By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and The Lego Group have announced via press release that a sequel to their widely popular 2008 video game, Lego Batman.

This sequel, titled Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes, will be released this summer for XBox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation Vita, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and Windows PC.

As the title suggests, the game will feature Batman and Robin teaming with other DC Comics heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, as they fight to save Gotham City from villains like The Joker and Lex Luthor.

The game will reportedly expand on the gameplay of Lego Batman, allowing players to use flight, super breath and heat vision. New suits and gadgets will also be available, such as Batman’s power suit and Robin’s hazard cannon.

Source: DC Comics

TITLE: Sonic Generations
PLATFORM: 3DS
DEVELOPER: Dimps
PUBLISHER: Sega
ESRB: E
RELEASED: November 22, 2011

By Justin Polak
Co-founder, Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

Sonic seems to be getting his groove back these days. Even though I wasn’t impressed with the first episode of Sonic 4, I did like what I played of other Sonic games, like Sonic Rush, Sonic Colors and the console version of Sonic Generations. If you felt the same as I did and didn’t have enough of your blue blur fix on the main version of the game, the 3DS’ Sonic Generations has you covered. As usual with a handheld version of a major title, one has to question if it is worth playing.

Besides the Green Hill Zone, Sonic Generations for the 3DS contains different sets of levels. Just like the console version, each world has an act where you play as classic Sonic, and one where you play as modern Sonic. Modern Sonic in the handheld version, however, plays more like Sonic Rush. Also, abilities are learned as the game goes on. There is no skill shop within the 3DS cart. Classic Sonic, of course, plays like an updated Genesis title. Boss fights and Special Stages are still separate from everything else.

While the 3DS version is designed well and fun to play, I noticed a dilemma within the first few minutes of playing. My mind kept wandering to the console version and how much better it was. The only way one would really enjoy owning the 3DS version is if for some reason they don’t have access to the console version. If you are huge Sonic fan, you’ll get enjoyment out of both versions, but even the biggest fanboy will be hard pressed to say that handheld Sonic Generations is worth purchasing.

I get that ultimately, some handheld games are supposed to be bite-sized, on the go experiences. I mean, look how successful mobile games are these days! However, the experience with this version feels a bit bare-boned. Sure, there are plenty of missions to unlock by using play coins, street pass or naturally progressing through the game, but it’s a shame that so many of them are so damn boring and feel like filler. The main game can be breezed through with very little challenge and time, even for a handheld game.

You can also race an opponent online, but as usual, good luck finding someone that won’t drop out if you get a decent lead on them. I suppose the Time Attack mode can keep players busy for awhile, as well. You can also unlock various collectible bonuses like audio, art and models if you perform well enough in the main game. Again, I feel like most of these options merely pad out the game and disguises the fact that this version was quickly thrown together.

This experience with the 3DS version of Sonic Generations actually got me thinking about handheld games in general. Back in the days of the Game Boy or Tiger Electronic store bought games, if a title tried to emulate a console version of a popular game, everyone expected the quality to suffer. I remember that fighting games often didn’t have the whole roster available, like the Game Boy versions of Mortal Kombat. The sheer quality and effort of making a more accurate handheld experience is far better in modern gaming, but I find it kind of funny that I am left with the same feeling of wanting more. Despite the good graphics, excellent sound and other successful components, I still feel as if I were playing a cash grabbing Game Boy title.

Even if you can find the 3DS version of Sonic Generations at half price, you still might as well buy the console version if you are going to invest yourself in a game like this. I think Sega should have had the developer make an entirely new game. Yes, this version does sport different levels, but I’m talking about a different concept all together. If you factor in the ability to download games with a deeper experience through the 3DS’ e-shop for a much, much cheaper price, I find myself questioning why this version exists at all. Not only does it fail to live up to the console version, but it fails to compare to downloadable titles available on the very same system.

If Sega had to keep the overall theme and feel to Sonic Generations alive on the 3DS, they should have put more effort into it, like including a lot more levels for starters. I do appreciate the fact that game is put together professionally, and even does a great job with the perks of the series like absurdly catchy music. However, no matter how fast Sonic can run, he’ll never escape the shadow of his console version with this.

RATING: 5/10

Front page image and screenshots from sega.com/games/sonic-generations.

TITLE: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
PLATFORM: Wii
DEVELOPER: Nintendo EAD
PUBLISHER: Nintendo
ESRB: E
RELEASED: November 20, 2011

By Justin Polak
Co-founder, Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

After 25 years, there seems to be two main type of Zelda fans. Those who adore the series and salivate with each installment, and those who feel the series has grown stale but begrudgingly play them anyway. Personally, while I lean more towards the former, I fully understand why Zelda’s more cynical fans feel the way they do. In terms of console Zelda games, Nintendo tends to stick to the same the formula. For example, while I enjoyed Twilight Princess, the biggest problem I had with that game was that the series staples held back most of the fresh ideas. It also seemed that Nintendo gave into fan demand to make a “realistic” looking Zelda. While the game did have it’s colorful moments, I felt that the environments looked too brownish for a Zelda title.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword not only manages to bring about a lighthearted, colorful world the series is known for, but for the first time many years, Zelda has a fresh coat of paint.

The series finally breaks away from the idea of having events and traveling taking place on the overworld, only to save the meat of the game in the dungeons. If anything, most of Skyward Sword’s world feels like a giant dungeon (once you get beneath the clouds, that is). Sure, there are traditional dungeons in this game, and the most difficult challenges or puzzles lie within, but I found myself constantly observing the world. Instead of tilting the analog one one direction for awhile, hopping on a horse, boarding a boat, etc., I was required to fulfill various requirements before moving on. I’ll admit, some of these sequences annoyed me, but most of the time it dawned on me that I was having loads of fun in a Zelda game without relying on solving a dungeon every single time the plot moved forward or focusing on getting a new item.

To some, this may sound like a bum deal, and I have little doubt that some fans won’t take kindly to the new style of pacing in Skyward Sword. Having said that, the game’s design made the world feel more real to me. Nintendo even found a way to sneak in many secrets throughout the corners of the world, so when you do return to the same areas for different reasons, you are constantly on your toes seeing if there is something new to be discovered.

What really amazes me is the length of time it took me to complete Skyward Sword. I’m sure I found a good majority of secrets, items, etc., but at the same time I didn’t really devote a lot of my time attempting to go the extra mile. As with my impression on the world itself seeming to be like a giant dungeon, even the extra stuff felt like it naturally flowed into the rest of the game without fading into the background too much. The point is, this game — a Zelda game — took 46 hours of my time, and I loved nearly every second of it.

What also helped make Skyward Sword fresh was the emphasis on new items. Traditional items, like the bow and arrow, made a predictable return, but the game seemed to make sure to focus on newer items more. Not only that, but some items can be upgraded. In general, more attention to detail was put into this portion of Zelda, like how your shield has a meter for how many undefended hits it can take.

The menus used to access items are different as well. Instead of hitting a button and stopping the whole game to select an item or two, both weapon type items and accessory type items (bottles, medals, etc.) are accessed by cuing up a real time circular menu. While holding down a button, simply point the Wii remote to whatever you desire without a second thought. In fact, Skyward Sword seems to be designed to pause the action as little as possible. On the overworld, you can place beacons on places you want to check out instead of constantly looking at your map!

The only real notable aspect of Skyward Sword that I was impressed with was how challenging this game was. Now, I didn’t officially come across a game over, but there were times Link could have met a messy end. Of all the 3D Zelda titles, this one definitely made me earn a few victories. Series veterans and old school fans will still fold their arms and scoff at the idea that this game presents any real challenge, but a lot of enemies manage to take a whole heart off per hit, which is much more than most foes since Ocarina of Time. Plus, Hero Mode does present a good challenge for those who seek to take this game to the next level.

As far as the story goes, this incarnation of Zelda turns out to be an origin story of sorts. Some fans may wonder when Nintendo is going to settle on a true origin (or timeline for that matter), but Skyward Sword does explore a couple of…beginnings that have never been explained before. I don’t want to spoil too much for those who haven’t played or finished the game yet, so that’s why I am being vague here. Overall, how you felt about the quality of the story the past few Zelda games won’t change with this title.

The only bad thing I can say about this game is that while I liked the Wii motion plus controls, mainly for how Link actually swings his sword how you swing the Wii remote in real life, there were times where I felt it was a bit clunky. By no means did I feel the game was unplayable at ANY point, but I won’t deny that there were times I was thinking, “Couldn’t I just use traditional controls instead?” Again, this isn’t a deal breaker…I just wish some of my screw ups were because they were my fault, not because of an unresponsive controller. I’ll also admit that for as much as I love the new structure of not relying on dungeons as much, the game would have been perfect if it had just one more traditional one.

When all is said and done, I believe Skyward Sword is the best console Zelda title in years. It manages to put a much needed fresh spin on the series while maintaining a sense of familiarity. In that way, both optimistic and cynical fans can find their place in this adventure, and what an adventure it is! On top of everything else that works, Nintendo has managed to considerably extend the length of what one would expect from a Zelda tile without adding cheap padding. If you haven’t already done so, go out an explore another quality adventure!

RATING: 9/10

Front page images and screenshots from nintendoeverything.com.

TITLE: Super Mario 3D Land
PLATFORM: 3DS
DEVELOPER: Nintendo EAD Tokyo
PUBLISHER: Nintendo
ESRB: E
RELEASED: November 13th, 2011

By Justin Polak
Co-founder, Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

It’s been over a quarter century since the first Super Mario game has been released. If you asked most people if Mario would still be stomping on Goombas and thwarting Bowser’s plans for as long as he has, some might say that if the video game industry didn’t crash again, Mario wouldn’t be relevant anymore. While the industry certainly is in a different place now, Mario obviously remains as Nintendo’s go-to guy. There are countless times that the Italian plumber has saved Nintendo’s ass. And while Super Mario 3D Land won’t completely salvage the rough shape the 3DS is currently in, it certainly is a game that might convince some fans finally pick up the 3D handheld.

Many years ago, I read a post on a message board on a member’s opinion of the Mario games in general. Keep in mind, this was way back when Super Mario Sunshine was the newest game in the Mario series. While the member said that he liked the (then) newer Mario titles, he missed the days of 2D mechanics. The thread evolved from there as other users discussed how awesome it would be if Nintendo made a game that compromised between the 2D and 3D games. While some would say the New Super Mario Bros. games accomplished that to a degree, Super Mario 3D Land is the game I envisioned all those years ago, minus the 3D of course, and boy does it deliver.

First, I can honestly say that the 3D use in SM3DL is the best I have seen thus far. Levels are designed naturally around the 3D, and after only a minute or two of playing, I got used to viewing the game. I could almost hear Nintendo saying, “Hey, other developers, THIS is how you should take advantage of our system!”

As far as the gameplay goes, SM3DL plays by the rules of the 2D games. You have a couple of power ups, including the return of the Tanooki suit as well as the Boomerang Bros. suit, which makes Mario’s life easier. If you get hit, it’s back to Super Mario for you! Obviously, another hit transforms you into small Mario…and the next sends the plumber to an early grave. It’s just nice to see a 3D game that follows a more old school structure. Even the water physics are modeled after the older games! Levels themselves are also shorter, but not too short. Besides the game itself being three dimensional, the only other 3D elements that come into play is that Mario can do some of his more fancy jumps, but don’t expect him to grab any ledges! What’s taken from the NSMB series is the three collectable coins per level, though this time they are referred to as Star Coins. To put it simply, SM3DL is a perfect blend of various elements from all points in the plumber’s career cleverly built to feel like an older Mario title.

Veterans may feel that most of the game is too easy up until world 8, even if they track down all of the Star Coins per level, but rest assured — beating the main game is only half of the fun. A special world opens up that throws tougher challenges your way, like alternate versions of levels, all new levels, tougher enemies and many more surprises. After beating the first special world, you even unlock Luigi! Very few games these days cause me to play hours on end, no matter what’s going on in life. I literally played through most of the game on my first sitting until my hands cramped up seven hours later. If that’s not classic Mario inspired fun, I don’t know what is.

However, the game isn’t perfect. My only gripe is that sometimes Mario’s jump seems to run out of gas for no real reason. There were several jumps in the game that Mario either cleared with ease or completely failed at. I tried to experiment for quite some time to see if this was a problem on my part, but as far as I can tell, the game gets picky on how Mario jumps at times.

At the end of the day, Mario has knocked another one out of the park. Nintendo has crafted an excellent game for the 3DS, and I’m honestly left wondering how the handheld would have fared had Super Mario 3D Land arrived sooner. Casual players can enjoy the main portion of the game, and veterans will have fun taking on the special world. No matter what type of gamer you are, Mario invites all gamers to experience yet another exquisite and rewarding adventure. Don’t miss out!

RATING: 9/10

Front page image from nintendolife.com, screenshots from gamesradar.com.

TITLE: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
PLATFORM: 360, PS3, PC, Wii
DEVELOPER: Infinity Ward
PUBLISHER: Activision
ESRB: M
RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2011

By Seth Miller
Staff Writer, Part-Time Ninja

Oh, Call of Duty, I remember when you started out and were just a challenger to the Medal of Honor games that were pretty popular at the time. Now, you are one of the largest video game franchises in history and will have gamers wait outside stores for hours in cold November nights to get a copy of your latest game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. With the creative shake up behind the scenes, how does the latest game hold up?

Modern Warfare 3 picks up right where the last one left off; Russia is still at war with America, Price and Soap are recovering in a safe house, and the hunt for the terrorist Makarov is about to begin. Makarov is making moves behind the scenes to cause even more destruction, and it is up to Price and Soap to take him down or the western world will suffer.

For me, the best part of the Modern Warfare franchise has always been the single player campaign, and the latest game continues this trend for the most part. The combat is the same as before but loses none of its intensity. The cinematic style, the incredible moments in combat that shake-up the way you play, the slightly unexpected twists in the story; everything that built the franchise is used in this game. I still enjoy how the game switches the protagonist you play as from time to time to make the events that happen to them that much more engaging. The narrative has stayed consistent throughout the series and comes to a very satisfying end.

The Spec-Ops portion has returned to the series as well. The layout is the same as before, with players tackling single player missions from a different angle at varying difficulty levels. The changes to this version include the ability to complete it solo and a Survival Mode where you face wave after wave of enemies designed for each level. While it may lack originality, this facet of the game is still good fun.

Multiplayer is still the thing that many players will judge this game on and Modern Warfare 3 sticks to its guns on this one. It’s pretty much the same as the last game, but with some new game styles to choose from and more customization options to create your own type of soldier. While it’s fun, there are no real significant changes. The first set of maps are not the best the series has to offer, and come up as lacking when compared to multiplayer like Battlefield 3.

The biggest criticism anyone can levy against this game is the lack of originality. Multiplayer and Spec-Ops are essentially the same as before, and even the single player campaign lacks that special something the other games had. It got so bad that I felt like anybody who watches a slasher movie. I knew what was going to happen when a certain character was going to open a door at the end of a level and the thrill of playing was diminished. The single player campaign is also shorter than it has been in previous games.

Overall, Modern Warfare 3 is still a game that is great fun to play, with enough extras to keep people occupied, but its lack of truly original gameplay and the fact that it seems to be relying on its pre-existing material could be a sign of things to come. With competition finding new ways to improve on what the Call of Duty series pioneered, the series better step up or be left behind.

RATING: 8/10

Front page image and screenshots from callofduty.com.

By John Flickinger
Staff Writer, Coffee Fiend

The King of Fighters series has a long history, dating back to 1994. It started out as an experiment to combine characters from the Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting games to create a new series with a massive roster. In fact, the roster was so large that the tournament was comprised of three-person teams. Every year, from 1994 to 2003, saw a new entry to the series with new features and characters, and improvements to existing game mechanics.

All in all, it’s a pretty solid series with great characters, excellent gameplay, good storylines, and loads of replay value. It is a series that is sometimes dismissed as a generic Street Fighter, and around the year 2000 there were several crossovers with Street Fighter characters, but it has a cult following in America, and in Japan the games are so popular that a new King of Fighters release is a small event like new Madden and Call of Duty games are over here. It’s the kind of thing that has people waiting at midnight to buy a copy. There’s even a King of Fighters movie with a poorly written plot and bad acting like so many other video games.

King of Fighters has similarities to other fighting games, but what makes this series special is that nearly everything is in excess. The games feature massive 30+ character rosters, and the three vs. three format creates a lot of variety due to the fact that you can play through several times with the same team and have different match ups every single time. There is even a strategy element in selecting the order for your team members before each fight. In different situations, you may want to start different characters. This allows you to come out of the gate with a faster character, or a more powerful character, or save the one you’re best with for last. No corners are cut either. There aren’t lots of palette swap characters, or clones, and each character has a unique style. Even characters with similar disciplines play differently.

Another staple of the series is the boss fights. The bosses are absolutely merciless. It’s not uncommon to go through an entire game without losing a single round only to be completely annihilated by a boss. With King of Fighters bosses, all the rules go out the window. The standard roster characters are very balanced, but the bosses are cranked up to 11 with devastating special moves that are difficult to avoid, incredibly powerful, and in some cases humiliating. It is very satisfying when those boss characters are defeated, and for this reason many fans have a love/hate relationship with them.

One of the nicer touches of the series is that they often add extra animations that help to bring the characters to life. For example, rivals like Kyo and Iori have different pre-match animations facing each other than they would for other characters because they can’t stand each other. To contrast that, characters that are friends, or have a mentor relationship interact differently, and there are even special animations for couples. If Blue Mary faces off against her boyfriend Terry Bogard she’ll flirt with him before the match. Another character has a pre-match animation where he jams a steamed barbecue pork bun into his mouth, and most of the time he just eats it, but every once in a while he chokes, his face turns blue, and right before the match starts he recovers and quickly gets into his stance as if to say “I’m okay, let’s do this.” Before the fight even starts, the tone is set. The extra animations aren’t limited to just the pre-match introductions either.

There are great in-game animations that really give the characters depth. One of my favorites is for Vanessa, a boxer. She rushes in, lands a flurry of punches, punctuates it with two really hard hits, then as the enemy falls to the ground from the force of the blows she winces and shakes her hands in the air like her knuckles sting. The “time up” reactions are great too. Some of the more aggressive characters look disappointed like they were interrupted and wanted to finish, while the more well-adjusted characters look disappointed in themselves that they didn’t win before time was up. The detailed body language and animated facial expressions really give a sense for who each character is and what they are about.

These animations are subtle, but really add a lot to the characters. They don’t feel as rigid as characters in similar fighting games, and as a result they really improved the series. It wasn’t apparent to me just how important those animations were until a few 3D spin off King of Fighters games were made and these lively characters became just as rigid and lifeless as the ones in other games.

The animation is the heart and soul of these games, and in King of Fighters XII it completely changed. As the first high resolution King of Fighters game for the current generation of consoles, the decision was made to draw all of the characters and animations from a blank slate instead of re-using the archive they’ve built up over the last decade. It may have been out of necessity due to the new resolution, or it may have been to give the series a graphical overhaul. Whatever the reason, it was going to be a tricky process.

The catch here is that they were still using the traditional techniques to draw each frame of each character pixel by pixel. Since this was in high definition it was especially taxing on the development team. This process is like trying to create a wall mural by drawing individual dots the size of a pin head. Because this was very labor intensive, and each character took about two weeks. Ironically, they commissioned a 3D model of each character to use as a reference for these animations. You can read in depth about the technique they’ve used, dubbed “dot art” and check out some of the animations at their official website.

The end result gave it a look unlike any fighting game I’ve ever seen. It’s old school, but modern at the same time, and in terms of art direction it’s a pretty amazing game. Unfortunately despite the artwork and animations, the game itself was a bit disappointing.

Due to the intensive animation process the game had a limited roster similar to the 3D titles. As a result it also adopted the standard one on one, best of three rounds formula since there weren’t enough characters for the traditional three on three King of Fighters matches. That alone caused replay value to take a hit. There were very few stages, and the main game mode was a time attack where you try to go through a few fights as quickly as possible to get the best time. All in all, a full game takes only a few minutes to complete from start to finish. Don’t misunderstand me, what’s there is good, but there isn’t much there, especially for a series known for its massive rosters and animations. In XII each character has one win animation, with limited special moves.

Really, it felt more like an incredible tech demo more than a full game with a $60 price tag which, in reality, is what it was. The character selection was missing major characters, and most disappointingly, there was no epic end boss. The gameplay itself was solid, so it was still fun, but there just wasn’t anywhere near as much content as the others. If it was presented like Gran Tourismo 5: Prologue was, as a tech demo of what is to come, preferably with a discounted price of $20-$30, it would have been great. I’m not sure if it would turn a profit like that, but it might have gotten more people interested in the series which might boost sales when the full game was released, and it wouldn’t have felt so drastically over priced.

Personally I wondered if drawing the characters for high definition would have been a better way to go. I would love to see a King of Fighters game where the characters look as detailed as the ones in BlazBlue, but at the same time I respect their decision to use the traditional techniques. It’s admirable that a company would be willing to go to such lengths to create something with artistic merit; especially in an age where more and more companies try to cut corners to increase their profit margins instead of treating the medium as the art form which it is. King of Fighters is about tradition, and perfecting the same formula year after year. This animation was a massive undertaking, but it honors that tradition, and although XII felt like “King of Fighters Light” it’s still fun to play, and it’s a great reboot to the series.

In the long run this shift will likely pay off for them; realistically, they couldn’t just keep editing the same set of character animations forever. Now they have a new set of characters to work with, which were born out of countless hours of developers’ blood, sweat, and tears. We’re about to see the fruits of their labor firsthand.

It’s been in Japanese arcades since last summer, but finally, in November 22nd, King of Fighters XIII will be released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 here in America. From the looks of it, they are building upon the foundation that XII created, and if XII was the tech demo, then XIII is the real deal. Key characters are back, there are more game modes, and personally, I’m hoping that they give us an end boss worthy of the series. It seems like this new entry in the series will correct the shortcomings of the last, and give the King of Fighters its soul back with tons of animation and lively characters. For at least one more year, the tradition will continue.

Front page image from fanpop.com, KoF ’94 Ad from scottdecker.com, KoF XI boss fight screenshot from aznbadger.files.wordpress.com, KoF XII screenshot from strategyinformer.com, KoF XII character select screenshot from nerdiest-kids.com, KoF XIII screenshot from inthegame.nl

TITLE: Sonic Generations
PLATFORM: 360, PS3, PC, 3DS
DEVELOPER: Sonic Team (360, PS3), Devil’s Details (PC), Dimps (3DS)
PUBLISHER: Sega
ESRB: E
RELESASED: November 1, 2011

By Eric Stuckart
Creator, Destroyer

The phrase ‘good Sonic game’ has become straddled with such a stigma that most gamers just take it as a bit of an in-joke. Look at the facts, every time a Sonic game comes out, there’s talk claiming that it’s going to right the wrongs of the past efforts of pretty much everything post-Sonic & Knuckles (or Sonic Adventure, if you’re a little more forgiving). Then the game comes out, it’s a disaster, the public hates it, and the wait continues for the next broken promise.

Knowing that, consider me shocked to admit that Sonic Generations finally breaks that vicious cycle. Sonic Generations is the first Sonic game that has been fun for me to play since I was a teenager, back when all the games were 2D. The premise is simple: an unknown evil entity has taken Sonic and Tails from the 2D days and banished them along with Sonic, Tails and all the other forgettable side characters that have been shoehorned into the picture since Knuckles was introduced. What’s left is lifeless, colorless shells of their worlds. Some could argue that it’s symbolic of the franchise’s last decade or so, but that debate is for another day.

Sure, there’s cut scenes to give a bit of exposition to make the whole scenario make sense, but it would be slightly awkward to just have the two Sonics existing in the same game without some sort of reason for it. And that’s the thing; it’s just enough to make it make sense. Old school sonic is short and a little potbellied, and looks exactly like we remembered him, without any of the extra stuff that they threw in when the series ultimately went 3D. He doesn’t talk, and controls as effortlessly as he did back in his prime. 3D Sonic, on the other hand, is a bit talky at times during the cut scenes — which can be skipped if you can’t take the cheesiness and just want to get to the levels — and has all of the tricks that he’s been known for, such as homing, air dashing, and grinding on rails galore.

The game features 9 worlds in all, with one act per Sonic for each, and four boss stages in total. The worlds and bosses are based on — not recreations of — levels spanning the history of the series, covering everything from the classic 2D Genesis titles all the way to a world based on Planet Wisp, from last year’s Sonic Colors.

While only 18 levels might seem like a bit light on the action, Team Sonic made up for it with 90 challenges, 45 for each style of gameplay, based on the levels as well. In order to complete the game, players have to complete at least 12 to reach the final boss, so there’s much room to choose from. Some of the challenges are as simple as beating the level under a certain time constraint or beating a copy of yourself to the finish line, while others completely recreate the stage in a different manner, such as populating the entire level with a specific type of enemy and blocking off certain paths in order to make you think of a different approach, or having a level completely overpopulated with springboards. Sure, it kind of changes the gameplay in that it shifts the focus from speed to being more cautious and thoughtful, but it doesn’t make it any less fun. It’s also during these challenges that Sonic gets to face down three of his rivals from past titles: Metal Sonic, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Silver the Hedgehog, all of which are fun, simple races with a slight bit of combat intertwined.

Certain levels also feature some of the skills that Sonic had to utilize in certain games, such as Wisp Powers in Planet Wisp and wall jumping in Seaside Hill, but they mostly keep those sort of shenanigans limited to the 3D levels, where they seemed to work better. For instance, the Wisp Powers brought the midsection of its 2D level to a near standstill, a major no-no in a Sonic game. It’s that slowdown from time to time that brings me to my sole complaint. It goes without saying that much of the last decade’s worth of Sonic title have been less than well received by the gaming population. Part of that was due to the developers trying to cram too much into a simple idea, making it a much more of a bloated pig than a game featuring a speedy blue hedgehog ever needed to be.

The other thing, however, was the fact that the levels themselves became less fun. The joy of a Sonic the Hedgehog game was in the speed and in-your-face intensity that the levels brought. And even the classic 2D games had their fair share of careful, precise platforming from time to time, but the balance was never shifted in its favor. That being said, as the chronologically ordered worlds play out, it’s not tough to see which ones are more fun, as their simplicity just lends themselves much more to the gameplay than levels that feel like they have some sort of gimmick at some time. Comparatively speaking, it’s not nearly enough to really derail the game as much as they had in the past, which speaks largely of the accomplishment that Team Sonic has finally achieved with Sonic Generations.

On a whole, Sonic Generations isn’t perfect, but it’s the closest to perfection that the series has been to in a very long time. The game gave me goosebumps and a huge grin for the majority of the levels, a blend of nostalgia and joy that I didn’t think I’d feel from a Sonic game ever again. It does has it’s flaws; the grainy, almost SD quality of the cut scenes comes into mind, and some of the later levels fall into the cheap shot mechanics that have always frustrated Sonic players, but it’s never enough to take away from what the game has achieved.

It’s somewhat sad to know that it took Team Sonic as long as it has in order to figure out a way to give Sonic players what they want without all the stuff they don’t, but it’s better late than never, and a definitive step in the right direction. And I’m sure that there’s going to be some fans still complaining that they wished that this game was all 2D or all 3D, but I think that it balances out very well, and keeps things interesting from a gameplay and visual standpoint. Should there be a follow-up to the train wreck that was Sonic 4: Episode 1, hopefully they’re taking notes, because the 2D levels in Sonic Generations outdo anything that that game even got close to reaching.

RATING: 9/10

Front page image and screenshots from sega.com/games/sonic-generations.

TITLE: Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi
PLATFORM: PS3, 360
DEVELOPER: Spike
PUBLISHER: Namco Bandai
ESRB: T
RELEASED: October 25, 2011

By Justin Polak
Co-founder, Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

As far as the Dragon Ball Z universe goes, I am big on the anime series. Of course, I am well aware of the show’s faults, like pacing and filler, but I still enjoy myself when watching the story unfold. As far as the video games go, my experience isn’t as large. Besides the odd Japanese Super Nintendo ROMs I played several years ago, the only two DBZ games I own are Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 and Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2. I thought both of those games were well executed and perfectly delivered on fan service. They too had their flaws, but any fan of DBZ could easily overlook them and have fun reliving the most epic battles in the DBZ history.

Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi is the first DBZ  game I was hyped up for, and one that I bothered to buy on day one. The other two games I mentioned were bought after the fact when they were on sale. My point is that I usually wait on these sort of things, but I’ve been in one of my DBZ kicks lately, so I couldn’t resist the urge to head into battle with impossibly fast movements and absurdly enormous fireballs.

So what’s the verdict? Well, how should I put this in terms that DBZ fans will understand? I bought the game hoping I would feel as powerful as a Super Saiyan, but ended up feeling as useless a human fighter. DBZ:UT is basically nothing but a very good looking game, and not much else. Fighting boils down to rock, paper, scissors like gameplay where you have to outguess your opponent.

Most of the control is taken away from the player as the options of what you can do in battle are very limited. No matter if you string up a short combo in blast or melee range, a clash happens between you and your opponent. Assuming you picked the winning option, you’ll either start a large string of combos with even more strikes or teleportation moves. To keep up the combo, all you have to do is press a single button or press a single button with a direction, and a different animation occurs depending on the direction. These combos can be countered, but only if a timed button press is executed properly.

Earn enough spirit while maintaining these combos, and you’ve earned the right to use two super attacks, or an ultimate attack if the spirit meter is maxed out. Depending on how much a character’s power is charged up, one could counter with an attack solved by who is the fastest button masher, a simple deflection tactic, or a blocking stance that reduces the damage of the attack.

Stylistically, it looks very cool and does a fantastic job of replicating the most intense DBZ battle. However, like anything that is cool, it gets old fast once overused, especially when you realize that it makes no difference where and who you play as. All animations, camera angles and stage effects are exactly the same no matter what happens. I realize that this is a fighting/action game, and it would be unreasonable for the developer to make characters as unbalanced as they are in the anime, but to essentially dumb down the cast to clones with the exact same capabilities is absurd.

What could have salvaged some of this mess is the character creator. Unfortunately, the options in this mode are limited as well. First, you have to be a Saiyan with only one of three body types. The only real freedom you have is that you can adjust the color of everything about your character. Aside from an original prop here and there, most of the design options are replicas of what other characters look like, most which have to be unlocked through the Hero Mode, which is the story mode for your custom character. Each time I felt I was kind of sort of having fun playing as my custom character, an annoying difficulty spike reared its head, or even worse, a quick time event boss battle, which also plagues the main story mode. Once you get the ball rolling, the difficulty spike can easily be overcome, but it was obviously designed to pad out the game.

This is especially true with the training sessions. As the Hero Mode progresses, your character has the opportunity to battle various DBZ characters for a chance to earn stat bonuses and other goodies to customize your character even further. While it’s nice that you have the option to make your character sightly more diverse, the training is merely battling the same character over and over again. Occasionally, you get to battle more opponents in the same battle (one at a time, of course), but that only serves to drag out the process even longer.

The only good things about this game aside the graphics are the fact that the original Japanese DBZ opening is included, and the redone anime scenes were put together well for the story mode. As usual in these games, I am pleased that there is an option to put on Japanese voices, as I felt that cast was the best for the series.

The general feeling I get when playing Ultimate Tenkaichi is the apparent apathy involved while it was being created. Definitive proof of this is in obvious things like a smaller character roster when compared to past DBZ games. EVEN MORE obviousness is the fact that a Saibamen’s self destruct attack shows a giant explosion from space animation. In the anime, the attack only creates an explosion small enough to kill whomever it grasps. Again, I don’t expect aspects of the show to translate in an exact manner into a video game, but there is no way a Saibamen’s attack would cause that much destruction!

You could take this guessing game online, but have fun dealing with sore losers who drop out on a losing match. Even if you battle someone who sticks with it, battling is only marginally more fun than battling an AI opponent. There seriously is nothing I could say about the online mode that I haven’t already said earlier in this review.

Dragon Ball Z:Ultimate Tenkaichi is a half-assed made game that only serves as a half-assed attempt to cash in on the DBZ franchise. If you want a good DBZ game, stick to Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 or Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. If you’re a DBZ fan and still don’t get what I’m trying to say, avoid this game like Krillin would avoid an angry 100% powered Frieza.

RATING: 2/10

Images from namcobandaigames.com/console/dragon-ball-z-ultimate-tenkaichi.

TITLE: Batman: Arkham City
PLATFORM: PS3, 360, PC
DEVELOPER: Rocksteady
PUBLISHER: Warner Bros. Interactive Studios 
ESRB: T
RELEASED: October 18, 2011

By Seth Miller
Staff Writer, Part-Time Ninja

Rocksteady, the developers of Batman: Arkham Asylum and the recently released sequel Batman: Arkham City, have one goal now in my opinion. They have to create several superhero video games, including an amazing Superman video game. They can produce completely original stuff, but they have to do to Superman video games what they did with Batman video games. After giving us Arkham Asylum and blowing my mind with Arkham City, I have nothing but absolute confidence they can blow my mind again with Superman.

After the events in the first game, all the prisoners of Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison have been transferred to a walled section of Gotham City supervised by Batman villain Dr. Hugo Strange. Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne, tries to protest this move but is captured and thrown inside.  From inside the walls of Arkham City, Batman must unravel the mystery of how this prison come to be, how Strange become involved, and what sinister plan is he brewing that could spell doom for Gotham City.

Improving dramatically on the first game, this game truly makes you feel like the Caped Crusader.  The environment is intricately detailed and contains so many easter eggs of the Batman universe that Arkham City doesn’t just feel like a game setting, but a living city that has its own history and its own culture. Unlike the first game which was more linear, Arkham City is an open world game that players can explore to find a number of side missions or just absorb every detail of this nightmarish prison by gliding and grappling over the city. The rest of the graphics are fantastic; the character design and animation look great and bring these characters to life in some ways that are even better than the Batman films. The story somehow condenses almost every aspect of the Batman mythology and still makes an interesting story that connects to the mythology and the events of the first game.

Combat is the same setup as the first game but taken to the next level. Every punch you throw feels powerful, and the experience of connecting every punch, kick, counter and takedown makes you feel more and more like the Dark Knight. What could easily come off as mere button mashing feels more like a rhythm game and enemies get progressively more dangerous when they come out with stun batons, shields, and extra armor, which requires the player to develop new strategies to face them and use every gadget Batman has to defeat them.  Facing down a horde of enemies and pulling off a high combat multiplier is a great thrill that I haven’t felt in video games for awhile.

While fighting skills is one important part of Batman, his intelligence and stealth skills are also translated brilliantly. The stealth aspects are just as challenging as before, but the enemies have gotten smarter. They will check all the usual hiding spots for you and use new equipment which makes it easier to find you. Each encounter requires you to devise new strategies to take out your enemies and you can think of dozens of different ways every time to take them down. Your detective skills will be challenged not only by the various side missions, but also by the new Riddler challenges. While you still get extras and experience for completing various challenges, the added incentive is that The Riddler is holding several people as hostages so the whole process becomes a side quest; this is a great way to tie The Riddler into the game without making him feel like an unnecessary extra. The challenge maps don’t feel like a cheap add-on, they are a true extension of everything that you experienced in the first game and the campaign maps alone make the whole thing worth it.

The only thing wrong with this game is the fact that it is has to end. I was moderately excited for this game before it came out, now I can’t wait for the inevitable sequel.  This game has everything someone could want out of video game and more. This game is so great that it feel it has become an essential part of Batman mythology right alongside the comics, the Christopher Nolan films, and the ’90s animated series.

RATING: 10/10

Front page image from playstationer.com. 

TITLE: Rage
PLATFORM: Xbox 360, PS3
DEVELOPER: id Software
PUBLISHER: Bethesda Softworks
ESRB: M
RELEASE DATE: October 4, 2011

By Seth Miller
Staff Writer, Part-Time Ninja

On paper, the new game Rage should be a phenomenal experience. Published by Bethesda and developed by id Software, the company behind such classics as Doom and Quake, Rage looked to be a great shooter that would suck me into its post-apocalyptic world full souped up dune buggies and mutants. But while the graphics are stunning and the bulk of the shooter elements are great, the rest is half-finished, unnecessary, or just plain bad.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world after an asteroid destroyed civilization, you play as a survivor cryogenically frozen in one of several Arks that were designed to open all over the world to rebuild civilization. After waking up, the player is sent on various missions by people who are standing up to the various groups of bandits and mutants inhabiting this wasteland; later on, he is tasked to help a groups of rebels fight the Authority, a group of Ark survivors who want to rebuild civilization into their own totalitarian image.

The graphics in this game are nothing short of fantastic (considering a game this short needs two discs installed onto your console of choice, the graphics better be worth it). The cinemas at the beginning and end are gorgeous; the in-game graphics are beautiful and bring this world to life. The post-apocalyptic environments may be colorless and grim, but they are stunning vistas to look at along with great character design and animation. The shooter aspects feel familiar but are more challenging than what you are expecting. Enemies will actively try to avoid being shot at and are very aggressive, which creates a very tense and exciting shooter aspect that is hard to find in other modern games.

The weapons are great to use and the different modifications that you can create makes the experience fun every time you go into combat. The driving missions are a fun diversion from the rest of the game, and they give players a chance to break from the monotony of shooting everything that moves and they are the only part of the multiplayer section I marginally enjoy.

Unfortunately, the rest of the game is so poorly done or unfinished that it destroys any joy I got from shooting wave after wave of mutants. The story is barely there; different groups with different assignments for their own ends kick you around the wasteland. The narrative is weak and there is hardly any emotional connection tot the action on the screen. The missions themselves are very linear; after crossing a vast open landscape, you enter a small building where you methodically take out enemies and end up right where you started. And I mean that literally, all the mission maps are circles that force you on a path that ends right where you began. It feels like a real limitation on players who want to get a sense of the world they are playing in or want to find alternate routes, which I could deal with if there was a compelling story to go along with it, but there isn’t. The multiplayer is fun for a bit with the driving gameplay, but the shooter multiplayer is boring and tries unsuccessfully to tie into the single player story.

And what do you gain from going on these missions? Some cash for ammo and upgrades. There is no real significant payoff from doing all these missions; the vast territory that you can explore yields nothing except stuff you can sell for more crafting materials and ammo. Without experience to build a character or more interesting incentives from the missions to make them worthwhile, the environment that deserves more feels wasted on the shooter aspect. The whole experience feels hollow, wasted, and takes away from the replay value of the game. The story is already weak, but the final mission and ending doesn’t have any special significance to it; it plays like every other mission and then the final cinema starts and you realize that is the end of the game. For the weak story that the game had, it should have at least a bigger ending that tried to tie things together and make it as big as possible, but it just ends.

Rent Rage for the graphics and the shooter aspects, but don’t waste your money buying this it.

RATING: 4.5/10

Photos courtesy of Bethesda.