General gaming

General gaming

Mortal Kombat Review: A Near-Flawless Victory

Posted: 01 May 2012 12:01 AM PDT

I didn't think it fair to review Mortal Kombat for Vita without referencing the following key paragraph from our original review, which was written a little over a year ago by fighting game savant Neidel Crisan:

"With just under 30 characters to try out from the get-go, 30 different stages with a mountain of secrets and unlockables, and a robust online mode, the replay value is absolutely through the roof. Mortal Kombat has set the standard for the sheer amount of content that is to be expected from a title like this, showing that it is possible to add many creative elements to a genre that has typically been restricted to one-vs.-one arcade battles, training and online modes that leave a lot to be desired. If other developers follow suit and add even half of the amount of content that's included in Mortal Kombat, the fighting game genre has a very bright future ahead of it."

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Embraces the Genre's Past

Posted: 30 Apr 2012 04:16 PM PDT

Shortly after last fall's release of the underwhelming Mario Kart 7, we put together a list of six lessons the series could learn from other entries in the genre. Mario has resided in rarefied atmosphere at the top of the mountain, and because of this, recent installments have suffered from the kind of stagnation that stems from a lack of competition. Well, in a serendipitous turn, it seems like the folks at Sumo Digital were thinking of many of the same lessons. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (which I will refer to as Transformed for the sake of my own sanity), a followup to Sonic's 2010 inaugural jaunt behind the wheel, treads new ground in the genre by keeping a watchful eye on the past.

For a long time, I've wanted Mario Kart to take a Super Smash Bros. approach and treat each installment as a tribute to all things Nintendo. While this has yet to come to fruition, Transformed's focus is on being a complete and sincere love letter to all things Sega. From the inclusion of fan-favorite characters like Vyse from Skies of Arcadia to more obscure competitors like Gilius Thunderhead, the feisty little dwarf from Golden Axe, Sumo is rolling up its sleeves and digging deep into the mine of Sega's past. Sumo isn't pandering by filling the line-up with purely Sonic characters, but instead giving those of us who grew up on the Genesis a healthy heap of fan-service. While the wide variety to characters show off this idea of tribute, it's the tracks themselves that really bring this concept to fruition.

sonic

Phantasy Star Online 2: A Deeper Look at the Beta

Posted: 30 Apr 2012 03:45 PM PDT

Portal 2 DLC Gives Fans the Gift That Keeps Giving With New Level Editor

Posted: 30 Apr 2012 03:33 PM PDT

Few developers treat their fans better than Valve Software. With the recent unveiling of their new Portal 2 DLC, the company is giving even more power to players with the introduction of the "Perpetual Testing Initiative," a level editor for last year's critically acclaimed title.

Awesomenauts Exhibits Publishers' Effect on Digital Distribution

Posted: 30 Apr 2012 01:26 PM PDT

Awesomenauts

Update: We've received word from Ronimo that both the XBLA and PSN releases of the game will go ahead as scheduled. There's no word on how this may impact the plans for post-launch updates or if dtp holds the rights to a sequel if and when the time comes for that, but at least for now there won't be any interruption in us getting our hands on the game this week.

Original Story: Awesomenauts' name has been mentioned a great deal as of late with its release scheduled for this week. In addition to the new trailers you'd expect to see shortly before a game comes out, it was less than a week ago that developer Ronimo Games announced Awesomenauts would be made available to PlayStation Plus subscribers for free in May. Unfortunately, as the developer is now learning firsthand, what a difference a week can make.

Fable Heroes Review: Not the Hero We Need or Deserve

Posted: 30 Apr 2012 12:11 PM PDT

With Fable 3 wrapping up the RPG trilogy with a nice little bow, its creators now seem intent on exploring the wider Xbox 360 base by tapping into two other very distinct styles of play: Gesture-based shooting in Fable: The Journey, and bite-sized, beat-'em-up thrills with Fable Heroes. The Journey may well prove divisive among fans simply for its reliance on Kinect, but Fable Heroes sets its sights on wide appeal via accessible co-op action, a tiny $10 price point, and a bevy of franchise references that are light enough to not alienate newcomers.

As such, the Xbox Live Arcade release seems poised to introduce the world of Albion to a much larger audience; but for all its surface charm and smart ideas, Fable Heroes falls flat in action. Its slow-paced, repetitive combat fails to engage or consistently entertain. All the colorful callbacks in the world can't make up for what proves to be a frequently dull and unnecessarily repetitive experience.

Will Gamers Still Love Lara Croft?

Posted: 30 Apr 2012 10:16 AM PDT

Forget Mario. Forget Sonic. Forget White Guy With Short Brown Hair and High-Tech Space Armor. Forget Pac-Man. The most beloved video game character ever just might be Lara Croft, the tough-talking heroine of Eidos' Tomb Raider series. Boys mostly remember her for her habit of wearing impractical, revealing outfits and wiggling her hips as she explored ancient ruins; girls mostly remember her for being a non-nonsense heroine in a medium laden with princesses in need of rescue: A woman who could pump every bad guy in sight full of bullets all on her own, thank you very much, skimpy outfits and sexy wiggle be damned.

Posted by Shri Krishna

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