The second of my twin reviews on the recent Castlevania games released, this one about the Wii game Castlevania Judgment, this one being not quite as lenient as it’s brother. Be sure to check out that review also if you haven’t already.

Ending Music: Dracula’s Castle Remix (Alucard’s Theme)
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In 2007, Valve wrapped up three of its newest and top FPS games into one package. Along with Half-Life 2, its first two episodes, and the multplayer classic Team Fortress 2, FPS fans also got Portal, which was a puzzle game in FPS form. Playing as a woman named Chell, and taunted by a computer AI named GLaDOS, it’s your job to test out the Apeture Science Handheld Portal Device. You move through a series of rooms, and you’ll have to make use of the portal gun to make it through each room and avoid tha hazards. Many of the rooms will involve a cube which you’ll have to make use of. It’s hard not to get attached to the cube. Even though it’s a short game, the darkly humorous story and crazy physics make it fun to play. Portal: Still Alive, an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive version of the game contains the original game and several new challenge rooms. There isn’t much of an incentive for anyone who already played through the original version, but at 1200 MS points ($15) this is perfect for those who have yet to play it.

Note: The standalone version of Portal is also available on PC for $20, as is the Xbox 360 version of the Orange Box.

When it was first released, Blood Omen was like no other game before it. You didn’t play as your typical pretty boy good guy, you played as a vampire hell bent on seeking revenge. You don’t care about saving the world, you only want to cure yourself of this fate, and you use any means necessary to extract this revenge. You sucked blood from villagers to restore your health, changed form to destroy your enemies, and spread terror across the land. It was such a shame that subsequent entries in the series didn’t do much justice to Silicon Knights’ classic, otherwise the Legacy of Kain series could have stood alongside franchises such as Zelda and Castlevania. As it is, this PS1 title stands alone in the series as one of the system’s classic titles.
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Monzie himself here to review the new My Pet Monster DVD set, and talk about a hidden gem, a live action My Pet Monster movie that actually predates the animated series.

This DVD set is a Canadian exclusive, but it can still be ordered through the Canadian Amazon.

Anyway… check out these My Pet Monster cookies I made…
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Note: This game is also available on Xbox 360, but not for the $20 price tag. It has exclusive maps and characters, but there is no support for user-generated content like in the PC and Playstation 3 versions.

Unreal Tournament was one of the first FPS game to focus exclusively on competitive multiplayer. Offering modes such as Assault, Capture the Flag, and Domination, Unreal Tournament gave gamers more than just the standard “kill everyone else as many times as you can” deathmatch modes seen in other FPS titles’ multiplayer components. Subsequent entries in the series have added more unique gameplay types, far-out locales, and even vehicles. Unreal Tournament’s unique weaponry, excellent graphics, and modding capabilities made the series a hit amongst gamers and critics as well. Unreal Tournament 3 (which is actually the fourth Unreal Tournament game) is no exception, and it has the added bonus of having the awesome power of the Unreal Engine 3 behind it.
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It’s a New Year, and one that looks exciting for geeks everywhere. To celebrate (and to make up for my tardiness), I’ve got a three-piece of new game related content. Along with the $20 GOTW and Lost Classics, we have the debut of our new section, Maximum Letdown. What is Maximum Letdown? Well you remember all the gaming classics from your youth? You know, the beloved Castlevanias, Contras, Zeldas, Street Fighter 2 Turbos, and the Final Fantasies that we love to reminisce about. Of course, there are other games from that era that we don’t like to talk about so much. Remember the CD-I Mario and Zelda games? How about the Adventures of Master Chu and Drunkard Hu (WHAT!?!?)? Do you remember when the Grand Theft Auto games had lousy play control? Or better yet, Wisdom Tree’s bible games? For every Gears of War, Halo, and Castlevania released, there are a thousand more Pixar/Disney/Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network shovelware carts destined for the bargain bin, if the even make it that far. Yeah, Maximum Letdown is gonna remind you of the darkside of gaming. We’re gonna dredge up some seriously bad memories. These are the games that either didn’t deliver on their promises, had that one fatal flaw that ruined it for gamers, didn’t do its license or predecessors proper justice, or was just plain awful. This won’t be done as frequently as a Lost Classics or $20 GOTW, but we’ll have a new one up at least twice a month. Speaking of Lost Classics and $20 GOTW, the former deals with a fighting game released at the dawn of the 32-bit era, and the latter is a game based on a fighting game. So without further ado, read on after the jump.

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Before Capcom vs SNK, there was, well, SNK vs SNK. While the Neo Geo had several good shooters and platformers, it would be fighting games which would really put SNK and the Neo Geo on the map. Games such as Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and Samurai Showdown would show that SNK was every bit as equal to Capcom in the fighting game arena. Even third party developers such as ADV and Data East made games for the Neo Geo. In 1994, after the several Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting games, SNK decided change the genre and do something completely new. They created a fighting game in which fighters were placed into 3-man teams, something which was unheard of at the time. Even more amazing, they teamed up characters from their back catalog. Fatal Fury fighters mixed it up with Art of Fighting characters. Yeah, people flipped when they fought Ryo Sazaki in Fatal Fury Special, and it was cool to see Geese Howard as the boss of Art of Fighting 2, but now the crossover appeal had been taken to the next level. It wasn’t just SNK FIGHTERS who joined in the fun. Characters from Ikari Warriors and Psycho Soldier also threw down with Terry Bogard and crew. There were also several new characters who joined as well. In fact, Kyo Kusanagi, one of the new blood, would rise to become KOF’s main hero. The series itself would become one of the Neo Geo’s (as well as the genre’s) most prolific titles. Subsequent entries were released on an almost-yearly basis, and the newest entry in the series is being developed even now. To tide us over until then, SNK has released this collection of the first 5 games in the series. This disc is a must-own for fans of the series, fans of SNK, or fans of 2-d fighters period.
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This title from Sammy (now owned by Sega) is one of the finest, yet most underrated titles on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game contains 3 different styles of gameplay. There are side scrolling platforming segments in which players can switch between various weapons, light-gun shooting levels which are similar to Operation Wolf, and driving levels similar to Spy-Hunter. The story, told through cinemas explores genetic mutations, cloning, and secret conspiracies which take the game beyond the standard ‘save the princess’ storylines seen in other games of that period. This game is a sought after title for the Virtual Console. In fact Mark Bozon, editor of IGN’s Wii Page have been asking the company about the possibility of the game being available on the service. However, Sammy apparently doesn’t remember the game and is tracking down the licensing rights to it. That’s a shame too, as this is an excellent title that deserves a second life.