Indie Alley is all about the indie game scene, where games are made based on their merit and less on their marketing.

Gravitron360 is a pretty simple space shooter.  As a space ship, you fly around saving people, blowing up planet generators, and then getting out before the planet becomes too unstable.  It’s available on XBLIG for 80MSP ($1).

When I first picked up Gravitron360, I immediately identified it as similar to PixelJunk Shooter for the Playstation.  Oh, how wrong I really was.  While the idea, graphics, and mechanics may be similar, navigating the game is incredibly painful.  I found myself crashing into things far too often, merely because the controls for the game made little sense, and I often got confused which button did what.

As I played through it, multiple people watching said “This game doesn’t look very fun” and “What is the point of this game?”  My responses?  It’s not very fun, and while I know the point of the game, it’s not worth enough to me to actually keep playing…  Sure, the game was only $1, but just because an Indie game is cheap doesn’t mean it’s allowed to be bad.

I was disappointed with the game itself. I feel like the developers should have played the game more before releasing it, so they could find out firsthand that their potentially fun game was ruined by a bad control scheme.

1 star.

I recently thought to myself, what compels someone to play a game numerous times? My roommates both have played two completely different games an incredible amount of times. He has played Super Mario All Stars on the Super Nintendo and beaten Super Mario Bros. 3 at least 30 times. I have even played and beaten the game twice.

Even after beating the game he has gone back and played it over and over. I asked him why he does and he said that it’s not even his favorite game. He likes the fact that it’s nostalgic and that he still feels that he can improve his technique to beat the game even faster. He’s even gone on YouTube to see the best methods for speed runs on the game.

This type of dedication in beating a game is something that I can relate to. I have played games just to get certain achievement points. There are two games that I have completely gotten full achievement points on, Lego Batman and the Bourne Conspiracy. I enjoyed both games very much but I played them to the point of getting the achievements not by playing them for fun. I enjoyed the games but I had less fun trying to unlock the achievements.

My other roommate has played the PlayStation 2 game Rule of Rose numerous times. Her reasons for playing the game so many times is that she likes unlocking secrets and finding glitches relative to the story in the game. She will scour FAQs which reveal story elements that are not unlocked in the first playthrough. The added playthroughs also make it easier to understand the story and fully comprehend what the themes and ideas in the game.

I have played only a handful of games from beginning to end. The one game that I have played from beginning to end repeatedly is probably my favorite game of all time, Resident Evil 4. The story of the game was engrossing and the gameplay was fantastic. The first time I played that game I had the flu but I kept on playing because I didn’t want to put the game down. The second time that I played through the game was much better because I could still process the game better and was able to play and not want to throw up. Even though the game was a horror survival game, the scares and chills remained the same as the first playthough of the game. The area where you have to wait for the elevator to activate is still the scariest moment in the game for me.

Another game I played recently and beat was Mega Man X. Even thought I beat Mega Man X recently, I don’t have any desire to play the game anytime soon. I enjoyed the game very much but yet I don’t really want to play it again. I feel that once you beat a game, there really is no compelling reason to play again. I have played numerous games throughout my gaming life, and I haven’t really played that many games over and over again.

There’s nothing wrong with playing a game over and over again. It’s just that its harder to play a game after you beat it, unless it is really an amazing game. More power to people playing a game over and over again.

The greatest MMA game yet.

With the world of MMA branching out to many aspects of pop culture, the UFC Undisputed series of video games has planted the flag for MMA in the video game culture. While there have been previous MMA games including the UFC and Pride fighting organizations, UFC Undisputed was both a critical and sales darling.

However with last year’s release of UFC Undisputed 2009, the world of MMA fully broke into the world of video games. The cutting edge game finally was able to fully capture the world of MMA in video game form. Its intuitive controls and presentation made the game as authentic as possible for MMA fans and non fans.

A year later, the release of UFC Undisputed 2010 makes the release of an annual mma game a standard in video games. The upcoming release of EA sports rival title, MMA should only make the world of MMA even more competitive in the gaming culture.

The rivalry between these two game series can only bring good things for MMA in video games. The brief rivalry between the Madden series and the NFL 2K series made both series great as the competition between them made them both try and outdo each other. In addition, baseball games thrived when the MVP baseball series and the MLB 2K series competed with one another for baseball supremacy.

Dana White’s threat to cut any UFC fighter that would appear in the EA MMA title was good press for both games of the series. The apparent bad blood between Dana White and EA Sports is good for video games and good for MMA. While White eventually backed off the threat to cut any of his fighters, the animosity for the series was put front and center for MMA fans and non fans. The added notoriety for EA Sports MMA will lead to greater interest in the title.

The clear advantage for UFC is that they have a more known roster. The biggest names of the sports are in UFC Undisputed. Non MMA fans or newcomers will probably recognize more of the names in UFC Unleashed than the other game. EA Sports MMA has big names though such as Fedor Emelianenko, the former pound for pound heavyweight in the world and one of the Expendables, Randy Couture. The fighters of StrikeForce and former UFC fighters will make more MMA fighters known across the world. While it is disappointing for both games to have separate and different rosters, it’s good for the variety of the sport. The added incentive of wanting to play as a certain fighter will compel gamers to play both games.

The lower sales projection of UFC Undisputed shows that the gamers may not be willing to shell out $60 for a roster update. THQ attributes the low sales due to the release of Red Dead Redemption that took plenty of sales from the series. This could lead to gamers realizing that they do not have to pay for a yearly roster update. Madden still generates massive revenue but it truly hasn’t changed the football game. EA Sports MMA needs to come out swinging at launch in order to sway UFC fans towards their side. The sport of MMA needs both games to do well to generate more interest in the sport.

As much as it’s good for UFC being the preeminent MMA game, it needs EA Sports MMA to push it. The competition between the two series is essential for MMA to succeed on the video game platform. The competition between the two is necessary for success as both games will vie for MMA and non MMA fans for being the preeminent MMA game in the world.

In the bout between UFC Undisputed and EA Sports MMA, there are no losers.

                                           Audio Interview of James Arnold Taylor on Youtube Part 1 Audio Interview of James Arnold Taylor on Youtube Part 2 Audio Interview of James Arnold Taylor on Youtube Part 3

The title for an interview with a great voice actor.

I got a chance to have a short interview with one of the gaming industry’s best voice actors, James Arnold Taylor. Although you may not know his name, but he is the voice of some of Sony’s best video game heroes. Currently the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Plo Koon in Cartoon Network’s Star Wars Clone Wars, James Arnold Taylor is also the voice behind the interstellar hero Ratchet (Ratchet and Clank Series) as well as Tidus (Final Fantasy X).

Me: This seems to be a bit of an obvious question, but do you play the video games that you voice the characters of? If so, which is your favorite?

JAT: Well it’s not necessarily an obvious question. It is a good question, because a lot of times you hear from actors when they do a film they say, “Oh, I never watch any of my work.” Or “I never watch myself on TV.”. Well I am a bit of a ham; I enjoy hearing what I have done. I do enjoy it because, I love to act. I love to be a part of the whole thing. But I also love getting to hear what other actors have done and how it all comes together. Plus I just enjoy all of this entertainment; I think it is all good fun. And I truly try to pick roles and projects that I would want to watch or be a part of. In that I definitely play the video games that I am in. I always love the Clone Wars games, and the Ratchet and Clank games and Final Fantasy. I am looking through my window in my booth, and on a shelf I have many or the games I have been in. I love Spiderman Friend or Foe I loved being Spiderman as well as many of the characters in the Shrek games. If I was to choose a favorite, which is a tough one it is like children I can’t pick a favorite. I really do love the Ratchet and Clank series. It is such a great series and has grown. So many things end up, as they go sequel after sequel after sequel and it gets old. But these are getting better and better, and I am so amazed at the work by all the people at Insomniac Games. The writers and harnessing the storyline before going and putting it out there it is sort of the way that Pixar seems to work.

Me: You have been the voice behind characters in over 50 video games, are there any that are more or less your favorite?

JAT: Well like I said before it is very hard to choose a favorite. I do love playing Ratchet and I love playing as Obi-Wan. But I would have to say an overall favorite, or one that I owe so much of my video game career to, would be the voice of Tidus from Final Fantasy X and the sequel to it. But yes, I would say that it is one of my favorites.

Me: You have been with the Developer Insomniac quite a bit; you have been the voice of Ratchet from Ratchet and Clank since Going Commando. How do you view Ratchet as a hero? Can you relate to him on a down to earth, personal level?

JAT: I absolutely can relate to him on a personal level. I think he is someone, like most of us that wants to be a good guy. He wants to be the hero, he wants to be the good guy but also is trying to balance that out with, “I want to be myself and hang out with my buddy.” and be relaxed and not have to save the world all the time. I relate to him on that level, I can relate to his great kinship to his buddy Clank. I love the relationship David (David Kaye) and I have been able to pull out of this, because he and I have only met a couple of times. Ratchet and Clank are just great characters, and I am so blessed to be a part of that. I am so happy that Insomniac has asked me to be a part of that and I will be involved with this as long as I have to.

Me: There is a new game coming out soon called, “Heroes on the Move”, which features Ratchet and Clank among other Platforming stars. Will you return to be the voice for Ratchet?

JAT: Yes I do believe it is safe to say I am returning as the voice of Ratchet. I have actually already voiced it and I had a blast doing it.

Me: How did you prepare for the role of Tidus? Can you compare to him in any way that gives you a more personal connection rather than it being a job?

JAT: Well absolutely, when I first was approached to play the role of Tidus, I was in the process of recording a show call Atlantis: The Lost Empire based on the Disney film taking the role of Milo Thatch. I was recording in the same building as they were recording the Final Fantasy film, Spirits Within. And at the time Jack Fletcher, the director was also going to be directing Final Fantasy X. So we became friends after hanging out some, and he said, “You know I really want you to read for this part.” So I got to read for it and I was amazed at how much Tidus and I have in common. *Chuckles* Not in the athletic realm at all, Tidus is an amazing athlete. But he has a lot of family issues that I can relate to. Coming from a divorced family, coming from a place where I didn’t really know my father. I could have had a lot of resentment towards that and have anger and frustration with just wanting that acceptance from a father figure. I certainly can relate to that, and sort of like Ratchet he is this reluctant hero and he really wants to do the right thing and he really does want to save his friends and family and the world if he can. I think we all have that desire to be seen and to be known and Tidus definitely has that. I am sure I portray Tidus differently than my Japanese counterpart; I think Tidus is a young teenage man that is searching for himself his identity. And we try to counterbalance that with “Listen to my story”, you know, the narration parts where he had an older more controlled sound. So it makes the audience wonder, “Well is he telling the story from later in time?”. Of course if you have played the game you will know what happens to him in the end. So I really tried to take it from those different aspects of his life and how he grows. You know, he first starts of cocky and sure of himself because he is a champion Blitzball player. And as his journey goes he gets more controlled, and when you play through the game you will notice how his voice changes. And we tried our best in doing that, as well as, still having to deal with a game that already has been done in another language. Particularly with the Japanese language, such a beautiful and so different from our American English language in ways of speaking, to convey information comes out so differently. So they would add words or take out words then time crunch it to make it match up and make it work. It is amazing it is almost been ten years since Final Fantasy X came out and I still get email about it, and I am just so touched by my involvement with it.

Me: Final Fantasy X is the first Final Fantasy to showcase voice acting, what was it like to be a part of a game that broke out of its shell like that?

JAT: It was amazing to be the first, kind of lead character in this series where there was going to be voice.  And I don’t think I knew at first how much of a big deal it was. I looked at it like, I knew the series and I knew the games and I knew the importance of the characters in the games. But I did not realize at the time how history making it would be. And, would that have made a difference if I knew? I don’t know probably not. I am still very pleased with the performance, would I have changed things? Of course I would. Have I had the opportunity to change them? Yes I have when we do different version of the game. Even in the Dissidia game we were still bound by the language barrier so you still lose some of the emotional aspects you get to do when you are an actor. When you are voicing a video game normally you will go in and get the script and here is the scene. They play it out for you, and the director is leading the other characters because you are always voicing alone. But normally when you go in and voice a video game you are still allowed to have more of a voice, more emotion. But when you do a dub such as the final fantasy games you have to fit it in and work with the confinements or that and still try to get the emotions and hope it allows players to get the emotion. It is tougher work than going in and voicing a character like Ratchet and Clank or the Ninja Turtle games or Shrek games.

Me: What is it like to be a voice actor? How do you prepare for huge roles like being the voice of characters like Obi-Wan in Clone Wars and other Star Wars games?

JAT: Well it is great, for Obi-Wan they are of course doing the Clone Wars TV series, on Cartoon Network that is always great to do because I get to be a main character as well as Plo Koon, In the Star Wars games I am always voicing Plo Koon and Obi-Wan. Usually their scenes are together so I always have to keep that in mind. Both are british, and you have to know that they are always talking to each other. And I will always concentrate to make sure they are different, I try to give them both different accents. The way I prepare for them is the way I prepare for anything. I study the script, if I have it. With video games you generally don’t get the scripts ahead of time. You get the script when you step into the booth, so you are reading most of your lines cold. There is no prep time beforehand. Recently Obi-Wan has been the exposition, the guy that tells the player what to do. He is always doing these narration bits, *As Obi-Wan* “Hold the Command Key and push ALT and Tab”. So when you are reading those things you just have to go cold. So you prepare by not being prepared, if that makes any sense at all. Because you never know what’s being thrown at you. You just do it the best you can. Voice actors are very different “breed” than on screen actors. We are ready to give you any emotion you want at any point in time. We are always there and ready to perform and to the best of our ability on the drop of a hat. So they will say, “Ok James now you are falling, now do one with your arms flailing. And now give us a laugh.” If you want to be a voice actor you have to know you are always in the spotlight and you just have to be able to do it. Don’t be embarrassed ashamed you just have to do it. I love being a voice actor, I am blessed to do it.

Me: You also lent your vocal talents to the game Kingdom Hearts 2 as the voice of Captain Jack Sparrow and Timon. Were you nervous to be the voice of such iconic characters?

JAT: Well being the voice of Fred Flintstone *As Fred* “Yabba Dabba Do” or Johnny Test *As Johnny* WOAH! Johnny Test is amazing!” or Obi-Wan or Master Plo Koon or Leonardo the Ninja Turtle, or Ratchet. These characters have become so iconic that when I get up I get on my knees and I am so thankful to be able to bring life to these characters in whatever way I can. It is a great honor to voice double and I just hope people will know how much we voice actors appreciate doing what we do.

Me: Is being the voice actor in a video game any different than in a movie or TV show?

JAT:  Yes it is, as I mentioned before we are in a room with just ourselves the directors the writers the producers and we just record. And with most animated TV shows you are all together as a cast. You get to joke around and play off each other’s lines. In movies it can be a mixed bag, sometimes you are alone sometimes you are with other actors. When we first recorded TMNT all four of us got to record together. But then later when Weinstien bought the movie and rewrote everything we ended up ADR-ing, which means Audio Dialogue Replacement and replacing every line that we previously did. But with a video game we have that freedom to just go for it. With video games it is very much based on time, like we have 1.5 seconds to get this line etc. And other times you are just recording isolated with not too much interaction with others, besides the director. Video game directors are coming into their own now. They are able to give a story rather than just catching the grunts and groans. They are telling stories that go far greater than films today have. They are getting it and the writers as well. They are coming up with great storylines. It is harder with video games because you are just concentrated by yourself. You know, you are in the booth for 4 hours just hitting every line and jumping from character to character depending on the game. Usually when I am doing Ratchet and Clank I am just ratchet so they go out and book 4 hours and we take our time and enjoy ourselves. We go through the story and really get it into my head. If there are games that I am doing multiple characters that can get very strenuous. And it is very different from TV or movie work. If someone does want to be a voice actor, take care of it and learn all aspects of their own voice before going out and trying to be 10 different, or 100 different voices, or 1000 different voices. If you can do your voice great then you can do any one you and it will all fall into place.

The cover athlete Terrel Owens, before he played for the Cowboys, Bills, Bengals and starred in his own reality show.

It’s that time of the year sports game fans, the annual release of football’s Madden. The release of Madden is always a joyous occasion for football fans and gamers. However, with each release of Madden I can’t help but think that the series is just spinning its wheels with each new release. I have nothing against the series but I just wish that the NFL 2K series were still around.

The best time to be a video game football fan was when the NFL 2K series, dropped to $20 for initial sale. This move let the conusmers know that their game was less than half off of Madden and that they were willing to do what whatever it took to challenge Madden for best football game on the market. The 2K series tried several different methods to distance itself from Madden. The first person perspective that the 2K series implemented across several of its sports titles was clumsy yet inspired. It showed that they were willing to think outside the box in order to overtake Madden as the standard bearer for football games.

When EA Sports bought the NFL license, this set off a chain of events that has affected the world of sports simulations. The purchase of Madden basically undercut all the hard work that the 2K series put into making the NFL as realistic as possible. The last two installments of the NFL 2K series implemented ESPN into its presentation. From the way the highlights were replayed to the appearance of Chris Berman, the 2K series was as close as a real NFL broadcast could be.

The sale of the NFL License to EA led to the 2K series to try and gain ground on Madden but to no avail. Without any noticeable competition in sight, Madden has grown into an unstoppable juggernaut. There have been several football games since the NFL license was sold, but it’s hard to get into a football game without the actual players and teams in the game.

I used to play Madden regularly but I haven’t bought the game since Madden 07. As sports games moved to the current generation of consoles, I didn’t want to pay $60 for a game that would be outdated within a year. I would be more inclined to play but I feel that I don’t have the same sense of interest for sports games in this current generation of consoles. I don’t dislike the Madden series, it’s just too bad that the series can basically release a game with minimal changes without worry of real competition.

As both a sports and video games fan, I miss the days when there where competing licenses for sports titles. The 2K series of sports games represented a time when sports titles could truly flourish and aspire for greatness. Hopefully in a few years the license will be up for grabs again and Madden can be challenged again so that football fans will reap the rewards of solid competition.

The final battle of Super Mario Bros. 3

Having played video games for the majority of my life, I never actually beat that many of them. I would play many games for hours, but I only beat the games that I truly loved playing. However two games that I loved I never was able to beat them. These games were Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mega Man X.

I recently beat Super Mario Bros. 3 for the third time and I couldn’t help but think that I thought would never do that. But due to my roommate’s copy of Super Mario Bros. All-Stars for the Super Nintendo, I’ve been able to play the game over and over again.

My first encounters with the game in my youth were playing the Nintendo version with my brother. I was immediately hooked on the game and played it for hours on end. However, no matter how hard I tried I was never able to beat the game. I used the two magic flutes to make it all the way to World 8. Unfortunately, I never was able to make it all the way to Bowser.

Years later though I picked the game back up this past spring and started to play again. I was able to play the game again and it felt like no time passed. I remembered all the secrets and techniques necessary to advance in the game. This time I was able to play and nothing felt too challenging or impossible to beat. I was able to make it to Bowser and beat him handidly.

After beating the game I played Mega Man X, another game that I played during my childhood that I thought could never be beaten. I made it to the end of that game but was never able to beat the final form of Sigma. I beat the game in less than four hours and couldn’t believe I beat the game.

These were two of my favorite games and I beat both of them. I used to think that these games were impossible to beat and thought I would never even come close to beating them.

The advent of of game faq’s and YouTube have made it easier to beat the hardest games possible. But the feelings of actually beating a game that you once thought impossible is a great feeling. I feel that the older you get the easier it will be to play an older game and beat it. The way that gaming has evolved has helped generations of gamers improve their gameplay and make things easier to process. I love playing challenging games and the times when I can beat these games are some of my favorite times in games.

So I ask you, what games have you beaten that you thought were impossible?

I would like to share some of my beliefs about Video Games, which is to say that I don’t have any

Let’s start by clarifying that nothing involving videogames warrants the term “belief”.  In fact there is entirely too much conviction and otherwise overly invested interest in the videogame industry today.  It’s all bullshit.  If someone exerts any energy over videogames for any purpose but to play them, then their character is suspect.  Either this person is attempting to capitalize on the reader’s obsession, or that person is in fact the obsessed person in question.  To say videogame journalists take themselves too seriously is like saying gas is too expensive, but rest assured their motives don’t emerge from pure arrogance but rather the desire to sell advertising space.  So which am I?  I’m obsessed, but similar to a serial killer who’s conscious of his own psychopathy, I fully recognize my sickness.  So hence forth I implore the reader to read everything I write with enough salt to support a Roman Legion (see: history of term “salary”).

But once I had, and so should you, learned to accept my sickness, everything seems a lot funnier.  What is so entertaining about the magical combination which is the modern videogame industry?  Take one part internet, one part human nature, and a billiob parts money and what comes out? Absurdity.

Whether or not Jack Thompson (see: how to be disbarred for life) likes it or not videogames represent the one of the largest entertainment industries, and every single person is a potential customer.  But people are fickle creatures whose purchasing patterns remain a mystery.  And now with the tremendous power of the interwebs at their disposal, the opportunity for the self proclaimed “hardcore” to partake in the world’s largest shit-throwing contest is irresistible.  And once again I must expose my hypocrisy, because though I criticize others, my hands are not clean of this affair (see what I did there?).  As a member of the immense Drone Army which runs this country from cubicles across the nation, I supplement my thoughts of suicide-by-stapler by going on the internet and reading about videogames, getting upset, and (it gets even more ridiculous) responding!

Yes this behavior is absurd.  Can I help myself?  No.  But in my many moments of self-reflection facilitated by a mind numbingly boring job and complete lack of new things to find on the web, that isn’t porn, I have realized that being so absorbed in an industry which maintains so much power allows for endless amusement.  If you look at it right.  And now I have the good fortune to subject you to my musings about video-games, so I can avoid the headache for myself and hopefully you can find something in regards to what I assume is your favorite hobby that’s slightly humorous.

For example, what is it about Mario that allows his character to maintain so much appeal?  By the way, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is fantastic.  Anyway, he looks like Ron Jeremy in his early days.  Also, he has two first names… think about it, if Mario and Luigi are the Mario Bros, then Mario’s full name must therefore be:  Mario Mario.  And yet Mario stars in over 200 games!  Imagine if an actor, other than Chuck Norris, could boast that kind of resume.  But that’s not even the funny bit; the most comical aspect of Mario as a media icon is how grown men will clamor for yet more games.  Just look at the fantastic reception that the new Zelda game “Skyward Sword” (really, that’s the title?)  which was just announced is getting.  So many full-grown adults are delirious with their ability to pretend to be a boy who wears tights and talks to fairies.  MY exibit A in this phenomenon I cite the wonderful website fmylife.com: “Today, I woke up in an emergency room.  Why?  I hyperventilated and passed out when I found out that my favorite video game is getting a sequel. FML” F your L indeed, there is no way to know for which game this was but does it matter, considering how sad this is?  Except that I almost passed out myself when they announced a new Twisted Metal, crap.

That’s the thing though!  I too am quite excited about all these “new” (using the term loosely) games, though not to the point of hyperventilating, even though they are on the surface, kidn of dumb; Twisted Metal for instance is a game about driving around cars that can and do blow up other cars, for a contest, yep.  But that’s the endless source of amusement regarding videogames available for any addict of the most modern form of entrainment.  Any “gamer” (is that what were calling ourselves these days?) must recognize how stupid any of our beloved games really are!  So if your not comfortable enough with yourself, or possibly your sexuality (yes I’m talking to you “Bro” playing Gears of War) to admit that to yourself then please leave your hatemail to a minimum of 500 angry and misspelled words.  However if you, like me, choose to supplement your love (unhealthy obsession) of video games with self deprecating humor, then I invite you to think of your favorite videogame in context of something other than what ever preposterous “setting” was established for it and you might just laugh.  For me its Metal Gear Solid… apparently one man can take on a massive bi-pedal nuclear tank armed with one rocket launcher and an endless supply of ammunition; lest we forget that in his first foray in defeating Metal Gear in 1987, he literally did it with a can of hair-spray and a lighter… I shit-you-not.

Just a handful of enemies in this game.

The world of video games is a vast and wonderful place. There can be countless sequels of a game and there can be games that can be considered masterpieces even though barely anyone has played that game. Earth Defense Force 2017 by first impression would probably not be considered a masterpiece, but it definitely lives up in the fun department. That’s why it deserves a sequel. More people need to know the greatness of this game and a sequel would provide that for gamers.

Taking a page from every alien invasion movie, EDF has the feel of a 50′s B-Movie but still looks like it belongs on current gen consoles. The choppy graphics and sudden drops in frame rate add to this aesthetic. The movie could be summed up as Starship Troopers without the political themes or co-ed showers.

The game is one of the most pure video games out there, it doesn’t get bogged down with confusing controls or a convoluted story. It’s just a story of one soldier fighting hordes of enemies. In today’s gaming culture there should be some mindless fun every now and then. I’m all for complex games but it never hurts to have a game that doesn’t require much thought.

The game follows Storm One, a soldier for the Earth Defense Force. During the game you will have the support of several soldiers who will inevitably perish due to being cannon fodder. The overblown dialogue from your peers is one of the best parts of the game. Their shouts are either screams of pain or cliche ridden tough guy dialogue. Either way, it provides the game with added flavor and humor that you normally wouldn’t find in a game.

In terms of gameplay, the game uses the third person persepective. It feels like a throwback to side-scrolling games like Contra, where you mindlessly shoot at nonstop enemies. The acquisition of weapons is also one of the great draws of the game. There are several types of weapons in the game, which . There are five different difficulty levels in the game, with each one getting progressively harder than the last. Even with its budget title status, this is seriously one of the hardest games that I have ever played. Inferno mode (very hard) is perhaps the hardest difficulty level I have ever faced.

Even though this is a budget title, EDF is one of the most fun games I have ever played. It’s wacky charm and addictive gameplay make me hope that a sequel is on the horizon.

If there is a game out there that is begging for a sequel, it’s Earth Defence Force 2017. Long live the EDF!

Alright, I’ll come out with it. I’m a huge Fallout fan. I was unfortunate enough not to get started with the franchise until 3, but that was good enough to hook me totally and fully into the post-apocalyptic world. Now, I leave behind my well loved sniper rifle in the D.C. ruins in the capital wasteland and look ahead to the Vegas wasteland with the upcoming title from Bethesda “Fallout New Vegas”.  Bethesda is promising us bigger, badder, and better, and knowing Bethesda, their unlikely to disappoint.

But one part of the announcement really peaked my interest, and that was the announcement of the inclusion of a “Hardcore” mode that could be added on to any of the three standard difficulty settings. What does this hardcore mode do you ask? Well, While they haven’t told us everything, Bethesda has said that Hardcore will mean…

• You’ll have to deal with dehydration. Now, it’ll mean something to have to give up that purified water to beggars, because you’ll need it for more than a weak, weighty health pack.
• It’s been suggested you’ll have to deal with starvation to. A reason to keep food? Le Ghasp!
• Stimpacks no longer act as insta-heals. Instead, they heal overtime, just like real medicine.
• Crippled limbs can’t be healed by stimpacks either. Now, you have to treck back to town to get the local doctor to fix you up.
• And finally, the most dreaded of all hardcore mode changes, Ammo now has weight!

There you have it. Hardcore mode, the mode to truly test if you’ve got what it takes to survive in post-apocalyptic wasteland. I know I’ll be giving it a try!