Pads & Panels

Title: Just Cause 2

Platform: 360 (PS3, PC)

ESRB: M

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Avalanche Studios, Eidos Interactive

Rating:

Review by: Kevin Haverty

How much gameplay is too much gameplay? How many collectibles are too many? Just Cause 2 tries to find the answer within the 400-square miles of the tropical island Panau. There are more than 350 settlements to discover and complete by destroying landmarks and picking up items. One-hundred and two vehicles to drive. Two-thousand seven-hundred collectibles. And 1,020 fuel depots to destroy. Just Cause 2 will keep games busy for quite some time. (more…)

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Title: Mini Ninjas

Platforms: 360 (Also on PS3, Wii, PC, DS)

ESRB Rating: E

Publisher: Eidos Interactive

Developer: IO Interactive

Rating:

Review by: John Gustafson

We all know looks can occasionally be deceiving. Well, that is exactly the case with Mini Ninjas, which will surely be overlooked by older gamers interested only in the latest gore-fest action-adventure or a flashier shooter.

Those who do pass up Mini Ninjas would not be entirely to blame for their mistake, either. The cover art displays main character Hiro and his buddy Futo with little fanfare, but more importantly shows them as approachable, smiling, family-friendly ninjas that parents would be comfortable with their children playing. With the box screaming “kid game,” and tradition dictating those games offer little to no enjoyment for the older crowd, some are going to miss out on the fun Mini Ninjas has to offer. In this case however, the kids luck out with a polished and quality action game brought to gamers by the people behind the Hitman series. (more…)

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Title: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Platforms: 360 (Also on PS3, PC)

ESRB Rating: T

Publisher: Eidos Interactive and Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Rocksteady Studios

Rating:

Review by: John Gustafson

It is so nice and refreshing to have not only a decent Batman video game, but a great one at that. After so many failed attempts over the years, Batman: Arkham Asylum bucks the past trends and swoops in with a huge victory in line with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins film.

Thanks in equal parts to DC scribe Paul Dini’s excellent script and Rocksteady’s respect and reverence to the Bat’s mythology and atmosphere, Arkham Asylum feels like a genuine piece of Batman’s story that every fan and gamer should experience. Rocksteady must have been paying close attention to last year’s Bioshock’s Rapture, because Arkham is so carefully created that it is not only the setting for which the game unfolds, but also as important a character as Batman and the Joker. The dark, dangerous and foreboding qualities the books convey so well comes to digital life in an aggressive and seductive way. (more…)

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A few more companies made their Electronic Entertainment Expo lineups public this week before the big event hits next week.

XSEED Games announced a hefty lineup – Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP), Half-Minute Hero (PSP), FRAGILE: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii), Arc Rise Fantasia (Wii), Flower, Sun, and Rain (DS), JU-ON: The Grudge (Wii), Little King’s Story (Wii), Ragnarok Online (DS) and Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga (Wii).

Eidos is set to show Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, 360, PC), Mini Ninjas (Wii, DS, PS3, 360) and Just Cause 2 (360, PC, PS3).

Crave Entertainment is scheduled to show Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection (360/PS3), Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection (Wii), Monster Mayham: Build and Battle (Wii, DS), World Championship Athletics (Wii), Real Heroes: Firefighter (Wii) and My Virtual Tutor (DS).

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Title: Tomb Raider: Underworld

Platform: 360 (Also on PS3, PC, Wii, PS2, DS)

ESRB Rating: T

Publisher: EIDOS

Developer: Crystal Dynamics

Rating:

Review by: John Gustafson

Lara Croft has been in a bit of a predicament over the years. Her overall relevance in the American gaming world has decreased in comparison to Europe, and her sex appeal became a parody to when she burst onto the scene in 1996. That’s right, Tomb Raider really has been around that long. With the release of Legends and Anniversary, Crystal Dynamics appropriately adjusted Lara’s appearance to that of a more realistic proportion appealing to a more diverse audience and centralized the gameplay on level exploration and puzzle solving. Tomb Raider: Underworld continues this tradition and expands on those two characteristics that keep gamers returning while at the same time hoping to expand its appeal. (more…)

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