Apr 25
Developer: Developer: High Voltage Software
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date: Jan. 8, 2008
System: Wii
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site
In a nutshell: Lawyer of the absurd
0:00 I’m a casual fan of both the “Harvey Birdman” cartoon series and the Phoenix Wright games on which this game is ostensibly based, so I should be right in the target audience for this one, right? Right?
0:01 The menu screen is set up like a disorganized desk of papers. I love the remixed theme song from the show.
0:02 A twig snaps. “You damn twig-snappers, people are trying to sleep,” cries a random voice. Then someone sets fire to an apartment building. Peter Potamus (the classic Hanna-Barbera character) happened to be driving by. Did he set the fire? Nice to see they kept the manic pace and somewhat confusing openings from the show.
0:03 Cut to Harvey’s office. A cut scene is interrupted when I’m asked to help Harvey solve a crossword puzzle: What seven letter word starts with “A” and means “long and hard?” Choices are “ayoqowb,” “arduous” and “arousal.” I hope both the gameplay and the humor get better than this.
0:04 Peter Potamus runs into the office just as he’s being arrested for the arson. Turns out the house was Harvey’s, but Peter says he didn’t do it, (though he says he did throw a mailbox into the fire so he could continue cooking s’mores, heh). The story is delivered incredibly rapid-fire — those not used to Adult Swim’s manic pacing might be confused.
Read the full review at Crispy Gamer
Similar Post
Apr 25
Developer: Arika
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: Jan. 28, 2008
System: Wii
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site
In a nutshell: Relax Relax Revolution.
0:00 I’m a little worried that an hour won’t be enough to encapsulate a game with “Endless” in the title. I’m even more afraid that it will be more than enough time.
0:01 An ethereal, a capella harmony sings out over a tranquil picture of a sailboat: “Let your arms enfold us. Through the dark of night. Will your angels hold us ’til we see the light?” I have no idea what that means, but I already feel relaxed.
0:02 I took too long typing, so the game went into attract mode, showing some pastoral underwater scenes. More singing, too: “Hush, lay down your troubled mind. The day has vanished and left us behind.” I could listen to this all day.
0:03 “Well g’day there!” The Manoa Lai Oceanic Research Society welcomes me. I pick my name, gender and, uh, tan level. The choices for hairstyle are “Mild” and “Wild!” Neither is very accurate to my actual hairstyle, which I’d rate as “Child!”
Read the full review at Crispy Gamer
Similar Post
Apr 25
If you haven’t noticed, Games for Lunch finally got back to the usual five updates a week as of last week. Those technical difficulties that accompanied the move to Crispy Gamer seems well and done and the every-weekday updates should consider for the forseeable future. I’ll continue to manually update this blog and RSS feed daily, but if I should for some reason forget one day, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Similar Post
Apr 25
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: April 17, 2008
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site
In a nutshell: A somewhat unnecessary update
0:00 The last Gran Turismo game I owned was No. 2 on the original PlayStation. The ones since then have seemed to me to be the same essential game with more cars and nicer graphics. That’s all I really expect from this “prologue” to the full GT5, except maybe for the more cars part.
0:05 While I didn’t include the six-plus hours it took to download this nearly two-gig game in my clock, I am including the roughly five minutes it takes to install the demo, simply because the idea of installing console games annoys me to no end.
0:06 With the install done, I find I need to sign in to the PlayStation Network to start the game, but to sign in to PSN, I need a system update. GRAH! You’re still on the clock, Sony.
Read the full review at Crispy Gamer
Similar Post
Apr 25
Developer: Q Entertainment
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Release Date: Jan. 30, 2008
System: Xbox 360 (original on PS2, Dreamcast)
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web Site
In a nutshell: Panzer Dragoon + an art project + a rave = Rez HD
0:00 Despite being a huge fan of both rhythm and experimental games, my only exposure to this game was seeing a friend play the Dreamcast version at a party roughly five years ago. It was… it was not a wild party.
0:01 A featureless albino woman is trapped in a tube. A vaguely human shape of rounded square discs hovers around, and then a wild quick zoom out from a white room. I feel like I’m in a college film class.
0:02 The tutorial automatically comes on-screen. Hold A and move the cursor to aim, let go to fire. That’s it?
0:03 You can target up to eight enemies at a time. Items can increase your “level” or provide a screen-clearing “overdrive.” Seems relatively standard so far, though I like the sound effects. “What lies at the dark end of this network?” the game asks. Is it pie? I hope it’s pie!
0:04 I turn on vibration for the full Trance Vibrator experience. Also, for some reason, the point display is “off” by default, but how else will I know how awesome I am?
Read the full review at Crispy Gamer
Similar Post
Developer: Developer: High Voltage Software
Recent Comments