So there’s this little game you may have heard of called Bioshock. I finally got around to playing the game a little while ago, mostly because I am terrible at games that are even kind of scary (Amnesia would probably send me into a terror coma), and I don’t usually get into FPS games much. But I got through it, loved it, and had it on the brain so much that I decided to give it the same treatment I gave Mass Effect some time ago.

Be warned, though, there are some MAJOR SPOILERS beyond the cut, so if you’re as big a slowpoke as me and haven’t gotten around to playing it yet, I’d avoid this post. Otherwise, let’s dive right into “Things to Do in Bioshock.”

That’s all folks! Thanks for reading.

-Annie Leonard

It was a stormy night over Hyrule Field as Link lay restless in bed, when Zelda calls him up to rescue her. All of her companions, the descendants of the seven Sages that sealed the evil Ganon several hundred years ago, have been systematically sealed away in crystal by the evil wizard Agahnim and sent to the Dark World, which weakens the seal that keeps Ganon trapped there. Link is tasked with sneaking into the castle, breaking out Zelda, and getting her to safety. It’s simple, but they way it is presented is great. The music is suspenseful, giving you a sense of tension as you delve deeper into the dungeons. The consequences of this? You become a wanted man for ‘kidnapping’ the princess. Your task is to find the sage Sahashrala and retrieve three pendants of Wisdom, Courage, and Power, which will prove that you are worthy of wielding the Master Sword, which can defeat Agahnim once and for all. And so your quest began. I had so much fun traveling through all of the unique dungeons, fighting enemies, and finally taking down Ganon and saving the pricess and the kingdom. A Link to the Past got me hooked on the series as a whole. Of course, soon after, I got The Minish Cap, continuing my adventure in the land of Hyrule.

Sadly, as I mentioned earlier, I never got the chance to play the console Zelda titles, especially the famous Ocarina of Time. There exists a glimmer of light, though, as the release of a 3DS remake is in the works. I am very excited for that game’s release.

This series has had a big influence on my childhood, fueling a lot of creative processes that I have today. Miyamoto was inspired to make this game after adventures he had in his youth. Near his home, there were plenty of forests, caves and small villages to explore. He has referred to the Zelda series as a ‘miniature garden’ with which players can bring to life. As for the titular name Zelda, Miyamoto found American author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife’s name ‘pleasant and significant’. In respect for her name, he gave the name The Legend of Zelda to his newest game.

And so, after twenty-five years of adventuring, we as gamers pay tribute to a legendary series of video games that showcase the embodiment of courage, wisdom, and power, as well as what it means to be a true hero.

This week we find ourselves in the midst of a gamer’s Holiday, a multi-day event akin to Hanukkah…well, almost. Anyhow, we’re all paying attention to the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), right? Your confirmation aside, we are! Amongst all of the other teasers (Shenmue 3, new Skyward Sword gameplay), Nintendo’s president, Saruto Iwata, gave us (or me, at the very least) a pretty provocative visual hint: he exited GDC’s center stage in front of an immense Super Mario sign. Yes, yes, I’m sure you’re all thrilled at my excellence of wording here. However, it’s not just in the name- it’s in the context. Iwata had previously capped off Nintendo 3DS discussion and was hinting at the new stereoscopic games to grace us with their presence. Among these was a new Super Mario 3DS game. This news is, to most, perhaps as stale as the Hoosier Food Court I currently find myself in, but the Super Mario logo itself yielded the best news of all in the ‘o’ of ‘Mario.’ The ‘o’ was accented with a tail-a tail! Can you say Tanooki suit, anyone (!)?

In light of this recent revelation, I think the game’s perception now takes a completely different route than most of us had previously thought. Myself, I believed that, at best, we would be introduced to yet another Mario Galaxy title-one that could be played on the fly, in semi-3D. Even though the Mario Galaxy team will be creating this new handheld plumber pilgrimage, I believe they’re going to take this title in a new direction. At this point, I believe it to be a tad too early to discuss gameplay and plot based on the details a tail might foreshadow. However, I do think it’s due time to conjure up what this could possibly mean for the new handheld adventure. In fan boy-fashion, I’d like to discuss my hopes and where I’d like to see this title go.

Let’s start with the tail. Yes, the tail again. Introduced in Mario 3, we utilized this ass-accent in innumerable ways-getting through levels on a P-Power’s whim, finding secrets, and easily defeating Bowser’s Baddies. Suffice to say, this was perhaps the best item one could hope for when taking their chance in Toad’s item hut. In a newly furnished 3DS adventure, the tail could bring back elements of Mario which I believe have been lost throughout time. Is it not true that the core replay value of most Mario’s comes in finding secrets? The tail/Tanooki suit offers not only visual awesomeness for our plump protagonist, but the opportunity for expansive exploration. With the incorporation of an item like this, one could expect P-Power to make a triumphant return. So screw the flower, screw the star, and bring on the leaf-errr, tail.

Besides for elements of secrecy and subsequent discovery, what could the implications of the past bring? Does the Mario Galaxy team intend to bring Mario back from his mass space exploration? We could, my friends, find ourselves back in a grounded exploration. The Mushroom Kingdom having been becoming stale for some time now (methinks) we could even find Mario grounded on a distant planet, one since discovered in his journey to the stars. This new world could have elements of the old- castles, climate change from world to world, and alien goombas which are given the ceremonial stomp to defeat. My personal presuppositions of setting may be a bit far-fetched, but with the transition from Mario Galaxy to a handheld sequel of sorts, anything is possible.

Even if the Mario Galaxy team decided they needed more time to appropriately plan out a new adventure, I would personally be okay with a “filler-title” of sorts. A connoisseur of everything retro, I say let’s remake Super Mario Bros. 3…in 3D! A quest like that would tide me over for several seasons, to be sure. In all honesty, however, I believe the tail-yes, again with the tail- has gotten me far too wound up. It is an icon which offers a wide range of direction, a retroactive take on game development. If anything, I’m personally excited to see some gameplay footage in the future. It will be interesting to see if the Mario Galaxy team, once again, takes to the stars.

–JP

Robot Unicorn Attack

This might be one of the most fun, simple, and outrageous games I’ve ever played. It only requires two buttons, Z and X, which are for jump and dash respectively. You get three rounds, called wishes. In each round your unicorn runs forward at an increasing speed, starting at a mild trot and quickly progressing to OMGWTF speed. The goal is to acquire the most points throughout the three rounds combined. Earning points is done by surviving over time, collecting fairies, and dashing through stars. Your unicorn can double jump as well, which can be skillfully combined with a dash to double jump again. It’s a lot of crazy fun by a crazy team. The background song is a flashback to the ridiculous pop music of the ’80s, but it fits perfectly with this barrel of fun.

Dragon Age: Journeys

Dragon Age: Journeys is a flash counterpart to the console Dragon Age titles, which apparently will allow the player to receive special rewards in their console campaign through Journeys‘ gameplay. It lets you pick some simple character traits, much like its consol counterparts. Then there’s a bit of story stuff, followed by combat! The combat is pretty cool, turn-based grid stuff, but pretty fleshed out for a flash game. What else would you expect from Bioware, even if it is a flash game?

Thing-Thing Arena 3

Thing-Thing Arena 3 is another edition of the popular Thing-Thing series of flash games. It’s my personal choice for time-wasting, since it’s really easy to hop into a game, but the entire series pretty much offers the same fun. You control a Rayman-esque character that you can customize a bit. It’s your typical enemy wave kind of game, with hordes of other characters coming at you wielding a variety of guns. You start out with just a pistol, but you can also pick up new weapons, most of which have very pleasing effects (the rebound gun is hilarious in a crowded room). The goal is to get as many kills as you can and survive as long as possible. It doesn’t really end. There are multiple levels, but they are all fairly similar in gameplay. If this game interests you, I encourage you to try the others in the series, and also to try the Madness Interactive series of games, which offers similar but different gameplay.

There you have it. Next time you’ve got a computer and ten minutes to kill, you won’t be so bored. Hell, you might even find yourself late for your original plans.

Last September, the curious story of the haunted Majora's Mask cartridge had us captivated. The compelling tale ended up being part of the larger, augmented reality game Within Hubris, which is set to end in a playable continuation of "the Haunted Cartridge" story.
 
  

When we play games, whether we know it or not, one of the biggest things we’re attracted to is character and story. We play through the plotline, each level bringing us more understanding of our virtual protagonist. We want to know exactly who that character is and where he’s going. And when we’ve beaten our game and the story’s said and done, we want to know: just where does it go from here?

And that’s where our lovable side-plots come in! They’re our glorious spinoff stories which fill us in on the before, after, and middle of the main adventure. So in this article I’m going to detail some of the most interesting sidequests, misadventures, and filler-games. Here’s quick list of the bad, the best, and the superiorly misunderstood:

1. Sonic Spinball- If you’re not familiar with this pinball game featuring everybody’s favorite blue blur (Sonic, of course), you should make yourself acquainted. Not typically well-liked by most Sonic The Hedgehog fans, this particular misadventure, so to speak, scores an average user score of “7.3” by Gamespot. The game itself debuted on the Genesis (later ported to the Game Gear) and features a combination of traditional side-scrolling action with pinball gameplay. Players move Sonic only when transferring from pinball stages and are challenged by the many obstacles which obstruct Sonic’s path. Each level ends with a typical Dr. Robotnik (No, he’s not, and I will never consider him to be, Dr. Eggman) showdown, his defeat yielding the next stage of pinball action. It’s a challenging game and I highly recommend it to any who haven’t taken it for a “spin.”

2. Mario’s Time Machine- What a piece of trash. If you’re a diehard collector like myself, yeah pick it up as it’ll bring you one step closer to Mario cartridge completion. But if you’re looking for Mario adventures similar to that of Mario 3 and Super Mario World, bypass this garbage immediately. Granted a considerably modest “5.3” by users on Gamespot, this game boasts educational gameplay. Yuck. Throughout the game you play as Mario, traveling the space-time continuum via a Jules Vern-ish time machine, meeting various figureheads of world history and helping them with tasks related to significant points in history. This part of the game gives players hope as you are given the opportunity to roam environments in traditional 2D fashion. But hope no more, for expectations are shattered as you’re limited to roaming the exciting streets of 18 century America and Beethoven’s Vienna—ooooh, exciting! As if this wasn’t bad enough, players are made to pay careful attention to these figures’ dialogue, as they help you in completing blank spaces in a textbook. If you’re thinking this can’t be too bad, it truly is. The answers are anything but easy or guessable and completing the puzzles yields absolutely no personal reward. Stay far away from this game or you’ll be wishing you had a time machine of your own to stop Nintendo from producing this tragedy.

 I don’t think there’s going to be anyway to hide this so I may just get it out of way: I admire the type of game that Dead Space (and by extension Dead Space 2) is. A horror-centric corridor shooter set in space. Liking sci-fi, zombies and a bit of the old ultra violence, it’s no surprise that a game that mashes them all together makes me happy.

With that being said, Dead Space 2 is very much the same as the first Dead Space . You shoot terribly-frightening (and terribly-creative looking) monsters to literal pieces with a wide array of tools re-purposed solely for hacking apart Necromorphs. Add some pretty breathtaking set pieces and “bam”, you’ve got yourself a Dead Space game. Dead Space 2 takes all of those elements, add some polish to the already tight shooting mechanics, set the story three years later on a larger, more varied locale and proceeds to unleash the madness all over again.

As it turns out, Dead Space 2 is pretty great.

Once again, you hop into the well worn works-boots of Isaac Clarke, space-engineer and survivor of the USG Ishimura, the setting of the previous game. Waking up three years after fighting his way through an army of Necromorphs, Isaac finds an all to familiar situation unfolding in front of him on Titan Station, located on Saturn’s moon of Titan. Right from the start, you’re running for your life from hordes of monstrosities, it’s a good start to the game and really sets the tone. Most everyone on the station are dead. There are horrible things killing everyone. Grab a space-nail gun and keep on going forward. And, while this time we actually get a fully voiced Isaac as opposed to the previous games grunts and growls, he’s a rather one-dimensional character. He’s angry at the Necromorphs, fearing for his sanity and trying to find whatever survivors he can, but that’s about it. The stress he’s undergoing and expressing to the other characters is there, but that’s it. The only other information you get on Isaac is a few text logs scattered about the game. The story itself doesn’t pull many punches as well with the only twists and turns in the plot are able to be seen from a mile away. The most memorable moments for me where the action set pieces, in particular a scene involve a transportation tram fairly early in the game.

Like I stated earlier, this game is Dead Space. The shooting controls are tight, responsive and amputating the limbs off of baddies is incredibly satisfying. When you get down to it, the shooting just feels good. Guns have a fantastic weight and feel to them, and with the variety from the first game expanded upon with new additions such a

s the Mine Layer, and Javelin Gun there’s always different ways to violently destroy anything that comes at you.

The games incredibly minimalistic GUI, with your health meter, ammo count, and even your inventory screen all integrated into your suit very subtlety, and really serves to keep you in the game.

Many of the management systems are back from the first game, including inventory management. Making you carefully choose your balance between ammo, health and weaponry is never an easy choice to make and with stores being the only place to buy, sell and store gear the matter is even further complicated . The locator system, also returning from the first game, makes it easier to find your way to your next objective and with ability to track down save points, upgrade benches and stores you never find yourself going in the wrong direction for long. The upgrade system from the first game returns, with even more bonuses to focusing on weapons, including attributes that give your arsenal expanded abilities. The plasma cutter, for example can be upgraded to light enemies on fire. This, combined with other small tweaks, such as being able to reload as you run away make for an incredibly solid third-person shooting experience.

Further adding to that experience is the presentation. And while Dead Space2 suffers from some odd glitches with ragdolls, not to mention that some facial animations and designs that border right on the uncanny valley, it more than makes up for with a host of incredibly well done effects. Droplets of water coalesce and float in

zero gravity, and the light from behind Isaac’s visor creates shadows against the visor itself on the environment. And the Necromorphs themselves have never looked more disturbing. From the knife-armed Slasher to the oh-god-that-things-legs-are-made-out-of-people Leaper. The deigns are pretty creative and are down-right unnerving in some cases.

But, with all this praise and excitement comes some down sides. The game is a bit short, clocking in at about seven hours from the start of the campaign to the end. There are multiple difficulties with the inclusion of a New Game+ feature, and promises of campaign DLC but the game still feels like it’s o

ver just a bit too soon. And then there’s the multiplayer. While not bad by any means, it comes across a bit as a Left 4 Dead clone. You can rank up due to the implementation of a progression-based leveling system complete with new weapon and ability access. It’s very serviceable but one wonders if it will develop enough of a following to find games a month or two down the road.

Overall Dead Space 2 is an incredibly satisfying shooter experienced that shouldn’t be missed by any fan of the genre. It’s tight control and shooting mechanics carry over from the first game with a few welcome improvements. And, while the multiplayer may not be the most original draw to the game, the singleplayer and shooting are well worth the price of admission.

($59.99 USD, XBOX 360 PS3 PC)

Nintendo has announced that the 3DS will be available in the United States March 27th, 2011. It will be available for $249.99. With a five hour battery life and a three hour recharge time, will launch titles like The Sims 3 and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked be enough to keep major interest? I know I’m certainly not dropping $250 on a handheld that will basically require me to have it plugged in at all times. Did Nintendo get too ambitious with the 3DS? Maybe not. According toGeek.com’s article, the 3DS comes with more than just a charger and stylus. It also comes with:

•AC adapter for Nintendo 3DS
•SD Memory Card (2 GB)
•AR cards (6), reflecting the play outside the camera using the compatible software

It looks like it just might be worth its high price tag, but how many of you are going to wait until the alleged Ocarina and Star Fox remakes hit the shelves before picking up the 3DS?

-Jes Richards

The Highest Rated Game on Xbox 360 and PC in 2010 Comes to PS3, Including Six Hours of Bonus Missions and New Exclusive Mass Effect Genesis Interactive Comic

EDMONTON, Alberta–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The time has arrived for PlayStation®3 owners to take on the role of Commander Shepard and to join his fight to save humanity! BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), announced today that Mass Effect™ 2 is now available on the PlayStation 3 for $59.99 in North America at retail and on PlayStation® Network*. The PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2, which received a perfect 10 out of 10 score from PlayStation: The Official Magazine, will include six hours of bonus content, including ” Kasumi – Stolen Memories”, “Overlord” and the award-winning “Lair of the Shadow Broker”.

“The PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 offers gamers a great entry point to the Mass Effect experience,” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect franchise. “We’re extremely excited and proud to now bring PlayStation 3 owners the opportunity to explore the rich and tumultuous universe of Mass Effect and shape the story and events within it by the individual choices they make.”

The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding their crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, space exploration and emotionally engaging character interaction, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience. Mass Effect 2 has received more than 120 awards, including 2010 Game of the Year honors from IGN.com, MSNBC.com, GameTrailers.com, Eurogamer.net, Game Reactor and G4TV who praised it as “one of the best synergies of writing, role-playing, and combat.”

Mass Effect Genesis, an interactive comic from Dark Horse Comics and BioWare, will also be available today exclusively on the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, giving players a high-level overview of the events of the original Mass Effect. The interactive comic offers players the chance to make critical choices that will affect their storyline in Mass Effect 2 and beyond. Mass Effect Genesis is included in the Cerberus Pack, a downloadable content pack included for first time purchasers of Mass Effect 2 on PlayStation 3. Players who do not have original access to the Cerberus Pack can purchase it for $14.99 on the PlayStation Network.

Mass Effect 2 on the PlayStation 3 has a MSRP of $59.99 in North America, and it will be available in Europe on January 21, 2011. For more information, please visit http://masseffect.bioware.com/ and follow the development team at twitter.com/masseffect2 or at http://www.facebook.com/masseffect.

*Requires PlayStation Network account and internet connection

PORTAL 2 PLAYSTATION 3 STEAM FEATURES REVEALED

January 18, 2011 — Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the Steam features shipping with the PlayStation 3 (PS3) version of Portal 2.

Marking the debut of Steam functioning on any next generation console, the features shipping in the PS3 version of Portal 2 include cross platform play (PC/Mac vs. PS3) for multiplayer games, persistent cloud-based storage of PS3 saved games, and cross platform chat (PC/Mac and PS3).

In addition, those who purchase Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3 may unlock a Steam Play (PC & Mac) copy of Portal 2 at no additional cost by linking their PSN and Steam accounts.

“We made a promise to gamers at E3 that Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3 would be the best console version of the product,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. “Working together with Sony we have identified a set of features we believe are very compelling to gamers. We hope to expand upon the foundation being laid in Portal 2 with more Steam features and functionality in DLC and future content releases.”

“We designed the Portal 2 PS3 experience to be very straightforward for gamers,” said Josh Weier, project lead on Portal 2 at Valve. “PS3 gamers will be able to simply drop the Blu-Ray disc in the PS3, link to their Steam account from inside the game, and all their Steam friends (on PC and Mac) will be visible and accessible for chat and game invites.”

These features are made possible thru the use of Steam, Valve’s platform for the delivery and management of games and digital content.

Portal 2 is due for release on the PlayStation 3, PC, Mac and Xbox 360 this April.

For more information, please visit www.thinkingwithportals.com