With many adventure games, there is always a secondary character that rises up as a shining star to overshadow the main protagonist. Then there are others who through their own bumbling manage to carve an unforgettable niche into the series and become that comedic crutch that supports the plot. Like the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop, you know they’re just around the corner and while enjoying said confectionery treat you wonder how long you’ll have to wait to meet them. Monkey Island has one such character: he goes by the name of Stan and is no longer a stranger as we find him in Tales of Monkey Island 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood.

Over the series, Stan has held many titles dating back to his first appearance as a shady used ship salesman. What cemented him as a go-to character was his shady salesman speeches; his vibrant and annoying attire; and, his constantly flailing arms. And all of these pieces are proudly thrown in your face as he takes the stand in his first role directly opposed to Guybrush as the prosecuting lawyer. Seems that your little pirate tirade in the first episode was frowned upon by the other pirates and now you must prove your innocence.

Overall, this episode maintains the high level of production found in the last iteration. One of the main aggravations lies in controls that were sketchy at times. I prefer to play the game using the keyboard to control Guybrush, since the click and swirl mouse lent itself to accidental clicking of objects, which was even more frustrating. So the use of the arrow keys is nice touch to maneuver The Might Pirate. However, the use of the shift key, which allows for fast, almost run-like, speed movement stopped working almost after every scenery change which really dragged the speed of the game down since there was a lot of land traversal in this episode.

The episode starting off on a high note, with a great puzzle that had me confused how to start. Unfortunately, like the cliff hanger plot twist at the end of the episode, the play time of the episode left me hanging. If you recall the previous review, I mentioned that it felt shorter than the previous outings. This fourth attempt was definitely the shortest of all them thus far, which is a shame since I’m loving the world and story that Telltale has weaved. The other item that irked me was a solitary interaction that relied on the movement of the character and not clicking on something. In a breakaway from the standard form of click-to-interact, this puzzle left me hanging as I knew exactly what I wanted to do but could not perform it since clicking was futile. While its nice to see new ways of addressing the old problem, at least some prior mentioning of it would have been preferred.

As with previous chapters, this one comes recommended but be forewarned that while it will whet your appetite for more of Guybrush’s misadventures, you will be waiting a while longer to come full circle. Just like a certain rug, it’s the episode that really ties the series together, and gets 4 out of 5 Aeropausonauts.

Check out Tales of Monkey Island Episode 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood and other PC reviews at Test Freaks.

Since its inception, the Monkey Island series garnered cult classic status through its pop culture poking, satire of adventure games, and written-while-intoxicated-on-grog storylines. Mixed into this are secrets, curses, pirates, ghosts, and a dash of Caribbean voodoo. And for a garnish, a sprinkling of humor is added that is just a shade below PG-13. This time Telltale Games is the head chef and has managed to brew up a delicious concoction.

As a continuation to their episodic expedition, this third entry by Telltale truly feels like a refinement of their previously devised recipe. While it does feel like a high-class presentation, it carries with it the same stigma as those entrees: sophisticated, yet short. The 3D, cartoon-like visuals were virtually flawless until the ending sequences; and, the voice acting finally matched their on-screen counterparts. The previous two outings did have short-comings in both those areas with graphical glitches, hissy audio for the vocal tracks, and some character voices that were like rubbing a cheese grater on one’s face.

Continuing the plot set forth, we now find our heroes trapped in the belly of a large sea-faring beast while trying to track down the La Esponja Grande. As this episode’s story plays out, it seems that Telltale had some of the original essence found in the earlier Monkey Island titles stashed away in their cupboard, and stirred in a few droplets to truly capture that original Monkey Island taste. Complete with throwbacks to the previous games in the series; the same running gags; and, even a ‘fight’ sequence that requires you to learn ‘moves’ from other characters; Lair of the Leviathan captures the Monkey Island magic.

Unfortunately, as fabulous as the meal may be, the feeling of brevity leaves the player yearning for more. Maybe the puzzles are easier. Maybe the player has accustomed to the odd-ball thinking for the solutions. Maybe it’s the revisiting of a trite adventure game lengthening puzzle. Maybe it’s the smaller playing world. Whatever the reason, the play time felt more like a large appetizer than a full dish. While it may have been shorter, the quality of the time is much preferred over a long, bland and repetitious.

At the end of the day, Telltale can wipe the sweat from their brow, toss the towel on their shoulder, and know that their hard work has pleased the players. Now that their secret recipe has been carefully tweaked, here’s hoping that at the next visit, the same dish is served in a slightly larger portion.

Check out Tales of Monkey Island Episode 3: The Lair of the Leviathan and other PC reviews at Test Freaks.

Known for their quirky, yet deep titles Atlus sent us a copy of their latest RPG foray: Demon’s Souls. Developed by From Software, this action RPG pits you in a dark medieval world where souls are gathered and death lies around every corner. Did Demon’s Souls gather enough soul or is it just another quirky Japanese niche game that will be adorned by cult following? Let’s dive through the fog and see what we uncover.

Now before we get too deep, if the idea of dying, repeatedly, turns you off, go read another article. Demon’s Souls will beat you over the head, at every turn, and as often as it can. This is the quirk. Like it or leave it.

Didn’t turn you off? Good, now we can get down to the nitty gritty. From Software has brought a third-person, over-the-shoulder action RPG set in a medieval world known as Boletaria. With a slight spin on a familiar story, the ruler of this domain unleashed a known evil through the excessive use of a force known as souls, to bring about peace and prosperity, and wait for it, the evil overpowered the good people and things turned sour. Seems the evil overlord had the power to affect the weather and placed a fog around the city to keep any word from getting in or out.

Yes, his sword is flaming hot

While all of this unfolded, the demon’s gathered souls themselves and became more powerful, turning most of the inhabitants mindless zombie-like creatures that yearn for souls instead of brains. And so now, for one reason or another you have set out on the task to rid the world of enormous monstrosities and restore the light. Good luck, because you’re going to die, a lot.

In this quest, you have the choice between ten different starting classes. Unlike a traditional RPG, this does not tie you down to a predetermined growth path, but provides the foundation. In other words, you’re not penalized for choosing magic as a Knight-class. There is also a set of tools normally wielded by Hollywood’s greatest make-up artists at your disposal for crafting the physical appearance of your character, if you so choose. Controlling the character is simple as can be, but is it too much to ask for full control reference to be available in game. I accidentally skipped through the bow-and-arrow tutorial and had no idea how to aim, until I looked it up online. (The review copy had no manual included.)

Why is this wall glowing?

While it’s not pushing the graphical limits of the PS3, your traversal through the kingdom of Boletaria will be greeted with an excellent presentation. The sad part is that its being viewed through brown and gray lenses. Diablo 3 color haters will rejoice in knowing that there is still a hack-and-slash RPG that hasn’t been stroked with the rainbow brush. Being powered by the Havok engine means that the dead bodies are weightless rag dolls that will be thrown around as you walk through them, oh and there are framerate drops that reared their ugly head even in the first level. The audio on the other hand is excellent, and my only nit-pick would be that the standard levels are sans music. All you will be greeted with are the groans of the damned, grinding of wheels, burning of fire, rustling of the wind, screeching of dragons, and last breaths of those that find the end of your blade. It would be careless to not point out that music does adorn the boss battles, but this addition to the rest of the level would greatly grease the wheels of having to replay the levels repeatedly, as you will die often.

The game play is yet another area where this game truly shines. With the ability to defend, parry, attack, strong attack, cast magic, fire arrows, throw various projectiles, and riposte, just to name a few, it’s hard to tire from action. As you defeat the various enemies, you too collect souls which become the in-game currency for repairing your armaments, upgrading them and your stats. The levels, which are each a distinct realm and connected via portals to a main hub known as the Nexus, are crafted to ease the tediousness of replaying by adding open-able shortcuts that you will use after your successive deaths.

The game does feature multiplayer but not in any way previously experienced. As you play, you will notice glowing scribblings on the ground which are notes that have been left by other players. These writs usually provide insight into some hidden danger, but have also been twisted to create traps. More than once I have seen one and pursued it to get a glimpse of what lies ahead to only be attacked while trying to read it. And speaking of glimpses, another player left anomaly are bloodstains. These markings provide a crystal ball to replay other players’ deaths and hopefully some intuition to avoid a similar demise. There is also the ability to pull in other players for assistance, or jump into their game and become an antagonist. While sounding like true co-op or deathmatch, there is no voice chat support since you are but a specter in their game world, and vice versa.

My experience with the game is that if you enjoy stat-building deep RPGs, where your control of the character is much greater than simply selecting Attack, Magic, Item or Run, then you will find plenty to enjoy here. While I would not label it as hard, the level of frustration is off the scale as you spend plenty of time dying and loading. Even the game realizes this, and this quirk will definitely alienate more than a handful of players. This is the A-list RPG that the PS3 has been waiting for. Demon’s Souls slashes through with 4.5 out of 5 Aeropausonauts.

Check out Demon’s Souls and other reviews at Test Freaks.

As an avid music lover, and musician, I’ve had a hole in my gaming heart that is constantly being filled by the rhythm games genre. Since the time Frequency popped up quietly on the PS2, to the latest iterations inviting you to create a virtual band, I’ve been able to live out my dream of being a professional musician vicariously through these games. So after I finally took the plastic plunge and picked up the Rock Band 2 bundle last year, rocking out has become a frequent expedition for me and the girls.

What I love about these titles is the ability to teach my kids more than just twitch reflexes from visual cues. Although many argue over whether playing a fake plastic instrument is the same as the real thing, one cannot deny the fact that these titles provide a healthy way of building a sense of rhythm. Without any scientific proof to back it up, I will state that I am positive that my oldest daughter has been developing hers and can now consistently keep a beat with even some faster paced music. Maybe in a few years, I can finally have a permanent drummer for my real band.

Speaking of drumming, this seems to be my kids favorite of the instruments, and it’s probably due to the being the easiest of the three, or four if you consider bass to be different than guitar in these games. What I’ve found that works best for us is my kids will sit on my lap while I hold the sticks in their hands and help them hit the pads at the designated times. My oldest daughter has managed to pick up the on-screen signals and can get some of the beats on her own. Problem is that they tend to lose focus after a while, which may be due to the music. And I don’t think filling my musical database with Miley Cyrus is going to fix that. Maybe Spongebob could lend some assistance though.

Now the topic of music is where some will stonewall me for having even mentioned this title. While all of the tracks are radio-edited, there still may be some themes that people will curse as bad influences. If this is the case for you, just don’t play those tracks. Problem solved. Personally, I find that most of the music they probably shouldn’t hear, they or I don’t want to play anyways.

So if you are looking for a way to engage the whole family in a cooperative experience, swing out and pick up a copy of Rock Band with the full peripherals and start your own version of the Partridge Family. I know that even as my kids age this is one title that will be in our repertoire of games.

ESRB Rating: T for Teen

Lyrics
Suggestive Themes

Average web score: 10 out of 10
(according to Test Freaks)

So it seems that Steam quietly removed the Half-Life 2 64-bit version support. While for new players this may be a great relief since that version was known to be buggier than a motel in New York City, it has unleashed every gamers worst fear: lost saved games. While this is no great surprise, 64-bit software usually writes things with 64-bits in mind and as such are incompatible w/ 32-bit software, the fact remains that it was clandestinely performed and now the owners are left empty-handed. As a thread popped up on Steam’s forums, Steam’s support stepped in and provided the advice of using a cheat code to return near to the last place they were in the story. I’m sorry but that’s about useful as a publisher advocating the use of a crack to play their game. Now, Blues News has obtained word from Valve that the 64-bit version will return, but no timetable was given to placate the current players who have been stranded. Is it too much to ask for a saved game converter to allow the old saves to be used?

The bigger fear here has come true: digital distribution does not mean you own anything. As a consumer, when you plunk down your paper and coin for a ware, you are purchasing the rights to something and you expect those rights to be maintained for the agreed upon time. The worst nightmare is to find out that all your hard work has been for naught. We all know that online capabilities will probably cease to function at some point in the future, but losing your offline game casts serious doubt on this architecture. What do you think? Should Valve being doing more for the owners mired in this mess? Or, should the players just suck it up that their 4 year old game still plays?

No, the mysterious driver from Speed Racer did not decide to take up guitar after becoming an international spy. Instead, this is a band based out of Los Angeles, like any good Metal band from the 80’s. Formed by Paul Gilbert, who you probably know from the band Mr. Big, Racer X never was able to land a large label contract and eventually sizzled out in the early 90’s. After Mr. Big, Paul Gilbert reformed (notice a trend here amongst these bands yet?) utilizing his new found label: Universal Japan. This lasted for a few years, and albums, until yet a slight hiatus where each went onto a separate side project, most notable of which was the bassist John Alderete joining The Mars Volta. Their original sound was that which is known as neoclassical metal. You probably know it as that Metal music with the heavy arpeggio’s and fast fretwork with a sound like some took a classical guitar LP, cranked up the speed, and tossed the output through a distortion pedal. So what makes them so Metal? Let’s just say that they released an album on their Japanese label called Superheroes where each assumed a superhero identity. And who wouldn’t want Cowboy Axe, X-tinguisher, Electric Bat, and Motorman to save their day, with rock?

Us skinny white guys can shred with the best of them!

What happens when you take the comical genius behind Home Movies and give it a Death Metal spin? Dethklok. Although a purely fictional band, Dethklok has managed to break free like Neo from the Matrix and enter our world, even if their Real Life(TM) avatars have almost no similarities. While the band members can be complete idiots at most everything, they do know how to rock. So what makes them Metal? How about their drummer having a skullet. No? Maybe its the drummer’s name, Pickles? Nope, it’s got to be summoning Mustakrakish, a troll from the Finnish Necronomicon, and then having to write a “soft Death Metal” song to lull him to sleep. Yeah, that’s the ticket!

With such an awesome, heavy and varied soundtrack backing this latest expedition from the mind of Tim Schafer, we here at Aeropause are going to give you a look into some of the bands laying the Metal foundation

Whatever the sound, they invented the sound. Having formed in 1984, KFMDM practically shaped what was to become the industrial genre. Over 25 years of almost constant music production, Sascha Konietzko has been unfettered in bringing the loudest, ultra heavy beats. One of their more well-known tracks, Juke Joint Jezebel, was even featured in the anime Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie, in a scene where Chun-Li beats the ever-loving snot out of Vega. Yes, the awesome anime and not the silly live-action version. And I know what you’re thinking, “So what does KMFDM stand for?” Try “Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid” which is ‘loosely’ translated to “No pity for the majority”. So how can you get more Metal than being an German industrial group? How about through lampooning yourself: KFMDM SUCKS! And remember kids, free your hate to rip the system.

I lied, there’s two videos because one is just not enough to contain the AWESOMENESS of KMFDM. You’re welcome.

Last October, Sony launched a new title in hopes of birthing a franchise and mascot: LittleBIGPlanet. While the title has clearly garnered the praise it deserves, Sony and Media Molecule have also managed to create a platform akin to Mario and Sonic, and even Crash Bandicoot, that has dropped anchor at the Koss household and won’t be leaving port any time soon.

For the uninitiated, the LittleBIGPlanet world is built from cardboard, sponges, wood, clouds, colors, and imagination. So straight out of the gate, the basic fundamentals are what I’ve been trying to promote in my kids: creativity, imagination, engineering, and fun. The cutesy cartoon world’s interaction has lent itself to numerous comedic distractions. From slapping each other around, to hanging on each other during jumps, or just performing silly dances, we end up spending a chunk of time just playing around instead of advancing the level. The soundtrack contains a diverse collection of songs by lesser known artists that are now readily recognizable by the kids just like the themes from Zelda and Mario. Whenever one of the songs is played by my iPod, there’s always an accompanying shout of “That’s from LittleBIGPlanet!” Which is great since I’d rather not be inundated with a concoction with whatever the Big Label Music machine has spewed forth lately.

The gameplay is the only thing that holds up this title for us. In the beginning of the game, my daughter could control her SackGirl with little effort and make most jumps, grabs, etc. Once holding onto objects, and having to perform timed movements came into play frustration took over. Yes, all of the reviews that dinged the game for having some slightly awkward controls were right and magnified ten-fold upon those with lesser hand-eye coordination.

The one area of the game that I would like to spend more time with is the creation part. After the beta, I haven’t gone back through the tutorials to unlock all of the tools, since its an overly tedious process having done it once before. I’ve also been worried that initial level creation may prove to be too slow and therefore boring to them while getting my bearings straight with the tools. I know my wife was bored out of her mind when I played around with it during the beta. I’m going to try it soon, so I may report back after that experience.

Where the game glistens like a rainbow after a storm is in the almost infinite replay-ability locked inside an endless deluge of user-created content. After finishing the story, we can now spend countless hours jumping around through levels ranging from odd to funny. With some levels closely resembling other games that my kids have enjoyed, it’s exciting for them to see the two game worlds collide.

If you’re still sitting on the fence, jump on down, pick up the Game of the Year edition and rustle up your little ones. You won’t be disappointed, unless of course you don’t like side-scrolling platform-action games made from a fantastical world.

ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Comic Mischief
Mild Cartoon Violence

Average web score: 7.6 out of 10
(according to Test Freaks)

New or old, Testament can tear down the house and rebuild it in less than three days. Formed in Oakland, CA in 1983, they have become more prominently known after being featured in an “obscure” game that hails as Rock Band 2. Oddly enough, their track was from an album that proved to be a turning and slowing point in their career. Nonetheless, as they shed appendages to other Metal bands, Testament rocked on. After reforming like Devastator, Testament still rocks to this day. What makes Testament Metal? If the video after the jump doesn’t prove it, or your failed attempts at completing “Souls of Black” on Expert Bass in Rock Band 2, how about having contributed musicians to other bands including Savatage, Slayer, and Dragonlord.