Release Date: May 22^nd, 2013

Developer: Techland

Publisher: Ubisoft

Platform: [Reviewed: XBLA], PSN

Genre: First Person Shooter

Rated: M for Mature

The past iterations of Techland’s Call of Juarez series took quite a dip, meeting with less than favorable reviews with critics and audiences alike. The downloadable arcade title sees Call of Juarez back to its Wild West heritage and brings new life to the franchise.

The story is told by main protagonist Silas Greaves, a bounty hunter, as he narrates his gun slinging to the local bar patrons as you play out the events in his flashbacks. Throughout the story you will hear altered versions of Greaves story from his point of view and what the eager patrons believe what happened via “dime novel”. Theis mixed story has you fighting one group of foes only to fight another, or to replay an event as Greaves tells the story straight.

You face off against the West’s most notorious outlaws like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, and other infamous legends. From beginning to end you are given objectives that take you from point A to point B, not giving you much chance to look around, but that is overshadowed completely by the gameplay.

The gun fights have you facing off against numerous assailants as you arm yourself with the era appropriate weaponry. The game plays out like and arcade shooter where you will earn XP for kills. You will have a score multiplier and will be awarded extra points for skill shots like longshots and headshot.

Two meters will be available for use as you massacre your opponents, allowing you to slow down time and pick off enemies with precision, and another that gives you an opportunity to dodge a kill shot. The XP you accumulate will go to leveling you up, earning you a Skill point that can be put toward your preferable play style.

The familiar locales of any western can be found here; from saloons to dusty towns you will leave a trail of bodies in your wake. The story does its job of telling the story of a man with a knack of shooting up a place. It’s not extremely serious in comparison to games like the Red Dead Redemption or GUN, but if you love westerns you’ll do just fine.

When Greaves concludes his 5 plus hour story you can hit up Gunslinger’s two other modes, Arcade and Duels. Arcade drops you in the middle of a shootout where you will be ranked and scored for how well you can keep the multiplier going, skill shots, and how fast you can drop your foes. Playing through the story has prepped you for Arcade so you can find yourself having lots of fun with no story to cease the action. And Duels is exactly what it sounds like, one-on-one duels against 15 opponents.

This arcade title looks good with detailed models and environments. You will also notice the slightly familiar art style which reminded me of Borderlands. The music is the nothing different, but gets the mood just right to deliver a true western atmosphere. And the sound effects of bullets and explosions sound like they were ripped straight from a western film also add that extra layer, to put you in that gritty western feel.

I may have had doubts coming into Gunslinger. The last Call of Juarez may have left me hesitant to play Gunslinger, but I was amazed on how much there was to it. The gunplay was fast-pace and tense delivering fun all throughout the story. There are neat little collectables that you can collect that gives you actual info on outlaws and western topics.  And the Arcade and Duels mode are surprisingly enjoyable to where you’ll be coming back again and again. Call of Juarez may not be the best FPS on the market, but you’ll want to check this one out.

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Visuals: 4/5

Audio: 3.5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Value: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

GordonFroman117

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Release Date: May 21st, 2013

Developer: Firebrand Games

Publisher: Activision

Platform: [Reviewed: XBOX 360], PlayStation 3, PC

Genre: Racing

Rated: T for Teen

When you think of Fast and the Furious, you can’t help but think of some of the streets fastest and most whipped out rides. Secondly is the likes of Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez and more. Now Firebird Games is giving you a reason to think more “interactive” as they’ve developed a new Fast and Furious game titled “Showdown.”

It’s not too often where most gamers may put a game in their console and have mixed feelings through the main screen;  literally before starting  off any sense of gameplay. Prepare yourself, this is one of those games.

The story kicks off in Moscow where Former S.A.S.  Owen Shaw  (Luke Evans) and Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) are ripping the streets, destroying anyone that comes too close by flipping vehicles. From here, the story shifts over to Toretto’s crew. While all are under investigation, detectives believe that both Hobbs and Shaw’s crew are somehow working together.

From there, the story just goes everywhere and becomes more about the racing and shooting up enemies that are looking to take you out. Most of the chapters consist of time trials, eliminations, races and special objectives.

If you went out to the box office and saw Fast & Furious 6, you’ll have a much better grasp of where the story is leading you through gameplay.

On each chapter there are secondary objectives as well. Mindlessly, you must pause the game to review this list. You would think as an objective, it would be displayed on screen, not here. However, completing them will unlock mods and other special items for challenge mode.

There’s also a challenge mode full of mini games like speed check that has you being marked by camera with the fastest speed possible, or air support that allows you to “get In the chopper” and provide air support. Some of the modes are interesting but isn’t enough to hold it all together.

Mechanics are far on the rough side as you delve into the story. Sometimes you’ll feel control of the vehicle, and later realizing drifting can easily spur the vehicle out of control.  There’s also parts of the game where the A.I. seems to almost work against you on certain missions. For example, on a mission with Han and Rio, you are pulling down cell towers. If you play as Han, Rio sometime park too far for you to grapple the towers. Even if you switch characters to pull in closer and switch back, Rio will again drive further away, making the pull difficult.

Expect to not only see but hear character likenesses throughout the campaign. However graphically, Showdown is a mess. Imagine The Sims creating an action-packed video game, if you have that in mind, you’ve just pictured Fast & Furious  Showdown.

I now have to wonder, especially since the same horrific method was done with The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, does Activision really care about some of the titles they publish? This is the second title this year that Activision could have cashed in big on, instead they allowed the developers to embarrass themselves with piss poor quality. Think I’m joking? If this had been Call of Duty: Showdown, the game would’ve been amazing. But it isn’t.

Fast & Furious wasn’t the worst either. It sets in as one of those games that could’ve possibly been much more than it is, but something was missing.

The Scores

Gameplay: 2.5/5

Visuals: 2/5

Audio: 4/5

Controls: 3/5

Value: 2/5

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

VJPlatinum

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Game Reviewed:

Release Date: May 15th, 2013

Developer: Coffee Stain Studios

Publisher: [PC] Coffee Stain Studios

Platform: [REVIEWED: PC/STEAM] XBLA, PSN

Genre: First-Person Shooter/Tower-Defense

Rated: T for Teen

Tower-Defense fans can get just a little more excited with less than 24 hours left until the official launch of Sanctum 2. Brought to you by Coffee Stain Studios, Sanctum is the only true First-Person Shooter Tower-Defense game around.

Fans of the first and original Sanctum will be happy to know that Sanctum 2 is indeed a sequel but will feature a completely new story. And along with this new story are some changes from the first title that were directly influenced by the fans of the series.

Sanctum 2 is probably one of the most simplistic and straight forward Tower-Defense games I have played. In most other games of this genre there are a lot of weapons and towers etc to choose from, while playing that is, that you often feel over whelmed and frustrated. In Sanctum 2 however, it is really easy.

First things first, you must decide what you want to play. Do you want to start your own game or join another? With the four-player drop-in drop-out feature you are really open to a lot of different possibilities. If you want to start your own game you can also set your own party settings. Whether you want to allow anyone to drop in, or only allow your friends to drop in, or even if you simply want to play alone the option is yours. Don’t forget you can always just join a season in progress if you don’t want to create your own game.

Once you have decided how you want to play you get to choose a character. Unlike the first Sanctum fans will now get to choose from 3 addition characters as well as from the original character Skye Autumn. All characters of course have their own strengths and weaknesses and specialize in their own thing. These can be seen via the character selection screen of course. Skye Autumn is the Soldier, SiMo is the sniper, Haigen Hawkins specializes in closed-quarters combat and Sweet Autumn is a grenadier. Make sure you choose your character wisely based on your play style, or if you are like me just pick the one you think looks the coolest.

Once you choose your character you will also get to choose your weapons and tower defenses. When you first start out these options are minimal. You must play to earn experience in order to  level your character up and unlock all these awesome extra perks. Just like with your character selection these weapons and defenses also have their own advantages and disadvantages, such as speed, so you will want to pick the best possible ones. Or at least the best ones suited to your character and play style.

Now you are ready to play! But just wait a minute. What is that? A load screen? A cutscene? Nope it is BOTH. In Sanctum 2 they have combined that annoying load screen with the cutscene giving you a comic screen. So don’t look away from that annoying load screen and take the few seconds to read the comic as it as pretty awesome way of sharing the story behind the game without bombarding you with ridiculous cut scenes and load times.

So now that you have selected your game, character and perks what do you do? It is really quiet simple. See that glowing orb thing? Or Core to be exact. Well that is the center of focus in Sanctum 2. You must protect that at all costs. You must protect it from the waves of enemies that you will soon encounter. Similar to Horde mode in the Gears of War series it is up to you to not only survive each round/wave of enemies but to also protect that core. In between each wave you will have a little bit of time to collect your ‘build’ points and use them to upgrade and build your defenses. In order to do this you will first have to go to the Core and collect the 2 boxes as your build points are not immediately awarded.

Fans of the series will notice that Sanctum 2 not only has more enemies but that they also have their own AI. Your enemies will attack you, the Core and your towers making this Tower-Defense game just a bit more challenging. And if when this becomes a walk in the park you can make things a little bit more challenging by using the “Feats of Strength”. Located in the ‘game options’ tab on the right hand side of the screen via the map select screen. You can choose between 5 different feats such as enemies having increased strength or speed with each round earning you extra XP as you play.

Over all Sanctum 2 is a well rounded, very balanced and smooth game. And in my opinion one of the best Tower Defense games I have ever played. It is definitely a must have, at least for all you Tower-Defense fans. And even though the game seems a little short it has great replay value especially with the promise of a seasons pass. With a low cost of $15.00 you really can’t go wrong.

The Scores

Gameplay: 4/5

Visuals: 4/5

Audio: 4/5

Controls: 4/5

Value: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

Medeiros83

Lover of all things Geek!

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Release Date: May 8^th, 2013

Developer: BHVR

Publisher: Microsoft Studios

Platform: XBLA

Genre: Action & Adventure, Platformer

Rated: E for Everyone

Doritos Crash Course 2, successor to the smash hit Doritos Crash Course where you will race through four new worlds, navigating the convoluted courses as you sprint, jump, and slide your way to the finish line in this nod to Wipeout. Does this XBLA title deserve a gold medal? Or will it simply crash and burn?

In the main game mode, World Tour, you have four different locales to choose from with 5 tracks available and two “coming soon” (by the time of this review) to race in. Completing races and accumulating Course Stars, which serve as in-game currency, unlock more tracks. Each race (besides the first one) requires a set amount of stars to unlock. You will be shown the course in its entirety so you can know what to expect, but it takes nearly a minute. That may not sound too bad, but after the second or third time it becomes redundant, luckily you have to option to skip the entire thing.

You race against 3 bots, each with different difficulty settings: expert, intermediate and easy. If you happen to mess up a part of the race you can quickly restart at the last checkpoint you passed, resetting the traps and hazards in exchange for some lost time. There are 16 stars throughout the course itself with some inaccessible at first, and depending on what position you place at the end, 10 stars for 3^rd, 15 for 2^nd, and 20 for 1^st. Also, for a chance to get more stars each race has 3 Course Bonus Objectives to complete; challenges ranging from performing certain moves like slide jumping to keeping an opponent on-screen during the entire race provides nice little twists to the standard race. But be careful, if you place in last you will not collect any stars, meaning you’ll have to miss some stars to place in the top 3.

On top of getting the most possible stars for placing first you will be rewarded with Coins and various upgrades like Rewind that allows you to reverse everything since the last checkpoint without sacrificing time. Coins are another currency option you have to further advance, but these are a bit rare and are given in much small quantities compared to acquiring the plentiful stars. There is a problem with the Coins, though I’ll get back to it in a moment.

At first the obstacles you face are simple and easy to overcome that is until a couple of more races where you must combine speed, a keen eye, precise timing , and lots of practice to avoid the increasing number of traps and pitfalls. If you ever find yourself having trouble getting pass a part of a course, you will eventually be given the option to skip it and start at the next check point, but you will not be able to place anywhere in the top 3. There will be a point where after a while you’ll be barely getting enough stars per race until you just can’t afford the next one.

Now for the aforementioned problem regarding the Coins, and this is might be a huge issue for some: you can purchase Coins with real life money. So basically you can just pay to unlock all the courses right away. And if that’s the case, if someone does go this insane route of giving a free game real money then the whole purpose of World Tour is completely ruined. Where’s the drive to even press forward and ultimately conquer these fun, and mostly, well designed courses if all of them are unlocked?!

Paying is not required at all, if you persevere and re-attempt courses and collect all the stars you can you’ll be able to progress. But this in turn makes World Tour less fun as it just feels like you’re out on a chore rather than competing in a fun obstacle course as you reattempt courses, not for the fun, but simply out of necessity! If you only had to run the course once or twice it wouldn’t be a problem, but unfortunately the repetitive nature of the game rears its ugly head just a little bit too soon.

After making us redo these courses to collect the remaining stars this brings up the biggest design flaw: THERE’S NO RESTART RACE OPTION!! I’m guessing that the developer figured that the checkpoint restart and rewind power-up is supposed to replace this feature altogether. But if we’re expected to redo the same race over and over again in the tedious task of earning enough stars in increasingly difficult courses that you’ll more than likely mess up badly without hours of practice, you know full well gamers expect a dang restart race option!

That was World Tour, but what about Time trial and the multiplayer? Not much really, but there is some fun to be had. Time trial has you competing against your friend’s ghost Avatar, a recorded manifestation, as you set out to prove which one of you is the fastest. But this feature is rendered almost pointless as you can race your friends for real in online or local multiplayer matches.

The multiplayer simply pits you against 3 friends or strangers while the adrenaline of being first is the only focus. In the end players may actually have more fun just participating in a race against regular folks then getting frustrated with the World Tour collect-o-thon and competing against a bot that navigates the course almost flawlessly. There was one instance where I placed second in an online match after clearly crossing the finish line first, but that was a onetime thing, hopefully BHVR will patch it up.

The presentation of the game is well done. Each world has colorful and nicely detailed backgrounds, accompanied by some pretty catchy tunes, with that said it’s just on par and nothing too remarkable to note, except that the music will occasionally skip like a broken record for a moment or two. The controls are simple and the moves are easily mastered within a couple of tries. Once the difficulty picks up the real fun is being able to put those same moves to dodge intricate hazards.

Doritos Crash Course 2 is fun, while being undoubtedly flawed. World Tour is where you will spend most of your time as it provides the most content, but once you’re finished the last race there is almost no incentive to go back unless you’re a completionist after your precious achievements. Multiplayer serves its purpose, though you won’t be suggesting it for game night with your buddies when Black Ops II and Halo 4 still dominate online and local. The fact that the options to include some sort of shortcut by paying real money for virtual coins in a free arcade game is almost baffling while the absence of a simple retry option is equally questionable. Overall, for a free arcade title you surprisingly get quite a bit entertainment with some design flaws on the side. If you don’t mind a little frustration and repetitiveness this game deserves a look at.

Gameplay: 3.5/5

Visuals: 3.5/5

Audio: 3/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Replay: 2.5/5

Overall Rating: 3.5

GordonFroman117

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Release Date: May 14th, 2013

Developer: 4A games

Publisher: Deep Silver

Platform: [Reviewed: XBOX 360], PlayStation 3, PC

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Rated: M for Mature

Metro 2033, based on a novel written by Dmitry Glukhovsky, became a sleeper title that was both a hit and miss by critics. However, THQ knew they had an exciting concept and insisted on allowing the 2^nd installment to see the light of day. Unfortunately, the publisher was swimming in debt and forced to liquidate all their assets. Now in the hands of Deep Silver, Last Light has, while underground, resurfaced.

Last Light continues its post-apocalyptic setting as new recruit Ranger, Artyom, a child in 2033 now a soldier fighting for a better tomorrow. Life in Moscow after the nuclear explosion gets no better than the subway as the radiation on the surface, even 20 years later, is just as lethal as day one.

In the original Metro 2033, aliens called the “dark ones” invaded the underground civilization. As a twist,  there’s one Dark One that you must try and save, giving your people hope through their own blindness. The Rangers however aren’t the only group searching for the Dark One.

Last Light is a shooter that will have you preserving bullets and strategizing every instance. You’re given a gas mask to breathe through the radiation, bullets to kill when the time calls, or use them as currency when traveling.

With bullets, you can buy attachments, explosives and exchange for other bullets accommodating your needs. In most cases you may already have what you need and can progress without merchants. Some may find it most helpful for lighting up mutants with dynamite.

Similar to 2033, expect to keep a look out for additional gas filters, as an indicator located on Artyom’s wrist counts down the allowable time of the filter strapped on. Without it, death is imminent.

As I progressed, turning off all light sources and drawing the enemies towards me for a quick stealth kill strongly became my preference; and that’s only one of the options Last Light allows you to proceed. Deciding to attack the enemy head on or carefully lure them in, both methods are quite solid. Just note that once you’re spotted back up in called in, which at times are heavy armored soldiers that will require precision on your part.

Expect to run across Spartas, the Reichs and Communists throughout that will aide and attempt to kill you, depending on their motives. I enjoyed certain areas in the campaign where I had moments to simply be a spectator and enjoy  areas of underground Moscow. Most notable example would have to be when Artyom has the choice of focusing on going home or taking a breather and enjoy a theater show. Moments like these shows that 4A Games genuinely wanted gamers to not just play but embrace the good and trying times of the post-apocalyptic setting.

Metro Last Light slowly drew me in, which I was more than appreciative of. When delving into FPS, the strongest replay factor is the multiplayer aspect.  But in M:LL, Artyom character drives the gameplay and is far beyond captivating.

One issue that I encountered twice throughout gameplay was my system (XBOX 360) freezing. While shooting a swarm of mutants at one time, the game completely locked up on me. It did again at another key moment of the game as well (no spoilers).

Last Light looks amazing. Despite a few tears in the map or a minor glitches may cause an enemy to lock up (happened once), the mechanics are fluid and enticing. The game does an exceptional job of creating the dark, gloomy lifestyle that comes from losing everything and surviving with anything left.

Even with everyone around you having plenty to say, Artyom never says a word. Even through interrogation, his lips are sealed. During transitions on the other hand, Artyom briefly shares his thoughts before delving further into the campaign.

Metro Last Light overall experience is nothing less than extraordinary. The story build, survival and shooting aspects are all unforeseen, but the delivery is astonishing. It’s a shooter that’s NOT a replication of Call of Duty but mirrors its own previous success. Unquestionably a triumph for both 4A Games and Deep Silver.

The Scores

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Visuals: 4.25/5

Audio: 4.5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Value: 4.25/5

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

VJPlatinum

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Release Date: May 3rd, 2013

Developer: Echo Peak

Publisher: 505 Games

Platform: [Reviewed: Xbox 360], PlayStation 3

Genre: Rhythm – Fighting

Rated: T for Teen

Snoop Dogg, Snoop Lion, Snoopy Snoop, whatever you prefer, he’s been gracing the rap scene for quite some time. He’s even taken on some amazing roles in movies like “Baby Boy” with Tyrese Gibson (Fast & the Furious) and featured in games like Def Jam: Fight for NY and True Crimes: Streets of LA. Now Mr. Lion is embarking on a new venture that places him as headliner of the new game titled Way of the Dogg.

Way of the Dogg, developed by Echo Peak and published by 505 Games, is literally nothing more than a guitar hero, fighting game.  You play as protagonist America Jones who is involved in a fight that causes him to lose is will to go on. His will was a girl named Sierra.

As weird as it plays out, this popular fighter leans to Snoop Lion to learn the “way of the dogg.” His fighting skills apparently are not enough and he needs to Kung Fu to help him seek revenge. You’ll be a bit surprised to know the story “is” somewhat worth the gameplay.

As each segment begins, you’ll find yourself head-bobbing to Snoop Dogg songs while chaining buttons together to the music. In the midst of all of the button pressing, the actual fight is taking place in the background, which you’ll rarely be able to focus on.

The health meter in Way of the Dogg is unfair and depending on difficulty can be frustrating. As you take a beating, your health diminishes and you risk losing the fight and chapter. However, when you have full advantage in the “tug of war-like” fashion the game is presented in, you don’t win anything other than momentum until the track ends.

This reminds me of Parappa the Rapper. There’s even an achievement called “Kick, Punch, All in the Mind.” If you kick, punched and chopped the hell out of the track and nailed “cool,” the track still didn’t end; it continued. You would imagine though in a “kung fu game” it would mark the end, however…

Outside of the simplistic story, the game is pretty bland. It could’ve been so much better as you won’t help but feel something is missing. More development could’ve made this roughly 2 hour game well worth the price point.

Upon completing the story, you’re granted the option of local multiplayer. This mode wasn’t worth playing a second time.

Graphically cel-shaded, Way of the Dogg looks fairly decent in its comic book style, controls are responsive for the most part and the audio is not too bad. There are a few d-pad controls that didn’t quite input with my button pressing as well as songs that would bleep and take you off track (not so often).

Way of the Dogg wasn’t the worst I’ve ever played, but clearly wasn’t the best.  Split right down the middle, I’d possibly prefer gamers hold back for a price drop. 800 Microsoft Points / $10 over the PSN seems pretty steep.

The Scores

Gameplay: 2.5/5

Visuals: 3.5/5

Audio: 3/5

Controls: 2.5/5

Value: 2/5

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

VJPlatinum

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Game Reviewed:

Release Date: April 16th, 2013

Developer: Southend

Publisher: Deep Silver

Platform: [Reviewed: PC], Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network

Genre: Action/Side scroller

Rated: T for Teen

Attention all gamers: Ancaria is in desperate need of saving. So put on your fighting shoes and gather your friends and team up to save the people of Ancaria from the evil Ashen empire.

Sacred Citadel, brought to us by Southend, is a Action side scroller game in which an entire population of people have been enslaved. It is up to you, the heroes, to defeat the  evil all while proving that you are in fact a true warrior. The premise of the game is pretty simple. Basically you choose a character then select the Act and the mission. Once in game you run through the level killing the enemies and collecting the loot. Piece of cake right? For the most part yes, but like most other games there is always more to it.

First things first, characters! In Sacred Citadel you are given choices, 4 to be exact. You have the Warrior, Ranger, Mage, and Shaman. Two of which are female, so all you lady gamers out there can feel a little bit more included. Given that the choice is yours you can pick however and whom ever you want, although I’d suggest picking the character that is easiest for you as opposed to who you “like” the best. Now let it be known that although you can only play one character at a time you can have saves for all 4 characters, allowing you to switch between them at your liking.

As you play through the missions your character gets experience (XP) as you kill enemies. This XP allows your character to level up earning points that can later be used to upgrade your skills; Power, Attack, Dexterity and Defense. Like a “Skills Tree” you can allocate points where ever you want them. But be warned you can only reset them and change your mind up until you approve the changes. Then they are yours to keep. So understanding your character is vital. You don’t want to be adding points into a skill not as important.

Once you have selected your hero you will get to choose the Act then the mission. Like all other games you can’t jump to whatever Act or mission you want until you have unlocked and reached it and the same is here in Sacred Citadel. You will have to play all missions in order so that you can unlock the other Acts. These missions, however, can be replayed over and over again. Which is going to be the case as you need that sweet sweet money to purchase potions and gear.

If you get bored of simply playing through the missions killing and looting you can also hit up the vendor who asks you if you’d like to place a bet. Located near a “well”, in the first act.  You will have 3 options. First you have “Life” in which you have to beat the chosen level without dying. Second you have “Time” were you are expected to beat the level in a set time. And lastly you have “Score” which you have to achieve a certain score in order to win. Each bet is worth 100$ in the first act and increases as you progress through the game. When you select a bet the game randomly chooses one of your completed missions. These bets add some extra replay value to the game as they give you a task to complete for each mission as well. Not only does each mission show you which bets you have completed, they also show you your previous score. This allowing you to try to beat your previous record.

Loot comes in many forms, all of which you need so don’t leave anything behind. You will find money, food, gear, and even weapons. Pick up ALL the money! You need it. Whether it be to buy new and better gear and weapons or simply to stalk up on those vital potions, it is a must have. Food will only be picked up if needed and you can’t carry it as you don’t have a bag or anything for extra items so make sure you keep track of your health. Next is the gear and weapons, these are much more rare, so stop and take a second to check out each item. When you stand next to it your stats will pop up showing you if it is a good piece to grab. If it isn’t simply continue on your mission, however, if it is good all you need to do is click the pick up button and it will automatically swap out your old item for the new.

Sacred Citadel plays a lot like Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, although Akaneiro is not a side scroller and is web browser based. They both have very similar game layout and structure. As well as as just play very similar. Sacred Citadel is not as graphically appealing as other games in this genre so fans expecting it to be will be a little disappointed. This however has little effect on your experience as a whole. You will be so submerged in the task at hand that you will likely not give it a second thought.

Controls, just like everything else in Sacred Citadel, are very easy once you understand what they mean. And if you don’t like them as is you can change them to what ever you prefer. As you play through the game you are prompted to your new moves. This allows you to learn how to play all while playing, avoiding the often unnecessary and tedious tutorial. They are super simple. From clicking your [<] button to attack to clicking the [1] to take a potion you wont have any problems. AND if this is too simple for you can always peep the COMBOS screen for some extra awesome attacks.

The only problem I had with the controls while playing was not understanding the symbols for the buttons. As primarily an Xbox gamer I am still new to the world of PC gaming and found these prompts kind of confusing. This is not to say everyone will have this problem rather just all us PC gaming nOObs. Had there been a bit more explanation via the control menu I would have definitely one-upped their score. At least for the controls.

There is so much replay value to this game it is ridiculous. Now whether you like this type of game or not will directly impact whether or not you like the replay value. At times I felt “forced” to replay missions. Since gear and weapons are not as common as money I found that I needed to often buy my items from vendors in the city. Now these items are not cheap and in order to be able to advance to the next mission and be able to actually beat it may require you to get better items. And if your pockets are a little empty you are going to have to replay easier missions over and over and over again until you can afford those items. This is where those bets can come in handy. You not only are earning money while playing through the level again but you are also giving yourself a task making the simple fact that you are redoing a level for the hundredth time fun. And lets not forget the ability to play with 2 of your friends locally or play online with others.

Overall this game is great for fans of this genre and has so much to offer. You can play alone or with friends. Online or offline. You can choose your character and switch to another if you are board or just want to change it up. It even has a super low price of $14.99. And better yet if you love playing with your friends Steam offers and awesome 3-Pack deal for only $34.99 so you can give out 2 copies to your two best gaming buds and take on evil together. And if you are still unsure you check out the Demo for all systems; Xbox, PlayStation and Steam.

The Scores

Gameplay: 3/5

Visuals: 3/5

Audio: 3/5

Controls: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Medeiros83

Lover of all things Geek!

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Release Date: April 24th, 2013

Developer: TellTale Games

Publisher: Telltale Games

Platform: [Reviewed: Xbox 360], PlayStation 3, PC

Genre: Card Game

Rated: M for Mature

TellTale Games has taken a short break from the zombies, which no one can overlook 2012’s Game of the Year, The Walking Dead.  While currently developing the highly anticipated new season and a new title called “The Wolf Among Us,” today was the release of a much calmer setting, Poker Night 2.

My initial impression was honestly, no zombies=no fun. But as I took Poker Night 2 for a spin, I began to wonder how did I overlook the first night? TellTale has surely upped their reputation since the TWD series.

At “the Inventory” Poker Night 2 calls out some of the best, and unforgettable characters in the gaming world. Brock Samson from Venture Bros, Sam and Max, Claptrap from Borderlands and Ash from Army of Darkness.  Oh then there is everyone’s favorite robotic figure, Portal’s GLaDOS! Moxxi from Borderlands even serves up a few drinks to quench your thirst at the bar.

Each game is quite entertaining regardless if you’re good or not at Texas Hold’em or Omaha. It’s literally a celebrity night out. I was even more impressed with the gameplay, the fluid dialogue that take place in-between every single game and GLaDOS limitless amount of sarcasm.

It’s an easy way to spend what you don’t have and enjoy yourself in the process. $20,000 grants you a seat in the tournament and pits you against well diverse players. While it’s fun and games, A.I. will do their best to call your bluffs, call a few of their own and pressure you into throwing in a few more chips than you can afford.

Earn different cards, chips and felt by going far or winning tournaments. You can also win special “bounty” items from the “treasure” by winning the tournament in which the item is laid at the table. Claptrap’s VGA Award for 2012 character of the year award was a must have that I’ve failed to win…. Darnit!

Surprisingly, Poker Night 2 was a game I dearly enjoyed until I felt the need to step away from the table. Multiplayer doesn’t exist here, which is possibly a good thing as the flavor of having key characters may have been missed. Borderland 2 and Team Fortress 2 items are achievable as well, cross promoting gamers back to Valve and Gearbox for more hours of entertainment.

You don’t have to be a fan of Poker to get a kick out of Poker Night, but you’ll definitely kill a lot of time here if you know the game. Spend your well earned money where you can make more money. Seriously, Poker Night was made for both strategic card players and gamers alike.

The Scores

Gameplay: 4/5

Visuals: 4./5

Audio: 4.5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Value: 4.25/5

Overall Rating: 4/5

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Release Date: April 23th, 2013

Developer: Techland

Publisher: Deep Silver

Platform: [Reviewed: Xbox 360], PlayStation 3, PC

Genre: Action RPG

Rated: M for Mature

Exactly who do you Voodoo? How do you voodoo. Not quite understanding my mojo? That’s because you’re new to the island. And while not sure if you’ll survive, let’s assume you will and attempt to escape together, shall we? Welcome to Riptide.

Dead Islands plays out as the continuation of the original. You and a small group of survivors, including John Morgan (New character in the series), are immune to the infection are captured after trying to escape. The prologue begins with you  breaking free and running into Harlow and a small refuge group trying to survive just like yourself.

If you remember some of the bugs from the original Dead Island, prepare to embrace them yet again. First timers can expect characters popping in and out of the map and through walls. The first glitch appeared for me after knocking an enemy down over another incapacitated comrade. As the zombie tried to stand to his feet, he fell back down and glitched under the map.

There’s also at times  disappointing terror. A.I. characters in the game at times screamed in fear, to seconds later calmly fold their arms and stare at you. Other times I was forced to listened to two to three dialogues at once. Literally two characters interacted with me at the same time to where I just gave up and walked away.

Now when it comes down to the action, Riptide delivers. The melee system and first-person aspect has its clear impression. There’s nothing better than backing up as a brainless dingbat swings at you to either kick them back for the headshot or smash their brains in to infinity and beyond.

I will stress the knockout punches! Zombies seriously have the ability to knock you the HELL OUT! How is it possible? Techland probably thought it was funny; and it doesn’t end there. After a while a wasting weapons on hordes, I decided to sprint ahead. Apparently the thug zombies can outrun you.

You have the choice of making your player  a combative individual, survivalist or balanced. Upgrading requires plenty of looting and trades. As you migrate throughout the island, there are also plenty of areas to repair weapons and find hidden items. BE SURE TO FIND THEM ALL the first time around. As you push ahead in the story and hit completion, your only option is start from the prologue all over again.

Genuinely, you’ll grasp that Left 4 Dead concept trying to play out throughout the multiplayer experience as drop-in/drop-out is available as you come across an area that another online player near. Connectivity is great and the gameplay is fluid, showing no signs of lag as we ventured on. The one true issue with multiplayer has been trying to progress with random players. I found myself accepting game request or joining, only to replay the mission solo, due to them dropping out.

Graphics went from good to dull, back to a somewhat decent state. From a distance the environment looks remarkable. As you draw closer to both character models and certain parts of the map they begin to lose its texture. Even the A.I. has tears in their builds.

While the story in this installment was a bit more understandable, the cutscenes visually looked a bit downgraded. Riptide it’s truly a game designed for the co-op experience, specifically with friends. It’s disappointing to see the same familiar bugs reappear and tag along in the final production.

At the same time, it’s unbelievably fun when co-op enters in. The story is no longer the subject of gameplay, just the experience and progression. A mixed bag indeed, feeling like nothing more than a rehash of the original. The original Dead Island would be my preference to gamers alike.

The Scores

Gameplay: 3/5

Visuals: 3.75/5

Audio: 3.5/5

Controls: 4/5

Value: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.25/5

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Release Date: April 16th, 2013

Developer: NetherRealm Studios

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Platform: [Reviewed: Xbox 360], PlayStation 3, WiiU

Genre: Fighting

Rated: T for Teen

There’s no further reason to question what will Injustice be like or what will it play like? Personally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. It was fun for the moment, but lacked the chance of longevity. So let’s answer these question by stating first, yes NetherRealm, the developers of Mortal Kombat created Injustice: Gods Among Us. However, it plays nothing like Mortal Kombat, creating its own identity to the fighting world.

With that out of the way, welcome to our review! This is Injustice! You’ll absolutely feed off the gameplay from start to finish! Let’s break down all of what’s in store.

Before delving deep into gameplay, you’re first greeted with a tutorial coving all the basic, advance and special moves. It’s quite helpful as it teaches you how to fully comprehend the uniqueness of each character. No one character fights the same way, though some button controls are similar the same when performing combos and such.

When the real battle begins, it’s “the” true experience for the DC fans. The thought of facing your favorite hero against the villain of your choice, or the epic Superman vs Batman “dream” fight becoming reality is now about as real as it’s ever going to get.

The Kombat, excuse me…. Combat in Injustice is far more than superior. Taking over the Joker or Harley Quinn will equip you with guns and gags like a mallet or tanks of laughing gas while Batman uses batarangs as shields or to counterattack. The blueprint looks like Mortal Kombat at a glance, but the great outweighs the good.

There ARE rounds in Injustice, they’re just a more fluid method in place. As you drain your opponents full health bar, they fall to the ground momentarily, in a sense that they’ve recollected themselves from a so far, gruesome battle. The transition is performed with such finesse to where you’ll find yourself simply waiting for your opponent to get up and start swinging.

While touching on the fighting system, NetherRealm took a noticeable approach at the combo system that may either excite gamers or disappoint them. If you think to the MK combo system, you could literally perform a string combo without a pause. Injustice pays it forward through the action and the arena itself. You can perform a power strike, knocking your opponent in the air or into environmental structures and continue the combo before they can even hit the ground.

If all else fail, find a weapon and steal the advantage! Every map is fully destructible in its own way. You can grab miscellaneous items and thrown them at your opponent, blow steam pipes towards them, send explosives their way and more. If that’s not enough, you can knock them into the environmental objects or interactively onto a new map.

Now if for some reason you’re the one taking this brutal of a beating, take a moment to set a wager. When you “Set Wagers,” you’re giving yourself a fighting chance to win, tie or possibly lose health. Forward on the d-pad + RT/R2 will initiate the wager where you then follow the command prompt, choosing the amount health you want to risk through the power gague. An over the top cutscene will commence and you and your opponent will collide.  Who won can easily be determined by watching  your health either rise or decrease, as well as your player stand or fall in defeat.

Similar to Mortal Kombat’s X-Ray Special, Injustice have their own Special Abilities for each hero/villain. However, expect more intensity than your brain could comprehend because they are THAT incredible. Flash for example performs a mighty three punch combo that literally requires him to circle world in 4 seconds, with the velocity of a train exceeding its own limitations.

As amazing as the special moves are however, it can become pretty bland. I would’ve preferred alternate specials to switch up moves from time to time. After playing with your favorite character for a while, their doesn’t feel as “super,”  but it definitely comes in hand.

Another touch of Mortal Kombat that you’ll find is the S.T.A.R. LAB. S.T.A.R. LAB serves similar to the Challenge Tower with 240 objectives to accomplish. You can rank through each objective earning 1 to 3 stars. The more stars you earn, the further you can unlock the next tier of objectives. Like the challenge tower, there are tweaks set in place for each fight.

Then, there’s Battle. Battle is the old school ladder/tower that pits you against multiple players, building up to the final character. Completing the ladder will unlock an ending story for your character, well worth the venture.

The replay value in Injustice unquestionably there. The numerous ways a battle can take place is unbelievable, genuinely changing the creativity within the fight every time!

Graphically, Injustice is quite average. Characters are well designed, it just doesn’t stand out as “high quality.” The mechanics are pretty smooth between both, direct action and pulling surrounding particles into the match. Audio is good as well, until you’ve played a handful of times with the same character. The voice shortly after become monotonous.  In the story however, you’ll enjoy it all; the voiceovers the cutscenes and most importantly, the story.

Without ruining the story for you, the campaign is absolutely remarkable. At times I felt like I was watching and playing a part of an exclusive Justice League movie and the experience was surreal. Plenty of action and mini-games both tie into the story.

Injustice wasn’t created to be a button masher, so don’t expect to win much without taking a bit of time out to learn how to use your favorite characters. There’s plenty of unlockables, hero cards and more to earn as you play and level up through XP.

Injustice is a crowd pleaser. It’s one of those games that all ages will enjoy; both fans of gaming and simply DC lovers alike. This game doesn’t lean on the coattail of Mortal Kombat, it instead takes a step further and raises the bar. Other than the lack of victory cutscenes or openings causing the audio to deliver a bit of a lackluster, Injustice is one for your collection.

The Scores

Gameplay: 4.75/5

Visuals: 4.25/5

Audio: 4.5/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Value: 4.5/5

Overall Rating: 4.75/5

VJPlatinum

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