Watch&Learn: Twisted Metal

The GameSparked Team

Damian, Leighton, and Myles finally take a look at how Twisted their Metal is.

Watch&Learn: Ninja Gaiden 3

The GameSparked Team

Jordan joins Damian for a look at Ninja Gaiden 3. Is it really as bad as some have said? Watch the video below to find out!

[NEWS] Street Fighter Lead Steps Down Temporarily

Mat Paget

Yoshinori Ono, famed producer of the Street Fighter series, was hospitalized earlier this month, and has now announced that he will be temporarily stepping down from his position to focus on his health.

“I’ll refrain from work for current job for a while. Another person in charge of SF series for a while.Of course I’ll constant support to it.” – via Twitter

At the moment, the Street Fighter team at Capcom is hard at work on patches for the studio’s newest release, Street Fighter X Tekken. Everyone here at GameSparked wishes Yoshinori Ono the best of health, and a quick recovery.

[REVIEW] Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!!!

Mat Paget
(PlayStation Vita [REVIEWED])

Post-launch depression happens to almost every console and handheld; it’s nearly inevitable. People play through launch titles like they were eating an entire bag of candy, when the initial plan was to just eat one or two pieces. And, after consumption, they’re left with a feeling of gloom and desolation. “Did I really just eat that entire bag of candy?” they will ask themselves sheepishly. Sure, there may be a few pieces left, but who likes black licorice anyway? Thankfully, Mutant Blobs Attack!!! is not a piece of vile, disgusting black licorice.

Think of Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!!! as a delicious chocolate bar. Perhaps a peanut butter and pretzel one? Anyway, you take your first bite, and it’s absolutely delicious. Naturally, you’re going to break off another piece and enjoy it just as much as the last one. You keep breaking off pieces, throwing them in your mouth, and going absolutely nuts over this delicious bar of chocolate. Before you know it, however, the bar has been completely demolished, leaving you with a desire for more. Even though this game also leaves you with a desire for more, it is a video game, not a chocolate bar, and you can jump right back in to play through it again.

Now, the peanut butter of this game has to be its charm. Throughout the game, you will pass buildings and billboards such as a Chinese restaurant called, “Duck in a Box,” and the “Numa Numa Dance Accademy.” There’s even a playable parody of a popular iOS game that features rather infuriated birds. And in between each set of levels is a humourous cutscene depicting the Blob’s escapades over a news broadcast. The best thing about these little jokes is that they are actually funny; I found myself laughing several times. Add in the game’s exemplary music, and its humorous charm is reminiscent of a Twisted Pixel game — with much less FMV, of course.

Its charm is infinite

Joining the peanut butter to make an absolutely orgasmic combination is the crunchy subtlety of pretzel: the level design. Mutant Blobs Attack!!! is intelligently designed, and has some of the best levels I’ve seen in a platformer. The levels are never too long–every level can be easily run through in around six minutes–and the placement of everything within those levels is impeccable, as you make your way through one area eating as much as you can to try and make it past the corks that block off passageways to the rest of the level. And there are plenty of secrets joining the edible items, so it almost gives off a Metroidvania feel within each level, where if you adventure a bit, it could pay off.

And like the people eating all this candy, as the Blob eats more, it gets bigger. It’s especially awesome to see the places you have traversed before after consuming and growing into quite the gargantuous Blob. It gives you a nice perspective of exactly how big you have become, and how small sections of the level really are. The ending is also really satisfying in this aspect. I won’t ruin it, but making your Blob the biggest it can be really pays off.

Blob may not be impressed, but I sure am!

And of course, the unique features of the Vita have been used extremely well. The touch-screen controls feel really great when solving puzzles, or simply sending the Blob flying at high speeds; and the tilt feature breaks up the game from simply being a platformer. These “Tilt-A-Blob” levels are very similar to the Labyrinth games you can find on your smartphone. There are a couple levels that are exactly that, but they do mostly consist of rolling the blob around to have it consume as much as it can, and then exit the level. The only issues I had with these features were at times I would have to put the Vita down, so I could solve a puzzle that required the use of two touch inputs; and also, the Vita would actually go into sleep mode during the “Tilt-A-Blob” levels due to no physical screen or button input.


But after all is said and done, Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!!! is quite the treat for Vita owners. The style of gameplay feels right at home on a handheld, and thanks to the Vita’s unique features, it adds some very simple, yet extremely fun, gameplay mechanics. But although those features do cause some minor problems, they don’t actually make the game less enjoyable. If Vita owners are wanting a game that can provide many fun hours of gameplay, they should pick this up. And for the price of $7.99, don’t feel bad about over-indulging in this piece of candy; this is one delectable sweet that everyone should get a piece of.

Alright, now I’m a little hungry.

[REVIEW] Vessel

Myles Milligan
(PC [REVIEWED])

Ever since I joined the GameSparked team, I’ve had the opportunity to expose myself to a wonderful array of indie games. After playing through so many of them, I have developed a genuine appreciation for the smaller game developers, and the creativity that they are able to produce on a more limited budget. A big problem that many indie developers suffer from is that most of their budget gets used up in the developmental process, so when it comes time to market their product, resources are even more limited. It makes me think, how many good indie games have been over-looked because of lack of representation? Truth be told, this was totally the case with me when it came to Vessel. I had seen previews for it on Steam, and what I did see didn’t seem all that appealing. But perhaps there was something I wasn’t quite seeing. Perhaps there was actually something more to this seemingly unappealing game.


When you select a new game for the first time, the menu seamlessly transitions into the game, and quickly acquaints the player with a little exposition told through pictures. In a nutshell, the protagonist is an inventor who created living machines made of liquid, called Fluros. The sole purpose of these Fluros is to work efficiently and tirelessly in factories and other places of labour. The game kicks off when a single Fluro locks you out of your laboratory, and then proceeds to cause havoc throughout the rest of the structure. Written narratives by the protagonist shed more light on the current events, and also highlight the task at hand. The game is a bit lacking in the story department, but it’s a simple side-scrolling/puzzle-solving game, so it doesn’t take that much away. 


Vessel excels in the categories of aesthetics and sound. The environments are rendered with an interesting look, achieved by layering seemingly 3D characters and objects over a 2D background. Colours pop with good contrast in areas like factories, orchards, and mines. It’s always welcoming to see a game that’s easy on the eyes. Sound effects have been engineered well, from footsteps, to machines turning, to the splashing of liquid; it all matches up with what’s happening. My favourite thing about this game is, unequivocally, the music. It is always intriguing to listen to, and did its job well in setting the tone for each stage of the game. Composer Jon Hopkins did an amazing job by mixing classical piano sounds with electronic bass, which ignited a sense of exploration in me.

Anybody up for some underground zip-lining?

Vessel, by nature, is a simple game that does extraordinary things. Whether you play with your keyboard and mouse, or with a controller, it makes little difference in terms of learning how to play the game. Everything comes with natural ease, and that’s a great quality to have in any game. But what I find so brilliant about Vessel is how the game sets players up to teach themselves how to play. Well planned events that occur throughout the game compliment the experimentation that players will naturally do when playing around with the properties of the game. The need for extensive tutorials becomes non-existent, and the end result is a more rewarding experience for the player. A tip of my hat goes to Strange Loop for the amount of ingenuity that they brought to this project. 


I’ll just go ahead and say this now, Vessel is totally like Portal, but with liquids. Gameplay-wise there isn’t a whole lot of difference between the two. Puzzles are engaging, and require some thought process. Working through them and finally figuring them out was a rewarding experience in and of itself. It’s no wonder why games like these have such lasting appeal with fans.


The physics engine, that was custom built by Strange Loop, did an excellent job at rendering liquids in the game. It was really fun to experiment with the properties of the liquids and to see how they reacted with one another. Because the game is so heavily influenced by the use of liquid, it was imperative that it worked accordingly with the puzzles. There were a few times that the liquid did act out of the ordinary, but for the most part it was entertaining, and didn’t hamper my progression through puzzles.


Speaking of liquid, the concept of Fluros was an interesting idea that was implemented. Like I said before, Fluros are living machines that were created for the purpose of labour. As you progress, you’ll discover different types of Fluros, each one having their own special mannerism. These mannerisms are what allow you to complete puzzles, and they can be manipulated to do so. Be wary, however: although the different types of Fluros can aid you on your journey, by the flip of a coin, they can also be the bringers of your untimely demise. Not only that, but they will eventually adapt and change to fit their surroundings. This leads to some pretty intense boss battles, all of which were very creatively thought out.

It’s getting a little steamy in here.

To me, Vessel is one of those gems that you just so happen to stumble upon as you’re sifting through the endless list of titles that are available for purchase. I consider myself fortunate that I did eventually play this game, rather than carelessly dismissing it as just another unworthy candidate. Vessel does suffer from a few minor issues, and a somewhat weak story, but, ultimately, the game was beyond fun, and I had nothing but a great experience. What more can I say? Oh yeah, this has got to be my favourite indie game of this year thus far!

Here’s the title track from Vessel if you’re interested in listening. Seriously, It’s really good.

[REVIEW] Mutant Storm Reloaded

Jonathan Tay

(PC [REVIEWED], Xbox 360)

Mutant Storm Reloaded began its life as a launch title for the Xbox Live Arcade. That was – take it in! – back in 2005. Time flies, doesn’t it? So, does the game still hold up seven years later on the PC? Read on to find out!

Actually, I have no idea how well this game compares to the XBLA version, since this has been my first time playing it. Nevertheless…

Mutant Storm Reloaded is a very simple game. There are 89 levels filled with enemies, and your job is, predictably, to beat all of them. The game is a dual-stick shooter, and since this is on the PC, it can also be a…keyboard shooter? I guess that would be the best way of describing it, since you (and a friend, if you want to play local two-player) use the keyboard to move and shoot. Don’t worry, the mouse is still a viable option.

So, what’s so special about this game? Well, to be honest, it isn’t that special. The enemies you’ll face are fairly run-of-the-mill; some meander around the field, waiting to be shot, while others can fire lazers at you. Although each different enemy type does something different – and there are a fair amount of them – the whole thing ends up as a tad unremarkable. The same can be said about the power-ups, which range from a shield that will take a hit for you (one hit = death) to homing bullets. You also have a limited amount of bombs, which can be used to clear out anything within a small radius of you. All-in-all, there’s nothing too original here, at least gameplay-wise.

This scene is strangely reminiscent of a sexual experience I once had…

There are two modes you can tackle: Adventure Mode, which runs you through the whole gamut of levels; and Tally Mode, which sees you trying to get the highest score you can for each individual level. There are eight difficulty levels you can choose from, each denoted by a karate-esque coloured-belt system. What’s interesting is the difficulty scaling in Adventure Mode: play well, and you’ll advance a belt; die, and you’ll go down a belt. This ensures that things will never get too easy, or too overwhelming for you, which is nice.

Unfortunately, this game’s graphics don’t sit too well with me. The textures definitely show their age, and the art style, overall, is a tad bland. Everything has this cool, outlandish sheen to it, but the designs of the environment, the enemies, and even the bullets are completely uninteresting. The game’s music doesn’t fare that well, either. It’s very subdued and relaxed – while that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s not the kind of music you hear when you think of “fast-paced shooter”.

In fact, my thoughts on the game’s graphics and sound could be applied to Mutant Storm Reloaded as a whole. It looks somewhat intriguing, and the gameplay itself is definitely solid, but other than that, the game does very little to make it stand out. On the bright side, it’s only $4.99 on Steam – cheaper than the XBLA version.

Also, my antivirus program detects this game as a potential threat. Yikes!

[NEWS] Atlus Drops Prices of Digital PSP Titles

Mat Paget

Atlus did the unthinkable, and actually dropped the prices of games on the PlayStation Network. It’s a truly momentous occasion whenever a game gets a price drop on the PlayStation Store, because when was the last time that ever happened?

Here is a list of all the price drops that were made:

• Class of Heroes

 — now $14.99 (was $39.99)  

• Crimson Gem Saga

 — now $14.99 (was $29.99)

• Hexyz Force

 — now $14.99 (was $29.99)  

• Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble

 — now $14.99 (was $39.99)

• Knights in the Nightmare

 — now $14.99 (was $29.99)

• Riviera: The Promised Land

 — now $9.99 (was $14.99)

• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

 — now $19.99 (was $39.99)

• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2: Innocent Sin

 — now $29.99 (was $39.99)  

• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable

 — now $19.99 (was $39.99)

• Yggdra Union

 — now $9.99 (was $14.99)

It makes me extremely happy to see the Persona titles drop in price, as I’ve been wanting to play them for a ridiculously long time. Now that they’re more affordable, I think I’ll jump into that crazy world I’ve heard so much about.

There is no word on whether these drops in prices are permanent, but since it is being called, “The Re-Vita-Lized PlayStation Network Price Drop Event,” I am going to guess that these titles will only be available at a discount for a limited time. Either way, if you have a PlayStation Vita and no games, or are still plugging away on the PlayStation Portable, this seems like an opportunity worth taking.

The GameSparked Podcast Mar-27-2012

The GameSparked Team

Jordan returns from his prolonged trip to Laos, Leighton does… something, Myles pelvic thrusts, Mat flexes his guns, and Damian talks about his nipples! Other discussions involve Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!, Ninja Gaiden 3, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and the music of kings: dubstep. All that, and more, in this week’s edition of The GameSparked Podcast!

Intro/Outro by Cody DeBoer

Email your questions/stories/other crazy crap to podcast@gamesparked.com, and we’ll read them on next week’s podcast!

[REVIEW] Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

Damian Turner

(PlayStation 3 [REVIEWED], Xbox 360, PC)

1998 was a dark time for the vibrant city known as Raccoon City. The destruction of the city was the destruction of the once famous pharmaceutical company Umbrella. With this, Capcom’s acclaimed series soared to extreme heights. It gave us memorable characters like Leon, Claire, Jill, and Nemesis, as well as some of the scariest places in survival horror, such as the Raccoon City Police Department and the streets of this horrific city. And now, Slant Six has come, trying to rewrite history with a cast of new characters with a new formula that Resident Evil fans have not seen.

The story for this game takes place during the time ofResident Evil 2 and 3, when the viral outbreak had taken over the city. You play as one of the six characters of the Umbrella Security Service, known as the Wolfpack. Each character has their own set class and special abilities. Vector, the recon specialist, can turn invisible or mimic an enemy. Lupo, the leader of the group, is the assault class that can get infinite ammo for a short period of time. Bertha is the group’s medic who can carry more first-aid sprays and increase the efficiency of first-aid sprays and herbs in the battlefield. Four Eyes is the field specialist who can hold more anti-viral sprays and control the B.O.W.’s and infected. Beltway is the explosives specialist who gets sticky grenades and land mines. And finally, Spectre is the surveillance specialist who can see enemies on the radar, as well as see through walls for a limited time. It is nice to see Slant Six introducing new characters, but they all feel like just a class without personality, and that is a real shame. Also, the story is not something to write home about, and that is what makes me, a big fan of the series, sad. With such great lore and story set-up, I was hoping to see something special, but it really fell flat. 

Now onto the gameplay. Yes, I was worried when I heard Slant Six was doing this, and everybody was saying it was going to be SOCOM with a Resident Evil paint job. I have to say, my fears have come true. You will feel right at home with these controls if you have ever played SOCOM. For people who don’t know, it plays like a third-person shooter with you and three other squad members controlled by players or A.I.; your shoulder buttons will be used to shoot and throw grenades, while your face buttons to pick up ammo, items, and activate abilities. So, as a third-person shooter, you have a cover system that glues you to a wall when you get to it, but this is where my problem lies. I found myself taking cover on stuff that I didn’t want to, and when I wanted to, it wouldn’t let me. This is a big problem when trying to get to cover in the heat of battle. I wish they took a look at Gears of War’s button-activated cover system. That would have been a more effective way of doing it. Also, there are some glitches that are a problem; for example, sometimes, when your partner dies and you try to revive them, they disappear, not allowing you to revive them. Also, some enemies get stuck on objects.

I advise you to play the story with friends, because if you don’t, you are stuck with some really bad A.I. These computer-controlled teammates are some of the worst I have ever seen. Sometimes I would look at them, only to find that they were shooting into the wall or going into rooms that I had already been in. Also, they will not revive you if you die. At some points during the game, I’d see them just standing in flaming exhaust pipes.

Now onto the environments you will be exploring. Old-school fans will get a sense of déjà vu as they go to places like the Raccoon City Police Department. You can also venture to where Leon and Claire get separated in Resident Evil 2. All these places look fantastic, and it is quite amazing seeing them all redone in HD and such. Every location felt different, even if I had been there in past Resident Evil games. I loved going from level to level, seeing what the team at Slant Six had in store for me.

The multiplayer is another great feature and will keep a lot of players coming back. There are four different modes, from Team Attack mode, Biohazard mode, Survivor mode, and last but not least, Hero’s mode. Team Attack mode is your basic team deathmatch where two teams go against each other, except they have to worry about zombies and B.O.W.’s. Biohazard mode is where teams go out and try to extract a G-virus sample and take it back to their respective base; it is the games’ capture the flag mode. The Survivor mode is where two teams must survive 10 minutes with waves of undead and B.O.W’s coming at you. At the end of all this fighting, a chopper arrives. But the catch is that there are only four spots, so players must fight one another to escape this hellish nightmare. My favourite mode is Hero’s mode which has two teams. One team is the heroes, which include characters like Leon, Jill, and Claire. For the villains there is Ada and Hunk, along with some new additions. It is great to see your favourite characters fighting one another. While you are playing these modes, you rank up and get experience to level up your class abilities and buy weapons. The only problem with the multiplayer I found was that sometimes you cannot join a game, and you will be searching for a game for what seems like forever. Other than that, it was a blast to fight human players while worrying about zombies. It adds a nice tension that was lacking in the campaign.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City had a lot of things going for it. With great source material and fantastic characters to work with, this game had homerun written all over it. But with a lackluster story and faceless characters, even big Resident Evil fans may find this game forgettable. Saying that, there is still fun to be had here, and seeing classic characters and great environments is always nice to see. The awesome multiplayer will give players hours and hours of entertainment. The Hero’s mode, where seeing all the great cast of characters fight one another, is almost worth the price of admission. Yes, this game is not perfect, but I had a fantastic time playing, and as a Resident Evil fan I had a big smile on my face. Saying that, if you’re not a Resident Evil fan, it may be hard to recommend this game because there are much better third person shooters out there. So, you might want to take that anti-virus spray to keep you alive until Resident Evil 6.

[REVIEW] Kid Icarus: Uprising

Damian Turner
(3DS [REVIEWED])

I was at work when Kid Icarus: Uprising was put into my hands. I was going into this blind, since I have never played a Kid Icarus game. My only knowledge of him was from Super Smash Bros: Brawl. From the footage I had seen of this 3DS title, I was not intrigued. The gameplay and characters didn’t really hook me. Once the game loaded up, and I saw the hero of the game, Pit, flying through the sky, I was hooked, and ready to see what this game had in store for me. So grab your bow, and grow some wings – let’s take this flight, and see what this grand adventure has in store for us.

Before I can go talking about the story mode or multiplayer, I first have to tell you what this game is about. I really couldn’t tell what kind of gameplay Uprising had from the videos, so let me break it down for you. Half of it is a rail shooter and the other half of the gameplay is a third person shooter. I like that they included both of these types of gameplay because it helps spice up the game. Both have perfect lengths to them, never felt repetitive, and work really well together, making a great package.

What really frightened me about going into Kid Icarus: Uprising was the controls. You will use the circle pad to move Pit around, and the touch screen will be used for aiming. The left shoulder button will be used to shoot, and when you get up close to enemies, it will be used as the melee button as well. And don’t be worried, left handed people: Nintendo has catered to you as well, but sadly, you must buy the Circle Pad Pro. The controls are swapped, and you can use your left hand to use the stylist and control the aiming with the touch screen. 


Before playing this game, I didn’t understand why Nintendo didn’t let you use the Circle Pad Pro to play the game like a third person shooter, and it still baffles me. They had a perfect chance to capitalize on people that are turned off by a game like this, but enjoy third person shooters: you could move with the left Circle Pad and aim with the right one. Saying that, though, the controls are really well done, and I liked using them. Left handed players, don’t think you also have to buy the Circle Pad Pro to play this game, as I am left handed and still felt more comfortable using my right hand to aim. I will put this on record: you have not used your 3DS to its full potential until you play this game.

So, the basic premise of the story mode, or as the game calls it, “Solo Mode”, is that Medusa has been revived. Pit and the goddess Palutena must stop her and her evil servants from destroying the world. Yes, it’s your basic “save the world from an evil tyrant” game. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the story was better than I had expected. It’s no Metal Gear Solid storyline, but it kept me intrigued throughout the entirety of Pit’s fate. There are basic cutscenes that you get in a level, but that isn’t the only way the story is told. 


While you are playing the game, the story is being told on the touch screen, having Pit and Palutena talking about the situation of the current level. My problem with this is that when you are playing the game, there are so many things going on that I could not focus on the bottom screen to see what some of the characters had to say. Saying that, the writing is very clever, and actually had me laughing. When a game can do that these days, it is gold. I like how the game didn’t take itself too seriously, and just had fun. That’s what keeps me coming back to levels, trying to beat them, and progress through the story.

At the end of every level you get a boss battle. These are some great set pieces, and every boss seems unique in their own way. At times Pit will be fighting a flaming Cerberus; at others, a three headed hydra. I wanted to get to the end of every level just so I could see what boss I had to slay next. The one problem I had with them is that they were way too easy. I never felt like  I was going to die and that really threw me off. They are fifty feet tall, but they barely gave Pit, this little angel, any trouble. Other than that, the boss battles were fantastic.

.

               

Don’t worry, Pit will not go into battle empty handed. The first weapon you start out with is the First Blade, that from afar is used like a gun, but when up close, turns into a sword to slice foes down. You can later acquire bows, staffs, clubs, arms, and much more. Each weapon will have some attributes and range, as well as a melee ability, so you can equip Pit to your liking.

The 3D is really well done and definitely heightened the experience while playing. It was really neat when you are flying at high speeds and seeing fireballs come at you. I found myself having to adjust my eyes a couple of times because there was so much going on in the screen at once.

“Together” is the multiplayer in Uprising, which you can play locally or online. You get two modes in here, one I called Light vs Dark, and this is your team death match. Where the light forces fight against the dark and winning will earn you hearts for upgrades in Solo and Together mode. The other multiplayer mode is Free-For-All, and this is just the same basic mode where you go against other players. Yes, you get better weapons and powers, so you feel like you are leveling up, and it keeps the multiplayer from getting stale. From the couple of matches I played, the online was solid, and there wasn’t any lag at all.

Kid Icarus: Uprising has been a blast from the moment I put it into my 3DS. From its disparate gameplay that comes together like peanut butter and jelly, to its well-written story and dialogue, the game was a blast. Even its unorthodox control system has a really neat way of feeling fresh and different from the crowd, in a good way. It may not be a perfect game, but I had one hell of a ride with this one. It doesn’t matter if you are right handed or left handed, if you own a 3DS, Kid Icarus: Uprising is a must-own title.