The Alternative GOTY Awards

Well what a year in which nothing actually happened. Sure we got many great games but as an industry it sort of stood still asking “Is Modern Warfare 2 here yet?”. Without a doubt this year will be seen as the year of the Modern Warfare to most but to me it’s the year of [...]

The Appetizer – Dark Void

In our continuing crusade of showcasing the latest video games, The Appetizer returns with a look at Capcom and Airtight Games Dark Void. Join us as Will and an inebriated Craig enter the Bermuda Triangle and follow the exploits of a man who flies around with a jetpack and goes PEW PEW PEW.

The Appetizer – Bayonetta

We return for our first Appetizer of 2010 by playing SEGA/Platinum Games bizzare and over the top action game, Bayonetta. Join us as Will and Craig talk about sex and holy demonic action.

Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond Review

The original Matt Hazard had the potential to be a great game, good voice work with the likes of Neil Patrick Harris and Will Arnett. A brilliant backstory and marketing campaign which broke the fourth wall entirely, and the story while thin was entertaining and amusing. The sole problem came in the gameplay department which [...]

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NewsVine – 5th February 2010

NewsVine – 5th February 2010

I finally got me a new PS3 controller, I can now play all those PS3 games I’ve been meaning to complete. Now for the day today in the world of gaming.

Dinosaur vs Mercenaries

A multiplayer mode in a game called Primal Carnage, it will be a class objective based game with freaking dinosaurs. There are 5 classes of mercs and 5 types of dinosaurs. “‘Survival’ sees up to five mercenaries fending off AI dinosaur attacks while riding on a train, boat or the like, completing objectives and facing a boss battle at the end. ‘Power Grid’ meanwhile is Team Fortress 2-style competitive interspecies point-capturing play.” It’s great to see people do something a bit original. It’s a video game make it as wacky as possible.

High Voltage’s The Grinder Goes Multiplatform

A Left 4 Dead inspired cooperative shooter, The Grinder, has taken the opportunity to expand beyond its Wii roots to the PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 as announced by the developers today. You may no doubt recognize the developer’s, High Voltage, pedigree for producing original IPs such as The Conduit. With this announcement, the game is now due for release by Halloween 2011. Creative officer Eric Nofsinger noted, “Given the sheer amount of quality content needed to make a game of this type, our game design scope, our team size, and the amount of time we have designated for polishing the game, we are confident that this schedule allows us to meet our expectations for the game.” … Continue Reading

NewsVine – 4th February 2010

It’s time for another day today in the world of gaming, so I can get back and play more Dragon Age, or finally get around to watching The Wire, I’m still undecided.

Project Needlemouse is Sonic 4

That’s right we are finally seeing a 2D console Sonic after 16 years of complete shit. We all need to take it with grain of salt since well it’s been 16 years since the last good Sonic game. Sonic 4 will be coming to the PS3, 360 and Wii this summer. I want to hear more before we can judge, but Sonic Unleashed looked good at first.

Splinter Cell: Conviction Dated Set in Stone

Quite literally. IGN received a date for the next Splinter Cell written on a stone. The date is 13th April. I must say that is awesome on Ubisoft’s part, I love bad jokes like that. It’s good to see they have a sense of humour about all the delays. Kudos to you. With this coming in April it’s looking like one of the best years of gaming yet. So many good games have come within the first few months of this year. … Continue Reading

Pokemon: A Mage’s Tale Episode 1: Once Upon an Adventure

February 4, 2010 by SparklingBlue Pokemon, Serials No Comments

Here we go with a new serial:

Pokemon: A Mage’s Tale

Episode 1: Once Upon an Adventure

“Okay, Happini…let’s see what sort of adventures your favorite singing hero will get into today.” a boy with brown hair and tan skin cooed to the small pink humanoid by his side. He reached for the TV remote sitting on the small table by the couch and turned on the TV, making the image of a boy similar in appearance to him walking through a forest playing a small harp blip on the screen. … Continue Reading

NewsVine – 3rd February 2010

Now it’s time for another day today in the world of gaming.

Online Assassin’s Creed for the iPhone

It’s not what I expected it to be. It appears to be an Assassin’s Creed style deathmatch between you and 3 of your mates, you can hide in the crowd among other things in 3 levels based on the latest title AC2. “Ubisoft is packing the game with features, including a dynamic notoriety ranking system, a built-in friends list, and 24 achievements you can post to Facebook, where the world goes to find out what you’ve been up to.” It’s probably best it’s a fun little iPhone game rather than something serious, Assassin’s Creed online for a console wouldn’t really work.

The Last Guardian = Realism

At least that is what director Fumito Ueda wants to be like. He wants to push a more realistic experience by both the physics of the game and the existence and feeling of the creature. Sounds interesting, but you can’t really get much realism in a title with some weird giant creature. At least it has a sense of imagination rather than gritty realism that many games try and focus on which defeats the purpose of games entirely, escapism. … Continue Reading

Finally a New Serial!

February 3, 2010 by SparklingBlue Blog No Comments

When the first pictures of movie 8 depicting Ash as a black mage-esque character appeared–I had a field day with the ideas that spawned–and to this day I’m still having fun with the concept of Ash and co. learning a little magic.

I’ve tried the idea before, but this time I’ll be combining this idea with the three storytelling alter egos I created for various slice of life fics.

Can Ash and co. survive being pulled into a TV show, where they are playing the heroes this time around?

Find out in Pokemon: A Mage’s Tale–releasing Thursdays only on MonsterVine.

o^-^o: An SB Serial in…however long it takes for SB to write it!

NewsVine – 2nd February 2010

I apologise for the lack of a NewsVine on Friday but I was highly addicted to Mass Effect 2, and I still am. brilliant title and hopefully we can get a review up ASAP, so keep an eye out. Now for the day today in the world of gaming.

The Next Wii Needs More than HD

The Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said during the quarterly investor meeting “‘Do you think it would sell with just that? It needs something new.” He also said the same thing about a the successor to the DS rumours. Yeah he’s right, it needs more than HD. It’ needs to be in 3 FUCKING D.

Namco Bandai Not So Hot

Namco Bandai have revealed huge loses of ¥11.7bn. ($129.5m) Net sales are down 10.4%, and operating income is down 76.3%. To add insult to injury, 10% of their workforce will be fired. That’s 630 employee’s. Not good times for them, lets hope they release some quality titles that people will buy. … Continue Reading

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Latest Reviews

Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond Review

January 13, 2010

Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond Review

The original Matt Hazard had the potential to be a great game, good voice work with the likes of Neil Patrick Harris and Will Arnett. A brilliant backstory and marketing campaign which broke the fourth wall entirely, and the story while thin was entertaining and amusing. The sole problem came in the gameplay department which [...]

SB Plays The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

December 28, 2009

SB Plays The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

When the newest entry in the beloved Zelda series was announced earlier this year, people were both excited and skeptical. How well would a train in the Zeldaverse go over with fans? Would the gameplay be a replay of Phantom Hourglass, with its infamously numerous trips through the Temple of the Ocean King?
Now that the [...]

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time: A Review

November 22, 2009

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time: A Review

The Great Clock, the center of this installment in the Ratchet and Clank Future series keeps time itself. “Time is not to be tampered with!” Orvus would say. A Crack in Time delves into the pasts of both Ratchet and Clank. Could the Lombax race be saved? Does Clank have a new purpose in life, [...]

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