iPod iDracula: UA • Survival Shooter • Chillingo LTD. • Buy It
Van Helsing’s hunt for Nosferatu continues in this fast and frantic survival shooter. With great visuals and gameplay that suits the iPhone platform perfectly, this title from More Games and Chillingo Ltd. provides big fun for a budget price. The games developer has promised more content in upcoming updates, but even it’s current form I highly recommend picking it up on the app store. Read more »
iPod Rainbow Ninja • Puzzle • Aresant Inc. • Buy It
Before you ask yourself whether or not you want to purchase Rainbow Ninja, ask yourself how many times you would enjoy doing this puzzle [say the word, not the color]. This technicolor ninja app may have a bit more depth than that, but not too much. Read more »
iPod Carling iPint • Racing • Beattie McGuinness Bungay • Buy It
The iPhone/touch has given people the ability to do just about anything anywhere, and now that includes taking a swig from a tall pint of Carling. Well, a virtual pint at least.
The goal of Carling iPint is to safely navigate our tall glass of brew from one side of the bar to the other while avoiding obstacles such as nut bowls, candles and other drunk patrons. There are three levels of play with beginner offering a straight and easy counter top, intermediate twisting things up a bit and advanced pushing your beer-tossing skills to the limit. Once you reach your pal’s hand on the other side of the bar you’re treated to a [spoiler alert?] freshly poured pint of Carling brew. It’s a game ending on par with some of the classics! Read more »
iPod Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D • Racing • Vivendi Universal • Buy It
From it’s humble beginnings on the PSone, the Crash Nitro Kart series has always offered a fun alternative to Mario Kart, and this iPod iteration is no exception.
Featuring 12 tracks and 6 characters from the long-running series, CBNK3D has all the frills of a console title packed into one little package. Racing environments include Crash’s jungle habitat, Cortex inspired space stations, Egyptian plains and a lollipop-laden candy land. Initially only Crash and Dr. Neo Cortex are unlocked, but by collecting the CRASH letters which are scattered around tracks you can open up the rest of the crew. The game’s cup mode challenges you to compete in a trio of four race championships of increasing difficulty. Once those are out of the way, the story mode opens up a whole new series of events that will task you with various goals such as bombing Dr. Cortex three times while finishing the race in first place. Unfortunately, the game is devoid of any multiplayer modes which means this is strictly a solo experience. Overall though, there’s more than enough game play here to warrant the $5.99 price tag. Read more »
No big write-up here, just wanted to bring to your attention that The Escapist has a new review from the incomparable Yahtzee. This week the Aussie chap takes a big steaming crap on the recently released Turok, while also managing to take shots at the entire FPS genre.
If you haven’t seen one of Yahtzee’s reviews before, be warned that they’re not for the easily offended. Or people who have an intense hatred for the color yellow. Seriously WTF is up with this guy and yellow?
Elite Beat Agents | Nintendo DS
It’s hard to pinpoint what is exactly the charm of Nintendo’s Elite Beat Agents.
Perhaps it’s the game’s missions, which consist of outlandish scenarios such as helping an old man win back his gold-digging wife or helping a pair of Hilton-like twins get off a deserted island. If not that, then it’s got to be the quirky mix of Japanese and western style that the game pulls off effortlessly.
While the animated scene plays out on the DS’s upper screen, it’s your job to direct the dance moves of the agents with the stylus on the lower screen, as they groove to modern and classic mainstream hits. The game play of Elite Beat Agents is a wonder that could only be possible on Nintendo’s quirky handheld.
If you wanted to get into the rhythm-action genre but didn’t want to look like that sweaty kid playing DDR at your local mall, Elite Beat Agents is definitely the way to go.
RATED 4 out of 5
Metroid Zero Mission | Nintendo Game Boy Advance
If there’s one thing Nintendo does right, it’s 2D Metroid. Essentially a remake of the very first Metroid game, Metroid Zero Mission appeared out of nowhere and quickly stole the hearts of Metroid enthusiasts with it’s classic gameplay and great level design.
All the ingredients of a classic Metroid title are here, from acquiring weapons to gigantic bosses like Ridley and Kraid. The GBA handles the conversion of SNES controls well with little to no problems at all. Gameplay wise, if you’re an average gamer who’s played their share of Metroid in the past, it’s possible to squeeze out about four hours of gameplay just doing the essentials and avoiding the best percentage. Of course, if you really want to see some skin you’ll have to be much faster than that. Nintendo has done a great job with this title and gamers who missed the original Metroid should definitely take up a history lesson on the Metroid series with this title.
With the Metroid Prime series leading the franchise in a new direction, it’s sad
that we will most likely never get another 2D Metroid title. At the very least, old-school Metroid fanboys will be able to bust out Super Metroid when it hits the Wii’s Virtual Console library.
Rated 4.5 out of 5
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | Nintendo Game Boy Advance
While Ubisoft’s previous Star Wars title may have been anything but strong with the force, Revenge of the Sith is definitely worthy of the Star Wars name. Cast from the same mold as old-school classics such as Double Dragon and Final Fight, ROTS offers up some big fun for a small price.
ROTS’s 20 or so missions are split between Anakin and Obi Wan as they progress through the storyline seen in the film. Along the way, space missions akin to Star Fox are thrown in for some variety. While the levels are no Rogue Leader, they surprisingly handle better than Nintendo’s own DS flight title Star Fox Command. Although cheesy at first, the missions will quickly grow on you.
Both Jedi knights have an array of force moves which are well executed, such as Vader’s trademark force choke. Cutting down enemies with your lightsaber not only feels bitchin’, but with the amount of animations the characters use to swing around their blade it also looks great. The controls especially shine through on levels where you face other saber-wielding characters one on one, such as Count Dooku and General Grievous. Another shining aspect is the games score, which sounds magnificent.
With SW: Lethal Alliance garnering some horrible reviews, this is definitelyt the Star Wars game you are looking for. But not the droids.
RATED 4 out of 5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Nintendo Game Boy Advance
For children of the 80s growing up on Saturday morning cartoons and M.C. Hammer, there was nothing better than rocking out to the sweet riffs of the TMNT opening theme (well, maybe the Saved by the Bell theme). When TMNT II: The Arcade Game was released, it was essentially the ultimate Turtles gaming experience. Since that time, Konami has tried to recapture the simple magic of that game with recent console releases based on the new TMNT animated series.
But where those titles fail gloriously, TMNT for the GBA rises above expectations and provides one of the most simple and fun experiences available on Nintendo’s aging handheld. With sixteen levels split between the four turtles and a final assault on Shredder’s tower consisting of four more levels, there’s plenty of gameplay to be had in this cartridge. All four turtles attack with their signature weapons of choice, and each weapon has a different feel to it then the last. Each of the Turtle’s journeys will also see them stop off for a vehicle based mission that’s a nice break from the side-scrolling gameplay.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles console counterparts are definitely (should I say it?) green with envy. Pick up this pak if you can, but avoid the sequel, it’s a bummer.
RATED 4.3 out of 5
NHL 07 | Sony PSP
Another year, another NHL from Electronic Arts. Up until now, PSP owners with a soft spot for the sport of hockey only had Sony’s Gretzky series to turn to. This year though, EA decided to bring their near 16-year old series to the portable hockey arena.
Right off the bat [or stick], NHL 07 is easily the best handheld hockey game ever. With incredible graphics and fluid gameplay, it’s easy to forget that it’s all in the palm of your hand. You get the full NHL experience from the national anthems to coach’s voicing their disapproval at the ref’s last call.
EA really hit a high note with their NHL debut on Sony’s handheld, as graphics are well done and the sounds of the game really capture that authentic feeling of being at an NHL matchup.
The games options allow for every little detail of the game to be tweaked, but with that being said, no amount of tinkering will stop you from blowing out the computer 15-0 once you get the hang of the game. The difficulty level can be increased but the computer will still put up a pathetic fight.
It’s because of this that NHL’s online mode is such a welcome feature. Hopping online is fairly effortless and usually wields a good experience. Gameplay doesn’t suffer online and the game easily keeps up the pace.
The shootout mini-game is a bland experience that offers little. It would be nice of EA introduced FIFA’s historic challenges, as there is a ton of hockey history to draw from to come up with some interesting scenarios.
Although the game has a large selection of teams and leagues to chose from, aside from the NHL and international squads most of the available clubs are obscure European teams. It might make more sense to include more North American leagues such as the AHL, OHL or WHL in place of these hardly-used squads. There has to be a larger number of gamers clamoring to play as their hometown squad than fans who can’t wait to load up NHL and play as Jokerit.
Overall, NHL 07 is definitely worth picking up for fans of Canada’s greatest game. Granted, it does have it’s setbacks, but solid online play and a wealth of modes is more than enough to squash those troubles.
With the hockey season already under full swing, it’s a great time to pick up some portable hockey.
RATED 3.5 out of 5
