Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece is most likely the reason you bought a PS3, and for good reason. Like its predecessors, Metal Gear Solid 4 bends the rules of video game convention to become a landmark for its generation of gaming, and like its predecessors, it deserves a space on your shelf.
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Sega’s Cyborg Justice for the Sega Genesis has in interesting premise: You (and a friend is playing co-op) can build a customizable cyborgs and pit him against an onslaught of enemy cyborgs. However, an interesting premise alone won’t help your game, especially if the gameplay is as dull, frustrating, and repetitive as it is in cyborg justice. You play as a human who has been transformed into a cyborg against their will. Now you must escape the cyborg’s planet, battling waves of identical looking cyborgs on the way using generic combat moves.
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Bleach the Third Phantom is the fourth Bleach video game released in the U.S, and the first that isn’t a one-on-one fighter, but rather a strategy RPG akin to Shining Force. The game is loosely tied to Bleach continuity, and it starts several years before the start of the series. The Third Phantom stars a pair of twins (one of which you choose and name beforehand) who are attacked by a hollow in the Rukon district. Afterbeing rescued by a group of Soul Reapers (including younger versions of Kiskue Urahra, Soske Aizen, and Kaien Shiba) the two decide to become Soul Repaers themselves. When a powerful enemy attacks the Soul Society, the twins shunted forward in time to the modern day where they meet Ichigo and his allies. There are around 60 playable characters, and nearly every major player in the Bleach series makes an appearance.
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I ain’t talking about no damn laundry soap. Bleach is a very popular anime and manga series created by Tite Kubo. It debuted in America is 2006 and is currently shown Saturday nights on Cartoon Network’s late night Adult Swim programming block. It can best be described as Ghostbusters and X-men meet Gi-Joe and Samurai Showdown. It enjoys a nice following, particularly amongst fansubbers and bittorrent pirates, almost becoming as iconic of an anime as Sailor Moon, Gundam, or Naruto. This article deals with the anime, although most of it is adopted from the manga. The series has been on hiatus since last November, and re-runs have been shown in its Saturday night time slot since then. New episodes are set to premiere August 28th.
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To call the third entry in Bethsheda’s Elder Scrolls series a fantasy Grand Theft Auto would be a serious understatement. While progression in the GTA games is tied to the plot, there is seemingly no limit to what could be done in Morrowind. While there was a story, you were not obligated to follow it. You can rise to the head of a guild, level grind yourself into a tank or an ultra-mage, or just plunder for treasure all day. You can even become a vampire or werewolf and spend your nights stalking victims. If it wasn’t for the combat system, it would most likely have become one of the PC’s top titles as well as an Xbox system seller.
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I can’t blame anyone for being leery about another Grand Theft Auto on a Nintendo portable. After all, the first effort, a Game Boy Color version of GTA 2 was horrible, and while 2005’s Grand Theft Auto Advance was slightly better, it still wasn’t anything to write home about. So how does The Nintendo DS entry Chinatown Wars succeed where others have failed? Simple, it combines classic GTA action with stylus driven gameplay to make a fun package that’s every bit as engaging as its console cousins.
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These days, the Duke Nukem franchise has regulated to a running gag, especially with Duke Nukem Forever being delayed so much that it has been all but confirmed as canceled. However, it wasn’t already like this for the series. In fact, when it was released in the mid-90s, it stood alongside games like Doom and Rise of the Triad as one of the early great first person shooters and to this day it’s still well-loved by fans. Also like those early FPS titles, Duke has managed to earn its fair share of controversy with it’s sex and violence. Starring as the titular character, your job is to thwart an alien invasion. You’ll shoot up dozens of mutants across a variety of environments. While the game’s premise is nothing new, the game’s sense of humor sets it apart from the pack. The game parodies many pop culture icons, and the cover itself was inspired by the film Army of Darkness. You’ll also encounter women in various states of undress, which caused the game to earn a considerable amount of controversy.
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Are you one of those people who think video games are, or can be art? Did you like Braid? If so, you’ll love The Path. The Path is one of those games which clearly isn’t for everyone, but it makes you think about what’s going on in ways that games such as Halo and Grand Theft Auto can’t. The Path is a retelling of the story of Little Red Riding Hood. After selecting one of several sisters, you are sent by your mother to visit your ailing grandmother. You are given one command: stay on the path. Indeed, doing so will get you to grandma’s house safe and sound, but you don’t want to do that. It’s by deviating from the path that you learn more about the game and find more of the forest’s secrets. You’ll also encounter the “wolf”. The game’s control system is simplistic, but it gets the job done as all you are doing is exploring and checking out objects. The game is very ambiguous, as you learn nothing of the girls besides their name. What’s the game’s point? Is there one? While the ambiguity will put off most players, others will enjoy trying to decipher the game’s meaning. If you want something different and have an open mind, check it out.