February 26th, 2010
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: EA
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
Console: Xbox 360, PC
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 50
Progress: Completed main quest and all side quests on “Normal”
The first Mass Effect came out on Xbox 360 at the end of 2007, it was something different back then: a Sci-Fi RPG with an over-the-shoulder, 3rd-person perspective and gun-based combat. Now an iconic BioWare title, it was one of my favorite RPGs and with the sequel finally here, expectations are high. When we spoke with the QA Lead on the Mass Effect 2 team back in October at PAX ‘09 (Penny Aracde Expo) it was obvious the development team was passionate about correcting some of the shortcomings of the first game. This passion is apparent from the moment you fire up the game, almost everything has been improved over the previous title, already marking Mass Effect 2 as one of the best games of 2010, read on the find out why…
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Posted in 360, PC, Posted by nwitbraad, Warren Reviews | 1 Comment »
February 15th, 2010
Developer: PlatinumGames
Publisher: SEGA
Genre: Action
Players: 1
Console: Xbox 360, PS3
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 18
Progress: Finished the game on “Normal”
Hideki Kamiya, director of Bayonetta and the man behind revered action titles such as the original Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, brings us one of most stylish and action-packed games of this console generation. Bearing elements of titles such as Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta brings us a heroine whose sex appeal, moves and skills have not been seen since Lara Croft arrived on the scene in 1996. First launched in Japan at the end of last year, Bayonetta was heralded to the tune of rave reviews and much hype, now having hit US and European shores the question is whether the game is really that good, read on to find out…
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Posted in 360, PS3, Posted by nwitbraad, Warren Reviews | No Comments »
February 9th, 2010
Developer: Amanita Design
Publisher: Amanita Design
Genre: Point & Click Adventure
Players: 1
Console: PC/Mac
ESRB Rating: Not classified (E10+ by my estimate, there are some tough puzzles)
Hours Played: 5-6
Progress: Completed the game on PC and Mac
Machinarium, with its originally limited release (it’s now available through Steam in addition to from the company’s website), didn’t get much of the press and hype that it very much deserved. Point and click adventure games as a whole tend to be rather niche these days as the market trends toward explosions, shooters, and general real-time action games. While I am not against such a trend at all, it does have the side-effect that gaming gems in unpopular genres tend to fall through the cracks and get missed by the majority of the gaming populous. Machinarium is a game that you shouldn’t just skip over and here’s why:
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Posted in PC, Posted by Miyamoto, Warren Reviews | 1 Comment »
January 18th, 2010
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: EA
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
Console: Xbox 360, PS3, PC/Mac
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 45
Progress: Completed main story on “Normal”
Some of the best RPG experiences I’ve had have been with Bioware games, both Knights of The Old Republic on the Xbox and Mass Effect on the Xbox 360 were revolutionary titles long after Bioware started etching out their legacy as a developer of premium RPG titles. It’s therefore no surprise that Dragon Age: Origins, Bioware’s latest RPG offering, comes with much anticipation and high expectations. Originally heralded as the spiritual successor to the popular dungeon crawler Baldur’s Gate, the developers changed pace and decided to give the game a behind the player, 3rdperson perspective and a more deliberate combat system with deep story line and party-based combat and exploration. When originally conceived, the game was thought to be a PC-only title. Fortunately for console gamers, publisher EA saw the mass-market appeal and pushed for a console release as well. Inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons universe, Dragon Age: Origins is a throwback to “old school” RPGs but with the Bioware flair and seal of quality we’ve become so used to. Read on to find out how it stacks up to their previous titles…
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Posted in 360, PC, PS3, Posted by nwitbraad, Warren Reviews | No Comments »
January 8th, 2010
Many a game came out over the last decade, over 11,000 incidentally, but the great majority of them were garbage churned out to either confuse consumers into purchasing them instead of a decent game, or just to make money off of people that don’t check games’ metascores. There were, however, also a good number of superb games that came out in the last 10 years. Game Usagi sifted through thousands of games to present to you this list of the best of the best from the last decade. Read on to find out what games made the list:
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Posted in Features, Posted by Miyamoto | 1 Comment »
December 15th, 2009
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games
Genre: FPS/Action RPG
Players: 1-2, 2-4 (online)
Console: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 8
Progress: Completed all quests on 1st and 2nd play-through
Only a month-and-4-days after the release of Borderlands, the first offering of downloadable content becomes available, although seemingly soon after the game’s launch, people have been panting for more of Gearbox’s looter and shooter extravaganza. Considering how good the original game was, you really can’t go wrong with some extra content, right? Well… read on to find out.
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Posted in 360, PC, PS3, Posted by nwitbraad, Warren Reviews | 1 Comment »
November 18th, 2009
Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Genre: First Person Shooter
Players: 1-4, 2-18 (online)
Console: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Progress: Completed campaign on “Hardened”
Only a few days after launch everyone seems to have an opinion of this juggernaut of FPS games, it’s important to note that at the Usagi we neither pay lip service to a big publisher just because we happened to get exclusive access or press coverage and neither will we be unjustly critical just because it would be the “indy” thing to do in the face of such an established franchise and mass-adored title. No, falling somewhere in the middle, we do our best to be unbiased, fair and take an expert, in-depth look at games from a gamer’s perspective. Having said that you probably won’t be surprised when we tell you that Modern Warfare 2 is a great shooter, in fact it’s one of the best FPS games in recent memory and takes us to a level of immersion and visceral action, especially in the main campaign, that improves on the first Modern Warfare (Call of Duty 4), in almost every way. Read on to discover what to look out for in one of the year’s biggest releases…
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Posted in 360, PC, PS3, Posted by nwitbraad, Warren Reviews | No Comments »
November 13th, 2009
Aion is another fantasy based MMORPG. You may be thinking, “oh gee another fantasy themed MMO, whoop dee do.” There are numerous other MMOs out on the market, so what is so special about this one? Flying with wings, which can lead to aerial combat at later levels, PvPvE environments, gorgeous graphics, and the one thing MMOs could only wish for at launch, polish.
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Posted in PC, Posted by CanadianJak0, Previews | No Comments »
November 10th, 2009
Developer: Gearbox
Publisher: 2K Games
Genre: First Person Shooter/Action RPG
Players: 1-2, 2-4 (online)
Console: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 40
Progress: Finished main story and all side quests
Developer Gearbox is probably best known for its Brothers in Arms franchise and has been working for years now on the gem that is Borderlands. As this title came closer to release you could feel the buzz and excitement building among the video game media and fans; not surprising considering the original and mouth-watering concept behind the game: think of it as Diablo with guns. Wrapped in a First Person Shooter (FPS) coating, Borderlands is all about the loot, shoot enemies – collect loot, open chests – collect loot, find containers – collect loot, all while being able to pair up with a buddy through split-screen or up to three through Xbox live. Gearbox seems to have found the magic formula for creating a game that’s easy to pick up and nearly impossible to put down, read on to find out why….
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Posted in 360, PC, PS3, Posted by nwitbraad, Warren Reviews | No Comments »
November 9th, 2009
Our favourite iPhone Twitter app could be yours for free! We have four promo codes to give out to let you experience the full awesomeness of the app for the fuller awesomeness of $0!
Rules:
You have to live in the US (sorry, we don’t live there either, but the codes only work in the US) and you have to not be a Game Usagi employee or related to a Game Usagi employee.
How to enter:
Subscribe to Game Usagi on Twitter here:
http://twitter.com/gameusagi
And send us a tweet @gameusagi. Also, do so before December 1st, 2009.
Once that is completed, we’ll enter you to win one of the codes of justice!
Posted in Contests, Posted by Miyamoto | No Comments »
