Thursday, November 20, 2008
Games Mini-Reviews: Metal Slug 7, Need for Speed Undercover, Skate It
Posted by Earnest "Nex" Cavalli on Thu, Nov 20 at 8:33 PM
Since I have to play a fuckton of games on a daily basis and the Mercury has a limited amount of review space, a lot of games fall through the cracks. Consider this my (hopefully weekly) attempt at covering as many of these titles as possible. I'll mostly be choosing stuff that I've been enjoying recently, but if there is anything you want me to specifically review, let me know and I'll try to make it happen.
Metal Slug 7 -- $30 -- Nintendo DS
The first Metal Slug game not to debut in arcades is also the best, due almost entirely to the added extras that console gamers demand. The game contains a traditional set of arcade-style missions, of course, but alongside that you have nearly 30 "Combat School" side missions that toss added goals at you such as rescuing all the hostages and not taking any damage. Anyone who has ever enjoyed Metal Slug (or, for that matter, Contra) will love the handheld Metal Slug 7.
Verdict: Buy
Need for Speed Undercover -- $60 -- Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Blah blah, hyper-masculine, sexually-repressed car culture, blah blah reminiscent of Vin Diesel's worst films (yes, worse than The Pacifier), blah blah constant graphical stuttering, blah blah boring racing action, blah blah but at least the cars are pretty.
Yup. That about covers it.
Verdict: Avoid (unless you get off on shiny rims and are monumentally stupid)
Skate It -- $50 -- Wii
Fuck Tony Hawk. His skateboarding games are SO 1997. The new millennium belongs to EA's Skate series, and even the pared down Wii version beats Tony's Bam-Margera-co-branded ass. Double points if you own the Wii Fit Balance Board, as the game actually lets you use that slab of plastic as the skateboarding equivalent of Rock Band's plastic guitar. I expected shoddy support, but the whole thing is actually damn fun. Yeah, your skater friends will call you a bitch for not leaving your living room to grind a rail, but they're all assholes anyway.
Verdict: Buy
Post Script: Erik and I totally didn't conspire to create a set of sister posts tonight. Call it kismet, or blame it on Portland being too damn cold and rainy and depressing to do anything but stay inside and forget reality.
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Where's the Fallout 3 review? I would really like my own views to be validated by someone who has a byline.
I couldn't do a Fallout 3 review for the Mercury Graham. Wired already called dibs on my views on the game. Here's a link: http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/10/incomp…
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