Do you remember Zoids? No? Don’t worry, I’m sure not many people do. If you’ve never heard of Zoids, it’s a Japanese toy line that consists of animal-like mechs that are exceedingly popular. It’s spawned a few anime series, tons of manga, fanbooks, and unfortunately, games. In the eighties the toy line was released in America, but didn’t catch on as well as planned. A couple years back Zoids made another Stateside debut with an anime series on Cartoon Network, as well as a line of models that you could collect and play with your friends every morning in the cafeteria. Like many fads, its popularity waned, and eventually faded into the background. Now, in 2008, Atlus has made the decision to release Zoids Assault for the Xbox 360, in a move that both baffles and repulses me, because this could very well be one of the worst Atlus titles-or out of any game I own, for that matter-ever.
Archive for February, 2009
Review: Silent Hill: Homecoming
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Silent Hill: for fans, that name is synonymous with fear, psychotic episodes, trippy visuals, and mindbending storylines. For everyone else, it has meant playing with the lights on, confusing and convoluted plotlines, and horrible controls. With the recent release of Silent Hill: Homecoming, the sixth entry into the Silent Hill franchise, Double Helix Games sought to better your survival horror experience. Did they succeed? Yes, in a number of ways.
Review: Ben 10: Alien Force
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As far as video game tie-ins to cartoons go, most are pretty horrible. They’re carbon-copies that do great injustices to the more popular titles of the genres, and for the most part they’re usually not worth your time. Ben 10: Alien Force is no exception. Based on the popular cartoon of the same name, it’s your average, run-of-the-mill 2D brawler that offers little challenge and an extremely short single-layer campaign.
If you’re not familiar with the cartoon, it follows the events of the original series, Ben 10. A teen named Ben Tennyson is in control of a watch-like device named the Omnitrix. The Omnitrix allows Ben to transform into several different alien forms, but only for ten minutes each time. Long story short, Ben is a threat to all the evildoers in the universe.
Review: Skate 2
Though legions of fans mourned the dissipation of the Tony Hawk franchise, I am one of the few who will proudly usher in a new age of skating titles, which began back with EA’s smash hit Skate, and continues with the equally satisfying Skate 2. It can most definitely be said that this is the definitive skating sim, as Skate 2 brings with it an impressive bevy of improvements to the original formula as well as some comfortable sameness that one would expect a successful sequel to provide.
Impressions: Resident Evil 5 Demo
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After much anticipation, the English demo of Resident Evil 5 has finally been released. Though you technically could have snagged it while it was available via Japanese Xbox Live, the long wait is finally over. Does it uppercut the shuffling masses in the face, or does it double itself over in pain?
With the game set ten years after the events of the original Resident Evil transpired, Resident Evil 5 follows Chris Redfield during those ten long years. As a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), he and partner Sheva Alomar tackle Africa to investigate the source of the virus. Starting up the demo, you’re treated to two different areas: Shantytown and Public Assembly. It’s a safe bet that they’re two segments of one chapter since they are so similar to each other.
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