As the first title for the iPhone and iTouch, Konami has released a new trailer for Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night.  With the latest title, Konami breaks the traditional mold of the franchise and blends the Super Puzzle Fighter format with RPG elements for your traveling pleasure.

As a gaming platform, the iPhone and iTouch are becoming increasingly popular everyday, and after watching the trailer, I’m impressed at the quality these games are beginning to reach.  What started out as a lavish phone, is becoming more than just a tool, but an entertainment device.  So be on the look out for this jazzy little title. Read more… »

[Update: in a brand new press release by Square Enix, they have confirmed Kingdom Hearts re:Coded - which is a remake of the mobile game Kingdom Hearts coded.]

After a quick interview with Game Informer, it was revealed that Tetsuya Nomura (Kingdom Hearts series Director) would release information on a brand new Kingdom Hearts game in addition to the upcoming PSP title Birth By Sleep.

Color me excited. I’ve been a huge fan of the series since Kingdom Hearts I, and even though Chain of Memories was a bit of a letdown, every other game has been more than serviceable. I really hope for Square Enix’s sake that it is Kingdom Hearts III, though: I don’t know how much longer than can coast on the fumes of all the spinoffs they’ve put out. Expect coverage of not only the new game, but my upcoming Birth By Sleep preview as well!

In the week’s eve prior to E3, nearly every developer on the planet is coming out of the wood work to release their line of titles.  While some will easily pass under many gamers’ radars, there are some you ought to keep an eye out.

Recently announced, developer Natsume will be unveiling a series of titles, and while they fall on the family-oriented / casual side of life, they should add a nice boom to the DS’s repertoire.  Come to think of it, their whole line up are DS titles. Read more… »

Hate it or love it, you never really know what Valve is planning.

First they were going to have an extravagant E3 Portal 2 party, then GLaDOS cancelled it for a “surprise”, and now there’s something else entirely going on along with a delay of Portal 2. Hit the jump and prepare to be confused.

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Today word got out that the adventure games powerhouse Telltale Games has obtained the rights to create episodic games based on the classic film franchisees Jurassic Park and Back to the Future; fitting news considering it’s Michael J Fox’s birthday today.

Currently slated to arrive on the PC, Mac, Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii this winter, the unnamed games are being described as “in the early stages of development.” Telltale CEO Dan Connors explained, “The games are going to exist within these worlds. I wouldn’t call these games sequels per se but a new interpretation of their worlds for a new medium.”  Read more… »

Out of all the character archetypes one regularly encounters in sci-fi, I have to say that one of my absolute favorites is the space smuggler/trader. From Han Solo to Malcolm Reynolds, I’m automatically on their side. The whole underdog, wing-and-a-prayer, murky ethical waters, and shooting from the hip thing just wins me over.

Back in the day, I used to live out my space captain fantasies with BBS (Bulletin Board System) door games like TradeWars 2002 and Solar Realms Elite. In more recent years, trader games have moved to two extremes. On the hardcore end you’ve got EVE Online, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, there are the simple pirate trader games like Tradewinds. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to sink into EVE, and the more casual offerings just don’t offer enough depth to keep me engaged for long.

Enter Warpgate for the iPhone. When I heard that Freeverse had launched a game that could possibly hit that happy medium for me, I immediately bought the game to see if the porridge was just right. 20+ hours of single-player handheld gaming later, I’m happy to report that playing it induced a relaxed experience – one might call it a sense of Serenity.

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Playing 18 holes of golf is an experience unlike any other. Each and every hole can result in a handful of different emotions. Learning from each mistake, keeping your poise, and, most importantly, visualizing and executing are never easy things to accomplish – despite what Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 made you think when teeing off on the 18th hole with 25 under par.

Over the past two years, the Tiger Woods franchise has gone through some of the best game mechanic changes with nothing more than realism and approachability in mind. Precision Putting and Putt Preview in last year’s installment were a welcome change that made one of the most difficult elements of golf a much more manageable experience. This year, we see a drastic step in the right direction with the addition of “focus” and “True-Aim” – two features that do their best to make the upgrade from last year’s Tiger Woods worth it. Whether it is enough is really up to you, and hopefully I’ll make your decision easier below. Read more… »

Ah, the original Sonic Adventure. While an incredibly flawed gaming experience, it is still considered a fan favorite thanks to its inventive level design, catchy soundtrack and surprisingly involving storyline – aspects that are somewhat devoid in the blue mascot’s latest outings. In fact, it could be said that Sonic has become a laughing stock in today’s generation of gaming, lacking all the polish and finesse one would find in a Mario game.

But I digress. It has just been confirmed by ESRB that Sonic’s first 3D adventure is set to be released on both XBLA and PSN – an exciting prospect for those who missed it when it was first released 12 years ago. Time flies, huh?

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Two months ago, a rag tag group of low budget film makers put together an incredible Modern Warfare 2 fan film that was made for the extremely low price of only $200. Even with this low price tag, the production value of the piece was through the roof, and caught a lot of people’s attention.

Now those same guys have returned to bring us part 2 of the series, which includes more epic action sequences, great special effects, and a couple of Easter eggs specifically for fans of the series.  This one cost a little more than the last installment, but at $600 I’d say they know how to budget properly.  If you are a fan of the games, or if you just like epic action, you need to check this video out right now! Read more… »

Still yearning for more Wild West action after sinking countless hours in to Red Dead Redemption? Not had your fill of filleting cows or skinning cougars? Well Rockstar has a treat in store for you.

Over the weekend a short, 30 minute movie was aired in the UK. If, like me, you missed out you can now get your chance to view the short via the wonders of the Internet… well YouTube to be more precise.
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The Ace Attorney series is almost a decade old, and we’ve been receiving them since 2005. What can really be said about any of the original games that hasn’t been said already? Even if the WiiWare version is “new”, reviewing it feels like I’m the last person to learn about a big rumor in my circle of friends.

I’m telling them all about it with excitement as they stare at me with disbelief that I could have possibly not known yet. Imagine if I posted a review for Super Mario Bros. tomorrow; would you read that review to learn more about the game? To a smaller extent, that’s my current predicament. Read more… »

Welcome to your Weekly Recap! I’d apologize for this being late, but I’m not at all sorry. The sleep I got earlier was fantastic, and so was the KFC I got after waking up (see above header)… and the Adventure Time I watched while eating was superb.

But enough with the intro and details of my day… today has had a wealth of news hit the site, even though E3 is just around the corner (and as you can tell, we’re gearing up for the madness). So before any more news or reviews/features get posted, I’d better get this danged recap posted. And you’d better get it read! Chip chop!!!

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