The original Just Cause was a game that came out during the early days of the Xbox 360 lifespan. Although it was far from perfect, it did have a lot of potential as a Grand Theft Auto meets Mission Impossible style free roaming espionage title. This game’s sequel improves on it in every way, enabling players to pull off batshit insane stunts straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster.
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Project Horned Owl is a classic Playstation light gun shooter, and one of the few available for the system. Taking place in a futuristic world, you (and a friend if playing co-op) take control of two policemen out to stop a terror plot. You’ll blast your way through criminals, cyborgs, and mechs throughout the game’s 5 stages. If the mech designs look familiar, that’s because manga artist Masamune Shirow, the man behind Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell did character designs for this game. The game has bright anime-styled graphics and fully voiced cutscenes. Despite it’s roughness, fans of old school rail shooters like Lethal Enforcers and Operation Wolf will love this game. Hopefully it will show up on Playstation Network if it isn’t there already. It’s just too bad there are no PS3 light gun accessories to play it with.

Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond.

This blog is no stranger to 80’s animation. We probably post about it entirely too much. Why ruin a good streak, though. Today, we celebrate Science! Here’s a quick rundown of the Top 5 Scientists from 80’s animation in no particular order.

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Even though EA just released the much sought after Seasons less than two months ago, they got 5 new add-ons (3 expansion packs and 2 stuff packs) coming throughout the next twelve months. This month will see the release of 70, 80s, and 90s Stuff, a stuff pack that will add outfits, hairstyles, and objects inspired by….you guessed it, the 70s, 80s, and 90s. This March, EA will bring us University Life, another much-requested expansion pack. From young adult to elder, Sims can enroll in a higher learning institute, pick one of several majors, and earn a career boost after graduation. They can also join one of three different groups; Nerds, Jocks, and Rebels (no foreign exchange students, goths, or ethnic identity clubs?). While not much more info about the game has been released, as you can see in the trailer above, Sims can engage in beer pong, paint graffiti, participate in student protests, pose naked for paintings, and a bunch of other fun stuff. The game will feature a new city with a comic book shop and a coffeehouse. This game is going to recreate my college experience to a T.
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You know what was great about old school action games? You didn’t need upgradable stats, cinematics, a-list voice talent, or any other bells and whistles. No sir, all you needed was a bunch of enemies to shoot as you ran to the right of the screen and a bunch of weapons to shoot them with. Intrusion 2, the sequel to a 2008 flash game brings back this action. Developer Aleksey Abramenko spent three years on this title, and it was worth every minute. Playing as some guy, you set out to stop a bunch of bad guys for whatever reason, but did you ever play these types of games for the plot? Ninja please. If you want story, go play some Final Fantasy. All you need to know is that there a shitload of bad guys who need to be murdered to death. Got it?
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Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond

2012 is now behind us. The year came with it’s share of decent movies. I made a pact with some friends to catch most of the summer movies and aside from that crappy Spider-Man flick I can honestly say I had a good time at all of them. So here’s a look at my top 5 personal favourites of the year. I’m sure to miss some of your favourites so feel free to let me know why I’m wrong in the comments!

I already discussed my favourites of 2012 on this week’s Powetcast. I took a little more time to look over the year’s movies before putting together my final list. I also made sure I saw the Hobbit before I wrote this article, though you will notice that I found it undeserving of being included.

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Beam Software developed this 1991 NES adaptation of A New Hope. You play as Luke Skywalker as you make your way through the sands of Tattoine, explore the Mos Esiley Cantina, and you know the rest, it’s freakin STAR WARS! You’ll encounter Han Solo and Princess Leia, and you can even play as them. However, they only have one life. If they get killed, Obi Wan Kenobi can revive them a limited number of times. There are also shooter segments where you fly the Millennium Falcon. The game’s soundtrack also contains NES versions of the familiar themes. The controls are touchy and it lead to several frustrating deaths, but it’s still an excellent movie tie-in on the NES. And it’s nowhere near as bad as Namco’s bizarre Japanese version.

If La Mulana had been released on the SNES, it would have stood right up there with games like Castlevania and SUper Metroid as one of the greatest titles of the 16-bit generation. The game isn’t pretty shabby today either. La Mulana is an upgrade of an independently developed game. The original La Mulana (available for free on Tiggit) was done as a tribute to classic MSX games, and was developed by Takumi Naramura. A company known as Nigoro snatched up the game, upgraded it’s visuals to resemble 16-bit gaming systems, and ported it to WiiWare, while GR3 Project ported it to Microsoft Windows. Having a exploration-heavy style of gameplay similar to Metroid and later Castlevania titles, La Mulana puts players in the role of a young archaeologist who explores an ancient tomb. You’ll gather items and abilities to progress, and the game is non linear. The game has a high difficulty level and leaves it up to you to figure out how to progress. You’ll run into several bosses and characters throughout your journey. If you’re a fan of classic action games, you will want to add this to your collection. It’s available at Gog.com, where it’s discounted as part of the site’s winter sale.