GayGamer.net

The Wheel Of Fate Is Turning: BlazBlue Coming To PSP

2009-11-06T17:00:00Z

Were you one of those people that wanted to give BlazBlue a try earlier this year, but then remembered you don't have a PS3 or 360? Maybe you're the type that just couldn't get enough of the fighting action? Either way, Arc System Works is hoping to solve both of these issues with the release of BlazBlue Portable for the PlayStation Portable.

According to a scan from Famitsu and delivered to us by Siliconera, the PSP version of the over the top fighter will be available on February 25th next year with a UMD and PSN release. Players will be able to throw portable punches at each other with ad-hoc multiplayer and will include a new "Legion mode," which will have folks fight their way across a branching map. The best part of all is the fact that they'll be squeezing all twelve playable characters found in the original into this tiny brawler. Hopefully Arksys Games, the console version's original publisher in North America, will be encouraged by its fervent fan following and bring this over here.

[Arc System Works Bringing BlazBlue To PSP (Update)] Siliconera

Everything You Wanted To Know About Bears And Salmon In Games

2009-11-05T22:00:00Z

I must confess a guilty pleasure of mine that I have not shared with people. After the sun goes down and the shades are drawn, I indulge in my most shameful gaming addiction. No, I'm not trying to Catch 'Em All, but rather I'm trying to catch the biggest one of them all. That's right, dear readers, I have a slight obsession with the fishing game genre. It all started for me back on the Dreamcast with the classic Sega Bass Fishing. It was so simple, so natural, so entrancing! I've only attempted the real activity only a hand full of times in my life without anything to show for it, but in the virtual realm, I am a master of the sea...

What? Don't give me that look! It's perfectly natural to enjoy these games. In fact, so many people enjoy these titles that 1up's Justin Haywald put together a little handy guide on the best games and accessories that will help novices get into the action. No matter if you fancy yourself a big bear hunter (cruising The Eagle doesn't count, boys) or dream of reeling in the biggest catch, this hunting and fishing game guide offers you all you need to know about this niche, but growing genre.

[Open Season: Hunting Games Round-Up] 1up.com

Demos Coming To WiiWare... Kinda Sorta

2009-11-04T17:00:00Z

The latest news from the "Why weren't they doing this in the first place?" department has let out that Nintendo is planning on enabling publishers to create and release demos for WiiWare titles through a trial program. No word on which titles will be part of the initial wave or how this will be rolled out, but this can only be a good thing. In an investor Q&A session, Nintendo's CEO Satoru Iwata confessed that the Wii Shopping Channel has a relatively small audience and said that demos may not be the answer, but at least the company is doing something about the issue that seems to mirror issues that Gamasutra/Simon Carless found with the service.

Personally, I can't see this as nothing but a belated positive thing. The more people that get the try out things like Contra: ReBirth, Cubello, Nyx Quest, and (pardon the shameless self promotion) Carnival King, the better players, publishers, and developers will be.

[Nintendo Begins WiiWare Game Demo Trial Program] Gamasutra

Video: The Totally Rad Show Gets Totally Freaked Out

2009-11-03T17:00:00Z

Halloween may be behind us now, but that doesn't mean the scares have to end, right? Over at The Totally Rad Show, the guys take on Ju-On: The Grudge the way that it was meant to be played: lights off, sound up, and drinks in hand! While I think that I may be a little too much of a scaredy cat to play the game myself, I found watching Alex, Jeff, and Dan to be an enjoyable experience. There's always a little fun to be had watching other people get the pants scared off of them, especially if it stars three cuties that have the tendency to clutch each other in the dark while filmed with a night vision lens.

Have any of you checked out the game / haunted house simulator for yourself? Am I being too much of wimp or should I avoid this title like a strange noise heard in the distance?

Professor Layton Figure Able to Pose, Can't Find Your Keys For You

2009-11-02T22:00:00Z

For those that collect import figures the Revoltech line from Kaiyodo has always meant two things: incredible detail and remarkable articulation. Thanks to Andres Cerrato over at Tomopop, we got a glimpse of what the line's next round of figures the recent Revoltech Expo that took place in Japan this past weekend. There's tons of great figures on the horizon that include emo-goth icon Jack Skellington, the Dark Night version of Batman, Giant Robo, and a T-Rex, but the best announcement has to be Professor Layton from the incredible puzzle/mystery game series by Level 5.

As a prototype, the figure seen at the Expo wasn't painted or colored yet, but it's amazing to see just how well sculptors were able to bring the game's clean, but illustrative style into a 3d space. As if the figure wasn't enough, that table and tea cup set is the icing on the cake. Hopefully this mean that we can expect to see other Layton related figures somewhere down the road. I would love to have a miniaturized Professor and Luke on my desk enjoying a cup of tea. Head on over to the Tomopop article to check out all the goods from the show.

[Revoltech Expo shows off transformable Valkryie, also everything you possibly want] Tomopop

GameStop To Hire Tons Of Seasonal Staff

2009-10-30T16:00:00Z

I'm not sure there are many people that actually look forward to shopping around the holiday season. The crowds are just mean, you can never find what you're looking for, and the stores are packed. This year at GameStop they may be a little fuller than they have been in years past, but at least it'll be for the best reasons possible. According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the biggest game retailer around is looking to increase its seasonal staff by approximately 15,000 people nationwide. That's an average of 3.5 more people helping operate the each of the chain's 4,300 stores and is set to bump up the companies staff by 46 percent.

Side note: Jebus bless all you brave souls that work there during this time of year. Nobody wants to be the person to tell an angered parent that they're all out of Wiis on Christmas Eve. I'm just glad that it's not me.

[GameStop to hire 15,000 for holidays] Tampa Bay Business Journal

Let's Look At Famitsu's "Perfect" Scores

2009-10-29T16:00:00Z

As one of the biggest and longest running magazines devoted to gaming, Famitsu has earned a reputation for running games through the ringing during reviews. Universally classics like Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Final Fantasy X, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence may be lauded as works of perfection by fans, but at Famitsu they don't quite cut it. However, astute followers of the magazine have noticed a sharp increase in the scores handed out recently. In light of the last week's news that the oh so saucy Bayonetta received a perfect 40 out of 40 score from Famitsu, I figured that now was a good time to take a look back at all the games that have received the prestigious honor from the renowned Japanese publication, and talk about whether these titles deserve the scores they were given...

]]> The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Publisher : Nintendo
Platform : Nintendo 64
Released : 1998
Worth a 40? : Without a doubt!

Even though they had been reviewing games for over a decade, Famitsu's first perfectly rated game didn't come until 1998. Ocarina of Time is often referred to as series creator and gaming icon Shigeru Miyamoto's magnum opus. At the time it offered the biggest, deepest adventure on consoles. In addition to wowing audiences with its visuals, it brought Link into 3D for the first time with gaming mechanics that are still mimicked by designers around the world. It's difficult to imagine where the Zelda series, Nintendo, and gaming as a whole would be without this revolutionary title.

Soul Calibur
Publisher : Namco
Platform : Dreamcast
Worth a 40? : Probably

I know what you're thinking: "What do you mean 'probably?'" Hear me out for a minute. While the game is my favorite fighting game of all time, we have to face some facts here. This isn't the first 3D fighter, it wasn't the best balanced 3D of the era, and, while it did have a good amount of depth to it, Soul Calibur didn't offer much in terms of advanced play. However, what it did bring us was an early Dreamcrast title (a US launch title) with astounding visuals, fluid animation, extremely accessible gameplay, and the most notable single player content seen in a 1v1 fighter yet. Yes, Mitsurugi is totally over powered, and some characters don't carry the punch that their weapon infers they should have, but this was one of the earliest 3D fighters just about anyone could pick up and play with ease (something that today's Soul Calibur installments could learn from).

Vagrant Story
Publisher ; Square
Platform : PlayStation
Released : 2000
Worth a 40? : More than you can admit

I get hate mail every time I say this, but Final Fantasy 8 is not the best PS1 JRPG and this game totally is! This opinion didn't make me any friends back in the day, but over time it has been justified. While most people ignored this title in favor of Squall's emo whining, Vagrant Story told a suspenseful tale of murder, mystery, and "keys." Even though it's way past its spoiler expiration date, it is criminal to potentially ruin this game. All that needs to be said is that Square took more chances here with its approach to combat, storytelling, and art direction then it would with any other JRPG at the time. Anyone considering themselves a fan of the genre needs to play this game.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Publisher : Nintendo
Platform : Gamecube
Released : 2003
Worth a 40? : three quarters yes, one quarter no

Expanding on Ocarina of Time's fundamentals, this nautically themed adventure surprised a lot of fans. It had all the signatures of a great Zelda title and a lovely not art style to go with it, but also contained one of the most offensive fetch quests in recorded history. I may have loved seeing the castle frozen in time, but if you think I'm ever going to collect that many ruprees, you got another thing coming.

Nintendogs
Publisher : Nintendo
Platform : Nintendo DS
Released : 2005
Worth a 40? : Woof!

This is actually the game that inspired me to put this list together. On the last GayGamer podcast I heard Fruit Brute and Tiny Dancer saying some less than favorable remarks about Nintendo's puppy simulator, and as a dedicated defender of the non-game, I knew I had to say something. Nintendogs represents the Nintendo's first of many casual-driven experiences. It may not exactly jive with players and most certainly isn't the first pet sim out there, but the title demonstrated impact of touch screen controls with intuitive motions, lifelike animations, and a level of polish that I have yet to see replicated in any other handheld. Years from now, people will look back on how/why Nintendo made the drastic shift from "hardcore favorite" to "gaming for everyone" and they'll point to this groundbreaking title that introduced players to new forms of interaction and brought a mob of newly fanged "non-gamers" along for the ride as well.

Final Fantasy XII
Publisher : Square Enix
Platform : PlayStation 2
Released : 2006
Worth a 40? : Not really

Remember that thing I said in the Vagrant Story section about Square taking chances being good thing? Yeah... The chances the team took here didn't please everyone and even brought up unflattering comparisons to "playing excel spreadsheets." An equally oddly structured and needlessly complicated narrative didn't make things any better. Is the title horrible? Not at all, but the flaws seen in the title keep it from really earning the honor.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Publisher : Nintendo
Platform : Wii
Released : 2008
Worth a 40? : Absolutely Not

I'm going to make this one short and sweet because no one is going to fight me on this one. I have the sneaking suspicion that Famitsu gave this entry a 40 as a way of apologizing for underrating the gamecube's Melee installment. Now that game is a real 40!

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots
Publisher : Konami
Platform : PlayStation 3
Released : 2008
Worth a 40? : Can love bloom on a battlefield?

This one is open to the widest amount of personal interpretation, but I think that whether or not this game is really the perfect title that some claim it to be is completely determined by Otacon's trademark question. I found the series' fourth installment to every bit of the captivating experience I expected to me, but that came with knowledge that I would be sitting through one of the longest cutscenes in the history of gaming. The title did give Snake (and many other characters) closure, but the journey there is one that can only be made and understood by the most dedicated of fans. Any MGS newbie jumping in at this point is doing themself a disservice and will pause the game to look up what a "Darpa Chief" is on Wikipedia.

428: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de
Publisher : Sega
Platform : Wii
Released : 2008
Worth a 40? : Only if the term "visual novel" gets you excited

Speaking of Wikipedia, I feel asleep reading the description of this game, but it sold enough to get ported to the PS3 and PSP a year after its Wii release. I guess that counts for something, but this game is never getting a release over here. Ever.

Dragon Quest IX
Publisher : Square Enix
Platform : Nintendo DS
Released : 2009
Worth a 40? : A Slime approaches...

Fans bitched about it being on the "wrong" platform, but that didn't stop them from buying the game in massive droves. While I haven't been able to play the game myself, the title was positively received by fans in Japan. With developer Level 5 at the helm, it's not difficult to imagine this game meeting a "perfect" expectation as long as you have a thing for old school JRPG design.

Monster Hunter Tri
Publisher : Capcom
Platform : Nintendo Wii
Released : 2009
Worth a 40? : Probably Not

Sure it looks pretty, but have you actually played any Monster Hunter game? It's a step above anything Sega is doing with Phantasy Star Universe, but that's not saying much. I don't know what magic Capcom has seemingly put the entire nation of Japan under, but this not-quite-WoW, pseudo-MMORPG's spell hasn't enchanted that many over here yet. I'd love to be surprised by this, but I can't say what we've seen so far is worth the 40 bestowed on it be Famitsu.

Bayonetta
Publisher : Sega
Platform : PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360
Released : 2009
Worth a 40? : I really want it to be

Bayonetta is not just historic for being one of the few games to receive the 40 honor, but it is also the only multiplatform (on initial release) title on the list. Only time will tell if this game deserves all the hubbub, but it's shown all the signs to be a very memorable sexy action-adventure title.

That's all they've wrote...for now. Did Famitsu miss any games that should have been given perfect scores? Am I totally wrong for calling shenanigans on that totally artificial fetch quest at the end of Wind Waker (hint: I'm not)? Hit the comments and give us a piece of your mind.

The Clearance Zone: Eat Lead: The Return Of Matt Hazard

2009-10-28T16:00:00Z

It's the season for spooky stories and scary tales, so come with me, dear reader, as we venture into one of gaming's most terrifying and mystifying places: The Clearance Zone.

Do you ever find yourself at a game store minding your own business looking at the latest releases, when suddenly you find yourself in the dreary clearance section of lost games? One moment you're walking amongst Mario, Master Chief, and Nathan Drake, and next thing you see is the PSP edition of Dragonball: Evolution, Chicken Shoot, and a seemingly endless supply of Tom Clancy' EndWar... for consoles no less! However, there is always the chance that you'll run into something of value there. Perhaps it's a super discounted copy of the underrated 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, or there could games that recently saw "Game of the Year" editions like Left 4 Dead, you may even find games on platforms gone by like a physical copy of cult hits like Drill Dozer perchance. I've been to this place, readers, and let me tell you a story of both splendor and horror. It all started when I picked up a copy of the poorly received game called Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard...

]]> This bizarre, yet enticing title promised me a bald space marine-ish hero, retro-gaming nods, and the voices of Will Arnett and the legend- [wait for it] -dary Neil Patrick Harris. While the box art was nothing to write home about, the premise sounded interesting enough, and hey, it was less than $20, how bad could it be?

Strangely enough, I was hooked on the game's initial moments of brilliance! The game's story follows a video game action star that rose to digital fame and fell the clearance bin with one bad kart racing title. Now back in action for the first time in years, Eat Lead tells a twisted story of what one very fictional character will do to regain the spotlight. The blatant and unapologetic use of clichés and tropes got maybe laughs from me. Sure, it featured predictable settings, the standard set of weapons featured in any third person action game, and level design that can only charitably described as adequate, but something drew me in.

I found myself returning the game. I wasn't having fun in the traditional sense since the action was dull and, sadly, Arnett and Harris' involvement didn't help the bland story and dialog. No, what kept me playing was the game's knack for shifting settings, missions, and character types, as formulaic as there were, at the pace of a couch potato looking for something better on TV. It was possible to shift from a western shootout, to a generic strip bar, to a World War 2 themed Russia, to a Bond villain's secret layer. These jumps where sudden and seemingly schizophrenic with absolutely no rhyme or reason to them beyond an NPC character telling me that "someone hacked into the game."

Over time I became convinced that this title was something special. It didn't have a story to tell, as much as it had something to say about how games are made in the past and in the present, but hopefully not in the future. It was clearly mocking everything lazy developer cliché and challenging them to do better with it's message. To me, it was the kind of post-modern narrative that I typically eat up religiously when presented to me by auteurs like Suda 51 or Hideo Kojima, but something was off here.

But unlike their games, whose gameplay ranges from "ok" to "fantastic," Eat Lead was painfully average. So painfully average that you couldn't tell if the title's better visuals were a joke or if the creator was attempting to impress. Unfortunately, this is when the house of cards fell down on me. Maybe this "artist statement" was the game designer in my head trying to excuse poor craftsmanship. Maybe this game is just bad, but is actually unaware of just how bad it is.

Playing the game quickly became a chore that wasn't providing me any answers. It ridicule the forgettable nature of too many action titles while suffering from (or embracing?) the same flaws. The game wouldn't explain the strictly linear nature of the plot. It didn't take the time to acknowledge its own contrivances, and as a result with extended play became an unfocused mashup of everything it was supposedly laughing at. It is because of this that I won't be returning the game. Its concept may hold something dazzling behind it, but its gameplay is laborious and leaves me even more conflicted about whether I love it or loath it than when I saw Where the Wild Things Are this past weekend.

Heed my warning, dear readers. Not all games can be classified as "good" or "bad," worth your time or rubbish, "7" or a 10. Some games exist between these polar spaces beyond another dimension - a dimension of gameplay, a dimension of light, a dimension of control. These games move into terrain of shadow and substance, of objects and concepts. These are the games of... The Clearance Zone.

Video: Excitebike: World Rally Announced!

2009-10-27T16:00:00Z

Trying to predict Nintendo game announcements is impossible. Nobody outside the company knows when or where to expect them out side of "anytime" and "anyplace." Proving this once again is their latest the totally out of the blue (and in my little opinion, totally awesome) announcement on the Nintendo Channel for WiiWare title called Excitebike: World Rally, a modern adaptation of the NES classic. The title appears to stick very close to its roots, with familiar art direction and interactions. You'll get a bunch of tracks to race and a track editor just like the original game, but World Rally also includes motion controls for those adventurous enough (don't fret whiners, NES-styled controls are there too) and online multiplayer.

We're promised more details in the next installment of Nintendo Channel's Nintendo Week. Perhaps the best detail has already been let out of the bag: the game will be available for purchase a little less than two weeks from now on Nov 9! Until then (or next week), we'll have to make do with the brief clip of gameplay featured here. Seriously, how cool is that music? It brings back too many memories!

Slap Fight Origins Revealed In Nigoro Interview

2009-10-26T16:00:00Z

Takumi Naramura and Shoji Nakamura may not be household names, but in the indie scene they've made quite a name for themselves with a series of very Japanese (and very funny) flash titles. From the skirt lifting adventures seen in Mekuri Bancho to the ultimate slap fight that is Rose & Camellia, their games may vary in gameplay depth but always remain memorable for the right reasons. The pair, with the help of a few others, have officially formed their own development house named Asterizm and have started to bring their trademark sense of humor and fondness for retro game systems to the masses with the upcoming WiiWare release of La-Mulana.

Gamasutra's Brandon Sheffield got the chance to sit down with Naramura and Nakamura during this year's Tokyo Game Show and asked the pair about their indie roots, but the most probing and interesting topic that Sheffield was able to touch upon in my little opinion was the visual inspirations for their games...

...With Rose & Camellia, we came up with the idea for the game first, and we argued over what story-based reason there would be for the ladies being polite enough to take turns slapping each other instead of going all-out and having a wrestling match. The shojo-manga (girl's comics) backstory you see in the game was the very first thing that popped into my mind.
With Mekuri Bancho -- in old Japanese anime, you saw scenes all the time where students would flip up their teacher's skirt and stuff. That would show up in all kinds of shonen manga (boy's comics), but never these days because of political correctness, so it's sort of a nostalgic thing for people our age.

That's how we came to build a game off it. As you can tell, I get a lot of inspiration from all the games, movies, manga and so forth that I looked through when I was a kid. You can trace pretty much all of my illustration work off one thing or another.

Even since I first played Rose & Camellia, I always wondered how someone came up with such an amazingly simple, but hilarious set up. Initially, I thought someone watched a little much Mommy Dearest, but the euro-styled shojo manga inspiration makes total sense.

Head on over to read the full article to find out how the pair initially came together and they took on "32-bit" graphics with La-Mulana.

[Interview: Nigoro Talk Retro Inspirations, La Mulana For WiiWare] Gamasutra

Dood!: Prinny 2 PSP Announced

2009-10-23T16:00:00Z

As if I've had the time to actually beat the first game, Nippon Ichi Software, the makers of Disgaea and cult favorite Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, have just announced a follow up to Prinny: Can I Really By The Hero? As with most game announcements, we don't' know much yet other than the fact that it's being temporarily titled "Prinny 2" and promises more of the extremely difficult side scrolling action. According to andriasang the logo found in Dengeki Online has some partially translatable text reading: Dawn's XXX Big Battle!!

The announcement also carries some good news for our Japanese friends as the original Prinny title will now be included in the "Best Price" budget releases (Japan's "Greatest Hits" line), dropping the price to ¥1,980 for UMD copies and ¥1,500 for a PSN download. Now there's no excuse for anyone over there not to experience one of the most delightfully challenging games on the PSP!

[Nippon Ichi Announce Prinny Sequel] andriasang

Opinionation: What's Your Most Valued Game?

2009-10-22T16:00:00Z

This week's GayGamer Podcast brought up an interesting question that had me thinking long after podcast ended. A reader named Shawn asked Fruit Brute and Tiny Dancer about what game in their collection they value the most. Noting that the word "value" has many meanings, our podcasting duo was asked if their favorite title was a rare ebay-tacular collectable or a relatively "common" game with deep sentimental value. Fruit Brute used it as another opportunity to spread the word of Rapture by talking about Bioshock. Our petite performer reminded us non-glamorous types that people in Manhattan don't exactly have a whole lot of room for collecting games, but did divulge that there are a few titles that stick around with him (at least for a short time), including Bioshock and Dead Space. Hearing our boys talk about picking just one or two titles as the games they value most got me wondering what I would pick and what games you dear readers would choose as well.

I realize that I'm a bit of an obsessive collector with a library in the 1000's (why else would I still have that rig for Steel Battalion?), but looking at the highlights of my collection I found it extremely difficult to pick a few games for just one system, let alone one to rule them all. How could I value games that have shaped me as an artist and designer (Rez, Metal Gear Solid) over titles that I have spent hundreds of hours with (Capcom Vs. [whatever], Super Smash Bros. Melee), or games that remind me of the people and places from my past (such as my copy of Space Channel 5 Part 2, acquired when I was in Japan, or Geist, the first "real" I worked on)? It never escapes me how much games as a whole mean to me personally, but I never realized just how many individual titles have such strong and deep personal value to me. Just briefly looking at my shelves, numerous titles would instantly remind me where I lived, what I was doing, and who I was as a person at the time they came into my life. But after taking a trip down Memory Lane, I found "the game." The one that I knew deep down I valued more than any other...

The story of how I purchased it isn't entirely unique, but still one that stays with me today. Back when I was little, I begged and pleaded with my folks for this game to no avail. Never passing up an opportunity to teach one of their children the value of a dollar, my parents told me I needed to earn it myself. Now, most normal stories like this end with the kid raising the money themselves through massive amounts of hard work and chores (and that's exactly what happened), but my then-cruel caretakers made the earning/waiting process that much more excruciating by purchasing the game the first day it was available and sat it atop the living room mantle, as a constant reminder that I was so close, yet so far from gaming bliss.

For months I would sit and stare at the box sitting in the living room in a daze. Between my errands I was sometimes even be allowed to hold the game and read the description on the back of the box to the point that I memorized it word for word. My mind would race with the seemingly endless possibilities that were contained in the tiny cartridge until I eventually earned the all the money necessary to buy the game from my folks... And let me tell you, playing Super Mario Bros 3 for the first time lived up to and exceeded every single one of my expectations!

I still have that well earned, well worn cartridge today. I may have had to replace it's original box and lost instruction booklet with another, but it's a game I care for with a feather touch and one I could never, ever part with.

Surely I cannot be the only one like this. Some of you dear readers must have games that you cannot part with for collectable or not-so-collectable reasons. Feel free to share your own stories in the comments.

Review: The Wizard Of Oz: Beyond The Yellow Brick Road

2009-10-21T16:00:00Z

Dear readers, let's have a brief chit chat about some RPG trends that I've noticed recently. I've found it progressively difficult to get into many RPGs today, especially JRPGs. Sure there is the rare exception here or there, but compared to their heyday back in the SNES/PS1 days, these entries have been fewer and farther between these days. Even the ones that do manage to catch my eye require what I would call extensive research to be able to actually play. This got me thinking, what if I was a gamer that hadn't played an RPG before? What games released for today's consoles and handhelds would welcome first timers into the fold without an intense initiation ritual of terrible in-game failures, relying on previous game experience, or tracking down obscure information through FAQs? Someone over at XSEED must have read my thoughts (again) and sent me a copy of a game that might just hit the spot.

]]> The Wizard of Oz: Beyond The Yellow Brick Road certainly isn't the first JRPG for Nintendo DS, but it's one of the most unique we're likely to ever see. Reinventing the Land of Oz using with its own visual and narrative language, the game takes the familiar story of Dorothy's first voyage to Oz and turns into something very new, and very different. For starters, you won't have to wait too long to meet the Oz himself, the Lion isn't so cowardly, and two other witches are added into the mix. As someone that is somewhat familiar with some of Oz outside of the 1939 film classic, I was impressed with how much original content, characters, story, and settings that have been created here and how well they lends themselves to not just the game's RPG gameplay, but the extended universe of Oz.

The game controls entirely with the stylus, having players kind of flick Dorothy around with a virtual trackball on the DS touch screen and tapping buttons to select battle options. For the most part this works out well since the title's interfaces are clean and direct, but it can be a little tiring when navigating longer "dungeons" featured in the game. The battle system itself mainly consists of matching the enemies approaching you with a matching party member's strengths (Dorothy combats ghosts/spirits, Scarecrow can fight fish/sea creatures well, etc.). To make this as simple as possible, the developers wisely choose to color code this system, allowing players to quickly arrange their attacks after just a few rounds into the game.

Thankfully every part of this system (and every other system in the game) is concisely detailed for the player in-game, eliminating the need to constantly refer back to an instruction booklet or other information source. The localization keeps the instructions informative, but light hearted. Beginners will be able to figure out the next steps easily, and advanced players won't be overburdened with endless tutorial text.

The rest of the game seems to follow this trend of providing everything that someone on their first RPG adventure would need to know, without boring genre veterans. There are even a few options (that can be turned off) that automate some battle actions. For example, if Scarecrow gets poisoned in battle, the next turn will automatically line up a curing potion for him. It's little things like this that do a tremendous job of helping beginners find their way while letting advanced players do it themselves.

The overall result of the game is something that is likely to entertain anyone who's intereste is piqued at the thought of an anime styled Oz. It's easy to recommend this title to gamers that enjoy RPGs, but I think it is more significant that I can safely recommend this title to those who have never played through a RPG before. Beyond The Yellow Brick Road is a carefully constructed game, and one that was developed with the full range of the DS audience in mind.

8 out of 10

Hey Ash, Whatcha Watchin?: Hey Ash Whatcha Playin DVD Available For Ordering

2009-10-20T16:00:00Z

I don't consider myself a very hip person, but I am an extremely grateful for all the people around me that try to help me out and show me all the rad things that pop up on the internet. For example, while at PAX our very own Pixel Poet suggested that I check this little thing called "Hey Ash Whatcha Playin" over at Destructoid. His simple description of the topical and hilarious game focused webshow intrigued me and I eventually got around to watching an episode when I returned to the Castle. Needless to say I was utterly hooked from first episode I saw and immediately ran through all that they had posted.

So why do I bring this up (other than to get all you dear readers to check out the show for yourselves)? Well, those ragtag rascals over at Destructoid have put together a small DVD release of the first season of the show so that you can take the hilarity with you anywhere there's a DVD player. As if you needed any more reason to drop the cash for this reasonably priced disc, they're promising commentary on each episode, random outtakes, deleted episodes, the PAX presentation they put on that I may have caused Pixel Poet to miss, and a "sort of" Easter egg. That's a steal at any price if you ask me!

Click over here to check out the show and click over here to pick up your own copy.

Video: God Of War Collection Debut Trailer

2009-10-19T16:00:00Z

I know I should know better. These are exactly the same games that I've played before. With only a hand full of changes, the God of War Collection isn't bring a whole lot of new content to the table, but I can't stop myself from getting excited abut it none the less, especially with the help of trailers like the one featured here. Yeah, the game's HD upscaling doesn't exactly show off the best that the PS3 can do. And don't try to remind about the poorly designed level devoted to rotating spiked pillars, I saw it already and had my requisite flashback to the vulgarity shouting match I had with my PS2 when I encountered it the first time. I'm not sure that there is anything that can distract me from the fact that this collection gives me a good excuse to play through two of the best action games released last generation and will hopefully make the time between now and God of War 3's release date go by a little bit faster.

They may be remakes, but when was the last time when a remake looked this good?