Okay, so this is no Halo killer, or even Doom 3 killer.  However, it’s unique storyline, cel-shaded graphics, and comic book styled presentation make this game stand out from other FPS games.  You play as agent XIII, a man without his memories who may have killed the president.  It’s your job to get to the bottom of the conspiracy going on.  You rely on a small arsenal of weapons (including a crossbow) as you battle terrorists and corrupt government agents to unravel the cover-up.  The cool part of this game are the interactive flashbacks which give you insight into the man and his mission.  Rapper Eve, Adam West (from the 60s Batman TV show) and David Duchovny all provide voice work.  This won’t make you toss out your copy of Halo or Half Life 2, but this is good enough to get your FPS fix until the next big shooter comes along.

When the X-Box 360 had problems playing original X-Box games it was somewhat expected. It was announced a good while before launch and the reason was because the hardware was so different. Up until this weekend Sony’s claim was that backwards compatibility would be supported for PlayStation and PS2 games. Now that it’s released in Japan we see that that’s not true at all.

According to this BBC article a Japanese newspaper has claimed that 200 games don’t play properly on the new system. Though Sony has acknowledged the problem and first stated it on their web site the day of the Japanese release of the system, they aren’t giving a number of how many games are affected.

As usual promises are made to add compatibility for problematic games through patches available online. This is all so familiar.

Sony now has the following statement listed on their description of the PS3’s features:

NOTE
Some PlayStation 2 or PlayStation format software titles may perform differently on this system than they do on PlayStation 2 or PlayStation systems, or may not perform properly on this system. PS3 does not support a vibration controller.

Gamers can go to this page on Sony’s official site to check to see what games don’t work. Unfortunately it’s all in Japanese so good luck in making much sense of it. Search for nothing to get a list of all games. The right colum shows if the game works or not. In fairness it took me a while browsing through that list to find a game with a reported problem but if you narrow your search down to include only PlayStation 1 games you’ll notice that problems are a lot more common. Use this to translate.

It still remains to be seen if Nintendo shares the curse of the current generation of game systems but given their track record of backwards compatibility in their handhelds I’m not terribly worried.

Via Engadget, heres a look at the controller for an upcoming game for Nintendo Wii called “Streetcar GO!” which of course puts you in the shoes of a shinkansen driver.

The above photo is of course a mock-up, but that doesn’t make the premise any less ridiculous. I thought the proprietary controllers for games like Steel Battalion and DK Bongos were whacked!

Those who wish to virtually manipulate a bullet train can do so in February. Read all about it in broken english.

Back in September, I posted this video about a secret song hidden in many Nintendo games. The reception was very positive, and now I return to you with two new findings: one from Pikmin 2, and one from Virtual Boy Warioland. I also endeavor to inform on more games where you might want to look.

Credit goes to Nick Barba for finding the song in Virtual Boy Warioland, and to George Morgan for Pikmin 2.

An indepth analysis of Microsoft and Epic’s 2006 blockbuster!

A cyborg ninja. How cool is that? Hudson Soft’s Hagane was one of those games that didn’t rely on some special gimmick to shine. It didn’t have any FX chip, pre-rendered graphics, open world gameplay, cart racing, or RPG like stat building. It was just you taking control of a robot ninja, making your way to the end of the level while destroying everything in sight, and generally being a total bad ass. It was like a 16-bit version of ninja gaiden. You used every weapon at your disposal to defeat a wide variety of enemies. It’s a shame that this didn’t do nearly as well as it could have, but hopefully the Wii virtual console can give it new life.

Lets see, I already featured Silent Hill 2 and 4 here, so it’s only natural I feature number 3. Many people like this better than 4, and it’s larger than 2, with a greater variety of enemies and weapons to use. You play as Heather, a teenage girl who gets caught up in the bizzare alternate universe of Silent Hill while enjoying a day of shopping at the mall. However, there is more to Heather than she seems, as you find out later on in the game through a big plot twist. The neat thing about this game, and the Silent Hill series in general, is that each entry in the series is stand alone, and they tell you just what you need to know about the previous titles. Though, there are several nods to the previous games in the series that are sure to make fans of Silent Hill happy. Another part of Silent Hill’s allure is the alternate world you find yourself in. At any moment, the tranquil world around you will dissolve into a horrifying alternate version with bloodstained walls and floors made of human skin. It’s terrifying and sure to provide several sleepless nights. Fans of survival horror should pick this game up already. If you’re lucky, you can even get a free soundtrack cd included with the game.

As Nintendo slowly submits old games to the ESRB to be re-rated for release under the Wii Virtual Console, we find out what new titles are on the way.

The list is very NES heavy, but with some gems like Super Metroid and lesser played Kirby titles. I also see a few shooters here as well. Where’s my Wii Zapper?

Duck Hunt (NES)
Hogan’s Alley (NES)
Wild Gunman (NES)
Kid Icarus (NES)
Kirby’s Adventure (NES)
Pro Wrestling (NES)
Punch-Out (NES)
Excitebike (NES)
Ice Climber (NES)
Dr. Mario (NES)
Mario Brothers (NES)
Ice Hockey (NES)
Soccer (NES)
Pilot Wings (SNES)
Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES)
Kirby’s Super Star (Super NES)
Super Metroid (Super NES)
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (Super NES)
Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64)
Starfox 64 (Nintendo 64)
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)

All of the above were rated “E For Everyone” by the way.