modnation report 01

PLATFORM: PS3
RELEASE DATE: 5/2010
DEVELOPER: United Front
ESRB RATING: E

Progress: 20% trophies as of posting

There was no real decision for me in purchasing Modnation Racers. As a big fan of Little Big Planet and the whole concept of "Play, Create, Share" combined with a history of Nintendo kart racing-love this was indeed a day one purchase for me. Seeing as this game will very likely represent years of content and challenges for me I felt a normal review wouldn't cut it and this is the first of many "Modnation Reports" I will be posting.

burn zombie burn

PLATFORM: PSN
RELEASE DATE: 9/2009
DEVELOPER: Doublesix
ESRB RATING: M

Progress: 10% trophies as of posting

There is no huge story or deep meaning to this game. Your mission: shoot zombies to stay alive and in the process rack up points. Now, I like shooting zombies. If you like shooting zombies, Burn Zombie Burn (BZB) is sure to make your thumbs sore and challenge you. It's a top-down view shooter, survival of the fittest, zombie onslaught. You have an assortment of weapons at your fingertips: everything from a hand gun (w/ unlimited ammo,) to a brain-sucking gun, to a lawnmower among many more. Endless waves of zombies are after you as you dash around, laying down a sea of lead, struggling to survive and earn big points towards achievements and ultimately unlocking more levels.

kingdom hearts 358/2

PLATFORM: NINTENDO DS

RELEASE DATE: SEPT 2009

PUBLISHER: SQUARE ENIX
ESRB RATING: E
Progress: 80% at time of posting

Missing the heart?

With the new announcement of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, I feel that this post is timely. Let’s hope that Birth by Sleep doesn’t put me to put me to sleep like Kingdom Hearts 358/2. In my opinion, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 was the glimmering hope to revitalize the action role playing Kingdom Hearts franchise. 358/2 tells the story of Roxas, a young nobody trying to learn the meaning of his existence and why he is in Organization XIII. The story is good, but the whole game is based off someone with amnesia, so the story seems lackluster. The game alludes to the other Kingdom Hearts storylines, but fails to provide the piece to continue the Kingdom Hearts storyline. The reason the story becomes attenuated because to advance the story is to do random missions throughout the Disney worlds. The storyline suffers from the mission based game play. Furthermore, the storyline becomes a bit confusing because the main character Roxas suffers from amnesia. And it is the player’s task to piece together his shattered memories (This could be especially confusing for someone who has not played other Kingdom Hearts games).

portal

PLATFORM: PC
RELEASE DATE: 10/2007
PUBLISHER: VALVE
ESRB RATING: T

Progress: 11 of 19 rooms

Have you seen the movie The Cube? Portal is a puzzle game that looks like that movie and plays as a first person shooter; the only thing, is you're not really shooting anything. Set in the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories, Portal has been called one of the most innovative video games and offers gamers hours of unique gameplay. The story begins with you in a room, with a voice telling you that your taking part in an experiment, that your job is to make it through the puzzles that are set before you. The gun you see in the banner above is your Portal Gun which you acquire almost right away. The Portal Gun enables you to create portals which are imperative to traverse through the different rooms, each with their own unique puzzle. Of course I'd heard of it, read some stories about it but just never played Portal myself. That is, until last week when developer Valve decided to give Portal away for free for a limited time; and before you ask, both PC and Mac editions are available.

marvel ultimate alliance 2

PLATFORM: PS3
RELEASE DATE: 9/2009
PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION
ESRB RATING: T
Progress: 80% at time of posting

Building off of previous great brawler games: X-Men Legends 1 & 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1, developer Vicarious Visions, released Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (MUA2) in mid 2009. The premise for the story, which involves all the mainstay heroes from the Marvel Universe, is 2009's Civil War story line. Civil War is a fan favorite mini series that pits hero against hero against villains over a new government ruling that all super heroes need to be registered or considered terrorists. It's an exciting tale that parallels modern society in some ways. You can play through two campaigns of the Civil War story line as either pro-registration or anti-registration; both giving you access to certain characters and different battles.