2009 seems to be the year when Nintendo finally adds features to the Wii that probably should have been there at launch. Earlier this year they allowed for games to be played off high capacity storage cards, effectively giving the system a small hard drive. Now, a year and a half after the launch of their original digital games distribution service, WiiWare, they will be allowing consumers to demo certain titles before taking the plunge. 

Demo games are listed under the demo genre on the Wii Shop Channel and are downloaded for zero points. Games currently available as demos include Bit Trip Beat, World of Goo, NyxQuest: Icarian Spirits, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles My Life as a Darklord. All of these titles have been met with general praise and have already been available for purchase on the Wii Shop channel for months. After completing a demo you are instantly redirected to the Wii Shop Channel and given the opportunity to purchase the full game.

The fifth game featuring a demo is Nintendo’s first $15.00 WiiWare game, Pokemon Rumble, which was released on the same day. This dungeon crawler has you playing as chibi Pokemon toys. While the idea of a real-time Pokemon game has loads promise, based solely on the demo, my impression of game and its simple button-mashing combat has not been great. This also comes right after the release of the excellent WiiWare remake of Excitebike, which unfortunately did not receive a demo.

Expect more demos of high-profile WiiWare in the future. Perhaps the upcoming re-releases of the Phoenix Wright series on WiiWare. Maybe expect more demos of games that are already out too. While it would be nice for every game to eventually receive a demo, I am not sure if something like Spogs Racing even deserves one. Free is too expensive for that game. They should be playing you to play it. Who knows, we may even get some Virtual Console demos too.

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 02/02 at 11:29 AM
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Digital Battle has recently reported that Microsoft has been sued over their alleged fraudulent sale/use of Xbox Live points.

The controversy stems over the fact that unused Microsoft points cannot be refunded - the user is essentially forced to buy something or lose the points, which the group says violates the law.

It will be interesting to see how Microsoft reacts to this lawsuit.  Will they fight it?  Pay off the accusers?  Free Xbox Live points for all?

Posted by admin on 01/27 at 12:05 PM
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When the first thing you notice about a game is how unsettling its title screen is, you know that you are in for a quality survival horror experience. Actually, Silent Hill Shattered Memories is more akin to a psychological thriller or an episode of the Twilight Zone than it is to The Grudge or Dawn of The Dead. So much of what makes this game so excellent are story elements or gameplay set pieces that must not be spoiled in this review. However, what I can say is that despite their differences, Shattered Memories for Wii is the best Silent Hill title since Team Silent’s original trilogy. The PS2 and PSP versions are pretty good too.

Shattered Memories is the antithesis of Resident Evil 4. Both series started off as relatively similar survival horror games. But since both of those original games have aged terribly and now that we are beginning to realize that survival horror is barely a genre, both series have had to reinvent themselves in order to survive in today’s game space. Resident Evil 4 was an action-packed masterpiece partly responsible for the current third-person shooter revival. Meanwhile, Shattered Memories goes in the opposite direction, essentially becoming an adventure game with a very different sort of action. It’s not as palatable for the mainstream as Resident Evil 4 and therefore will not be as influential. But that does not mean its approach is not just as valid.

The most refreshing thing about Shattered Memories very prominent storyline is that, if interrupted correctly, there is nothing supernatural about it. This reboot of the PS1 original still sees Harry Mason searching for his daughter Cheryl in the eerie town of Silent Hill. He still goes through Midwich High, meets lady police officers, nurses and psychiatrists, and of course encounters monsters when the town violently shifts into its nightmare state. However, all of the demon/cult nonsense of the original game has been thrown out in favor of a new mind-bending prose that warrants a thesis essay in order to properly analyze it. Put as vaguely as possible, the “monsters” in this game are more like “daddy issues”.

Of course, daddy issues do not make for interesting gameplay by themselves. Luckily, the parts where you play Shattered Memories are as entertaining as its plot. Silent Hill, while not an open world, is still a vast, desolate and snow-filled wasteland for you to explore. The bulk of the game has you solving logic puzzles with fluid, natural motion controls in urban and natural environments so beautiful, they proves that the Wii can pull of non-stylized (a.k.a. realistic) graphics with flair. Your pointer based flashlight illuminates crisp textures and shadows are cast so well, some of the object twisting challenges are based on shadows. Add to that awesome uses of the tinny Wii remote speaker and you have one of the games built specifically for the platform.

PS2 and PSP see a graphical and control hit but it does not pull down the experience too much. The puzzles never get too difficult but having to spend too much time on a single one would halt the game’s momentum, and lessen the tense atmosphere which is more valuable. Adding to the immersion are unexpected first-person sequences, and a cell phone capable of calling various numbers, taking grainy photos, and receiving supernatural voicemails and text messages. It is ironic that in this game, the completely deserted town of Silent Hill, feels like a real, living, breathing place. 

The shortest but most intriguing sections of Shattered Memories are the occasional visits to your psychiatrist, returning character Dr. Kaufman. The answers you give during his session subtly influence the rest of the game which is even creepier to think about once the questions become sexual in nature. In a game with chillingly appropriate music by series composer Akira Yamaoka and excellent voice acting and writing, Dr. K’s performance stands out as my favorite. He can be both cool and dramatic, he plays into the conclusion quite nicely, and answering his question’s truthfully led to a frighteningly accurate psych analysis during the credits. Shattered Memories never lets up, which unfortunately also means that it ends in about six hours. But trying to see all of the ways the game can change itself adds considerable replay value. 

Finally, there are the “action” sequences. In an appreciated change of pace, during these set interludes Silent Hill will freeze over rather that its usual process of burning and rusting. Fleshy, skinless, humanoid monsters will then pursue you with wild abandon until you reach a waypoint of solve a puzzle. If you take the time to glance over your shoulder, you can see that these creatures change throughout the game. However, Silent Hill games have usually had various kinds of creepy monsters to throw at you and this game only has one. At least their designs actually mean something instead of the usual Japanese horror style of “weird stuff for the sake of weird stuff”. Being just an average dude with a flashlight, you can never fight these foes, at last justifying the game “survival” horror. Flares, obstacles and motion-controlled shoves can keep the beasts at bay but the real solution is to run. Icy markings show you the way but stiff running and a poor map can make these mazes more frustrating than frightening. When they work, they really work and its creates an intense, thrilling gameplay experience that perfectly compliments the slower, more methodically paced exploration and therapy portions. It adds straight up fear to go along with the general unrest. But Shattered Memories chase sections are hit and miss to the point where they are sometimes more fun in theory than in practice.

However, taken as a whole, Silent Hill Shattered Memories is a risky experiment that pays off incredibly well. Being a mature Wii game (as well as a 2010 PS2 game and a PSP game period) no one will buy it. Plus, its radical changes to the Silent Hill fiction and formula might turn away the more dedicated fans. But like the best cult movies, those in the know, whether they are veterans or newcomers, will have the best kept secret in psychological horror gaming all to themselves, perfect for those lonely winter nights.

Rating (Wii) 5 out of 5

Rating (PS2 & PSP): 4 out of 5

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 01/25 at 09:39 PM
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Retro Capcom fans rejoice, Megaman 10 has is coming to WiiWare and presumably Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network. Just like 2008’s Megaman 9, Megaman 10 will be a downloadable Megaman game in the style of the NES classics complete with 8-bit graphics.

Currently, details are scarce but we do know that Megaman 10 will feature Mega Man, the mysterious Protoman, and an unnamed third playable character (signs are pointing towards Bass who debuted in the SNES-only Megaman 7) each with unique abilities. We also know that the plot sees Megaman searching the world for the cure to a rampant robot virus (Robotenza) that has infected his “sister” Roll. Megaman games of old are legendary for their difficulty so hopefully the inclusion of an easy mode might allow more, less hardened players to experience the sublime combination of 2D shooting and pinpoint platforming.

Megaman games are also well known for their colorful boss characters each with a special, usually elemental, power Megaman can gain after defeating them Right now, two of the robot masters of Megaman 10 have been revealed: the tank-like Commando Man and the flamboyant Sheep Man with a thunder wool attack. Megaman 9 broke new ground by including the first female robot master, Splash Woman. Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that once again, the bosses of Megaman 10 will be all men, robot men.

In the past, Capcom has run contests for fans to design robot masters that have actually been put into the games such as Wind Man and Knight Man. So I decided to share my own ideas for the six remaining Megaman 10 robot masters, ignoring the info pointing to their actual themes: fire, sports, sewer and ice. Besides, none are that much more ridiculous than Sheep Man. I hope you are listening Capcom…

Pie Man- Megaman journeys through a delicious lair of pastries and red-hot ovens to track down the confectionary creature known as Pie Man. His banana cream shot kills the enemy it strikes and leaves behind a sticky trap for those foolish enough to walk through it.

Train Man- Taking a hint from The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Megaman rides the rails to take on Train Man. This stage could see Megaman running on top of moving trains, sliding over rails with proper timing, and hopping on platforms floating on smokestacks. Train Man’s conductor shot impales enemies with golden railroad spikes uniting east and west.

Math Man- Megaman learns that math can be fun when he enters Math Man’s infernal classroom. After dodging flying numbers and calculators, Megaman periodically must blast his way to the correct answers of increasing difficult equations. The power of Math Man’s logarithm shot increases exponentially.

Amoeba Man- Keeping with the virus theme of the game’s plot, Megaman gets microscopic to combat Amoeba Man’s army of cells and bacteria. Maybe this stage could take place inside the body of Megaman’s creator, Dr Light, a la Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside story. The RNA beam does damage over time, but be sure not to his any vital organs.

Beatbox Man- Megaman takes it to the streets to face off against hoods and gangsters last seen since Double Dragon. All the while, he must use his robotic ears to listen and pay attention to the hot, fresh beats to locate Beatbox Man’s underground club base. The ghetto blaster stuns a wide area of enemies with its sonic power.

Man Man- Megaman fights his way through traffic and office buildings to hunt the most dangerous game: man. Man Man is armed with nothing but a regular pistol and a bottle of whiskey and is only vulnerable when loosening his tie or taking off his belt to beat you with it.

Stop settling for the Megaman ZX’s and forget the Star Forces and Battle Networks. Megaman 10 drops this March. Here’s hoping it won’t have poorly done downloadable content again. On a related note, be on the lookout for Eddie Lebron’s crazy/awesome looking Megaman live action movie coming…eventually.

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 01/20 at 12:07 AM
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The debate will forever rage on, mostly on the internet, about which Mario title is the pinnacle of Nintendo’s flagship platforming super-franchise. For me, the greatest 2D Mario will always be the Super Nintendo showpiece, Super Mario World. Granted, a lot of that is based on nostalgia but a good amount on my reverence for that game is based on newfound appreciation of its brilliant gameplay mechanics that can only be recognized once older. New Super Mario Bros Wii, a worthy candidate for Nintendo’s big holiday offering, plays like the myriad of side scrolling Mario games that came before it so it can not be called brilliant in that sense. Instead, its brilliance comes from the way it combines the best elements of the Mario games along with enough new tricks of its own. It is sort of like Super Mario All-Starts but as a whole new experience as opposed to a compilation.

At this point, complaining about the cliché “rescue the princess” storyline of Mario games has become a cliché itself. Still, after playing through the hilarious tongue-in-cheek story of Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, there is something sweet about the genuine and un-ironic way the story in New Super Mario Bros. Wii presents itself. It is still nothing more than an excuse to get right into the gameplay but it is a timeless excuse nonetheless. 

From grabbing the first mushroom and sliding down the flagpole of World 1-1, to dodging lava in the epic final Bowser boss fight eight worlds and eight hours later, this feels like a Mario game through and through. The most obvious reference point is Super Mario Bros. 3 but it really is a greatest hits of all Mario games. Castles use tricks from the original, items can be picked up like vegetables in Mario Bros. 2, airships and koopa kids return from Mario 3, Yoshi along with ghost houses and the spin jump are from Mario World, the red coins from Yoshi’s Island return, the 3D graphics allow for Mario 64 moves like wall-jumping and butt-stomping, the prodigal son Bowser Jr.’s first appearance was Mario Sunshine and the spin jump is activated using a Mario Galaxy-esque wii remote shake. Also, it is a follow up to, and uses most of the music from, New Super Mario Bros., one of the best-selling Nintendo DS games. Hell, one of the challenge stages is an expansion of the original arcade Mario Bros. game. There’s rafts, p-switches, hidden exits, blue coins, pow blocks, vines, walking piranha plants, spikes, bob-ombs, koopa clown cars, spinning panels and so much more. If you have ever played a core Mario game, you will love at least one aspect of this Wii successor, even if it is just the unforgettable sound effects, the throwback title font or the red box.
However, Nintendo would not have put that “new” in the title if they did not have any new ideas. There are new powers. The ice flower puts out fireballs and turns enemies into frozen statues for you to toss. Unfortunately you can’t walk on water like you could in Galaxy but at least it doesn’t wear off. The penguin suit lets you walk on ice better and slide through blocks while keeping the powers of the ice flower. Finally, there’s the propeller mushroom that allows you to fly through the sky. It’s not game breaking but it can certainly make things much easier. There are so many power-ups in this game that some, like Yoshi and the mini-mushroom, are under-used. It’s a shame because Yoshi can help you hijack Latiku clouds which is pretty much the best thing ever. Even the fire flower takes somewhat of a backseat to its cooler, newer counterpart. Items can also be saved in your inventory for later use in harder levels they are most suited towards. Ice is good for putting down the Dry Bones in Bower’s castles and turning fish into floating platforms. The NES style controls have also received some Wii enhancements besides needless, optional nunchuk support.

Certain sections require you to tilt the Wii remote to control lights and bridges. Shaking the Wii remote activates the spin jump, propeller suit, and a small mid-air twist that can keep you in the air longer adding a new twist to the platforming finesse. The over world map contains familiar locations like minigame mushroom houses and enemy encounters, but now you might be summoned back to an earlier stage to carry a kidnapped Toad to the end for a prize. The whole game is satisfyingly difficult in that classic Mario way but because these challenges have you taking care of two characters at once, they can get hard in a new way. If you ever feel down though, the game will applaud you if you pull off a particularly stylish technique like in Super Smash Bros. 

The most obvious difference between New Super Mario Bros Wii and its predecessors are the 3D graphics. Mario now runs from left to right in a polygonal world full of lighting and particle effects not feasible on the DS and not even possible the systems of yesteryear. Boos are now transparent, clouds disperse and fade away when you spin and dark caverns can be illuminated with light blocks. The look is kind of a mixed bag. The world has a plastic sheen that’s like Galaxy but without the spacey glow. It’s pleasing to look at, particularly the maps, but not as much as say, the side scrolling sections of Super Mario Galaxy. Plus, the 3D characters control slightly differently then they did back in the second dimension. Instead of the tight controls of Wario Land Shake It, it’s more about sliding and momentum management. You’ll get used to it but the physics do feel off at first. Perhaps Nintendo could have implemented some 2.5D trickery like Klonoa. However, then it wouldn’t have been 2D Mario. That’s my one major complaint with this game. It is very reverent of its forefathers, which is fine, but by spending so much time combining and improving on what they did, it forgot to do new things of its own, something older Mario games were pros at. No one is going to confuse Mario World 1 with Mario World 2 but they might mix up this Wii one with the DS one. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is an excellent game the just lacks a unique identity within the Mario canon. 

There is still more to this game though. You will die a lot if you do not know what you are doing. Fortunately, if you die eight times in a row the new, optional “Super Guide” can help you complete the stage by having Luigi show you the way, as always. However, you only have five lives at first. So know that before you can even use the super guide, you will get a game over and lose your progress after the last castle. The save system is strangely limited and can even get a little frustrating. I ended up just collecting lots of coins and hoarding lots of lives and spare items to make it through the end. There are also three star coins in each level you can use to unlock extra hint videos and even a whole new secret Star world.

Finally, there’s the much talked about multiplayer element. You and four of your friends can compete in coin battles but the real star is how you can play the entire single player game with four player cooperatively. Four players trying to hobble their way through a somewhat larger that usual Mario stage is as ridiculous as it sounds, especially once everybody starts picking each other up and bouncing off of each other. But this mode can actually be easier for a few reasons. When a person dies there is an annoying pause but the rest keep going, whereas in the single player game death kicks you back to the beginning or half-way point. Players can also put themselves in protective bubbles. If everyone bubbles up the game ends but if one person makes it through, the rest in bubbles keep their lives. Therefore, if the good player loses all their lives, they gets a continue and can move forward because the players who used bubbles still survived. It’s hard to explaining but the players in bubbles almost become “life barriers”. It’s like clones bred specifically for donating their lives/organs to Mario/their older sister with cancer.

The point is four player Mario is stupidly fun and is the best thing this game has that it can call its own. Unless you count Zelda: Four Swords or the Smash Bros Brawl single-player but those are too different to compare. Two toads are still lazy character choices though.

New Super Mario Bros Wii is more like Another Super Mario Bros….Wii. Awkward titles aside, this game is not the leap forward Super Mario Galaxy was. Galaxy 2 won’t be that leap either but it’ll be closer. This isn’t even the great leap forward for 2D Mario games. Yoshi’s Island was the last time that happened. It’s hard to deny how enjoyable this game is though. Doing what works isn’t the most creative thing in the world but it’s not a bad thing either. New Super Mario will keep you entertained from its first rolling green hill, to its toe tapping, interactive credits. Who wouldn’t want another Super Mario Bros. game?

Rating: 4.5 Stars

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 12/13 at 09:14 PM
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The first scene in Dead Space Extraction, after some expository video chatting with one Lexine Murdoch, in as over the shoulder view of a man clad in mining armor extremely reminiscent of the protagonist of the original Dead Space, Isaac Clarke. If you didn’t know any better, for a brief moment you’d think that was your playable character but then the camera pulls away, the IR cursor comes on screen, and you realize you are actually playing an on-rails shooter like Virtua Cop. That’s the conundrum of Visceral Games’ first Wii effort. It does so much right, and goes so far out of its way to get you to believe that it is Dead Space at every turn. While this enthusiasm is appreciated and enjoyable it also serves to highlight that Extraction isn’t Dead Space. It’s better in some ways like more immersive storytelling and worse in others like less open-ended gameplay. If you can get past that, you’ll find an excellent, well-crafted sci-fi horror guided first-person experience.

Unlike so many other rail shooters, Extraction uses embedded perspective and complete control over the pace and sequence of the game to create one of the most symbiotic combinations of cinema and interactivity seen in a video game. That’s not as good as it sounds, things tend to slow down to too often, but it lets the game pull off so many unique tricks that having permanently integrated cutscenes wasn’t such a bad thing. It also helps that the story itself is pretty good too. Playing out a lot like Aliens, or perhaps a grittier more realistic Metroid, Extraction follows a group of four well voice-acted characters that survive a mysterious plague of insanity, suicide and violent alien creatures on a mining colony only to be stranded on a nearby ship filled with the same infestation. Along with the terrible animated movie Dead Space Downfall, and the decent, uniquely drawn, Dead Space motion comics (included as unlockables in Extraction), this game serves as a prequel to the original Dead Space so there are only so many ways the action could play out. The escape and survival storyline of Extraction ends up being fairly similar to the movie and the comics. That being said, as a horror movie it manages to be serious without being unintentionally stupid. Your crew is a nice mix of who you would want on your space zombie killing team and who you would likely be stuck with. Plus, at any time your character could abruptly die as part of the story which is surprising and sort of unsettling the first time it happens. Be on the look out for some cameos of characters important to the plot of the first Dead Space too.

Compared to many other games, Dead Space Extraction places a heavy emphasis on story. However, that does not mean the EA, Visceral Games, (and Eurocom too but keep that quiet) phoned it in on what already must be a relatively easy game type to produce. Against my wishes, rail-shooters have this reputation for being a lesser genre for some reason. Granted, although there are things like branching pathways and brief moments of full camera movement, much of the mobility and control is taken away from the player and video games are a lot about control, but Extraction makes up for this by applying Dead Space concepts in order to create new, exciting and innovative gunplay. Aside from humans and their vulnerable heads, enemies in Extraction must have their limbs removed in order to be killed. As the enemy types vary, limbs become more numerous and more oddly placed. In order to defeat this monsters, player use a variety of guns with a variety of effects not usually seen in the genre. While you do have a pistol with unlimited ammo, you also have limited and specialized weapons like fire, lightning, telekinesis for item grabbing and box launching, glowworms for lighting up dark rooms, and the ability to slow down time. Each weapon can be upgraded and has an alternate fire accessed by tilting the Wii remote. For example, the plasma cutter fires horizontally by default and vertically when tilting the Wii remote vertically. This adds a satisfying layer of depth and strategy to a genre criticized for being shallow and mindless. It all comes to a head in one final shootout against legions of “necromorphs”. Along the way you’ll also be using your arsenal to build barricades, saw through strange bacterial growth, repair electrical panels, and hop between platforms in zero gravity. If you want to try your hand at mastering the combat without treading through the story again, there are also ten challenge rooms, one for each story mission, with waves of enemies waiting to be “strategically dismembered”. 

There is something about Extraction that occurs throughout the whole game but struck me particularly at the second to last chapter, the best one in the game. All rail-shooters are scripted, but this one is so well-scripted that you thank it for being so. Call of Duty 4 has the quality too but not to the same degree. Hallucinations happen often enough that you don’t know when to expect them. Music cues happen perfectly whether they are a creepy version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” or dead silence while fighting a boss in the vacuum of space. Though on that subject, boss fights in on-rails shooters continue to be dumb since you always just end up going in a circle. But, being able to effectively apply cinematic technique and flair so commonly seen in movies to game is still quite a feat. Perhaps why that’s Uncharted 2 is getting so much praise, because it manages to do that without being on-rails. Essential to this are the graphics which high quality for a Wii game like most of its rail-shooters and their good graphics making up for small scope. Unfortunately, once you reach the Ishimura mining ship of the first game, the environments and levels start to blur into each other. The used, decaying future comes across nicely and stuff like the blurry vision caused by the dust and the green haze caused by your helmet, take advantage of the first person perspective in a way reminiscent of Metroid Prime. There are some oddities though, like being able to fire a gun while both of your hands can be seen doing climbing down a ladder, but minor inconsistencies like those hardly taken away from the strength of this “guided first person experience”.

When I first heard that Dead Space was coming to the Wii I was extremely happy. I was in need of some quality third-person shooting and sci-fi is kind of my thing. Then I heard that it would essentially be a dumbed-down rail shooter and was crushed. After playing Dead Space Extraction for the seven hours it lasts, I can safely say that it is anything but dumb. It’s a shining example of one way you should do this type of game on a console, House of the Dead Overkill being the other end of the spectrum. However, I still wish EA and Visceral had not skimped out and made a real Dead Space for the Wii instead. Resident Evil 4 worked beautifully on the Wii and Dead Space is essentially Resident Evil 4 with more modern, western controls and space zombies instead of Spanish zombies. Still, games should be judged mostly on their own merits, and with that in mind Dead Space Extraction is most definitely game one should experience, because you’re not going to get that experience anywhere else.

Rating: 4 out of 5
- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 11/25 at 11:01 AM
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With the Holidays upon us, we at vpgames are offering two new services that are sure to add value to your shopping experience: Giftwrapping Services and an Extended Warranty option at checkout.

Gift Wrap:

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Posted by admin on 11/22 at 07:10 PM
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Now that DJ Hero exists, I feel like a total chump for spending $200 last year buying the whole band kit for Activision’s other rhythm game, Guitar Hero: World Tour. I’ve never been a huge fan of it or the Rock Band series but they are fun enough at parties as long as I never sing or have to press the orange button on the guitar. However, when playing the drums by myself, as I often do, are only a handful of songs I care to perform. One year later, I’ve just completed all 94 mixes in DJ Hero with a star rating of three or higher on medium and am hungrily awaiting the upcoming downloadable songs. The fact that DJ Hero is just as amazing as something like Rock Band, but with a wholly unique soundtrack and set of gameplay mechanics, proves that matter how hard you try to write them off, there is or will eventually be a rhythm game you can’t help but adore.

There has been a lot of confusion surrounding DJ Hero that I do not completely understand. Granted, screenshots of the game or of its turntable controller without any context are a bit befuddling, but once it has been explained to you, or better yet, played in front of you, DJ Hero makes much more sense. There are three buttons of the record for the three on-screen streams which look like veins filled with life giving musical blood. Depending on which icon comes down the path, you either press the button or hold them and make a scratching motion. The difficulty curve is steep but smart. On easy you can scratch how you please but later difficulties require directional scratches. Later difficulties also require you to use the cross fader to switch between the two songs that constitute DJ Hero’s multilayered tracks. Cross fading is the most difficult it part of the game partially due to the peripheral itself. The switch has too much room to slide between its three positions and is not as precise as it needs to be for quick cross fade spikes.

However, everything else about the construction is the quality we expect from Red Octane. The turntable has weight, texture and can be physically rewound for extra points. Other features include an effects dial for pitch-altering score multipliers and a button that lights up when euphoria/star power/overdrive is ready for use. The device itself fits nicely in your lap or on a table and can even be reconfigured for left-handed play. It’s an intimidating toy but its features are gradually introduced. Play on beginner and you can scratch if you want but you don’t have to. On expert, if you can’t pull off a series of alternating cross fade spikes and up-up-down scratches then you are in trouble.

With that lengthy but necessary explanation out of the way, let’s get onto what makes DJ Hero so special, the music and how you interact with it. Since I played so few songs in Guitar Hero, I would exclusively use quick play. Even with my initial interest in DJ Hero eclipsing its sibling, I still questioned the need for things like world tour, features fans clamor for. But now I realize, when you love a playing a rhythm game and almost every song on it, you’ll take any excuse to replay it, even if it is just repackaged into sets with different objectives. DJ Hero, unfortunately, uses a straightforward song progression that has you playing 24 sets made of several songs. It has been stripped down to the essentials of a music game. You can’t fail the songs and errors only stop the track momentarily but you’ll want to do well in order to gain stars necessary to unlock new sets.

The sets themselves are interestingly arranged. The first sets are full of mainstream heavy mash-ups like The Jackson 5 vs. Third Eye Blind and familiar celebrity DJs like Grandmaster Flash, while those hardcore enough to go further will be blasted by techno like the Daft Punk mega mixes (sans “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” the one Daft Punk song everyone knows thanks to Daft Hands) and “Groundhog” as performed by the aptly named Scratch Perverts, the makers of the hardest songs in the game. Occasionally there will be a theme, like a certain guest artist or “Born to Rock” and its mixed bag of rock meets rap, but it’s mostly scaled by difficulty. In interesting observation is that some of the songs toward they end are only difficult if played on expert. “Beats and Pieces” hurts your arm if played on medium but isn’t that hard when you can scratch in any direction. Little Richard vs. Shlomo is way harder even though its one below it on the game’s difficulty scale. 

The almost random nature of the songs I just mentioned is indicative of one of DJ Hero’s greatest strengths or biggest flaws depending on the kind of music you enjoy. Thanks to Vivendi and its Universal Music Group, Activision was able to cast a wide net when scooping up songs to include in this game. Sure, Jay-Z and Eminem are in there but so are Paula Abdul and Tears for Fears. It’s more than just “Hip-Hop Hero” despite some of the marketing focus. If you only like one style of music, than you are probably justified in dreading having to wade through songs you don’t care about. That has always been my opinions towards Rock Band. However, two songs in DJ Hero that may sound bad separately, often times become a magical sounding mash-up thanks to the impressive talent brought in to arrange the set list. Who knew that Marvin Gaye and The Gorillaz went so well together, Rihanna went great with The Killers or that David Bowie can almost seamlessly blend in with 50 Cent.? Sure, songs are reused too often and there are too many Beastie Boys tracks but for the most part it’s the creativity and originality of the songs in DJ Hero that make it the most interesting and enjoyable rhythm game I’ve played since Elite Beat Agents. Plus there are no terrible covers of Avril Lavigne songs. 

Then you add in the fact that this game is played using a fake turntable, not a plastic guitar. DJing is a fairly abstract art since you are more manipulating music than playing it or actively participating in it. The multiple ways you can affect a song (cross fading, scratching, rewind etc.) as opposed to merely tapping or strumming make the note layouts more unpredictable and the gameplay feel fresher. There is also some strategy to using euphoria as it enables automatic cross fading meaning it should be saved for cross fader heavy section. It’s true that real DJing is about improvisation rather than following a set note chart and some are criticizing DJ Hero for failing to capture that. However, DJ Hero is about being a fun video game that is about music and so far no one has been able to make a fun and accessible video game that sounds good and that manages captures the creativity of making music as well as playing it. Wii Music is the closest game to follow that philosophy and it failed miserably as will the upcoming Scratch: The Ultimate DJ for the same reason, in my opinion. DJ Hero is already weird and off-putting for some and having a more authentic turntable like Scratch’s might make it more alienating than immersive.

Music games are rarely about the visuals but DJ Hero, from its crazy CGI intro movie to its graffiti splattered menus, captures the neon, European meets Inner City ecstasy of house music and the club scene, albeit with more Sprite soda logos. Scenes from your various venues like Time Square move at a frenetic place behind the note highway, sometimes in time to the music. There are unlockable headphones and turntables for you to customize the in-game avatars. These avatars occasionally scratch on screen while you scratch in real life but are mostly further window dressing. You can also play as some of the celebrity DJ’s although their wardrobe cannot be altered. These include the late DJ AM, and DJ Shadow who has glowing eyes for some inexplicable reason. Finally, you can unlock sample sounds like lasers or Flavor Flav voice clips to play during special areas of a song. When speaking of presentation, it makes me wish that the DJ Hero disc art had simply been a picture of a vinyl record. 

I spent a lot of this review hating on Guitar Hero but if you are a fan of the series do not be put off by DJ Hero. In fact, you can sync up a guitar controller and play along with your friend for a few songs, although Guitar Hero’s note highway looks dated compared to the slick fluorescent vinyl one DJ Hero uses. It’s not incredibly deep but it is by far the best and most engaging multiplayer mode in what is very much a single player game which is surprising for such a social genre. Besides, this way you can play the theme song “DJ Hero” made from DJ Z-Trip’s twisted interpretation of “Jukebox Hero” by Foreigner. You can even pick chose an avatar for the on-screen guitarist. I’m a fan of Cletus Cuts and his hillbilly style.

$120 for this game is too much money. I love it to death but compared the original Guitar Hero’s sub-$100 price, DJ Hero is ridiculous. It’s a shame too because it will probably further put off some people who are still on the fence about this game. It’ll seem too weird and expensive. And don’t even get me started on the $200 Renegade Edition featuring about $10 worth of extra content. But if your wallet can take the hit in this economy, you’ll be investing in a satisfying breath of fresh air in what is rapidly becoming the most flooded video game genre of our time. 

Suggestion for next year:

1. DJ Hero is a dumb name that is blatantly trying to capitalize on brand familiarity. Change it. Even something as dumb as DJ Master would be better.

2. Get more celebrity DJ’s like Junkie XL or DJ QBert, maybe even get some chip tunes guys.

3. Use mash-ups to settle feuds. You already have Tupac so get some Biggie Smalls. Get some Taylor Swift from Band Hero and mix her with Kanye West.

4. Fix the controller and maybe allow for one person to use two turntables. The middle portion already has slots on both spots

5.  Most importantly, get some video game songs to mash-up.

Rating: 5 out of 5 (also number of stars earned on “The Theme from Shaft”)


- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 11/19 at 02:21 PM
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When Nintendo chose to model the Wii controller after a television remote, it was not just because of its accessibility and familiarity to the casual gamer. Its simple rectangular shape also made it extremely easy for it to be slipped into a wide array of plastic peripherals. Three years later, we are now living in a world inundated with toy shells for the Wii remote. Out of the list of accessories, which includes everything from boxing gloves to bowling balls, Wii Guns seem to be the most popular, saying much about the human race. Right now you can get a multitude of pistol and shotgun shells for your Wii remote. In such a crowded market made up mostly of cheap hard plastic garbage from shady Hong Kong dealers, Wii gun shells need to go the extra mile in order to succeed. They need to be well-made like the Nyko Perfect Shot, bundled with a game like Nerf N-Strike, or be both and also be made by Nintendo like my previous favorite the Wii Zapper.

The problem with the Zapper is that family-friendly Nintendo went out of their way to make it not look like a gun. However, in the majority of the games that “support” the non-descript piece of plastic, you are wielding it like a gun. Then the Wii Buckshot by Komodo arrived at my house. It quickly dethroned the Zapper as my favorite gun shell by not only being extremely well-made, but also for simple looking like an awesome gun.

Based on the packaging and the general look of the device, you could easily mistake the Buckshot for a toy that had nothing to do with the Wii. It’s a testament to the quality of the design that even without the light gun element it would be able to stand on its own as a fun toy. Between its futuristic shotgun shape, glossy plastic coating and rubberized grip, the Buckshot leaves a terrific first impression. Setting it up for actual playing reveals more of its surprises. After fiddling with the annoying wrist strap, the Wii remote is placed inside a cabinet on the top never to be touched during the gameplay and never breaking the illusion that you are holding a gun. The spring loaded trigger presses the B button while pumping the barrel activates the A button which feels great.

Wii remote vibration and can still be felt and oddly enough, if you have a Nyko rechargeable battery for your Wii remote, it will still fit. Just know that the pumping action will wear away at your rubber grip somewhat. The handle features the analog stick, motion sensing and Z and C buttons of the nunchuk and is attached to the remote through a cool locking mechanism inside the Buckshot. However, the analog stick itself is a bit stiff compared to the real thing. Finally, there is a rail on top presumably for lining up shots but considering Wii IR calibration isn’t the best, it’s mostly just there to look cool in the same corny way arcade light guns do. The one thing the Buck Shot does best is look cool.

After getting it set up and playing some games, I realized that the Buckshot unfortunately shares many of the problems that plague other Wii light guns. It has some heft to it that helps steady your shots but also slows you down a little bit. The biggest issue is that because the Wii remote is locked inside the front, all face buttons except for the A button become inaccessible which can be a problem for some shooting games. Also, the A button can only be hit once with the pumping action, not held down for an extended period of time. It’s mostly a problem for first-person shooters like the Conduit, or rail shooters built specifically for the Wii and that use more of its buttons like Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles or Dead Space: Extraction. And don’t even think about using it with Metroid Prime. The back of the box claims that it works for both light gun shooters and rail shooters, but using the analog stick to move in conjunction with aiming with the gun feels like rubbing your head and patting your stomach at the same time. Having your hands separated by the Wii remote nunchuk set-up makes it easier for them to do different things in unison. Having everything on the gun substitutes some of that playability for style.

However, the Buckshot works beautifully with most Wii light gun games. Often times when using it in first-person shooters and I would play them like rail shooters, only moving when absolutely necessary. Since most rail shooters have somewhat uncomplicated set-ups, they aren’t hindered by the Buckshot like some other games. The standout for me was House of the Dead: Overkill, the game Komodo smartly chose to demo the Buckshot with. Not only does that game have a badass shotgun-friendly attitude that gels perfectly with the look and feel of the Buckshot, but the A button reloads letting you use the sweet pumping action. Oddly enough, the only other games I played where A reloaded were the live-action plunger shoot-outs of Rayman Raving Rabbids 2. Rounding my collection of games the work nicely with the Buckshot were Ghost Squad, the fake Duck Hunt game in Wii Play that still has no dog to shoot, the on-rails section of Medal of Honor Heroes 2, and Resident Evil 4 thanks to its shooting system that forces you to stop while aiming.

The Buckshot is a sizeable device with a sizeable price tag of about $30, making it more expensive than Nintendo’s Zapper/ Link’s Crossbow Training combo. By the way, Link’s Crossbow Training also works pretty well with the Buckshot. However, the Wii Buckshot is so well made and has enough new and useful functionality that it is totally worth it. Just know that you will be still experiencing many of the limitations native to Wii light gun shells. If only they would bundle it with House of the Dead Overkill. It would be like the Wii Zapper but for men. 

4 out of 5

-Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 11/13 at 10:13 AM
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Posted by admin on 11/11 at 02:52 PM
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