Leveling Down

What a nice promotional shot of the Ear Force PX21 provided by Turtle Beach…

Ever since I got my PS3, I came to the realization that I wanted to get a headset for the system since there wasn’t one included in the box. What if I wanted to play one of the PS3′s online games at some point like Mag or Uncharted 2? At the same time, my flimsy 360 headset is falling apart and only allows for voice chat – I still would like the ability for the game audio to come out of my headphones so my wife won’t be disturbed at all. Wouldn’t it be great to find a gaming headset that was not only compatible with both the 360 and PS3, but also allowed for voice chat and game audio all within the headset itself? Enter the Turtle Beach Ear Force PX21, a gaming headset that allows you to listen to game audio and participate in voice chat at the same time while being compatible with the PS3, the 360, and PC/Mac (just in time for Starcraft 2 and its integrated voice chat support). Read on for my review.

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Splinter Cell: Conviction allows you to play stealthy or “Stallone-y.”

I’m pretty much done with Splinter Cell Conviction and it’s been a little over a week. That’s a bit of an indictment against the game, but not as large of one as you might think. There are a couple factors at play here, including the fact that I could trade SCC in for 32 bucks and essentially get Super Street Fighter IV for 8 bucks. Seeing as how I got SCC for 45 bucks, I’ve gotten more than my $13 worth out of it! Anyway, there actually are a lot of different game modes outside of the single player impressions I made last week, so I’ll do my best to detail them here.

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I’ve spent some additional time with the Starcraft 2 beta these last several days, and am ready to share some more thoughts – this time on the competitive aspect of the beta. I’ve finally jumped into a little bit of online play against real players which include newbies and experienced RTS gamers. Read on for a recap on each of my 7 matchups, the new ladder/league system, and my thoughts on the 1v1 aspect of the game. Spoiler: it’s getting good!

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Tales of Monkey Island continues the zany adventures of Guybrush Threepwood, who carries voodoo swords in one hand and root beer in the other!

Telltale Games is a company famous for making the new wave of adventure games including the Sam and Max games and Wallace and Grommit. Monkey Island is one of the most famous adventure game series of all time. What happens when you put the two together? Last year, we got to find out when Tales of Monkey Island, a 5-part episodic game that Telltale made to carry on the Monkey Island torch. Does it live up to the Monkey Island legacy? I finally got a chance to check it out. Hit the jump for my impressions through the first two episodes.

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Army of Two: The 40th Day improves upon its successor, but by how much?

Outside of Final Fantasy XIII, t’s been an EA month of gaming for me these past several weeks. I’ve played through Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Dante’s Inferno, Army of Two: The 40th Day, and now I’m getting into Mass Effect 2. Fresh off my mediocre time with Dante’s Inferno, I decided to plow through Army of Two: The 40th Day since I had a feeling I wouldn’t be holding onto either game much longer. If you remember my review of the first, I thought it was a relatively decent title, as it presented an interesting aggro mechanic but it was far too short. The second one continues the primary mechanics of the first, but also includes some improvements. Are they enough to make the sequel enjoyable and necessary?
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The Starcraft 2 Beta Battle.net Quick Match Screen

Seems like not all of you can play the Starcraft 2 beta so I will share my impressions on it. I’ve only put in maybe an hour or so thus far, but as a Blizzard fan and veteran Starcraft player, it was enough time to formulate something to write about. This will most likely not be the only beta impressions I will share since I think my impressions on the game will change as I continue to learn it.

Today’s entry will discuss the Battle.net redesign, what the Starcraft II beta contains, and my impressions of each race after playing only against AIs.
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First: less plastic. Next: no instruction manual. After that? Maybe no disc…

Today is Earth Day, so I am writing on a topic to celebrate. There has been a lot of effort in the games industry to try to make things more greener, which, coincidentally, also makes things cheaper for game companies. Xbox 360 games now use less plastic in their cases, and of course the move to more downloadable games and content saves the environment as well. So now game companies are taking the next step, completely eliminating game manuals!

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Games like Modern Warfare 2 and Starcraft 2 are worth more than their retail price.

Having now completed the 8 hour game that is Dante’s Inferno, I’ve started thinking more about the crazy idea that this game retails for the same price as a game like Modern Warfare 2. With Modern Warfare 2′s Stimulus Package earning millions and millions of dollars amidst some complaining about the expensive $15 price tag, analysts have discovered that the $15 price tag was actually too low, since sales were higher than expected at that price. Maybe $20 would have been the sweet spot? In any case, it has gotten me thinking as of late about the disparity between the value of games. Are all games created equal? Of course not. Yet why are they all charging $60? I guess it works because in the end, games that are more than worth the $60 retail price will continue to sell like hotcakes while games that are not worth it will sell far less quantities. Game studios will make more for games that are worth more, but is it the best pricing strategy?

I may sound crazy when I say this, but I am actually willing to pay a monthly fee for certain games. Now this may sound ridiculous since why would someone offer to pay more for something when he’s already getting it cheaper? If I can play Modern Warfare 2 online for free already, why am I suggesting that I don’t mind paying for it? Because it’s one of the most entertaining games I’ve played in recent history that continues to captivate me month after month while other games get beaten and put back on the shelf or sold. Read on for the list of games being released this year (and Modern Warfare 2) that I would consider paying a monthly fee for and why.
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Splinter Cell Conviction introduces a new objective mechanic: literally plastering your next move onto walls

I don’t really have much history with the Splinter Cell series; I only finished the original and half of Pandora Tomorrow. I know a lot of people have strong feelings on the series – some people really love it and some absolutely abhor it, but I came to Conviction with no expectations or preconceptions. I’m not totally sure how I feel about the game yet, but I’m about halfway through so I wanted to share my initial thoughts.

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Dante’s Inferno sounded good on paper, but ultimately ended up a waste of time.

Dead Space is one of my favorite new IPs in the last couple of years, courtesy of EA’s own internal studio, Visceral Games (formally named EA Redwood Shores). The combination of action, adventure, and horror made the original Dead Space game seem closer to being a sequel to the Resident Evil games than Resident Evil 5 did. Dead Space Extraction on the Wii was also an entertaining (albeit short) horror shooter game, and it worked. I am totally a fan of Dead Space and a supporter of the studio. When I first heard that the studio behind Dead Space would be making an action/adventure game based on Dante’s Inferno, I was instantly interested. Action/adventure + horror in a hellish theme setting from the developer behind Dead Space? Sign me up! Unfortunately, it’s nowhere near what I hoped it would be. Luckily for all of you, I played through this game so you don’t have to. Read on for my review and why this game disappointed me so.
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