Let me tell you a story. It’s a story about a small gold fish and the wacky world he lives in. Don’t write off this pint sized piece of aquatic cuteness, however. That’s what he wants you to do. When your back is turned he’ll pounce. It’s what he’s good at.

This a story of deception and rage. This is Launching Pad Games’ Mighty Fin.

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Be honest, you already have preconceived notions about this game. That’s fine, I get it. After all, it is an annual sports franchise that, for the most part, takes an incremental approach year in and year out. However, last year was no such year with the introduction of GameFlow and Game Planning. Sure, it might not have been a feature for everyone, but the impact it had on the game was as important as the introduction of Focus was to the Tiger Woods franchise.

Fact of the matter is that Madden NFL 11 opened itself up to be much more accessible without taking anything away from the hardcore.  While the game wasn’t perfect, it was innovative and took a necessary step in the right direction. Madden NFL 12, on the other hand, falls right back into that incremental approach. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. Read more… »

In its heyday, the JRPG was one of the the most well loved, paradigmatic experiences in the entire medium of videogames. Unfortunately, all empires must eventually fall and the the tale of the JRPG has been one of stagnation and decline. Rapid technological improvements brought many eastern studios into an uphill battle, where all too often gameplay suffered at the expense of modern graphics.

We are left with an aging genre where stories are often absurd and incomprehensible, combat is frustrating and needlessly complicated, and high-definition visuals are prioritized above all else. Luckily, Xenoblade Chronicles proves to be a rare exception.

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Twenty years ago, shoot ‘em ups were one of the most prolific genres on the market. Since then, they’ve fallen into decline and become something of a rarity. Now, fans of the venerable genre always have their eyes on the horizon, on the lookout for the next slice of bullet heaven to waltz their way.

A couple of months ago that might have meant the British colonization of Mars on PC, but this week you might want to set your sights on Nintendo’s WiiWare service. If you enjoyed Ikaruga (how could you not) and its unique polarity mechanic, you may just want to check out what Microforum has in store.

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Catherine tells the story of Vincent Brooks, a man in his early thirties coming to grips with growing up. When his long-term girlfriend Katherine starts planning their future, Vincent begins drinking his troubles away, unsure of whether he is ready to give up his freedom and settle down. On one booze-soaked evening, the attractive young Catherine walks through the doors of the Stray Sheep Pub and into Vincent’s life, turning his world upside down and sending him into a guilt-ridden, downward spiral as his life becomes a web of lies.

While those looking for a salacious affair with Catherine are sure to be disappointed, anyone with an open mind will discover one of the most truly mature stories ever told in a video game. That, and one hell of an addicting puzzler.

Edge! Edge! Edge! Edge! Edge! Edge! Edge!

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Dragon Age II was met with some pretty mixed reception, to say the least. Although I personally found the combat enjoyable enough to warrant a second playthrough, there were many unforgiveable issues with the title that were tell-tale signs of a rushjob.

So, seeing as Legacy, the first piece of DLC (and not the last, according to Bioware) has just dropped four months after the fact, the burning question is: does it fix some of the core game’s glaring issues? Read on to find out. Read more… »

So far, Obsidian has given us Dead Money and Honest Hearts – both of which had their positives and negatives, but nothing on New Vegas’ table has been as definitive as Fallout 3′s Broken Steel.

Thankfully, Obsidian’s latest offering, the appropriately titled Old World Blues, comes close.

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“Proper review’s supposed to start at the beginning. Ain’t so simple with this one.”

That’s a play on the first line from Bastion, the first XBLA title from developer Supergiant Games. I just had to work that in here somehow. However my review is straightforward enough that I can start from the beginning. But does it live up to all the hype? Read on to find out more about my journey with the Kid as he seeks out the Bastion to find out what caused the Calamity.

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A two week stint of creative thinking during Brutal Legend birthed four ideas. These ideas then manifested into Costume Quest, Stacking, Once Upon a Monster, and Trenched. An impressive two week collaboration of creative minds to say the least.

Given Double Fine’s track record, it is almost guaranteed that the art direction will be awe inspiring and the writing will be nothing less than witty. But whether this mech shooter meets tower defense will deliver in gameplay was unclear at first. Thankfully, I can confirm that Trenched delivers in every area, in almost every way. Read more… »

Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team just kind of came out of nowhere. It was announced at E3, our own Kyle MacGregor couldn’t get enough of it, and now it’s upon us, all in what seems like a matter of days!

As a fan of the tabletop game myself, I had to delve into THQ’s recent rendition of the grimdark 40K universe and see if they got it right. Read on to find out the results of my adventure.
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The NCAA Football franchise has come a long way over the past couple of years. Year in and year out it makes great strides towards becoming the best football sim game around. Last year was easily the most contested year as more hardcore football gamers pledged their loyalty to NCAA than ever before.

This year, NCAA Football 12 brings with it improved presentation, visual upgrades, custom playbooks, revamped Road to Glory mode, coaching carousel, and a much needed collision based tackling system. But are these along with other new additions to NCAA Football 12 enough to regain the loyalty of its followers? Simple answer: absolutely. Read more… »

If you haven’t seen “Tell Your Children [Reefer Madness]“ the movie, go find it – it’s incredibly funny, educational, and it’s the basis for the brand new L.A. Noire DLC, appropriately titled Reefer Madness.

So what’s Cole up to this time? Oh, you know, same old, same old – rotating coke cans, chasing down bad guys, and accusing old women of brutally torturing and murdering their baby grandkids. Thankfully, it’s still a ton of fun.

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