Marking an Item Off the Bucket List: Barenaked Ladies Concert

So last Friday I finally after years and year of missed concerts and having nobody to go with, finally got to go to Barenaked Ladies concert. A popular band in Canada and one of my favorites for a long time, the band was playing at the Seneca Casino in Niagara Falls, New York and we managed to get center 7th row tickets.



The show was a blast too. They were amazing live and the crowd stayed on their feet the entire show as did we. Ed Roberts didn't sing along of songs and the band strayed from their normal list of concert songs, but still the tunes were great and everybody was dancing and singing along.



At the beginning of the show, the band had to be ushered through the crowd into the backstage area and I had my back turn as they walked right behind me. Mike saw them as they crossed in front of him but he reaction time sucked and he tagged me only as they disappeared into the crowd.

We were smart though and figured if they had to come through the crowd to go back stage, they would have to come back out the same way and hung around after the show. Our efforts paid off and we managed to snap a picture with frontman, Steven Page and bass player, Jim Creeggan. Ed Roberts did come through the crowd too, but I was in awe and didn't ask for a picture. I regret it now. The other guys never seemed to show and with Steve's picture already in hand, we just left.

I was very happy to meet a couple of the band members, but in terms of celebrity encounters I've meet more chatty people than them.

Warhammer Expert Wanted!

Today I was doing a bit of job hunting and came across this listing for a part time job as a Warhammer expert. Apparently some club out in Welland, Ontario, Canada is looking to hire someone to help run their Warhammer club.

Neat job, but too bad I know nothing of the game. Best list of required skills I have ever seen though.

Click the picture to see the full ad

Review: Unreal Tournament III

Unreal Tournament III
Midway, Epic Games
Available for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

This week I had to step up and finally play with the big boys to review this first person shooter. No hiding in the safety of the easy campaign mode because in Unreal Tournament III by Epic Games, you either play multiplayer or you don’t play at all. Sure there is a single player mode, but the Unreal Tournament franchise has always been about the multiplayer frag fest and if I can’t spend several days reviewing that portion of the game, then I may as well not review it all.

Unreal Tournament III is the next instalment in the Unreal series after Unreal Tournament 2004 and it runs on the famous Unreal Engine 3. Though the game does sport a single player campaign mode and co-op campaign mode where you follow a Ronin mercenary named Reaper who is out for revenge after his home planet is attacked, those storyline modes are really only exercises in preparation for the real draw of the game, the multiplayer mode.

The multiplayer mode gives you the chance to create your own character from several different teams like the Ronin, the Necris, Thunder Clash, etc. which each have their own special abilities. From those teams, you can choose from several different members, male or female to play as. Once you choose your character, you then get to choose your game type: deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, duel, warfare, and vehicle capture the flag and how to want to seek out players: ranked match or player match. Most of these multiplayer matches are won by gaining the most kills before the other team, but capture the flag and warfare offer variations on the kill point wins.



As I’ve stated many times before I am not a good FPS player and tend to get dizzy after playing for more than an hour, but this game I actually fared well in. I admit I played the single player campaign on easy to avoid spending several months trying to finish this game, but when I jumped into the multiplayer games; I actually walked away with 7 to 14 kills each time in “50 points to win” games. I surprised even myself.

I have to give credit to Epic games to creating a game with easy to use controls. Previous games like Call of Duty 3, I always found myself dying before I could even get my weapon aim at my enemy, but Unreal has me dodging and aiming like a mofo. I love it.

The weapon selection is wicked with a grand arsenal of futuristic weapons to blow your enemies to chunks of man meat. I especially like the bio rifle because you could carpet an area with its neon green slime balls, plus it reminded me of the mutagen from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The both single and multiplayer also allow players to jump into vehicles like hoverboards, tanks, ATVs, etc, but they tend to you vulnerable when riding around in them. I preferred walking around on foot.

I was very impressed with the response time in multiplayer and with the quality of the game play and graphics. Everything ran smoothly and not once did I get kicked from a game or have it freeze on me mid-play. I was disappointed to see there was no voice feature in the game. I tend not to chat with non-friends online anyway, but I never once heard anyone talking when I was playing or sitting in the lobby waiting for a game to start.



Being that this game comes from the same studio as Gears of War, I expected amazing graphics and that’s exactly what I got. This game is visually stunning from the first cinematic where you watch your character die to every little piece of man meat that goes flying during the in-game battles. Did I mention this game is mature rated? The characters are strikingly similar to those from Gears of War which I did find a bit silly. Is Epic becoming like Square Enix now and making all their characters look like cousins?

Character acting is the game was solid with a great cast to voice all the players in the campaign storyline as well as all the banter during game play. The music, sound effects though are your standard epic battle sounds with mass bombing noises and grand musical overtures.

Now I got to review the Xbox 360 version of UT III and this version came packed with 5 new maps, a two player split screen mode, some new characters and a new trailer download for Gears of War 2. Not sure if that makes a different in a purchase for some people, but I figured I better throw that fact in there if it did.

This is probably one of the few first person shooters that I actually liked playing and can easily recommend it as a great game for any gamer to play, even the newbies like me.

Rating 8 out of 10
Buy it!

Epic 8-bit Art: Legend of Zelda Title Screen

Another great piece created with nothing more than tiny little plastic beads and an iron. Truly it must be the work of small elves or oompa-loompas.

Nah, this giant piece of bead sprites art is the creations of Highly Flammable Man over at the Bead Sprite Forums. Though its not completely one piece like most designs I've seen in the past, this creations was done one square board at a time.

Hopefully he plans to glue it on a board or something and then frame it. That would look cool.

New Mirror's Edge Trailer: Faith's Story

EA and DICE released a new trailer that finally gives us more insight into the runner known as Faith. We find out a bit more about her family, her childhood and how the city came to be.

I love the animation style of the trailer and am so pumped for this game. As you all may have noticed I changed my banner to a newer depiction of Faith. I honestly don't think EA can get a better advertising for free.
While we're on the topic of Mirror's Edge, EA announced the game would be coming out on November 11, 2008 and there would be a special edition "Mirror's Edge Runner's Bag Bundle" that would feature a copy of the game and an exclusive Mirror's Edge runner's bag from Timbuk2. This bundle currently is available for pre-order on the North American EA website for $129.95

Playstation Store Downloads for September 26, 2008

Downloadable Games
WipEout HD ($19.99)
It was there back at the beginning and now it’s taking the franchise into the future: WipEout HD is set to deliver 1080p High Definition visuals running at a breathtaking 60-frames-per-second. WipEout HD features a selection of the best tracks taken from previous versions of the franchise, meticulously crafted and fully reworked to showcase the processing power of PS3. Available exclusively on PSN.
File size: 997 MB

Burnout Paradise PSN ($29.99)
Welcome to Paradise City, the ultimate driving playground. Burnout Paradise is set in a vast open-world, filled with events and challenges that will push your driving and riding skills to the limit. So grab your first set of wheels and head on out into the city; what happens next is completely up to you.
File size: 3.24 GB

GEON Emotions ($9.99)
Geon is a fast moving arcade game where players race to collect pellets and deposit them in the opponent’s goal to “score”. Experience the intense rush of playing against friends and family in multiplayer split screen or play online against opponents or team up and play a 4 player game of Team Geon or compete in a frantic match of last man standing. Unlock and master over 40 unique game grids and 8 exciting mini games.
File size: 54.2 MB

Mega Man 9 (free demo, $9.99 to buy)
Mega Man fans, your wait is over! The classic Blue Bomber that debuted in 1987 is back with the ninth installment in the classic series. It’s a new adventure for Mega Man all done in an 8-bit style — graphics, music, and gameplay are all like you remember them!
File size: 62.9 MB

Add-on Game Content
BUZZ! QuizTV Question Pack, National Geographic: Safari ($7.99)
From the world famous National Geographic archives comes the ultimate African wildlife quiz. This BUZZ! Quiz TV quiz pack features over 500 new questions about African wildlife to play in any of your favorite BUZZ! Quiz TV game modes. Download this quiz pack today and turn your party into the ultimate trivia showdown. Challenge your friends and family with new questions and “Show ‘em Your Trivia!”
File size: 135 MB

BUZZ! QuizTV Question Pack, Videogames ($5.99)
It’s never “game over” with these tricky teasers on the last 15 years of videogames from Ratchet & Clank to MotorStorm. This BUZZ! Quiz TV quiz pack features over 500 new questions about videogames to play in any of your favorite BUZZ! Quiz TV game modes. Download this quiz pack today and turn your party into the ultimate trivia showdown. Challenge your friends and family with new questions and “Show ‘em Your Trivia!”
File size: 118 MB

BUZZ! QuizTV Question Pack, Sci-Fi ($5.99)
Sci-Fi movie questions to stump your competition into outer space — but will you need to phone home to find out the answers? This BUZZ! Quiz TV quiz pack features over 500 new questions about science fiction movies to play in any of your favorite BUZZ! Quiz TV game modes. Download this quiz pack today and turn your party into the ultimate trivia showdown. Challenge your friends and family with new questions and “Show ‘em Your Trivia!”
File size: 194 MB

Soul Calibur IV Customization Equipment 2 ($1.99)
Trick or treat with the Halloween equipment set. Frighten your opponent away by turning your characters into a scary character by combining items from this set with the numerous equipments which can be acquired in game. This equipment can be used for both female and male characters.
File size: 3.09 MB

Rock Band
Build your Rock Band library by purchasing these song game tracks. For song credits, visit www.RockBand.com.

“Limelight (Original Version)” – Rush ($1.99)
“Tom Sawyer (Original Version)” – Rush ($1.99)
“Red Barchetta” – Rush ($1.99)
“The Camera Eye” – Rush ($1.99)
“Vital Signs” – Rush ($1.99)
“Witch Hunt” – Rush ($1.99)
“YYZ” – Rush ($1.99)
“Moving Pictures (Album)” – Rush ($10.99) This pack includes “Tom Sawyer (Original Version),” “Red Barchetta,” “YYZ,” “Limelight (Original Version),” “The Camera Eye,” “Witch Hunt,” and “Vital Signs” by Rush.
“Bandage” – Hot Hot Heat ($1.99)
“Love Spreads” – Stone Roses ($1.99)
“She Sells Sanctuary – The Cult ($1.99)
“Shoot the Runner – Kasabian ($1.99)
“Sorrow” – Bad Religion ($1.99)
“You’re No Rock n’ Roll Fun” – Sleater Kinney ($1.99)
File sizes: 3 MB - 50 MB (singles), 205 MB (track packs)

Game Demos (free)
NBA 09 The Inside Demo
NBA 09 The Inside delivers the NBA experience like no other; In Full HD 1080p. But don’t take our word for it, get your own hands-on experience with this jam-packed demo. Once you’ve seen for yourself, you can pre-order today through GameStop and get an officially licensed NBA cap. Specially marked boxes will also get you one year FREE subscription to Vibe Magazine. NBA 09 The Inside: Nothing Gets You Closer.
ESRB Rated E
File size: 964 MB

NBA Live 09 Demo
Get your first chance to check out NBA Live 09 as you recreate the matchup from the 2008 NBA Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Play with their current rosters or step back in time to play two different games based on the players performance in two of their classic matchups with the all new NBA Rewind.
ESRB Rated E
File size: 766 MB

Mega Man 9 Trial
Mega Man fans, your wait is over! The classic Blue Bomber that debuted in 1987 is back with the ninth installment in the classic series. It’s a new adventure for Mega Man all done in an 8-bit style — graphics, music, and gameplay are all like you remember them!
ESRB Rated E
File size: 62.9 MB

Game Videos (free)
PAIN Amusement Park-New Characters Video
Meet PAIN’s newest downloadable launchees–Kenneth, Yeony, and Tati. Stunt double Kenneth’s superpowers allow him to withstand the PAIN. Gamer girl Yeony will frag you with a smile on her face. Watch out for Tati; she has spice and brings a whole lotta nice to PAIN. Shown here in the PAIN Amusement Park add-on environment, Kenneth, Yeony, and Tati are compatible in all PAIN environments!
File size: 58 MB (HD)

Resistance 2 Shattered History Trailer
Witness the history of the fall of man in this exciting new video revealing the altered history of Resistance 2!
File sizes: 97 MB (HD), 160 MB (1080)

Brothers in Arms: Hell’ Highway Eyes Only Network Trailer
Get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the secrets in Brothers in Arms Hell’s Highway. Listen carefully and don’t blink or you’ll miss out.
File sizes: 214 MB (HD), 291 MB (1080)

Burnout Paradise Bikes Network Trailer
Burnout Paradise takes another leap forward by introducing motorcycles for the first time ever with Burnout Bikes.
File size: 56 MB (HD)

Dead Space Animated Comic Issue #5 Network Trailer
Dead Space Animated Comic Issue #5
File size: 195 MB (HD)

Tomb Raider: Underworld Gameplay Network Trailer
Go behind the scenes with the development team at Crystal Dynamics and learn about the background for the story of Tomb Raider: Underworld, the first Tomb Raider game for the PlayStation 3.
File sizes: 96 MB (HD), 129 MB (1080)

88 Minutes Blu-ray Trailer
Al Pacino stars in this riveting thriller about a forensic psychologist who receives a phone call threatening that he has only 88 minutes to live. As the clock ticks away, tension mounts, suspicions rise and blood flows. With a serial killer he helped convict awaiting execution and a copycat killer on the loose, Jack Gramm has 88 minutes to solve the biggest murder of his career: his own.
File sizes: 107 MB (HD), 144 MB (1080)

Made of Honor Blu-ray Trailer
Tom loves his life, until he realizes he also loves his best friend Hannah. But when Hannah gets engaged to a dashing Scotsman and asks Tom to be her maid of honor, Tom faces hostile bridesmaids, bridal showers, and bad hair days, all in an effort to pull off the perfect wedding and steal the bride. He’s a maid of honor with a plan.
File sizes: 81 MB (HD), 103 MB (1080)

PS3 Wallpaper (free)
Soul Calibur IV #5 Tira Witch
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Soul Calibur IV Tira Witch Wallpaper.
File size: 262 KB - 999 KB

Soul Calibur IV #6 Voldo Jack-O-Lantern
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Soul Calibur IV Jack-O-Lantern Wallpaper.
File sizes: 296 KB - 1.06 MB

PS3 Themes (free)
Buzz! Quiz TV
Customize your PS3 system with a cool Buzz! Quiz TV Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 5.43 MB

Wipeout HD Theme - All Teams #1
Customize your PS3 system with a cool Wipeout HD - All Teams #1 Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 7.67 MB

PLAYSTATION Store for PC
Here is this week’s content release for the PLAYSTATION Store for PC. To download these games to your PSP, navigate to http://store.playstation.com.

PSP Games
* Untold Legends Brotherhood of the Blade ($14.99)
With fast-paced, hack ‘n’ slash action, randomly generated environments, monsters and items, beautiful 3D graphics and wireless cooperative multiplayer gameplay. Untold Legends Brotherhood of the Blade offers a compelling gameplay experience on a handheld gaming device.
File size: 157 MB

* Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords ($14.99)
Building upon the addictive and easyto- learn gameplay of a puzzle game by integrating story and character progression elements found in RPGs, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords delivers a brand new type of game that pushes the puzzle genre to a previously unseen level.
File size: 65 MB

Game Demos (Free)
* Pipe Mania Demo for PSP
The puzzle classic is back and better than ever! Pipe Mania is a frenetic, addictive and infectious puzzle game that now lives on your PlayStation®2 and PSP. Requiring quick thinking, hand-eye coordination and keen spatial awareness, puzzle fans are in for a challenge that is easy to pick up but not easy to master. With all new floozes and challenges, Pipe Mania is the puzzle game you won’t be able to put down.
File size: 39 MB

PSP Themes (Free)
* Buzz! Master Quiz (also available from PS3 Store)
Customize your PSP with a cool Buzz! Master Quiz Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File sizes: 458 KB

Wario Land's Shake It has Wicked Cool Viral Video

Nintendo has created probably the coolest viral video I have ever seen for their newest Nintendo Wii game, Wario Land: Shake It.

You can find the video on You Tube on the Experience Wii Channel. This is really something you need to experience for yourself rather than have me tell you about it.

Check it out here.

Mega Man 9 Release Breaks the WiiWare Title Slump

Check out some of the new stages from Mega Man 9 which is available as a Nintendo Wiiware title on Sept 22, a PSN download on Sept 25 and a XBLA download on October 1st.

The Blue Bomber is back!

Review: Guitar Hero: On Tour

Guitar Hero: On Tour
Activision, Red Octane
Available on Nintendo DS

The idea of a portable Guitar Hero game is about as cool as the idea of carrying around a huge ghetto blaster was back in the 80s - the in crowd saw the idea as cool, but the guy actually carrying the heavy and awkward machine probably realised how stupid the idea was after his shoulder started to cave in after walking the first couple of blocks with it. If I lost you in my example, then you better read my review of Guitar Hero: On Tour because then you like me will understand the ghetto-blaster-carrying guy’s point of view.

Generally I do all my portable game reviews at work, so I can tell how “15 minute break” friendly the game is and also I can get my fellow gamers‘ opinion on the game as they watch me play. Guitar Hero: On Tour really wasn’t one of those games that I could take the opinion of anyone watching seriously. Why? Because they didn’t have their hand strapped into the game controller.



Guitar Hero: On Tour comes with a 4 key fret pad that connects into the Gameboy advance shot on your Nintendo DS for which you must you slip your hand around and through its strap, almost like your holding the DS system like an open book. This allows you to place your fingers on the 4 keys with your left hand and strum with the pick stylus on the touch pad with your right hand. This setup was massively comfortable and I couldn’t play through more than 2 or 3 songs before my hand started to cramp up.

So to play the game, you basically just have to strum on the touch pad with the stylus as you push the right coloured key on the fret pad to match the notes scrolling down on the DS screen. Not much different than how you play Guitar Hero on the console version. If anything it was easier to play the notes on this version of Guitar Hero than the console version because I could see the keys in the corner of my eye, but it was just too bad the strumming mechanics didn‘t work right. With no resistant from the screen to tell if you’re strumming right, you lose more notes to missed strums than you do from missed keys. Star power was activated from yelling “Rock Out” into your DS microphone, but I chose to blow on it instead. Less embarrassing.

The game modes include career mode for single player to unlock all the songs in easy, medium or expert and there is also quick play mode which allows for a single player single song play on any level. Multiplayer works over Nintendo DS local wireless connection and allows for co-op play or guitar duels. As usual Guitar Hero has unlockable songs and gear for players to collect as they work their way through career mode with one of 6 different players.



The song list is actually the best list I’ve seen in any of the Guitar Hero games so far. With 95% of the songs from artists I actual know and like, I was always excited to play each of the songs in the list and it made the songs much easier to play when I knew them. Tracks from Daughtry, Kiss, Nirvana, No Doubt, Ozzy Osbourne and other popular artists all make up this game’s catalogue of song tracks this time around and I also noted there were more new tracks in this game than previous games like Ozzy’s newest song, “I don’t wanna stop”, Incubus’ “Anna Molly” and Daughtry’s “What I want”.

With such a great list of track, it was a shame the audio was so terrible. The music was very tinny sounding, lacked any bass and was really very quiet on the Nintendo DS speakers, so don’t expect to be rocking the house with the tunes from this game. Even with your headphones on, the opening credit music was louder than the music you play during the game.

As a bonus point though, this game does help you stay in shape for playing Guitar Hero on the console which helped me match skills with my boyfriend on the game at home for once. Surprisingly this game does have a sort of magic power about it that manages to grab the attention of every gamer geek within 30 feet radius. Every person I knew and didn’t was coming up to me at work asking me about this game and talking about how cool it looked. Meanwhile my hand is cramping up and they can’t hear how cruddy the sound was coming through my headphones.

Now you see why I feel like the ghetto blaster guy when I play Guitar Hero: On Tour. Now excuse me while I go into portable Guitar Hero retirement for a while and put my wrist on ice.

Rating: 4 out of 10
Forget it

Epic 8-Bit Art: Sam from Sam & Max: Hit the Road

Meet the Sam from Sam & Max: Hit the Road. He is the first part of my soon to be gaming room decoration.

I plan to make Sam next, then frame the two pieces and hang them in my new gaming room.

Nintendo Celebrates Kirby Super Star Ultra Release with Flogos!

Nintendo recently celebrated the upcoming release of Kirby Super Star Ultra on Nintendo DS by releasing thousands of pink, cloud-like images of Kirby in the skies over four U.S. cities with areas that share his name like Kirby Middle School in Birmingham, AL.

The Kirby clouds were Flogos, creations made from environmentally-friendly soapy bubbles and lighter-than-air gas. Pink dye was added to the mix for the first time though to give it Kirby's trademark colour.



It’s been sixteen years since Kirby, the super, tough pink puff, made his first appearance and Nintendo is celebrating by releasing Kirby Super Star Ultra for Nintendo DS on Monday, September 22. The game features three new touch-screen-controlled mini-games that you can play with up to three friends, a slew of new adventures including updated graphics and fully rendered movie scenes.

Retro Treasure Hunting #1: Nintendo Entertainment System x2

While it was only a couple of years ago that I went a sold my collection of retro video game machines and games, my boyfriend and I have now decided to start collecting any of the old videogame systems and games and display them in our spare room upstairs.

Of course, this choice makes me really wish I hadn't sold my perfectly good Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gameboy Colour (Clear Purple version) with all the games including Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario World, Super Mario All Stars and Final Fantasy III. Yes, I am an idiot, but I actually believed Nintendo would release good games on the virtual console and that the Nintendo Wii would have ample storage space for those games. Silly me.

So far on our first couple weeks in searching for hidden treasures and sweet deals, we've managed to find tons of Dreamcasts, Xboxes, Playstations and Gamecubes, but older systems are really hard to find or hard to find cheap.

We found one place that had an old Sear Pong Game but the guy wanted $50 for it and couldn't even take the time to find the power adapter for it. We walked out on him.

Finally I managed to track down two Nintendo Entertainment Systems online for $40 that had all the cables for one unit, two controllers and a zapper. We snapped them and figured we'd keep the extra system in case the other one ever breaks.


This week I also purchase Little Nemo: Dream Master for NES for $2.99 and Secret of Mana for SNES for $25 on eBay. I've been trying to find SoM for less but $25 is the cheapest I've found online or offline so far, so I gave up and bought it. No system yet, but I'll get one soon enough.


Our main plan is to focus on the hard to find systems first and then games as we find them cheap. The spare room will be made into a game room, complete with some cool retro decorations I am currently working on.

I'll try to post as we pick up more cool retro items to add to our small little collection.

Shop Smart, Shop with Ash!

A long time ago, I open a store on Cafe Press with a few gamer designs, but it never really took off. I think I've sold three t-shirts in 1 year.

Well, I recently added two more designs onto my store: one is just a corporate logo from an evil zombie making company you just might recognize, while the other is a homage to my favorite deadite @ss kicker, Ash from Army of Darkness.

In my spare time, I plan to work on a few new designs, but for now check out what's there and tell me what you think.

You can find my store, The PWN Shop here.

September’s Downloadable Game Reviews

Fable II Pub Games
Available on Xbox Live Arcade

Fable II developers released Fable II Pub Games on the Xbox Live Arcade this month in a neat pre-game tie-in, so players can have a chance to earn gold and items for their character before the main game is released.

Pub Games contains 3 casino-style games on which players can gamble their hard earned gold pieces through. The 3 games which you have to choose from are Fortune's Tower which is a solitaire type card game, Keystone which is a cross between crapes and roulette with a collapsing archway thrown in for fun, and Spinner box is basically a slots game.

Positive:
This arcade pack gives you a chance to boost your character's gold and items count before you even get a copy of Fable II, which will really help those of us less skilled fighters make it through the first few levels. The games, characters and unlockable items also give you a peek into the world of Fable II months in advance.

Negative:
While players can use the pub games to boost their gold before the game comes on, putting your character into debt before the game can also have negative affects on your character too. Both Keystone and Fortune's Tower are decent games and require a bit of skill to win, but spinner box is nothing more than a button pusher and doesn't really add to the value of this game pack. Only worth a download if it comes with your Fable II pre-order.

Forget it!


PixelJunk Monsters
Available on Playstation Network

PixelJunk Monsters is a whimsical defence game on the Playstation Network that has you setting up various types of tower weapons to protect your nest of tiny monsters against waves of oncoming enemies. Each tower has different types of attributes like rapid fire, long range or wide spread attacks which you must match up to defend against the various types of enemies that try to kill off the tiny monster you are defending.

An expansion has been created for this game with 15 new levels inspired by arcade games like Pac Man and Space Invaders.

Positive:
The variety in level designs, tower and enemy types will have you using every brain cell possible to protect your nest. There is definitely not a boring moment in this game. The graphics are simple but funky and stylish. You can't help but get addicted.

Negative:
Don't let the simple graphics fool you though, because this game gets insanely hard after the 3rd level. Even with the expansion pack providing some tweaked game play, this game will have you spending hours and hours just trying to clear the easy levels with all your tiny monsters in tacked.

Buy it!



Toy Home
Available on Playstation Network

Toy Home is another whimsical title available on the Playstation Network that also players to drive mini toy cars through tracks built in people’s homes. As you drive through these tracks, you can drive into toys, blocks, dishes, cartons of milk and other household items all while trying to reach the next checkpoint and collect coins and medals. Each player is ranked at the end of each track on their item collection and track time.

What’s unique about this little racer is that you control your car’s direction with the SIXAXIS control which makes this cute little game very difficult to master. There are 8 tracks to race on, a one or two player racing mode and an online mode which allows you to race against 7 other players online.

Positive:
The track layouts are creative and reminiscent of stages from Katamari Damacy. You’ll love racing your car through stacks of blocks and off ramps over toy crocodiles. Great game to play against friends and family as you’ll love racing around in this silly little game.

Negative:
For serious racers, the controls are difficult and take lots of practice to master, which makes it hard for those who really want to rank high in this game. Tracks only become available as you open them and you only get two cars to choose from in the beginning.

Buy it!


Echochrome
Available on the Playstation Network

Echochrome is a puzzle game that was only released on the Playstation Network in North America, but was released on the PSP in Japan. This puzzle game is inspired by M.C. Escher’s artwork - each puzzle is a 3d series of pathways that change depending of which angle you view them from. By changing the position of the 3d puzzle, the little man that traverses along the paths of the 3d puzzle can move from one path to another to meet up with his shadow.

The puzzle world is ruled by several laws that allow you to change the structure of the 3d puzzle in order to move your man. By using these laws, you can reach each shadow and solve the puzzle. The laws range from point of view, “out of sight, out of mind”, line of sight, etc. Players must truly think outside the box to solve these puzzles.

Positive:
The concept of Echochrome is something I’ve never seen in the gaming industry ever and it’s always wonderful to see completely unique ideas making into mainstream. Plus this game merges game play with art. This game is really challenging for those that like a good puzzler and the game has an occasional update that rotates in new sets of user created levels.

Negative:
This game can have you tearing your hair out with its incredibly hard puzzles. The rotating axis points never seem to move to the points I need them to and you have to wait for your little man to walk on his own to the points you need him to.

Buy it!



My Life as a King: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Available on Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console as WiiWare Title

My Life as a King is a Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles title created by Square Enix to be a high profile WiiWare title. This city-building simulator follows a young king as he turns a barren town into a booming city with the help of a magical crystal in the center of town which bestows upon him the power of Architek.
As the little King, you must create new buildings, draw new residents to your town, hire adventurers and assign them to quests, and finally boost the moral of your townspeople.

Positive:
This game's addictive nature will have you spending all hours of the day running adventurers through quests and talking to your townspeople, just so you can unlock the next new building type. The graphics are beautiful on the Wii and if not for the short and basis game play, this could have easily been a full Nintendo Wii game.

Negative:
Once you unlock all the buildings by mid-point in the game, the king spends every day just waiting for his heroes to return from quests and talking to his townspeople, all in order to advance the game's storyline. This can become massively repetitive and can destroy any hopes you have for this being a great building sim like SimCity.

The add-ons for the game which range from costumes for 100 Wii points to 800 Wii points for a building pack, if all purchased, cost more than the initial game and really don't add that much to it. Besides, 800 Wii points could buy me a whole game on the virtual console, so why would I want a couple of extra buildings for my town? Didn't anyone learn from Oblivion's horse armour fiasco?

Forget it!


LostWinds
Available on Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console as WiiWare Title

LostWinds is unique WiiWare title developed by Frontier Developments that follows a young boy named Toku tasked with saving his homeland from the vengeful elemental Balasar. He gets help on his journey from the wind elemental Enril, who teaches him to master wind in order to jump higher, farther and affect other elements in the world around him.

The game uses the Wii remote like a wand to control the direction of the wind, while the nunchuk control is used to control the character of Toku. Frontier Developments has already started work on a sequel to this title that will continue the storyline on from its “to be continued” ending.

Positive:
The similar cell-shaded graphics and game play will definitely impress Legend of Zelda: Windwaker fans and Nintendo Wii fans will enjoy the innovative use of the Wii remote control system by Frontier. The game is also challenging enough that players will have to use their head to make it through the landscapes and figure out their next move in the story.

Negative:
Expect to spend a lot of time retracing your steps as you fall off ledges over and over again. The controls can be hard to handle at time and some moves must be so precise on their landing that they’ll take 30 tries before you land it. This can get really frustrating, especially if you have to reclimb the level each time too.

Buy it!

Link: If He were a She.

If it weren't for the boobs, I probably would have passed this piece over without a second glance.

GAMSadresse created this amazing piece to show what Link might look like if he were a woman instead. That's not really a far stretch considering how Link has always been so youthful and feminine looking over the years. Being an elf thing creature tends to make you look like that though.

[Via Deviant Art]

Super Mario Bros. 3 Map Cross Stitch

Cross Stitch Ninja created this really cool replica Super Mario Bros. 3 World 1 map in cross stitch form.

The finished piece took 4 months in between other projects and is 28 x 34 cm with about roughly 50 000 stitches in it.

This would look pretty cool in bead sprite form.

[Via Craftster.org]

The Gamer Sickness: I've Got It and You Don't Want It

I have been a gamer for a long time and back in the days of the Nintendo NES system, Sega Master System, etc; I could spend hours on end playing video games and I would too. I would have marathon days of gaming that started Friday after school when I hopped my backyard fence to go to the local video store to pick up a new game for rent and would end on Sunday when I racked up two days worth of late fees and enough pop and chips to feed a small army.

Sadly my days of marathon gaming ended when gaming evolved beyond the 2D side scrollers and overhead worlds we had known for so long. See I like probably many other get a reverse motion sickness when I play any game that is set in a 3D world with a first person view or even sometimes a first person view with really fast game play.

Basically what scientists believe happens to me while I’m playing these games is that while my eyes are seeing rapid movements on the computer or TV screen, my body isn’t moving at all, so there’s an inner conflict within my brain as to what’s really going on. Since my the eyes and body disagree as to what is happen, my brain sides with my body and responds the way a brain should when a person is seeing things that aren’t suppose to be there - it throws up to remove any poisons that may be causing the hallucinations.

For anybody who’s never experienced this type of problem, believe me it sucks. I can’t play any first person shooter longer than a few of hours or less depending on the position of the planet Venus or how many games the Red Socks are winning. Honestly I don’t know why some days are better than other, but they just are. Other games like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion or Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess with their first person views will still get me after a while too because of all their rapid movements still confuse the f*ck out of my brain I guess.


My condition is worst because I get the fun addition of headaches on top of the nausea, so either I’m singing to the Porcelain Gods for 5 minutes or spending a few hours in bed doped up on pain meds all because I wanted to get in a couple of hours of Unreal Tournament III.

I remember the first time I got sick from playing videogames too. I had just rented a Nintendo 64 and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the weekend from Roger Video and after playing for an hour or two I got so sick. I couldn’t figure out why either but I did remember my eyes beginning to hurt, then my head and finally my stomach. It was the beginning of a new generation of gaming and the beginning of a new form of hell for a game addict like me.

I always wondered why I never felt the effects of the gaming sickness on PC FPSs like Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein before the Nintendo 64 came out, but then I remembered the fact my Dad never let me play for hours on end on his computer like my Mom let me play on my game systems. He, unlike my Mom, actually used the computer a lot and I didn’t have a lot of time to play on it when I went over to visit with him on the weekends. That’s when I usually went and played with his old Commodore 64 instead.

I know I’m not the only one to suffering with this horrible affliction and while there are some tricks for us to counteract the effects of videogame dizziness like sitting further away from the screen, changing the contract or resolution on your TV screen to sharpen the picture or trying to look away from the screen every few minutes to ground your eyes, this will always be a huge damper on us hardcore gamers.

It limits your game choices, your time spent playing games, and ultimately makes you a little bitter towards people who don’t get sick playing. I’ve always said I’m not a big first person shooter fan and now you know why … because they really do make me sick.

WTF Moment: Pirate Rap Ad on The Girl Gamer

Not to draw attention to one advertiser over any other on my site, but recently I signed up for Project Wonderful which allows any website member to bid for ad space on your site and there is just one advertiser which is too good not to talk about.

Recently I noticed a weird little ad for Captain Dan & the Scurvy Crew who are creators of unique Pirate Rap. Yes ... Pirate Rap with a yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

They have an album for sale on CD Baby.com that has such titles as Rime of the Hip Hop Mariners, It's all about the Booty and my favorite, Sea Monsters. You can listen to all their songs on the site as well as purchase the mp3s and CD.

The link should still be up on the top right hand corner of my page, but if not - then click here.

You just can't make this kind of stuff up.

Faith joins System Lynk as Podcast Host

Starting next Monday night, I'll be hosting a live gaming Podcast on the Fan Off Network. The show which is called System Lynk airs at 8pm EST and I will be hosting with two more gamer fanatics, Jason Gallop and Anthony Skatz.

We'll be chatting about new release, retro favorites, gaming news, what we're playing and we'll be taking calls and answering listener feedback live on the air. We even hope to start giving away monthly and weekly prizes to our active listeners.

The first show airs Monday, September 22 at 8pm EST and I hope all my readers will check out the show. It will be my first time hosting a podcast, but not my first time participating in one. Hopefully I won't screw up, but tune in just in case I do! Just kidding.

Until the show airs though, check out the Fan Off Network website and their other live podcasts as well as the new System Lynk forums. Join in the discussion and maybe leave a few well wishes while you're there.

Hope everyone will be listening.

Secret of Mana Virtual Console Game Play Footage

DO WANT!!!!

I am one cartridge and a Super Nintendo or a Virtual Console release in North America away from safely playing Secret of Mana again.

Nintendo, hurry up and release this game in North America already. Either that or Square Enix made a re-make of this game. eBayers are already selling this game for $40 or more, so why shouldn't your company jump in and sell a Nintendo DS remake for the same amount.

Midway Release Character Roster for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

Midway announced the complete cast of characters in its newest epic fighter, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe this week. Rounding out the final line-up are the villains Shao Kahn, Darkseid, Baraka and Lex Luthor.

I was hoping to see Johnny Cage on the Mortal Kombat side and apparently I'm not alone. A lot of people are disappointed to see Johnny Cage missing and this is not a good move on Midway's part. Killing off Johnny Cage is pretty much what bombed the second Mortal Kombat movie, so what does a missing Johnny mean for MK vs DC?

Mortal Kombat
Scorpion
Sub-Zero
Sonya
Jax
Shang Tsung
Liu Kang
Raiden
Kitana
Kano
Baraka
Shao Kahn

DC Universe
Batman
Superman
Catwoman
Green Lantern
The Joker
Shazam
The Flash
Wonder Woman
Deathstroke
Lex Luthor
Darkseid

The game hits store shelves this November on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Nutshell Houses Bowser and his Kids

Every week the people at my favorite Beadsprite forum always come up with bigger and better projects to post and I just have to keep posting about them here on my blog.

This week Nutshell posted his massive Bowser bead sprite and framed collection of Koopa Kids from Super Mario Bros. 3. Bowser must stand at least 2 or 3 feet talk in comparison to his TV stand. That is one big @ss bead sprite.

The Koopa Kids are pretty darn cool, but too bad he has to hang them on the back of his door. Isn't there anywhere else you can showcase your cool pieces or are you like me and have to beg before you can put anything anywhere in the house?

Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals

Looks like Victor Lucas from Electric Playground is producing another behind the scenes for a new game called Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals. The studio behind Spectrobes, Jupiter Corp has worked on games like Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Pokemon Pinball and The World Ends with You.

Check out the two Behind the scenes videos below for Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals coming soon from Disney Interactive and Jupiter Corp



Behind the Scenes 1

Review: Top Spin 3

Top Spin 3
2K Sports, Pam Development
Available for the Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS

When it comes to tennis, I just can’t win. I couldn’t pick up the real game when an ex-boyfriend tried to teach me how to play and even any virtual tennis games seem to be beyond my grasp. 2K Sports newest title, Top Spin 3 as I’ve found, is no different for me either.

Whether you’re playing Top Spin 3 on the Xbox 360 & PS3 with a controller or on Nintendo Wii with the motion controller, a good concept of how the game of tennis works is really the key to excelling in this game. The control scheme has been changed to include a variety of swing types and knowing which type to use during the match can really give you an upper hand over your opponents.




The motion controls on the Wii definitely made the game much more interactive and enjoyable, but the Xbox controllers have been changed so much to include control over your switch type, direction and power that it has actually become more difficult to accurately hit the ball. I spend 15 minutes in the tutorial just trying to master the serve, because I didn’t understand that I just had to nudge the analog stick once instead of holding it each time.

Real tennis fans may love the precise swing controllers, but newcomers might get discouraged by them and given up on this game before they even finish the tutorial, especially when it takes them an hour just to finish it.

The game offers a great single player experience which allows you to play one game at a time against tennis legends like Maria Sharapova or Andy Roddick with its quick match mode or you can progress through career mode with a custom created player and try to climb the ranks in the professional tennis world. You can even pick from 40 different venues to play matches in.

You can also go online on the Xbox & PS3 versions and play against 3 other players in singles or doubles in a quick match or the world tour mode where you can compete in online tournaments. The Wii version doesn’t have online play but you can play party mode which allows you to play mini games against your friends and family at home.




Each tennis legend facial modeling was quite well done in the game, but the body animation was so bad, I actually got a little sick watching Maria Sharapova walk around after a while. The developers made her look more anorexic then anything; it was like watching a skeleton with skin swing a racket.

Animation in the game was a little slow or choppy in some spots. The camera would be panning over the crowd and suddenly stop or stutter, which for such a simple animation shouldn’t be happening.

Audio was pretty realistic with its announcers during the matches. They called the matches quite accurately and didn’t repeat themselves at all. The music in the menu selection screens was excellent and featured tracks from artists like Jamiroquai, Calvin Harris and Boys like Girls.

This is definitely not the type of game I would normally buy, but for fans of professional tennis, I think the updated control system and the legends of tennis roster will impress enough to warrant a rental. For those of us who can’t swing a racket to save our lives though, I think we should play it safe and stick to playing Pong.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Rent it!

Playstation Store Downloads for September 11, 2008

Qore Digital Magazine
Just a quick note to let you know that the MotorStorm: Pacific Rift demo is now available to all Qore annual subscribers and those customers that have purchased Episode 04.

How to get the MotorStorm: Pacific Rift demo:
-Go into Qore Episode 04 under the game drop on the XMB
-Go to the Download Center
-Go to the “MotorStorm: Pacific Rift - Demo” box
-Hit the “X” button and let the downloading begin!
File size: 616 MB

Downloadable Games
JEOPARDY! ($14.99)
Test your knowledge on America’s Favorite Quiz Show! Available for the first time on the PLAYSTATION Network, players can experience the fast-paced fun of JEOPARDY! Featuring a photorealistic 3D set and clues from the producers of the T.V. show, players can compete in solo mode or challenge a friend to a battle of the brains. Be the first to buzz in and vie to become a JEOPARDY! champ!
ESRB Rated E
File size: 171 MB

Add-on Game Content
PAIN Amusement Park ($5.99)
PAIN has been a PSN hit mostly for its hilarious and addictive gameplay. Now, the first add-on environment, Amusement Park, takes PAIN to a new heights with six modes, including four new ones - Hot n’ Cold, Clown Toss, Trauma, and Call da Shot. Launch your character into the park and let the rides fling you around with longer runs and ooch times. It’s more PAIN than you ever imagined!
File size: 50.6 MB

PAIN: Yeony Character ($0.99)
A Gamer Girl with a heart of steel, downloadable character Yeony, will frag you with the cutest grin on her face. Armed with only a controller and well-disguised attitude, she will melt your heart and then melt your face. She’s cute, she’s on the launcher, she’s compatible with all PAIN environments, and she’s ready to bring the PAIN! Are YOU ready?

PAIN: Tati Character ($0.99)
It is said that girls are made of “sugar and spice and everything nice”, but downloadable character Tati, leaves the sugar behind and only brings the spice and a whole lotta nice to PAIN. Fresh off the disco floor, this Latina launchee compatible in all PAIN environments is ready to take to the skies and mash it up with you. Be careful–her poses have been known to hypnotize. Good luck, because Tati WILL put a hurtin’ on PAIN players.

PAIN: Kenneth Character ($0.99)
Few people are aware that wearing a cape actually does give a person super powers. Enter Kenneth, a downloadable character whose super powers withstand a great deal of PAIN. Aside from his appropriate hobby as a stunt double, Kenneth enjoys, eating, dining, grubbing, supping, and gorging…oh, and launching. Compatible with all PAIN environments, let’s welcome him to the family with a nice healthy SMACK into the world of PAIN!

Rock Band
Build your Rock Band library by purchasing these song game tracks. For song credits, visit www.RockBand.com.

“Two Weeks” - All That Remains ($0.99)
“This Calling” - All That Remains ($0.99)
“Charlene (I’m Right Behind You)” - Stephen and the Colberts (Free)
All That Remains Pack 1($2.99) - includes “This Calling,” “Two Weeks,” and “Chiron”
File sizes: 32.3 MB - 98.5 MB

Arriving Friday 9/12/08 - Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Metallica “Death Magnetic” Album ($17.99)
Metallica “Death Magnetic” Full Album featuring 2 exclusive versions of “Suicide & Redemption.” This content is playable in both Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero World Tour:

“That Was Just Your Life”
“The End Of The Line”
“Broken, Beat & Scarred”
“The Day That Never Comes”
“All Nightmare Long”
“Cyanide”
“The Unforgiven III”
“The Judas Kiss”
“Suicide & Redemption J.H.”
“Suicide & Redemption K.H.”
“My Apocalypse”

Game Demos (free)
FIFA 09 Demo
Download the demo for FIFA 09 and play professional football with more responsive first-time shooting, passing, one-touches plus faster and more controlled dribbling and improved trapping. Plus try new Custom Team Tactics and make your favourite team play the way you want them to as if you are the first team coach. In-stores October 3, 2008 in Europe and Oct 14 in North America and Asia; visit fifa09.ea.com for more info.
ESRB Rated E
File size: 754 MB

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Demo
Start to unleash your inner rock star, the Aerosmith way. This demo includes “Sweet Emotion” and “Dream On” by Aerosmith, as well as “Walk this Way” by Run DMC featuring Aerosmith, “I Hate Myself For Loving You” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and more. Get a taste of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - There’s never been a band like them; there has never been a game like this.
ESRB Rated T
File size: 965 MB

Game Videos (free)
Golden Axe: Beast Rider Trailer 2
One of SEGA’s most popular franchises storms onto the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system. As the unstoppable Tyris Flare, players will engage in vicious melee combat both on foot and atop massive mythical beasts, savaging enemies with blades and magic on a quest for vengeance – Watch Trailer 2 now!

FIFA 09 Trailer
Play professional football with more responsive first-time shooting, passing, one-touches plus faster and more controlled dribbling and improved trapping. adidas Live Season updates of player information in-game.. All the top leagues are included: Barclays Premier League, BBVA La Liga, Ligue 1 Orange, German Bundesliga, Serie A and Mexican Primera Division. In-stores Oct 3 in Europe and Oct 14 in North America and Asia; visit fifa09.ea.com.
File size:68 MB (HD)

NHL 09 Teaser Trailer
NHL 09 brings youthe rush of fast-paced gameplay. Last year’s winner if 7 Sports Game of the Year awards returns with more authentic NHL hockey action.
File size: 68 MB (HD)

NHL 09 Defensive Sizzle Trailer
Defense wins championships. NHL 09’s new Defensive Skill Stick lets you use stick Lifts, 360 degree pokechecks, and stick sweeping to dominate your opponent in the defensive zone.
File size: 63 MB (HD)

Blitz: The League II - Trailer 2
Enter the sound booth with 2 of the funniest men alive. Jay Mohr and Frank Caliendo join the cast of Blitz The League II.
File size:153 MB (HD)

Saints Row 2 – Uncle Gary Sticky Bombs Trailer
Five years have passed since your crew betrayed you. Seek revenge and reclaim your throne as the rightful king of Stilwater.
File size:68 MB (HD)

Saints Row 2 – Uncle Gary Throwing People Trailer
Five years have passed since your crew betrayed you. Seek revenge and reclaim your throne as the rightful king of Stilwater.
File size: 70 MB (HD)

NFS Undercover Launch Trailer
Download the launch trailer for Need for Speed Undercover, coming to stores in November 2008! Visit needforspeed.com for more info.
File size: 61 MB (HD)

BiA: Hell’s Highway Brutality of War Gameplay Video
War can be hell, and Hell’s Highway doesn’t hold back.
File size: 9.09 MB (SD), 37 MB (HD), 49 MB (1080)

Legendary Behind the Scenes Episode 2
Download and watch part two of the behind the scenes series looking at the making of Legendary. In this episode, we hang out with the dev team as they talk about Legendary’s other creatures; the titan-class Golem and Kraken to the smaller - but still lethal - Firedrake, Nari and Echidna Tentacle.
File size: 174 MB (HD)

PS3 Wallpaper (free)
PAIN Amusement Park Wallpaper (x3)
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new PAIN Amusement Park Wallpaper.
File sizes: 272 KB - 302 KB

PS3 Themes (free)
Mirror’s Edge #1 Theme
Customize your PS3 system with a cool Mirror’s Edge #1 Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 1.12 MB

NFS Undercover Theme
Customize your PS3 system with a cool NFS Undercover Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 1.60 MB

PAIN Amusement Park Theme
Customize your PS3 system with a cool PAIN Amusement Park Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 3.21 MB

PAIN: Kenneth Character Theme
Customize your PS3 system with a cool PAIN: Kenneth Character Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 3.08 MB

PAIN: Tati Character Theme
Customize your PS3 system with a cool PAIN: Tati Character Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 2.76 MB

PAIN: Yeony Character Theme
Customize your PS3 system with a cool PAIN: Yeony Character Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 4.24 MB

PLAYSTATION Store for PC
Here is this week’s content release for the PLAYSTATION Store for PC. To download these games to your PSP, navigate to http://store.playstation.com.

PSP Downloadable Games
* Field Commander ($14.99)
(also downloadable via PS3)

Will Wright: Corrupting our Minds at Every Evolutionary Step [UPDATED]

[UPDATED: If it smell like a joke ... turns out the stupid website was just a rick roll. The latest blog ends with the lyrics from the Rick Ashley song. How boring. I liked the Christian nutcase blog better.]

Gotta love the right-wing religious nutcases.

The blog, Anti-Spore has grown out of the mold in the tubes of the internet recently in order to spout its hateful and apparently necessary message of warning to anyone playing Will Wright's newest game, Spore.

Right now everyone is hoping this site is a huge joke put on by someone to maybe promote the game. So far the site hasn't gotten the attention of more people who are willing to defend the game and Will Wright, so it would work in EA's favor.

The site is apparently run by an anonymous Christian who prefers to post such intelligent points like this:

"You would think that as a member of the Episcopal Church, a smart man like Will Wright would not be capable of creating Spore. However, we must be reminded that the Episcopal Church is the only church in america that ordains homosexuals on a regular basis"

on their blog without the balls to back it up with a name. In my opinion, if you want to protest something or someone, then at least give a name to stand behind your opinion otherwise it means nothing.

Of course, the Internet Trolls have found their way to this site as well and managed to make all of us who want to defend Will Wright and his ingenious game look like a bunch of war-mongering buffoons, so congrats to the idiots who leave the threats of violence. Nice way to argue your point.

I just hope this person really doesn't think this way. Will Wright obviously goes to Church (see above quote) and must believe in God, and there for must not what to insult God. He just created a great game where people can experience what its like to create a species and help it grow.

What's wrong with wanting to understand how hard it is to be God and respecting what he/she does?

Review: Secret Agent Clank

Secret Agent Clank
SCEA, High Impact Games
Available for Playstation Portable.

While James Bond fans have to wait patiently for their new videogame, Quantum of Solace from Activision to come out, I have another super slick spy to keep their trigger fingers busy.

Secret Agent Clank, which is set in the Ratchet & Clank universe after Size Matters, but before Future: Tools of Destruction, pokes fun at the Bond franchise as you follow Clank, the robotic agent with a license to kill, on a secret mission to save his superhero partner, Ratchet.



Clank while on a mission to halt a major jewel theft at the Boltaire Museum, witnesses his buddy Ratchet fleeing from the scene of the crime. Ratchet though is quickly found and arrested for the jewel theft and you as Clank must track down the missing jewel in order to prove your friend innocent and spring him from jail.

Unlike other R&C games, Clank's gameplay is now more like Ratchet's in that you can attack enemies and use weapons and gadgets. Clank also has the ability to sneak through areas, take down enemies or dance for his life by repeating a sequence of buttons on the screen.

Clank's arsenal of weaponry in this game reads much like a list of Q's favourite toys. From tie-a-rang to a blowtorch briefcase, Clank has a little of everything to play with from the vault of the Bond gadgets. Clank can even upgrade his Clank-Fu moves throughout to help him take down bigger enemies.

Having never played a Ratchet & Clank game before, I was quite impressed with the game's humour and great game play. The controls were easy to pick up and I love taking down enemies with Clank's cool little gadgets.

Throughout the levels, you change between playing Clank, Ratchet and Captain Qwark who each have their own type of challenges to complete. Clank's levels were more platforming, puzzle solving and follow the button sequence challenges, while Ratchet's levels were just arenas filled with tons of enemies trying to kill him and Qwark's levels were based on the adventures he regales to his little reporter friend. One of his levels had you battling a giant Godzilla monster after Qwark magically grew in size.



While the Qwark and Clank levels were quite fun and addictive to play through, Ratchet's levels felt repetitive and impossible to complete. I died more often in those levels than any other. The enemies tend to come at you way too fast and Ratchet is soon overwhelmed before he can even get to a health orb.

The 3D animation style graphics are perfect for games like this and really add to fun in the game. Best of all, despite the cartoon style of the game, both young adults and adults can enjoy this series because it has such great game play, wonderful storylines and such charming characters. Clank especially works so well as the James Bond type character.

The voice acting in the game is quite delightful and it makes the characters all the more interesting to play through the game with. Clank’s voice such has a neat intellectual sound to it and when he makes those clever Bond remarks, it fits so perfectly into the spy character. The James Bond type theme playing throughout the game really adds to the whole Bond parody and makes snowboarding away from the enemy's secret lair all the more fun.

While I couldn’t wait for each of Ratchet’s levels to finish, I must admit the rest of Secret Agent Clank is a fun and addictive game. Bond fans might get a kick out of the few references to the famous spy series and enjoy taking down bad guys will razor sharp bow ties. Each level in the game is short enough too that it makes for a great on-the-go game. Ratchet & Clank is definitely another classic franchise that I am glad to have finally played and would recommend it as an excellent purchase.

Rating: 8 out 10
Buy it!