Fact or Fiction???

So, looking around I came across this pic of a Samsung "X-Series" LCD TV. The Tv is rumored to be the first television to incorporate the 360 hardware inside of it. This does seem like a very good diea so people who dont have the HDTV or the 360 yet can get the best of both worlds in one package. The TV itself will have of course a 360 in it, four USB ports, 512 MB of hard drive space (where did the 20gb HDD go?) and a "ring of light" style power button. The biggest debate is whether or not this is a legit item or not. I personally would not care if it did or not since it seems like it would just have all sorts of problems with it, especially if its saying 512mb of memory. I cant be for the movies since a lot of the movies are pretty good sizes and that 512mb would get full in 2 seconds. Maybe it utilizes the portable HDD to use space to allow them to be used to store but this is all just a rumor so odds are it can be anything. Or nothing at all.

wall-E movie review

I know I know, I dont do movie reviews but I thought I would do this one since I took time out last night to go to a midnight showing of this new pixar film. First thing it was packed with tons of adults and kids and that made me glad to see that everyone wants to see this film and its not just kids movies that Pixar is creating its films for all ages. Wall-E is a tale about a robot as you already know but the message behind why he is there and his job are what makes the adults think a little bit and the kids laugh and giggle at his antics. The film gives out a good message to us all and I will not spoil that message and I hope that you can figure it out on your own but it is one we need to consider. The visuals are amazing in this film and the laughs keep on coming one after the next. Wall-E gets at your funny bone and attacks your heart strings and is one I highly recommned everyone go see. Great soundtrack, amazing scope and visuals, tons of laughs and equal heartfelt emotions make this a blockbuster hit and possibly the biggest movie of the summer.

If for some reason you missed any trailers and I dont know how that is but here is one of the trailers to check out what is wall-E. This is a spoiler free trailer since some of the enws ones give away alot of stuff you didnt know wbout, I had only seen this one and felt that the movie was afr better because of this.

Overall - A yea an A for a kids film

Some leaked Gears of War Vids!!

Yea, check out these videos on soem multiplayer gameplay and enjoy. I got my popcorn ready do you? You hear some commentary in the second video, which gives some cool info on the flamethrower and some mechanics for the multiplayer itself.

Space Invaders Extreme DS Review

This is a very good revamping of a classic shooter from the 1970's. The standard gameplay is still intact but a new style has been put into place to make it fresh and new and especially fun. This addicting classic shooter has new modes and ways of playing that are sure to keep you picking up the DS over and over again to play even if its just for a few minutes. Startegy and skill have increased somewhat to make the game more fun for everyone as well as to keep you guessing. The inclusion of power-ups is new and very fun, especially when you get a one you have been craving an entire level and are able to finally finish of that boss or last alien ship. The new style reminds me alot of REZ in a since of the techno theme song and the trppiy color displayed throughout. This of course brings new color and life to the game making it a joy to watch and listen to. Having not much else to say about the game it is a very good title and one you should not pass up.

Overall - A

Battlefield: Bad Company XB360 Review

Battlefield: Bad Company has been in development since back in 2006 and has certainly come a long way since then. This EA shooter has been tested and reworked a number of times and I can safely say all of it was worth it. The game simply does what everyone wanted it to do and more. First thing is the single player, you play as Preston Marlowe who has been sent over to B-company instead of been shipped off to prison for some sort of crime. Their you team up with three other guys who were put in the same company based off their own personal screw ups. From their you proceed to take on enemies as well as find gold left by the mercenaries. The story is not what your in this for your in it for the game play and action and this game delivers it on a hot platter with some extra side fixing's. The environments themselves are very destructible and you will be glad they are when a group of enemies run into a house. You will just line up a shoot and BOOM! Down goes that wall as well as the troops inside, that being said don't think the enemies are all that stupid. While some will stay in the line of fire and get popped in the head, others will be flanking you and blowing up walls themselves to get to you. Sometimes they will hide out and wait for tanks to blow up a wall and then start to fire upon you and move in. buildings are not the only thing that is very destructible the trees and barricade's are as well. A gun turret on top of a vehicle can move down the treeline as well as take out other enemy vehicles. Tanks, choppers, boats and other deadly weapons will be at your disposal as well including an air strike and mortar. These will all come in hand in taking out the enemy and all can be used differently throughout parts of the game. But the true gem of this title is the sound. This has by far the best sound I have ever heard in a game. The way the bullets echo as you shoot down a street or when a building has its side blow up from close range or a far it sounds very good. The tanks as they roll in or the commands and shouting of enemies and your squad mates make the scenarios sound like your really there. This is definitely a game to test out that home theatre systems. The same goes for the visuals while not the best, they are very good and detailed. The games only problems is that near the end its gets kind of repetitive and lackluster. Also the AI is either really good or really dumb, but it varies up enough to where it doesn't get too annoying. The lack of co-op play is another thing that is kind of a bummer for this game. Especially since you are with the other players throughout the game. It would of been easy to have a 2 or even a 4 player co-op experience to this game.

As for multiplayer its good enough to keep you in that chair a lot longer then just a few times. It has all the features that the single player has with the variety of weapons and vehicles as well as the environmental destructibility. It has a five class system with different weapons and extra gear for you to change in an out as well as an achievement system for doing some good things during a match. As you increase your rank you will unlock weapons and other gear for you to use during your online battles as well. This is pretty much the same as COD4 minus the whole perk system. The game plays has you attacking and defending gold crates scattered throughout the map and with 8 playable maps this should keep you satisfied until more game play modes are possibly introduced in the future. You can spawn at the camp or with your teammates so if your the last man standing in a firefight take some cover or else everyone starts back at the base.


Overall - A

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 XBLA Review

Looking for non-stop action as well as a game to get your live buddies to play with you? Well Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 has got you covered soldier. Developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by Capcom this shooter puts you in the shoes of one of three operatives Wolf, Coyote or Fox. Each of the three characters' you can play as all have slightly different types of stats and abilities to use during your onslaught. They must take on General Ratiev, a tyrannical despot pent on global domination. That's pretty much it but then again you're in it for the action not the story. This is a 3rd person shooter with controls similar to geometry wars where the left stick moves and the right stick fires your weapon. The trigger buttons throw grenades and activate a super move which of course differs from character to character. Throughout the game you pickup and drive a number of different guns and vehicles to help in you fight. You also traverse through five different levels ranging from an outdoor to some indoor areas. The art style for this title reminds me of Team Fortress 2 with the character designs and the comical feeling when you get hit with a splurge of characters pop up showing what would be cursing from the character. The major problem I had is with the game feeling either too easy or too tough due to the lack of proper enemy balancing. That seemed to be the only problem I had with the game other than that I enjoyed playing through the game. Of course thrown in with the purchase of the game, players get an exclusive beta key to Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will be available to all on June 25.

Show is coming

Sorry guys I had a busy week again with a lot of games to finish but I shall be back and I also will be deciding on an official co-host period! So expect that and more info about your favorite games!

Alone in the Dark Review

Alone in the Dark is one of those survival horror classics from the old days. It had a few titles on PlayStation and some other systems. Well now we are on what would be the next chapter in the series and apparently this one takes place after the first one where you are following drowsy Edward Carnby,who is the main character. Your main environment is New York's Central Park which you explore and pretty much spend the whole game in. You are basically trying to figure out your past and what is going on through out the majority of the game until you figure out you are actually from the 1920's and somehow are in our time period. You now must figure things out and find out what is happening to New York in general with everything falling apart and craters popping up all over the place and destroying things. This sounds like a cool story, unfortunately playing in this world is an abomination. So yes, the controls are bad, sometime very bad. The movements are very twitchy and it feels as if your character is just a on a delay sometimes or just wont move they way you want him to at all. The camera is fixed and becomes a big pain in the ass in a lot of areas causing you of course to die. Along with the movement controls the driving areas are the worst part about this game. With the game penalizing you for driving over a jump to fast or making a jump or turn to only randomly slip the car or have it get wedged/stuck in a crevice and then get killed. The driving courses are usually linear but with things happening all around you you will probably have to do some of these driving sequences a few times to learn the pattern, if you wan to that is. Yes this game actually comes with a level selector right at the beginning. It allows you as a player to skip an area you find to difficult and move on to not worry about that chapter you just need a certain number of them to go to the last level. This was a good idea for people who want to skip areas they find difficult and what not, but also seems like something put in due to some broken things with the game itself. Minus having a few other problems with a pop in problem and the physics sometimes being way to sensitive the game itself has got some very unique ideas to it. The menu system having an open jacket inventory and such made it very cool having to like open your jacket and pull your gun and stuff. The creative stuff with the combination of the different types of items was also kind of cool making a stick bomb to use on baddies was cool with tape and a bottle of gas. Also being able to throw the items and get a slowdown to only shoot it to have it spray flames over an area to burn fools. you also can go into a first person mode to heal yourself as well as to shoot your gun which has an semi auto-lock on feature. I liked the healing aspect,how I would use the first aid spray to focus on an area hurt and spray it down and heal it as well as use bandages to heal major wounds which you had a time limit to heal before you'd pass out and die. The enemies themselves were not to great with having the zombie/undead humans who you had to set on fire in order to kill to the crab like enemies who act like the head crabs from half-life as well as a bat-like creature. The enemies feel recycled from various other games and just are not that interesting. The fissure is probably the only enemy I thought was really cool which drug you around on the ground and you had to pull yourself out or grab something other than that nothing seemed very inventive. While these tried to helped bring the series out of the shadows a little bit but not enough for you to lay down that hard earn cash. So while they tried to add a few new things to the game they still had alot of problems and for a game I was really looking forward too I wish they spent a little more time fixing some of the problems the game has. Despite having some control issues and some other hiccups the game itself is not that bad but not one that is a must buy.

Overall - D

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Review

Aerosmith, possibly one of the biggest bands in the 1970’s, have teamed up with Activision to create the next installment of the Guitar Hero franchise. Unfortunately Guitar Hero is starting to suffer from the Tony Hawk syndrome and by that I mean that Activision might start running the franchise into the ground. They will just produce the games to get the money because people will buy them and not care what is in it, just look at the title and buy it. This title is the second in that series with Guitar Hero 80’s being the first. It’s just something to put out to get some units sold quick until the next installment comes out this fall.

The career spans 31 songs, with each set of five comprised of three songs by Aerosmith and two tracks by other bands. As well as unlockable songs spanning the list to about 40 tracks in total. I am a fan of Aerosmith and the set list is not quite what I would have expected for this title. It seems that hardcore fans and possibly your parents may be the only one's that find this setlist appealing. The set list consists of a lot of classic titles from the 70’s such as "Train Kept A Rollin", "Mamma Kin" and "Toys In The Attic" with other hits that have made the radio up until the album Nine Lives. But some of the songs were remade for this game, changing some of the impact that the songs may have had. “Dream On” is a prime example of this. I would have much rather of had the original recording of the song than a remade version. While this does have smash hits from the guys, Some songs are missing that I think should have made the cut. Where is "Dude Looks Like A Lady","Cryin"."Same Old Song And Dance","Big Ten Inch Record","Falling In Love (is so hard on the knees)" ,"Janie's Got A Gun", and finally "I Dont Want To Miss A Thing". All great songs I thought should of been included into this set list but for some reason couldnt make the cut.The character models of the band members are a nice addition to the game, but that is about it as far as new content. The game doesn’t offer up much else from the last release, the game plays the same and uses all the same features from before, the visuals are nice and the character models seem to have had a small update but thats about it.

If you’re looking for something new to play with your Fischer price guitars, then of course you can pick this title up. But if you are not a fan of Aerosmith than you can put those hard earned pennies in your piggy bank for the 4th installment of the series this fall. Especially since you wont be able to download any content at all for this title no further hope for extra songs should be had. This title should have just been a download pack instead of a $60 waste pack. Just picked all the big hits from this game and just made them available for download for like $10-$15 dollars. At least then I could have gone back to playing the songs I loved on Guitar Hero III.

Overall Score - C

Lego Indian Jones Review

Dr. Jones! Dr. Jones! Your game has come out! Yep thats right it is finally here the next installment in Lego and its not another Star Wars one. This time they tackled Indiana Jones, one of my personal favorites. The game of course covers all three classic films and doesn't include the new film at all. The game itself is not that bad although it is favored for the kids it still has some challenges for all ages to enjoy. It of course plays just like the Lego star wars games with the fighting and the puzzle solving and the building. Its the same great formula thrown into another universe with some added fixing the previous games didn't have like the ability to switch people from anywhere and not having to move next to them. The two big complaints I have about this game is that they didn't include any online play at all? What the hell is with that. Games should have online play by now anyways especially a co-op game which plays better with two people. As well as that the game itself is far to short. It goes by way to fast and I don't really feel the need to play through again other then for the achievements or something. So unfortunately with the lack of online play I cant give this a great score. It does not mean it is a bad game at all it is a very good game with a lot of fun things to see and do, its just that factor to allow people to play with one another is kind of a stupid move on their part.

Overall - B

Dragonball Z: Burst Limit Review

Dragon Ball Z has had a long long run with a slew of games ranging all the way back to the classic consoles. This time we are brought back to the saga again with this new title Burst Limit. This is a throw back to the Budokai style of fighting so no 3D style of fighting and its brought back to the 2D/3D environments fighter. I think this was a good move and fans are thinking the same as well. Of course this does have a story mode which you have played a few times but unfortunately it stops in the Cell Saga and doesn't finish out the last chapter of the series. That aside this is a very good fighter with tons of characters and transformations. This will be enough to please newcomers and fans of the series. The visuals of course also get a huge upgrade and the combat gets some good fine tuning to make it worth your time. This will be kind of short due to the fact its a fighting game and is a dragon ball game that we all have seen in some point. But with the addition of online play and the new upgrades DBZ: Burst Limit is a very solid title minus the fact the last Buu saga is missing.

Overall - B

Classic commercials!!

Who doesn't remember this Zelda commercial from back in the day. My dad showed it to me on a tape he got from Japan on a business trip when I was a little tyke. I was taking a trip down memory lane and thought id post this for those who haven't seen it. The others below are just some ones I found funny and cant believe made it on TV.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Review

Well, I have to say that besides being one of my most anticipated games in a long time I also have to say this is the most impressive game I have played in a long time. Not since Resident Evil 4 have I felt that a game has impressed me in all aspects, and MGS4 does this and does it well. This is, in my opinion the first true next gen game to hit the home console. Nothing has looked this good nor has had this much immersion to it that has hit the current consoles. First lets just get them out of the way is the few complaints that I have about the game. I cant really pinpoint anything that was a major complaint for this game actually. I know that sounds very odd with tons of people saying um installs? and 90 minute cut scenes? Well, I actually never felt that the cut scenes were boring or went on to long. I was so into what was going on and the info that was being given to me that I could not look away for one second. Same with the installs, their is a 8 minute install to start up and between each chapter is a 3 min install and through all of these installs you are treated to a few quirky comments from the creators to poke fun at you or give you some useful information. The best I got was playing well over 10 hrs straight and getting the "Wow, You need to take a break. You have been playing for a long time and should go take a 15 min break or so". I thought that was funny and just shows kojima's crazy Easter eggs that get added to the game. These things are spread out through the game and without giving anything away you feel a huge feelings of nostalgia for fans of the series. This treats you to a few things from the past and some things that have been redesigned from the past for a new experience. I cant really go into the story without possibly spoiling anything for you so unfortunately I will leave out a lot of that stuff for the review. But after finishing it I felt that all my questions have been answered and that the story has come to a definite ending. I can now look forward to the new chapter in the Metal Gear franchise. Lastly is the audio and the visuals. The sound throughout the game is amazing. All the voices and dialogue was very well prepped and done with care. The same with the sounds of the environments. The guns sound like real guns as well as the explosions sound like they are happening all around me and do a great job. The beauty and Beast unit has an amazing mixture of male/female voices that make it very creepy and cool on the same level. That also goes with the games score. The score for this title is just as good as the others have been with some very memorable songs that will stick with you and have you putting them on your IPOD just as snake does in the game. The controls feel a lot better and are the best in the series with a mix and match from all the previous games and re utilizing them to a degree that feels very comfortable and easy to use. The only thing is that I'm so use to using O to do actions and having that changed to X was kind of odd but nothing to big that matters. So you should already have this game period because it is the first true next gen game to come out and has everything an action fan would want. My only recommendation is to do some research on the previous titles to fully understand everything from the metal gear solid series. While its not required and you do get some back story to catch you up but its not the same from playing the previous titles and coming into the final chapter. But you should own this if you don't have a PS3 and if you don't its worthy of buying a PS3 for.


Overall - A+

Defend Your Castle WIIWARE Review

So you're sitting at your Wii wanting to try out one of the new WiiWare titles and are curious as to which one to get? Defend your castle is one of the launch games for the new WiiWare games put onto your Nintendo Wii. This browser based game is basically what is in the title. You defend your castle from an army of characters that for some reason are hell-bent on bringing down your walls. Each level occurs during a day night cycle where you start in the morning earning points by picking up characters with a sandwich tie to then throw them in the air to die. Then working your way through the night where you can use the points you have amassed to expand on your castle in a number of ways. These items include having the ability to strengthening walls themselves and building a conversion pit which turns enemies into flowers who will then try to help you defend your castle. However in order to use these guys you need to set up points for them to defend and you do this by adding towers to your castle. In these towers you can use different abilities ranging from an archer, a mason who can repair, a mage and the ability to have an enemy explode killing all around him which helps a lot in the later levels. Up in the left hand corner once you have the mage ability you can use another set of items to help you as well. While this game looks like a 3 year old made it with its spelling errors and very basic style. The game is fun but unfortunately its only fun for a little while and then you get bored or frustrated when a ton of enemies start to flood the game.

STAR OCEAN 4!!!

Above is the newest trialer for the next installment to the star ocean franchise. This was in my opinion the better of the JRPG's to hit the playstationa and one of the only titles that could rival the playstations final fantasy series. So sit back and enjoy as we cover mroe from the microsoft rpg release party as I call it.

Metal Gear VGA Special!

This episode we dealve into my favorite series of all time. METAL GEAR!This episode I got a slew of guest and ill let you hear from all four of them as you listen to the show, just know its a good cast. We discuss throughout the show how,when,what got you into Metal Gear. Our favorite and least favorite game,characters,scenes and moment. Some questions,comments and concerns about the series itself. And we wrap things up with some talks of the future and what we can expect from the series. So sit back and enjoy our take on some things metal gear!

Gametrailers Retrospective - http://www.gametrailers.com/game/6748.html



Kurse brings you this link about raiden and some neat things about the series. http://www.deltaheadtranslation.com/MGS2/DOTM_TOC.htm

Microsoft To Show Off Xbox 360 RPG Line-Up In Tokyo Tomorrow

Yes we all know that xbox doesnt have the secure line of RPG's that everyone wants. But hey at elast microsoft is trying to get the job done, they just had to have a few shit titles before a good one came along like LOST ODYSSEY.Tomorrow in Japan the company is holding a press conference to focus on its RPG line-up, presumably to show off future wares geared toward the market like Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant from Square Enix, but it may have more than that. News from the event should start to hit late tonight, very early tomorrow morning in the West. This seems like amazing news to me especially since Sqaure is excited about launching games on the 360, which of course fans will buy simply because ehy they made dragon warrior and final fantasy. But im very curious to see what is in store for us as 360 owners so expect me to be up early to view this conference and fill you guys in as soon as possible.

Delay?

I know your saying to yourself whats up nox? Why no new post? Well the best answer I can give you is Metal Gear! Yea, with the release so close now leaks and other special things have come into play with this title resulting in a huge amount of spoilers and such. I have not watched a trailer or anything since the first couple were shown almost a year or so ago. So I have taken some time off from the net to finish some other things goin on in my life to prep for what will be my favorite day of the year. Rest assure that I will be back in full swing with a review on both MGS4 as well as select other titles that have come out including Dragonball Z: Burst Limit, Incredible Hulk im actually waiting to see the movie first then do a movie/game review, Prizefighter and of course LEGO Indiana Jones which is finished just have to throw in the movie review as well for the 4th installment. So I appreciate all you guys checking out the site as well as the podcast and get ready cause I have a SPecial Edition of VGA coming with special guest and we discuss all things METAL GEAR!! So look forward to that before the launch! And as always KEEP THE GAMING LOVE STRONG!