Mad Good Add-on: “Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot”
Jan 4th
“Mad Moxxie’s Underdome Riot” is an add-on to the original “Borderlands”. It introduces a welcome battlefield playground to the main story’s quest-based structure, as well as (of course) new levels.
What’s the story? The amazingly sexy, but off-the-wall sadistic, Mad Moxxi introduces you to her Underdome where your senses are automatically overwhelmed by the flair and style of the game. With three failed marriages under her belt (of which circumstances are questionable), Moxxi is now looking for her fourth husband. But in the meantime, she’s satisfying her need for pain and pleasure by holding a tournament where treasure hunters battle each other in her underground arena. Who knows? Mad Moxxi may even consider the victor a suitable fourth spouse.
Watch the trailer:
Rules are simple: A wave of bloodthirsty enemies will charge towards you and your group, try to kill them all, dash around trying to collect health and ammo refills that fall from the sky, and then it starts again. Mindless murderous fun? Yes.
To break up the wave after wave of murdering, there’s constant narration, angry encouragement from Mad Moxxi, and the thunderous applause from the crowd to keep your spirit high and your blood rushing. It’s not just a game – it’s a spectacle.
Though not a brand new game and there’s not much more than excessive killing offered, for $10 it’s worth a go.
Get “Mad Moxxi” for $10 now. It’s already out on Xbox 360 and will be available on PS3 starting on January 7th.
“DJ Hero”: Where DJs become Rock stars
Oct 28th
DJ Hero, the newest addition to the family of peripheral-based video games, makes its debut on Oct.27, 2009. If it looks like Guitar Hero but with turntables – that’s because it essentially is. DJ Hero is a single-player mixology simulator which in itself already sounds very, very cool. While Guitar Hero is focused on performing music, DJ Hero allows players to perfect their mash-ups.
The usual guitar is substituted by the plastic likeness of a turntable – the necessary tool of any DJ. Created by RedOctane, this is not some cheap plastic box – it’s solid, functional and even pretty to look at. The turntable platter has three buttons and spins freely, which allows the player to scratch and rewind tracks just like pro DJs. It spins and clicks where it’s supposed to and includes a mixer on the side that houses the fader switch and euphoria button among other features.
Whereas Guitar Hero focuses on rock songs, the heart of DJ Hero is the mash-up. These are songs that have been mixed and mashed to an almost indistinguishable track, but that’s part of its allure as a very challenging peripheral-based rhythm game.
The game’s original soundtrack is definitely one of the highlights. You get to play and listen to the work of skilled DJs like Grandmaster Flash, DJ Shadow, Daft Punk, and the late DJ AM. The tracks they will be mixing up are numerous and from artists like Gwen Stefani, Beastie Boys and Public Enemies just to name a few. The game gives the player access to more than 100 licensed songs in 93 tracks. Players get to really experience the creative mind behind the world’s top DJs. (And on a more sentimental note, DJ Hero has made their game a tribute to DJ AM’s passing since his visionary work is a good chunk of the mash-ups.)
Forza Motorsport 3: More than Point A to Point B
Oct 10th
Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport 3 is coming out on Oct.27 for Xbox 360. Third in line for this “simulation racer” series, Forza 3 emphasizes customization and introduces players to a new feature – rewinding time.
For anyone who needs second chances when gaming, this option is sure to please. Typical racing simulators like Sony’s Gran Turismo and others usually don’t offer players a second lifeline; there’s no rewind feature which means that if a racer messes up, he/she needs to start over from the beginning. Sometimes this can be frustrating, especially given long races where tracks can run up to 20+ minutes in playing time.
Now when you miss a turn and slam your Ferrari 430 into a wall, you can hit the “rewind” button and the race will backtrack for exactly 5 seconds which hopefully gives you enough time to make better decisions on tricky maneuvers the second time around. Hard-core gamers may cringe at the prospect of second chances since it takes away from the challenge and authentic experience, but no one is forced to rewind time so players can keep it ultra-demanding to test their skills if they wish.
With Forza 3’s 100 real-world race track choices and 400+ licensed cars to choose from, the game provides a realistic racing experience with ample customization options for the player. Like the first two predecessors, this game continues the tradition of allowing players to decorate and paint their cars, as well as sell, share or trade their vehicle designs online. These customization features are impeccably detailed and powerful – players can create exact replicas of famous cars from TV and film. There’s already a car with the Ghostbusters logo available for sale in the game’s virtual marketplace. More exciting replicas are sure to follow after the game is officially released.
Additionally in terms of game-related sharing, developer Turn 10 Studios is planning to launch a website where Forza players can share clips and photos of themselves in action during the game online. However, keep in mind that it’s difficult to share custom creations (cars and videos) with people who don’t own the game.
Forza 3 has 3 standard difficulty levels and a couple other sliders and switches that gives players options to customize the game’s difficulty to their particular needs and wants. The hardest level takes fuel and collision damage into play. There are also more optional cheats available for use like the “autobrake” driving assistance and the glowing guide that depicts the best path and speed a driver should take through any given race course.
Wii Fit PLUS: The next level of Fun + Fitness
Oct 5th
Nintendo spotlighted Wii Fit Plus this week which expands on the original Wii Fit software. Gamers should not be confused since this is not a sequel to the original, but is more an expansion pack. With Wii Fit Plus, Nintendo has responded to fan requests by updating the original Wii Fit with tweaks here and there, adding six new exercise routines and adding some creative and somewhat outlandish games. A changed aspect of the game that fans will most appreciate is how the software has been streamlined to make it easier for you to go from a 30 minute exercise routine to the rest of your day. Where a lot of time was spent wading in and out of menu systems in the original, the Plus version has cut down ceremonies, presentations and waiting time.
Wii Fit Plus has a new focus on burning calories and targeted fitness routines that achieve specific results (like reducing arm flab, trimming tummy fat, etc). This feature is very useful for day-to-day use and long term exercise goal setting. They arrive in the form of Wii Fit Plus Routines where pre-made groups of exercises have direct benefits to specific areas of the body. There are 4 categories available:
1) Lifestyle which focuses on reducing stress
2) Health which reduces tummy fat
3) Youth which helps with hips and developing lower body muscles
4) Form to tone up your body
Wii Fit Plus also provides gamers with a new motivation to exercise. Whereas the original Wii Fit emphasized your Body Mass Index (BMI) as a means for setting weight loss goals, the new updated version focuses on burning calories to drive commitment to exercise. After each time you work out, you receive 2 counters – one displays your work-out duration and the other provides the amount of calories you’ve burned. These are displayed on a graph and a Food Guide will show you what the equivalent would be in snacks and food items. (For example, 50 calories is equal to one tablespoon of mayonnaise or 1 ounce of avocado.)
Go beyond Groupie with The Beatles: Rock Band
Sep 9th
The Beatles: Rock Band is your Fab Four experience in the digital form. Riding off the popularity of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, this music video game was developed by Harmonix Music Systems to be the ultimate tribute to music legends, The Beatles. The game is almost identical to its predecessor Rock Band 2 and is compatible with PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 platforms.
First thing to note, it’s really necessary for gamers to like The Beatles in order to enjoy this video game. There are 45 songs and they are ALL Beatles. Unlike Guitar Hero: Metallica, there are no other bands to choose from and no other tunes besides The Beatles. Having noted that, we can say that these are the 45 best songs from The Beatles’ career. Many of them are under 3 minutes long, but the song choices are solid representations of why they’re so highly regarded in the music community during their career and even now.
Gamers can hop right into Quickplay (online or offline) and start exploring the full track list. Unlike other versions of Rock Band, there are no characters to create or costumes to unlock. You’re playing as The Beatles and depending on your song choice the characters’ wardrobes, hairstyles and sound are going to match the real environment of the song when it was first played. Some people may miss the lack of customization for their Rock Band characters, but at the end of the day seeing the evolution of The Beatles through the song progressions really helps the gamer connect and understand the group’s story so much more. Harmonix made a good decision on removing the customization options to stay true to the essence of John, Paul, Ringo and George.
The Story mode will probably be the focus of many people’s game time. Players will follow the progression of The Beatles’ career – from the early days playing at the Cavern Club as the fresh-faced boy band, to the Ed Sullivan show appearance, to their final performance on Apple Corps’ rooftop. As opposed to the typical Rock Band formula of recycling songs to extend playtime, gamers only play each song once in the Story mode progression. This characteristic of the game gives you a better perspective of the changes that occurred over the course of The Beatles’ musical career. Additionally, the Story mode allows the gamer to unlock photographs and short videos chronicling The Beatles’ history.
