Tag: 360

Review: Dishonored

Dishonored Cover

New IPs are increasingly rare as this console cycle stretches on and on. It’s not something I fully understand, as more people than ever have 360s and PS3s, so one would think the risk of funding a game based on a new property would be much lower, but then again, what do I know?

Thankfully, Bethesda feels differently and thus has unleashed Dishonored upon the world. Developed by Arkane Studios, which features the talents of one of the original Deus Ex developers, it is a mix of Bioshock, Thief and Deus Ex, all rolled into one package. Onward to the review! Continue reading Review: Dishonored

Wanna Watch A Halo: Reach Team Slayer Match?

Psst. You got that itch? That little feeling in your hands, the one where you just ache to throw a plasma grenade at somebody and feel that awesome tingle of joy when it sticks to their body and you watch them run around like they just found out they were adopted before they explode? Yeah, me too.

Sadly, we have another month to go before Halo: Reach hits store shelves, so I can’t do anything about your desire to blow people up or LOCK BLOCK them, but I can give you a small taste of what you will be doing for the next few months. Enjoy and remember…the first hit is always free:

Dis-Kinect

Everyone is crapping all over Microsoft’s E3 press conference and though we mentioned some of this in our podcast, I thought it would help if we devoted a post to some of the concerns that gamers have about Microsoft’s foray into motion-controls.

Personally, I am amazed by the technology and the potential of Kinect. The voice recognition is very impressive and I think it can be utilized in better ways than simply telling your Xbox to pause a movie. Imagine navigation the Dashboard with it: “Xbox Marketplace” and bam! You’re browsing games or looking at your friends list. You can walk around the room and command your Xbox to start playing a disk without using a controller. I think that would be more useful than the admittedly cooler looking Minority Report-style interface. Sure that looks bad-ass, but using a controller is just faster and I am all about streamlining things. I’m not going to wave my arms around just because I want to look like something I saw in a movie. If I wanted to look like Tony Stark, I would shave my goatee like his and build and Iron Man Suit.
Continue reading Dis-Kinect

Bioware vs. Square Enix: An Unbiased Analysis

JRPGs vs. WRPGs seems to be a hot topic as of late, thanks to comments from a Bioware employee that Final Fantasy XIII is not an RPG. This is the stuff fanboys crave, which, in political terms, is called “red meat”. It stirs up a nice frenzy and everyone pontificates on what an RPG is exactly, but nothing ever gets accomplished. Just like Congress.

Well, I’m here to take a small look at the differences between the way Bioware and Square Enix approach their respective video game franchises. These two, I think it is safe to say, are the biggest RPG powerhouses on either side of the Pacific, so it turns out the little controversial comments mentioned above were a perfect jumping off point for me.
Continue reading Bioware vs. Square Enix: An Unbiased Analysis

Rumor: Final Fantasy XIV Coming to the XBox 360?

Final Fantasy 14We’ve known for quite some time that Final Fantasy XIII was going to be gracing Microsoft’s gaming console with its JRPG presence in 2010. In fact, just recently we’ve found out how many stinking discs the game is going to occupy when it finally releases for the 360. That’s three discs for those of you keeping score at home. Yes, more than Mass Effect 2. Gasp! Outrage!

Anyway, while we’ve known what the deal was going to be with Final Fantasy XIII, speculation still swirled around the next title in the long-standing series from Square-Enix. Final Fantasy XIV was a big announcement unleashed by Sony at E3 2009, along with the apparent promise of exclusivity. However, a recent LinkedIn profile from a Square-Enix employee suggests that the in-production MMO is going to see a simultaneous release of sorts on the XBox 360 as well. No, that has not been announced, but last year the RPG maker’s executives hinted that talks just might be in the works. While this seems like a genuine confirmation that the speculation is true, it could just be an honest mistake from an employee.

Honestly, this isn’t altogether too surprising, seeing as how many Japanese developers are doing everything they can to garner more of a Western audience, which means opening up to the XBox 360’s predominantly Western core. So what do you guys think about this? Excited? Reserved? Indifferent?

Source- 1UP and Siliconera

Microsoft Fanboy Rant

DISCLAIMER: THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS POST ARE SOLELY THOSE OF THE MICROSOFT FANBOY AND DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GAMERSUSHI STAFF. ALSO, THIS IS A PARODY POST, SO DON’T LEAVE COMMENTS THINKING THIS IS REAL OR THE MORON POLICE WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND KNOCK THE STUPID RIGHT OUT OF YOU.

First off, **** you.

Whew, had to get that off my chest. Listen up noobs, I am 13 and I have a 360 and it’s the only console I will ever need and I will tell you why: because anyone who doesn’t have one is a ******. I got mine on launch day, bitches. I even bought a second one three days later because mine turned red from all the awesome it was spewing. In fact, the 360 has so much awesome in it, I am on my 24th. Name one console so epic it takes two dozen of them to channel its powerful essence. I’m waiting… What’s the matter? Lag?

I thought I should mention how Sony seems to be gaining some ground with its price cuts (copy cats) and exclusives (all lame). Who wants to play Uncharted 2? If I want a third-person cover based shooter, I got Gears, thank you. I prefer my protagonists to have no necks and even less personality. And as for God of War 3, bah. Kratos looks likes Vin Diesel fell into a vat of baby powder. Give me Ninja Gaiden anyday! (What? They have an improved version of Ninja Gaiden on the PS3? Your mom has an improved version on the PS3!)

Despite all that, some morons keep buying PS3s, which is so lame. What do they have this year? Heavy Rain? If I want to watch a game, I will put in my HD-DVD copy of Advent Children. Besides, we have Alan Wake and everyone knows that games that take that long to make are always the best, just like Too Human. And don’t even get me started on the 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII, which is going to blow the PS3 version away! I know, you think they are identical, but I heard that there is so much more content on the 360 version that they are putting it out on multiple discs, while the puny PS3 only gets 1 disc! FOR THE WIN, CAMPERS!

And I know, the Wii and Nintendo are still winning. Who cares? They have their crappy motion control, running around looking like Adam Lambert with their tiny, white remotes, playing that casual crap. I don’t need that, I am going to get Natal and I will be looking like a Jedi pimp! No controllers here, douch nozzles! Just the power of the 360, Natal and the Force, all combining to make the most epic games ever. I never cared for handball before, but now that I don’t have to leave the house to play it, I am going to be all about that. And there will be no casual games, because no casual gamer would buy a $200 console and then for over another $100 plus bucks to play casual games. That means all hardcore games all the time! I’m Rick James, bitch!

So keep your lame ass Mario games, your fruity Zelda games with those puzzles that no one can figure out. I don’t want to play anything that doesn’t involve a gun, a headset and a plot that makes Hideo Kojima roll his eyes. Speaking of Kojima, Metal Gear Solid has always been a piece of crap, but now we get our own version and it’s going to be the bomb! The only problem with it is it’s not a shooter.

See, I love shooters. Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Gears of War, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six are all great, but I want more. I just don’t think the FPS is really represented on the 360. Final Fantasy XIII is cool and all, but I want to fire that gun of Lightning’s myself, not press a button and watch the game do it for me! I think Viva Pinata would be better in first person, with plasma grenades and rechargeable health. My appetite for destruction is still strong!

And shooters work better online and we all know that the 360 has the best online community of any place EVAR. I get to meet people like me, who hate camping, except when we do it and like to tell other people how much they fail at life because we are better than them at a video game. Telling someone they are gay simply because they shot me once is the whole reason to go online and play. Everyone does it and if you don’t like, it’s cause you are gay, too. It just feels like home on Xbox Live. I even like it when I can hear some poor loser’s mom telling him to quit playing and go do his homework or else she will throw that thing in the trash. Those kids suck at life and I would never put up with that crap from my moth—(Coming, Mom!) Gotta go, noobs. (I know you said 10 minutes, Mom, I was pwning noobs!)

NUKE INCOMING, LADIES! COMMENCE TEABAGGING!

GamerSushi Asks: How Much Would You Pay For Natal?

project-natal-xbox-360Now, this question may seem premature, but I think it might be of use to Microsoft. There are no games yet and we don’t even know how accurate the demo at E3 was for certain, but based on what you have seen and their projections, what do you feel is a fair price for Natal? Bear in mind that you need a 360 to play it, though I am sure there will be bundles available. So if you don’t have a 360 and want to play Natal you will have to buy both. So what’s your projected price point?

Words of Wisdom From An Older Gamer

yodaLearn from my mistakes. I am 28 years old and I have played games all my life. I have learned some lessons about games and thought it might be beneficial to pass those on to you whippersnappers, to prevent you from making some of the mistakes I made.

1. Don’t buy a game you aren’t going to play right away. If you are buying it the day it comes out with the intention of playing it down the road, don’t. If the drive to play it isn’t there now because you have something else to play, then what makes you think it will suddenly appear later on? Answer: it won’t. And you will end up with a giant backlog of games that most likely you will never play because something new is always coming out. If you wait a week or two, I promise that insatiable need you feel to possess that game will dissipate, leaving a profound and new understanding about yourself. Also, it leaves $60 bucks or so in your wallet. Win/win?

2. Don’t be blindly loyal to a console. I was a Nintendo kid, like millions of others. But when Final Fantasy left Nintendo for Sony, I bought a Playstation and I have been with Sony ever since. Now, I still buy whatever Nintendo console is out there, but later, for a cheaper price and I use it as a second system and nothing more. If the 360 is your thing, but the games on the Wii or PS3 look good, don’t punish yourself out of some misguided loyalty to Microsoft. Trust me: they, nor Sony or Nintendo, give a crap. Play the games you want. Whatever system it may be for.

3. Games matter. Consoles don’t. Graphics? Sound? Online? These things matter not. If you want to know what console is right for you, then look at the games. Games determine what wins in the console wars, nothing else. Not fervent message board chatter, not how many people play online and not who has the better E3. It’s the games, stupid.

4. Reviews do matter. But they also don’t. See, don’t worry about the score a game gets. Read the review, in fact, read several reviews of a game you are looking at buying. You know what type of game you like, right? Scan the reviews to decipher if it is the kind of game you will like. If so, then the score doesn’t matter quite as much to you. If you love hack & slash RPGs and the reviewer gives one a 5, but for you it sounds like a 10, then get it! On the other hand, reviews don’t matter. No one really cares what game gets a 10. No one will remember that. So if a game you love gets a low score, who cares? Are you so insecure that someone else’s opinion might alter yours?

5. It’s a game. Enjoy it. We all forgot this sometimes, but don’t let the extraneous crap let you forget the fact that you are playing this game for fun. For enjoyment. To escape from the horrors of the real world for a bit. Don’t become obsessed with tiny details that ruin the fun for you. If you like single-player games and despise online games, that’s fine. There is nothing wrong with that. If you only like playing in groups, then do so. Don’t let someone else try to tell you what you should like or dislike. Have fun.

6. Don’t cosplay. Seriously. Never do this. Unless you are a really hot girl, don’t ever do this on any day that is not Halloween and even then, it might be pushing it.

A Little Reason Goes A Long Way

sinkingTake a look at any video game news site and you will be sure to find a story about how the PS3 is in third place in the Console Wars and how Sony should just give up and go the way of Sega and make games and not consoles. Yeah, cause that worked out so well for Sega. But I digress. The Playstation brand has seen rough days but it would foolish to count Sony out just yet.

Now, I understand that costs are very high to make video games and that making games on the PS3 is very complex and probably more expensive. I also understand that 360 has a higher install base, but I have news for you: it’s not that much higher. The 360 has sold about 30 million worldwide compared to the 22 million sold for the PS3. Consider the fact that the PS3 launched a year later and around the same time as the Wii. Factor in the admittely high cost of the PS3 and an 8 million unit lead is nice, but not nearly as big as everyone makes it out to be. From the way people fanboys talk, you would think the 360 has a 112 million unit lead or something. Oh wait…112 million units is the amount that the PS2 outsold the original Xbox by. But you didn’t hear this kind of doomsday talk for the Xbox then, did you? I know I didn’t. And the PS3 has already sold as many units as the original Xbox, which is not a mark of success by any means, but it sure does make you stop and wonder where all this negativity is coming from.

Let’s face it: the PS3 has had a rough launch. The high price and lack of killer games really hurt for a long time. But that time is over. With LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Infamous and God of War III all out or soon to be out, the future for the PS3 is looking very bright. This article is not meant to prop up the PS3 or bring down the Wii or 360. I am merely trying to point out some facts that seem to fall by the wayside in these debates. Sony is not going anywhere and neither is Microsoft or Nintendo. Sony thumped everyone in the last round of consoles, so losing this one isn’t going to be end of the world for them.

Besides, these consoles are just getting going. Nintendo has jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable lead, but Wii sales have already slowed down and while mining the casual market seems to have done them a great service, the loss of the hardcore market might mean that the Wii’s days of ruling the sales charts are over. The 360 and PS3 will only get stronger, so we have a long way to go before this battle in the Console War is over.

Just relax and enjoy the games and try to let the guys who get paid tons of money worry about the business side of things. You want to support your console? Buy new, not used games. Other than that, it’s out of our hands. Except for the controller, of course. Until the Natal comes out.

Review: The Godfather II

godfather-2I love The Godfather. I have practially memorized the movies, especially the first one and have been known to watch the first two back to back. I enjoyed the first game in this series back on the PS2, so I was looking forward to playing the sequel, especially with the Don’s View I had read so much about.
Continue reading Review: The Godfather II

Top 3 Hottest New Releases For June

proto1All my complaining about a sparse summer season for games has fallen by the wayside, as now I simply am struggling to keep up with it all. We just had Infamous drop and now here comes a few more potential blockbusters to soak up the summer hours:
Continue reading Top 3 Hottest New Releases For June

Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott On Steam Forums

l4d2boycottAfter the surprising announcement of Left 4 Dead 2 for the 360 and PC a mere 7 months after the original game’s release, fans are up in arms. New Game Network is reporting that a boycott with a list of what is pissing people off has appeared on the forums over at Steam and there are already 2000 people onboard. What do you guys think about this? Joining the boycott or getting the game? Are these complaints valid?

List of complaints

Boycott

Source: New Game Network

GamerSushi Asks: What Would You Do If You Ran Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft?

consolewarWith E3 just around the corner, everyone seems to have an opinion about what’s going to happen or what should happen. So I got to thinking: what would I do if I were running any of the Big 3?

Honestly, for Nintendo, I would keep doing what they are doing, but also I would try to get more of the classic Nintendo franchises out there to lure the hardcore gamers. Wii sales are finally tapering off, so if you can lure in those older gamers with a solid library then I think they will really show their dominance. Also, more Virtual Console games. One game a week ain’t cutting it.

For Microsoft, I would give up any hope of competing with Nintendo using motion controllers and stick to what works: hardcore gamers and buying exclusives for the 360. Microsoft doesn’t have nearly the number of Triple A exclusives for this year that Sony does so if they can hold their lead they will likely reload for next year. Look for a new Gears game to be announced at next years E3. I would also dump Rare. Their time in the sun is gone and I think they will only cost Microsoft money now.

Sony, despite the constant negative press, is not as far behind as you might think. They are only 6.5 million consoles behind Microsoft and since they started a year later, that isn’t too big a lead. 2008 was not Sony’s year for exclusives, but 2009 is. Killzone 2 and Infamous have already landed and more are on the horizon, including Heavy Rain and what the hell Kojima has planned. I have heard rumors of a MEGATON announcement that Sony has planned at E3, but I have no idea what it is, if anything. Sony needs to keep adding to the PSN and getting franchises that people associate with Sony, like God of War, Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy. If it means shelling out the big bucks, then I would do it.

What would you guys do to crush the competition?

So Many Games It’s Like Being Strangled With My Own Hand

evil-dead-handHaving more money and less time on my hands than when I was younger has led to me a terrible dilemma: too many games, not enough time! I have games from two Christmases ago that I have yet to even play, let alone beat.

Thanks to my newly purchased Wii from Eddy, the unplayed games total just got bigger. It spans 4 different systems, 2 different generations and that doesn’t even include classics from the Virtual Console and PSN! Plus, I have a one game subscription to GameFly that usually gets played more than the games I own! I seriously am putting an end to any and all game purchases (except for PSN and Virtual Console…a guy’s gotta have something new to look forward to) until Christmas of this year. By then, I hope to have made a few dents in the Wall of Games I have sitting in my room, laughing at me. Quit laughing at me!

I know that I will not come close to getting all these done by Christmas, but I want to have some of them out of the way. Problem is, Killzone 2 and Call of Duty 4’s online multiplayer keep distracting me! Plus, I have movies and books that I want to enjoy…I am seriously stressed. So what I do when I get overwhelmed is I make a list and as I complete the items on the list, I get to cross them off. I am very OCD this way, but it feels really good.

So here is my list, broken down by system:

Playstation 3
Resident Evil 5
Killzone 2
Fallout 3
Call of Duty 4
Elder Scrolls III: Oblivion and Shivering Isles
Civilization Revolution
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds

Wii
Mario Kart Wii
Super Smash Bros Brawl

DS
Dragon Quest IV
Dragon Quest V
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Contra 4
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy V
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy Tactics A2
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

PS2
Final Fantasy X-2
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

PSN Games/PS1 Classics
Suikoden
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Syphon Filter
Calling All Cars
The Last Guy
Super Stardust HD
High Velocity Bowling
Pixeljunk Monsters
Age of Booty
Lumines Supernova

Virtual Console
Super Mario 64
Super Mario RPG
Secret of Mana
Super Punch Out
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King
Contra III
Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse
Breath Of Fire II
Super Metroid
Super Castlevania IV

Current GameFly Game:
Super Mario Galaxy

If time is the fire in which we burn, as was once famously said, then my fire is fading fast! I have hours and hours of gaming ahead of me and it’s time to get organized and kick some ass! So I will be periodically updating you guys on my progress or lack of progress, hopefully the former. Soon as I finish Super Mario Galaxy (25 or so stars to go), I will try to play some Killzone 2…but the online is so addicting that it’s really hard to play the single-player mode!

Eddy also has a backlog as does every gamer these days. Here’s a look at his:

360
Fallout 3
Penny Arcade Episode 2
Dead Rising

PS3
Killzone 2
Valkyria Chronicles
LittleBigPlanet

PSN/PS1 Classics
Suikoden

DS
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy VI
Chrono Trigger

PSP
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
Final Fantasy Tactics

Now, that is a very reasonable list. I envy him. Looks like Final Fantasy is on everyone’s list of games to get through. I think you really have to be in the mood for that. The problem we all have is that with games like Oblivion or Fallout 3, you can beat it, sure, but never really complete it. And so you keep coming back to it and let other games sit on the shelf. That’s why I stopped playing Madden. Never got around to my other games.

So that’s our sob stories, what does your gaming backlog look like and how do you go about thinning the herd?

1Up.com’s Lessons Learned Online

We have all turned on our respective consoles for a nice relaxing game of Call of Duty, Halo or Madden and suddenly been bombarded by little redneck 12 year old wannabe gangsters telling us how gay we are for not being better at a video game. Never mind that these kids are still waiting for the testicles to finally drop and have never seen a boobie up close, not counting their mom. It can ruin a night of gaming because no amount of pwnage shuts them up.

1Up.com was nice enough to compile a list of things they learned through their 360 headset. I found this to be a pretty funny and insightful list, especially the part about babies crying in the background. I was very excited to get online but once I met the online community of racist, homophobic douchebags, I recoiled.

What do you guys think of this list and have you had similar experiences online?

Source: 1up.com

Why Do You Love Your Favorite Console?

With apologies to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith…

Console War! Sony and Microsoft are battered by the ruthless onslaught of the Nintendo Wii. There are exclusives on all sides. Fanboys are everywhere!

So even the most non-partisan gamer has a favorite console. I hate the console wars, but I prefer my PS3 to all others. Why do you guys like your console?

Continue reading Why Do You Love Your Favorite Console?

Fabulous Fable 2 Achievements

Ok, this one is for Eddy and all those other Achievement Whores out there who are anxious for Fable 2 to come out and hopefully live up to the hype it has generated. I think it looks like a fun game, but time will tell. Time and fanboys. Full list of Achievements after the jump. Continue reading Fabulous Fable 2 Achievements

GTA IV DLC This Fall (360 Only…DOH!)

Videogamer.com is reporting that Microsoft has indeed confirmed that downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV will be out this fall.

What exactly this entails is anyone’s guess, but as a PS3 owner, I hope it’s nothing storyline related. But there is hope yet…

Continue reading GTA IV DLC This Fall (360 Only…DOH!)

XBox 360 Elite from Amazon

Tempted yet?

First there’s the price cut, now Amazon is offering a $60 gift card on all XBox 360 Elite purchases. Not to mention the fact that any purchases over $25 get free shipping, this certainly isn’t a bad deal. Just thought I’d throw this out there for any of you who are on the fence about getting an Xbox 360 and love to do some shopping around at Amazon.

Source- Amazon

LEVEL UP! Call of Duty 4 Double XP Weekend 9/12-9/14!

Time to dust off that copy of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and kill some people online! According to Infinity Ward’s blog, IAMFOURZEROTWO, next weekend will be a double experience point frag fest for both PSN and Xbox Live.

Continue reading LEVEL UP! Call of Duty 4 Double XP Weekend 9/12-9/14!