Pads & Panels

Title: Shank 2

Platform: 360, PS3, PC

ESRB: M

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Klei Entertainment

Rating:

Review By: Eric Stuckart

Klei Entertainment’s Shank was one of the my favorite downloadable titles of 2010, not necessarily because it was one of the best games out on the market, but because it managed to do so many things right. It was stylish, looked great, played great, and despite having more than a couple of unfair difficulty spikes that came out of left field, was very, very fun.

When I heard about Shank 2’s imminent release, I was curious as to how they would improve on the formula. The sequel is a bit of a bittersweet success, because while many of the changes made were done to make the gameplay even smoother than it was last time around, it feels like it ends up coming short in other ways. It’s not enough to throw the whole game off, but there’s still a few coulda, woulda, shoulda moments that popped up in my head while playing it. (more…)

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Title: Transient

Publisher: Massive Black

Writer/Artist: Justin “CORO” Kaufman

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

To me, the greatest thing about comics is their ability to allow the reader to suspend his or her disbelief in a way that other forms of storytelling, mainly film, ever could. I think that’s the greatest asset that it has, because in a certain way, it’s still tied to the imaginative, ‘anything’s possible’ belief system that books are so very good at conveying. The mind’s eye can fill in the blanks, per se, and all we need is a little nudge from the book’s artwork.

In that sense, a book like Transient probably wouldn’t be able to work in any other form of popular visual media. Its concept most certainly wouldn’t work in a video game, what with the heroic lead character not being enough of an antihero or a hero; hell, he’s not even close enough to being what many would view as a regular guy. And with that, it probably wouldn’t work too well as a film either, for much the same but entirely different reasons. Why, you ask? Because the hero’s name is Bob, and he is a homeless man living on the streets of San Francisco. Bob has a secret. He can see multidimensional beings — some good, some evil — and because of that, he must stay living on the streets, as a ‘guardian of humanity.’ (more…)

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Title: Pushmo

Platform: 3DS

ESRB: E

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Intelligent Systems

Review By: Eric Stuckart

Rating:

The Nintendo 3DS really didn’t have that great of a launch, did it? With its poor offerings in terms of launch titles, the lack of an online store for the first couple months, among other problems, for a while there, gamers were starting to think that the Big N’s luck has finally run out. Fortunately, these fears are finally starting to appear as unfounded. Despite being slow on the uptake, Nintendo took some opportunities to make amends with their consumer base by cutting the price of the system, giving early adopters a bunch of free games on the eStore, and most importantly, finally releasing some games worth playing.

With that, we have Pushmo, a puzzle game that hits all the sweet spots that any mobile puzzle game should strive for, and it does it with ease. Not only is it the first great title to hit the Nintendo 3DS’ eShop, it’s a great 3DS title in its own right. (more…)

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Title: Batman: Year One

Format: Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy

MPAA: PG-13

Directed by: Sam Liu & Lauren Montgomery

Written by: Tab Murphy, based on a comic by Frank Miller

Starring: Benjamin McKenzie, Bryan Cranston, Eliza Dushku, Katee Sackhoff, Alex Rocco, Jon Polito

Produced by: Lauren Montgomery, Alan Burnett

Studio: Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment, Warner Home Video

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

The Film

Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One was a groundbreaking comic for the Dark Knight for a number of reasons. First off, it helped to definitively usher in a new age for Batman, one that eschewed the flavor-of-the-week enemies and cartoonish nature that the Adam West television series had imparted onto the comics. And secondly, it brought a grittier, darker tone to a comic book series that badly needed a resurrection.

The fact that the book practically serves as a storyboard for DC Entertainment’s animated adaptation only shows how great the source material was in the first place. Telling the story of how both Bruce Wayne and good cop Jim Gordon have arrived in the crime-ridden Gotham City, it’s a great starting point for those not familiar with the story behind the cowl. (more…)

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Title: 30 Days of Night: Omnibus Vol. 1

Publisher: IDW

Writers: Steve Niles

Artist: Ben Templesmith

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

Bleak and sparse, 30 Days of Night is the type of vampire story that should be told more often. Rather than try too hard by showing a lot of flash and overdoing the action, it broods. It breathes its icy black breath on every page. And the pages are dark as they come. It doesn’t have to try; it gets its point across just by being, making it quite the page turner.

In this colllection, the first three stories of the 30 Days saga are included, the self-titled first story, along with sequels Dark Days and Return to Barrow. With the first story, the duo of Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith had something terrifyingly special on their hands. The story is simple. In the quiet Alaskan town of Barrow, a group of vampires comes up with a plan that no vampire has ever tried before. They decide to drop in on the townsfolk during the short period between November 18 and December 17 when the sun doesn’t rise — the titular 30 days of night. Without a sun coming up to make the vampires return to hiding for a month, Barrow becomes a free-for-all, an all-you-can-eat buffet for the vampires. This is the story of how those townsfolk fight back. (more…)

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#7 Ms. Splosion Man (360)

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios — Developer: Twisted Pixel

For a premise as simple as the one the first Splosion Man had, Twisted Pixel could have just rested on its laurels and made a copy of the first game with the sequel, but the studio went the extra mile, taking every element from the first one and either refining it or making it better with Ms. Splosion Man. In this way, the sequel feels somewhat similar on a basic level, but better in just about every way imaginable. The platformer’s gradual difficulty and gameplay curve reminds of the Portal games, in the sense that every element is smartly introduced in a way that gives the player a solid foundation before throwing him into the thick of it. Be it the zip lines, canons reminiscent of the barrels from Donkey Kong Country, trampolines or the very cool teleporters that transport the Splody one between the backgrounds and foregrounds, everything has its place and makes it one of the greatest platformers of this console generation, if not all time. (more…)

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Best of 2011 – Eric’s Music Picks

The Best

Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction (HevyDevy/InsideOut Music)

To describe Deconstruction in a nutshell is an impossible thing to do, as it is one of the most bizarre metal albums of the year, and likely the most avant-garde piece of music that Devin Townsend has released yet. Throwing together everything plus the kitchen sink, all forms of metal show their faces in this showing, from progressive to black to death and everything in between, not to mention the backing of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as guest vocals by some of the greatest vocalists in extreme metal. It’s not for everyone, but it more than proves that Townsend’s creative wellspring is far from run dry. (more…)

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Title: Rage

Platform: 360, PS3, PC

ESRB: M

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Developer: id Software

Review By: Eric Stuckart

Rating:

After years of development and hype, Rage has finally hit consoles and PC alike, unfortunately with a resounding thud. It’s hard not to look at the game as a disappointment more than anything else, as it excels at doing everything in its power to underwhelm players, especially knowing how much potential the game has in its possession.

Given id Software’s penchant for developing games heavy on the action and gameplay with the least bit of emphasis falling on the shoulders of the game’s story — one need not look further than Doom for that — it should come to no surprise that the game’s story isn’t exactly the greatest. It wouldn’t even be much of a stretch to say that it makes that of Borderlands look fleshed out, but in Rage’s defense, that partly might be due to the design of the game. Much of the attention is clearly being directed to the visuals and the gunplay, which are far superior to much of the first person shooter competition out there. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to really make up for everything else that Rage has to offer. (more…)

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Title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Platform: PS3, 360, PC

ESRB: M

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games

Review By: Eric Stuckart

Rating:

Ah, Call of Duty. It must be coming towards the end of the year already. With Modern Warfare 3, the behemoth military shooter franchise finally sees the end of its Modern Warfare storyline with this game, in my opinion the first in the series that truly doesn’t really see much in the form of innovation so much as doing just enough to get by and get the title out.

While that last statement still rings, keep this in mind: Modern Warfare 3 is still an expertly crafted first person shooter, with all of the flourishes that the series has become known for. It’s just that I’m starting to feel a bit of fatigue from the annual release of these games. There’s only so far one can take this genre, and for some people — myself included — it’s starting to see a logical end. Or a need to go back to the blueprints and start thinking up a new war style to exploit to keep things fresh. But I digress. (more…)

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Title: Alice: Madness Returns

Platform: 360 (PS3, PC)

ESRB: M

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Spicy Horse

Review By: Eric Stuckart

Rating:

American McGee’s Alice was a PC game that perfectly illustrated gaming at the turn of the millennium. Its art style was influenced by Tim Burton’s subverted gothic style — despite beating even him to the punch in weirding up the property, as he would nearly a decade later — and it had the extreme type of gameplay that was really starting to popularize gaming at the time. It hasn’t aged particularly well, but its blend of PS1-inspired platforming with a more mature combat style helped it stand out among other titles in its day.

It’s hard to say if that uniqueness alone was enough for it to deserve a sequel, but its cult status among its fans probably more than likely guaranteed that Alice would once again return to Wonderland, this time with Alice: Madness Returns. Fans of the series will probably find much to love in the game, with its creepy art style, its new game plus and enough collectibles to drive a player mad as a hatter, but ultimately its questionable design choices that pop up from time to time and clear lack of polish will be the true element to drive them insane, albeit in a less enjoyable way. (more…)

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