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Pick Up Post – Dragon Age: Origins

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Humans are creatures of habit. We stick with what we know and we generally don’t like to deviate from that. However, you’ll never know what awesome things you’re missing out on if you don’t reach outside of your comfort zone. One of my favourite examples of me reaching out of my comfort zone has nothing to do with games. Just over a year ago, my girlfriend Steff introduced me to Thai food. Mmm…

As far as games go, the biggest jump I made out of my comfort zone in recent memory was Mass Effect. Having heard so many great things about this series, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give this action RPG a shot. Needless to say, it made quite the impression on me.

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Game Design Talk: My Dilemma With inFamous

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inFamous is one of the games that motivated me to buy a PlayStation 3. To me, this looked like a cooler version of Crackdown, which I liked quite a bit. I’ve had this game in my collection for the past few months, but I’ve only been playing it on and off for the last few weeks.

Despite being fun to play, I’m having a really hard time motivating myself to play this game. It’s not the gameplay mechanics that turn me off, but the context behind those gameplay elements.

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Pick Up Post: Red Steel 2

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The original Red Steel was supposed to showcase the awesomeness of the Wii remote. It was supposed to show the world that you could use the Wii remote as a sword and a gun like you would in real life. On paper, this game sounded amazing. Instead, we got a mediocre game that highlighted the controller’s weaknesses more than anything.

Based on hype alone though, Red Steel sold really well. Hoping to right the wrongs of the predecessor, Ubisoft released Red Steel 2, which was one of the first games that required players to have a Wii Motion Plus. While critics agreed that Red Steel 2 was a much better game than the original, consumers didn’t care. No one bought Red Steel 2.

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Heavy Rain Review

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For a game I’ve been dying to play all year, I’ve taken my sweet time to get around to it. For starters, I’ve only had a PlayStation 3 since September. Even then, that’s given me months to pick this game up. I’ve come very close to buying it on my own many times, but have consistently passed on it for ‘safer’ games, like Uncharted and God of War.

Thankfully, my girlfriend righted this wrong I set months ago by giving this to me as a Christmas present. Having played it to completion, I’m mad at myself for not having played this game earlier. Heavy Rain is one of the most refreshing and unique games I’ve ever played.

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Super Mario All-Stars Wii Review

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I have the best girlfriend ever. I put this on my Christmas list, thinking that this release wouldn’t actually be limited (just like every other supposed limited video game release). Little did I know that this would sell out immediately and go for way more than retail value on the resale circuit. I figured that any chance of me getting this was slim-to-none. To my surprise, I found a copy of this along with my other awesome Christmas presents from her. To ensure that she was able to get this game for Christmas, she actually went to a midnight launch for this game. She ended up scoring the last copy. To quote one of her favourite bands, “If that ain’t love, then I don’t know what love is.”

There may have been a bit of an urge to keep this in mint condition, but I don’t like having games I don’t play. Besides, how can anyone say no to a compilation containing some of the best video games of all-time? I’ve cracked open my copy and I’ll let you know what you get if you score a copy and open it.

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Early Impressions of Donkey Kong Country Returns

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 The Donkey Kong Country series used to be a staple of Christmas cheer in my household. I received all three Donkey Kong Country games from Santa on the years they came out. Though I have extra-fond memories of the first one, all three games were pretty good. However, ever since Donkey Kong 64 in the late 90s, DK hasn’t really starred in his own platformer. Instead, he’s spent over a decade starring in spin-off titles and making regular guest appearances in games like Mario Party.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a welcome return to form. Besides being a return to Christmas tradition for me, this game goes back to the series 2D platforming roots. As of writing, I’ve just beaten world 2, but I wanted to share a few thoughts on what I’ve experienced so far.

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Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for iPhone Review

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It’s like 1992 all over again, this time on the iPhone. Street Fighter has dominated the iPhone fighting game scene for the past year and Mortal Kombat has just arrived, trying to take the throne. While the initial Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat debate carried on for a number of years and across multiple iterations of each series, even the most dedicated Mortal Kombat fans can’t make a case in this battle. Not only does Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on the iPhone fall short of the bar set by Street Fighter IV, it also falls short as a Mortal Kombat game.

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Dance Central Review

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I was sold on Dance Central the moment I saw the first E3 live demo of it in action. I always trust in Harmonix to make a quality game, but watching this girl break it down to one of my favourite songs took it over the top for me. Video games based on real dancing aren’t necessarily new, but up until this point, no one had made a dancing game where every body movement mattered. I’ve been waiting for this type of game for quite some time, and I was ready to pay anything for it.

Well, almost anything. I wasn’t ready to buy a Kinect at $150 just for this game, and I anxiously awaited for the day when I could get a Kinect for less than full price. That day happened, and I’ve since cranked that Soulja Boy and contorted my body in ways I never thought were possible. Is this the new dancing queen? Or nothing but two left feet?

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X-Men Arcade Review

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It’s scary to me to think about how old this game is. Though this game will forever be linked to my childhood, I’m sure that this game is alien to 95% of gamers who weren’t born in the mid-80s or earlier. This game lived and died in the early 90s as a 4-player or 6-player arcade cabinet and was never legally available anywhere else…until now.

If you’ve played this game during the hey day of the arcades, I do not need to sell you on it. You know enough to judge whether or not you’re ready to spend money on this experience again. For everyone else, here’s what you’ve missed out on (or what you’ll get if you decide to pick this up).

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Infinity Blade Review

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Infinity Blade is a revelation. Built on Unreal Engine, this game pushes the graphical boundaries of the iPhone and iPad so far beyond what you think those devices are capable of that you may have a hard time believing that these visuals are coming from those devices. One could say it’s, unreal.

Sorry for the horrible joke. I don’t need to explain to anyone how amazing this game looks. But it is worth talking about how well it actually plays. Does the gameplay rival the graphics in awesomenss? Or is this a graphical showcase with no substance?

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