I play catch up with the slow season in full effect, and break down our latest reviews including Mass Effect 2, Emberwind and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.
Thanks to Jason Varden and the rest of Perfect World Entertainment, we have 5000 beta keys to give out over on N4G for the closed beta of their upcoming MMO, Battle of the Immortals!
A 2.5D MMO, Battle of the Immortals is a highly competitive PvP MMO with players pitted against one another for the right to slay epic bosses in dungeons.
This week I return after a long winter’s nap with the latest video review wrap-up including recently released games such as Bayonetta, Darksiders and Sky Crawlers.
Emberwind is a charming fantasy platformer from indie developer TimeTrap. You play as gnome watchman Kindle and are accompanied by your snowy owl Hedwig. I mean Wick. King Gyro rules over typically safe streets, but now an evil army has hit town. Bummer. A Fire Gnome, Kindle has the duty of lighting the lamps of Grendale and thus delivering it from the invading gremlins and the evil CandleFinger while Wick provides taxi service. Other than that, Emberwind is light on lore and heavy on combat. Of course, how many of us really cared about why we were rescuing Peach, or how the gal got herself into such a predicament anyway? We were in it for the mushroom devouring, Koopa stomping glory, and Emberwind largely forgoes the pretense. (more…)
Want in on the Star Trek Online closed beta? Assimilate!
Thanks to Jason Varden and the rest of Perfect World Entertainment, we have 1000 beta keys to give out over on N4G for the closed beta of their upcoming MMO, Kung Foo!
You would think Christmas would afford me oodles of time to catch up on games, when in fact I tend to spend the time hanging with the family and generally undergoing some mandatory tech-detox. Once I’ve had my fill of that, I promptly get sick with whatever the niece and nephews currently have, and spend the remainder of any semblance of vacation trying to keep up with N4G from the comfort of my bathroom floor.
That’s over now, and despite the lack of consoles or reliable internet connection two games did steal their way into my heart since Santa came to town. Osmos arrived first, an early Christmas gift from Hemisphere tailor-made for Mac. Previously reported on by our ZTGD PC editor, I was anticipating the sheer addictive yet pleasantly bite-sized quality of gameplay. What I was not prepared for was the awesome soundtrack and beauty of the aesthetic.
I figured Osmos was a safe game to play while killing time at the kitchen table, waiting for the grown-up types to get the kiddos bundled for the great outdoors. Within moments of launching the game, however, all my notions about ambient gaming’s lack of appeal to the under 6 crowd were dashed: my 2 year old nephew had found his way lap-ward and was mesmerized. Not only mesmerized, he was clicking away. Next thing I knew he and his sister (4) were trading off, generally a bit kamikaze in their approach to levels but delighting in the colors, variable scale and speed. My mind was more officially blown when my six year old nephew, Theo (more PC savvy than the other two having navigated PBS Kids in his downtime), took the reins and successfully completed two levels after only the most basic instruction. The future is bright.
Where Osmos is compelling in subtle and easily portioned bits, games that rhyme with Wagon Cage are not. I’m putting you on alert while I can still bear it: I am addicted to Dragon Age: Origins. I’m barely 20 hours in and it’s clear that me and my rogue Dalish elf are in trouble. Forget the fact that I’m encouraging a doomed romance with the possible future King of Fereldon, I think I’m looking down the dark tunnel that is unemployment, wretched eating habits and negligible hygiene. Assuming I come out of this whole, I appreciate the glimpse into the darker side of gaming.
This week I deliver a holiday shopping guide of gaming reviews including Torchlight, MX vs. ATV Reflex and the final chapter of Tales of Monkey Island.
Age of Conan is one of those games I’ve really been wanting to get into – especially after checking out the Xpac progress at PAX. The game just looks beautiful. Now, I suppose, is the time to try as Funcom is offering unlimited access to the Island of Tortage (levels 1-20) to everyone that downloads, registers and starts playing before January 1, 2010.
Onto the press release-y stuff:
“Our original seven day trial has been very successful so far,” says Morten Larssen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Funcom. “But with the holiday season coming up this is the perfect time to shake up our trial offer a bit and try out something new. So everyone who downloads the trial before January 1st will be able to play the first part of the game for free, forever. We are confident that many of those taking advantage of this offer will choose to become permanent players, allowing them to experience all of what the game has to offer including all the additions and improvements introduced since launch.”
Celebrate the holiday season by downloading the trial today, and experience `Age of Conan’ in all its savage, sexy and brutal glory. Go to http://www.ageofconan.com/trial to download the client and start your barbaric adventures today. Players can level up as many characters as they want before choosing to move on and explore the rest of the game. Players will be able to enjoy all of what Tortage Island has to offer, complete with player vs. environment and player vs. player gameplay. Users must take advantage of this offer before January 1st, and will need to log in to the game for the offer to take effect.
Launching in May last year `Age of Conan’ quickly became a smash hit in retail, shipping over 1.2 million copies around the world. In North America, the most prominent online gaming market in the west, `Age of Conan’ became the third best-selling PC title of the year in 2008. In the weeks after launch `Age of Conan’simultaneously topped the charts in 17 countries, and the game received critical acclaim from gaming press across the globe. `Age of Conan’ is now available in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Polish localized versions, and is being prepared for launch in Korea as well.
Steam and I had a falling out earlier this year when I tried to run Osmos on my Windows partition. Hemisphere Games wiped away my tears and promised me a Mac version, and what do you know, just in time for Christmas! (more…)
This week I break down the latest collection of holiday madness including Ratchet and Clank, Dragon Age: Origins, Dark Nebula and of course Wii shovelware.
This week I make up for lost time with coverage of two GTA games, Tekken 6, DJ Hero, Borderlands and a ton of other games as fall rush continues to dominate.
This week I break down the latest reviews on ZTGD including Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias, A Witch’s Tale and so, so much more.
The sixth episode of the Wrap-Up covers a handful of reviews including Brutal Legend, NBA Live 10, Osmos and a host of others.
Thanks for watching, guys!
From the press release:
Steam users, rejoice! No more waiting for Torchlight: Runic Games Inc, developer of the-Action RPG Torchlight, is thrilled to announce their new agreement with Steam, allowing players to download Torchlight on the first day it’s available, October 27th. (more…)
I’m Community Manager and Admin for the N4G Network and write for ZTGD.
CatPlaysGames is a blog in its design infancy and under construction. Pardon my mess.