Latest Video Games Features and Reviews

Naughty Bear is the title of an upcoming video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.Players will control the eponymous bear as they use various weapons to earn “Naughty Points”, with extra points being given for “deviant and maniacal” tactics.The game is a sandbox-styled world with thirty unique environments and weaponry to unlock through progression.The game sees players take control of Naughty Bear, using stealth and tricks to lure the inhabitants into situations where they can be executed. It features a system that rewards the player for creative acts of violence and debauchery against the inhabitants of the island.

Green Day: Rock Band allows players to perform simulated rock music by providing up to four players with the ability to play three different controllers modeled after music instruments (a guitar controller for lead guitar and bass guitar gameplay, a drum controller and a microphone for vocals). Players simulate the performance of rock music by using their controllers to play scrolling on-screen notes. For lead and bass guitar, this is accomplished by holding down colored buttons mimicking guitar frets and pushing the controller’s strum bar; for drums, this requires striking the matching colored drumhead, or stepping on the pedal to simulate playing bass drum notes. When singing vocals, the player must sing in relative pitch to the original vocals.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009, and is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. It will be released in North America on May 23, 2010, Japan on May 27, 2010, Europe on June 11, 2010, and Australia on July 1, 2010. The game’s levels are galaxies filled with minor planets and worlds. While its gameplay is based on that of its predecessor, the game was updated with gravity effects and new power-ups.Gameplay will be similar to that of the first Super Mario Galaxy, with a focus on platforming based on and around 3D planets (referred to collectively as galaxies) with varying sizes and landscapes. The planets will also be smaller, allowing the player to jump from planet to planet more often. Mario will be able to ride the dinosaur Yoshi, who can use his tongue to swing across gaps, as well as eat fruits that give him various powers, such as speed boosts, the ability to inflate like a balloon, or the power to reveal secret paths. While the player retains the ability to collect Star Bits with the blue Star Pointer from the first game, the Star Pointer is replaced by a red dot when riding Yoshi, which allows the player to aim and control his tongue.This can be used for swinging off objects, pulling levers or, as in previous games, swallowing enemies and spitting them out.

The game was released in Japan in 2008, and was announced for a North American release during Tokyo Game Show 2009. It is still unknown if the game will follow its predecessor’s steps, and be released exclusively for download on the PlayStation Store, or if the release will include a UMD form. This last theory could be supported by the fact that NIS America is looking into an UMD release of the first game.The gameplay is the same as the first Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! game’s: Using a limited number of “steps” and a pickaxe, the player must dig and create a maze with monsters in it, to defend Overlord Badman from the heroes.A trailer announcing the game’s North American release claims Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! 2 contains “4 times more stages, 3.3 times more monsters and 2.3 times more heroes” than the first game.

Skate 3 is an upcoming skateboarding title in the Skate series of video games, developed by EA Black Box, published by Electronic Arts and due for release in May 2010.Two new game modes have been added, one to simplify the trick system (Easy Mode) and one to make it harder (Hardcore Mode). Hardcore Mode restricts tricks to be performed at a lower height to make things such as flip-tricks and getting onto ledges harder; it has been said that you can bail on flat if you don’t flick a trick hard enough. Grinds are also much harder as there isn’t as much ’suction’ into ledges and rails. It also takes five pushes to get to top speed on flat as opposed to the three in the last two skate games. The videos on the main website also say that Hardcore Mode is for a more sim-oriented gamer-base. Easy Mode tweaks the games physics in the opposite direction of Hardcore Mode, allowing higher ollies, faster spins, and easier (more magnetic) grinds.
Create-a-park is also a big feature in Skate 3. This allows gamers to build skateparks similar to the Tony Hawk games. According to the skate website, players can build a variety of set-ups such as mega ramps and plazas.

Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse is a graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games. It is the third “season” of the Sam & Max episodic series created by Telltale Games, following Sam & Max Save the World and Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space. Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse is a series of graphic adventure games, requiring the user to control Sam and Max to specific locations, interacting with the environment, collecting and using objects, and talking to other characters in the game in order to solve puzzles and complete the game. The previous two seasons of “Sam & Max” have used a traditional point-and-click interface, which is well-suited for Windows and MacOS users but did not translate well to traditional gamepad controls. The game engine for The Devil’s Playhouse has been redesigned to handle both the point-and-click scheme and typical console-based controls for third-person perspective games. On a Windows or MacOS computer, the player has the option of plugging in a gamepad to use this second set of controls. Other aspects, such as inventory management, have also been refined to better suit console players or players not familiar with the adventure game genre. The iPad version of the game features direct touch interaction with the characters, scenery, and inventory.

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City is a standalone compilation of the DLC episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV, containing both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on one disc. It was released alongside the DLC release of The Ballad of Gay Tony on 29 October 2009 for the Xbox 360 and will be released on 13 April 2010 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3.The Lost and Damned otherwise features similar gameplay to Grand Theft Auto IV. Additions to the game include new weapons, such as a grenade launcher, Automatic Pistol, half of a pool cue and pipe bombs, as well as sawn-off and automatic shotguns and new vehicles, such as Johnny’s custom-made motorcycle.The Ballad of Gay Tony follows the exploits of a new protagonist, Luis Fernando Lopez, a member of the Dominican drug dealers and the personal bodyguard of Anthony “Gay Tony” Prince.

WarioWare D.I.Y., known in Japan as Made in Ore was announced at Nintendo media summit on February 25, 2010 and will be released in Europe on April 30, 2010.WarioWare D.I.Y. allows players to design their own microgames, creating their own graphics, music and designing a ‘cassette’ for them. The game features three sections in its main menu: My House, where the player designs microgames, WarioWare, the tutorial, and My Shop, where the player makes microgame cassettes. Due to its cross-compatibility with the Wii, the gameplay is restricted to tapping mechanics. When creating the music, the player can sing through the DS’s microphone, which the DS then converts into notes. These notes can then be performed by various instruments such as pig noises, similar to music creation in Mario Paint.
Players can send their creations to other D.I.Y. owners or receive other people’s works. They can also be uploaded to Nintendo Wi-Fi connection for contest purposes. Microgames made available by Nintendo can be downloaded, too. Additionally, the WiiWare game WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase, known in Japan as Asobu Made in Ore, allows users to play the microgames on the Wii with the Wii remote’s pointer.

The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom is an upcoming real time strategy and city-building video game developed by Blue Byte Software and published by Ubisoft. It is scheduled to be released on March 23, 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.

Paths to a Kingdom features gameplay similar to that of past 3D games of The Settlers series. The player begins with a simple village and expands it sector by sector to create a kingdom. During this process, the player must fine-tune their production chains and transport systems.

The game gives the player an opportunity to choose between three unique paths of development for victory: Military, Science, and Trade. In the traditional Military development path, the player builds the kingdom’s army in order to conquer and destroy enemies. In the Science development path, the player must focus on researching technological upgrades. Finally in the Trade development path, the player builds their economy and attempts to occupy the best trade routes on the map. Each path of development contains unique units and possibilities. In all development paths, the player wins by collecting Victory points throughout the course of the game.

Infinite Space is a science-fiction role-playing game developed by Nude Maker and Platinum Games for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on June 11, 2009, and will be released in North America March 16, 2010, but has a pending date for Europe in March 2010. For a short period after it was announced, the game was referred to by the working title Infinite Line.Infinite Space is a science fiction role-playing video game that allows the player to design and control a spaceship. The player can customize the ship with over 150 different design models, along with over 150 possible crewmembers. After designing a ship, the player can explore an expansive game world with a story spanning two galaxies. Characters seen in the game will be displayed in 2D, while ships, exploration, and battles will all be in 3D.In the game, multiplayer is available for two-player spaceship battles over local Wi-Fi