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Metareview: The Conduit (Wii)
While you're patiently waiting for the end of the week so you can cash that paycheck and pick up High Voltage Software's The Conduit for your Nintendo Wii, why not take a gander at what the rest of the interweb had to say about the game? Considering the lack of correlation between Metacritic scores and the sales numbers of Wii games, though -- at least according to Peter Moore -- you probably shouldn't let these numbers get to you too much. GamePro (70): "The Conduit is the closest you will get to recapturing the magic of Goldeneye ... To be blunt, The Conduit is a by the numbers shooter that offers a couple of thrills but ultimately doesn't make much of an impact ... anyone who loved Goldeneye will want to give a look as well if only to get a nice dose of nostalgia, but the rest of you shouldn't feel a need to abandon your favorite next-gen shooter for this one." GamesRadar (80): "The Conduit is fun, controls well, and is, at times, quite beautiful ... Both humans and alien drones are animated with competent physics and personality that puts High Voltage Software's Quantum3 engine outside the realm of the "GameCube 1.5" criticisms ... The truth is you probably wouldn't bat an eye at The Conduit had it appeared on PC, PS3 or Xbox 360 ... The solid, yet unremarkable single-player won't win any awards, but The Conduit still features the most finely honed online outings available on Wii." IGN (86): "The Conduit is not a revolutionary first-person shooter, but it's a damned good one ... the title features the tightest, most comfortable control scheme of any console-based first-person shooter to date ... The Conduit features a robust list of modes and maps to play online and nearly 20 weapons to use as you rip through arenas blasting foes ... it's not revolutionary, but The Conduit is a great first-person shooter designed just for Wii owners." %Gallery-33787%
Lost Planet 2 hands-on gets us excited for ... getting our hands on it
Traveling to Osaka, Japan has its perks. For one, it's the food capital of Japan, so there's that. On the other hand, it's possible to get your mitts on early code of Lost Planet 2, Capcom's upcoming sequel to its planetary labyrinth action-adventure 360 near-launch title, as GamesRadar discovered this week. In horrifying detail, they describe as a giant lizard (currently named, "salamander") is taken down by a crew of folks: one person takes it's legs, another it's back, and another is intentionally eaten as to attack from the inside -- and eventually drop out of the monster's ... ahem ... nether quarters. According to them, this time we'll see a much bigger focus on co-op, larger and more varied environments and a general focus on "more" -- "more towering bugs, more bosses, more players, more stuff to do." Bigger, better, and more badass, you might say? Hey, that's a good catch-phrase! Someone should get on that!%Gallery-45837%
New Mines of Moria info and screenshots released
We've received quite a bit of news over the last few months from Turbine relating to the upcoming Lord of the Rings Online expansion Mines of Moria, but much of it hasn't been laid out for us in one continuous, comprehensible chunk. Over at GamesRadar, we get treated to a great 2-page article presenting all of the information we know, plus a few more details to fill in the cracks. This article explains more on Moria itself, and how it won't exactly be one giant underground cave. Plus, we get a summary of the legendary weapon system, the two new classes, an explanation of "stretching the lore" a bit for the Rune-keeper and much more.In addition to this, we were treated today to six new screenshots from Mines of Moria depicting more of the Dwarven architecture we can expect in the expansion. Check these new shots out below, as well as our complete gallery from Mines of Moria.%Gallery-18340%
Fairies are the most annoying ever
The chaps at GamesRadar have compiled a list of the most annoying female game characters of all time. It's a standard "Top Whatever" ranking, with seven (not six, not eight?) entries. For the most part, it seems to accurately summarize the worst characters in a few non-Nintendo games, but we're a bit shocked at number one.Navi, everyone's favorite helpful fairy from Ocarina of Time is deemed as the most annoying. The reasoning behind this is simple -- LISTEN! HEY! HEY! HEY! LISTEN! HEY! LISTEN! LISTEN! LISTEN! LISTEN! HEY! ... sound familiar? Sure, but was it really that bad? Some might call Navi's sweet little voice a siren song, other might want to smack the little insect with a giant flyswatter. What's your take on the pint-size companion?
New All Points Bulletin preview refreshes memories
If you somehow missed All Points Bulletin back when it made some serious waves at GDC '08, then here is your chance to get all caught up. GamesRadar has a preview up that pretty much sums up what we know so far about the title. While the preview is short, it only serves as a reminder to why we're prepared to give a pinky finger or two for this title. Well, the pinky finger offer is only good if the game is able to deliver on its promises, as we're somewhat attached to them.We're pretty excited to see how development of the game will progress now that developer Realtime Worlds has secured $50 million in funding. Our imaginations are going fairly wild thinking about what new features could make it into the game now.[via WarCry]
GTA IV 'better than all the hype suggests' according to first person to complete the game
We've seen our fair share of previews on Rockstar's crime drama opus, Grand Theft Auto IV, but we've yet to hear from someone who has enjoyed the bullet-riddled adventure in its entirety -- until Xbox World 360 editor Rob Taylor, after 24 hours of play time, triumphantly viewed the ending credits with the knowledge that he was the first person on the planet (aside from a gaggle of Rockstar employees, we assume) to finish GTA IV. Can someone be envied to death?Fulfilling his civic duty as a gaming journalist, Taylor gave his impressions of the complete work in a spoiler-free interview with GamesRadar -- unsurprisingly, he was a fan. The fourth installment apparently "craps on all the others" in the franchise, and the main character, Niko Bellic, is "most amazing protagonist in any game [he's] ever played." We suggest perusing the remainder of his colorful commentary to help pass the remaining twenty-three days and nine hours until the game lands in our quivering, anticipatory laps.
Future US responds to Texas suit
Publisher Future US recently responded to the very strange charges filed against the company by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. AG Abbott claims that Future's website GamesRadar.com doesn't "adequately protect [children's] privacy and safety" and the site "unlawfully collect[s] personal information such as names, ages, and home addresses from children." If true, this would violate the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Future US responded, "This is the first contact we have had from the Texas attorney general on this matter and we are urgently reviewing the complaint"Shacknews properly notes that registration for their free RadarNation accounts is currently closed ("We're sorry, registration is currently unavailable. Please try again later") so we presume that has something to do with the "urgently reviewing" part of their response. Read – Texas sues GamesRadarRead – Future US responds to Texas suit
1UP editor pokes fun at GamesRadar 'copying' features
Back in March, GamesRadar, believing in a Louis XIV fashion that heavenly bodies orbit around them and not visa-versa, accused IGN of stealing their ideas (for the second time) in a story entitled "IGN: officially out of ideas? PART 2: Are they really just copying us, again?" It seems, however, this was a case of the pot calling the kettle black as Scott Sharkey – 1UP editor and lifelong fan of Johnnie Walker – posted an entry on his blog drawing similarities between an article he wrote, "Videogame Breast Exam," and a similar GamesRadar piece, "Best in breast."Sharkey's response to the possible copying? Making fun of GamesRadar's "Wah-Wah IGN copied a Top X Games on a Console Feature" story, utilizing the <strike> command to its fullest capacity. We giggled the most at his altering the email address from "areignrippingusoff@futureus.com" to "crybaby@growaf***ingpair.com." However, this didn't tickle the funny bone of a GamesRadar editor, who posted a response on NeoGAF."I have a multitude of potential snarky responses, one of which implies that I could buy 1up and EGM with the change under my sofa, but instead of silly faux rivalries, let's all play some ehcks-bawks thr3-sicksty at my house and have a good time." The real question is if Sharkey wants to hang out and drink beer in a glass house?
More Zul'Aman previews
Here's two more previews from Zul'Aman floating around the Interwebs. Games Radar has a nice little preview up, including info on the bear mount (!), which (apparently-- it's not confirmed yet, although come on) drops from Narolakk, a bear boss that you actually have to chase across the city. GR says the instance will be "a spiritual successor to Zul'Gurub" (music to the ears of many players, including me), and that it'll be a little brighter and more wide open than the other late game instances, which should get yet another mark of approval from players.Frictionless Insight also has a preview, in which they say the four animal bosses will consist of Bear, Eagle, Lynx, and Dragon Hawk spirits. Strangely enough, we've already heard that there will also be a "god of evil" as well as a witch doctor and the end boss Zul'jin, which means there may be more than the six bosses that Blizzard first hinted at. Additionally, we've heard from quite a few sources now that the Zul'Aman trash will be very sociable (as in, there will be mobs that bring more if you're not careful), but Frictionless Insight says the dungeon itself will start with a boss, not trash, so even more good news for most raiders.All in all, Zul'Aman seems to be shaping up nicely. There's no telling when we'll see it on the PTRs, but I would be very surprised if Blizzard didn't let us play it (or at least see a preview of it) at Blizzcon. Storm the castle!Thanks, Aaron!
PlayStation Eye video quality is lookin' good
Games Radar has had their hands on the upcoming PlayStation Eye for a while and have posted an article with some quick impressions and a short video showing off the video quality of the PS Eye (embedded after the break). The video is on the small size, but even so it looks like the quality of the camera has definitely increased. A lack of compression artifacts make the image amazingly clear and smooth compared to the EyeToy of yesteryear. Hopefully GR will update their hands-on with more information soon - intrigued fans want to know more!
Which PSP game has one of the worst intros of all time?
Games Radar recently did a feature on the 10 worst game intros of all time. A PSP title had the dubious honor of being in the list. That game is Pocket Racers, and it came in at number 8. I watched the opening for myself, and besides looking terrible, it doesn't seem to make a bit of sense. Some cult leader uses soul power to shrink cars. Or does he fuse car owner's souls into the cars, to give them mini-power? I honestly can't figure it out in any way. Do any of our readers own Pocket Racers? Also, post your theory as to what the heck is going on in the game's opening.See the opening video for yourself.
The Top 7 Nintendo Mistakes are sure to offend somebody
GamesRadar has just put up their list of historical Nintendo blunders, and ... wow. We hope they're wearing flame-retardant clothing. The list has seemingly noble enough intentions: to analyze how Nintendo went from the absolute biggest name in video games to pretty much third place. Ultimately, it's probably meant to incite arguments, and they'll get plenty of them.But if there's anything we've learned from years of being on the Internet and from specializing in Nintendo discussion, it's that any negative word about Nintendo will summon a cacophony of fanboy hate. Never mind that a lot of the things on the list (with one very notable exception) are definitely huge mistakes and probably did contribute to Nintendo's semi-downfall in the pre-DS days. Let's try to buck the trend here. Let's have an open discussion about Nintendo's missteps, instead of screaming at naysayers and trying to spin the Virtual Boy as a good thing.
UK gamers left waiting for PSone game downloads
I've complained from time to time about the selection of downloadable PSone games for PSP in the US, but right now the UK has it much worse. At launch of the PS3, there are zero PSone games on the PlayStation Store for download to PSP. Sony hasn't made any statement as to when they'll show up, but the US had to wait a little while for this feature. Still, since the UK launch was much later than in Japan and the US, one would think Sony would have titles lined up for day one. In any case, let's hope for the sake of UK PS3 owners that the wait isn't too long. [Via Games Radar]
Metareview: Puzzle Quest
If you weren't able to quite tell from the demo whether you liked Puzzle Quest or not, maybe the reviews of others will help you. Other than these reviews, we'll have a review of Puzzle Quest up soon. But enough of that for now, what did the critics say?
