Afro Samurai: Game Review (PS3, 360)

"Blood,Revenge and memorable Sam Jackson one liners. Did I mention blood? A ton of it? Does the game do the series Justice? Why don’t you step over to the other side so we can take a look at Afro Samurai….

After seeing early footage of this title and being a huge Sam Jackson fan, I reserved it. Then I thought that perhaps I should actually watch the first season to make sure I would be interested in it. I bought it and quickly found myself wishing two things: First being that I watched it sooner and second that the game would hurry up and get here already! With that being said, you can see my expectations were pretty high for this game.

Visually, Afro Samurai looks like the Anime in which it is based. Using cel- shading to capture the unique style of the universe as well as varied multi-angled cut scenes. It looks like you’re watching the series and really adds to the immersion factor.

Now to what is important, it looks good but how does it play? Well, Here is where the game starts to lose it’s luster for me. First and foremost it is a third person action game where you face tons of enemies and basically hack and slash your way through them. Nothing wrong with a hack and slash title, they have their place and there are times that is exactly what I want to play. There are a few “Go pull this lever then find and press another lever” moments but nothing complicated like a God of War or Prince of Persia puzzle which takes some thought to get through. There are combo moves that you learn and unlock along the way, but let’s be honest, you don’t need them and many times they end up leaving you vulnerable after you try them. So I just used the basic attacks and the occasional block or kick to progress through the game. There are boss battles, which typically are one on one and is one of the bright points of gameplay." -Bombmatt"

Halo 4 Coming Soon: Announced?

Halo 4 rumors begin in 2008. They indicated no future release date, but rumors have been said that Halo 4 might be release for the Xbox 720. They plan to add a lot to Halo 4, they plan to include new maps as well as favorites from the past.

With all the new plan they have, they might break Halo 3’s record of sales and pre-orders, although Halo 3 is 1 of the top most sold games.

In halo 4, they plan to add and keep maps like Lockout, Midship, the Pitt, Guardian, Warlock, and many others will be there with the release. For the most part, there have been no rumors on new gun's, however you can assume they will altar the power of some guns to make gameplay more gun.

Halo 4 have not been announced by the Bungie, and rumors have been going that they have no longer owns the rights to the halo franchise. Also, Bungie has also become bored of Halo and wants to work on a new project. If Halo 4 is ever made, it will probably be made by some other company.

Leave a comment about your thought of Halo 4.

Ninja Blade Demo Download Coming March 9th.

Ninja Blade Demo is coming March 9th. You will be able t download it. It also will be free for anyone to try. Players who pre-order Ninja Blade from participating retailers (not revealed) will be able to get a free Premium Theme as their reward. Make sure you get your pre-order if you planing on buying it!

Xbox 720 Coming Soon: 2011-2012?

Xbox 720 is the pre-announcement accepted name for the next Xbox. While Sony already plan to make a PlayStation 4, and no doubt that Nintendo will developing a Wii 2... In an interview with the head of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, he said the production team from the Xbox 360 is working on the next Xbox 720 [our pet name], and their looking into what kind of CPUs will be available on the market in 2011-2012. That would put the xbox 360 lifespan 6-7 years.

Xbox 720 is by no means the name of the next system, nor is it even suggesting that there is a new system in the works even. With an upgrade like the Xbox 720 there would be a huge boost in the Microsoft stock. The Xbox 720 will have a lot to live up too however. Robbie Bach, the President of Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft, said on June 13th, 2008:

“Our view is we will be selling Xbox 360 for a long time. We are always working on new technologies. We have people working on those. People ask me how many people I have working on the next generation. On the one hand, it’s everybody. On the other, it’s nobody. People are continuously working on new technology.

We started thinking about the next generation before we shipped the Xbox 360. It doesn’t start with a date. It starts way upstream with silicon development. From that comes a series of data points. You start making early technology choices. It’s an evolving thing. Stuff doesn’t become concrete until you get inside a window of when you have to ship, more than 18 months or so out.”

As you can see, they plan to make big money by waiting a long time to sell a lot of xbox 360. After that, they plan to launch the Xbox 720.

Noby Noby Boy Trophy Tips - Get Them All

Considering that only one of these is not a hidden trophy you can look at the trophy list and get most of these on your own, here is the help for all the trophies if you are having problems.

Bronze Trophies

10
Take 10 inhabitants for a ride.

I did this on the level full of animals and little elves. Stretch out as far as you can and just hold it till the trophy pops up.

20
Eat 20 inhabitants.

This is interesting to get, grow out to around 100m and start eating people. (tap L2 when close and facing them) Once you have the 20 the trophy will pop up, and yes you have to have them all at once.

100
Stretch BOY to a length of 100m.

Very easy to get, hold the sticks in opposite directions till the trophy pops up. You can go off the edge with out any worry and if you start in the middle can still grow out past the actual level.

Bye-Bye BOY
Meet up with Bye-Bye BOY.

Real easy, when you are done make sure you quit the game using the house and you will get this trophy. The game will tell you when to use the PS button.
The BOY House
Rotate the roof of the BOY House.

Hop into your house and slowly move the right stick in a circle and this should pop up soon.

The Space Squirrel
Find the Space Squirrel.

At any time hold up on the left stick and hit the start button. Float up and report your length to the girl and you will get this trophy. This one can be done at the same time as 765 if you want to do them at the same time feel free.

BOY Quiz Expert
Answer all questions correctly in the BOY Quiz.

I am not sure if someone can actually not get this trophy unless they never start up the game. Simple enough, start the game and complete the tutorial. You answer by using the button in question.

Silver Trophies

765
Report a length of exactly 765m to GIRL.

This is a more technical trophy. To start of this does not have to be your current length, it is the total length you will be reporting to the Girl (see The Space Squirrel).

1. First thing you need to do is hold right on your left stick and hit start. This will bring up the stats pages, From the first page that pops up you can see at the top your unreported length. At the bottom is your current length, leaving this up while you stretch is a good idea, you don’t have to but you can play with this screen up.
2. Stretch out using the sticks and when you are at about 100m click in and hold the sticks to shrink back down
3. When you are getting close to 765 you might want to try locking down your right side (hold down R2 and don’t move your stick) and just stretch out very little with the left stick to get down only getting one meter at a time. Also make sure you are shrunk down at a close number, when shrinking fast you will rebound and bounce around causing yourself to stretch when you don’t want to and could cause yourself to go over 765
4. Once 765 has been hit let go of every button, hit start once, then hold up and start to get to the sun so you can report you length, make sure it is 765 again there then go ahead and report it. Poof, a trophy.

The Prince
Take the Prince for a ride.

For this one you are searching for an all green level that is inhabited by what appear to be Eskimos and koala bears. Once you find this level make sure you see the katamaris falling from the sky and start looking for the prince. You don’t want to stretch out to far because he is small and you wont be able to see him if you are zoomed out to far. Once you find him stretch out a bit then follow him around till he hops on and poof, trophy for you.

Unproportional
Make BOY’s body grow thicker while keeping his head small.

On any level stretch out as far as you can on the level then eat everything in site till you can’t hold anything else inside. at this time hold L3 in until you are back to the starting length. Repeat this untill the trophy pops up for you, it may take a while.

Combined Character
Create a combined character by eating an animal and a human or a fruit and a human.

Eat only one human and one animal or fruit. Tap R2 to pop them out and you should get the trophy

Gold Trophy

Eat Your Words!
Eat the words NOBY NOBY BOY within the manual or in the staff credits.

Hit select to bring up your manual, tap L2 under the “About NOBY NOBY BOY” line. Once at this section position yourself above the section where there are no words and tape triangle once. now you will interact with words on the screen. When you hold down L2 in this mode you will eat the words on the screen, so now all you have to do is eat “NOBY NOBY BOY” IN ORDER and you will get this trophy.

Flower (PS3) - Game Review

Still trying to decide if video games can be art? Then you haven’t been playing Flower. Fortunately I have… want to know what you’re missing? Then read on. I will try not to give too much away but be warned there may be spoilers on the other side…The controls are simple: you tilt forward and back to go up and down, tilt side to side to turn and use one button (any button you choose) to boost your forward momentum. This game begins in a dark rundown room with broken windows and grey laundry hanging out in front of a mostly grey city scape. A single half-wilted flower sits in a pot on the bench in front of the window. The flower pot is your entry into the level. As you progress through the game you gain new flower pots, and spruce up your room.

You are the wind. You begin with one petal from a flower. As you maneuver through the game, every flower you touch blooms, a musical note sounds, and you collect another petal until you become a very impressive string of petals riding the wind. Don’t worry that’s not ALL there is to it.

The first few levels of the game are very calm. Soothing music plays in the background while you glide through individually animated blades of grass that react realistically to your presence as you move in search of new flowers to bloom. As you bloom flowers you revive the land from dead browns to brilliant greens. The calm leads to a false sense of security as the game takes a dark and ominous twist. Once in level four, there are dangers to your petals that will increase your heart rate while you smoke and twist in the wind.

I called this game a work of art, not just because it is visually stunning, and an incredible piece of animation, but most importantly because this game was able to evoke emotions in me. First calm, then anxious and fearful, then they round it out nicely with wonder and joy. I really enjoyed playing this game. Is it worth $10? Absolutely… it IS short, but well worth the play. I personally will be watching for expansion packs in the future. I won’t tell you how the game ends but I will tell you its worth playing to the end to find out.

Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection: Game Review

Since my first console system was a Sega Master System, you can guess I am going to love this, but just in case you should check the other side for the review.

In my younger years there was a very special game of poker going on between father and son. For the final hand there was a big bet made. If the father wins the son is doing all the yard work for the year with no allowance. If the son wins the father is buying the son a Sega Master System. Lets just say I (the son) won and will never get a straight flush again in my life. But I ramble on.

Just so you know I will not be going into graphics with this game. Lets face it, old 8 and 16 bit games were awesome then but not so much now.

This game launched with 40 retro games for your enjoyment. I will list them at the bottom of the story so I don’t take up much space here. One interesting thing about pulling out he old system and playing it is that there are only 2-4 buttons and a D-pad. For me when I am playing the old games on the original system, everything just feels wrong; the controller is different and odd feeling. I really liked playing these games on my PS3 because I am already used to the controller. It also seems like the game reaction time from when you hit a button on the controller is better than the old system. I have no idea what this plays like on the Xbox 360, I like to play these games with the D-pad I went straight for the PS3 version over the 360 because (it’s no secret) the 360 D-pad SUCKS.

Going back and playing Sonic, Columns, and Streets of Rage was great. I had forgotten what the games were like and how good they are. If those aren’t enough there are other unlockable games from Sega’s past. I almost cried when I saw that Phantasy Star from the Sega Master System was unlockable.

The game allows you to change the buttons, adjust screen size for the widescreen folks, and has save states. Save states, if you don’t know, are a way to save what is going on in a game at that very moment. So if you are playing in Sonic the Hedgehog, a game that on the Genesis had no way of saving, you can save your progress. Makes it a little better on games like that because sometimes I want to just play a level then drop it. Now I can keep my place.

Flower Trophy List - Get them All-PS3

Are you wondering what the trophies look like for Flower? Check the other side for the full list.

WARNING: The following descriptions may spoil the end of the game for you. Also the descriptions are VERY vague. We don’t know how to get them yet; we will put up a guide as soon as we can.

Bronze

Memories

Reminisce for the three minutes before returning to the room.

Palette

Use the grass as your canvas and paint the round with three different colors.

Wind

Play with the windmills and ride the wind seven times.

Illumination

Light a darkened pool.

Pure
Journey to the city unscathed.

Stars
Release all of the names to the sky.

Flow

Life could be simple…

*Welcome Back

Play the game after a week long break.

*Healthy Play

Take a ten minute break between any dreams.

*Beginning

The dream has just started…

*Discovery

Find and bloom a secret flower.
Silver

Nature

Bloom 10,ooo flowers.

Urban

Completely awaken the city.

Gold

Dream

Beyond all flowers lies another room.

*Hidden

Free Golden Hammerburst Download for gow2

Make sure to check my blog for the free golden lancer link as well. So to get your free golden hammerburst code simply go to the xbox marketplace online. Just sign-in and download it.

I know what you are saying, "I need 99999 Microsoft points to get one, this isn't free". Your wrong. It is just a bug. try downloading it. If you can't download it and need some Microsoft points, go to the free xbox live gold membership website and it will teach you how to get free ms points. So you are getting it free, if you get the free Microsoft points. Don't buy a code on eBay or from a friend, get it for FREE!

Playstation 3 Backwards Compatibility Demystified

Where noted, some systems that were discontinued are still available (at the time of this writing) in limited supply. When they are gone, so is your chance to get a PS3 with backward compatibility for PS2 games. All SKU’s going forward will only be backward compatible with PSOne titles.

Early systems featured physical Playstation 2 hardware on board which was more reliable and had a higher rate of compatibility with legacy titles. Since August 2007 all models of PS3 achieve backwards compatibility with PS2 titles through software emulation, which has a lower compatibility rate.

ALL models of PS3’s have hardware compatibility for PSOne games, including current SKU’s.

20GB Launch System - November 2006 (DISCONTINUED)

* PSOne and PS2 Backward Compatible (Hardware)
* NO SD/Memory Stick Slots
* NO Wireless Networking
* 4 USB Ports

60GB Launch System - November 2006 (DISCONTINUED)

* PSOne and PS2 Backward Compatible (Hardware)
* SD/Memory Stick Slots
* 802.11b/g Wireless Network Adapter
* 4 USB Ports

40GB - October 2007 (DISCONTINUED)

* PSOne Backward Compatible ONLY (Hardware)
* NO SD/Memory Stick Slots
* 802.11b/g Wireless Network Adapter
* 2 USB Ports

Although discontinued, at the time of this writing, I’ve still seen them on store shelves.

80GB Motorstorm/MGS Bundle - August 2007 (DISCONTINUED)

* PSOne Backward Compatible (Hardware)
* PS2 Backward Compatible (Software)
* SD/Memory Stick Slots
* 802.11b/g Wireless Network Adapter
* 4 USB Ports

Although discontinued, at the time of this writing, I’ve still seen them on store shelves.

80GB ‘CORE Pack’ - August 2008

* PSOne Backward Compatible ONLY (Hardware)
* NO SD/Memory Stick Slots
* 802.11b/g Wireless Network Adapter
* 2 USB Ports

160GB Uncharted Bundle - November 2008

* PSOne Backward Compatible ONLY (Hardware)
* NO SD/Memory Stick Slots
* 802.11b/g Wireless Network Adapter
* 2 USB Ports