Sunday, January 4, 2009

New Nintendo Handheld System


Soon to be released in the U.S will be the Nintendo DSi. The new system will remove the gameboy advance slot, thus making games like guitar hero that require that slot obsolete. However, there are many new revolutionary features such as two built in cameras, and an sd card slot to hold pictures. This is an exciting new system and we will have more information closer to the realse date.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Garden of Eden Editor for Fallout 3

For PC users who have Fallout 3 the G.E.C.K (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) will be a welcomed addition. This collection of software will allow players to change anything within the game, allowing for a fully customizable experience. The kit is available directly from the Fallout 3 website along with a link to the G.E.C.K wiki page so that new users will have somewhere to start. The G.E.C.K goes into amazing depth and will allow for some amazing creations.
Don't forget to hit the forums at www.theredforum.in-goo.net

Mario Kart Wii Review

The latest installation of the Mario Kart series is not very originally titled Mario Kart Wii. It's not much of a surprise that Nintendo would try to revive the series because it has released a Mario Kart game for almost every one of its systems. This game tries to take full advantage of the Wii's motion sensing capabilities by having the player strap their controller into a steering-wheel shaped piece of plastic. This is a rather pointless addition to the game though because you can just as easily play without, thus brining up the question of its existence. I shouldn't be too hard on Nintendo though, at least they succeded in making the steering wheel look cool. However, my enjoyment in looking at the controller soon subsideded when I started to acutally play. To make a simple turn I tryed turning the controller slightly but because that had no effect I turned the controller entirely thus careening me off the side of the road. I finally got the hang of turning after a few attempts and gameplay became slightly more enjoyable. The games assortment of happy-go-lucky characters quickly got on my nerves though. I could'nt figure out if they had all had strokes or if they Nintendo was just lazy because each character has a vocabulary of about three words that they feel the need to use over and over again. If that isn't enough to drive you crazy the power ups will, once you're doing good enough to take the lead in a race the game will be kind enough to give another player a blue shell that flys the entire track just to find you and blow the hell out of you. Quite frankly, thats the problem with the entire game all the power-ups are so strong they practically cripple your opponent or they're so weak you might as well just shoot a water pistol at them instead. Aside from the racing aspect of the game there are a few mini-games in which you are expected to use power-ups against your opponents to pop their balloons, the games add a nice break from the racing but are too small to be considered a big addition to the gameplay. Overall Mario Kart Wii isn't a bad game, but it isn't a great game either considering the fact that there is a Mario Kart game released for Gamecube. I would recommend this game if you are a die-hard Nintendo fan and follow the series but if you looking for a serious racing game this below average cartoon style game will ultimately disapoint you. I give Mario Kart Wii a 6/10.
Don't forget to go to the forums at www.theredforum.in-goo.net

World Of Goo: Wii Ware


One of the newest games to hit the Wii Console is World of Goo, don't let the name fool you this is no childrens game. World of Goo is one of the most challenging puzzle games out there today, with easy to learn and intuitive gameplay, despite the comical graphics and gameplay. World of Goo is available for computer from the website www.2dboy.com/games.php or if you own a Nintendo Wii console you can buy the game from the Wii Shop channel.

The main concept of this game is that you have these small balls of goo and you click and drag them to form structures. You have to use this special ability of the goo to connect your building to a pipe which will suck up the goo and, depending upon the amount of goo you have left over, will tell if you have passed the level or not. As an added bonus any extra goo you collect goes to the World of Goo Factory where you try to build the tallest tower of goo. If you connect to the server you can see how tall the other towers are of people all around the world. I give World of Goo a 9/10 and say it is a must buy for anyone who owns a Wii console.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Fallout 3 Review

Fallout 3 is a post-apocalyptic game released by Bethesda Game Studios. It is an outstanding game despite its uncanny similarities to Oblivion, which surprisingly was also developed by Bethesda. You start out as a new-born infant in a fallout shelter called Vault 101 and from their choose your name and set your abilities and skill levels. After that you play in key moments of your childhood to mold your character into whatever you want him/her to be for example good or evil. Everything is fine until your Dad leaves the Vault you live in, which has supposedly been closed for hundreds of years, and you are forced to flee in search of him. Upon entering the outside world you see the wastelands of Washington D.C. until you stumble into a town Megaton. Now here is where the game gets interesting, in the center of Megaton is an active atomic bomb just waiting to explode. You either have the choice to disarm the bomb and get a house in Megaton or blow up the bomb and get an apartment in Tenpenny Tower. But no matter which you choose the game can continue, so you can kill whoever you want and blow up whatever you want its all about open world gameplay. I should probably add the fact that once someone dies, they stay dead which can be very annoying when trying to complete certain quests. Although the game is somewhat long there are many sidequests to go one, not enough for one play through, so once you've beaten the game play through it again but make different choices and explore the rest of the Wastelands. The G.E.C.K(Garden of Eden Creation Kit) is available from the Fallout 3 website and should allow for endless opertunities now that the players have then option to create custom content. Overall Fallout 3 is a must have game even if you have played Oblivion.
Don't forget to hit the forums at www.theredforum.in-goo.net

Guitar Hero 4 World Tour Midi Importing

Despite the fact that it was labeled as Guitar Hero's secret instrument, the secret instrument is no instrument at all. It turns out that you can now import midi files into the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 Guitar Hero Music Studio. Unfortunately a large number of you will be disappointed to hear that this functionality is limited only to the drums for Xbox 360 due to "Hardware Issues"(Although I find it not very surprising that there are bugs in the Microsoft system).

Even though this is an amazing innovation for video games it brings about a new concern and that is piracy. With the addition of midi importing users will now be able to download there favorite song send it straight into the game. In the long run this could lead to the downfall of the Guitar Hero franchise, why pay $60 for a game when you can just go download all the songs instead. Fortuneately for Microsoft the "Hardware Issues" means that this will not be possible on Xbox versions of the game(Surprise Surprise).

Don't forget to hit the forums at www.theredforum.in-goo.net