Sometimes you just want to boss people around. We spend most of our lives abiding by other peoples’ orders and aiming to please authority figures, so it’s only natural that we would wish to rebel and dictate the doings of others. Sure, some games let you craft cities or lead space armies, but how many let you be a king? I’m talking crown, cloak, and scepter, baby. King. Little King’s Story is one of those games.

Published by Xseed games, Little King’s Story is a royalty simulator RPG produced by Harvest Moon mastermind Yasuhiro Wada. On the surface it appears to be a childish, pithy, waggle-heavy shovelware title. Is everything what it seems? Hit the jump to find out.Little King’s Story immediately douses you with gallons of color via its unique chalk drawing intro. The beautiful movie showcases a boy named Corobo chasing mischievous mice into a forest where he stumbles across a magical crown. Naturally, the crown is donned and Corobo is whisked away to a magical land where the inhabitants immediately appoint him king.

After being introduced to his shanty of a castle, King Corobo perches upon the throne and is introduced to the help. Howser, a bull knight and Corobo’s right hand, acts as a motivator and adviser. Liam, a giant but gentle servant, is a jack of all trades. Lastly is Verde, the adorable record minister, who lends a hand when you wish to save. Little King’s Story does a great job of immediately letting you know you’re in control.

This crazy guy wants to talk with you about God. No joke.

Corobo is first tasked with snapping the “Carefree Adults” of Alpoko Kingdom. “Carefree Adults” is the default class of all units in the game. Think of them as blank canvases for you to impose your will upon. After a bit of waving his wand about, Corobo has a small band of follower shadowing his every move.

Having devoted followers is nice and all, but Carefree Adults are pretty useless in their raw form. Eventually you are rewarded with an allowance of gold, Howser suggests Corobo build a Town Guard, a Farmhouse, and several dwellings for the townsfolk. The Town Guard and Farmhouse allow Carefree Adults to enter and instantly become professional guards and farmers, respectively. Building additional houses increases the population of Alpoko Kingdom. What was once an empty, overgrown field around the kingdom slowly develops into a genuine town. Citizens bustle about and increase in number, and the castle becomes more and more impressive.

After you’ve accumulated some guards and farmers it’s time to get to the meat and gravy of any good RPG, the questing. Exploring the uncharted territories of the lands is simply charming. The guards put their swords work to destroy fallen trees that block paths. Farmers comically pile into mysterious holes, digging deep until they uncover treasure and loot. After all the years of questing and grinding, it’s truly rewarding to sit back and watch your peons do the dirty work for you.

Hail to the king, baby.

Your subjects don’t get off just digging and harvesting lumber, oh no. That’d be too easy. It’s also King Corobo’s duty to send his men and women into battle. Walking mushrooms, cute Onii demons, and other bizarre creatures wander the lands begging for battle. All you have to do is use the analog stick on the nunchuk to make Corobo face the enemy, then by tapping a button your troops will charge into battle. No matter what class your subjects are, they will all do their dandiest to subdue the enemy. Your royal guard is so dedicated that they’ll mindlessly hack away at the enemy to their last health sliver, with only death to bring them rest.

This does not have to be, however. You have the ability to call for the retreat of your troops, effectively saving them from taking unnecessary damage. The flow of battle is rather simple; send in your troops, do damage, wait for a visual cue that the foe is about to counter-attack, retreat, and repeat. You’ll never have issues getting a good few preemptive blows on an enemy, but nearly each one has some sort of tell which indicates they are going to retaliate. It’s usually a little anime-style steam cloud that puffs from their head, indicating frustration and anger.

If any one of your units takes too much damage, they don’t simply kick the bucket. In an effort to make micromanaging your troops easier, a classified unit will return to being a default “Carefree Adult” before officially kicking the bucket. It’s a handy indicator that indicates the battle is not tilted in your favor. Units that weather multiple battles will level up, becoming hardy, indispensable veterans. You can bulk up your most decorated subjects by equipping them with items that augment their stats.

Jealous?

As you thoroughly sprawl the reach of your kingdom across the land, you eventually discover that you are not the only sovereign in the neighborhood. Howser explains to you that there are seven rival kingdoms which you are destined to dismantle. Lo and behold, the course of the game is unraveled before you.

World domination is no easy feat with a handful of people, so naturally you’ll need more subjects. You’re able to purchase upgrades that allow you to control dozens of units at once. Additional class types become available also, such as carpenters to help build bridges and staircases, hunters to provide arrow volleys, lumberjacks to chop down huge tree trunks, etc. You’ll want to make sure to have a varied group of servants following you so that you can do everything your little heart desires.

The rival kingdoms provide varied locations and enemy types, helping to keep the game feeling fresh. The Onii Kingdom is a primitive land with tiny, fanged, horned demon creatures. The boss of this land is a giant Onii who commands his own men to throw boulders and pots at your men. Another boss is the drunken King Duvroc in the Kingdom of Jolly. He chugs liquor atop mountainous crates of booze, allowing him to spit fire, ice, and vomit at you. All the while henchmen swarm your royal guard.

This guy's a real piece of work. Good luck dragging him to AA.

While the entire game feels like a pleasant cake walk (how could a cake walk ever be unpleasant?), the boss battles really amp up the difficulty. That’s even if you figure out which tactical formation is best for each boss. Duvroc in particular is very taxing, demanding the perfect combination of troops to vanquish him. You’ll be making your royal guard charge and retreat until your thumbs bleed. Not being able to skip the lengthy cutscenes before each boss battles gets to be a real pain, too. All that challenge only makes the pay off that much more rewarding, though.

When you vanquish rival kings, you’ll rescue whichever princess it was they were holding captive. In a quirky twist, Corobo is able to take on multiple Queens (much to the chagrin of Verde), which is perhaps the first time a polygamist has been featured in a video game. Little King’s Story is full of surprising, quirky little twists that helps it merit a Teen rating.

Once again, the Wii manages not to let underpowered graphical capabilities stop it from pushing out a stylish, fun looking game. The flavor of the presentation is decidedly kiddy, but the game is far too deep and adult humor-rich to ever hold a child for long. The character designs are very original also. You’ll likely be lusting after a stuffed Onii doll after a short while with the game.

You can travel distances by cannon, Secret of Mana style!

Any developer looking to churn out a game for the Wii should take not of the control scheme of Little King’s Story. No motion control. You read that right, Little King’s Story lacks any sort of motion control. It doesn’t even let you point and click in the menus. This allows the player to focus on mastering the game rather than mastering the waggle, and you won’t miss it at all. It essentially feels like you’re playing on an N64 controller that’s been sliced in half.

Speaking of the N64, you’re going to be babysitting the camera like you were back on Nintendo’s last cartridge-based console. Other control issues you may run into include difficulty keeping your troops together when their numbers grow. Too many times a unit or two will miss a staircase and you’ll be forced to go back and collect them.

All and all, Little King’s Story is a perfect little diversion to sink your time into, especially if you’re one of the Wii dedicated. It’s one of the first truly compelling games that will have you coming back to it again and again to further your progress.

If you’re interested in a game that’s one part Pikman, one part Harvest Moon, and several parts hilarious, this game should definitely be on your to-do list. Your throne awaits, and the addictive gameplay will make sure your seat remains warm for eons to come. Long live the king!

Ever since The Conduit was revealed last year, it has been heralded as the FPS savior for the Nintendo Wii. It has also been touted as a true hardcore game for a console that drowns in shovelware and self-help games.

Well, The Conduit is finally upon us and we’ve taken a taste of the hype-basted buffet. Was it worth the wait or does this motion controlled FPS leave us with motion sickness?

Beginning High Voltage’s The Conduit’s single player campaign, you are thrust into the shoes of Secret Service Agent Michael Ford. Complete with awful Kiefer Sutherland impression, we follow Ford through his adventure which involves everything from fighting fellow agents who’ve been brainwashed to evil space aliens. The plot of The Conduit is an exercise in mediocrity, and not long into the campaign you’ll be rolling your eyes.

After a brief narrated introduction, you find yourself immediately assuming the role of Mr. Ford. There’s no truly compelling intro cinematic, and you wouldn’t even know what Ford is supposed to look like if it wasn’t for the boxart. This is when your crash course how you’ll be playing The Conduit begins.

You can lock onto enemies, but the effect is useless

Imagine someone took an Xbox or PlayStation controller and cleaved it down the middle, installed motion control in one side, and handed it back to you. Strafing and forward movement are mapped to the Wii Nunchuk, with aiming and turning controlled by the Wiimote. If you’ve playing any Wii on-rails shooter, you’re already familiar with how aiming works in The Conduit. Look sensitivity, aiming “dead zones,” and even running speed are all available for customization. But that doesn’t save the doomed control scheme.

Every step of the way through the game you feel like you’re playing an on-rails shooter that has somehow derailed. You are forced to aim towards the side of the screen in order to turn your character, but this intrinsically makes you compensate for the movement and drag your reticule back to the center of the screen. Meanwhile, you’re being pumped with lasers and lead. No matter how much you finagle the options, it’s always going to feel too jittery or too sluggish.

When you’re not battling botched controls, you’ll be facing off against special ops forces and aliens called the Drudge. The bastardized aliens feel like they’ve been pulled straight from Halo. The main infantry shouts in the same low timber of Halo Elites. There are even scurrying, shrill voiced enemies which emulate Grunts, and the list goes on.

Enemies are incredibly generic across the board

The weapons take obvious cures from other FPSs, bringing no real originality to the mix. There are three classifications of weapons. Human weapons include military inspired armaments from an assault rifle to a rocket launcher; Drudge weapons are orange laser shooting firearms that appear to be living organisms; and Trust weaponry consist of high tech, futuristic plasma energy weapons. Each one requires its own set of ammunition, but is never in short supply.

Some of the game’s weapons are so overpowered that at moments the experience seems broken. Rarely are enemies swarming you from all angles, so you’ll usually have time to charge up certain weapons which deliver one-hit-kills, rendering the enemy forces benign. Assuming you’re able to maintain aim with the Wiimote while shaking the Nunchuk to hurl a grenade, and you’re downright unstoppable at times.

The enemy AI is some of the worst I’ve encountered this generation, and rather than colorfully explaining it, I’ll give you an example. At one point enemies poured into a room full of exploding barrels. I watched in confusion my foes began taking refuge behind the combustible cover. Like shooting fish in a barrel, I began exploding container after container. That is, until I took aim on one sorry sap who decided he wasn’t going to take me alive, aimed at the barrel in front of him, and blew himself to smithereens.

The Drudge traverse through portals called "conduits."

Though the difficulty of the game is quite tame at many points, later in the adventure there is a ridiculous challenge spike. In one particular level, you are to exit an elevator and face off wave after wave of enemies without any cover. You basically have to ignore every FPS instinct you have and run past them like a coward to find impromptu cover, hoping you don’t die in the process. The level design in The Conduit is the main thing stopping it from being a Halo clone, as it is uninspired, ludicrously linear, and generic.

The shooting is broken up by scavenger hunt diversions with Ford’s All-Seeing-Eye, or ASE. The small orb is basically an alien relic that allows functions to find hidden switches, detector/disable invisible mines, and beep annoyingly at you. The gimmick seems novel at first, but after awhile it becomes a cumbersome chore.

The presentation of the game initially looks passable. Weapons are detailed, certain textures look very convincing, and enemy units have a glossy coat of paint on them. However, as you progress beyond the game’s confined corridors into broader environments you quickly remember this game is on the Nintendo Wii. This game looks like it’s a PC game that was released five years ago, and truly doesn’t fit among this generation. Many Wii games have compensated with limited graphical punch by having a unique art style, but The Conduit is not one of them.

Switching back and forth from the ASE gets old fast

Once you’ve finished simultaneously dry-heaving and scratching your head after the game’s ridiculous conclusion, you might find yourself tempted to try. What you’ll find is the best online setup the Wii has to offer. The game customization and matchmaking falls in line with multiplayer on either the PS3 or 360, and makes the tedious friend code system defunct. The ingenious of the multiplayer ends there.

Actually sitting down for a multiplayer match, however, is an exercise in boredom. With matches being limited to only twelve players, rounds feel more like hide-and-seek. Even with the radar constantly on, determining exactly where your enemies are is difficult. The one saving grace here is that you’re facing enemies that have the sense not to commit self-immolation. Using the control scheme to face off against human enemies fosters a semi-rewarding experience, which is quickly snuffed the moment you attempt to turn around and track them. There is some fun to be had here for people who love pointing the Wiimote to aim, for the rest this aspect of the game is pointless considering the far superior options that exist this generation.

Sometimes the game looks pretty good, but it's rare

The Conduit is a courageous effort at a next-generation FPS on a console that’s technologically underpowered. The game may very well be a dream come true for those who only own a Wii. However, there are better games to be played on the console, and much better FPSs to be played on other platforms. To quote Rob Schneider, “You Con-duit!,” but you shouldn’t.

Sure, Sony says that people in the UK are willing to shell out the lofty $249 price tag for the PSPgo. Assuming we buy into that optimistic little morsel, Sony may still find themselves without much success in the UK if the retailers don’t stock the system.

“From my point of view I’ve got to think, ‘Do I want to stock this?’ Right now I can’t see any justification for stocking it,” Don McCage, a “Chips” retailer, told Edge-Online. “Certainly I’m not getting the response from consumers. Normally when a new piece of kit is launched or announced I’ll get a multitude of people saying ‘As soon as that comes out I want one of those.’ [Potential] first adopters are on the phone within seconds of it being announced and you’ve got your pre-orders. I don’t have a single pre-order for PSP Go at the moment.”

UK gamers’ apparent lack of enthusiasm isn’t the only thing making retailers hesitant about the stocking the system. Since the system is aiming for a purely download formula, any shop willing to sell the device would see very little gain from the transaction.

McCabe continued, saying, “At the moment [PSP hardware and software sales represent] about five to six per cent of our overall turnover. You’d never throw that sort of percentage away – they’re not flying machines but they’re nice and steady. [But] on hardware [alone] you make next to no money and in some instances we actually lose money on each piece of hardware we sell, so if you’re going to just sell a piece of hardware and then never see that customer again, from a retail point of view you might as well just shoot yourself in the head.”

I believe this UK business keeper has effectively said what has been on many people’s minds since the PSPgo first became a hot topic. It’s incredibly interesting to see the awkward relationship between retail and digital distribution already taking shape. If this one retailer’s opinion on the matter is any indication, it doesn’t look like the future distribution of digital-only platforms will be a smooth ride.

Considering Sony’s past relationship with this Chip’s spokesman wasn’t enough for him to justify carrying a new version of an established handheld, it will be even more interesting to see how newcomer On Live will fare in the retail arena.

What will the future of digital reliant devices be if this sort of attitude intesnifies? Mail order only? First party specialty stores? What do you guys think?

In the world of video games, developers have struggled to present morale choices in a way that lends any real weight to them.  With infamous, developer Sucker Punch aims to make listening to your conscience harder by putting you in the scorched shoes of an unlikely super hero who gained electrical powers from a massive explosion.

Cole now carries the weight of a ravaged world’s future on his shoulders, and must choose whether to be their savior or prey off their difficult existence.  With devastating power sparking at his fingertips, Cole has difficult decisions ahead of him… but so do you.  Is inFamous the power trip you’ve been waiting for, or will it leave you burnt out like a blown fuse?

We enter Empire City as Cole regains consciousness after the explosion.  After enduring a painful rebirth in the wake of disaster, he realizes that the element of electricity is at his beck and call.  After talking things over with his best friend Zeke, a Michael Matteson wannabe, he sets off to test his mettle by defending a shipment of survival rations being pillaged by a group of anarchists called The Reapers.

This is where things start to get really interesting.   The player directs Cole’s aim via an over-the-shoulder view, and is nearly identical to many modern third-person shooters.  Simply line up the circular reticule and blast bolts of lightning as if you’re Zeus himself, drunk with power.  Cole’s primary lightning attack is unlimited, allowing you to lay waste to enemies with multiple blasts to the body, or a quick dispatch with a clean “head shock.”  Cole is ambidextrous as well, allowing for ease whether you’re left/ right handed, or just trying to peek around a corner.

Amidst all the man made electrical storms, Cole is free to shoot no matter where he is.  You can calmly walk and fire upon enemies, shoot while hanging from a traffic light, or pick line up a head shock while flying through the air.  Another particularly handy use for the “shoot anytime” mechanic is when hanging from a ledge.  Cole will hang out of the enemy’s line of sight, waiting for you to aim before he peeks up to take a few pot shots.  The shooting mechanic is masterfully done.  So much so, you’ll almost entirely forget about the nearly useless melee button.  For all intents and purposes, infamous is a shooter.

After Cole defends the food supplies from the hooded hoodlums, he is faced with a choice; either allow the civilians to eat their share, or hoard the whole lot so Zeke and he can eat for months.  The player makes the choice by either idly allowing the pedestrians to descend on the rations like vultures, or scorch a couple people to scare everyone off.  This is just one morale decision of many you’ll make throughout the game.  You’ll receive good or bad karma depending on what choice you make, making your karma meter shift towards repugnant red or benevolent blue.  The color of your karma wheel also affects the hue of the electricity flowing through and from you.

The city Cole resides in is a huge, sprawling, sandbox of a metropolis, demanding commute from one point to another over long distances.   Luckily the protagonist is incredibly agile and can scale a building in seconds.  InFamous features an automatic grappling mechanic that makes running across city roof tops as fluid as possible.  Spotting a route to the top of a building is as easy as finding a window ledge or pipe, each one acting as a platform for you to launch yourself further up the structure.  The automatic grabbing of ledges is incredibly reliable, but almost to a fault.  Many times when attempting to jump from a roof top to the street, Cole will be magnetically drawn towards ledges or streetlights, hindering his descent.  This becomes incredibly annoying when you are attempting to beat a timer or dodge enemy fire.

Speaking of enemy fire, the marauders of the city are almost everywhere.  It’s a rare moment when some thug isn’t using Cole for target practice.  The minimap/ radar will be your best friend in these situations, tipping you off to the location and altitude of your assailants.  If an gunman is too far away for your radar to pick up, as is the case many times, it can be terribly frustrating locating where the bullets are coming from. Thankfully enemy presence can be reduced by completing side missions.

The civilians of inFamous are as needy as they come, requesting your assistance at any given opportunity.  Side missions have decent variety, ranging from escort missions, to time trial checkpoint runs, to hunting hidden packages, to disabling surveillance equipment, and even to some stealth stalking.  The variations may seem bountiful, but you’ll be doing them a lot. The sense of satisfaction is worth the dirty work, however, as you’ll drive enemies from parts of town like rats, gain good/ bad karma, and even net yourself some experience points.

Cole’s plentiful powers are purchased and enhanced within one of the game’s menus.  Making the choice to go good or bad early on is beneficial, as there are very useful powers that require you to have your karma meter maxed out in either the direction of hero or infamous.  This is unfortunate, as it likely will predetermine your path throughout the game, effectively reducing the game’s bevy of moral choices to one path or the other.  Anybody walking the line between the two extreme moralities will find themselves at a disadvantage.  On the other hand, you’ll have the opportunity to play through again and have a very different experience.

Getting back to powering up Cole, you can spend experience gained from killing enemies, rescuing people, and completing missions to buy new abilities.  Defense, primary attack strength, and the range of certain attacks can all be upgraded.  Some abilities require a specific amount of side missions to be completed, or demand that you’ve gained a particular ability by activating one of the game’s many substations.

Substations are scattered beneath Empire City, requiring Cole to travel through the sewers.  Entering the sewers is the only time you’ll be “indoors,” and it’s practically the only time you’ll encounter a loading scene in the game. These underground diversions are incredibly fruitful, and benefit Cole in two ways.  Firstly, Cole will restore electricity to dead portions of the city, making his treks on the surface much easier.  Secondly, Cole will stumble across broken circuits that require his body to reestablish a energy flow, causing loads of wattage to course through him.  This is where Cole learns such coveted abilities as grinding on power lines or train tracks, and hovering through the air with static electricity.

Both hovering and rail grinding are the defining means of transportation in inFamous, and they are incredibly empowering.  After spending a good portion of the game simply running across electrical lines, the ability to slide across them at lighting fast speed is an overwhelmingly relief.  Leaping through the air from power line to power line is not only incredibly easy and fun, but it gets you where you want be in a flash.  Hovering allows you to float casually through the air without fear of plummeting to the city streets and having to climb up a building again.  The final power gained from these substations is perhaps the most epic of all, and it won’t be spoiled in this review.  Just be warned that it’s quite earthshaking.

Abilities such as launching energy grenades, shooting megawatt hammers (electricity rockets), and precise bolt sniping all consume energy.  Cole has a limited supply of electricity for these powerful abilities, which are displayed by nodes at the top of the screen.  As the meter diminishes, the super hero can recharge by moving next to anything that uses electricity and drain it of its power.  The process is quick and painless, allowing for seamless replenishing of “juice” in the midst of combat.  A click of the analog stick reveals every source of electricity surrounding Cole.  This is one of the main reasons for restoring substations.

InFamous’ story is nothing but a framework for the ensuing carnage.  The characters are one dimensional and leave a lot to be desired.  Between Cole’s lady friend Trish, his faceless government contact, and a paranoid undercover agent, the cast of the game brings nothing new to the table.  The boss characters of the game are few and far between, and the encounters with them are nothing memorable.  The final boss battle is passable, but still a lackluster dodge and shoot affair.  After said boss fight, the game presents the first real interesting development in the plot.  The revelation may be profound, but the entire game could have benefited from bleeding out the twist earlier on to entice the player into playing attention.

InFamous is an incredibly empowering experience.  Never has a game so closely emulated the experience of being a fledgling super hero.  Blasting enemies into the air and surging electricity into them before they hit the ground is a one of a kind experience.  If you’re interested in playing one of the most polished and original games of this year, don’t hesitate to play it as soon as you can.  Don’t forget to plug your PlayStation 3 into a surge protector.

The universe of heavy metal is one which carries a lore rivaling that of any great science fiction or fantasy masterpiece.  However, both of the latter genres have been explained and expanded to the point of exhaustion, while heavy metal’s lore remains much a mystery.  Folks assemble in dim, dank venues to worship seemingly possessed musicians as they summon the melodies of Lucifer.  Participants use their hands to flash cryptic gestures, their garments display dark symbols, and they thrash about one another like maniacs.  All these conventions of the tradition metal scene have remained an enigma for years.

That is, until Gamer Limit laid their hands on Brutal Legend.

Double Fine, the developers of Brutal Legend, granted us a hands on preview of the true origins of heavy metal.  The player is thrust into the role of Eddie Riggs, with mega star and confirmed metalliholic Jack Black voicing the rascally roadie.  He’s thrust into an alternate world filled with twisted demons and motorized monstrosities, all of which look like they belong on an Iron Maiden album cover.  The presentation of the game is incredibly varied, as bones crunch under the weight of a walking demonic altar, giant muscle car engines are suspended from the tall ceilings, and a smoldering groupie girl meets up with Eddie.  Overall, the theme and presentation of the game is executed perfectly, and the game is fun and engrossing to watch.

As Eddie is transported to the mythological land of metal, he first encounters a group of red robed, demonic monks who are worshiping a very large battle axe.  The monks, unsurprisingly, attack Eddie.  Being forced to think quickly, the player must take up the axe and ironically turn it on its worshippers.  Immediately evident is the simplicity of the controls.  “Separator,” as the axe is called, has a normal axe attack and an “unstoppable” axe attack.  Basically, the attack button is pressed in succession to chain quick axe swings, and held down to unleash a devastating ground slam.  The frenzied, cleaving action results in body parts flying and blood spilling everywhere.  This game is definitely brutal.

Soon after finding the sword, Eddie picks up his trusty guitar “Clementine,” only to discover that it has taken on some shocking attributes since making the leap to the metal realm.  When Riggs shreds on the guitar, tesla bolts snake from the instrument and incapacitate his foes, making them more susceptible to axe attacks.  The convenience and effectiveness of switching between the guitar and axe on the fly is immediately apparent.  Stringing together long attacks is a painless, yet satisfying experience.  The demo doesn’t reveal any other weapons save for a double team attack with the groupie chick, so hopefully several more tools of destruction will be available in the retail version.

After a trip atop a giant strider monstrosity down a gigantic slope of broken bones, Eddie finds his path blocked off.  That’s when he finds a plethora of car parts conveniently located near him.  Deftly assembling the automobile components, he’s soon in possession of a black muscle care complete with flame decals on the side.  “Deuce,” as the car is called, aids Eddie in breaking down the gate.  He then goes on to race across a crumbling bridge and face off against a giant spine worm boss.  The boss fight is entertaining and funny, if not a little too simple.  Its vulnerability is apparent within half about fifteen seconds.

After the driving segments Eddie moves into an open world area, which looks to be the area he must navigate between objectives in the story line.  Rolling green hills, enemies aplenty, and a plethora of unique locations will keep players plodding around the plains for a healthy chunk of time.  The demo then comes to a close after entering the “Motor Forge,” which looks to be a shop and hub world for the rockin’ roadie.  This is also where he meets the “God of Metal.”

Overall, Brutal Legend is an incredibly approachable and light hearted game, save fore the gratuitous violence.  Tim Schafer’s unique sense of humor and knack for style shines through in every aspect of the game, except for gameplay.  Though the gameplay is consistent and fun, there are some worries that the formula may become stale later on in the game.  However, if the rest of the game sticks to the “something new every ten minutes” formula, Brutal Legend could very well come out to be one of the best games of the year.

For those who love to laugh and rock out to metal, there is plenty to love here.  For those who thrive on intense action games with in depth combat mechanics, this may be a lackluster title.  Either way, Brutal Legend is a unique game that you simply have to see for yourself come Rocktober 13^th on he PS3 and 360 (pending Activision lawsuit.interference).

The sun was shining and the weather was ideal this morning in Los Angeles, but that didn’t stop the undead from rearing their rotting faces. In a dimly lit room on the second floor of the LA Convention Center, Gamer Limit got their hands on Left 4 Dead 2, the sequel to Valve’s fantastic zombie apocalypse game.

To find out more about our fight through the deep south using incendiary rounds and frying pans against new special infected, hit the jump.

Starting out our hands-on time with L4D2, we were thrust into Havana during the infancy of the infection. Filling the bloodstained shoes of the original four survivors are Coach, a burly native southerner, Nick, a baseball-capped survivor, Ellis, a leisure-suited city man, and Rochelle, a strong willed woman.

The sequel contains five campaign scenarios, the last of which, “The Parish,” was playable. The unfortunate four find themselves in Savannah, Georgia battling their way through New Orleans and The French Quarter as the human condition “goes south.” The geographical evidence of the virus is minimal, indicating that unlike Zoey, Louis and the gang, the infection is just spreading its roots. But that doesn’t mean that things are any easier.

The afternoon sun blazes down on the four survivors as they make their way through the streets. They’re immediately assaulted by common infected, and instinctively begin firing upon them. Flesh is shredded and bones are shattered as the bullets decimate the oncoming horde. Arms are torn from their sockets, chunks of zombies’ abdomens are vaporized, and everything is all around gorier than the first game. A corpse even sailed through the air with its intestines sailing behind it like a macabre birthday streamer.

The weapons have also undergone changes since the first game. The pistol types vary from a common glock to something that looks like it belong to Solid Snake. The combat shotgun looks exactly like the one that the guy who gets torn apart by Velociraptors in Jurassic Park carries. The survivors even stumble upon incendiary rounds for the shotgun, which set the infected ablaze with every round that connects. They make taking down tanks a little less of a nightmare.

Not every zombie will succumb to a fiery demise, however, with the addition of the “Uncommon Common.” These unique zombies possess characteristics that give them a subtle edge over the rest of the common infected. For example, in The Parish, occasionally players will spot a zombie shambling around with a Hazardous Materials suit on. These former warriors against the virus are now not only looking to tear you apart, but they are impervious to Molotov cocktails and incendiary rounds. Let’s hope they don’t make Tank-sized Haz Mat suits.

Speaking of the Tank, there’s a new special infected that looks to be imitating him. “Chargers,” as they’re called, are implemented into the game to bull-rush the survivors and dissuade them from camping. The ornery overalled enemy charges the group of survivors with the speed of a freight train, b-lining from one end of the area to the other, taking out anything in its way. They go down much easier than Tanks, but given their speed they can be incredibly difficult to anticipate. The Charger is only one of three new infected to be spreading to L4D2.

When you’re not dodging the new special infected, you might find yourself wading through a crowd of corpses while flailing a fire axe. Melee weapons have been added to L4D2, and they can be picked up without having to sacrifice the pistol or primary weapon. The fire axe cleaves zombies in half with slow, devastating swings. If crowd control is your thing, the frying pan sports tremendous impact, sending multiple zombies flying away from you after hitting them. Be wary, however, because if you need to pull out a firearm your melee weapon will be tossed to the wayside. Also coming to the sequel are the chainsaw and baseball bat.

Chris was obviously excited...and scared!

Melee won’t be much helped with the Witch, however, as she now has more mobility than in the first L4D. Since the sun is shining, the Witch is no longer limited to crying in a dark corner while waiting for a group of survivors to piss her off. Watch your step in those dim corridors, because stepping in the Witch’s path could spell your doom.

If the addition of the Charger isn’t evidence enough that Valve is focused on disrupting camping and exploitative tactics during intense scenarios, than the new mobile crescendos is the nail in the coffin. During one scene in the campaign, the survivors stumble upon a labyrinthine construction site just as a blaring alarm begins to sound from far atop the scaffolding. As in any crescendo event, waves of infected come charging at the survivors, but this time they must be warded off while navigating fences and piles of lumber, making their way towards the alarm in order to shut it off. The urgency of the situation adds pressure that is comparable to the ruthless survival mode.

Speaking of modes, L4D2 will include every mode from the original game right off the bat. If survival mode, five new campaigns, and multiplayer aren’t enough for you, Valve also stated that a new game mode is in development. So are additions to L4D1.

Other improvements to L4D2 include dynamic weather effects that are controlled by the AI director. Intimidating southern thunder storms will roll in, drastically reducing the survivors’ visibility. The AI also opens up differing paths for players to take depending on the flow of the match. These additions dramatically alter each play through so that the experience will offer something new.

Luckily, Chet Faliszek, a writer for Left 4 Dead, was able to answer a few of Gamer Limit’s questions via a quick Q&A session.

Gamer Limit: “Can we expect any new modes for Left 4 Dead 2, in addition to survival mode from the original being packaged in the game?”

Chuck: “We’re working on a new mode being shipped with Left 4 Dead 2, that we can’t disclose at this time, but rest assured, it will be awesome”.

Gamer Limit: “Fans of the original Left 4 Dead have been clamoring for a ‘normal zombie’ method of play in versus mode, when you’re waiting to respawn. Can we expect to see this come to fruition in Left 4 Dead 2?”

Chuck: “We found that it just wouldn’t work. The logistics just didn’t work out, because by the time you actually became a normal infected, found the survivors, you’d just be ready to respawn as a special. It just wasn’t practical.”

Gamer Limit: “Can we expect any new special infected characters this time around?”

Chuck: “The Charger is one of the three new infected we’ll be introducing in Left 4 Dead 2. We are planning on adding two more.”

If trigger finger has been itching for fresh zombie apocalypse action, don’t fret, because L4D2 is well worth the wait. This game is everything a fan of the original could ask for without straying form the tried and true formula of the first game. Your distress call has been received, and Left 4 Dead 2 is on its way November 17^th, 2009.

We’ve been playing many games at E3… stick with Gamer Limit as we let you know what we thought of them all. Register here.

If you’re a Wii owner and a Resident Evil fan, the odds are you’ve played Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. The mix of motion controlled on-rails shooting and familiar RE environments was a sweet treat, and like any good treat, second servings are a must. Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles seeks to satiate your appetite for reliving the horror of Raccoon City and beyond in the first person.

Hit the jump for more on this guided gorefest through the universe of Resident Evil.

Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles features one or two-player zombie shooting action. Using the Wiimote, players aim on screen reticules to laboriously line up shots, hoping to pop a rotting head like a grapefruit. It’s more of a shoot from the hip affair than true marksmanship, so don’t expect for Darkside Chronicles to emulate Time Crisis. The aiming mechanic is approachable, responsive, and fun.

This time around, the immersion into the zombie apocalypse is enhanced by seeing your co-op partner on screen. Whether it’s during a cutscene or watching your partner get munched on by a corpse, the characters in Darkside are more than disembodied voices this time around. Seeing Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy in all their enhanced polygonal glory is truly fan service at its best. Also, Steve Burnside looks a little less like an 8^th grader going for the Leo DiCaprio look.

The characters aren’t the only thing that have had a facelift, as both the Raccoon City of Resident Evil 2 and Rockford Island from Resident Evil: Code Veronica underwent graphical enhancements. Seeing these familiar areas in fully rendered 3D is spectacular. A great tweak to the game since the Umbrella Chronicles is that the order in which you proceed through the level more closely emulates the original titles. You’ll have flashbacks as you work your way towards the Raccoon Police Department and pass familiar areas like Kendo’s Gun Shop and the wrecked city bus.

The gameplay has had its share of enhancements as well. The annoying quicktime events of the first Chronicles game are absent from this early build of the game. The tension is pumped up with zombie attacks on your partner which must be extinguished with well placed shots. However, the fluid action is oftentimes made unapproachable by a shaky and unbalanced first person camera view that makes the camera work of Cloverfied look tame. The jerky camera movement makes the action much more difficult and frenzied, but at the same time it is an unfair method to increase challenge.

The weapons usable in the Darkside Chronicles demo are the combat shotgun, submachine gun, and standard pistol. The impact and realism of each weapon seems to have been enhanced greatly. For an added effect, the shotgun can be seen being reloaded on screen. Weapons are selected using the d-pad, with each direction being assigned to a particular firearm or grenade.

Overall, Darkside Chronicles promises to be a fun and approachable on rails shooter. The characters, settings, and enemies are all of the highest quality, and lining up headshots with the Wiimote rarely gets old. All that, and the fact that the other game scenarios have yet to be announced is more than enough reason to warrant keeping your eyes focused on it.

We’ve been playing many games at E3… stick with Gamer Limit as we let you know what we thought of them all. Register yourselves here.

Guitar Hero: On Tour introduced the world of handheld gaming to the most conventional concept for portable modern rhythm games. Some players, however, didn’t like the idea of curling their fingers around a Nintendo DS in order to jam out some arthritic rock tracks. Harmonix has heard the cries of the carpal tunnel afflicted, and has thus created Rock Band: Unplugged. The musical millstone has been passed back onto your good ‘ol thumb.

Harkening back to the rhythm games of old, the face buttons of the PSP are utilized for Rock Band: Unplugged. As four familiar gems scroll down the screen, simply pressing the button that corresponds to each color will result in a success. No awkward strumming or attempts to sing into your handheld are necessary here. Remember Amplitude and Frequency? This is the same idea, just with a fresh coat of Rock Band paint splattered over it.

The appearance of the game is crisp and easy to look at. It’s what we’ve all become accustomed to; multicolored notes streaming down a black highway while pixilated musicians gyrate in the background. The rockers have obviously taken a graphical hit because of the leap to the handheld, but who’s honestly playing a Rock Band for the characters models?

The innovation in Rock Band: Unplugged is a unique one for a rhythm game. Using the shoulder buttons, wannabe traveling one-man-bands will flip between the song’s vocal, guitar, bass, and drum track. After hitting enough notes in a particular section, a large glowing note will appear, and hitting it will clear all notes from that track highway temporarily. After scoring high enough on a given track, players jump to repeat the process. If you’re blowin’ it on a particular track, the pressure is increased as you watch notes being missed on the other tracks in the background.

If you’re the kind of person who put on a headset to sing vocals while simultaneously playing guitar and using said guitar to bash on the drum kit, you’ve already experienced simultaneous track management. For the rest of us, Rock Band: Unplugged is the first real way to interact with different instrument tracks within a single song. The different tracks all boil down to simple streams of notes, but the tandem management of each provides variety to an otherwise mundane experience.

Come June 9th, if you’re looking for a fun way to listen to your favorite songs like “Carry on Wayward Son” by Kansas, “Drain You” by Nirvana, “A Perfect Drug” by NIN, and “Rock Your Socks” by Tenacious D, look no further than Rock Band: Unplugged.

Flying, laser eyes, weather control, telepathy, magnetic manipulation.  These are just a few of the abilities that mutants of the X-Men universe possess.  Each is more fantastical than the last, but not every X-Men has flashy powers.  In fact, one mutant I know of is nothing more than a walking blob of Jell-O, absorbing bullets and self repairing injuries effortlessly.  What’s more, inside that infallible husk of flesh is a skeleton the same as yours and mine, only it’s made of the hardest stuff on earth; adamantium.  Wolverine’s durability isn’t exactly the most glamorous super power, but it isn’t his mutant condition that sets him apart from all others.  It’s his unabated rage.

Logan curses to himself as he pulls himself out of a snow bank and to his feet.  The bloody claw wounds in his stomach are reminders of his vengeance towards Victor Creed.  Pursuing the malevolent mutant, Logan bounds towards the edge of the cliff he had last seen Creed leap off of.  No way across the long chasm is visible, and a handful armed guards take potshots at the wounded mutant as they climb the precipice, chained together by a single tether.  The muscle and sinew of his stomach may have stitched themselves back together already, but Logan still feels a deep burn in his gut.  Unbridled hunger to get even with Creed gnaws from within.  The snow crunches beneath Logan’s boots as he picks up the pace and lunges off the edge of the cliff.  Propelled only by his insatiable lust for Creed’s head, Wolverine rockets through the sky towards the opposing cliff face.  His lunge falls short and he plummets towards the armed ascendants.  “Snikt, snikt!”  Logan’s adamantium claws unsheathe from his fists as they make purchase in the back of one of the mountain climbers.  Wolverine then roars a blood curdling cry above the screams of his enemies.  He performs leap frog lacerations from soldier to soldier, using their suspended bodies to reach the top of cliff and continue his pursuit of Creed.

Alli-oop!

Wolverine has always been a prime candidate for video game conversion.  Sporting the mutant ability of regeneration, he is able to take multiple hits without forcing the player to face a continue screen.  His adamantium claws are the perfect weapons, making melee combat intense and fresh.  However, up until X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the mutton-chopped berserker has had mixed results in the virtual realm.  Little did we know the true empowerment of becoming Wolverine lay not in his claws or regeneration, but in his ability to lunge across the state of Rhode Island.

In Wolverine, you obtain the “lunge” ability very early on.  It’s suggested to be used as compensation for Logan’s lack of ranged attacks.  Why not make yourself the projectile rather than fiddling with cumbersome firearms?  When the player is being pelted by pesky assault rifle rounds from across the room, simply pressing a couple shoulder buttons will cause Wolverine to sail through the air blades akimbo.  He then firmly sinks his claws into whatever he’s looking to dismember, allowing the player to fluidly continue their combo.

The last image hundreds of soldiers will ever see

Lunging becomes even more versatile when used as crowd control on an unruly group of guards.  Leaping from enemy to enemy, Wolverine sails through the air like a bladed bumble bee visiting ripe flowers.  Flowers that bleed and clutch their stumpy appendages as they are severed without mercy.

Distance is not an issue with Wolverine.  Need to take down that pesky helicopter in the distance?  He’s only one lunge away from busting out the windshield and forcing the pilots head into the bird’s blades.  Logan can be a mere three feet from an armed soldier and still pounce on them with all the force of a meteorite.  There is virtually nothing that can get between the clawed catastrophe and his prey.  Even hulking beasts will have their vulnerable backs lunged upon and shredded to bits by the adamantium annoyance.

You didn't think Wolverines could fly? He's the best at what he does; anything

The lunge ability in Wolverine is so overpowered that you may find enemies unable to stand after the initial pounce.  Even when facing off against stronger enemies, they’ll spend most of their time on their backs while Wolverine whittles away at their chest like he’s carving a turkey on Thanksgiving.  The only drawback to the lunge technique is found with the handful of enemies that can intercept or counter Logan’s trademark move.  It takes more than an impeccably timed shotgun blast to stop Wolverine, however, as a couple swipes of the claws will daze any foe and leave them susceptible to another pounce.

In the end, who knew that the secret to unlocking the bad-assery of Wolverine was in his lunge?  Now that this essential power has been solidified in adamantium via X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I’m itching to see it in more games.  Now, if only I could have used lunge on the loud drunk guy in the front row of the theater at the midnight showing of the Wolverine movie.  Then the audience would have actually seen something entertaining.

The highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic Japanese Wii title Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon is on its way to America. Xseed Games has answered the calls of hungry fans with a localization of the game that is in the works now. Hit the jump for more on the changes being made before the game hits our shores.

“We are ecstatic to be able to finally confirm Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon for gamers in North America,” said Jun Iwasaki, Xseed Games president. “We have received countless requests from eager gamers pleading with us to publish this title, and it gives us great joy to be able to give the public what they want while being able to work on such a great game.”

When asked about how the voice over localization was being handled, a representative said, “With extreme care… Since the original game is set in Japan, we’re keeping it that way for the North American version as well. Regarding voice-overs, the Japanese voice actors are very good, as usual, so we’ll have our work cut out for us to try to match their quality. “

“Wish extreme care.” I’m hoping this was an intentional pun regarding the name of the game. Frah-Gee-Lay. Must be French. Intentional jokes or not, it would be very cool to see both voice tracks make it onto the US version.

Has anyone been impatiently waiting for this announcement? Did you have your doubts, or did you see this one coming a mile away?

Source: IGN

Making the logical leap from leather biker garments to homosexuality, Rockstar has announced that the new GTA IV episode follow up to The Lost & Damned is The Ballad of Gay Tony. Assuming the role of Luis Lopez, an errand boy for nightclub manager Tony Prince, the player will confront the standard qualms of any GTA protagonist.  Determining loyalties, deciphering hidden plots, mediating feuds, the whole works.

The game will be 1600 Microsoft Points ($19.99) when it is launched on XBLA, and also as a $39.99 Lost & Damned 2-in-1 bundle which will not require the GTA IV disc.  Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City will release this fall.  Hit the jump for a full press release about The Ballad of Gay Tony.

“Rockstar Games Announces Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony for Download on Xbox LIVE® and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Available on Disc for Xbox 360® this Fall

New York, NY – May 26, 2009 – Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce the fall release of both the second episode of Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony – exclusively for download on Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network, and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, which will include both episode one The Lost and Damned, and episode two The Ballad of Gay Tony together on a single disc exclusively for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

“Liberty City is the most vibrant game world we’ve created yet. The episodic structure has allowed us to interweave stories, gameplay and atmosphere in a whole new way,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “The team at Rockstar North have yet again surpassed themselves, and made something that is both epic and very innovative. This episode’s focus on high-end night life contrasts with the biker gangs portrayed in The Lost and Damned, whilst giving us a lot of new gameplay possibilities.”

Grand Theft Auto IV’s second downloadable episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka “Gay Tony”), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City delivers two games on one disc – the all-new episode The Ballad of Gay Tony and the first episode, The Lost and Damned – together on disc for the first time – for Xbox 360 for $39.99 and will not require a copy of the original Grand Theft Auto IV to play.

The Ballad of Gay Tony will release on Xbox LIVE this fall for $19.99 or 1600 MS points and requires players to have Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE membership to download.”

Source: Destructoid

It may be just Ken and you for a long time.  Capcom’s Seth Killian has been quoted recently saying that there are no immediate plans to bring new downloadable characters to Street Fighter IV. Hit the jump for more on why it isn’t happening, and what Killian thinks new characters would do to the SFIV community.

“No plans for additional DLC right now. We want the core game to be a completely functional package, and character DLC could split the user-base,” says Killian.

Perhaps they are keeping this tight lipped because Capcom plans on announcing Street Fighter IV: Championship Edition at E3?  Until then, I guess we’ll all have to settle for alternate costumes and maybe a couple new arenas in the future.

Regarding Killian’s comments about new characters polarizing the SFIV community, how would you folks respond?

Source: GamingUnion