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The PlayStation Goodness Will Be Plentiful At The San Diego Comic Con

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Tue, 07/19/2011 - 05:20
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Back in the day the San Diego Comic Con used to be an event that primarily focused on comic books with the occasional appearance by a high-profile movie, which in some cases was based on a comic book. But these days the San Diego Comic Con has grown to become a huge pop culture/geek heaven mega-event that includes panels for a ton of TV shows, genre films and of course video games.

PlayStation Move Ape Escape [Review]

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Thu, 07/14/2011 - 10:04
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Overall Feeling: 

PlayStation Move Ape Escape may be a good game for young gamers in the six to eleven year-old age bracket, but for everyone else PlayStation Move Ape Escape is just going to be a disappointment.  It’s nice to see Ape Escape pop up once again but the game doesn’t have an of the immediate hallmarks the series is known for and ultimately feels like it’s a mere hollow shell that is built around a motion mechanic that honestly doesn’t do anything new.  Seeing as how the game lacks a ton of variety and can be finished in three hours, PlayStation Move Ape Escape isn’t worth picking up unless you either have cash to burn, love Ape Escape A LOT, or are in dire need to use your PlayStation Move with something.

The Pros: 

+ The anime cutscenes that tell the story are well produced and are a high point for the production values of the game.
+ Tonally PlayStation Move Ape Escape stays true to the wacky monkeys we’ve seen in the prior games.
+ The PlayStation Move controls are responsive for what they require on the part of the player.

The Cons: 

- Having the game be on-rails becomes boring over time and it doesn’t help that some of the levels are recycled.
- The lack of gameplay variety is really disheartening and at times is outright painful.
- There are only 16 levels and they can all be completed within three hours, even with some of the sporadic difficulty spikes that occur later on.
- The mini-games are completely pointless and offer nothing new to the core experience.

ShogunGamer.com Rating : 
4

We may still be waiting for some classic PlayStation franchises to be resurrected on the PlayStation 3 such as Syphon Filter, but at least Ape Escape has made a return – this time with PlayStation Move support.  I won’t kid myself in thinking that the Ape Escape franchise is something with a massive cult following since there are probably a good amount of gamers, specifically those born within the last ten years, who have no clue about what Ape Escape is. 

Sony Is Helping Out Indie Developers In A Huge Way

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 08:15
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Sony is once again showing that they get what gamers want as they’re committing a hefty amount of cash to their indie driven Pub Fund.  Originally started in 2009, Sony’s Pub Fund initiative involves aiding indie developers (which is a cause I can get behind) to release their titles on the PlayStation Network.  Since promoting and releasing games isn’t an easy or cheap thing to do, Sony is putting up $20 million spread over the next three years to support indie developers to release their games on the PlayStation Network.

The Uncharted Film Could Finally Be Back On Track

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Fri, 07/08/2011 - 06:45
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The great search for a new director to helm the live-action Uncharted film is already over, a bit sooner than I expected, and Sony Pictures has found a man whose vision of Uncharted is supposedly what they were looking for.  Taking over on Uncharted’s cinematic debut is director Neil Burger.  A great many of you out there may not know Neil’s name unless you’re a complete movie buff, but his last film was the drama “Limitless” starring Bradley Cooper.

Sony Is Following The Latest Trend Of Enforcing An Online Pass

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Wed, 07/06/2011 - 11:15
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Sony is now jumping aboard the trend of publishers who are requiring an online pass for some of their titles in order to play the always sought after multiplayer modes.  The news has been confirmed today after an image was released yesterday showing a Resistance 3 box with signage that pointed to a new PSN Pass feature.  At the time gamers didn’t know what this PSN Pass would entail or if it would be similar to what Rockstar Games and WB Games is doing with their most recent releases (you buy future DLC in bulk at a discount and download it ASAP when it’s released).

Motorstorm: Apocalypse [Review]

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Thu, 06/23/2011 - 06:27
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Overall Feeling: 

Motorstorm: Apocalypse may seem like it would be a bigger and more intense game, but it’s just unfocused and at times frustrating.  The change in setting from a natural locale to an urban one creates a racing experience that is at times one-note and filled with loud noise that deafens any sort of fun that is to be had.  With graphics that aren’t as awe inspiring as what was found in Motorstorm: Pacific Rift and racing that is sometimes too chaotic for its own good, Motorstorm: Apocalypse doesn’t have any of the trademarks that the series is known for, the primary of which being over-the-top fun racing.

The Pros: 

+ A few of the tracks are fun to play and strike a good balance between having an arcade feel to it and being slightly realistic.
+ The soundtrack which features an orchestral theme and techno remixes lives up to the excellent beats found in previous Motorstorm games.
+ Racing online in multiplayer events is fun for a change and having locale split-screen multiplayer is a nice addition too.

The Cons: 

- Most of the tracks just have too much going on, whether it’s scripted events or debris on the race track.
- The concept of the Festival Mode is good but the story told to it and how the difficulty is executed leaves a considerable amount to be desired.
- Load times are often really long, 20-30 seconds.
- Visually the game is too drab for its own good and fails to have elements that are consistently appealing.
- The Festival Mode cutscenes may be the worst thing to appear in a video game this year.

ShogunGamer.com Rating : 
5

It’s always disappointing to experience something and the end result is anything less than stellar.

Latest Twisted Metal Gameplay Video Has Lots Of Destruction And A Big Ass Mech

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Thu, 06/23/2011 - 06:25
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Amidst the line-up of games slated to be released this year it may be easy to oversee that Twisted Metal will make its PS3 debut later this year.

Infamous 2 [Review]

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 14:07
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Overall Feeling: 

Infamous 2 once again is proof that you don’t need an established or widely mainstream hero to create an outstanding comic book style superhero game. While Infamous 2 may be far from the standard cliché white in shining armor & happy ending scenarios that are in other projects based around people with extraordinary abilities, the game is still entertaining with its nice mixture of adult tones and good characterizations.  The action offered in Infamous 2 will make fans of the first game more than happy as it improves upon the basics while adding a fresh dose of new powers that result in even crazier action scenarios.  It may not happen often, but Infamous 2 is a sequel that more than lives up to its predecessor.

The Pros: 

+ The graphics are unbelievable as the city of New Marais looks gorgeous and the character models have tons of detail.
+ If you like blowing stuff up or throwing cars at enemies then you’ll love the action Infamous 2 has to offer. Super powers + open-world = tons of fun.
+ The story of Infamous 2 may not be as good as what was featured in the first Infamous, but I did like the added character depth that was given to Cole.
+ Exploring New Marais was enough to keep me occupied for a good chunk of time and the city itself has a lot of diversity in how it looks compared to Empire City.
+ The aspect of user-generated content may be limited right now, but there are a few cool missions online right now and as a whole the feature is a nice addition to the game.

The Cons: 

-  Some of the missions towards the end of the game feel like they’re going through the motions a bit.
-  The addition of Nix is a low point for the game since she’s so damn annoying.
-  While the focus is clear, the story in Infamous 2 just doesn’t feel as cohesive and it’s a shame that the element involving The Beast isn’t pushed as much as it could’ve been.
-  I did encounter quite a few bugs/glitches in the game, some of which had me restarting an entire mission.
-  Outside of the opening and closing boss encounters, the boss battles throughout the game are a bit predictable and don’t utilize a specific ability of Cole’s in a huge way.

 

ShogunGamer.com Rating : 
9

Often in life we’re faced with difficult decisions that will either have an immediate impact on our life or in some cases the lives of others.  I’m not just talking about deciding what we’re going to have for dinner or what movie we’re see but more pertinent things like what college we’re going to attend after High School or where we’re going to live.

Game Republic (Genji, Folklore) Is Officially Closed + A Folklore 2 Tidbit

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Thu, 06/16/2011 - 09:42
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It’s not too often that we hear of a Japanese developer closing up shop but apparently such a thing has happened recently.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One - Hands-On [E3 2011]

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Thu, 06/16/2011 - 04:21
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At this point it’s almost standard practice to see a new Ratchet & Clank game pop up, even if we may not immediately want one.  The fan reaction to the PS3 generation of R&C games has been a bit mixed with some people absolutely loving the direction the series has taken while others wished the franchise would just go to some distant planet and retire.

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