Review – Dragon Age 2: Mark of the Assassin DLC

Last week we got new DLC from BioWare for Dragon Age 2 called Mark of the Assassin. This DLC gives you total roughly another four or five hours of gameplay and almost ALL of it involves the internet’s geeky sweetheart, Felicia Day. That in itself wouldn’t be so bad, but these days, it seems to me that a little bit of Felicia Day goes a long, long way (I mean – she seems to be everywhere I turn right now) and in all honesty, I could’ve done with a little less of her in the new DLC. If you played the Legacy DLC, you’re already familiar with how these things are working. In Hawke’s Kirkwall estate, there’s a new statue in the library that activates the story for the DLC. You’re transported to where the quest starts – ‘it’s a trap!’ and then the new character (the one modeled after

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Review – Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Rating: M (Mature 17+: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence) Genre: Action Publisher: THQ Developer: Relic Entertainment Release Date: September 6, 2011 BUY Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was one of those games I saw at this past E3 and brushed it off over the droll name. Space Marine? How unoriginal could you get? I was talked into waiting in the line at the THQ booth anyway, and after that ten minute demo, I knew I needed this game. Space Marine is aptly set on a distant planet, one that humans are in the process of inhabiting and one that Orks are in the process of invading. The player takes on the role of Captain Titus of the Ultramarines, a highly decorated veteran of numerous wars. It his job to stop the Ork invasion long enough so that the Liberation Fleet can break through and save the day. It sounds contrite and

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Review – Alice: Madness Returns (PS3)

Rating: M (for Mature) PEGI: 18+ Developer: Spicy Horse Publisher: Electronic Arts Release Date: June 14, 2011 BUY Eleven years ago on my birthday, American McGee, a game designer introduced the world to his own dark, sinister version of Alice in Wonderland; American McGee’s Alice which developed quite a cult following, along with a fair amount of critical and commercial success. His grim, macabre version of Alice took place a few years after Through the Looking-Glass. Alice narrowly escapes her burning home, only to listen to the cries of her family as they’re incinerated while trapped inside. She then retreats back into Wonderland, albeit not the wholesome and light hearted version we’ve previously known as a coping mechanism. The original game left many questions unanswered, and American McGee and his studio, Spicy Horse finally decided to answer them, while bringing Alice’s story to a close after lengthy hiatus. Is it

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Review – Hunted: The Demon’s Forge (PS3)

Rating: M for (Mature) Genre: Third Person Action Adenture Publisher: Bethesda Developer: InXile Entertainment Release Date: May 31,2011 BUY If swords and sorcery is what you crave, then Hunted: The Demon’s Forge has all the qualities you might be looking for. It is a third person action RPG published by Bethesda and running on an Unreal Engine. It has a fine pedigree. It doesn’t happen too often but there weren’t many disappointments with it either. It is a pretty seamless third person action adventure with easily accessed RPG elements. You can play as your choice of two mercenaries, a guy Caddoc and E’lara, a hot female elf. In the summer we need more games like this. It has two person co-op on the one console. You can sit down with your cousin, at that rustic family cottage on Cape Cod which has no internet service, and actually have some fun.

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Review: Two Worlds II (PS3)

Rating: M (for Mature) Genre: Role Playing Publisher: South Peak Games Developer: Topware Interactive Release Date: January 25, 2011 RENT Unexpectedly Two Worlds was an engaging and enjoyable RPG. Even though you could not play as a female avatar, it did well enough for what it was. As RPG’s go many people have distinct favorites. This game isn’t going to be replacing any mega hit JRPG’s anytime soon. But like that secondary anime that you watch in between episodes of your favorite, this game’s few flaws aren’t bad enough to prevent you from wasting some time on it. With a Gandalf clone named Gandahar as the villain, although it seems very LOTR-esque in some ways, the story does have a female at the center of the plot. The main character’s sister has been abducted and an evil sorcerer who held your character captive as well, is extracting her magical mana

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First Look: Journey (PS3) Closed Beta Preview

A couple of days ago, I lucked out snagging a beta code to Journey after winning a contest through 1UP. I was very excited to get my hands on this title, as Journey is one of my most anticipated games for the year – other than Uncharted 3, of course – and has no set release date as of yet. Journey is a PS3 exclusive title created by ThatGameCompany, the developers of the games Flower and Flow. Santa Monica Studios – the creator of the God of War series – also co-developed Journey. However, Santa Monica’s role was not a huge surprise as they have worked on other similar projects, such as the PS3 interactive art piece, Linger in the Shadows.  Journey has a very mystical look and feel to it. As I wandered across a vast desert that the sand rippled and sparkled like a golden ocean. The sand dunes

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E3 First Look: Star Trek

E3 was full of surprises and every time I think back about it I keep saying to myself, “Oh man! Remember that one thing?” and it is always something new that I just didn’t have time to process at the time.  Paramount was one of those that truly stood out.  Perhaps it was the fact that they didn’t have a booth or that I had to go to their own room to find them. Maybe it was the fact that the two games I saw were games I was not aware that they had brought to the expo and they were going to look so good! Some of you are nervous about this title, mostly because we have seen other Star Trek games that have come and gone. Some good, some bad, some terrible and some that seemed like the developers never watched an episode of Star Trek in their

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E3 Hands On: Battlefield 3

E3 is one of the most impressive events for gaming on the planet.  EA made sure that their booth was equally impressive.  As you enter the South Hall of the LA Convention Center, the first thing you saw was the EA booth.  Huge screens, very loud music (Crank your music to 11… now do it again, and you might get close) and enough shiny things to make anyone happy. I immediately went to the Battlefield 3 side of the booth.  The line for attendees was long and winding.  Some of the attendees complained about how they had spent 2 hours in the line, but they were not moving much.  This was a game people wanted to see. The game promises to allow you to wage an all-out war as you step into the boots of Henry Black, a U.S Marine.  You have to eliminate the deadly force known as the

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Review: ‘L.A. Noire’ (PS3)

Rating: M Players: 1 Genre: Action-Adventure Publisher: Rockstar Games Developer: Team Bondi/Rockstar Games Release Date: May 17, 2011 BUY You might expect L.A. Noire to play best when your main tool is a controller. That’s a fine assumption, given that the title was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and both of those consoles require a controller most of the time. You need that controller to get you around the titular city in-game. But really, you don’t play L.A. Noire with your hands — you play it with your senses. More on that later, I promise. L.A. Noire takes place in 1947, and you’re Cole Phelps, a WWII veteran-turned-L.A. cop. Cole is eventually promoted from his role as a uniform beat cop (a few cases that serve only as a tutorial) to full-fledged police desks: Traffic, Homicide, Ad Vice and Arson, in that order. Cole himself is fairly bland,

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Review: Bulletstorm (PS3)

Rating: M (for Mature), PEGI: 18 Genre: FPS Developer: Epic Games Publisher: Electronic Arts Release Date: February 22, 2011 PASS Peppered with bad language, a simplistic story and a penchant for elaborate kill shots Bulletstorm is more window dressing than substance. It’s biggest problem being that you don’t get enough bang for your buck. This was a first person shooter that was supposed to bring the fun above all else. Many fans of Gears of War were looking forward to this new IP and the demos of it looked terrific. But like a movie trailer that gives away too much of the plot, Bulletstorm doesn’t have mush more to offer. It has creative ways to kill off the enemies, and that is about it. It is very focused on the kills rather than level design, or character development. Female NPC Trishka is the only nod to women gamers throughout this

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