Header Image
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Review by: Dave Gamble
They say the WWII shooter has been done to death and it's time to move on. Dave takes a look at Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and says... READ FULL REVIEW...
Legendary
Review by: Cyril Lachel
Cyril cuts through the pre-release hype and explains why he absolutely detests the latest shooter from Spark Unlimited READ FULL REVIEW...
Hooked Up: Rock Band Drum Sticks
Article by: Dan Keener
Dan looks at a replacement solution for those that are a little heavy handed with their Rock Band drumsticks… READ FULL ARTICLE...

Nobunaga's Ambition: Iron Triangle debut trailer

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
Shipping to North American retailers on January 27th, Nobunaga's Ambition: Iron Triangle brings players into a feudal Asian landscape for a harsh lesson in wartime strategy circa 16th century Japan.  You must master technology, govern wisely, and assemble an invincible army (the "Iron Triangle").  This debut trailer strangely blends wire-framed maps with imagery from the 1500s, which is actually making the statement that the series is taking its first steps into the land of 3D.  No sign of actual gameplay yet (this one's headed straight for the PS2), even though there's only three weeks until launch.

[READ MORE]

Unlimited $10 off coupons on select 2K Games games

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
Nabbing a discount through GameStop or a sizeable digital distribution platform like Direct2Drive or Steam is status quo.  But a coupon straight from the vendor is a rare fine.  2K Games is handing out $10 off coupons--no limit--on select titles from their body of work, usable at participating retailers through January 31, 2009.  Known participating retailers include but are not limited to:  Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, GameStop, Game Crazy, Virgin, Hastings, Meijer, f.y.e., and Fred Meyer.  The select titles are:
  • BioShock (PS3) [GamingNexus Grade: A]
  • Carnival Games (Wii, DS)
  • Carnival Games: Mini-Golf (Wii)
  • Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess (Wii, DS)
  • NBA 2K9 (PS3, 360, PC)
  • NHL 2K9 (PS3, 360, Wii) [GamingNexus Grade: B-]
  • Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (PS3, 360) [GamingNexus Grade: A]
  • Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization (PC)
[READ MORE]

Top Gamefly rentals for the week ending 1/5/09

by: Chuck - - Comments (0)
Gamefly has released their top rentals for last week and the Xbox version of Left 4 Dead tops the list of cross platform titles along with Prince of Persia and Call of Duty World at War coming in second and third respectively.  L4D is also the top title on the Xbox platform and Prince of Persia takes the #1 spot on the PS3 list with Resistance 2 and LittleBitPlanet filling out the top 3 slots.  The Wii side is dominated by Mario Kart Wii, Mario Super Sluggers, and Wii Music which helps to reinforce any pre-conception you might have about the quantity and quality of Wii software. [READ MORE]

BFG announces complete system

by: John - - Comments (0)
BFG Technologies is leaping into the full system arena with their announcement of the Phobos line of computers. If you're a gamer who wants a high end machine but doesn't want to spend the time to build one, this one might be up your alley. The Phobos will be using all the latest technologies such as then Intel i7 965 Extreme Edition 3.2GHz Processor, 2 (yes TWO) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 cards, and a CoolIt liquid cooling solution. For media, they are including a TV tuner and a slot loading Blu-ray drive as well as an integrated iPod/iPhone dock. The systems will range from $3,000 all the way up to $8,000 for the best of the best. You'll get to know what options are available after January 8th and I'm sure I'll see them in action when I visit with BFG at CES in a few days. Expect some pics and hands on impressions then. [READ MORE]

Polk Audio Introduces latest SurroundBar family member aimed at gamers

by: Dan - - Comments (0)
Polk Audio today announced the latest addition to their SurroundBar Family, the Polk Audio SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater (SB IHT). The SB IHT is a two-piece, affordable audio solution for those that are looking to add high-quality surround to their gaming rigs at a decent price. The unit features a main SurroundBar speaker system featuring four 2 1/2 drivers and 2 tweeters, as well as a 6 1/2 wireless (that's right, wireless) sub that uses the 2.4 GHz frequency. It is scheduled to retail starting around the second week of February at $499.95 wherever Polk products are sold.

In addition, I had a chance to chat with Polk Audio's VP of Product Line Management Mark Suskind last week to discuss the SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater. Mark covered several topics about the product, including why its is ideal for gamers and movie buffs alike, as well as the design and specs of the wireless sub, which is a first for any Polk SurroundBar product.

GamingNexus was also given exclusive access to the SB IHT prior to its announcement today, so look for a review of it in the very near future. In the meantime, enjoy the 35+ minute interview with Mark Suskind:
[READ MORE]

Wiikly wiileases wiivealed

by: Chuck - - Comments (0)
It's kind of a weak week for the Wii as Nintendo is only releasing two new downloadable titles this week.  Virtual Console fans are getting the SNES version of Kirby's Dream Land 3 (800 points) while the WiiWare folk are getting Sandy Beach (500 points).  So much for entering 2009 with a bang eh Nintendo?  Here's a quick vid showing off everything you can do in Kirby's Dream Land 3
[READ MORE]

First Impression - Civil War: Secret Missions

by: Ben Berry - - Comments (0)
I am an unabashed "fan" of the US Civil War. Fan is the wrong word, but I have never figured out what the right word is for being fond of a particular war. To be a fan of war in general is really just wrong, and that's not me. But I figure being interested in one war is ok. So what does that make me? A civil war afficianado? A civil war devotee? It's not so much the history of the war as much as the underlying mentality that would allow two halves of the same country to go after each other like pitbulls in Michael Vicks back yard. Anywho, back to the game I'm supposed to be talking about here. Civil War: Secret Missions is a History Channel game developed by Cauldron and released by Activision. Ok, that is WAY too much bold for one sentence. Now that I've gotten the part that studies have shown 97.24% of readers don't care about out of the way, I can get into my early impressions.

Civil War: Secret Missions is kinda like a trip to your local museum of science and industry; It's mostly about boring old stuff, but they manage to make it fun by turning it into games and experiments. In CW: SM, you play the role of a solider (for the north or south, depending on the mission), working with a small unit of AI soldiers causing mayhem behind enemy lines. The learning part of the game comes in the form of animations and text describing real Civil War battles, and the actions of the soldiers and commanders who carry out the exact raids you'll be mimicing in the game. Many of the missions revolve around technologies that were developed during the war, such as the Gattling gun, and the technologies are often required to finish the missions.

Unfortunately, that's where the wheels come off the cart a bit. Because these missions are designed to be somewhat historically based, the missions are fairly structured and have some tight limitations on where you can go. Especially in missions that occur on woodland trails it feels very much "on rails". That being said, the action in these scenes is fun. The combat feels probably somewhat like it did back then. Weapons have severe limitations and are inaccurate. The AI isn't particularly smart, and opposition actions are predictable. You can often time when the enemy will pop up next from behind an obstacle. But combat is rewarding and even fairly difficult at times, even on just a moderate difficulty.

I've only gotten through the first couple of missions, and haven't even been able to work for the eventual winning side in the conflict yet. The missions are longish, even without a failure the first one took me about half an hour. There does seem to be a lot of gameplay for the money on this title.[MORE]

Adventures in Braid and the overwrought metaphor

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
New Year's Eve 2008.  My wife Grace and I paid fellow GamingNexus writer Sean Nack and his wife Stephanie an overnight visit.  We brought over Monopoly, but we weren't feeling very cutthroat.  We brought over Balderdash, but weren't feeling definitive.  Nothing at the theater piqued our attention.  And so my mind wandered back over the year, as minds are wont to do when another 365 days have come and gone.  And I'd resolved to pay more attention to indie developers for the upcoming year, 2009--but it didn't feel like it was too early to start.

Jonathan Blow's Braid was a game that I'd continually skipped past.  My Xbox 360 red ringed a week before it hit XBLA.  By the time my 360 came back, Spore hit.  Then Warhammer Online hit.  Then Civilization IV: Colonization hit.  Then Fracture (wince).  Then Dead SpaceFable II, Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, Need For Speed Undercover (wince again), Prince of Persia...then a revisit to Pirates of the Burning Sea and the new-to-me Europa Universalis III.

And through it all Braid has been taunting me, calling me a spineless, lilly-livered coward for (predominantly) sticking with this holiday season's no-brainers.  Jonathan Blow is a man that, as far as I can tell from photographs and videos, has never smiled in his life; and he wasn't smiling at me now either. So it was time to take my cowardice and crutch myself on Sean Nack and his wife.  One hour before an incredibly slow-moving ball was to drop in Times Square, I convinced everyone to participate in what's been heralded in certain circles as the Most Pretentious Moment in Gaming for 2008:  Braid.  Plus it's been showing up--rather conspicuously--as the media darling on more than one Top 10 of 2008 list.

All four of us took up strategic positions on the couch, and it took all four of our minds put together to make it through the infernally-puzzling Braid.  We played, we laughed, we scoffed, we scolded, we shook our heads in defeat, we threw our heads back in victory, we pumped our fists with elation then alternately wished we could punch Jonathan Blow in the face.  It'd been several years since I'd been on a roller coaster ride, but traversing Braid certainly counted.  And just because we made it through doesn't mean the entire journey made complete sense. 

Here's what Braid's aftertaste was like to Sean and I--the following is copied and pasted from a back-and-forth email between the two of us--plus Sean divulges his sentiments on the endings of Far Cry 2 and Fallout 3 as well.  We figured it was high time the discussion of Braid be taken beyond the "It's the greatest ending ever!" platitudes.

* * * * * SPOILER ALERT * * * * *

...And if you haven't played Braid, then none of this will make sense out of context anyway.  [Continue reading "Adventures in Braid and the overwrought metaphor."]
[READ MORE]

News Roundup: Supreme Trek Crisis

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
  • Defunct Games draws a startling parallel between Dead Space, Prince of Persia, and Left 4 Dead.  We gotta hand it to 'em.
  • It's time I shed my fear of the frighteningly deep strategery in Europa Universalis III.
  • The CoolIT Systems Domino A.L.C. Water Cooler fills in the sub-$80 price point.
  • Star Trek Online published a timeline updated to the year 2384.
  • The current flagship for the ECS Elitegroup is the ECS X58B-A Black Edition Motherboard.
  • Spire Torq Laptop Backpacks are practical, roomy, and with "infinite" numbers of pockets.
  • It may be time to draw new conclusions on products from this mid-level motherboard roundup.
  • If you want groundbreaking aesthetics and design, you want the Thermaltake SpinQ Heatpipe CPU Cooler.
  • GameRanger added matchmaking for the Global Crisis expansion for Supreme Ruler 2020.
  • AtomicGamer probably doesn't have any surprises in their Top 10 Games of 2008.
Thanks to Defunct Games, Legit Reviews, Star Trek Online, APH Networks, iXBT Labs, Tweaknews.net, GameRanger, and AtomicGamer for today's news roundup.

Rock Band 2 officially getting Roy Orbison

by: Chuck - - Comments (0)
I know Dan reported on it earlier but Harmonix has officially announced the Roy Orbison back for Rock Band 2. The pack will include the following six songs which will cost you $1.99/160 points each or $9.99/800 for the full pack:

1. “Claudette”
2. “In Dreams”
3. “Mean Woman Blues”
4. “Oh, Pretty Woman”
5. “Ooby Dooby”
6. “You Got It”

The songs will be available on January 6th on Xbox Live and on January 15th on the PlayStation Network. [READ MORE]

TechCrunch shows us what Ballmer's saying at the CES keynote

by: John - - Comments (1)
A few of us here at Gaming Nexus will be at CES in a week and Dan's been saying we have to go to the Microsoft keynote. Well if what TechCrunch says is true, I'm going to skip it. The "highlights" of the keynote will be that Windows 7 will be an open beta, two already announced Halo games coming to the 360, easier networking, and Windows Mobile gets Flash in the first quarter of this year. If again this is true, then yeah it's going to be pretty boring. I mean we already have Flash on Windows Mobile via Opera on some of the latest WinMo phones and the two Halo games are pretty much well known in the gaming community. If you really want to you can find a leaked copy of the Windows 7 beta so the only thing we don't have any knowledge on is the easier networking which isn't that big of a deal in my opinion. Overall, sounds like something we can skip but who knows. Dan, Sean, or I might just stop by and check out the happenings before Digital Experience.

What we're playing--And we swear we'll never do that again

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
As gamers we all fell for some regrettable scenario at some point in 2008.  Perhaps we rooted too long for a failing developer, or we bought into the hype of yet another big-budget blockbuster, or we dismissed a worthy start-up company, or we sacrificed too many puppies on the sanguinary stone altars of Baal.  We all have our faults.  And despite your efforts to deify us here at GamingNexus, we're not perfect.  So (should old acquaintance be forgot) we ask you, What will you never do/screw up again in 2009?

Ben Berry:  I was lucky in 2008. But one thing I will do differently in 2009 is be smarter about the titles I put at the top of my list so I'm not the last one on the bus (i.e., BioShock).  (Now playing:  WiiPlay, WiiFit, WiiMusic, History Channel Civil War: Secret Missions, NPPL Championship Paintball 2009)

Elliot Bonnie
:  For some reason I always end up buying the newest edition of Madden football from EA...not this year, folks. Actually, if they put Mutant League Football on the disc I will buy it for sure.  (Now playing:  Left 4 Dead, FIFA Soccer 09, Midnight Club: Los Angeles)

Sean Colleli
:  I think I've finally learned to never trust Nintendo ever again.  Big holiday plans for the core gamer?  Kid Icarus?  New Zelda?  Yeah right.  I've been telling myself "next year will be better" and "wait for E3" for what seems like four years now.  They have me tempted with WiiMotionPlus and a few other tasty 2009 promises, but the thing to always remember is Nintendo's policy of wasted potential.  See that Wii over there, the one you dropped $250 on?  Potential, being wasted in action.  (Now playing:  Mushroom Men: Spore Wars, Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi)

Charles Husemann:  I'm going to try to pay more attention to the indie scene in 2008.  I completely missed World of Goo and didn't really spend enough time with Braid or PixelJunk Eden.  (Now playing:  Killzone 2, PixelJunk Eden)

Randy Kalista:  Fully aware that I'm plagiarizing Chuck's answer above, I too will be showing smaller developers some more love this year.  Sure, it's grand to be able to refer to past big-budget titles that serve as touchstones for the gaming community at large, but I'm officially suffering from triple-A fatigue.  Showing the little guys some love, however, doesn't mean that I'm going to masochistically pursue things that suck, per se.  But instead of Champions Online, I'll go Fallen Earth.  Instead of Guitar Hero: Metallica, it'll be Scratch.  Instead of Empire: Total War, it's me and King Arthur.  And instead of Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, I'll get BioShock 2.  Hey, some exceptions to the rule will apply.  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  (Now playing:  Europa Universalis III - Complete, Braid)

Cyril Lachel:  I will never get up at 5 am to go to a Nintendo Press Conference again.  I know it sounds like whining, after 2008 I'm done going out of my way for Nintendo, especially when the outcome is so offensive.  As much as I love E3, the truth is that it's extremely difficult to get around Los Angeles.  It's true, L.A. is the worst city for driving, the highways are a mess and the street layout is completely random.  So I already wasn't looking forward to driving across town to attend Nintendo's 2008 press conference (held at the beautiful Kodak Theater).  To make things even worse, Nintendo decided to start their conference at 7 in the morning.  That's right, 7 AM!  That means that I had to get up at 5 am just to make it to the Kodak Theater on time.  And to add insult to injury, Nintendo didn't announce a single thing we didn't know about.  It was a completely lifeless press conference, the worst I've ever seen.  I was tired, I was bitter and I was watching the least informative press conference the world has ever seen.  And at that moment I realized that Nintendo didn't care what I thought.  They aren't making the Wii for me.  I'm no longer even in Nintendo's radar.  When Animal Crossing is your "hardcore" offering, then you know something is wrong.  At that moment I decided that this would be the last time I go out of my way to watch Nintendo (once again) disappoint me.  Next time I'll have Nintendo disappoint me from the comfort of my hotel room!  (Now playing:  Fable II, Rock Band 2, Chrono Trigger, The Last Remnant)

Matt Mirkovich:  What I'm not doing again? Trusting that Nintendo knows what the core gamers want. I've had it with them telling me what I want. This is worse than Sony's whole anti-2-D kick they went on a few years ago when the PS2 came around. And after last year's E3, I knew that Nintendo had lost me, and that I'd have to rely on 3rd party titles to make me happy. Love you ~ No More Heroes.  (Now playing:  Prince of Persia, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, DJ Max Portable - Black Square)

Nathan Murray
:  Something I'll never do again? How about buy a game simply because of the price. I purchased Gears of War at Wal-Mart for the deal of $29 thinking at the time it was a copy of Gears of War 2. I realized my mistake after I got home and I vowed to never again buy a game without reading the front and back cover first and not go shopping after only having 6 hours of sleep.  (Now playing:  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Quantum of Solace, Ninja Gaiden 2)

Sean Nack:  What will I not do again? Underestimate the online experience. I've avoided it for years because, honestly, most people annoy me, and all the immaturity, idiocy, poor sportsmanship, homophobia, and even crazy-racism that I always expected to encounter are consistently in evidence, threatening to overshadow my good times. But the vindictive joy I get from hunting the most annoying people down, over and over? That about makes up for it.  (Now playing:  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Braid)

Shawn Sines:  What will I not do again? Believe in game makers to understand that new IPs while expensive and risky are worth the effort...look at EA already acting like Dead Space, Mirror's Edge are a mistake and Blizzard/Activision killing Brutal Legend (EA don't quit on us and we won't quit you!) and Ghostbusters (Thanks be to...and I can't believe I'm about to say this...Atari). We all know we need another 7 sequels to sports titles with marginal updates and roster revisions.  (Now playing:  Champions of Norrath: Return to Arms, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, Left 4 Dead, and an exclusive shooter I can't name)

John Yan
: I'll never try and play more than five titles at once again. When that crazy schedule of games came out at the end of the year I tried cramming everything at once in getting the experience. It was more stressful than fun so I'll take my time and let some titles linger on a bit for those slow times that usually come afterwards. Oh and I vow never to buy another console from Nintendo again without at least 3 games I want to play and even then they have to be some pretty damn good games that will last more than a week. I'm tired of my Wii collecting dust along with the Wii Fit and a few other things I picked up for it. Nintendo you may have the casual group in your hand but I'm not falling for it again and falling for your empty promises. (Now playing: Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, Team Fortress 2)

Ouch.  Looks like Nintendo screwed themselves up last year.  And zombies still seem to be stealing the spotlight as several of our writers are finding themselves gratefully Left 4 Dead.

Happy New Years from GamingNexus

by: Chuck - - Comments (2)
Welcome to 2009, hopefully you had a good time last night and are having a nice relaxing day today.  Posting will be very, very light today but we'll be getting back onto our regular schedule tomorrow.  We've got a lot of things planned for 2009 and we hope you'll stick around for them. 

Did you do anything game related as part of your New Years Eve celebration?  If so leave a comment and let us know what you did.  Personally I had a small gathering of folks over and we played Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour most of the night. 

Horizons Broadening Project - 2009: Europa Universalis III

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
Over at Gamers With Jobs (an intelligent and articulate group of guys, but thankfully never all-knowing), co-founder Sean "Elysium" Sands is commencing a "Horizons Broadening Project - 2009."  Once a month he'll be going out of his way to play a videogame genre that he wouldn't normally.  Hey, you can't like everything in the first place, so I certainly don't judge.  Sean picked out Birth of America II for his project in January; it's one of those games where "deep" is an obvious understatement when it comes to descriptors for the level of strategy-building involved.  He'll play for a month and then do a write-up. I'm not nearly so committed, but I'll humor the idea for now.

To follow suit with the "deep" strategy genre, one that I've never dipped my toe into (sorry, Sid Meier, your games are so easy they play themselves after a while) I picked up Europa Universalis III - Complete.  The original is about a year old, but the Complete version comes with the In Nomine and Napoleon's Ambition expansion packs. This game is no joke.  Even the tutorials--which are so vague that they have the gall to provide "hints"--assumes I've already had four cups of coffee and roll with an IQ of 120 or greater.

Deep breath, Randy.  You can do this. 

I've only had time to dabble for a few moments in the full-length singleplayer campaign, so I hopped around a few times just to get a feel for my options.  The results were less than flattering...
[READ MORE]

News Roundup: Lippi Transformers In Win

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
  • Looks like videogames aren't so recession proof after all.  Xbox America discusses.
  • Transformers Animated: The Game for the Nintendo DS is apparently ... less than meets the eye.
  • Our own Ben Berry is suited up, Lippi Selk'Bag 1-style, ready for sub-arctic temperatures or Best Buy all-nighters.
  • The In Win Matrix Chassis (case) is equipped with an 80-plus 300-watt power supply, and is intended for home theater use.
  • In Win has another eye-catching creation with the NA USB/ESATA HDD Enclosure.
  • Aluminum construction and serious features for cooling, the Cooler Master ATCS 840 case is one of the newest.
Thanks to Xbox America, Defunct Games, BurnOutPC, Legit Reviews, and Tweaknews.net for today's news roundup.

Listen to the Legacy of Ys: Books I & II soundtrack when you pre-order

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
Pre-ordering the Legacy of Ys: Books I & II is going to land you the CD soundtrack to this Nintendo DS game, which offers "a sweeping emotional score, building on action and tension to provide players with an altogether potent experience."  (Wow.  No one's going to say that Atlus doesn't pay its press release writers well.)  I'm thinking it's a sound more reserved for the Japanophiles--you know who you are)--but developer Atlus has provided half a dozen sound bites for the rest of us that don't yet have our minds made up yet.
[READ MORE]

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online goes open beta

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
To kick off its open beta, Aeria Games has released a 40+ screenshot blowout of Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online.  (Although there's considerably more variety in the dozen screens they handed out a couple months ago.)  The soon-to-be free-to-play MMO is already up and running in Japan, and has now unlocked its open beta to the public here in the West.  It'll be free to download with zero subscription fees, which means, of course, that you'll be shelling over microtransaction cash for the good stuff.
[READ MORE]

Classic Gaming Trivia for 12/30/2008

by: John - - Comments (0)
Here's a game that I had a lot of fun with. It's a classic platformer but you always had to be on the watch out for that dinosaur foot. Think I might fire this one up on the emulator this weekend.

Archon is coming back

by: John - - Comments (2)
The folks at React! Games are going to push out another Archon game, a classic chess action game hybrid that was one of my favorites back when I was young. I'm excited and a little cautious at the same time. React! Games is a new company so there's no track record on how well this game can turn out. The owner does have experience though by helping to develop an Archon clone but I'm still hesitant when it comes to these types of announcements. I hope we see some screenshots and gameplay soon so that I can better judge the game but for now, I'll be cautiously optomistic.

The 10 Most Unnecessary Games of 2008 -- courtesy of Defunct Games

by: Randy - - Comments (0)
You've already read all the top 10 lists of video games for the year.  There's probably a top 10 list of top 10 lists for video games of the year.  But Defunct Games would like to give you some more useful advice--in the form of what not to buy into from 2008.  Just as November saw the holiday glut of games clogging GameStops and online servers alike, the end of December marks the start of the dry season.  It's slim pickings round these parts if you're searching the near horizon.  So, lest your curiosity get the best of you and your wallet in the coming weeks (once all the Fables and Fallouts and Left 4 Deads are out of your system), educate yourself on the 10 Most Unnecessary Games of 2008.  (Here's a startling revelation:  One of them has the word Portal in its title, while several others have little musical instrument peripherals attached to their gameplay.)