Even though I’ve been known to hoard music games like they’re going out of style, even I have noticed a severe discrepancy in quality over the past couple of years. While most games go out of their way to avoid bringing new styles of play into the field and head straight for the fastest way to make cash, luckily there are still minds out there who think creatively. While DJ Hero isn’t exactly the first game of its kind (Beatmania IIDX, anyone?), it manages to capture the feeling of being a real DJ settled right in the heart of the hottest night clubs and bumpin’ joints where the real greats mixed it up. It may not be perfect, but it’s certainly on the right track. We need more of this kind of innovation, and I’m proud to say that DJ Hero is the start of a revolution — and not one involving karaoke.
All posts in Review
Review: Shadows of the Damned
Garcia Hotspur, demon hunter extraordinaire, is in a tight spot! He may not be dressed as a gimp, but his girlfriend has been stolen away to Hell, care of one Fleming, lord of the demons. In Hell, infant doorkeeps snack on brains and strawberries, while shooting a goat’s head creates a brilliant burst of light. Malevolent demons snack on the bloody limbs of beautiful women. Hotspur’s gotta stock up on the tequila and sake in order to keep his strength up. Can you tell this is a Suda51 adventure yet?
Review: Child of Eden
Save Lumi. Save Eden. We’re not talking about some sort of cosmic Heroes storyline. These are the very simple instructions that preface a beautifully complex yet accessible game. Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s newest project, Child of Eden, thrills and impresses with its cornucopia of trippy, bizarre sights and sounds, taking players on a colorful journey through shape-shifting landscapes, majestic beings, and pulse-pounding electronica. It’s a wonderfully orchestrated exercise in synaesthesia. It’s the breath of fresh air I was looking for all year. And despite all this, it’s still not perfect. But it’s close.
Review: Duke Nukem Forever
Like many gamers who will inevitably purchase or rent Duke Nukem Forever, I grew up with Duke Nukem 3D and the menagerie of cheesy spinoffs it spawned. I was a little a girl when I got my first taste of Duke, but even then I knew I liked what I saw. Writing that sentence makes me realize just how much I’ve grown up since then, because that double entendre didn’t even make me giggle. I’ve always felt a bevy of different things while fragging with Mr. Nukem: playfulness, silliness, and even annoyance. It’s a classic shooter, sure. Unfortunately, the rest of the games in the franchise never followed suit. Still, I’ve always had fun playing.
Review: Sonic Free Riders
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If Sonic the Hedgehog has been on your bad side for a few years now, it’s quite understandable. I’m still a fan, myself, despite the haphazard attempts at 3D adventures in recent years. In terms of my own personal Sonic list of disappointments, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) was a complete and total disappointment and is where the so-called fastest thing alive almost lost me, but the fantastic and Super Mario Galaxy-esque Sonic Colors recently rekindled my love for all things furry, blue, and be-sneakered. It may seem a bit unfair, then, that I returned to Sonic Free Riders in order to offer my opinion, when I’m riding high off of one of the best Sonic games of recent times. But here we go.