VIDEO GAMES
section by: Justin Clark and SCOTT!
IRON MAN 2
Sega
360, PS3, Wii, PSP, DS
5/4
MSRP: $59.99
You’d think Marvel might have learned a valuable lesson by now and not let Sega handle their properties, after both the first Iron Man game and The Incredible Hulk both failed at…well, most things, And yet, here we are, two years later, with a game that seems almost impressive in its complete ignorance of why the first game was sensory molestation. True believers, if you really need that proper Iron Man fix on a gaming system, do the right thing: Wait.
OOOOHHH: ON THE DLC TIP
ZENO CLASH: ULTIMATE EDITION
Atlus
Xbox Live Arcade
5/5
1200 MS pts
Zeno Clash is a first person Streets of Rage-style brawler RPG punk fantasy partially inspired by Hieronymous Bosch. Roll over that specific combination of terms in your head a few times, then go download it. PC gamers had nothing but love for this thing last year when it released through Steam, and this Ultimate Edition is a sincere attempt to bring the weird to console gamers in as pretty a package as possible. It’s an acquired taste, the voice acting needs work, and the price tag’s is on the border of steep for the impulse buy, but the rewards are pretty substantial.
RAYSTORM HD
Square Enix/Taito
XBox Live Arcade, Playstation Network
5/5
$14.99/1200 MS pts
Raystorm was one of two big name hardcore shooters of the last couple of console generations I completely missed the boat on (and you have no idea the regret I have that Radiant Silvergun‘s the other game), so Square Enix taking the time to pretty this one up for the HD era is a treat. That said, once again, the price tag is kind of a sticking point. By comparison, the far superior, far prettier, and far longer Ikaruga and Rez HD can be had for $5 cheaper. Inflation eats ass.
ROCK BAND TUESDAY
No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom: The Deep Cuts
($14.99/1200 MS pts; $19.99/1600 MS pts for The Complete Album [includes Spiderwebs, Excuse Me Mr. Just A Girl, Sunday Morning, and Don’t Speak])
- Happy Now? +
- Different People +
- Hey You +
- The Climb +
- Sixteen +
- You Can Do It
- World Go Round +
- End It On This +
- Tragic Kingdom +
Orianthi – According To You +
Picture Me Broken – Dearest (I’m So Sorry)*
+-Available for Lego Rock Band
$1.99/160 MS pts per track
*–99 cents/80 MS pts
I am thoroughly convinced that the DLC from the last few months has all been part of some insidious plot on the part of Harmonix to de-age me until I’m fat, awkward and 15 again. And then, they will send their assassins. That’s the only explanation for how much they’ve been hitting the bullseye in terms of the tracks that quite simply “take me back”. Unlike last week’s Silverchair track, though, there’s no guilt in this whatsoever. Tragic Kingdom’s aged remarkably well. It’s still an incredibly fun album to listen to and, if the 5 singles already released as DLC are any indication, to play. Though, I’m pretty sure I have a sweat silhouette still melted into the back of my couch from the first time I played Excuse Me Mr.
If there’s any doubt at how well constructed that album is, though, the two straggler tracks this week should provide a nice basis for comparison. Both of them are pseudo-angsty self-obsessed girl rock, although the Orianthi track at least gets a point or two for being catchy as hell and at least having something interesting for the guitarist to do.