My first thought when I picked up Ghost Trick for the DS today was ‘Come on. Not another game where you die and then jump your soul from item to item in the spirit world and then return to the real world and use your soul to manipulate those items to prevent people from being murdered.’

My second thought was ‘Wow, you have been playing way too many games this week.’ In a similar vein to Phoenix Wright, Capcom’s unique DS offering sucked me in with a novel take on puzzle gameplay and a great stylistic presentation.

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My first experience with the Phantasy Star series came just last year when I purchased a Dreamcast for no reason other than the fact that I had never owned one. I immediately fell in love even without the ability to play online and despite the fact that it was quite dated. The simple formula clicked, as it did with many gamers.

Having Phantasy Star on the go with Phantasy Star Portable was great, despite the fact that I never got halfway through the game thanks to finding myself infuriated by the aiming system and switching characters after about ten hours. But based on what I played of Phantasy Star Portable 2 at E3, I may be busting out the big guns for this one.

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It would be a huge understatement to say that I was a fan of Clover Studios’ Japanese watercolor styled opus, Okami. The inventive art style, the adorable characters, the Zelda-esque gameplay with a twist, and the interesting insight into Shinto mythology all endeared the title to me. It’s easily one of my top 3 favorite PS2 games.

It’s been too long coming, but I finally got my hands on the much anticipated sequel, Okamiden. I was nervous; would an IP so near and dear to my heart successfully make the transition from console to handheld without losing the charm and fun that made it so wonderful?

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When we all heard Sonic was trying to make another comeback, we all sighed. As much as we want to see the blue blur return to stardom like Robert Downey Junior’s career, we all felt that the likelihood of it was becoming slimmer with each failed game.

After having the opportunity to play the hands-on demo, I can definitely say that SEGA is taking the right steps to bringing our beloved hero back from the dead.  While it’s tough to say how the public will perceive it, I was surprisingly impressed overall with the demonstration.

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Kirby is a mixed bag for me. As a child, I loved the simple platforming, adorable enemies, and copycat technology. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve lost interest because Kirby hasn’t grown up; the handheld versions, Squeak Squad and Amazing Mirror are obviously targeted toward younger audiences. Super Star Ultra brought back some of the retro goodness, and the original could be argued as the most difficult, but not on the scale of difficulty, it hovers around bothersome.

Now that I’ve played Kirby’s Epic Yarn, not much has changed, but there is still hope. Read more… »

The original Valkyria Chronicles surprised nearly everyone who played it. A wartime strategy RPG with a punishing difficulty and emotional story? There is certainly nothing like it, and many people recognized that and praised the game for it. People cried.

So when Valkyria Chronicles 2 was announced for the PSP instead of the PS3, many were disappointed, thinking that it would be an inferior experience to the original. Based on my time with the game, I don’t think fans have any reason to worry.

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For satisfying tactical shooting, I’ve always gone to the Tom Clancy games, whether it’s the impressive Batman-style terrorist hunting of Splinter Cell: Conviction or the first-person terrorist hunting of the Rainbow Six series. Lots of terrorists. In heaps. Dead.

Now, the Ghost Recon series is taking the terrorist hunting into the future, taking inspiration from the real-world weapons either conceptualized or in development by various militaries or private corporations. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier definitely pushes the “future” part of that title, and if the fate of ear is anything like this game envisions it, that future is going to be awesome.

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How insane is it that I still do not own a DS? I have no excuse really, as I have a huge list of games for the platform that I would love to play, but fate simply hasn’t had it in the cards for me yet. It’s my very last holdout among the major home and handheld consoles.

After getting my hands on a variety of playable demos and gameplay videos today at E3, I can say this for certain: I will be ending my involuntary DS boycott as soon as Nintendo allows it, even if not everything I saw today impressed me.

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The World Cup is upon us and football is on the minds of millions around the world. While many are still enjoying their time with EA Sports’ latest FIFA, details behind a couple of the changes in the soon to be released FIFA 11 were provided at E3 behind closed doors. Thankfully enough, it was stressed that the complaints of gamers were taken under serious consideration and addressed beautifully.

For many, the “ping pong passing” was the biggest complaint that many felt was extremely unrealistic and, ultimately, unfair. To be able to pass the ball from one player to the next by quickly tapping a button was one game mechanic that has been consistently exploited among FIFA gamers. No more with FIFA 11 – all of that changes with Pro Passing. Read more… »

If you’re a PSP gamer, and the first two Patapon games somehow crept past you, then you’d really be well served to take a look at the series. A well designed and sharply implemented merging of rhythm game and real time strategy RPG made the first two games both addictive and joy inducing.

My wife used to laugh at me bouncing up and down on the couch in time to the beat, until I made her play the first one. She got the appeal right away, which was great because it was another game that we could talk about and share, but also a curse, since I didn’t see my PSP (or my wife) for the next month. Needless to say, I was excited to get my hands on the demo of Patapon 3 in the Sony section of the E3’10 show floor without my beloved one there to steal the system.

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It wasn’t until Tiger Woods on the Nintendo Wii that gamers realized the true potential of motion control in sports games. Now, with the Playstation Move, gamers can finally experience a high-definition golf experience with full motion control support. Toss in true 1:1 controls and you have yourself a platform that can provide a much more immersive golfing experience than the Nintendo Wii has ever dreamed of – or so one would think.

As seen yesterday, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 with the Playstation Move showed a lot of promise. However, it also showed limitations in controls due to the lack of a D-pad on the Playstation Move controller. Today, I teed off with John Daly’s Prostroke Golf – which, for an alpha E3 build, showed a lot of promise. Read more… »

To say that Rock Band 3 is simply another sequel to the title that essentially changed rhythm games forever would be an extreme understatement.  Sure, it still relies on the tried and true gameplay that has been a staple of the series since the original Guitar Hero, but that is where the similarities end.

Besides a slew of new features that will be a welcome change to long time fans of the series, the biggest shock is that Rock Band 3 is trying to be so much more than just a rhythm game.  It’s attempting to be the very first rock band simulator ever created, actually teaching people how to play everything from guitar, to drums, to keyboard.  Read on to hear my hands-on impressions and understand how Harmonix is prepared to revolutionize the genre like never before. Read more… »