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Nintendo Wii Holiday Buying Guide - Top 5 Games to Gift
2007-12-04 15:16:00
5. Super Paper Mario - Perfect for the RPG fan and the more casual gamer alike. This little gaming gem started on Gamecube, but has solid gamepla and a unique "pop-up" book art style. It also lacks many of the "Wii" gameplay gimmicks.4. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Perfect for the Nintendo Loyalist and the Adventure/Action fan. Twilight Princess is another solid entry into the Zelda story and offers a good mix of classic N64 Zelda action with some great Wii Control innovations.3. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Yet another Nintendo franchise carried over to the Wii, Metroid offers is a great mix of adventure, FPS, and puzzle solving gameplay. Plus this guy wraps up the Prime Trilogy.2. Super Mario Galaxy- Perfect for anyone with a Wii, this game marks the triumphant return of Mario. With an amazing critical reception, this game is the successor of Mario 64.1. Super Smash Brothers Brawl- While this game is not technically going to be around for Xmas, Peoples should stil...
More About: Buying , Holiday , Games , Nintendo Wii

Switchball Mini-Review
2007-12-03 15:17:00
Switchball is one of the best looking XBLA titles available (I think Undertow beats it, but that's it). In addition, it is also a very entertaining and rewarding game. I guess you would call Switchball a puzzle game, but you certainly need some platforming skills to successfully roll your ball to the exit. The gamplay a revolves around...switchball-ing (sounds dirty)...switching your ball into other forms in order to complete tasks and move onto the exit. There's the standard marble, the heavy metal ball, a bouncy airball, and a slick multifaceted powerball. The art direction in this game is superb. The world is a beautiful looking DaVinci inspired world with odd gyrocopters and perpetuates the idea that you are one marble in a complex machine or gadget. If you like short but sweet games, Switchball is definitely for you.THE GOOD:4 different balls to control with different abilitiesBeautiful Graphics and unique, interesting worldsEasy Controls! (Analog stick and the A button)THE B...
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Playstation 3 Holiday Buying Guide: Top 5 Games to Gift
2007-11-30 17:19:00
5. Assassin's Creed - Perfect for the Adventure enthusiast and Graphics whore, after all PS3 is the more powerful machine.4. Motorstorm - Perfect for the Racing nut who likes to get down and dirty and enjoys a little more action over finesse in his racing.3. Rock Band - Perfect for the whole family. Read our review about this MUST BUY game.2. Rachet & Clank: Future Tools of Destruction- I haven't played this particular Ratchet, but have played all the others. They are solid games that deliver on their gameplay and humor. Always enjoyable for all ages, plus they're great platformers.1. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune - Made by Naughty Dog, one of the premiere Sony developers since PS1 (Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter) they always seem to create a new trilogy for a new Playstation . This game looks to be a fantastic adventure with spectacular animation and a variety of run/gun and platforming gameplay.
More About: Buying , Holiday , Games , Gift

Rock Band Review
2007-11-29 15:18:00
Simply put, Rock Band IS the Best Music Game Ever. Here's why: It's Fun!Gameplay: 10/10Pros: 3 Unique Experiences in the Drums, Guitar/Bass, and SingingBand World Tour mode IS phenomenal and a true step in music game "campaign mode"The Guitar Hero gameplay that Harmonix pioneered works great and is slightly tweaked for the better and across the other instruments.Very approachable gameplay allows ANYONE to find an instrument and enjoyCons: Difficulty of the Drums is extremely steep compared to the other instrumentsBand World Tour should allow you to complete the game (play all the challenges) on every difficulty rather than require you to play on Hard or above to unlock certain things...This results in you kicking some of your friends out of the band to beat certain challenges and thus taking away from the whole play with 3 of your friends aspect.Graphics: 10/10Pros: Fantastic Animation, Great lip-syncing, tons of venues, great effect filters and different choreography for each son...
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Xbox 360 Holiday Buying Guide - The Top 5 Games
2007-11-27 17:22:00
5. Assassins Creed - Perfect for the Adventure Fan who loves gorgeous graphics and animations.4. Call of Duty 4 - Perfect for the Action Nut who wants to solve political problems with bullets rather than words.3. Mass Effect - Perfect for the SciFi Nut and RPG nerd, but approachable for others. Mass Effect has an incredibly engrossing story and has gameplay that offers some broader appeal than the typical RPG.2. Rock Band - Perfect for the whole family! Rock Band is an amazing achievement. I have only had it for a week and have found that the game is approachable to everyone from young kids, to gamers, to adults, even to the skeptical female who hates games. With 3 different instruments to master and multiple difficulty levels, everyone can find something they can handle/enjoy in Rock Band.1. Halo 3 - The perfect gift for anyone with an Xbox 360. Simply put this game is a must have, an instant classic, and insanely fun to play.
More About: Buying , Holiday , Games , Xbox 360

Undertow Live Arcade Mini Review
2007-11-26 18:46:00
In short, Undertow is a steal at 800 MS points so enjoy and download away! THE GOOD:3 Different Races, 4 different unitsInteresting Single Player Campaign/StoryGorgeous Graphics16 Player Multiplayer (with bots)Co-Op Story mode online and split screenEasy to learn ControlsDeep StrategyFantastic Balance and Map DesignTHE BAD:Campaign is too shortCan't Play as Alien Race (yet?)Ranked Matches can be hard to find (Player matches much easier)Undertow is one of the best looking games to come out on Xbox Live Arca de yet. I'm pretty sure it is the first one with ingame cinematics and voice acting as well. Undertow's gameplay is simple on the surface...think Geometry wars...but offers 4 different classes, 3 upgrades for each class and cleverly designed levels that all bring out the deeper strategies of the submerged, chaotic gameplay. The key strategies in this game revolve around the 4 classes of units, how you upgrade them through the course of a match, and how you dynamically change cla...
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Thanksgiving Update
2007-11-26 16:17:00
Well, hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving . Here's some news & things coming during the Holiday season...Rock Band Review - Playing it like Crazy...it is fantastic...but how fantastic?Undertow ReviewMass Effect ReviewHoliday Buying Guides: Top 5 Xbox 360 games, PS3 games, Wii Games, and of course how those fall into the Top 5 purchases overall.As for Graduate Games news...Sorry, but I forgot to remind everyone that Storked was available on Game du Jour yesterday. Many people took advantage and bought the game on sale. Storked is also one of the top 10 indie games of November on Gametunnel.com. Perhaps more exciting is that we have 2 games in development. I hope to have 1 released by Spring/Summer 08 but we'll see how progress goes on both of them. Keep a look out for more on these games...
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Showcase: Video Game Thanksgiving
2007-11-16 21:20:00
Mass Effect, Rock Band, and Undertow all release next week in time for Turkey Day. They join other AAA titles such as Assassin's Creed and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune making for a plethora of great gaming choices over the holidays.
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Storked reviewed on OUT OF EIGHT
2007-11-15 21:45:00
James Allen released his review of Storked today and it's a pretty positive review. Here are some highlights, the complete review is here:"The levels in the game are designed to take advantage of the penguins? attributes and there are definitely some interesting solutions to figure out.""Having all four of these penguins at your disposal can make for some pleasingly complex puzzles""The levels in the game are designed to take advantage of the penguins? attributes and there are definitely some interesting solutions to figure out.""While Storked is not the most visually impressive game to come out this year, it is playable and you don?t have to worry about camera angles.""I suspect puzzle fans will have some fun with the game and its editor "His Verdict:"The Good: Varied abilities, straightforward controls, informative tutorial, numerous obstacles and levels, level editorThe Not So Good: Sluggish pace, usually only one solutionWhat say you? A puzzle game with diverse designs, effort...

Hilarious Video Game Quote: Bad Dudes (NES)
2007-11-14 16:51:00
This pretty much speaks for itself.It's from Bad Dudes on NES.
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Top 5 Best Video Game Systems EVER
2007-11-13 15:46:00
5. Xbox 360 ? Modern Graphics, Awesome Online, and the current next-gen console with the most and best games.4. Playstation 2 ? While PSone came out of nowhere and took command of the market, PS2 took the Sony to new heights. Nearly every great next-gen franchise (GTA, DMC, RE, MGS, etc) started on Playstation 1 or 2 and since PS2 has backward compatibility and sold a whole lot of consoles (~120 million rivaling Game boy)?it?s better.3. Gameboy ? One Word: Tetris. If that?s not enough, this puppy is still the most sold game system of all time and it created the handheld market.2. Genesis ? I am going to go on the record and say the 16-bit era of gaming was one of the best eras ever (with some of the greatest controllers ever). Never have the 2 prevailing systems been so close with graphics/sounds and quality of games. The 16-bit era also lasted among the longest (6 years from the release of Genesis to Saturn vs. 4 years from NES to Genesis). The Genesis saw the proliferation of class...
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Stuntman: Ignition Review
2007-11-12 14:20:00
Stuntman for the original PS2 was a favorite of mine, despite its many flaws. The difficulty built in a lot of challenge and longevity into the experience and I kept playing in order to unlock the next movie trailer. The sequel, Stuntman Ignition, is still challenging, but a lot more forgiving (no load times on restarts! THANK YOU!) and adds a very addictive Tony Hawk-esque Combo Scoring System.Graphics: 9/10Pros: Fantastic visuals, great animation and action sequences. Gorgeous replays.Cons: FMV for movie trailers (mixing with ingame graphics) aren't necessary anymore. They should have used the ingame engine to do the movie trailers to make it look less disjointed.Gameplay: 8.5/10Pros: The gameplay & scoring system is vastly improved. No load times for restarts, serious driving skills required, and a variety of movies, commercials, stunt shows, and cars to fool around with.Cons: Levels still require a lot of trial and error to figure out what's going on. No real way to beat a...
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GameGrad.com Launches
2007-11-07 17:45:00
Graduate Games is proud to announce the launch of their casual games satellite site: http://www.gamegrad.com. GameGrad.com Features a whole bunch of games to download and try. They are all pretty family friendly as well. Give it a look and be sure to take advantage of the 2 free games option.

Top 5 Best Power-Ups of all Time
2007-11-06 16:11:00
5. Red Turtle Shell (Mario Kart) ? while some may argue that some of the newer power-ups usurp the red turtle shell, nothing beat it back in the original Mario Kart. It was the prized possession in nearly every race and battle. In fact, Battle Mode in the original Mario Kart was little more than a race to get Red Turtle Shells.4. Rings (Sonic) ? How great was Sonic the first time you played it? The only way you could die was to get hit without any rings! Sonic?s Iconic Rings (unlike Marios Coins) gave you more than just an extra life, they provided protection, allowed you to reach Bonus Stages, and ultimately lead to Sonic?s true potential: Super Sonic.3. Super Pellet (Pac-Man) ? Game Changer, that?s how you describe the Pac Man Pellet. Once Pac-Man got a hold of this power-up the game changed from defense to offense. Now the tables had turned and the Ghosts were afraid of YOU!2. Super Mushroom (Mario Bros.) ? For many, this is the very first power-up they ever received in a video g...
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The Simpsons Game Review
2007-11-05 15:17:00
The Simpson's Game is yet another game starring America's beloved dysfunctional family. It is a licensed game that features all the voice actors (there's over 8,000 original lines for the game or something ridiculously high) and some animated segments/shorts. Basically, it's a really long episode of the Simpsons , as an episode it's spectacular....as a game, it's short.Gameplay: 6/10Pros: Each family member has a different skill set, the levels offer a great variety and reference many classic episodes. Cons: Gameplay is a heavy copycat of 3rd person platformers and even includes a troublesome camera and resulting frustration.Graphics: 8/10Pros: Playing this game is like playing the TV show. The game captures Springfield and the look of the show better than any other Simpsons game before it.Cons: The cartoon / cel-shaded look definitely doesn't push the PS3 or Xbox360 or is all that impressive up to other next gen games.Sound/Music: 9.5/10Pros: The Voicework and effort of the...
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Showcase: Undertow is given a Release Date
2007-11-02 15:10:00
Undertow is one of the more high profile Xbox Live Arcade Titles out there. I am defintely anticipating it and have been yearning for a release date. Well, a new trailer has surfaced announcing a release date of Nov 21st, 2007. While it's great that a Live release actually gets a release date before say the Monday the week of, It sort of sucks that Mass Effect, Rock Band AND Undertow all come out the same week. Hopefully with the holiday, I'll be able to get to them all.
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Happy Halloween!
2007-10-31 15:38:00
In honor of Halloween here are a few lame Halloween Jokes:What is a vampire's favorite holiday?Fangsgiving...What do you call someone who puts poison in a person's corn flakes?A cereal killer...Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers?No, they eat the fingers separately...Videogame wise there will be 27 hours of a spooky Halo 3 Infection playlist. Enjoy!
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Top 5 Spooky Games to Play on Halloween
2007-10-30 13:13:00
5. Eternal Darkness4. Doom 33. Silent Hill2. Resident Evil 41. Resident Evil: Code Veronica
More About: Games , Play , Halloween , Spooky , Allo

EXIT Xbox Live Arcade Mini Reveiw
2007-10-29 13:21:00
Exit follows Mr. Esc as he attempts to help adults, children, and injured people find an escape to natural disaster situations. There are over 220 levels and of course the standard 200 achievement points.The game is a worthy and interesting platformer / puzzler. It's graphics and artistic style are great and the sound/music offering is above average from an xbox live title. There are plenty of levels and lasting appeal, but Exit does suffer from its flaws. The biggest flaw is in its gameplay. Mr. Esc moves very slowly and methodically...this is all well and good, except it is extremely frustrating when you have to restart a level (and then methodically and slowly move to exactly where you were prior to your mistake) while this makes the game more challenging it also makes it frustrating and exceedingly tedious. There is a major need for an undo/rewind button in this game! On the other hand, each different scenario does a really good job offering something new: new items, new people...
More About: Xbox , Arcade , Xbox Live , Xbox Live Arcade , Mini

Showcase: Rock Band Xbox 360 / PS3
2007-10-26 15:51:00
After playing the Guitar Hero III demo this week, let me assure everyone out there that Rock Band will be a FAR superior experience. While Guitar Hero III looks great, plays great, etc. it is ultimately Guitar Hero II with a facelift and some new tracks. If that warrants your $60-100 so be it. Rock Band stands to offer the same great Harmonix Guitar Action that they invented back in Guitar Hero I, plus expand it with new experiences such as drumming and singing. Plus who doesn't want to make their own Rock God with the customizable character features?
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The Orange Box XBOX360 Review
2007-10-22 15:56:00
Let's sum this review up:5 Games in 1! Ok 3 are very similar. 3 UNIQUE Games in 1!Half Life 2 is a classic at this point and won tons of awards. Even if you've beaten it like I have, there's still new content with the new episodes and even incentive to experience the main quest again to unlock achievements. Portal is one of the most unique game experiences I've had recently and Team Fortress 2 is a very balanced and fun multiplayer experience.Gameplay: 10/10Pros: With 5 games there has to be one that you find yourself drawn to the most. For me, that's Portal and Team Fortress 2, but you may be a more story driven Half-Life 2 person. The controls are solid (and pretty similar) across all the games and the gameplay is extraordinary. In fact, my only complaint with the whole package is that there's plenty of Half-Life 2 action and not nearly enough Portal and Team Fortress. Portal is over way too fast and Team Fortress could use some more maps, but is wanting more really a fault?...
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Showcase: Street Fighter II HD Remix & Street Fighter IV
2007-10-19 19:50:00
Capcom has done it! I'm actually excited for not 1 new street fighter game, but 2. When was the last time I anticipated a Street Fighter game? Probably back when I was 10ish and waiting for SFII Championship Edition on Genesis. Kudos to Capcom for getting me excited for SF IV and SFII HD Remix . I hope the stylized visuals of SF IV make it into the final game, but I KNOW that HD Remix will be the SFII I've been waiting for. Check out these gorgeous makeovers:
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Storked Reviewed and Recommended on Casual Games Galore
2007-10-18 21:04:00
Got a review for Storked the other day from Casual Games Galore . Bottom line- they recommend it! Only real complaint was about the font and level select interface:Lows: The writing on the interface is a bit hard to read (it's a fun font though). Also I had a bit of a hard time at first when choosing the level to play, I played the first one twice as I expected it to move to the next one by itself. :) After I realized the idea behind the menu I no longer had any problems.My favorite quote from the review is:"Relaxation at its best."but enough of me pasting praise here. You can read the review here.
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Metal Gears Solid 2 - Story Explanation
2007-10-18 16:46:00
No, I am not going to delve into every aspect of the Metal Gear Soli d 2 Sons of Liberty Story , but I will attempt to defend this highly criticized story. The big deal with MGS2 is two-fold: 1- You play the majority of the game as Raiden and not Snake and 2- The ending/VR thing with Raiden at the end makes little sense. The reason for the confusion and ambiguity - PostModernism. Postmodernism is blatantly present throughout Metal Gear Solid 2. Largely influenced by the disillusionment induced by the WW2, postmodernism tends to refer to a cultural, intellectual, or artistic state lacking a clear central hierarchy or organizing principle and embodying extreme complexity, contradiction, ambiguity, diversity, and interconnectedness or interreferentiality. Now having a nonsensical plot is not an argument for PostModernism, but take for instance the ambiguity of Raiden himself. Raiden is a character in MGS2, but we also learn that he has played through VR missions and Shadow Moses (or MGS1...
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Video Game Wisdom - Girlfriend vs. VG
2007-10-17 15:42:00
A great man once said, ?Video Game s are better than my girlfriend because when I want to play a game, it NEVER has a headache.?
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Top 5 Worst Video Game Sequels of All Time
2007-10-16 19:44:00
All the included games in this list are Strict Sequels . All of them are the 2nd game in the series. The only exception is one...which IS the direct sequel to the prominent/defining game of the series.5. Super Mario Bros 2 (NES)-SMB2 while not a terrible game had absolutely nothing in common with the original Mario Bros. In fact, Mario and friends were just super imposed over the characters in the Japanese game: Yume K?j?: Doki Doki Panic (Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic). The enemies are totally unfamiliar and many of the bosses such as Mouser and Wart have been completely dropped from subsequent Mario games, while Shyguy and Birdo have been added and originated in the good game, but off the wall sequel from Nintendo. 4. Toe Jam and Earl in Panic on Funkatron (Genesis)- This game didn't change from Japan to the US, but did completely depart with the original's style of gameplay and turned Toe Jam and Earl into a side-scrolling action game. The Graphics for this game actually ...
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TV Trivia Online
2007-10-16 16:44:00
Nothing beats winning something for knowing useless facts about TV/Entertainment. That's exactly what TV Trivia Offers, a chance to win prizes for free and compete with other pop-culture trivia divas online. You have to sign up, which makes sense to be eligible for prizes, but it would be nice to just be able to play for fun without registering. At least registering is an easy and painless process. The graphics and look of this trivia game are EXCELLENT! The smooth and easy interface makes competing in trivia matches easy. I have to admit that playing TV trivia reminded me of when I used to go to Trivia Night in college at this hole in the wall bar. The best I ever did there was win a T-shirt, but of course there were a lot of academic questions and other teams to play against. I definitely prefer having pop-culture type questions, though my favorite category so far is the general fun category which can throw pretty much anything at you from logic questions to music trivia. If you ...
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Retro Review: Burning Rangers
2007-10-15 14:24:00
The number of people who have played this game are few I'm sure, but as a Saturn owner this was one of the few titles that I look back foundly on. Burn ing Rangers had really good graphics for the time and amazing graphics for a Saturn game. More importantly, it was (still is) a unique gaming experience. The premise of the game is that you take control of a Burning Ranger who must rescue civilians from fiery deaths. You go around blasting fire with your water gun and collecting crystals in order to be able to send them to safety. But enough about the premise, just watch the video and you'll get the idea:Gameplay: 8.5/10Pros: Very fun to play, different and unique. Really exceptional controls for the time allowed you to perform jetpack acrobatics with ease. Great Boss Battles.Cons: Horrible "flying mission" at the end of the game where you are basically playing a shootemup...a really bad shootemup- just frustrating. What makes that even worse is the fact that there are only 4 missio...
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Showcase: Storked!
2007-10-12 15:01:00
It's only appropriate that this weeks showcase feature Storked, which was just released earlier in the week. Go ahead and try out the gamepage for all the info on the game and features. Or you could simply download the demo and just play it. There's more screenshots etc in both columns of the blog. Enjoy and more developing with Storked over the next couple weeks.
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The Halo Trilogy - A Deeper Look
2007-10-11 17:30:00
Part 2: Who is Master Chief Exactly?Master Chief or John 117 is a genetically & technologically enhanced super soldier or Spartan II. We know that Dr. Catherine Hasley picked him and all the other kids out when they were young, replaced them with flash clones and then bred them to be Warriors. The Covenant calls him Demon and Monitors such as Guilty Spark call him Reclaimer. Those are the facts, but we can only guess as to what John?s face may look like, because I will divulge this spoiler?Halo 3 does not reveal John?s face or head sans Helmet?the closest you ever get to seeing him is the end of Halo 1.I am actually very happy that Master Chief?s face is never revealed, because ultimately Master Chief is a symbol and Bungie let that symbol be all inclusive and up to the imagination. Wise choice if you ask me. It?s actually sort of a shame that they imply his race at the end of Halo 1 when his helmet is removed. It?s still very hard to say, but I recall that his head was somewhat...
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