One thing that did draw me into this game was the fact that you could import your own music and Beat Hazard Ultra would create a level based off of your songs. As far as I could tell, it seemed to be unique for every song that I imported, so it didn’t get repetitive.

Also, as most of you know, I’m a huge multiplayer fan and I was extremely pleased to know that Beat Hazard Ultra supported multiplayer and not only on the same console, but it also has online multiplayer capabilities!

Overall, if I could improve one thing on this game, I would probably put a higher difficulty mode on it. I found that even though Suicidal Game Mode was by no means easy, I was able to jump right into it after just a few play-throughs on some of the lower difficulty settings.

One other thing that could possibly improve or destroy this game, would be to add the 3-D world around it, such as in Super Stardust HD. I think this would allow for a lot more difficulty and also an even more insane user experience regarding all the things that could be done with the strobing effects.

After all this being taken into consideration, I believe that if you love music and you’re a gamer, Beat Hazard Ultra is worth looking into. Not only do you have the option of playing through to beat your high scores, but there is an infinite mode, where you can just relax and listen to your music and destroy thousands and thousands of spaceships and asteroids coming from every direction without the pressure of trying not to die.

Can you believe it’s September? School has started and I hope you’re having fun in college, because I know I’m having fun while not in college! Either way, we have quite a few games to pick from today, so lets not waste anymore time and lets just jump in right away!

One of the first games listed in this months gameinformer issue is called tropico 4. Now, to be honest, this is the first time hearing of this game for me, but obviously this is the fourth installment in this series, so I suppose that would mean there are fans out there somewhere. From the looks of this game, it seems like it’s a replica of the sims games, except you’re on an island with a volcano on it. To me, this doesn’t seem interesting, but for those of you who are into this kind of thing, September 16th is the day to look forward to!

One thing that did come about early this September is Call of Duty XP! Unfortunately, I missed it this year, but rumor has it, that there will be another next year, so make sure you get signed up for this one, because I know I sure will be!

Next up on our list today is Borderlands 2! Unfortunately I never picked up Borderlands, the first one, but whenever Borderlands 2 is set to release in 2012, you can count me in, because I will not miss this opportunity this time! Graphically, it looks like the last one did, it has a very artsy and creative feel to it, so for everyone who fell in love with that look in the first edition, you should prepare yourself for some more, because Borderlands 2 is right around the corner!

One more upcoming title that has touched the hearts of all Playstation 3 owners is Resistance 3! When the PS3 system originally launched, this was one of the only games out for it at the time, so everyone who jumped on the Sony train early on, have had their fair share of gameplay in the Resistance franchise. So for everyone who liked the previous installments, get out your pens and mark September 6th on your calendars!

As always, there are a couple sports titles being released in the near future. Now, I used to be a huge fan of the NHL games back in the day, but as time progressed, I have evolved into a first person shooter beast, so I don’t play as many sports titles anymore, but I do like to keep a couple on the shelf just encase I need to break out a party game once in a while. Other than that though, I really have no use for any sports titles, for the simple fact that I’m not really a hardcore sports fan. I don’t play fantasy football and I don’t watch any sports games religiously, so as far as sports games go, they just don’t tickle my fancy.

Last, but not least, we have Guild Wars 2. Now, if you’ve been gaming for any period of time, I’m sure that you have got your hands on some MMORPG game and if you’re anything like the rest of us, you couldn’t put it down for years. This being said, when I hear about a new MMORPG being released to the public, I get a little tingly feeling inside and just as the ring called to Froto in the Lord of the Rings, every new MMORPG game calls to me and it’s not easy to resist!

Apparently, Guild Wars 2 is focusing very heavily on their storyline, which should be super interesting to see, because I think it would be fairly difficult to fluidly work in a strong storyline into any MMORPG game, but let’s hope that Guild Wars 2 doesn’t let us down and maybe GW2 will take off and we can all play it together and live happily ever after.

This just about wraps up this fairy tale, so bring up a browser and start researching some of these games a little deeper while you wait for Octobers issue of Gameinformer to be released!

Check out below last years Gamescom trailer for Dead Nation and let us know if you will be picking this one up.

L.A. Noire is a game that I’ve been looking forward to for a while now, but gave up interest due to it’s lack of news.  I’m very happy to see at least a little more progress has been made, and glad to hear that the game will “hopefully” release in 2011.

L.A. Noire is set to come out for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in Spring of next year.

• Exclusive in-game DLC and other content
• Free full games, changing each month
• Early access to demos and betas
• Auto-patching feature, which will detect, download and install updates

One bad thing about this is that once, and if you cancel your subscription you lose all access to all the free content you have downloaded.

Source

That’s one of my favorite baseball quotes, and as were into another season Sony Computer Entertainment has another baseball game for us and this years is better than ever.

Gameplay

The best thing about The Show in my opinion is it’s life like gameplay.  It is a very sim baseball experience which may turn some people off who are just looking for a casual sports title to play.  But if you want a game where every decision you make counts, The Show my friend is for you.

The Pitching works by using the face buttons to pick a pitch and throw the ball while the left analog is for ball placement.  Over the Pitchers head is a pitch meter, this is used for power and accuracy, the better your accuracy the better control your pitcher will have.  If he’s getting fatigued or knocked around his accuracy will decrease, which makes for tough decisions whether or not to bring in a relief from the pen, or leave your starter out there for one more.

Some will say graphics are a very big part of gaming and I tend to agree, and the visuals in The Show do not disappoint.  Everything from player signature batting stances to the detail of the uniforms that actually looks like it stretches when the player swings the bat.  The player animations on the field looks as if your watching a real game on TV, not to mention the amazing detail on the facial features of the players.  It only makes the game that much more fun to play.

The Hitting is what separates The Show from the rest of the competition.  Again you use the X to swing but my favorite part about the hitting is the “Guess Pitch.”  This allows you to guess the pitch the pitcher is throwing as well as the location and will show a red indicator if you are correct.  I’ve had some great chess like battles with pitchers because of this feature and it really makes you change up your style if your on the mound to keep the hitter off balance.  I will say the hitting has a very high learning curve, you have to work counts and learn when to swing and when to lay off and take a pitch.  But if you can master this it feels very rewarding when you start driving runs in and it doesnt make you take for granted that hey it really is hard to hit a ball in the major leagues.

Road To The Show

This mode is the games bread and butter.  Road To The Show is a create a player mode.  You start off in Double A and try working your way up to the big leagues. You can pick any position you’d like to play but must also pick a secondary position in case your slumping and lose the starting job at your primary position.  You can add a number of features to your player, everything from what color glove and spikes you want up too what kind of hitter you want to be.  By this I mean during games you earn points almost like XP by doing objectives you have during a game.  For example drive in the runner from 3rd or do not strike out etc.  With these points you earn you can add them to your player to increase your contact vs pitchers or power if you want to be more of a homerun hitter.  These points can also be added to your defensive skills as well.  There are a ton of different ways you can shape your player out to be.  They’ve also added this year the ability to call the game as a catcher which is fun at first but seems to make the game drag over the duration of the season.  Another nice option is only the plays your created player is involved in are shown.  Everything else is in “Fast Forward” mode.  It makes the game move on and I love that option they give you.  Of course if you want to play every pitch this can be changed in menu settings.

Multiplayer

In past years of The Show the online aspect has been the games achilles heel.  With complaints of Lag and drop outs that would happen late in the game for no apparent reason, Im happy to say this years online seems to be fixed.  Out of the 20 or so games I’ve played only 3 were unplayable.  Another fun addition to this years game is Online Leagues.  It lets you make a season with your friends by doing either a private league or you can make a public league to set up with randoms.  If you can get enough serious people for this you can have an absolute blast.

Bottom 9, 2 down

At the end of the day this is a must have if your a baseball fan who isn’t afraid of a little challenge.  Between RTTS, Franchise mode, Homerun Derby and addicting online play, there are hours upon hours to be had in MLB 10: The Show and I already look forward to what they bring in 2011.  Sony Computer Entertainment hit a homerun once again.

Reshaping the Battlefield

Snowday!

One of the best and most talked about features of the first Bad Company game was the environmental destructibility. Blow buildings apart to their frames exposing enemies within and create new entrances to assault a position. This destructibility has been taken to the next level in Bad Company 2, including the new ability to completely level houses, with people still inside. Taking the door is now truly for the sucker. You might think this is nothing more then a gimmick, but it really does make each multiplayer match a little different from one another. If their is one complaints I can level against the Modern Warfare franchise, it’s the predictability of its multiplayer.  Days after release the Modern Warfare maps have been completely picked clean for hiding spots and tactics. You are funneled down the same pipes, game after game. It’s an everyman for himself gun fight, unlike Battlefield Bad Company 2. Discovering and creating your own personalized paths to your objectives is half the fun. Taking cover in a house no longer provides you will infinite cover. You aren’t safe anywhere as walls and trees are blown away by many different kinds of explosions and ammunition. Get in a vehicle and squeeze the trigger to maximize destruction and chaos. Almost everything in Bad Company 2 can be reduced to a heaping pile of ruble, so walk with care.

Single Player

Bad Company 2 does feature an average length single player experience which doesn’t exactly blow the genre away, but it does its job nicely. The boys of Bad Company are back and this time in a much more respectable position. Asked to handle situations of the highest importance, these soldiers are no longer the rag tag pack of thieves you once knew. The game parades you to different locals all over the world, and does a fairly good job of spicing up the games pacing. Vehicle segments, flashbacks and weather related challenges are just a few ways the game keeps you on your toes. The original games insane health “needles” have been ditched in favor of the much more appropriate regeneration system. It won’t blow your doors off, but it’s a fairly enjoyable campaign that lasts an appropriate length. If you don’t have access to the online mutliplayer, this single player does not do enough to warrant a purchase.

Still King

Online or bust.

Multiplayer is where Bad Company 2 really shines. Just like the other games in the franchise, tactical online multiplayer makes this game important among so many other similar games. This game really requires you to work as a team to win. Joining a squad is not just a suggestion. It will help you organize your efforts as a team and also help you personally progress to unlock more weapons and equipment. The multiplayer is once again broken up into classes, each with their own perks and weapons. Healing teammates is the job of the medic, while the job of repairing tanks goes to the engineer. You can also choose to be a grunt solider or stealthy sniper. A mix of all the classes is the mark of a prepared squad. Like previous Battlefield games, kills and objective points will increase your rank and unlock better weapons among other things. The game is generous with giving out points for pretty much any style of playing. Killstreaks, defensive actions and accuracy are just some examples of rewarding behavior. We have a lot to do, so get out there solider!

Bad Company 2 also features new game modes and some old returning classics. “Squad Rush” being one of the best additions and “Conquest” keeps fans of the old capture and defend Battlefield style happy. Battlefield is still the king of online mutliplayer. The vehicles and weapons just have that extra level of polish and balance that set this series apart. Teamwork is always encouraged and rewarded. The destruction and chaos form a perfect storm of fun that will keep people coming back for more. It truly does embarrass the competition in terms of scale and creativity. Long drawn out sniper fights, epic tank battles or close quarter combat sequences are all parts of one huge battle. The maps are not only large, but well designed and creative. It’s a real shining star in a genre so bogged down with average multiplayers. Unfortunately the losing side of a multiplayer match is treated to a loud air horn blast every 3 seconds for the final minute of the game, but it’s a small gripe. Bad Company 2 demonstrates how great first person shooting multiplayer can be.

Closing Thoughts

You can’t deny the impact the Battlefield games have had on the first person shooting genre, just like you can’t deny the brilliance that is Bad Company 2. Their is something here for everyone. Unfortunately the PC version was bogged down with technical issues at launch, but stick with it. Most games have their hitches, and this game isn’t one any first person shooter worth his salt should skip over.

The Presentation.

The main focus of Heavy Rain is the mystery of the Origami Killer. All the characters you control will play their own roles in the telling of this story, but how large of a role is up to you. The story takes some odd twists and turns but does arrive at a proper resolution in the end, all decided by the decisions you made earlier.

The Private Detective

During Heavy Rain you will have the chance to control multiple characters who all have certain skeletons in their closets and demons on their backs. The game does a good job of revealing insights into characters pasts and thoughts through interesting ways. Ethan Mars was a man that had his whole life in proper order before devastation throws his entire world into disarray. Scott Shelby is a former police officer turned private investigator who struggles to balance asthma, drinking and tracking down leads on the Origami Killer. Stuff like this help separate this game from the usual terrible cliche video game characters who solve every problem with bullets. The burden lies somewhat on the player to truly reveal the characters thoughts and motivations. It’s important to investigate areas as well as remembering to check a characters thoughts by holding down a a trigger. Characters are well rounded enough to be interesting, but the voice acting is up and down. It’s actually distracting to listen as voice actors do a poor job of covering up accents. When it’s good it’s great, but when some of the more cheesy dialog meets up with bad voice acting it can really produce cringe worthy results.

The visuals of the game vary some but usually impress. The characters are beautiful as well as the environments. Some weird lip syncing animation can distract momentarily, but it doesn’t break the deal. It’s key that a game that relies so heavily on it’s story has characters that can produce proper facial expressions. In this way, Heavy Rain doesn’t let you down. Characters move in ultra realistic fashion and the effects impress as well.

Actually Playing The Game

When you get down to the meat of the gameplay, it’s really quiet simple. Onscreen prompts get everything done. Roll the stick to the right to slider a door open, or press x quickly to dodge an incoming punch. Some more complicated prompts show up later that will have you holding down up to five buttons at a time, which can really test your finger dexterity. Although quicktime events don’t seem like fun, when your characters life depends on it, it’s insanely engrossing. It’s the storyline that really matters and the quicktime events are a only a vehicle that the character must use to shape his own fate. One of the best things about Heavy Rain is the knowledge that you can die or be captured at many points in the game, and the story will roll right along. No retry. No game over screen. It’s up to you to make the right calls to keep everyone alive, but it doesn’t require you to do so. Characters might die suddenly (as was the case in my game) or get to live happily ever after. It’s an interesting experience to have to control over little things, such as opening a cupboard, pulling out a box of juice and finally lifting it to your mouth to drink. That simple task can be spread out over 4 different actions you need to fulfill. It’s a unique experience no doubt.

JAY-SON!

The dialog in the game is handled in a somewhat clunky fashion. Options swirl around your head each coinciding with a button press. It’s a little frustrating when you have little time and the option you want is shaking and moving and just generally difficult to read. I think something like the Mass Effect 2 Dialog system could have helped set this game on sturdier ground.

You can also play this game two times and have wildly different outcomes which is fantastic. It’s strange that the game does so many new things but fails at old things. Character movement is horrendous. Characters control like tanks that have lots their treads and randomly decide to take a left when you want a right. Your hands will sweat as you try to nail every button prompt on screen because someones life is usually on the line. It helps everything have a weighty feel, even if the wool is somewhat being pulled over your eyes occasionally. The game also throws in some memory testing sections that really turn things up and should have been a more heavy component in my opinion.

In The End

While the game does present itself as something new, it only delivers on half of the promises it makes. The storyline is interesting, but absolutely filled with plot holes and ham-handled red herrings. The action sequences are intense but cluttered with control and camera problems. For everything the game does right, it does something else poorly. It’s an experiment with mixed results. I would recommend you play it just for the experience, but as a game and a piece of entertainment it doesn’t transcend the medium like I had hoped for.

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.