Max Payne has had a rough time recently. His wife and infant child were murdered, he was framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and brought vengeance upon the organization responsible for it all. You’d think after all of that, Max could catch a break. If anything, his luck is only getting worse.
So after “accidentally” washing my old iPod nano, I had the opportunity to run out and get a shiny new iPod touch. I now have the chance to catch up on all the iOS games that I missed, and the first one I tackled was Epic Games’ and Chair Entertainments’ Infinity Blade.
I don’t think anything is quite as hard for developers as taking a beloved video game franchise and having to completely change its mechanics. 2D to 3D was an awkward enough stage, but developers constantly have to keep up with changing times. If Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 hadn’t used its famous over-the-shoulder camera and the series had stuck to its roots, I’m confident that EA’s Dead Space series would have incorporated tank controls. Developers have to go with what they know will sell, which means they have to follow trends.
In 1997, a little game developer called Sucker Punch Productions was founded. However, it wouldn’t be until September 23 of 2002 that they would create their first big hit, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. Two sequels later, Sucker Punch decided to take on a drastically different, and much more ambitious title; inFAMOUS. Since then; Sucker Punch has released the sequel, creatively titled inFAMOUS 2. Does the original hold up well enough that players interested in the series should pick it up first?
In 2007, Media Molecule gave people their first look at LittleBigPlanet, a game that showed as much promise as it did charm. Over the next year, the game was highly anticipated up until launch. People were mesmerized by it’s beautiful graphics and it’s then mind-boggling creation tools. LittleBigPlanet garnered critical acclaim, and for many was the main reason to buy a PS3. Nearly three years and one sequel later, has LittleBigPlanet withstood the test of time?
A fun, yet flawed murderous romp through Renaissance Italy
*Warning this review contains spoilers*
The first Assassin’s Creed was an interesting game. It essentially expanded upon the Prince of Persia franchise allowing players to jump, swing and dive in an open world. While this was amusing, the combat was flawed, as was the storyline. Assassins Creed 2 seeks to fix these issues, and while in some aspects it succeeds, in others it takes a leap of faith and unfortunately lands in the rocky abyss.
TRANSGRESSIONS AND REGRESSIONS
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Metroid series this month, I decided now would be a great time to go back and revisit what is still chronologically the latest game in the series. For those that don’t know, Metroid Fusion is Metroid IV; originally following after Super Metroid, and now technically taking place after the events of Metroid: Other M, which explains several events referenced in Fusion that were never touched on in the original trilogy. Most importantly, it introduces Samus’ deeper relationship with the Galaxy Federation and, in particular, with her former CO, Adam Malkovich.
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