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Xbox 360 Previews

Divinity II

While Divinity II may be a sequel to Divine Divinity, players will not need to have played or be familiar with the previous title. The story is that the player is an initiate Dragon Slayer, where in the game you are given memories of past legends of the field (this is where the character skills and class come in) and sent out to do combat. The only problem is – it turns out the dragons are ...

Brink

Splash Damage, which previously did such games as the Enemy Territory titles in the Quake and Wolfenstein franchises as well as a few multiplayer maps for doom 3 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, now has its own title in the works. Brink is currently in “pre-alpha” right now, which means it is very rough but it is easy to see where the concept is going. Even in this early stage the game looks great, so ...

Sabteur (Hands On)

Two years ago I learend a bit about an upcoming title from Pandemic - Sabotuer. While what I had heard was intriguing, it wasn't until I got my hands on the game for the first time that I became excited about it. Sabotuer - First Look Part 1 Sabotuer - First Look Part 2   It is the relationships that Sean builds on his way to revenge that helps to set up the story as Saboteur progresses. As the game ...

Split Second (Hands On)

Split Second is a racing game that immediately recalls the Burnout franchise. With fast arcade style racing on an urban course, it is difficult not to have that comparison. There is a bit of a difference though, as the city the racing takes place in is built specifically for a certain level of interactivity as well as providing some challenge against other racers.   Along the bumper of the player’s vehicle a meter will be filled as ...

Dante’s Inferno (Hands On)

I can’t tell you why someone thought it was a good idea to adapt Dante’s Inferno to a video game. Even after actually playing it, I can’t see the point. What they were trying to accomplish with this is lost on me. I don’t see many kids clamoring to read the classics of poetry in game form. However, I guess that Asian gamers got Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a strategy RPG, and we ...

Alpha Protocol (Hands On)

Alpha Protocol is billed as spy oriented action RPG, but after a while actually playing the game, it felt more like an action game with a spy theme and some RPG elements thrown in. Players can go through the various levels using straight up action, guns blazing, as well as sneaking about and silently taking down foes. Each method has its own rewards. By placing more emphasis on hand to hand combat instead of pistols, ...

Diner Dash (Hands On)

Diner Dash was a hugely successful Flash game that came out a few years ago. It was ported to the DS, PSP, and the iPhone/iPod Touch. The premise was simple, you played Flo who left the corporate world and started her own restaurant.  Legend of Zelda it isn’t, but who needs deep story for a Flash game? The game spawned a couple of sequels, but now Hudson is porting and expanding the original for the ...

Darksiders (Hands On)

God of War has made quite an impression on the industry, and everyone has been clamoring to recreate the formula. Heavenly Sword recreated the formula, but threw on a lot of glitz into the game. It did a good job of showing off what the PS3 could do for graphics, but that meant that the grit that defined God of War’s atmosphere was missing. In trying to bring the grit and the action of God of ...

Mass Effect 2 (Hands On)

Mass Effect was one of the best science fiction epics I have seen in gaming. Unlike Halo, or the multitude of other games that have action at their heart, Mass Effect was far more about story and characters. You got to see humanity struggle for acceptance in the galaxy and take control of the character that was firmly in control of that destiny. It was the first part of a trilogy, and this year at PAX I ...

Left 4 Dead 2 (Hands On)

Ignoring the controversy around Left 4 Dead 2 is not likely going to change the fact that this game faces an uphill battle, but I really think that Valve may be working closer with the community than the press to mitigate that disaster. It makes sense really, since we're being expected to buy a new game rather than getting the updates to the original as expected, so no amount of PR can fix angry fans, only ...

Blur

Bizarre  Creations  set the standard with Project Gotham Racing. Its hard to do anything but replicate from that point. However this is the company that brought us Geometry Wars as a mini-game, and later a full-fledged Arcade title.  Creative as they are, they are not content to rest on their laurels, instead they sought to bring racing to the masses with Blur. To sum it up in three words: Adult Mario Kart.   When you fire up ...

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Marvel Ultimate Alliance was the follow up to the great RPG Brawlers X-Men Legends and its sequel Rise of Apocalypse. Instead of dredging the bottom of Marvel’s mutant barrel, Marvel Ultimate Alliance expanded the games universe to include the entire line up of Marvel favorites, and some not so favorites. It made for a fun game, but it brought with it a lot of X-Men: Legends’ poorer traits.   Getting some time with the game before its launch, I got ...

Tony Hawk: Ride

Tony Hawk games are getting along in years, and it's hard to keep your edge when it's obvious the franchise is just "cashing in" with annual updates and no innovation. Like Kiss or Cher perpetuating another farewell tour, I'm more pointing and laughing than planning my next purchase. Well Activison has taken note of EA's Skate franchise and decided what is needed to keep the franchise going is more simulation. Keeping with modern fashion, there will be another cumbersome plastic controller next to ...

Bomberman Live: Battlefest

Bomberman Live: Battlefest is the follow-up to the previous Xbox Live Arcade Bomberman game, keeping the same classic Bomberman style of play, but with a few new additions. There are a total of 15 arenas, including Adventure Island, where the palm trees that make up the barriers and block the playing field will drop explosive coconuts. Also in the game is the deck of a pirate ship, which sways back and forth.   If you are unfamiliar ...

Fairy Tale Fights

Once upon a time there was game that tried to be so violent it was clear on into the absurd.  Fairy Tale Fights dumps so much blood on the screen that it looks like Jackson Pollack meets Jack the Ripper.  Within moments of beginning the first stage it becomes like the Black Knight scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, especially when you find out you can slide along the blood. This is in fact ...

Wanted: Weapons of Fate

Universal Games is trying to look at the various intellectual properties it has – not just if there is inherent gameplay, but is it really worth it. The idea is just because you can, it doesn’t mean you should. For new films and games the Universal games group is involved in, they want to meet with the film’s director before the film is made to see if the story will work as a game.   By taking ...

Hands On: Stoked

Long time readers know I love snowboarding games, so I was eager to get my hands around the controller of Stoked, the upcoming Xbox 360 title. Some of the people that are working on this game previously worked on the Amped franchise, so some of the same sensibilities are at play here, with a lot more depth from the added experience the developers have gained over time. One of the keys in Stoked is ...

Mirror’s Edge (Hands On)

A warning to anyone before they sit down with Mirror’s Edge, you will get motion sickness, and you will be disoriented. Do not worry: this is all a part of the design. Putting you into the shoes of a “free-runner” means you will be climbing, jumping and flipping across the rooftops of a city. And from a first person perspective, you can't help but feel a little... queasy. The high-tech future world of Mirror’s ...

Destroy All Human! Path of the Furon

For a series that essentially was nothing more than a gimmicky Grand Theft Auto clone, Destroy All Humans has done rather well for itself. The upcoming Path of the Furon will be the fourth game in the series. The last installment on the Wii was rather fun, but it was missing that essential upgrades that differentiated it from the earlier PS2 titles, beyond some motion controls and pointer functions. Path of the Furon brings ...

Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 2

Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade are the elite of gaming fandom, eschewing both the industry and the media in favor of the people who have to actually pay for these things. When they finally made their own game, it was both eagerly anticipated and disdained. However, I think these two are the precipice of hilarity, so I downloaded On the Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 1 the ...

Call of Duty: World at War (Hands On)

When you have a monster hit on your hands like Activision does with the Call of Duty franchise, the first instinct is to make another one as quickly as possible. We finally got out hands on the multiplayer beta and after vetting it for a few days side by side with its predecessor, we can proclaim it "Another Call Of Duty Game" - which is neither good or bad, but that in itself ...

TOW (Things on Wheels) Hands On

XBLA games are getting to be a dime a dozen with a new list of forgettable titles jamming new releases until something interesting like Bionic Commando: Rearmed or Mega Man 9 comes along. Mostly this is because half of the games began life as a flash game that has been monetized by adding some new features and controller support. Things on Wheels or TOW, stupid name aside, teeters between forgettable and charming. The ...

Velvet Assassin

Fans of Metal Gear Solid and Assassin’s Creed are going to get another hero to vie for their attention. Velvet Assassin eschewes the tough as nails lead character for a sultry English spy, Violette Summer. There are some unique story telling methods employed, some tweaks to the formula, and the stealth action genre gives WWII a different spin than the thousands of first person shooter games that have drained the war of any excitement. ...

Legendary: Hands On

What would happen if all the creatures of myth exploded into the streets of modern cities? The upcoming game Legendary gives us just such a concept when a professional thief stumbles upon Pandora's box, unleashing all sorts of nasties into the world. Fortunately, the thief is granted a power that allows him to combat the enemies using their own powers against them. It is an intriguing story involving secret societies at war, and the ...

Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers

Magic Online has been around for over six years, and has made up a huge chunk of Wizards of the Coast’s overall brand of Magic: The Gathering games. The original CCG (collectable card game), Magic: THe Gathering, has always been the main game in town, even after more child-like challengers like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh have challenged its dominance on the genre. However console owners are outside of this phenomenon; as Magic Online is exclusive to ...

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