Some may remember an episode of PowetToys early on that focused on the Four Horsemen’s FANtastic Exclusives for 2006. The exclusive was based on an original story premise from the Four Horsemen called The 7th Kingdom. The exclusive figure was a minotaur named Xetheus of the Animal Kingdom and had several variant figures. In the course of that episode, I looked at the logo and revealed what sections of the design represented which kingdoms from the storyline. This was not public knowedge beforehand, nor had it really been discussed before the episode’s release. The design hadn’t seen much exposure before the figures’ release. Because of this, I have been credited for this revelation.

The 7th Kingdom was so popular in the FanEx polls, it has been spun out into its own line, independent of the annual FANtastic Exclusive promotion. I thought I would take this opportunity to take a look at the logo and how I figured out what symbols went with what kingdom.

Read on for some simple reasoning, research and deduction.
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In 1999, Warner Brothers and the Wachowski Brothers made a film like no other. It told the story of a future in which humans were enslaved by technology gone mad. The film’s combination of special effects and martial arts were unlike anything ever seen before. At the end of the film, fans would eagerly anticipate what would happen next. For four straight years, fans have yearned for a sequel to the film, and gamers craved a video game tie-in which would allow the to take control of all the high velocity action shown in the films. Indeed, since the film was released, many games have incorporated the Matrix’s slow-motion action into their own gameplay.

By 2003, the Matrix was set to become the new millennium’s answer to Star Wars, taking its place as the primer Sci-fi franchise. Thus, for the film’s upcoming sequel, the Wachowskis knew they had to do it big. To that end, they recruited scores of anime artists, actors, CG graphics experts, and game developer Shiny entertainment (Earthworm Jim, Messiah, MDK). Not only would we be getting a sequel, but we’d also be getting the first video game, along other cool stuff. Not only would we see the next evolution of the franchise, but we’d also see a breakthrough in storytelling across different forms of medium Or at least it would have been had the Wachowskis and the people at Shiny entertainment had the slightest clue of how to do this properly.
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Virtua Tennis did for videogame tennis what NFL Blitz and NBA Jam did for football and basketball respectively. No, there aren’t any big head codes, you won’t be hitting the court with Bill Clinton and Will Smith, there is no loudmouth announcer, and players don’t burst into flame. What I mean is that Sega and AM3 has taken the sport of tennis and made it fun to play. At first it wouldn’t seem to be much of a big deal, as tennis is rather easy to implement in video game form. In fact, the very first video game was basically a version of table tennis. However, there is a lot of strategy involved in the sport. Speaking as a former high school tennis player, it’s important to position yourself correctly, use the proper shot for returns, and figure out how to prepare and set up the next volley. There is a lot of thinking involved, and little time to do it in. Thankfully, Sega Sports’ tennis series has always eschewed any of these complications and focused upon the bare essence of what tennis is: two (of four if playing doubles) people knocking a ball back and forth between each other and moving as fast as possible while doing so.
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Within the past decade or so, we Americans have seen a trend of comic book-based movies and adaptations from books all over the silver screen. In fact, it’s become so commonplace that we expect it now. If there not a summer blockbuster that isn’t based on a comic or a book, good or bad, then it hasn’t been a fulfilling year, has it? Even the success of Transformers has proven that other venues can be tapped for potential in the film industry.

So it’s only fitting that anime become the next big thing to be converted by Hollywood. And that’s got potential in and of itself, right?

Perhaps not as much as you’d think.

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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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IGN has posted a full 21 minute video of gameplay in Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty. The battle features Terran vs. Protoss and gives a decent look at some of the new units and abilities.

You can see that video here.

One of the abilities I was intrigued by was that a newly built command center was able to carry 4 SCVs with it to immediately start mining at the expansion base. Another new feature shown was not only the ability to traverse terrain at different levels with certain units, but also that some parts of the terrain could be interacted with, in this case a pile of boulders blocking/protecting the entrance to an expansion site. They were also pretty quick to point out that this is still an alpha version and you can probably bet on a somewhat lengthy beta version to work out all the bugs. That being said, things are looking very good so far.

The division between American-style role-playing game fans and Japanese-style RPGers is almost as deep as the split between Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter fans. While American RPG games such as Diablo and the Elder Scrolls series have focused on more real-time action oriented combat and deep character customization, Japanese RPGs such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest have focused on character development, turn-based combat, and semi-linear storylines. For years, it has been a back and forth battle, with both American and Japanese RPGs gaining popularity amongst fans at certain periods. When Final Fantasy VII changed the face of the genre, many American gamers flocked over to the works of Square-Enix, and its contemporaries. Fast forward to a decade later. Japanese RPG developers have been going as strong as ever, and even new ones such as Mistwalker have emerged. However, the problem with the current JRPG scene is that these developers have mostly relied on the same old formulas that they have implemented since the late 90s. The failures of games such as The Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery (as well as the cult status of games such as Persona, The World Ends With You, and Valkyrie Profile) have demonstrated that the public wants to see something different. Moreover, throughout the last decade, the American RPG market has been bolstered by excellent games such as Diablo, Oblivion, Neverwinter Nights, and Jade Empire. This brings me to this week’s feature, Mass Effect. Mass Effect was created by BioWare, the camp behind hits such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Baldur’s Gate, and the forthcoming Dragon Age. As in the past, BioWare has taken the RPG genre to new heights by not sticking by the genre’s norms. Square-Enix, Tri-Ace, Mistwalker, and other RPG developers, both American and Japanese, would do well to study this game (especially if they plan on doing any more work with the Unreal 3 engine).
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