As promised, I’m back with part 2 of our special wrestling edition of the $20 Game of the week. In this edition, we’ll take a look at WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008, as well as three other wrestling games that you can find on the cheap. So say your prayers and take your vitamins, because it’s time to walk down the aisle and go one on one with the great one. Remember, to be the man, you gotta beat the man! WOOOOOOO!
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Hope everyone’s had a merry Christmas. Hopefully you digested all that Christmas dinner, because it’s time to hit the squared circle. That’s right, Powet is gonna take you ringside for a look at wrestling gaming. In the first part of our special, we’ll take a look back at some of the best (and worst) that wrestling gaming had to offer up to and including the Playstation and Nintendo 64 years. Part 2, coming this weekend, will feature a look at some of the more recent wrestling games, including WWE Raw vs Smackdown 2008 and Fire Pro Wrestling Returns. So grab a folded-up chair (or whatever other weapon that strikes your fancy), a 6-pack of your favorite alcoholic beverage, a luchador mask, and a homemade cardboard sign, and (in the voice of Michael Buffer) LETS GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEE!

Oh, and watch out for thumbtacks, florescent lights, and exploding barbwire.
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The Neo Geo’s flagship fighting series returns for another year, and it delivers the same SNK 2-D fighting action fans have grown to love for well over a decade. After Ash Crimson stole the Yata Mirror and Mukai broke the Orochi Seal in The King of Fighters 2003, a new organization known as “Those From the Past” sponsor a new tournament. It’s up to you and your chosen team to find out the truth behind the organization and its mysterious leaders. There are 11 teams to choose from, and a number of hidden features and surprises to discover.
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Take Geometry Wars, pour in a cup of music rhythm game, and add in a dash of puzzle. Stir it all together and bake it for 45 minutes, and you get this downloadable surprise hit. Created by Jonathan Mak, Everyday shooter takes the familiar dual analog control scheme (left stick for movement, right stick for shooting) and integrates music into the gameplay. You play through several levels, each with their own graphical style, music, and play mechanics. The trick is to create explosions, and chain them together to add on more points. Each level has a different method of creating chains, and only by practice will you discover them all. Besides competing for high scores, the points you earn can be used to unlock features in the game’s shop. The play mechanics of Everyday Shooter are as simple as they get, yet it’s addictive and hard to master. For only $10, you can download this title from the Playstation Network’s online store.

This past week was Thanksgiving, and we have a lot to be thankful for. Friends and family for being in your corner, Butterball and a bunch of dead turkeys for supplying dinner, and the staff at Powet for giving you the latest news, insights, and info. Castlevania fans have Konami to thank for finally releasing Dracula X over here, and they also have Sindra to thank for letting us know how awesome it was as seen below. Gamers on a budget have me to thank for giving them the lowdown on cheap games. Most importantly, the citizens of Metro City have Mike Haggar and his friends to thank for keeping the peace, and beat-em-up fans have Capcom to thank for allowing them to witness his adventures first hand, by way of the Final Fight series.
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Eidos/IO Interactive’s Hitman series has always been the thinking man’s stealth action game. You don’t into heavily fortified military bases to take out genocidal terrorists (most of the time), you are sneaking into public locations to eliminate a designated series of targets. Simply not being seen isn’t enough, you have to cover up evidence of your presence and eliminate any cause for suspicion. You don’t just hide in ventilation shafts and cardboard boxes. Often times you’ll have to disguise yourself and figure out how to sneak your weaponry onto the mission site. Your job isn’t just to kill your target and move on, you’ll also have to avoid (or reduce the possibility of) innocents being killed. After 2 successful games and a weaker third title, Hitman returns to top form, just in time for the next generation of gaming.

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No, this doesn’t have anything to do with Dave Chappell, conscious hip hop music, or a brief Fugees reunion. However, Ultimate Block Party (known in Japan as Kollon) is a fun little anime-inspired PSP puzzle game brings back memories of Tetris Attack. You arrange colored blocks in groups of four to clear them out. As with many good puzzlers, things aren’t nearly that simple. When playing against a CPU or friend, the disappeared blocks are sent to the other player’s side, adversely affecting their game screen. Blocks can glue together, become harder to move, or even cover up the playing field. Clearing out blocks can earn magic squares, which give certain advantages such as changing all the blocks in a row to a certain color and blowing up clusters of blocks. As expected, you can chain together blocks and add on to your score. You play as one of 8 characters, but there are no real differences between them. It offers a Vs mode, an arcade mode, and a single player endless mode. There is also a campaign mode, but all it is is simply Arcade mode with just one character and some intro animations. In a nice little touch, the game offers Ad-Hoc play (something that wasn’t in the Japanese release), but good luck finding another player who has a copy of this game.

Ultimate Block Party may not be Lumines, and it doesn’t offer a whole lot in the way of game modes, but it’s still a solid title for casual gamers. It’s hard to find thanks to the lack of decent marketing around its release, but puzzle fans should definitely check this game out. Now that I think about it, this would make a good Xbox Live Arcade game.

It’s that time of the year again folks! The scariest night of the year, October 31st is upon us once again, and in between the candy, costumes, and practical jokes, we got a dose of some of the scariest games that have ever graced a console. One of which is an unknown chapter of a well-known franchise, and the other is a modern-day update to one of the most prolific titles in gaming. So without further ado, turn down the lights, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, and try not to wet yourself.
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