Game Review: The Beatles: Rock Band

by Lex Eskobar, Wed Oct 14, 2009

The gang at Harmonix has done it again. The team behind the insanely popular series of music games known as Rock Band have created a game designed specifically for Beatles fans. Much like Guitar Hero: Metallica and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, The Beatles: Rock Band takes players on a guided tour through time as they play a wide variety of songs from The Beatles’ catalog in a variety of locations from the band’s beginnings in the early 60s all the way through their more experimental years. Finally, fans can rock out with the fab four.

Unlike the Guitar Hero games that focus on one band, The Beatles: Rock Band does not include songs by any other artists. What you have here is a game that is 100% devoted to Beatlemania. While not every song that you love is going to be in the game, with over 40 songs, Harmonix has made sure that they have included a healthy variety of tracks and the …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: X-Arcade Dual Tankstick for Multiple Platforms and Soul Calibur IV for PS3

by Lex Eskobar, Thu Aug 7, 2008

By Lex Eskobar

With a slew of new fighting games on the horizon (Street Fighter II HD and Street Fighter IV to name a couple) I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about something near and dear to many fighting gamers out there: The arcade stick.

The arcade stick is the tool of choice for most diehard fighting game players; however, the feeling of playing a game in an arcade is a hard thing to replicate. Sure, you can take a great game and port it over to console. Hell, in most cases, the consoles are more powerful than arcade machines now. But, it is a much harder task to make a gamer feel like he/she is back at the arcade wailing on the controller in the fight of their lives.

I recently picked up Soul Calibur IV for the Playstation 3. It’s an amazing game but like most sequels in …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: The Incredible Hulk for Xbox 360 & PS3

by Lex Eskobar, Thu Jul 3, 2008

By Lex Eskobar

With all the summer blockbusters landing at a theatre near you these days, you can expect a slew of video games based on said blockbusters to be hitting local game stores near you as well. I figured what better game to review than the one featuring the Not-So-Jolly Green Giant. He’s green…like weed.

The Incredible Hulk is loosely based on the film starring Edward Norton of Fight Club fame and Tim Roth of Four Rooms. It takes place during the same timeline and features all the actors from the film reprising their roles, or, at least, their roles’ voices, for the game; but it is packed with way more characters and events ripped from the comic book franchise.

The game is set in an open-world sand box …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for PS3

by Lex Eskobar, Fri Jun 20, 2008

It’s been years in the making and finally Solid Snake will complete his mission on the Playstation 3. First announced in 2004, Metal Gear Solid 4 has been the focus of a ridiculous amount of hype and Internet buzz. Believe me when I say that this is the reason I bought my PS3. The game follows an aging hero as he fights to stop a complete terrorist takeover of the world by an arch nemesis from the series.

Set in 2014, MGS 4 has players controlling the popular hero Solid Snake from previous Metal Gear adventures. Only now, his name is Old Snake as he is suffering from a disease brought on by his existence that is causing him to age rapidly. The game takes place in five locales, some from previous games, and ties together all loose ends from the …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Iron Man for PS3 and XBOX 360

by Lex Eskobar, Mon Jun 2, 2008

By Lex Eskobar

Tony Stark makes you feel he’s a cool exec with a heart of steel. But, as Iron Man, all jets ablaze. Or at least they’re supposed to be. Sega’s latest movie to game release is a step in the right direction but does it truly make you feel like the man in the technologically advanced iron mask?

Released the same day as the Iron Man motion picture, Iron Man the game plays out in an alternate reality and with a much broader story, however, the extra plot doesn’t always feel logical or important enough to merit the addition.

Graphically, Iron Man is in a good place on the …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Grand Theft Auto IV for PS3 and XBOX 360

by Lex Eskobar, Thu May 15, 2008

By Lex Eskobar

It’s been a long time coming but finally Grand Theft Auto IV has arrived. The game has come a long way since its first release in 1997. Since then the franchise has seen major success across multiple platforms with many different releases. The most recent game has the player controlling Niko Bellic, “a European fresh off the boat hoping to escape his past.”

In GTA III the story took place in “Liberty City” and it was always assumed that this fictional city was inspired by New York. Rockstar Games has brought us back to Liberty City in this new release and now there is no doubt about the location’s inspiration. Liberty City is a living, breathing miniature version of …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Nintendo Wii

by Lex Eskobar, Fri Apr 25, 2008

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

Finally, Nintendo gives us the long-awaited sequel to GameCube’s best fighting game. Selling over seven million copies, Super Smash Bros. Melee had a great deal of success on Nintendo’s purple box. Some of us were even playing it on our Wiis in anticipation for Brawl’s release. Well the wait is over and Smash Bros is back with more characters, levels and features than ever before.

Smash Bros pits characters from across the Nintendo universe in frantic battles full of items and interactive stages ripped right from Nintendo’s game library. With a total of 35 …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for Nintendo Wii

by Lex Eskobar, Mon Feb 25, 2008

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

Dragon Ball Z is one of those things that you know about just because it is as old as time…kind of like Europe. You may not have ever experienced it but you know it’s there. DBZ is a Japanese television series that aired in 1989 as a sequel to another series called Dragon Ball (I know, clever). It has since spawned well over 20 video game releases across most of the major consoles.

While not always a huge fan of anime, I must admit that when I was younger I was very much interested in the adventures of Gokou and his friends as they battled the universe’s strongest fighters. I found it to be very entertaining to watch while baked out of my mind in the late 90s. I am not into the cartoon anymore but I definitely still check out the games when they come out, and Atari has released a DBZ game for the major consoles at least once a year for quite some time …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock for Xbox 360, Playstation 2 and 3, and Nintendo Wii

by Lex Eskobar, Thu Jan 24, 2008

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

Not every video game can be good. In fact most are just down right bad. When a video game company hits the nail on the head and gets it right on the first try you can almost guarantee that there will be a sequel if not a whole slew of them. The problem with this is sometimes game companies go crazy trying to add to an already successful formula and inadvertently end up doing more damage than good.

Thankfully Activision hasn’t gotten carried away with the Guitar Hero series; they haven’t added many gimmicks and, for a game on its fourth version, they have stayed pretty true to the original formula. The one noticeable addition to Guitar Hero 3 is its online multiplayer mode, which is quite fun.

There isn’t much to say about Guitar Hero 3 that hasn’t been said about Guitar Hero 1, Guitar Hero 2 or Guitar Hero: Rock the 80s; but the …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Super Mario Galaxy for Nintendo Wii

by Lex Eskobar, Tue Jan 8, 2008

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

Mario is back, and unlike many of the games he appears in across Nintendo’s multiple platforms, this one is actually a REAL Mario game. Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii is just what everyone had been asking for – a new Mario game, in the vein of the great Mario 64; a game that many believe to be Mario’s greatest adventure. Until now, it may have been.

Where Mario Sunshine failed, Mario Galaxy does not. I don’t know if some gimmicks just work better in a Mario game over others but I do know water backpacks are lame. You won’t find any of that here. Instead you will find good old-fashioned power ups. The kind found in most Mario games. That alone makes this game more fun than his last adventure on Game Cube.

The controls for Galaxy are great. It doesn’t feel like a game that was made to play on the Wii. The majority of the …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men for Xbox 360

by Lex Eskobar, Thu Dec 6, 2007

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

You’re on your way to face the death penalty for all the wrongs you’ve committed. You tied up your loose ends and even wrote an apology letter to your daughter for never being there for her. You think to yourself, “I guess this it.” There is nothing left to do but get from point A to point B and die quietly. Oh if only it were that easy…

Kane and Lynch: Dead Men starts off when you, Kane, are explosively “rescued” from the prison transport that is delivering you to your final residence before death. From the minute the game starts you are thrust head first into a hail of gunfire and chaos. As bullets whiz by you and the action ramps up, all you can do is go with it. There is no time to stand still.

The gun fighting action in this game is intense and can only be compared to some of the craziest shootouts to ever appear on the big screen. …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Nintendo Wii

by Lex Eskobar, Mon Nov 26, 2007

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

The Olympic games; it’s a big deal. Mario vs. Sonic, now that is something to get really excited about. The Olympics happen every four years, but Mario and Sonic have never shared a video game before so try to remain calm as I review this mini-game-masterpiece.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is the most fun I have had on my Wii since Resident Evil 4. These two games have nothing in common but I haven’t enjoyed playing many Wii games as much. Once you get past the learning curve, and believe me there is one, you will find yourself having a good time with your friends playing this game stoned. The controls only seem complicated at first, reading the instructions before events is crucial to your success but after the first or second time you’ve played the event you won’t need to re-visit those instructions; and game play will be way faster and much more …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Sega Rally Revo for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

by Lex Eskobar, Wed Oct 31, 2007

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

There are so many things that I know absolutely nothing about. The list goes on and on, but I will say that one sport that I know next to nothing about is Rally Car racing. Sure, I know that you take a car and put it on some dirt and drive around on big tracks – but that is about it. However, I happen to know lots about video games. I know a good game when I play it. Sega Rally Revo is a good game.

Not to be confused with Dirt the other Rally Car game to be released this year, featuring the late Collin McRae, Sega Rally Revo is the first offering from Sega in the off-road genre on next-gen consoles.

Right off the bat, when I started up this game, I liked how simple it was. The choices were minimal, you only have a few cars and tracks to start off with; but with the promise of unlockables, I knew that there were going to be plenty of rewards coming my way for …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: NBA Live 08 for Xbox 360

by Lex Eskobar, Mon Oct 22, 2007

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

Sports games are not the first choice for this game bud when sitting back in my smoky living room firing up one of my many video game systems. It’s rare that I can find a sports game that actually holds my interest for more than a few plays. I do, however, enjoy a good game of basketball. When I was younger I couldn’t get enough of the EA Sports basketball series on Sega Genesis. Bulls vs Lakers, Lakers vs Celtics, and the rest of them were all really fun to play. Other than those, I enjoyed the original NBA Jam series and the first release of EA’s NBA Street.

When the Xbox 360 first came out, one of the first titles to be released was NBA Live 07. Graphically it looked impressive but control wise and just plain playability, Live 07 was lacking. I played it, had some good times, cursed at how annoying it was to play online, and definitely …READ MORE

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GAME REVIEW: Spider-Man: Friend or Foe for Xbox 360

by Lex Eskobar, Tue Oct 9, 2007

By Lex Eskobar “The Game Bud”

With all the hype this month going to The Master Chief and Halo 3, I thought it would be nice to take a look at another new release on the market right now. So, if you already picked up and beat Halo and are ready for something else, I may have a game for you.

With quite possibly the worst title for a Spider-Man game in history, Friend or Foe is not your typical Spider-Man video game. Going for a dramatically cartoonish graphical style, FOF is a Spider-Man for all ages. Fans of the classic Marvel character and children alike should all be able to find at least something in this game to enjoy.

At its core, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe is very similar to the Lego Star Wars series of games. Drop in and out co-op game play and unlimited continues make this game much more suitable for good-time gaming rather than gaming for a sense of achievement. You …READ MORE

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