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10Oct/110

WH40K: Space Marine: A Solid Shooter/Brawler FOR THE EMPEROR!

The Warhammer 40,000 universe is a grimdark place, where a corrupt, crumbling empire rules over millions of worlds, endlessly warring with aliens, demons, and other nightmarish creatures (and said empire is the only "good" faction, save for the psychic space elves of the Eldar). Life is short, brutal, and often meaningless except as fuel for the for the Imperial war machine. Few aspects of this setting are as emblematic as the Space Marines: immortal, genetically enhanced, psychotically xenophobic super warriors clad in power armor and charged with defending humanity from terrible threats both without and within. As such, it's no surprise that an action title featuring Space Marines prominently would appear at some point, especially after nearly every sci-fi shooter since Doom has effectively involved less badass versions of them. Relic and THQ's Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is the game fans have been waiting for, since it finally puts them in the power armor of an actual Space Marine.

Space Marine is a third person action title that follows Captain Titus of the Ultramarines as he attempts to secure a valuable strategic asset on a world ravaged by Orks. The greenskin horde has shattered the planetary defenses and what few defenders are left are fighting a desperate, losing battle for survival. Players are immediately thrust into the action with little exposition, starting with Titus' arrival to Forge World Graia.

22Oct/100

Hands On: God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Badass—if there is a word to describe the upcoming PSP bloodfest God of War: Ghost of Sparta, this is it. The game is so far perhaps one of the best handheld experiences I've had to date. God of War: Ghost of Sparta combines eye-pleasing graphics with a simple to learn interface intertwined with what promises to be a very entertaining storyline. Indeed, during my hands-on with the game earlier this month, it seemed to be something that perhaps every God of War fan may want to pick up.

16Oct/102

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1: Sonic’s Back, But He Hasn’t Learned Much

Sonic the Hedgehog hasn't had a great decade. After an excellent jump to 3D in 1998, Sega's blue mascot slide straight down the mountain and into a deep, deep chasm. The series got more and more characters and more and more gimmicks, until it eventually forgot that the original games' success came from the speed and flow of running through twisting, branching levels as Sonic the Hedgehog. Not as some tertiary character nobody cares about. Not as part of a team where each member has unique powers. Not as a hedgehog that becomes a monster, or swings a sword. As Sonic.

Sega has finally gotten back to basics with Sonic the Hedgehog 4. No other characters, no gimmicks, no third dimension, just running, jumping, and beating up a fat man in a futuristic Hoveround. It's been released on every home console, plus the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Did Sonic reach a new top speed, or did he run headfirst into some spikes? Find out after the break.

3Oct/102

Civilization 5: Just One More Turn. Just… One… More… Turn… (Review)

Do not play Civilization V. As with Starcraft 2 (reviewed here), Civilization 5 for the PC is one of those games that players will generously spend large amounts of time playing as they become addicted to the game's depth. The last game in the series that I played was Civilization 3, a game that ate up almost my entire summer. Once you start playing, it's easy to see why Civilization is such a strong franchise, and why it's loved by gamers across the world.

3Sep/101

The Round Up of Duke Nukem Forever News at PAX 2010

Duke is back to kick ass and chew bubblegum—in fact, it has been confirmed that the game is in production right now, and will actually come out in 2011. 1UP and EpicBattleAxe report that Gearbox Software is currently developing the game. and that a playable demo it is currently playable. This could perhaps hint tha fans of Borderlands and mods of the Half-Life series of games could be in store for some real treats. Here's a round up of the news so far.

28Aug/103

Hands-on with LittleBigPlanet 2

The other day, Will and I were able to get some hands-on time with LittleBigPlanet 2 coming to Playstation 3. Though I've admittedly not played the first, the game has always been one that I've wanted to try because of just how fun it looks. And the sequel is very, very fun. The extra emphasis on fun comes from the forgiving nature of the game and the ultimate customization and creation of worlds.

15Aug/100

Review: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Spoiler: the audience wins)

If you like video games, you're going to love Scott Pilgrim.

If you like comic books, you're going to love Scott Pilgrim.

If you're a child of the 80's, you're going to love Scott Pilgrim.

And in all of those cases, you're probably going to look at your own life through a bittersweet lens after the credits roll. This review doesn't have any big spoilers, but it looks deep into the movie's themes, so buckle up.

On the surface, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (based on graphic novel series of the same name) is an action-comedy-romance with heavy use of video game references and effects. Imagine if Kevin Smith (at least, Kevin Smith in the 90's) teamed up with Suda 51 to make a romantic comedy. You probably caught the gist of the film through the commercials and the trailer: Toronto resident and career slacker Scott Pilgrim has to fight seven evil exes to be able to date the girl he's fallen in love with. That's pretty much the concept.