Category: Video Games

Amish Otaku, PC, Video Games

Command & Conquer 3: KANE LIVES! AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN!

Brotherhood of NOD base on the defense
EA

Let’s face it – we all knew it was coming. Kane was never dead, will never die, and it was just a matter of time before he crawled back up and started to wage war on GDI again. Of course, we always wondered how he managed to get all those resources overnight, but hey, let’s not let plot holes get in the way of a good game.

After the staggering success of Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, many wondered if the remains of the now-extinct Westwood Studios could dust off the Command & Conquer franchise and be competitive in the RTS market once more. Were they successful? Well, you be the judge.

Actually no, I will. I’m writing the review. So there. Continue reading “Command & Conquer 3: KANE LIVES! AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN!”

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Amish Otaku, Gamecube, Nintendo, Video Games

Ikaruga: One Shooter to Rule Them All

Freaky boss of Level 2
Atari

Ikaruga has a reputation as the best shooter on the market and for increasing the “frothing demand” of IGN editors. The game’s reputation is well deserved, and as we speak many gamers are frothing in their demand for the Xbox Live release of this title first revealed by CVG on Valentine’s Day.

At its core the game is a vertical shooter that has you facing waves of enemy aircraft and fire in beautifully rendered levels. There’s an oversized boss for you to fight at the end of each level.

What sets Ikaruga apart from its competitors is the gameplay. Continue reading “Ikaruga: One Shooter to Rule Them All”

Daniel Allen
Amish Otaku, PC, Video Games

The Secret World: Funcom’s Newest MMO Revealed

London before
Funcom

If you go to Funcom’s main page on their website, you’ll see that their newest project isn’t even in the “Funcom Links” panel. It doesn’t have a graphic representation there yet. In fact, the only mention of it on the front page is a link in their news panel.

Click on the words “Funcom reveals The Secret World,” and you will be taken to a company written article about the announcement of their latest MMO being revealed earlier this month.

According to the article the game will be a “different kind of online world, something scary and contemporary, something deeper and closer to our reality.” The game promises to offer fresh material, something different from the standard sci-fi/fantasy MMO faire. Continue reading “The Secret World: Funcom’s Newest MMO Revealed”

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Amish Otaku, Genesis, Sega, Video Games

Phantasy Star II

The protagonist and Nei face off against two species of biomonster
Sega

Phantasy Star II brings players back to the Algol solar system more than 1,000 years after the first game in the series, with all the technological and social improvements one might expect from such a period of peace. Rather than a revolutionary seeking revenge for a murdered sibling, the main character of the second game in the series is a secret agent working for the solar-system-wide government – a government headed by a supercomputer named Mother Brain.

In contrast to the somewhat clichéd “defeat the evil king” plot of Phantasy Star, the overall plot of PSII begins in a mystery. At the start of the game, the main character is sent out to discover the source of the recent outbreak of attacks by genetic mutations – called “biomonsters” – that have been plaguing the otherwise tranquil planet of Motavia. Continue reading “Phantasy Star II”

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Amish Otaku, Video Games, Xbox

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: A Modern Masterpiece from Capcom

Spidey giving Wolverine the toss
Capcom

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for the Xbox, despite its mixed reviews at launch, has managed to become a mainstay at video game tournaments around the world and remains one of the most elusive and expensive titles of the last hardware generation.

I can understand why the game got mixed reviews: So little had changed from the previous iterations and so many fighters were on the market at that time, it’s no surprise IGN.com gave it a four out of ten. But there is something about the formula Capcom had been tinkering with since Street Fighter II that has really taken hold with this game.

There are more than fifty different characters to choose from, Continue reading “Marvel vs. Capcom 2: A Modern Masterpiece from Capcom”

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Amish Otaku, Video Games, Xbox 360

Halo 3 Beta: Let the Carnage Continue

 

Having missed every opportunity to get into the Halo 3 beta for free, I – like many others – opted to purchase my beta key for $60 in the form of Crackdown. Now Crackdown isn’t a bad game, in fact it’s pretty good, but we all know I only bought it for Halo 3. Thank god it’s finally here.

The public beta was launched this past Wednesday, unfortunately a minor glitch kept the players with the Crackdown key from downloading and playing the game until late Wednesday and even then errors persisted. Continue reading “Halo 3 Beta: Let the Carnage Continue”

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Amish Otaku, PC, Video Games

Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

 

Currently, if you log into Lord of the Rings Online, you’re going to see a lot of chatter about how the game compares to World of Warcraft. “The graphics are better/worse.” “The gameplay is better/ worse.” “WoW has more grinding.” “WoW has the better interface.” “No it doesn’t, LotRO does.” “LotRO is too cartoony.” “Are you kidding me? WoW is the cartoon!” “LotRO is just a WoW clone…”

Whatever the argument, players aren’t going to avoid the debate for long and it can get pretty heated.

So why the debate? Well, for one thing, since the game has gone public a good portion of WoW players have come over for a while to see what the game is like. Let’s face it, this is standard practice for gamers. If something new comes out, we want to get a peek at it even if we don’t plan to leave the other game we’re already playing for it. Continue reading “Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar”

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Amish Otaku, Gamecube, Nintendo, Video Games

Donkey Konga 2: More Music, More Monkeys, More Mayhem

 

I can’t easily explain why I like Donkey Konga 2. I enjoy banging along to songs I know and like, but I certainly don’t feel cool doing it like I do with Guitar Hero. The game was developed by Namco post-Katamari Damacy so it’s got a goofy, irreverent appeal as well. But I think it’s mostly my addictive personality as there are plenty of songs to complete and coins to earn, which let you unlock a large amount of other content.

The main game mode is street performance. This is where you collect coins and get rated on how well you perform the song. There are six levels of difficulty to choose from, but half of those difficulties are actually alternate pattern sets for the songs (which can only be unlocked when you’ve ranked high enough for that song in the corresponding difficulty level). Further, the hardest level of play requires that you unlock the songs individually with the coins you earn by playing the songs. Continue reading “Donkey Konga 2: More Music, More Monkeys, More Mayhem”

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Amish Otaku, Video Games

Rare Games: How to Find Them, How to Fix Them

 

For the past year I’ve been on the hunt for two of the rarest games of the last console generation. These two Xbox and Gamecube games are also considered to be among the best in their genres even today.

The first, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, I had played before with fellow Amish Otaku writer Ed Kidhardt. I’ve also gone a few rounds in competition, getting soundly defeated by the best in the world. The second I had never played, but the concept behind and the reputed difficulty of Ikaruga made it a must-find on my list.

While the games are easy enough to find online for around $60 and up, I didn’t want to pay that kind of money if I could help it. The only other option left was the Largest Repository of Used Games in the Universe: GameStop. Of course finding a quality game among the unwashed hordes of the used rack is no mean feat. It takes time, dedication and patience. Continue reading “Rare Games: How to Find Them, How to Fix Them”

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Amish Otaku, Sega, Video Games

Phantasy Star

 

Due to the massive popularity of the original NES and the relative obscurity of Sega’s eight-bit console, the Master System, most gamers today assume that Final Fantasy was the progenitor of all console RPGs.

They, as some of us know, are wrong.

Although the original Final Fantasy was released before Phantasy Star was received by the masses, it’s important to remember that, in this case, “before” means “three days before.” Literally. It was the difference between December 17 and December 20, both in 1987. Continue reading “Phantasy Star”

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