BT Calgary Blogs

Who would have thought back in 2007 the Uncharted franchise would turn into the monster it is today. At the time many thought it was a Tomb Raider clone, featuring a male lead character. Fast forward four years and we can now say Uncharted is without a doubt going in a direction the Tomb Raider franchise only dreamed of. Fast paced action, riveting story, Uncharted 3: Drakes’s Deception has a lot going for it. But can it possibly lead to the hype built-up by Sony and Naughty Dog?

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Make no mistake about it, we are in the midst of the holiday rush. Review copies of games continue to pile up in the office screaming out to be played. Yet I find myself playing one title over and over again. I know, I should be playing other titles but every time I open a new game up I find myself putting batman Arkham City back into my console telling myself “just another hour”. The next thing I know it’s time to call it a night. Yes, Batman Arkham City is that good. It’s not perfect, but damn it’s good!

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To call Gears of War 3 one of the most anticipated games of the year for the Xbox 360 is a bit of an understatement. Microsoft has been throwing Gears parties for months to create a frenzy and it appears their work is paying off. More than one million copies of the game have already been pre-ordered which is understandable. This is after all the final installment in the franchise, at least for this story arc.

What began as a new startup franchise five years ago in 2006 is about to come to a dramatic end. Gears of War 3 marks the end of the trilogy, the end of a surprisingly emotional story that has captivated fans around the globe. So how do you wrap up such a beloved series? With a bang.

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In the crowded videogame market it’s important to distinguish yourself against the competition. Some games come out with unique features, some with bonus content, and others rely on a concept that is so bizarre their game stands out from others in the genre. Driver San Francisco falls into the latter category.

Here’s how it plays out. A cop gets into a near-fatal car accident. As paramedics try and revive him he has an out of body experience and discovers he can shift into other people’s bodies, taking control of them. This sets the scene for one of the most unique driving games I have ever experienced on a console. On paper it sounds bizarre, yet I was pleasantly surprised to find it’s just crazy enough to work.

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Nearly six million people around the globe have seen the trailer for Dead Island. There is no denying it is easily one of the most compelling, dramatic trailers for a video game ever produced. A family vacationing on a island paradise fighting for their lives against a horde of zombies, played in reverse in slow motion set to dramatic music. It’s a marketing masterpiece which got not only gamers talking, but the general public.

There’s always a danger when you produce something so buzz worthy. It’s the same trap movies fall into. Can a title live up to the hype created by the trailer? In the case of Dead Island it certainly comes close, but falls a bit short.

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Nathan Hale is dead. The man who lead the war against the Chimera has now fallen victim to the virus he fought so valiantly against. Now a new man must pick up the fight.

It’s an interesting way to kick off the third installment to a widely popular video game franchise; kill off the main character which people have grown to know and start fresh with someone new. Yet Insomniac has chosen to do just that in Resistance 3.

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As I type away on my laptop a dull throb is radiating down my upper right arm. The pain has been there for two days now and is only starting to subside now that I have abandoned my Xbox. My training to become a ninja has been thwarted, defeated by mere pieces of fruit.

Last year Halfbrick Studios took the mobile gaming world by storm with the release of Fruit Ninja for the iPhone. Gamers across the globe sliced and diced fruit by swiping their fingers across their screens. Now the blockbuster game has come to the Xbox 360, to recruit a new batch of ninjas. But just how well does it translate from mobile phone to console? Surprisingly well.

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It’s been a long time since I played an old-school side scrolling shooter. And while it would be easy to lump Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (ITSP) into this category, gamers will soon find out there is much more to this game than meets the eye.

FuelCell Games has created a game which blends multiple genres. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet can best be described as the lovechild of Gradius and Metroid. While you’ll have to keep your finger on the trigger at all times you’ll also spend much of the journey searching for hidden passages and power-ups to help you progress through the planet’s maze-like environment.

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Remember seeing all the press about Medieval Moves Deadmund’s Quest during E3 this year? You don’t? Unfortunately it was one of those titles which seemed to fall through the cracks, forgotten amongst the triple A titles such as Uncharted 3 and the next Gears of War. Deadmund’s may not be receiving the same publicity other titles are receiving right now, but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked.

Deadmund’s is being developed by the same studio which brought us Sports Champions for the Playstation Move. In fact, many of the same play mechanics have been borrowed in this action adventure title.

“If you’ve played Sports Champions before you’re going to be familiar with them.” Bob Staite, Associate Producer of Deadmund’s Quest told me as he walked me through a demo. “We’re using them as building blocks not necessarily as a port. We’ve improved them from Sports Champions.”

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If you’ve never played Ico or Shadow of the Colossus I have one thing to say to you. Shame on you! Although they are nearly a decade old (Ico was released back in 2001 on the PS2) they became cult classics for a reason. Fortunately for you you’ll have the chance to play them again when both get re-released this September on the Playstation 3.

“They were great games back in the day and I think they still are. But the fact is they’re both Playstation 2 games and it’s difficult to find new copies now, even used. It’s very difficult to get a hold of them” said Senior Producer Tsubasa Inaba. “Plus, how many gamers or people still have their PS2’s still active? Maybe they own one but they put it away because their main system is now a PS3 or what ever it may be. We thought why not revisit this.”

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