Pads & Panels

Title: Mafia II

Platform: 360 (PS3, PC)

ESRB: M

Publisher: 2K Games

Developer: 2K Czech

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

More than three years after the first trailer was released, Mafia II is finally on store shelves. And while Mafia II gets a lot of things right – mostly on the storytelling side – it’s going to leave a lot of people wondering what 2K Czech spent all that development time doing on the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. But despite that, Mafia II still has a few fun tricks up its designer sleeves. (more…)

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Split/Second hit shelves yesterday for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. A review should be coming soon, but to hold readers over until then, we’ve posted our video interview with Split/Second‘s franchise design director Paul Glancey, who was kind enough to take some time at PAX East to answer our questions. In the video, he explains how the single-player campaign works, the strengths and weaknesses of the game’s three main auto types, as well as “Power Plays” and how they’re used to wreak havoc on the various stages and competitors. Bill Jones interviews, films and edits. Video is filmed and presented in HD.

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Last month, West Coast correspondent Chris Park got a chance to sit down with Deep Silver and check out the publisher’s upcoming racer, Nail’d. The high-speed arcade racer from publisher Deep Silver and developer Techland is set for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in the fourth quarter of 2010. It features 1- to 12-player races, and it’s as much about getting vertical as it is getting to the finish line. Park reports… (more…)

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Title: Forza Motorsport 3

Platform: 360

ESRB Rating: E

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Turn 10 Studios

Rating:

Review by: John Gustafson

Fasten the seat belts and remain seated, because Forza Motorsport 3 has returned to the Xbox 360 as a new and improved game from a series that is already commercially and critically acclaimed. Where does one of the elite racing titles go after having one of the premier physics-based racing systems and a benchmark in graphical presentation? Forza 3 opens the game up to newcomers and arcade racing fans while staying devoted to series loyalists, tech/gear heads and hardcore race fans across the world.

Racing simulators like Forza and Sony’s Gran Turismo have a reputation for being rather uninviting to non-race fans or those who shy away from the micro-management of tuning setups, tire pressure and other car specs in favor of jumping right into the race with a car that does not need adjustments. All of that changes with Forza 3. In fact, the game should have been titled Forza Motorsport 3: Accessibility. (more…)

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Title: Brütal Legend

Platform: PS3 (Also on 360)

ESRB Rating: M

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Double Fine

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

If games creator Tim Schafer and his crew know how to do one thing exceptionally well, it is create fantastic worlds populated with engaging characters and awesome stories that show us the best (and funniest) games are often made by its truest fans. With Brütal Legend, the gang at Double Fine teams with musician and film star Jack Black for a follow up to 2005’s critically acclaimed Psychonauts. And while the title suffers from its controls and gameplay being a tad unpolished, gamers and heavy metal fans will find themselves too wrapped up in the world to care. (more…)

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Title: “Big Surf Island” DLC for Burnout Paradise

Platform: PS3 (Also on 360, PC)

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Criterion Games

Review by: Bill Jones

Since the release of Burnout Paradise in January 2008, Criterion Games and Electronic Arts have provided a slew of downloadable support to the incredible racing title, from new vehicles, to modes, to trophies, to tweaks in gameplay. But “Big Surf Island” marks the first time Burnout Paradise expands to offer more pavement (and a variety of other surfaces) on which to drive. (more…)

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Title: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

Platform: 360 (Also on PS3)

ESRB Rating: M

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Swordfish Studios

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand really shouldn’t be a good game. The writing is terrible, the gameplay run-of-the mill and repetitive, and co-op is barely functional. And yet somehow – maybe because the game is polished and action-packed enough to keep things interesting, or maybe because its “protagonist” is, beyond all odds, endearing – the sequel to the critical-abomination Bulletproof is actually fun. (more…)

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