Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogobig.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review: No More Than Meets the Eye]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/24/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/24/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/24/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-review/#comments One year ago, our own Justin McElroy called High Moon Studios' Transformers: War for Cybertron "a crystal clear, easy-to-follow example of how to do a licensed game." Maybe the example wasn't so easy to follow. When you play the movie tie-in, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the surprise isn't that it feels rushed and incomplete. The surprise is that High Moon made this one, too.

Most of the features that made War for Cybertron a standout are gone. Gone is co-operative play. Gone are several multiplayer modes, including Escalation. In their place are three standard multiplayer gametypes (deathmatch, team deathmatch, and conquest), and a campaign so short that it feels like it was based on an episode of the cartoon show rather than a movie.

Gallery: Transformers: Dark of the Moon (5/3/11)

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JoystiqTransformers: Dark of the Moon Review: No More Than Meets the Eye originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionhigh-moon-studiosmicrosoftnintendoplaystationps3Transformers-dark-of-the-moonwiixboxFri, 24 Jun 2011 14:50:00 EST<![CDATA[Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot review: Ex-crement]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/12/rushn-attack-ex-patriot-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/12/rushn-attack-ex-patriot-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/12/rushn-attack-ex-patriot-review/#comments Of all the things to love about this console generation, the most unexpected is the resurgence of the classics. Thanks to the digital marketplace, we've got pixel-for-pixel remakes of old-school favorites, and high-definition updates. We've got sequels no one ever thought would happen, like Mega Man 9. We've got brand-new games that are faithful to the style and spirit of the 8-bit era, while introducing new gameplay innovations.

Now, the final proof the retro market is hopping: We've also got lazy cash-ins. Rush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot, the franchise reboot nobody was clamoring for, is the most mystifying resurrection of a moribund property since the big-screen version of Car 54, Where Are You?

Gallery: Rush'N Attack Ex-Patriot (E3 2010)

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JoystiqRush'N Attack: Ex-Patriot review: Ex-crement originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>konamimicrosoftplaystationps3psnrush-n-attack-ex-patriotvatra-gamesxblaxboxTue, 12 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lost in Shadow review: Succumbing to the dark side]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/04/lost-in-shadow-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/04/lost-in-shadow-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/04/lost-in-shadow-review/#comments Lost in Shadow isn't a bad game. At times, it soars. But it doesn't know when to quit. It begins as a cerebral platformer with an inspired gimmick, then keeps adding ill-advised play mechanics and new story beats when the main narrative thread has frayed. Like a stand-up comedian who lingers onstage long after the audience has stopped laughing, Lost in Shadow's greatest achievement turns out to be how thoroughly it squanders its goodwill.

It's a shame, because things start so well. A brief introductory sequence shows a boy's shadow severed from his body, and dumped from the top of a high tower. When the game begins, you find yourself controlling not the boy, but the shadow. This takes a bigger mental adjustment than you'd expect. Robust, three-dimensional objects float uselessly by in the foreground, while the real action is projected in two dimensions against the rear walls, deep in your field of vision. A simple enough idea, but powerful. You find yourself leaning forward in your seat, almost feeling your brain rewiring itself as you try to make sense of this dangerous world.

Gallery: Lost in Shadow (10/8/10)

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JoystiqLost in Shadow review: Succumbing to the dark side originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>hudsonLost-in-ShadownintendoTower-of-ShadowwiiTue, 04 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom review: The buddy system]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/07/majin-and-the-forsaken-kingdom-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/07/majin-and-the-forsaken-kingdom-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/07/majin-and-the-forsaken-kingdom-review/#comments If the phrase "escort mission" tickles your gag reflex, then you'd be forgiven for overlooking Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom. After all, this is a game that promises nothing but hours and hours of adventures with a largely computer-controlled sidekick. You wouldn't even be swayed if somebody told you that your partner obeys your commands. You've been down this road before, and you know it ends in a ditch.

But this Majin fella, he's not so useless, in fact, you wouldn't last an hour in the dangerous ruins of this ancient civilization without his help. He's a bodyguard, a medic, and a handyman. He even carries out your orders as you intended them! You may start to wonder: who is escorting whom, exactly?

Gallery: Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom (7/22/10)

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JoystiqMajin and the Forsaken Kingdom review: The buddy system originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>game-republicmajin-and-the-forsaken-kingdommicrosoftnamco-bandaiplaystationps3xboxTue, 07 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! review: Good things, small packages]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/14/mario-vs-donkey-kong-mini-land-mayhem-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/14/mario-vs-donkey-kong-mini-land-mayhem-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/14/mario-vs-donkey-kong-mini-land-mayhem-review/#comments

By now, you'd think Super Mario would know better. Like Captain Kirk and Mitch Buchanan before him, any woman he romances is destined for danger. A kinder man would quit the dating scene altogether, maybe take up a hobby, and take comfort in knowing that he has spared some beautiful stranger the peril of knowing him. Not this guy. It's like he's got a hero complex or something.

And so, in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!, there's Mario taking Pauline out of hiding for a romantic day at the Mini-Land amusement park, and there's Donkey Kong, right on schedule, snatching her away. Even though "mayhem" is not exactly the right word for the low-key puzzle game that ensues (and the exclamation point is just gratuitous), Mario's latest handheld adventure is nevertheless an appealing, though minor, entry in his canon.

Gallery: Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Miniland Mayhem (DS)

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JoystiqMario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! review: Good things, small packages originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 14 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>donkey-kongdsmariomario-vs-donkey-kong-mini-land-mayhemmario-vs-donkey-kong-miniland-mayhemnintendoSun, 14 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST