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Mini-Review: Mega Man 10

Plenty of publishers have climbed aboard the retro train this gaming generation, but Capcom stands ahead of them all by demonstrating again and again that they "get it" when it comes to simultaneously recreating the best aspects of a classic video game and modernizing it with years of development experience.  Consider the company's latest release in its long-running Mega Man franchise, Mega Man 10 for the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Xbox 360.  Following on in the classic Nintendo Entertainment System style revived by 2008's Mega Man 9, this new adventure for the blue bomber somehow manages to feel like both a lost game from twenty years ago and a new title made with modern expectations in mind.  It all boils down to Mega Man taking on eight Robot Masters (and then Dr. Wily, of course), and fans like myself wouldn't have it any other way.  What makes Mega Man 10 stand with (and, in some cases, ahead of) its lineage are the many extras that bulk up the game's replay value.  Spoilers ahead!

Mini-Review: Mega Man X: Official Complete Works

Since I was so impressed with UDON Entertainment's Mega Man: Official Complete Works art book, I had to go ahead and purchase the next volume in the series in which it is Mega Man X that enjoys some time in the spotlight.  Covering all eight main Mega Man X games (plus the Maverick Hunter X remake of the original Super NES game for the Sony PlayStation Portable), the two Game Boy Mega Man Xtreme titles, and the Command Mission RPG, this edition of Official Complete Works follows a similar template as the first book.  Unfortunately, the previous volume set the bar a little too high, as Mega Man X: Official Complete Works starts out by offering the same kind of fascinating content as its companion, but instead seems to grow bored with itself and go home before the party is supposed to be over.

Mini-Review: Mega Man: Official Complete Works

Anyone who has read through the Robot Masters On Parade series of PTB entries has to know by now that I love official Mega Man classic Robot Master artwork.  There's just something about those larger-than-life characters that strike a chord with me, so when Capcom and UDON Entertainment teamed up to bring the Japanese tome full of classic artwork to North America in English as Mega Man: Official Complete Works, I knew I had to snap the book up.  I'm glad that I did, as it's loaded with all sorts of character artwork, box art, conceptual sketches (for instance, Bubble Man with a faucet for a head), promotional material, and — best of all — extensive comments from Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune and several other artists who have worked on the franchise in which they explain why certain characters look like they do.  Nearly every game in the series gets a few pages in the spotlight including the more obscure titles such as The Wily Wars, Battle & Chase, Mega Man Soccer, and even a little Super Adventure Rockman.  It's a fascinating window into the Mega Man creative process and especially interesting to see the art style develop over the years, but it is lacking in a few places.

Mini-Review: Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth

Konami's Castlevania franchise left its traditional 100% action roots behind over ten years ago, but the aging-yet-beloved format has made a return in Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth for Nintendo's WiiWare in which a creaky old 1989 Game Boy game is given a 1995ish coat of Super NES-inspired paint in this final project from series helmer Koji Igarashi before a different development team reboots the franchise next year with Lords of Shadow.  When Dracula rises yet again, it's up the era's local vampire hunter, Christopher Belmont, to enter the haunted castle, clear its six 2D side-scrolling mostly linear stages of monsters, and slay Dracula once and for all (until he rises again next century).

Despite sharing a name with the original Game Boy game, much of this adventure consists of new material mixed with content from other Castlevania games.  The giant rolling eyeballs are back and Christopher has his trusty fireball-spewing whip, but the stage designs are new and the soundtrack is lifted from Haunted Castle, Belmont's Revenge, and Dracula's Curse among other franchise entries.  Interestingly enough, with the exception of series staple "Vampire Killer", the rest of the music is downright obscure and forgotten, so if you're not deeply familiar with the totality of the Castlevania musical library, then most of what the soundtrack has to offer will be new to you.

Not everything is full of nostalgic goodness.  There are still plenty of pixel-perfect jumps that are difficult or frustrating to pull off, and while the original game did not include save abilities or a password system, the lack of either is sorely felt here.  I like Stage 1, but I don't necessarily want to play it every time I want to play Stage 2.  In the end, however, this is traditional old-style pre-Symphony of the Night gameplay, and while it's not the best that the series has to offer, it's certainly worth the time and ten dollar entry fee if you're a fan of the original action format in which the series began.  Why tell you when I can show you though?  Here's a trip through Stage 1 combined with a little extra commentary from me.

Mini-Review: Hauppauge HD PVR

The old aphorism teaches that a picture says a thousand words, and when it comes to sharing new information on video games, actual video of the game in question is worth at least three times that with today's exchange rates.  Even if you've managed to pull off an amazing Burnout Paradise Road Rage feat or zoomed through an epic speed run of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, how do you expect to earn your Internet bragging rights without actual footage of your accomplishment?  Enter Hauppauge's HD PVR, a small silver-and-black box that sits between your HDTV and game console of choice that via the magic of USB can record your gaming talents on your PC for the world to see in up to 1080i resolution.

Mini-Review: Need For Speed: Shift

In the beginning (well, my beginning) there was Super Mario Kart, and it was fun.  My hunger for more speed led me up the ranks over the years intro increasingly serious titles such as Crusin' USA, F-Zero GX, and into this generation with Burnout Paradise.  Now I've moved up one more step into the realistic world of Electronic Arts's Need For Speed: Shift for the Sony PlayStation 3 (also for Microsoft Xbox 360 and PC) where the cars are digital recreations of real vehicles, the tracks are modeled after actual tracks found around the world, and my inadequate skills at realistic racing titles lead me to rethink returning to Super Mario Kart where at least I usually win.  I'm getting ahead of myself though.

Mini-Review: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Big dumb explodey summertime movie blockbusters mean big dumb explodey summertime games based on the aforementioned movie blockbusters.  It's just smart business in this era of synergy and marketing.  After spending some time with the Sony PlayStation 3 version of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra from Double Helix Games and Electronic Arts that recently landed on my doorstep (also available for the Microsoft Xbox 360 in this comparable format), I do believe that I'm ready to move on to the games of fall and winter that tend not to be as much of a quickly produced cash-grab.  After slogging through similar disappointing adventures based on Terminator Salvation and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that exist merely to make some easy money based on brand recognition ahead of lasting gameplay elements, I'm ready for something more creative and engaging.

The Rise of Cobra unfolds about as you'd expect.  Players choose two Joes from the roster of heroes and guide them through slightly top-down perspective missions while blasting anything that gets in the way.  Hold down the R2 trigger to endlessly fire, mowing down enemy grunt after enemy grunt.  Some enemies can be dispatched with a close-up melee attack, although personally I enjoyed the ability to knock a foe into the air and shoot him dead before he or she hits the ground (there's even a Trophy for doing this move enough times in the PS3 version).  There's even a little vehicle combat thrown in for good measure, although controlling some of them can be cumbersome.  Destroy enough enemies and the film's notable Accelerator Suits become available for a brief while (complete with the bombastic and triumphant G.I. Joe theme).  Simply press the button to become an invincible powerhouse with a mighty blaster for several seconds.

Mini-Review: Terminator Salvation

The Terminator film franchise has been a fantastic canvas on which to paint intriguing stories as well as hot gobs of explosive action, but the key thing about Terminator that some people have yet to figure out is that there are only certain stories in the series's universe that are worth telling.  Kyle Reese traveling back in time to protect Sarah Connor?  That's worth telling.  A reprogrammed T-800 model Terminator protecting a teenage John Connor?  Also worth telling.  Just another day of trying to stay alive in a post-Skynet future war environment?  Not so much, which brings us to Terminator Salvation, the video game tie-in to this summer's film of the same name, and although they share a title, they feature different stories.  The game sets up some of the film's backstory, casting players as John Connor prior to humanity lining up to follow him into hell just because he says so.  It's just another day for Connor when he vows to rescue a group of trapped humans from behind enemy lines before they're terminated once and for all.

Mini-Review: Able Planet PS500MM Headset

The current generation of video gaming dragged me kicking and screaming into the world of headsets with their fancy microphones and loud little speakers, and up until recently I've been moderately pleased with my wireless headset for the Sony PlayStation 3.  I don't do all that much speaking while playing online, but I do a lot of speaking and listening on my PC thanks to the Kombo Breaker podcast.  This is where Sony's wireless Bluetooth headset failed me, as for whatever reason, my voice sounded like I was broadcasting from the early days of AM radio (listen to our first episode of Kombo Breaker for an example).  When the offer to try Able Planet's PS500MM headset came my way, I jumped on it if, for nothing else, to improve my Kombo Breaker experience.  After two weeks of using the PS500MM for both Burnout Paradise and Kombo Breaker, I've come away pleased with the performance, but also have a few criticisms.

Mini-Review: The King of Fighters XII

After taking a few years to regroup, The King of Fighters franchise is back for a new entry for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 from SNK Playmore and Ignition Entertainment.  As a complete newcomer to the King franchise, I went into The King of Fighters XII with low expectations not because I expected the game to disappoint, but because I really did not know what to expect and had nothing riding on the experience.  When I say that I'm a newcomer, I mean it.  Up until tackling XII, I had never played anything from the SNK family of fighters.  No Fatal Fury.  No Art of Fighting.  So, consider this mini-review from the perspective of someone stepping into XII with a completely clean slate and no preconditions on what to expect.  It's Tabula Rasa for the high definition age of fighting.