Sorry about the title, it just came to me and I couldn’t resist.

Anyway, Game Informer got an exclusive early review on the highly anticipated action/adventure/RPG game Mass Effect. Score one for old school printed publications. In their review they rave about pretty much everything this game offers, from the epic, compelling story to the expansive, gorgeous, and deep universe. Ben of Game Informer said, the game has

“the richly detailed environments of Gear of War, the deep exploration of Oblivion, and a fictional universe almost as compelling as Star Wars.”

They gave the game an overall score of 9.75 (same score they gave Halo 3 and The Orange Box), Noting that the graphics, sound, and replay value were all top notch. The only real complaint they had was with some of the combat balancing. Saying some combinations of weapons and “force” like powers were almost too powerful, making some enemies and battles too easy. That said, the game will still last you between 18 and 30 hours.

Thanks to Game Informer for the early heads up. I was already looking forward to this one, now can’t wait. The game comes out exclusively for Xbox 360 on November 20th.

Boom!

Eat your heart out Spider-man. Capcom continues it’s fan love with a video of it’s upcoming revitalization of Bionic Commando. From what the video shows the game looks pretty cool. Before now, Spiderman has been the only hero to swing from building to building in a large metropolis city. Looks like Capcom’s taken some of the ideas from Lost Planet (the Grappling Hook) and decided to expand them with the Bionic Commando franchise. I’m still not sure about the whole dreadlocks thing though. We’ll have to wait and see.

Check out more at: BionicCommando.com

And for those of you that can’t get enough Podcasts, Bionic Commando will be debuting their very own podcast on October 30th.

Boom!

Capcom’s big announcement is finally here. It’s a new Street Fighter game. Street Fighter IV (4) isn’t coming until late next year but that can’t stop fanboys from drooling now. Capcom has a trailer of the game here.In addition to the new Street Fighter, Capcom has also said they’ll be bringing Lost Planet to the PS3 (including all the downloadable content and extras the PC and Xbox 360 version have). Also, a new game franchise called Dark Void, a sci-fi action/adventure game. And the old Nintendo game Bionic Commando is getting a next-gen remake.

Boom!

Conan and The Simpsons Game Demos available Xbox Live Marketplace Today.

Conan Summary from Microsoft’s Major Nelson: Play the Conan demo and experience the strength and savagery of Conan as you wage an epic battle across the world of Hyboria! Approximately 15 minutes of gameplay plus some short video segments.

First Impression: The first 30 seconds of the demo sum up what this game is about. It starts with Conan slicing the head off a guy and then offering some servicing to the leading lady. The game looks pretty good. The gameplay starts basic enough and moves on to combos and advanced moves fairly quickly. It’s a decent action/adventure game and we haven’t really seen many of them on the Xbox 360.

The Simpsons Game summary from Major Nelson: After Kang and Kodos use their Halloween ray on Springfield’s famous Lard Lad statue, it’s up to Homer and Bart to stop the rampaging mascot from destroying the town. To do this the two must fend off waves of miniature Krusty dolls while avoiding Lard Lad’s destructive laser and stomp attacks in an attempt to pull out his wiring. Will our heroes prevail? The fate of Springfield is in your hands!

First Impression: If you’re a fan of the Simpsons this is finally a game that does the long-running series justice. You may or may not know about previous Simpsons games and their less than perfect track record. The game looks pretty good for a cel shaded cartoon game. The control’s not bad, but it could be a lot better. Overall the single level they give you in the demo is really fun and worth checking out. Hopefully when the final product ships it will be as fun as the demo was.

Here’s some of the big game releases for the week of October 1st:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Adventure/Puzzle) - DS
2. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (FPS/Team) - PC
3. Crash of the Titans (Action/Platform) - Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, DS
4. NBA ’08 (Sports/Basketball) - PS3, PS2, PSP
5. NBA 2K8 (Sports/Basketball) - PS3, PS2, Xbox 360
6. NBA Live ’08 (Sports/Basketball) - PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
7. Flat Out: Ultimate Carnage (Racing/Destruction) - Xbox 360
8. Project Gotham Racing 4 (Racing) - Xbox 360
9. Spider-Man: Friend or Foe (Action/Not worth your money) - Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, DS, PS2, PC
10. Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow (Action/Shooter) - PSP
11. Ninjabread Man (Action/Adventure) - Wii

Boom!

Earth Defence Force 2017 for the Xbox 360, or EDF for those in the know, has got to be one of the best crappy games most people will never give a second look, if not a first. The game’s plot is almost non-existent and revolves around killing hordes and hordes of invading aliens, from giant insects to the occasional massive robot or drop ship. Variety is not a word I would use to describe EDF unless you’re talking about it’s weapons. There are over 75 unique weapons found in the game and are earned from killing enemies and collecting the spoils left behind. Of the 50 some levels most look very much the same. The graphics are sub par compared with most other action games on the platform and occasionally there is some harsh slow down. There are vehicles in the game as well, but they are so poorly implemented with almost unusable control schemes that make them more aggravating than fun.

So, why is this game so amazing? The real treat to it is it’s Split-Screen Co-Op play, available through the entire single player campaign. You can destroy pretty much any building you see and the weapons range from flame throwers, to homing missiles, to acid guns. The action is non-stop and just plain fun. It’s wildly satisfying when you fire a rocket directly at a 50 foot ant and watch as it explodes and catapults off the screen toward the sky. The game is strangely addictive, but it probably won’t hold up for very long. If you want a good, fun, mindless action for about 10-20 hours then this game is a good solid rental, but pass if you’re looking for more depth.

Boom!

If you’re interested in picking this game up, you can find it used at GameStop here: