I always wondered why nobody did it before me. I mean, all those comic books movies and television shows, you’d think at least one eccentric loner would have stitched himself a costume.
Seriously, out of all the millions of people who love superheroes you’d think one would give it a try.
Is everyday life really so exciting? Are schools and offices really so thrilling that I’m the only one who ever fantasized about this?
C’mon. Be honest with yourself. We all planned to be a superhero at some point in our lives.

Kick-Ass is a comic series by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr published under Marvel’s creator-owned Icon imprint.

Dave Lizewski is your average teenager. He’s not the class jock or even the class geek. He’s not the class clown or class genius or class anything. He just merely exists. Until one day, fed up with his boring uneventful life, he decides to do something about it. He creates a makeshift costume, arms himself with a pair of batons, and hits the streets in search of civilians in need of assistance. While he’s in it for the “leaping over rooftops” and “pithy put-downs of purse snatchers” he soon finds out the reality of it is, you get FUCKED UP when you mess with the bad guys.

I typically like to read the collected editions of comics, so Kick-Ass was initially under my radar when the first few issues were released. Even when I saw the poster for the movie I brushed it off, thinking it was gonna be some spoof flick like those Scary Movie spin-offs (Superhero Movie). I had no prior knowledge of the series so I didn’t know it was a comic book film adaptation. I decided to watch the trailer and consider it for a Trailer Tuesdays post a few months back. I was literally in awe after what I witnessed. I little 10 year old girl in full superhero costume killing some bad mofos with her pistols and blades in gruesome violent scenes. Fuckin’ AWESOME! More on the movie a little later.

As I mentioned before, I like waiting for collected editions, and boy was it an incredibly long and brutal wait. More so after I watched the movie and was dying to read the book. After 4 months of being in queue, my local public library finally got me a copy. I read it in one sitting, could not put the book down. In contrast to the film, the comic is a lot more violent but I loved every page of it. It’s funny, bloody, sad, and a whole mess of other things which combined make for a great read.

I’m a big fan of Millar though I’ve only read Civil War, Superman: Red Son, The Ultimates, and Wolverine: Old Man Logan. I very much enjoyed each of them. The man has a nack for telling some epic stories. That paired with Romita Jr’s beautifully crafted artwork, is a match made in heaven.

NOTE: let ye be warned that there be some hidden spoilers down below

What works on the page doesn’t always work on the screen. Nonetheless, here’s some babble about my gripes.
Click to Reveal ▼

Direct Download: – 1080p –
HD-Trailers.net

This is very much a movie for fanboys by fanboys. It’s the comic book movie that we’ve always wanted. Sure, the Spider-Mans, Iron Mans, and Dark Knights of the world are all fine and dandy, but not all comics are suitable for kids and teens, despite the stigma. It’s quite understandable that this movie didn’t make a splash at the box office. It’s not a well established comic franchise.

“the language [was] offensive and the values inappropriate – without the saving grace of the bloodless victory of traditional superheroes” -John Morrissey (Australian Family Association)

The point is, this isn’t your “traditional” superhero and it’s not meant to be. They don’t have super powers or anything fancy. These are regular people trying to make a difference in the real world. If Hit Girl has to do that by slicing off the heads of bad guys, then so be it.

The casting for this was spot on. Aaron Johnson was more than believable as the run of the mill teenager. The always beautiful Lyndsy Fonseca was so sweet and charming as Katie that you really could not hate her, unlike the comic version. Together they made a great on screen couple and you can’t help but cheer when they finally got together. Mark Strong was the perfect mobster. Christopher Mintz-Plasse was funny and being the son of a mobster, you kinda feel for the kid. Nicolas Cage…he’s in everything nowadays…but I actually liked him in this role. Even more so for the fact that he payed homage to Adam West. By far the best acting came from Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl. She literally stole the show and was absolutely wonderful in every scene. This girl really has some acting chops.

Rounding out the cast were Clark Duke and Evan Peters as Dave’s friends. Both very funny and I only wish there had been more scenes between them and Dave.

Overall, this is a great and fun action flick you should watch with a few buddies. It’s as faithful to the comics as it can be, without needing to be a direct translation of the material (Sin City, 300, Watchmen). Reading the comic, whether it’s before or after watching the film, is highly recommended.

The DVD/Blu-ray releases August 3rd. The HC collection of the comic series is already out. Buy it at Amazon or visit your LCS.

GameTrailers: – HD –

Uh, not much to say about the game, really. It looks like a poorly made budget title which was rushed into production to coincide with the film’s release. This just makes me sad. While it may be fun playing it with a buddy or two for a few minutes, I don’t think I could get any sort of extended enjoyment out of this game. For shame.

As is the rule around these parts, I try to mask my very poor writing skills and lack of actual written content. Thus, I’ve included many images and videos for you to enjoy while you try to make sense of what I just wrote.

Scott Pilgrim is 23 years old, living in the big city with his gay roommate, just trying to get by in this crazy world. He’s in a band. He’s lazy. He likes video games. Scott Pilgrim likes the new girl in town, Ramona Flowers, but to win her heart, he has to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends. Seven! Evil! Ex! Boyfriends! Lucas has muscles! Todd plays bass with his psychic powers! The Twins are twins! Matthew Patel is an Indian guy! AND MORE!

I have to admit that personally I was never interested in this series. I occasionally saw it here and there, but whenever I flipped through the pages I just wasn’t feeling it. It’s a black and white manga style comic. A genre of which I’ve never cared for. If it were in color, I might have been enticed to read through it.

When the movie trailer was released I decided to look into it. I found out it’s directed by Edgar Wright, whom also directed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Two films that are just as hilarious as they are awesome. I defy anyone to watch this trailer and not be giddy about it like a teen girl crushing on one of those Twilight dudes.

MediaFire Download: – 1080p –
HD-Trailers.net

Update: Here’s the new International trailer.
Less about action, more about story, but just as awesome!

Meet charming and jobless Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). A bass guitarist for garage band Sex Bob—omb, the 22—year—old has just met the girl of his dreams…literally. The only catch to winning Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)? Her seven evil exes are coming to kill him. Genre—smashing filmmaker Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) tells the amazing story of one romantic slacker’s quest to power up with love in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Scott Pilgrim has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass—and now is back in town—to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona rollerblades into his world, love hasn’t been easy. He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes controls her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor.

As Scott gets closer to Ramona, he must face an increasingly vicious rogues’ gallery from her past—from infamous skateboarders to vegan rock stars and fearsome identical twins. And if he hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all before it really is game over.

I love the look of it. I’m hoping it’ll be like a mix of Kick-Ass and Speed Racer. The stylized eye-candy of Speed Racer and the comedic yet bloody awesome violence of Kick-Ass. That would be a fantastic mix and I wish more comic book flix were made in this fashion. Granted certain comic books, Batman, probably shouldn’t be adapted that way. But where applicable, I would love to have more of this kind. Scott Pilgrim vs The World is set to release in August 2010.

I’ve read through the first 4 volumes of the series, and am going to read the fifth one later this week. The final volume comes out in July but it appears that the entire series was adapted for the film. It’s one of the very few comic books I’ve read that actually, genuinely made me lol. Not in the crazy screaming sense but it definitely made me let out some odd sounds that I can only imagine were giggles.

There are a lot of gaming references as well. Even going as far as recreating the opening scene of Ninja Gaiden in one of the Evil Ex battles. It’s a great series that I’d recommend to any comic or gaming fan. Each book in the series is digest size. Less than 200 pages each but they read rather quick. It’d be perfect for someone with ADD as there’s lots of quick action-y things and witty dialogue with Gilmore Girl-like speed.

As mentioned earlier, if this series were in color, I might have been more interested the first time I came by it. Volume 4 has the first few pages in color which I only see as a wicked hurtful tease by creator Bryan Lee O’Malley. Give me the full series in color, dammit!! It really does look beautiful in color. I get why he did it in black & white, though. It cuts down on the work that goes into each book and after all, it is just one dude making this thing. He probably also meant to make it like an homage to manga but I chose to believe it was the former reason.

One draw-back to it being black and white is that a lot of the female characters look similar. Especially the ones with short haircuts. If it were in color it would have been easier to distinguish between them and read along in the story without any confusion. Other than that, this series has great writing and art. At less than $10 each, it’s a steal!

Pick up the 6 volumes over at Amazon or visit your LCS:

• Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life
• Scott Pilgrim vs The World
• Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
• Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
• Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
• Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour

GameTrailers: – HD –

Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game is an adaptation done in the style of classic old-school side-scrolling beat ‘em ups ala TMNT and Streets of Rage 2. With an amazing chiptune soundtrack by Anamanaguchi and just as incredible art direction by Paul Robertson. Robertson previously created a short-film done in the same side-scrolling beat ‘em up videogame style called Pirate Baby’s Cabana Battle: Street Fight 2006. You can view those videos here: Part 1 and Part 2.

The game will support up to 4-player local co-op. Unfortunately you won’t be able to team up with some online buddies to enjoy this epic adventure. It’ll presumably have 7 stages, to coincide with the Evil Ex boss fights. It’s set to show up on the PlayStation Network just in time for the movie’s theatrical release in August. It is unknown at this time but rumor is that it’ll appear on Xbox Live as well at a later date.

After many months of inactivity, I think this is a fitting post to return with. Took me countless hours to create but I feel it was worth it. I even decided to upgrade some plugins and tinker them until I got everything working properly to give this particular post the look I was going for. I hope the very few people that actually see this, enjoy reading the post, watching the vids, and seeing the pics. At least, I hope it’s coherent enough to read.

Age of Zombies is the next game by the developers at Halfbrick. It’s a top down twin stick style zombie shooter set in different periods throughout history. It looks like an HD remake of a SNES game, which is really awesome. It’ll be releasing on the PS Store as a “mini” for PS3/PSP on February 25th. If this game has some form of online co-op, then that’ll be the icing on the cake.

“No one has anything against a good zombie game really, it’s just that there’s a lot of them. So we needed to try something different. We didn’t want to kill zombies in the usual way. We didn’t want to survive a deadly undead army in the ruins of some scary-ass town. We wanted to travel through time and shoot zombie dinosaurs and mummies and junk. So, we created Age of Zombies!” -Halfbrick

Though I’ve never heard of the studio, they have released other minis on PSN to positive reviews. At only 5 bucks, this’ll definitely be a great game to pick up and play.

I wish the developers at PixelJunk would make something like this. Given the high quality of their games, it would be a joy to play. Not that I doubt Halfbrick did an excellent job on Age of Zombies.

Storywise, you take control of B.J. Blazkowicz after he finds a mysterious medallion, known as the Thule Medallion, that uses power known as Black Sun energy that the Nazi’s are trying to harness. You are sent to Isenstadt, Germany and are tasked with aiding the resistance groups, the Kreisau Circle and the Golden Dawn, to stop the Third Reich in their master plan.

Pros:

• Thule Medallion-The focal point of the entire game. With this, B.J. can use what is known as Veil Sight which shows enemy weak spots and reveals the other dimension that can only be accessed using the medallion. Three other powers include; the ability to slow down time Max Payne style, a protective shield and the other lets B.J. deal more damage. Normal fare for shooter fans.
• Gore-One of my favorite things to do was take aim with my Kar98k on a Nazi head, fire and watch it fly off as he writhes in pain. Weird? Yes, but it was ever so satisfying. You can also take appendages off with grenades and char bodies to a crisp with the flamethrower. An excellent way to let off some aggression.
• Collectibles-For those who like to run around in search of hidden stuff to pick up, this game is right up your alley. With pieces of gold, enemy intel and supernatural tomes scattered throughout, finding everything is a game in and of itself. It will definitely add to the length.
• Huge Environment-The city of Isenstadt is broken up into three sub-sections, Midtown West, Midtown East and Downtown. Each with various nooks and crannies, sewer systems and rooftops to explore.

Cons:

• Limited Weapons-Kar98k, MP40, MP43, Panzerchreck, Flammenwerfer, Particle Cannon, Tesla Gun, and what is called a Lechenfaust 44. Thats rounds out your arsenal. Yes, there is variety, but with not enough ammo to go around you’ll mainly stick to the less exotic machine guns.
• Graphics-While not necessarily bad, they do seem almost drab and boring. It may just be the setting but nothing stands out as visually amazing. It also suffers from some framerate issues, especially with multiple enemies and allies on screen at once.
• Frustrating A.I.-With enemies that go invisible, run at high speeds, and some that are immune to regular bullet damage, the game can get pretty annoying. Especially when your Thule medallion that you need to use to defeat them runs out of juice. Your allies are pretty brain dead too and usually wind up as nothing more than cannon fodder.
• Multiplayer-It lacks the replayability you would want from a multiplayer game. It doesn’t push the envelope or bring anything new to the table. It was/is quite buggy and is sometimes rendered unplayable.

Although a worthwhile effort, Wolfenstein fails to raise the bar in the shooter franchise it helped develop. A so-so single player that doesn’t surprise or challenge to an unexciting multiplayer that is a down-right chore to play. You’d be better off waiting for the big name shooters releasing later this year and early next year. At most I’d recommend this as a rental, or perhaps wait for a substantial price drop.

Codemasters‘ follow up to the hit DiRT and the latest installment in the Colin McRae Rally racing scene DiRT 2 takes racing to an impressive new level. Hitting the ground running with a bevy of new; cars, tracks, locations, and races, this games sure wants to make a name for itself in a sea of upcoming racing games.

Pros:

• Graphics-Let me start out by saying, “Holy Mother of all that is great in this world this game looks amazing!” I hate mentioning graphics because they aren’t that important to making a good game but DiRT deserves its dues. The cars all look lifelike, the different countries that you get to visit all look gorgeous and the game boasts one of the most impressive cock-pit cameras available. Ever.
• Interface-The original DiRT had one of the best menu designs in any racing game, and this game follows suit. You are put into an RV that serves as your hub for everything. Checking the world map for new races, buying new cars, checking stats, hitting multiplayer, pretty much everything is done through here. As you progress through the career you also see different collectible items start appearing randomly about your RV, such as medals won at the X-Games, sombreros from your trip to Baja California and an awesome dancing robot from Japan. Which all adds to the immersion that you are the driver.

  Also adding to the immersion is the in-game chatter from the other drivers. They’re all friends in real life and in game it seems no different. Another nice touch, when in a rally race, your co-driver calls out the upcoming turns and hazards. Crash, and they’ll grunt in pain. Get close to the finish line and they start sounding excited. Add it all together and it just makes the game that much more personal.

• Cars-With a laundry list of cars that span 7 classes you’ll be pressed to find something that you don’t like. You got your trophy trucks, true rally cars, rally cross, stock baja and even some buggies thrown in the mix.
• Locations-Races take place in typical fare such as the U.S. Central America and London, but then progress to the breathtaking locales of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Each changes the course settings too. Race in Morocco and you’re kicking up the dust from all that desert, go to Malaysia and you’re battling through the jungles and swampy marshland, hit Japan and you’re drifting across the paved streets.
• Driving Mechanics-As I was whipping my Subaru Impreza WRX STI around a hairpin turn in China I noticed something. Precision. Lift your finger off the gas and lightly tap the brake and you can hit a drift while still maintaining speed. With practice, a race can turn into a beautiful work of art with drifts, slides, overtakes, the works.
• Realistic Damage-After hitting a turn too fast and slamming into a wall my car reacted. It lost its door, the front bumper came loose, the windshield cracked and I got some wheel damage that prevented me from winning. The damage is superb and actually feels like it can change the outcome, which makes for a more concise racer.

Cons:

• Tracks-Even with the different locations, most of the tracks are overused. Usually they get split or turned in reverse, but it still gets cumbersome traveling the same lines over and over.
• Floaty Cars-At times and especially at high speeds, some of the trucks start feeling like they are sliding on ice and are going to lose control at any time.
• Limited Unlockables-With the exception of a few cars, all that you unlock as you go through the game are liveries (decals), dashboard and mirror items and different sounding horns. Kind of boring stuff.
• Mulitplayer-Not a fault of the game, but the MP community is filled with reckless drivers that love using other peoples cars as brakes. It sucks when you get into an awesome drift only to be slammed out of it by some guy that doesn’t want to take the time to apply the brakes.

All in all, DiRT 2 definitely delivers the goods as the first major racer releasing towards the end of this year. For sure it will be competing for attention against the likes of Need For Speed: Shift, Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5. But one thing that DiRT 2 will definitely do, that no other will, is make a wonderful homage to the legend that is Colin McRae.

If the demo is any indication of what can be expected in the final product, then yes, they have delivered and quite dashingly if I do say so myself.

Gameplay relies heavily on CQC (close quarters combat) and detectiveness…detectiviosity…detective skillz! The “free flow” combat system is actually really cool and feels very smooth in action. It’s also the little touches like sound effects when punching or kicking enemies and the slo-mo action shots that add a great deal of quality to the gameplay. The detective side of things aren’t as stale or boring as you’d think. Most of which involve puzzle-like elements. I could go into greater detail but I’ll save that for a future review.

If you’ve ever watched Batman: The Animated Series you’ll be happy to know that writer Paul Dini is involved with Arkham Asylum’s story. Also reprising their roles from the animated series are Kevin Conroy as Batman and Luke Skywalker as the Joker. As well as the chick that does the voice for Harley Quinn…whom by the way is HOT! in Arkham Asylum.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is set to release on August 25th, 2009. Mark your calendars! PS3 folk will get the Joker as an exclusive “challenge room” character (for the game) as well as an unlockable “Batcave Outpost” for Home. For a taste of what’s to come, you can go hands-on with demo downloadable now on PSN, XBL, and for PC.

From PS.blog

We know that you Home-dwellers just love your rewards, so we’ve worked with the fine folk over at Eidos to ensure that their next release integrates tightly with our platform. Those of you who scoop up the highly-anticipated Batman: Arkham Asylum for your PLAYSTATION 3s next week will be pleased to see that the game unlocks a special Batcave Outpost personal space. It’s safe to say that hardcore Batman fans are going to seriously spazz out when they unlock Bruce Wayne’s secondary lair under Arkham, so if you count yourself a disciple of the Dark Knight, you’d better rush to get your hands on this title when it is released on August 25th.

Special thanks to Batmania for providing the onomatopoeic signs from the original ’60s live action Batman show.

Upon hearing the rogue alien radio signal, a new location is added to the map. Discovering the location yeilds a crashed UFO, but without delay the wanderer is immediately abducted, imprisoned, and tasked with finding an exit back to the wasteland, all while battling the hostile inhabitants of the ship.

So begins Mothership Zeta…

Pros:

• Length-The slow and methodical players will have at least 5-9 hours of quality gameplay. Rummaging the ship takes quite a bit of time since it is quite large in general scope.
• New Weapons-MZ adds 8 new and very powerful energy weapons, 3 melee weapons in the forms of batons and a samurai sword, and 2 unique explosives, the Cryo Grenade and the Cryo Mine.

• Radio Messages-Another collection fest, which is pretty much synonymous with Fallout 3. This time around you have the option to find 25 radio messages that are scattered around the ship. Most are imformative and add to the storyline, while one in particular is quite hilarious.

Cons:

• Cramped Ship-Tight corridors plus mutlitple speedy aliens equals a lot of damage taken. Luckily most of the rooms are sufficient in space.
• Missions-Only three this time around, and they are all far too linear. Escape the holding cell, sabotage the ship, take it over. Just like that.
• Enemies-One would think little green aliens wouldn’t put up much of a fight with all the weaponry available, but these guys are tough. It sometimes took me four-five shots with an Alien Disintegrator repaired to perfect condition to take one little bugger down. Only problem was, they usually traveled in large numbers so there would be another three left to deal with.
• Limited Collectables-With only 14 unique items to collect, not counting the weapons, there is very little to stockpile and take back to the wastes.

With only a few quests, and limited collectibles, this DLC seems proper for fans of the game. Other casual players may want to steer clear, or possibly wait for a price drop. Its such a shame that the final add-on for Fallout 3 was somewhat disappointing and quite the sour note to go out on.

Mothership Zeta is available through xbox.com or your Xbox 360′s Dashboard for 800 MS points. Just a reminder for PS3 fans, you will get all of Fallout 3′s DLC but you’ll have to wait a bit longer. If you have yet to purchase Fallout 3, then the Game of The Year Edition is right for you! It includes all of the DLC packs that have been released thus far. The GotY Edition releases October 13th, 2009 and will retail for the regular price of $60. You’re essentially getting $50 worth of add-ons absolutely FREE!

“A little robot who’s been thrown out to the scrap yard behind the city must return and confront the Black Cap Brotherhood and save his robot-girl friend.”

I just recently discovered Machinarium. After watching the wonderful trailer I immediately had to seek out information on the developers. Though their games are short with simple gameplay, the surreal graphics and original score make them very unique. Once you see this game in motion it really is like beautiful art come to life.

If you’re interested, which you should be, you might want to check out their first two games to get an idea of games’ style. You can play the full 6 levels of Samorost completely free on it’s official website. Samorost 2, however, will cost you 5 bucks. Though you can play a preview of the first 3 levels, 7 in total, for free as well.

I played both games yesterday and they were very entertaining. Great stuff for a lazy Saturday night. I didn’t actually time it but it felt like I got a good half hour of game time out of each. Not bad at all for a free game and another worth $5. Very inexpensive and you are helping out some independent developers. Which is always a great thing.

Machinarium is scheduled to release in October 2009. You can now pre-order the game to get $3 off the final price of $20 plus some additional goodies. Though Machinarium and the Samorost series have different art direction, they are both great none the less.

And now that I can think of anything else to say, head on over to Adventure Gamers where you can read a great hands-on preview.

A couple of years back the original 1989 TMNT arcade game was ported to the XBLA. Now, we finally get an HD/3D remake of it’s sequel.

TMNT: TiT RS (…hehe, I said tit..) has up to 4 player online/offline co-op. One new 3D aspect is that you can attack in a full 360 degrees. This is achieved while still maintaining the 2D side scrolling feel of the game. All 9 original levels from the arcade version have been beautifully remastered in HD. Since ‘Re-Shelled’ is a remake of the arcade version, fans of the SNES port will likely be disappointed to see a few things missing. Mainly the original music, the Technodrome level, and a few boss fights (either slightly changed or gone completely).

Leif and I played the demo locally and it was actually pretty fun. It felt a lot like the original just with updated graphics. Unfortunately, it was just the demo so I can’t go into greater detail. It consisted of only one short level. The very first “scene” of the game entitled ‘Big Apple, 3 AM’ in which you take on foot soldiers and inevitably make your way to the boss fight with Baxter Stockman, the mutated fly man…thing.

Thanks to the fine folks over at machinima.com for making this great comparison vid.

You can buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled at xbox.com or through your Xbox 360′s Dashboard. PS3 folk, unfortunately, will have to wait until later this year. Rumored to release some time in November for the PlayStation Network.

Castle Crashers is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up 4 player action adventure game with a dash of RPG elements. If that didn’t get you all tingly inside then I don’t know what will. Btw, in the image above, that is a giant cat fish shark thing being ridden by a polar bear! How fucking badass is that!!!

Developed by the Behem0th, creators of the wonderfully addictive but painfully difficult Alien Hominid. The game starts with a bunch of little knight dudes dancing, drinking, and living it up when all of a sudden a dark wizard breaks in and kidnaps their women!…oh, and he takes some magical crystal which belongs to the King as well, but that’s beside the point…So the main 4 colorful knights set out on a quest to get their bitches back! That pretty much sums up the story. There are many levels in this game and each one is just so much fun to play. Especially with a few close buddies, which you will undoubtedly need when taking on the ‘Insane’ difficulty mode. The game supports up to 4 player offline/online co-op.

Braid is a 2D puzzler platformer akin to the likes of the classic ‘Super Mario Bros.‘ but with a unique time bending twist. Essentially the SMB of a new era, if you will.

The settings in this game look like water paintings come to life. Once you see it in action it’s quite beautiful. The story revolves around a little English looking dude, named Tim, on a quest to find and rescue a “princess.” The game is divided into six worlds, each of which has it’s own time-base mechanic. While progressing, the beginning of each world has an excerpt that reveals a part of the story. In addition to that, each stage contains puzzle pieces which must be collected and ultimately assembled into a jiggsaw puzzle. Which depicts a frame pertaining to that part of the story. All in all the game is simple and complex at the same time. Something that very little games achieve.

I’ll be sure to update when information about release dates are announced.

The fourth installment in Bethesda’s line of downloadable content for Fallout 3, Point Lookout, takes the lone wanderer to a murky seaside town on the Maryland coast.

Pros:

• New Environment-In place of the Capital Wasteland, Point Lookout takes players to a small coastal town and vast swampy forest. Plenty of exploration opportunities with 37 new locations waiting to be discovered and a creepy atmosphere with the lurking fog and roving inbred cannibals.
• New Enemies-Replacing the highly irradiated mutants roaming the wastes,  Point Lookout’s marshland is inhabited by NPC’s known as Swampfolk. Made to resemble cannibalistic hicks like that of The Hills Have Eyes, these guys are powerful and dangerous. Even for an experienced character, they can take a lot of damage while dealing out more than their fair share.
• Added Quests-With five main quests, five side quests and three unmarked quests, it is very difficult to find yourself not doing something. Whether you’re in search of the whereabouts of a missing Chinese agent, infiltrating a local tribe, or making your own moonshine, you will have plenty to do.
• New Aresenal-Point Lookout adds 11 unique weapons to the world of Fallout 3. My personal favorite being the powerful double-barreled shotgun. For the melee players out there, there are two new axe’s and two knives to play out your psychotic fantasies.
• Length-With all the different locations to explore and 13 quests to partake in, Point Lookout adds about 4-5 hours, if not more, of game time. Definitely nice for $10.

Cons:

• Bugs-At times, the framerate would stutter with multiple enemies on screen and a couple of times my game froze and locked up my 360 completely. Thankfully, no corrupt game saves but its still annoying.

For 8oo Microsoft Points you really can’t go wrong with this add-on. It has variety, plenty to do and new items waiting to be collected. Aside from the framerate issues, which seems like the norm unfortunately with Bethesda’s downloads, there is very little to dislike.

You can download Point Lookout off the 360 dashboard or off xbox.com. For the PS3 users, you’ll have to wait a bit longer.

Fat Princess was released this past Thursday, July 30th, exclusively for the PlayStation Network. This has been a highly anticipated title for me since I first saw it last year at Sony’s E3 ’08 press event. Granted it was only a 5 second reveal during a mash-up trailer for other PSN titles, but oh what a wonderful 5 seconds they were. It’s so eye-catchingly unique that I was intrigued at first sight.

Description:
Rescue your beloved princess through teamwork in this comic medieval battle royale. There’s a catch, though—the other team has been feeding her magical cake, making her harder to escort back to your castle. Choose from five distinct character classes and switch at any time to best help your team. Charge head first into battle, heal teammates as they break through enemy lines, and upgrade your team and the castle defenses as you work with your team to save your princess.

• Online Multiplayer – Face off in online matches with up to 32 players and in-game voice chat.
• Unique and Varied Maps – Enjoy eight comical and challenging maps, plus two special arena-style single-player levels.
• Five Character Classes – Change between Worker, Warrior, Ranger, Mage and Priest simply by picking up a new hat.
• Unique Game Modes – After the seven-chapter single-player campaign, enjoy custom games of Rescue the Princess, Snatch ‘n Grab, Team Deathmatch and Invasion.
• Customizable Avatars – Create your own personal avatar before you charge into battle, and unlock new customization options during gameplay.

Many have been complaining of connection issues with the game. Mainly lag. This has been addressed by Titan Studios via their blog. At the very least they are listening to the consumer and are currently working on a fix. Aside from that, this looks like a really fun game. Really, though, are any games ever released without some flaws?

Another game with connection issues that comes to mind is Castle Crashers. Which coincidentally enough was recently announced as coming to the PSN as well, later next year (which made me giggle since many of the Behemoth forum members said it would never happen). We all know that game had it’s fair share of issues at launch. Despite a patch taking months to release, the game sold unbelievably well. When games are this good, most problems seem minute. The YME staff played CC at launch with all the connection problems and lag and yet we still loved and played the shit out of that game. Something which I hope we can do with Fat Princess as well, in due time.

I mention Castle Crashers because it’s the only game I can think of that can be compared to Fat Princess. They both look like cute and cuddly kid games but at the core are über violent and fucking awesome! I congratulate Titan Studios on making such a great looking game. Sadly, with my current situation, I don’t have access to my PS3 at the moment. I’ll talk to the other YME staff and see if they can buy/play/review the game for us. Hopefully that’ll be posted soon.

Fat Princess is out now on the Playstation Network for $15! Seriously, go buy it, like right now!

Also, make sure to follow @titanstudios on twitter for current updates from the developers of Fat Princess.

GHOSTBUSTERS! Released on yesterday’s PS Store update was a Ghostbusters DLC set for everyone’s favorite cute and cuddly little platformer, LittleBigPlanet.

Dr Ray Stantz: Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?
Dr. Peter Venkman: Have you or your family ever seen a spook, spectre or ghost?
Dr Ray Stantz: If the answer is “yes,” then don’t wait another minute. Pick up the phone and call the professionals…
Dr Ray Stantz, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Peter Venkman: Ghostbusters.
Dr Ray Stantz: Our courteous and efficient staff is on call 24 hours a day to serve all your supernatural elimination needs.
Dr Ray Stantz, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Peter Venkman: We’re ready to believe you.

You can buy the set of 4 costumes and a sticker pack for 6 bucks or individual costumes for 2 bucks each. I kinda wish they would release less costumes and more level packs. Those MGS levels from a while back were a lot of fun, and quite game changing too with that Paintinator. Lots of fun.

If you don’t have it already, head over to Amazon and buy Ghosbusters on DVD or Blu-ray. Here’s a double feature DVD pack which includes both movies (in widescreen format) at a very affordable price. You can also pick up The Real Ghostbusters which is the animated series which aired on ABC in the late ’80s. And of course, last but not least, don’t forget to check out Ghostbusters: The Video Game on your console of choice. I played the demo not too long ago and it wasn’t that bad. It was ok, I think the level they chose for the demo wasn’t perfect but from the trailers I’ve seen the rest of the game looks like tons of fun.

• Electricity-Guns are so last year. Who thought using Empire City’s power grid to dispel foes would be this fun? 
• Multiple attacks-To go along with the expected Lightning Bolt attack, as you progress you unlock more powerful moves to run around town with. Plus, they’re all upgradeable to deal more damage to citizen and enemy alike.
• Active free-running system-Like Crackdown and Assassin’s Creed before it, this game allows you to use the world as your playground. Run, jump, and climb on or over just about everything with relative ease.
• Cut scenes-They play out in comic book fashion which helps add to the superhero vibe.
• Moral choices-Adding to the immersion, you get to decide to be a good guy or an ass. Do you help the guy getting mugged in the back alley, or leave him to his fate? Fend off an attack of the local Police Precinct, or let them deal with it on their own? Do you save the guy about to be lynched by an angry mob, or let them have at him? Choices like these, along with others, effect your karma meter which changes Cole’s personality and the way the city looks at him.
• Longevity-There is so much to do and so much to see that its very difficult to get bored of this game. Like collecting stuff? Go out in search of the 350 blast shards so you can use more powerful attacks longer. You can also look for 32 satellite dishes which give you more insight on why Cole was the chosen one. Along with the main storyline, there are 84 side-missions to liberate Empire City from gang rule. The best part of all this is that nothing is hidden from you, everything comes up on your radar, you just have to hunt it down.
• Stunts-21 challenges that show you just how creative you can be in your beat-downs. My personal fave, hit someone with a bolt, then thunder-drop on him and watch him fly only to shock him once more before he hits the ground.
• Graphics-First off, yes graphics don’t make a game but damn if this game doesn’t look good.

Cons:

• Difficulty-Oh boy does this game want to punish you. You do start out kicking ass and taking names but once you get to the third island all bets are off. Enemies have more health, deal more damage and come in bigger packs. Speaking of that…
• Enemies-They’re everywhere, and they have loads of friends. As you play through the game you’ll find yourself often times surrounded by baddies. Not necessarily a bad thing but it does get annoying.
• Power system-Using your stronger attacks takes away from your overall juice. Which, like a battery, have to be recharged to continue using them. A little distracting when you’re in the midst of battle, close to death and you have to find a light pole to drain.

Yes, there are some problems but they are so minor and far outweighed by the greater aspects of the game that they are barely noticeable. Sucker Punch did a magnificent job in creating something new and fresh that you’d be doing yourself a disservice in not playing this marvelous game.

Visit Amazon to buy inFAMOUS $10 cheaper than the retail price. Or rent it at GameFly, subscribe for a low monthly rate and keep the game as long as you’d like with no late fees. If you don’t already have a subscription to GameFly, it’s a highly recommended service for all gamers. It’s basically the Netflix of games.