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Bonks AdventureYou ever wonder why some game that you can’t stand gets about a dozen sequels, yet the game that you really want more of never gets made? It is a shame. Here is a look at a few games that should get sequels, but aren’t.

Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle
Lucas Games created some of the greatest 2D visual adventures ever made. The original Maniac Mansion game created a whole scripting engine and game concept. PC graphical adventures were a highly influential game series in the early 80s and it presented a huge amount of options to the game player. Manic Mansion was a well made spoof of the graphical adventure and the 8-bit Nintendo port was the only game that you could microwave a hamster until Nintendo found out about it. If you made a port of Maniac Mansion to the Game Boy Advance it would rule.

Click to continue reading Games Which Seriously Deserve Sequels


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Gears of War

While Andru and I were at E3 we saw a trailer for an awesome game called Gears of War for Xbox 360. Unfortunately, out of all the press kits and access that we had there were no trailers for us to give you all. We were able to score some screenshots for you though. I personally think that this game will be the “Halo” of Xbox 360.  The gameplay looks excellent and the graphics are amazing. We don’t have any storyline details yet, but we’ll pass them along when we get them.

Editor’s Note: I actually did get a bit of the background on the game during the Microsoft press briefing. Gears of War can best be described as a hybrid third-person shooter and survival horror game. There are locusts which do not like to be in the light. If you can stay near light, you have a better chance of surviving. The trailer shown at Microsoft’s conference was truly amazing. These screenshots are in game.

Click to continue reading E3 2005: Gears of War Screenshots


DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi

Atari has yet another Dragon Ball Z game called Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi.  This game is pretty amazing.  In the previous Budokai games, you were limited to a certain area, but in Budokai Tenkaichi it’s a free for all.  I played this game for 15 minutes and I was blown away.  The levels are completely interactive and destructible, more than 4 different gameplay modes, over 60 playable characters,  controllable flight ability, and more.  This game really grasps the DBZ world and puts it on your console.

Click to continue reading E3 2005: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi Impressions


Super Mario Strikers

Super Mario Strikers is one of the four new titles which Mario and his crew will be making an appearance in this year. We got our hands on this game, and although it was an early build, it is thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, I am willing to say that this is the greatest Mario sports title ever, period. In this build, two teams were available - Mario and Donkey Kong.  Each team captain has a few Koopa Troopa’s or Toad-like teammates. Now, the soccer mechanics are just great. If you remember Sega Soccer Slam, I would say that the actual soccer game actually plays a bit better in Strikers. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Mario title if there weren’t some twists. Unlike what you will find in the latest iteration of Mario Tennis on the Gamecube, the power-ups and distractions in Strikers don’t seem too gimmicky.

Click to continue reading E3 2005: Super Mario Strikers Impressions


Killer 7 E3

Killer7 from Capcom has been announced and is one of the highly anticipated titles of E3 this year mainly due to that fact that this is the second cell shaded first person shooter game to be released.  XIII was the first FPS that was cell shaded, but Killer 7 has a unique twist to it.  In the game you are Harman Smith, an assassin who is the dominate consciousness over 7 different personalities. Switching between his seven different personalities, Harman employs each personality’s unique abilities to complete their mission. Using each personalities unique abilities, you must destroy creatures released by a kingpin crime boss and make your way to him to end the criminal madness.  You can switch through any of the 7 personalities during gameplay to reach your goal.  Killer 7 will be released in June 2005 for the PS2 and Gamecube.


Teen Titans Game

I’m a big fan of the comic and show Teen Titans and Majesco has brought them to the console world.  Not much of the story has been revealed, but we know that the game includes more than 10 of the villains from the series including Slade, Cinderblock, Jinx, and more.  You start off with the standard Titans team: Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Robin, but you can also unlock at least 10 more characters.  You can switch between which Titan you want to play as in real time, which is good because each Titan has unique abilities.  There is a multi-player mode where you can either do Co-Op or up to 4 player versus. I haven’t gotten a chance to play the game yet, but from what we’ve seen it looks promising.  Teen Titans will be on Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube and is scheduled for release early 2006.


Kingsom Hearts II

More details have been released about Kingdom Hearts II for the Playstation Two.  The first game in this series was a huge hit and a different type of RPG.  This series was the first to incorporate Disney characters with characters from the Square Enix world, whether they be new characters or re-worked ones.  The next installment in the series takes place a year after the GBA game Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, with Sora and pals meeting up with new ones along the way.  The story is about Sora looking for his lost friend Riku, while Donald and Goofy are looking for their King. The sequel will take gamers through new and already traveled worlds.  Look out for Kingdom Hearts II to hit stores this holiday. Also, keep an eye out for pictures and media files we’ll be posting soon.


Saitek P990

Earlier today we got a look at Saitek’s new PC game controllers, and figured we would bring you the goods. First up is the P990 Dual Analog. Let me preface this by letting you know that Saitek has decided to switch their hardware focus to cater to the first person shooter category. That being said, all of their new controllers reflect that mentality. We weren’t able to get our hands on any of them, so our impressions are purely visual.

So, here we have the P990 Dual Analog which features backlit buttons and increased grip. I must say, the backlit button do look smooth - but control is more than just looks. There is an FPS button which automatically configures the controller for FPS games so that you no longer need to rely on the mouse, which the right analog stick taking its place. Saitek’s Smart Technology software allows for advanced controller programming by identifying your specific control setup for each game you own. One thing I don’t know about is the D-Pad. It’s a personal thing, but I just don’t like when they are shaped like that. Oh, you can’t see them in the image, but there are 4 shoulder trigger on this one as well. It will be available in July for a price of $20 USD.


Xbox 360In order to build more hype and bring the console to the mass market achieve in getting a console in the homes of most Americans, Microsoft has teamed up with Mountain Dew to give away one Xbox 360 every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 9 weeks straight beginning on August 28th. You will need to register on the website to build a profile and enter codes found in specialty marked beverages and choose when and which codes to play. Looks like I’m going to be drinking Mountain Dew a lot more than usual. Full press release and details are available after the jump.

Click to continue reading Mountain Dew To Give Away An Xbox 360 Every 10 Minutes


E3Just because you couldn’t attend the all exclusive press events from the top three names in the industry doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them from the comfort of your own home. Big thanks go to E3Insider and Spike TV for providing the unfortunate public a look at the events. The videos are of the highlights instead of boring you with every single second of the event. These videos are great, because they focus on the most interesting parts of the events and provide a nice look on the inside to the general public. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could provide some goodies to really show the E3 experience? Check out the videos and tell us what you think. We will have our initial impressions of the big three soon.

View | Sony Highlights

View | Microsoft Highlights

View | Nintendo Highlights


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