‘Splosion Man Review: This game is a blast!

Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, Downloadable Content, Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

‘Splosion Man, currently available for the Xbox 360 on Xbox Live Arcade, is a 2.5-D action platformer where the goal is to “splode” your way through levels.

You play as a guy who can ‘splode himself - which essentially propels him into a jump. The controls are simple - A, B, X, and Y all do the same thing; yeah you guessed it, ‘Splode. You can also perform wall-kicks, akin to many platformers like the more recent Mario games. Of course, instead of just kicking of a wall, you ‘splode off of it.

However, the game’s not so simple once you get going. The catch is that you can only ‘splode three times while in the air before either coming back down to the ground or briefly sliding down a wall to recharge your ‘splode-ability.

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Hands-on with the August 11 Xbox 360 Dashboard Update

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Downloadable Content, Features, Microsoft, Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace

This morning, Microsoft hooked us up with an early preview of the next Xbox 360 Dashboard Update. We were able to get a look at the new Netflix features (which no longer require a PC,) the Avatar Marketplace, Game Ratings, Games on Demand, and more. While more coveted features like Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm, and Zune Marketplace won’t be landing until the fall, the update is still a solid one. Here are our thoughts on the next update, which lands on your Xbox 360 on August 11 (or sooner if you apply for early access!)

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Gallery: Hands-on with the August 11 Xbox 360 Dashboard Update

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LEGO Rock Band hands-on

Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: E3, Music, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

God, what a lonely-looking stand they had this game set up on. Look at that. Really?

When it comes down to brass tacks, at least to me, Rock Band and LEGO go together like peanut butter and chitin. After being revealed to discerning eyes during Dan Teasdale’s GDC talk, the game has garnered some attention from puzzled, clueless journos like myself. LEGO Rock Band is a game for the little’uns, principally, tooled to a younger age demographic and given a fresh coat of paint to keep the drooling cretins jamming away on modern pop hits. So if you’re coming in looking for some Pantera, you’ll be disappointed. But I digress.

Hit the jump for some impressions of LEGO: Rock Band.

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The Beatles: Rock Band hands-on impressions

Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: E3, Music, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

By now, you’ve likely seen the hubbub that surrounded the unveiling of The Beatles: Rock Band at the Microsoft presser. Hell, the two remaining Beatles even took time out of their busy schedule of rolling around in huge piles of money and prestige to come onstage for approximately 2 seconds and say how awesome it was. Where does it stand in the growing pantheon of music games, though? Does it innovate? Can it woo new fans? Is it safe? Will it blend?

Well, Harmonix, if nothing else, is dedicated to the music. That being said, they did a fantastic job of doing the Beatles justice, even going so far as to disguise their E3 booth as giant replica of Abbey Road. Yeah. They roll like that.

Hit the jump to check out our opinions on The Beatles: Rock Band.

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E3 2009 Idle Speculation: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: Action, E3, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360

God dammit, Warner Brothers, how the hell am I supposed to come into this convention without any bias when you set up a demo center like this?

They brought in their own little slice of Arkham Asylum to display the latest Batman game to attendees of E3 ‘09, and while it took for-f*cking-ever to get a turn to play it on the 360, it was well worth the wait.

Hit the jump for our impressions of Batman: Arkham Asylum.

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E3 2009: EA Active Impressions

Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Casual, E3, Electronic Arts, Reviews, Sports, Wii

I want to workout without going to the gym – much like the millions of people that have purchased Wiifit. However, I’m not a huge fan of the game. Having to stop every time after a small workout was very time consuming and lead me not to want to “play”.  EA Sports Active does not only look like a lot of fun but it also gives you a real workout feeling.  Giving you the option to customize your routines and what parts of the body you want to work out, it gives you the variety you need to keep going. It also offers levels from easy to hard so everyone one can accomplish the routine they set out to do.

For those looking for more motivation, they can opt to the 30-day challenge. It’ll keep track of your workouts, nutrition, give you the historic graphs of your progress and will give you tips for relieving stress, eating healthier, and motivation to keep your challenge going.

EA Active is a gym, personal trainer and nutritionist all in one game-like experience.  Tons of workout modes, exercises and abilities to customize your sessions, your workouts are sure to never get repetitive and keep you going.  It’s a great substitution for anyone that feels WiiFit does not give them a real workout experience.

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E3 2009: All Points Bulletin (APB) hands-on impressions

Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Action, E3, Electronic Arts, PC, Reviews, Third Person Shooters

All Points Bulletin (APB) is a third-person action game from the creators of Crackdown, Real Time Worlds. “Focusing on ‘the three C’s’—creativity, conflict and celebrity” APB gives the player freedom to create anything they want.

Creating your own characters and cars are things we have done before in games like Oblivion and Forza, but APB pushes this feature like never before.  When in character creation, standard options like gender, skin tone and other physical features are available for customization. But APB goes a little bit deeper and allows you to pick a hairstyle and how long it needs to be or even pick breast cup-sizes for the girls. Tattoos? They got those too. Design your tattoo art, color and size to place anywhere you want it to be.

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E3 2009: DiRT 2 impressions

Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Driving, E3, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox Live

As a big fan of DiRT and having put in many hours into the game, I was extremely excited to get my hands on the demo at the Microsoft booth at this years E3 2009.  DiRT 2 looks and feels like DiRT, but with a kick. Powered by the third generation of the EGO Engine’s racing game technology, DiRT 2 offers tuned-up car-handling and new damage engine effects.

It’s all about details and that’s what makes the difference. Depending on your car, tuning or even what type of road you are on, every vehicle will feel different. Find a car you love?  You are able to use your favorite vehicle and tune it with add-ons. With seven vehicle classes and a large collection of officially licensed rally cars and off-roads vehicles, I doubt you will have any problem in finding the best vehicle.

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inFAMOUS Preview, impressions, and screenshots

Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Action, Adventure, Electronic Arts, Features, PlayStation 3, Reviews

Sucker Punch invited us to step in the world of their new game inFAMOUS—and that we did. In the ever so trendy Capital Hill, we entered a venue full of TVs with playable demos, food and drinks. For a couple of minutes I was captivated by the concept art displayed on the walls, but then was reminded that there was work to be done. After some chatter, it was time to introduce the main attraction.

So what is inFAMOUS? inFAMOUS is an exclusive title for the PLAYSTATION 3 due out May 26th. The game follows Cole McGrath, a man affected by the massive explosion that left Empire City in complete devastation. Cole not only survived the catastrophe, but now has developed electricity-based powers that allow him to use electricity to his advantage. He can suck up energy from street lights or vehicles and even shoot bolts of lighting from his hands. How he uses that power, however, is up to you. But with great power, comes great responsibility. All of the actions your character takes have an impact on Empire City. You can either help restore the city or keep it in a state of chaos. Helping innocent people will increase your good karma, where as killing them or using their energy for power will increase your evil karma.

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Gallery: inFAMOUS Preview, impressions, and screenshots

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Soulcalibur IV review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Fighting, Namco, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox Live

Here I am, about seven weeks after the launch of Soul Calibur IV, finally getting to bring you guys our thoughts on the game. Before we jump in, a bit of background on Soul Calibur IV. The game hit Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on July 29 here in North America, followed by a release in Japan, Europe, and Australia on July 31, and then finally the UK on August 1.This is the fourth installment in the Soulcalibur series, and it features a Story mode, as well as Arcade, Training, Museum, and Tower of Lost Souls modes. That last one is new to the series, and rewards you, as the fighter, for winning special battles. Also new to the series is the inclusion of a few characters from the Star Wars universe - namely, Darth Vader, Yoda, and the Apprentice.

The game comes just about three years after the release of Soulcalibur III back in 2005, and is the first Soulcalibur title to feature online play. Now, on to our review.

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