Pads & Panels

Title: Tournament of Legends

Platform: Wii

ESRB: T

Publisher: Sega

Developer: High Voltage

Rating: Rating:

Review by: Archie Easter

In May of 2009, High Voltage revealed Gladiator AD, a promising-looking and rather gory take on roman gladiatorial combat for the Wii. During the course of development, however, it eventually evolved into what is now Tournament of Legends.

Unfortunately, along the way it lost many of the things that made the original concept interesting. Combine this with the game’s numerous glitches and unresponsive controls, and the end result is a legendary amount of wasted potential. (more…)

 Print This Post

.

Sigh. It’s been a long weekend. Since becoming a “full-time” freelance writer, I’d almost forgotten until this weekend what it’s like to be on a work schedule, have to go out and put in 8 or more consecutive hours somewhere. I generally put in more than that a day with my writing, but being on a flexible schedule means it’s usually more broken up and interrupted a lot more often by the silly distractions that come so easily around the house. But it’s been both tiring, rejuvenating and a bit of fun to get out and do a few solid days of real work again.

Archie and I both worked, full disclosure, indirectly for Sony PlayStation this weekend at the Alli Dew Tour at Soldier Field in Chicago. It doesn’t mean we’re fan boys, and it doesn’t mean we’ll be giving preferential treatment to Sony’s games or hardware. We’ll still always provide honest opinions on games, and keep an objective view of what we do. It just means we needed some extra cash, and got hired by a marketing agency that handles Sony’s event marketing in Chicago, which for us meant standing inside and outside of a Sony tent, getting a chance to get our hands on PlayStation Move and talking to people about it, helping them play and learn more about it. (more…)

 Print This Post

.

I might actually be becoming a vampire… As I write this, it’s after 3 a.m. and just about every sane person that doesn’t have to be awake has long since gone to bed. Why am I awake at night and sleeping during the day? Despite my strong aversion to the works of Stephenie Meyer, I may be becoming what I most hate.

As far as I know, my skin doesn’t “sparkle” in sunlight yet, so that’s good. (more…)

 Print This Post

Title: Cthulu Tales Vol. 4: The Darkness Beyond

Publisher: Boom Studios

Writers: Raven Gregory, Sam Costello, Robert Tinnell, Jeff Lester, Mark Rahner, Michael Alan Nelson, Christopher Sequeira, Christine Boylan, Luke Burns, William Messner-Loebs, Shane Oakly

Artists: Sergio Carrera, Axel Medellin Machain, Milton Sobriero, Chee, Unai, Aritz, W. Chewie Chan, Roger Langridge, Andrew Ritchie, David Hitchcock

Rating:

Review by: Archie Easter

Cthulu Tales Vol. 4: “The Darkness Beyond” is the most recent collection of comics from Boom Studios’ monthly series Cthulu Tales. Collecting issues 9-12, the book features 11 stories from a bevy of authors and artists based on the Cthulu mythos of writer H.P. Lovecraft. Since there are so many different stories, writers and art styles on display here, there’s no shortage of variety. Unfortunately in this particular volume, the results are definitely a mixed bag. There are a few notable standouts, though. (more…)

 Print This Post

Title: Joe Danger

Platform: PSN

ESRB: E

Publisher: Hello Games

Developer: Hello Games

Rating:

Review by: Archie Easter

Joe Danger is the first game from the upstart Hello Games. The story follows thrill-seeker stuntman Joe Danger, who is attempting to make his comeback after a botched stunt forced him to prematurely retire from the tracks. The player must now lead the determined daredevil through a series of tours that progressively change in difficulty and complexity until he’s back on top. Along the way, Danger will encounter Team Nasty, rival bikers looking to beat him at his own game. (more…)

 Print This Post