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Rainier's Articles


PSP/NGC/PS2/PC Preview - 'Pac-Man World Rally'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Racing
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Release Date: Q3 2006

Kart racing is one of the original quirky party games that tends to be fun for all ages and for any number of players. With Pac-Man World Rally, Namco has created the latest iteration of the kart racer based on their lovable characters, and from what I was able to see at this year's E3, it is a blast to play.

Pac-Man World Rally will feature various characters and tracks from Pac-Man titles and other Namco classics, such as Dig-Dug and Katamari. Each character will have

PC Preview - 'Call of Juarez'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: FPS
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Techland
Release Date: September 2007

If you're a PC gamer, then you are practically drowning in options when it comes to playing FPSes. There are games with every possible gimmick, control scheme, and emphasis looking to cater to some gamer with very particular tastes. Call of Juarez is one more game from that school of thought, with an emphasis on storytelling, single-player campaign, and its Wild West setting. You can do a lot of the typical FPS stuff in Call of Juarez and experience it with a genre twist, and there

PSP Preview - 'SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Action
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Zipper Interactive
Release Date: November 2006

If you're a SOCOM fan, then you've probably played the original SOCOM Fireteam Bravo for the PSP. Because of the title's success, the team at Zipper Interactive has decided to bring out a new release with tons of fixed features and additions, such as increased visual quality.

My favorite features are the crosstalk option, which has been completely revised, and the increased interaction between this game and the new SOCOM: Combined Assault for the PS2. This means that while you play Fireteam Bravo 2 and perform missions,

PC Preview - 'Armed Assault'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: First-Person Shooter
Publisher: TBA
Developer: Bohemia Interactive Studio
Release Date: Q3 2006

When you look at the first-person shooter genre as a whole, they can largely be broken up into gameplay that is either based on strict linearity (heavy use of hallways, such as Half-Life or Doom 3) or the somewhat less linear collection of larger, more open areas (e.g., Ghost Recon series, Half-Life 2). The original Operation Flashpoint came out on the PC a few years ago and was critically successful for two reasons. Firstly, the title absolutely oozed atmosphere, from the well-written yet totally

Xbox 360 Preview - 'Enchanted Arms'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Enchanted Arms

Genre: RPG
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: From Software
Release Date: August 2006

Come On, What Was Wrong with [eM] -eNCHANT arM-?

Horse armor and wizards' towers won't keep Oblivion players saddled up forever. Well, maybe they will, but at some point, you'll need to take a breather and find something other than shutting down Oblivion Gates to do with your Xbox 360 role-playing time. Excellent RPG alternatives remain scarce, much as they always were on the original Xbox, so it was disappointing to find the Enchanted Arms demo station somewhat under-mobbed next to the tangle of squirming E3 attendees trying

PS3/X360/PC Preview - 'Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Historical Tactical Shooter
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Gearbox Software
Release Date: Q1 2007

Brothers in Arms is one of the great things to come out of the military game boom, and certainly one of the franchises that keeps driving massive demand for World War II shooters. This spring, the latest entry in the franchise, Hell's Highway, hits the XBox 360, PS3, and PC in full 720p high-resolution. This is the kind of game that will move 360s, make you think twice about the PS3, and send you shopping for a new top-of-the-line graphics card. Ubisoft displayed the

NDS Preview - 'Elite Beat Agents'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Puzzle/Rhythm
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Inis
Release Date: Q4 2006

With companies like Konami and Harmonix making rhythm/music games popular in the 'States, we've begun to see lots more than the latest Dance Dance crazes coming our way. We've had taiko drums, regular drums, virtual karaoke bars, guitars, and now ... well, now we've got touch-tapping.

It's really fun touch-tapping, though.

Elite Beat Agents is the localized pedigree of a Japanese DS game by the name of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, in which male cheerleaders are summoned everywhere they can be to solve the problems of the world through dance.

Wii Preview - 'Red Steel'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: First-Person Shooter
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Paris
Release Date: TBA

Nintendo has been pimping Red Steel unusually hard for it to be a third-party title, especially a third-party FPS with a Western developer. It's because Red Steel embodies Nintendo's promise that the Wii's games are going to cater to every possible type of gamer, including the aggressive, predominantly male demographic of FPS fans that felt distinctly ignored by the GameCube. Red Steel is not just an FPS, either, but almost a tech demo that shows third-party developers just what kind of an experience they can create

'Ridge Racer 7' (PS3) - Features & 18 New Screens

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under Tokyo Game Show - Tokyo Game Show 2006 Day 1

Drift around corners at speeds over 160 mph taking the lead as Ridge Racer 7 brings gamers a driving experience unlike any other.

With a new platform comes new territory as RR7 promises to reinvent itself, allowing players to choose from 40 different machines and over 20 courses. With reversed courses, the total grows to 40, most in the series ever! Players can further enjoy the drift racing experience by taking part in the new customization mode, opening up the experience with up to 200,000 customization combinations. With full support of Sony’s new network service, Ridge Racer fans have an entirely

PS3/X360 Preview - 'Army of Two'

by Rainier on Jan. 1, 2006 @ 1:30 a.m. PST | Filed under E3 - Post - E3 2006

Genre: Action
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Montreal
Release Date: 2007

We live in perilous times, my friends. These days, the game industry is either all about the single-player experience, or the dynamics of (God help us, sometimes massive) multiplayer. Remember back in the day, when it was only about two people? In games like Streets of Rage, Contra and Final Fight, you had to help out your partner every step of the way, or face mutual destruction. These days, we're lucky to get a "cooperative mode" in the games of our choice.

Enter Electronic Arts, who wants