X'07: Hands-on Review with The Simpsons

Sometimes I feel like the last person on Earth who stills loves watching The Simpsons but after seeing what Electronic Arts has done with this amazing cartoon franchise, I expect to see a lot of past Simpsons' fans coming home to Springfield.

With the knowledge that previous Simpsons games where merely other game concepts with the Simpsons name slapped on just to sell it to the show's fans, EA developers decided to make this game truly a monument to The Simpsons culture.

Each character, background and item was created with cell-shaded cartoon graphics to make it look more like the show rather than some game with 3D modeling and amazing Halo worthy graphics. Homer shouldn't look like he got stuck in that 3D world from one of those Tree house of Horror episodes.

You generally get two characters to play with in each chapter or episode of the game, which you are able to switch between at any time. Each player has their own special powers or moves like Homer who can inflate himself to roll over enemies or turn into a jelly mold when he finds a Gummy Venus De Milo. The game does offer co-op play and a family or friend can join the game at anytime but the co-op is only for offline play.

The game will have online leader boards so you can compare your scores with friends and the community. It would have been nice to take it online for some good old co-op play but it’s still nice to see how you're kicking your friends' butts at the game.

Each chapter takes a theme from a movie, the show or a video game. We preview the Medal of Homer level where Bart and Homer travel back in time to World War II to fight along side the Flying Hellfish. There are objectives to complete and enemies to fight in each level and certain areas or items can only be reached by using a specific character in the level like Bart using his Bartman flying ability to reach higher or farther ledges.

The controls were pretty simple to pick up on. Each character had basic punching moves, two special moves, a jump move and a pick up move. Pretty standard stuff. Items in the game seemed to fit the theme of the game like Gummy Venus De Milo or food for Homer to eat.

I really loved how the developers worked closely with the show's creators to make it Simpson fan worthy. Over 8000 pieces of dialog were worked into the game and every character is voiced by the original actor from the show.

Best part of the whole game is the video game cliché feature. Every time you find a videogame cliché in the game like an exploding, red barrel, Comic Book Guy will appear and sarcastically comment on the cliché. Best Feature Ever.

Remember to look for other videogame gags in the game like God of Warf seafood advertisements in Day of the Dolphins or Grand Theft Scratchy posters.

Demo Rating: 7 of 10

Microsoft's X'07: Games + Open Bar + Blackout = Best First Event Ever

Let me start off by saying Microsoft sure knows how to throw a great open bar… I mean media event. X07, Microsoft’s holiday preview event was so full of awesomesauce that the cops had to show up. Seriously, they did.

After fighting through traffic, Johnny Wadd and I met Cosbytron at the doors and plotted our course of attack, which was basically started at the end of one row and working our way towards the food and open bar.

We hit the Vivendi booth first and dove into the one game everyone seemed scary to play, Crash Bandicoot: Crash of the Titans. Luckily Glenn, our guide to all things Crash, showed us a couple of different levels, cause we were stuck in this level that I called, “The Circle of Endless Spiking Beasts”. The ability to take over and use enemies in the game added a unique twist on this old franchise.

We talked with Chris from LucasArts and test drove Thrillville, which allows you to built, interact and explore a theme park and the new Star Wars LEGO, which includes all six episodes of the Star Wars movies with new characters, vehicles and an online co-op feature.



We took a turn with Rock Band with Cosbytron on the drums and me on guitar. And yes, I suck at it. Took me two fails before I got the hang of strumming the guitar. I loved watching the Activision employee singing to every song while everyone else got to play the instruments. He must have sung "Wanted: Dead or Alive" 300 times during the entire event.

There was a new Stranglehold demo that picked up where Xbox Live demo left off with a new chapter called "Personal Invitation". Our Midway guide showed us some cool moves, environment features and even a wicked boss battle in the new demo.



Midway also had Black Site: Area 51 available to play, but after Stranglehold, I was kind of disappointed to see that very few background items were interactive. The squad controls seemed limited to only two commands: move and open a door, but the A.I. on your squad was pretty impressive. I look forward to giving it another chance in September when the demo is hitting Xbox Live.

The game that really surprisingly impressed me was Electronic Arts’ The Simpsons game. It has some cool themed levels, humorous features and great cel-shaded graphics. I really loved that the game allows you to find various video game clichés in each level, which unlocks a screen with Comic Book Guy who makes a comment about the cliché. Best. Feature. Ever!

Valve’s The Orange Box demo was tucked away in a corner and somehow we managed to break the game. We quickly fixed it and previewed a demo of Half Life 2: Episode 2 which was in dire need of some more enemies. It took 15 minutes of driving around before we finally found two enemies to shoot and a couple of crates to break out. It was a shame that there weren’t any other demos available for Team Fortress or Portal, because those are the games we really wanted to play.

Everything had been going so well at the event until 2:10pm, when the power blew and the entire building and event was left with no power, no games and no air conditioning. Call it a giant red ring of death. We hung in there though, with the help of our friends, Jack Daniels and Heineken.



I took a spin around the block in the Project Gotham Racing 4 Porsche and chatted up the Vivendi employees and a few other reporters. The PGR4 demo cars were a great hit with attendees but not with the police; they shut down the free spins after they accused the drivers of speeding. Party poopers.

After a quick bite to eat, limited power came back on around 5pm and we headed back in for more games, but by this point most of the developers had packed up and we missed playing the Assassin’s Creed demo, all of the Microsoft games for PC and checking out the Halo 3 single player game play footage. To supplant the lack of full power and lights, the organizers placed candles throughout the event. It was funny to see people play games by candlelight.

We checked out Viva Piñata: Party Animals, World in Conflict, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare stands, but really didn’t get much play time. Most of the community members who got invites through Jade from Xbox Canada had showed up by then and the demos had too many people waiting to play. We would have stayed but the lack of air conditioning in the building was making it too uncomfortable to stay, so we grabbed some swag bags and hit the road.



All in all, I was impressed with Microsoft’s setup of X07 and though the power problem did put a damper on the day, it only made me realize how much more I want to see and play certain games. We received five star treatment from all the Microsoft staff, developers, and even the bar staff who served us drinks and walked around with those little cocktail weenies.

Best of all, we nabbed some sweet swag for Blue Dragon, Turok, Halo 3 and Microsoft which we’ll be giving away in a future contest on the site. Look for that soon and some hands on reviews of all we played.

Cosbytron managed to score some time with Project Gotham Racing 4, Need for Speed: Pro Street, Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom, Skate, and Gears of War for Windows before we showed up. Lucky bugger missed the traffic jam by an off-ramp or two, so he got about an hour more with the games then I did. Look for his reviews in the next day or two on Destructoid.

The Girl Gamer Invades Microsoft's X07 this Tuesday!

I've been writing this blog and Destructoid for over a year now and constantly watch as other people head off to gaming events in the United States, Japan and Europe. Finally its my turn ...

This Tuesday, August 28, Microsoft is holding their X07 gaming event in Toronto, to show off their holiday release line up to the media. Since lack of funds for traveling has been my only reason ... well, that and my lack of passport, I jumped for the chance to check out Microsoft's game line up before their release dates.

Now apparently this is a media invite only event from 10am to 4pm and then there will be a community event held after 5pm for gamers who sent in an invite request to Jade from Xbox Canada.

Third party developers will be there to show off their games as well. Activision, EA, Ubisoft and more will be available on the floor to demo their new games and answer any questions.

I hope to provide all my readers will some great coverage, reviews and photos from the event and I also hope to run into some of my fellow journalists in the gaming industry. Who knows who going to be there and what games will be available to demo.

God, I'm so excited I could burst like a fan girl with a first issue Batman comic book.

Review: Final Fantasy I

Though I owned a Nintendo Entertainment System when I was a wee girl, I somehow missed playing the beginning of an amazing franchise known as Final Fantasy. Named for the fact, that Squaresoft was betting their last dime on the success of their game, Final Fantasy in the market as it could be the company's final game, Final Fantasy has become one of the best selling RPGs of all time. I guess it was a good bet.

Final Fantasy I was originally made for the NES, but Square Enix has remade this game for both the Playstation one as Final Fantasy Origins and the Nintendo Gameboy Advance as Final Fantasy I&II: Dawn of Souls. The PSP is very similar to these remakes but with some amazing updated graphics and music.

The game follows the story of 4 warriors who are on a quest to destroy a great evil. You are given the choice to name your characters and the job of your characters which range from Warriors to White Mages. I chose a warrior, black mage, monk and white mage for my party.

Final Fantasy I on the PSP still stays true to the original NES version with the same storylines, gameplay and menus. There are even extra dungeons to explore after you finish the main quest.

The graphics have been updated to make the 2d monsters and characters look 3d and their graphics enhanced to look more colourful. The backgrounds have even been enhanced to a more 3d look.

The music in FFI is still the wonderful soundtrack we've come to know and love but it’s been updated to increase the beauty of the pieces. I found the music had more of a full orchestra sound to it now.

If you don't have a PSP to try this great remake of a classic RPG, then try finding an old copy of one of the previous remakes. It may not be as pretty looking or sounding as the PSP version but you still get to try some great RPGs.

Rating: 9 of 10

Folklore Trailer - Prettiness ensues

I think I just found another reason to buy a PS3 ... Folklore. Set to be released in October 2007, Folklore follows two strangers as they travel on the strangest journey ever. The music is awesome in this trailer. It reminds me of Harry Potter music.

Twilight Princess Action Figures

I just bought 4 of these new Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess figures from Play-Asia.com. Problem is Play-Asia sells them as "you get what you get and not what you want", so I could end up with 4 of the same figures or at least a two or three different figures. What ever I get I plan to sell the doubles on eBay. Look for that sale later, cause they'll be cheaper than Play-Asia's prices.

[Via Play-Asia.com]

Review of Final Fantasy II

Preview of Heroes of Mana

Preview of the upcoming game - Heroes of Mana from SquareEnix - expect a review of this game from me later this month.

Introduction video from Beautiful Katamari

The intro from Beautiful Katamari available this October. I always love how colourful and fun this games are. The music is always peppy and up beat which I like too. I can't wait to buy this on the Xbox 360. I love the first two Katamari games and I hope this one is worth the buy too.

Onsei Kanjou Sokuteiki: Kokoro Scan ... where nipples become bears

Kokoro Scan Trailer 1



Kokoro Scan Trailer 2

Remember that acid you did once in college just to impress that hot, female med student? Well, you're about to relive that moment, as you watch the newest Japanese trailer for Onsei Kanjou Sokuteiki: Kokoro Scan for the Nintendo DS.

Full of bears that rock out with their hair balls out, people with hearts over their faces, and a little condom man running around with bow ties on, the Kokoro Scan trailer is like a Katamari game with ecstasy icing on top.

This game isn't really a game though, it's more like expensive mood ring software for your DS. Using Sensibility technology, developed by SGI Japan and AGI, the software converts the user's voice into groups of numbers and analyzes them to indicate their current mood. The software also gives you a rating in 5 different categories: anger, joy, disappointment, normality and excitement. Does that mean the color green doesn't signify you’re horny anymore?

Though I don't see many practical uses for this technology, the voice tension detection feature will be fun to use on your girlfriend to see if she's lying about the size of your d ... uh, nose. I do think if you're sitting next to someone on the bus, and they get a low normality rating and a high anger rating, you should get off at the next stop. Trust me.

Kokoro Scan will be released by Sega for the Nintendo DS around August 2007 in Japan for about 2,700 yen. No word if Kokoro Scan will be coming to North America, but Sega does promise to use the sensibility technology for future games. I'm sure hippies worldwide will be happy to know that.

[Via CNET Asia]

Canadians get $100 Xbox 360 price drop: we traded Celine Dion for it

After sending countless packages containing poutine, moose meat, and Tragically Hip CDs, the good people at Microsoft have finally decided to drop the prices on their Xbox 360 consoles in Canada. Sure, they didn't drop them to the same prices as the US market like Sony did with their PS3 consoles, but $100 is nothing to sneeze at.

As of August 8, 2007, the Premium Xbox 360 system will retail at only $399.99 CAN, the Elite system at $499.99, the Core system at $299.99 and for the hardcore Halo fans, the Special Edition Halo system will retail at $449.99.

I'm sure there will be some Canadian gamers that will be pleased with the price drop, but as far as I'm concerned, the console prices should be the same as they are in the US market. The currency rates in Canada and the US are almost at par, and I would rather drive 20 minutes across the border and smuggle it back across to save myself the extra cash. I suggest others do the same if possible, just to send a message to retailers to give us fair pricing in Canada.

Don't make us send Rita MacNeil to your offices.

Big high five to Zero Iscariots for breaking the price drop in Canada story early on!

[Via Xbox Canada]

Do not attempt to climb to the top and rescue a hot chick

Watch as a bunch of Jack@ss rip offs put their buddy to the Donkey Kong test with a real life tower and barrels to dodge in order to save the hot chick at the top. Please do not try this without a lack of brain first and a serious need to be in the Darwin Awards next year.