Pink Knight Pack (Free):

Born out of popular demand, rumor, and Tom Fulp’s Beard, the Pink Knight is ready to bring the love in. Add the playable Pink Knight plus 5 more weapons. Warning: Adorable.

Blacksmith Pack (160 MSP):

Shrouded in mystery and in purple, the Blacksmith is ready to step out of legend and enter the fray. Hammer your opponents with this new playable character and 5 more new weapons.

Microsoft:

First off, it is great to see all of the new Kinect titles for the 360 being released including the ones that go for more of the hardcore audience. The games shown at the conference were what you came to expect from the conference with Modern Warfare 3, Tomb Raider, Gears of War 3, Mass Effect 3, and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier naming a few. What really impressed me was the Tomb Raider game and the Ghost Recon / Mass Effect Kinect mechanics. It’s really the only way you can add the Kinect to those types of games. I also liked the new announcements of Live TV and YouTube appearing on X-Box. One question I have though is will there be a subscription fee for the Live TV? Will XBL subscribers have to pay more a year for their Gold Membership? Honestly, if this is successful, I just found another reason not to get cable or a dish at my place. Did I mention Halo 4, 5, and 6 were announced too?

EA:

EA rolled into their conference showing the usual sports games as well as the new story mode Need for Speed: The Run which I am not sure about yet. They also showed The Old Republic for like 3 minutes which made a lot of people upset because they did not announce a release date yet or preorder details. Mass Effect 3 also returned with a new viewing of Earth and let me just say that Ashley from Mass Effect 1 looks much better. Thank you. Then you saw Anderson, Garrus, Liara, Kaiden, and Mordin with a VO from Wrex. Looks like the crew is starting to get back together to take out some Reapers. Awesome. They ended their show with Battlefield 3 which I have to say is looking very impressive on the PC. So now I have to decide to get it for 360 or PC…hmm.

Ubisoft:

Ubisoft had an interesting conference with caffeine guy…wasn’t a fan really. Started with Rayman: Origins which I liked to be honest. I never played Rayman, but this interested me. The main games that interested me here were FarCry 3 which returns to the island from the first game but a different character and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. The CGI trailer for this game was amazing and the music for it was top notch. I would say that this trailer may be up in the Gears of War – Mad World trailer ranks.

Sony:

Sony first discussed the PSN network outage and to be honest, they needed to get it out of the way. Sony has been getting a lot of publicity for that and they are still having issues to this day. After that they showed some Resistance 3, Uncharted 3, and some new focused Playstation Move titles. They also showed some classic HD remakes like the Ico Collection and God of War Origins collection. When they introduced the NGP now known as PS Vita, I was interested but I am not entirely sure if I would buy it first thing. The games that make Sony are there but I am more of a console person. I am behind on handhelds and if they are transferring data from PS Vita to PS3, I might as well just play them on the PS3. 250 dollars for WiFi and 300 for 3G. And the 3G is with AT&T…I wonder how that 2GB limit is gonna work for everyone?

Nintendo:

Let me say that I was very disappointed with Nintendo’s conference. I didn’t really enjoy it at all. Yes, I like Zelda, but I think I didn’t like it that much because they focused more on the 3DS and not much on Wii products. They did, however, announce the Wii U, the next console in the Nintendo series. They didn’t show the console, but it is online. They showed the controller which is a iPad with Nintendo controls. (2 analogs, d-pad, buttons, etc.) In the middle of the controller is the interesting part. If you want to continue playing a game when someone switches the TV to something they want to watch you can continue to play in the controller. Awesome idea. It is backwards compatible with Wii games and accessories. It is also 1080p. It makes me wonder what the price will be for the console. I would hope cheaper. The first announced game for the new console was a Lego game that seem to copy Grand Theft Auto (not exactly, but that’s what it looked like).

Recap:

This year was mainly focused on the big hitting titles and this holiday season is going to have a bunch. Battlefield 3, Rage, Batman: Arkham City, and Gears of War 3 are in the clear for sure but a lot of the games being released in November and December will have competition just due to the fan base for each game. Skyrim alone I believe said had about 300+ hours of gameplay with the 250 dungeons. Include Modern Warfare 3, Resistance 3, Assassin’s Creed Revelations, Uncharted 3, and Halo Anniversary; you have a bunch of games all being released in a 2 week period.

Start working overtime…you are gonna need the cash. That or conquer one game at a time. Cheers for having a birthday in November and Christmas the next month.

Rating: 9 Out of 10

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is the first PSP game in the Kingdom Hearts series. This game is a prequel to the events of Kingdom Hearts 1. The game lets you play as 3 different characters; Terra, Ventus, and Aqua. These 3 are keyblade warriors training to become keyblade masters. The combat is fun, flashy, and it evolves as you play. The boss fights put a fun spin on Disney characters and the environments have some great visuals that immerse yourself in the world. The campaign is a decent size and they even added a multiplayer mode where you can play against other people. The only problems I had with the game is that the load times can be long and the camera can be a problem at times. Overall though, it is nice to have another Kingdom Hearts game to play when we are all still waiting for Kingdom Hearts 3 to show up.

Pros:

+ Combat is fun and flashy, and it evolves as you play

+ Boss fights put a fun spin on Disney characters and sets

+ Great visuals capture the spirit of the source material

+ Multiplayer arenas are entertaining

+ Good-sized campaign

Cons:

- Camera can be a nuisance

- Long load times and frame rate drops

Extras:

# Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Cheat Codes

]]> http://mitchrukat.com/kingdom-hearts-birth-by-sleep-review/feed/ 0 http://mitchrukat.com/super-mario-galaxy-2-review/ http://mitchrukat.com/super-mario-galaxy-2-review/#comments Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:58:52 +0000 Mitch http://gaming.mitchrukat.com/?p=10004

Rating: 10 Out of 10

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is another Super Mario game in the Galaxy era I guess you could say. Bowser yet again steals Peach and it is up to you to stop him by collecting stars. The game is structured a little bit differently this time around when you want to go to a level. Instead of going inside huts, it is styled more to the old Super Mario games or even the New Super Mario Bros. on the DS where it is a side scrolling from level to level. The levels are still the same as the first game giving you an awesome space like scenario. The levels have tons of different objectives and there are new power ups to spice up the action. The later levels offer more of a challenge and the soundtrack is catchy mixing old classics to new beats. Overall, the game is very fun, and if you like Mario or Galaxy 1 then I highly recommend that you get this game.

Pros:

+ Levels have tons of different objectives, all of them fun

+ New power-ups spice up the action

+ Later levels offer a sizable challenge

+ Stunning visuals that are a marvel to look at

+ Catchy soundtrack that combines classic Mario songs with new material

Cons:

- No Problems

Extras:

# Super Mario Galaxy 2 Cheat Codes

Rating: 6.5 Out of 10

Now Crackdown 1 was an alright game. Many people didn’t expect the game to be that good and got it for the Halo 3 Multiplayer beta. I was impressed with what Crackdown had so I figure I give the second one a try. So what you come to know of Crackdown is still in place. You can explore the city, grab orbs everywhere, do rooftop and car races, and gain abilities the more you use them. This game adds 4 player cooperative play, but that is about it. You literally setup 3 stations, drop a bomb on some zombies, and repeat cleaning out breaches and enemy camps along the way. The game also has inconsistent climbing mechanics and lacks momentum and narration. The announcer can get on your nerves too. Overall, if you want to see what the next Crackdown game is, try it, but this is not a significant improvement over the original.

Pros:

+ Exploring the city and grabbing orbs

+ Powerful abilities that increase as you play

+ Romping around with friends in four-player co-op

Cons:

- Inconsistent climbing mechanics

- Repetitive objectives

- Lacks momentum or narrative direction

- Announcer gets very annoying

- Not a significant improvement over its predecessor

Extras:

# Crackdown 2 Cheat Codes

# Crackdown 2 Achievements

Rating: 8 Out of 10

Sports Champions is the game that is bundled with the Playstation Move and many different demos that you can test the new motion controller for the Playstation 3. The game is the equivalent to Wii Sports where you have 6 different sports. The controls are responsive and there is plenty of variety in the 6 sports as well as their reflective minigames. Most of the events are also easy enough for just pick up and play style games and you do not need to be an expert to play them. If you have trouble though, they have tutorials and a gentle learning curve to teach you the ropes. The only problems I had with the game is that some of the games get old during solo play and the presentation isn’t all that great. Overall though, this shows off the new motion controller and if you want to see how it works, give it a shot.

Pros:

+ Responsive and mostly intuitive motion controls

+ Plenty of variety courtesy of the six sports and their respective minigames

+ Most events are accessible enough for anyone to pick up and play

+ Great tutorials and gentle single-player difficulty curve

Cons:

- Unremarkable presentation

- Some of the sports get old in solo play

Extras:

# Sports Champions Cheat Codes

# Sports Champions Trophies

Rating: 9.5 Out of 10

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is a remake of the classic Hot Pursuit only this time made by the people who brought you Burnout Paradise. When the trailer was shown at E3, people were immediately excited for this game. Now that the game is out it is safe to say that this is the game that brought me back to the Need for Speed series. The races and cop chases on and offline are exhilarating and with the new Autolog system you can beat your friend’s times and rub it in their face. The controls, graphics, and music for this game are great and there are a ton of great cars and online options to choose from. The only problem I really had with the game is that when the camera cuts out to a wreck or successful spike strip, it can sometimes mess you up. Overall though, this is the best Need for Speed racing game I have played in a long time and if you want to play as both cops and racers, give this a shot.

Pros:

+ Exhilarating races and cop chases

+ Autolog system makes competing with friends more compelling

+ Tight controls make it easy to take corners at high speed

+ Loads of licensed supercars

+ Great online options

Cons:

- Camera cuts occasionally mess with your driving

Extras:

# Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Cheat Codes

# Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Achievements

Rating: 9 Out of 10

Modnation Racers was inspired by LittleBigPlanet and the Play, Create, Share mechanic. This game is a cool racing game where you can easily create tracks, characters, and cars to share on the web with other people as well as download their creations. The game has excellent creation tools where you can create just about anything that you want. The track editor is also very nice as you can add / change the terrain as well as the lighting in the environment. The online integration is great and the game itself has rewarding gameplay. The only problems I had with the game is that the AI can be difficult when it wants to and the load times for the game are kind of long. Overall though, if you like LittleBigPlanet or want a new racing game, I would give this a shot.

Pros:

+ Excellent creation tools

+ Easy to find and share content

+ Great online integration

+ Deep and rewarding gameplay

Cons:

- Incredibly long load times

- Difficult AI

Extras:

# Modnation Racers Cheat Codes

# Modnation Racers Trophies

Rating: 7 Out of 10

May Contain Spoilers

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 released it’s first DLC mission recently taking place on Endor. This kind of continues the alternate reality story from the first game. If you remember, you went to Tatooine, killed Obi Wan and Boba Fett, and you went to Hoth where you killed Luke Skywalker. Now in Endor you will help take down Leia, Han, and Chewbacca. This DLC is the cheapest DLC they have released and it has some new environments as well as new achievements. Now if you also remember the first game’s DLC, they are short; this is no exception to that. The boss fights keep the DLC interesting and I did enjoy it. You also get to kill ewoks…if you are into that. Overall though, if you want to see the evil side win and take out Chewbacca, Han, Leia, and ewoks then this is for you.

Pros:

+ New Achievements

+ Cool Boss Fights

+ Cheap

Cons:

- Short

- Boss Fights are Easy

- Weird Alternate Universe Story

Extras:

# Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 Cheat Codes

# Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 Achievements

# Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 Review