Play the best online craps on the net and win big.
- free ringtones
- Play free game online - Net-games.Biz
Get great Dish Network channels like the G4 Gaming Network from US Dish.
Comments
Site Friends
AeroPolls
Loading ...
AeroTeam
Shane Whitehouse
West Coast Contributor/Podcast Manager
Joseph Haygood
East Coast Contributor
Stephen Munn
East Coast Contributor
Paul Munn
Central Contributor
Richard Windsor
East Coast Contributor
Joe Fourhman
Great Lakes Contributor
Mike Koss
UK Contributor
Vikki Blake
UK Contributor
Adam Englebright
AeroTags
- activision capcom dlc ds ea electronic arts guitar hero harmonix konami littlebigplanet Microsoft Nintendo PC playstation 3 PS3 psn PSP rock band sega Sony steam ubisoft wii XBOX 360 360
Channels
Podcasts
Latest Game Reviews
Nintendo Power Read-a-Long
Video Game Jobs
AeroLinks
ForumsRSS
About Us
Contact Us
Become an Author
Contests
Advertising
Forums
Podcasts
read-a-long
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #248 (December 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | November 10, 2009
Nintendo Power continues their holiday game coverage with a cover feature on Mario and another big list of reviews. You Shantae fans will want to search this issue out for the cool character design evolution chart. The rest of you will just have to imagine bikini-clad genie girls and read-a-long!
Issue #248, December 2009
featuring New Super Mario Bros Wii, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Wii), Infinite Space (DS)
Nintendo announced a flurry of new games at E3 09, but only one was slotted to be this year’s big holiday title… and that’s New Super Mario Bros Wii. Nintendo Power is quick to point out the game is no watered down party minigame collection. In fact, it’s more of a watered-up version of New Super Mario Bros on DS.
As the first console-based 2D Mario title in eighteen years, NSMBW owes everything to the NES/SNES generation. The screenshots show rolling hills, card-matching minigames, an overworld map, and the usual allotment of tubes, coins and blocks. NP stresses that the game is a fully capable single-player experience, just in case you thought the levels were best enjoyed with the 4-man multiplayer.
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #247 (November 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | October 9, 2009
It’s a big review issue, as NP prepares readers for the best Wii/DSi buys this holiday season. Being a magazine, plenty of the reviewed games are already old news, but we’ll hit the highlights regardless. There’s a lot of high-scoring games this month, so get out the Christmas wish list and read-a-long!
Issue #247, November 2009
featuring Shantae: Risky’s Revenge (DSiWare), Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles (Wii), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (DS), C.O.P.: The Recruit (DS)
Let’s jump right to the reviews since there’s so many key titles to discuss. I’ll take it from the top.
First up is Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. NP gives it a 9.0 and suggests that it may be Square Enix’s finest achievement on the DS. Although the review reserves an entire page, it really doesn’t say much about the game other than it’s good. The DS game is very similar to the originals in gameplay, but is slow to start and recycles the PS2 soundtracks again.
Kingdom Hearts shares 9.0 top honors with Scribblenauts. The review points out the game’s critical flaws but is far more generous than I am. NP doesn’t bring up the awful controls, but they do point out the stupid snapback camera and the mysterious deaths brought about by confusing win/loss parameters. That doesn’t add up to a 9.0 game in my book.
Speaking of that, the top Wii game of the issue is Beatles: Rock Band with a 9.0. I continue to be mystified by how critics everywhere agreed to review this game in a vacuum where other similar games do not exist. Did the Rock Band 2 instruments on Wii not include auto-calibration? Because Nintendo Power spends fully one quarter of the review lauding the Beatles edition instruments for having that feature, as if that’s a huge selling point.
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #246 (October 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | September 8, 2009
Last issue promised No More Heroes 2, but you’ll find no such Touchdowns here. Instead the cover story is about Avatar, a movie tie-in that already has me weary. To make matters even more confusing, EIC Chris Slate’s column talks up a Sega Genesis 20th Anniversary for the cover, but it hardly matters since the mag is wrapped in a full page ad for Spectrobes: Origins! If you can make sense of that, you’re ready to read-a-long!
Issue #246, October 2009
featuring Avatar (Wii), Tower of Shadow (Wii), Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (Wii), Dementium II (DS), WWE Smackdown vs Raw (Wii/DS)
This could be a terribly damning statement: “Hollywood’s most notorious perfectionist isn’t about to have his work tarnished by a crappy video game.” As James Cameron’s first movie since Titanic, anticipation is high for Avatar, even if animation wags have already ginned up some unfavorable similarities to box office turd Delgo. You can go enjoy that link, by the way. It’s really funny.
So what about the game? The Wii version will be entirely different from the PS3/360 edition, and none of them will simply follow along with the film’s story as with most movie-to-game adaptations. On the Wii, we’ll get a prequel. And a frankly bizarre assortment of Nintendo peripheral usage.
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #245 (September 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | August 9, 2009
You didn’t really think they’d give the cover to Professor Layton, did you? Not when there’s a new Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles game afoot! Saddle your chocobo, paint your moogle, and read-a-long!
Issue #245, September 2009
featuring Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Wii), Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS), Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll (Wii), The Beatles: Rock Band (Wii), Dead Space Extraction (Wii)
Hard to believe that Crystal Bearers will be the sixth Crystal Chronicles title. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long since we tried gathering four GBAs for an evening of connectivity cable madness on the first game in the series. Crystal Bearers has been up and down since 2006, and now Nintendo Power has it pegged for release by the end of this year. NP calls it “one of the most exciting Final Fantasy games in ages” and that it has a “dynamic new logo.” Seriously. They called out the logo.
FFCC:tCB takes places one thousand years after the GameCube original, which is one of those KOTOR-like timelines that always give me fits. You live in the year 2009. Go try and interact with someone from the year 1009. Now explain to me why these games always exist in a thousand-year evolutionary freeze frame, where basic technologies never advance and everybody still speaks the same language.
Read-a-Long with Nintendo Power #244 (August 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | July 1, 2009
This month’s issue is both hearty and chunky, as NP rampages through over 20 games featured at E3 2009, several of which received almost no press coverage. By the way, has anybody out there speculated that “Metroid: Other M” might be a cloaked reference to Mother Brain? Chew on that as you read-a-long!
Issue #244, August 2009
featuring E3 2009 roundup, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS), No More Heroes 2 (Wii), Trauma Team (Wii), Wii Sports Resort (Wii), Legendary Starfy (Wii), Fragile (Wii)
I’m not going to bother saying much about E3 showponies like Super Mario Galaxy 2, Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks and Metroid: Other M. You already know enough about those. Instead, I’m going to present some tidbits from the lesser-known E3 reveals.
Like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Wii). WTF. I moderately enjoyed the original GameCube Crystal Chronicles, but this Wii version sounds completely different. They’re still calling it an action-RPG, but every time I hear about it, it seems to be less and less RPG-like. In fact, it sounds a lot like Elebits, as the main character relies on a grab-and-yank telekinesis ability to solve puzzles and interact with the environment. NP reports that the demo had “no spells, items, or pointless NPC conversations.” Can this sub-franchise deviate any further from Final Fantasy?
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #243 (July 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | June 13, 2009
As we wait for word on Kingdom Hearts III, we’ll have Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days on DS… and although the series is best known on PS2, a 2004 GBA sidestory already introduced the franchise to Nintendo fans. Grab that keyblade, ask “Where’s Sora?” and read-a-long!
Issue #243, July 2009
featuring Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS), Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Wii), Scribblenauts (DS), Rhythm Heaven (DS), Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii), Astro Boy (Wii)
Straight off, let’s get it out of the way that Nintendo Power does not know what 358/2 Days means. What they do know is that this DS exclusive takes place between Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, focusing on Roxas. Roxas is kind of like Raiden if you consider usual series lead Sora to be the Solid Snake.
With the spotlight on Roxas, 358/2 Days is going to make for a different kind of Kingdom Hearts. Although Roxas will visit Disney-based worlds, he’ll do so without sidekick regulars Goofy and Donald Duck in tow. In their place, you can choose from various members of the doomed Organization XIII. I say “doomed” because if I recall KH2 and the GBA sidestory Chain of Memories, most of these guys were dispatched by Sora and company.
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #242 (June 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | May 17, 2009
#242 brings a diverse lineup of game articles, but also some bad news. EIC Chris Slate confesses that Nintendo Power will no longer offer the monthly sweepstakes contests that have lurked in the back half of the mag for years. Generally, the contests were sort of dicey… you’d win a Wii or DS plus whatever the game du jour was. Which I always thought was odd since readers likely already have a Wii or DS anyway. Except for the transitional year between generations, why would you read Nintendo Power if you didn’t have the system(s)? Nevertheless, it’s a bit sad to see the contests ride off into the sunset, even if very few people ever benefitted from them. Third prize was usually a t-shirt; I would have been happy to just win that. So save your stamps and read-a-long!
Issue #242, June 2009
featuring Red Steel 2 (Wii), MySims Agents (Wii, DS), Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS), Punch-Out!! (Wii), Nostalgia (DS), Spore Hero (Wii), Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics (Wii, DS)
You have to wonder why Ubisoft is bothering to go with Red Steel 2 as the game’s title. The “sequel” has nothing to do with the Wii launch title, and the development team is determined to erase all the bad memories associated with the disappointing original. One supposes Ubi still thinks the Red Steel brand has market value, but for all intents and purposes, Red Steel 2 is an entirely new game.
There’s two big reasons why: first, a new visual style that leverages style over realism… and second, Wii MotionPlus.
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #241 (May 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | April 16, 2009
So a bunch of ice puns last issue becomes this month’s feature on Silent Hill: Shattered Memories? Is Nintendo’s first Silent Hill game hardcore enough for you? This is an exceptionally chunky issue (in a good way), so dodge the pyramid heads, watch out for the dog overmaster, and read-a-long!
Issue #241, May 2009
featuring Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii), Punch-Out!! (Wii), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Wii, DS), Rabbids Go Home (Wii), Let’s Tap (Wii)
Dude. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is sounding really good. Although positioned as a reboot of the franchise, don’t make the mistake of assuming this is some kind of flaky PS1 port jacked up on waggle controls for smacking fleshdactyls with lumber. Not only does the game turn the original storyline on its head, but it also has no combat at all. Speaking as somebody who still suffers from flashbacks of getting stuck inside five-second attack animations while taking damage from an enemy who moved four seconds ago, I’m calling that a step in the right direction.
So what makes this look like the Silent Hill franchise’s departure album? First of all, it’s the attempt to subtract traditional video game elements like the ever-present examination text boxes. Then there’s the appropriation of Wii-specific tricks that have been used to great effect in previous games… like LIT’s first-person flashlight and No More Heroes‘ Remote-as-phone-speaker. Now add in a storyline that changes as you play it, to an extent far more complicated than “did you get the good ending or the bad ending.” Check out this list of features and see if you’re as psyched as I am (especially now that Fatal Frame 4 has been seemingly barred from release):
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #240 (April 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | March 22, 2009
It may be only the third wheel of DS Pokemon games Pearl and Diamond, but Pokemon Platinum is still a major title… and it looks like the most enhanced Pokemon re-release yet. Plus Nintendo Power fills some holes in the 2009 lineup, including the return of A Boy and His Blob, a franchise MIA for nearly twenty years! Grab your jellybeans and read-a-long!
Issue #240, April 2009
featuring Pokemon Platinum (DS), Excitebots: Trick Racing (Wii), A Boy and His Blob (Wii), Grand Slam Tennis (Wii), Rhythm Heaven (DS)
Let’s begin this one at the beginning: the always-hilarious reader mail column. Spielberg fan Stacy M. thinks the level editor in Boom Blox “rocked.” It did not. Reader Jack laments the crush of poor Disney Channel-to-video game properties like Hannah Montana, and then closes his letter with “It was a sad day when I bought one.” An unsigned plea for the DSi mentions how one of his four destroyed DSes “fell victim to a Juice Baby Bottle Pop.” Reader Acerox thinks Will Smith’s I Am Legend would be the coolest movie game ever, and “a perfect fit for Wii.”
And finally, a reader with an agenda reports:
The movie I would want turned into a game is Twilight… NOT! I know this is a bit off topic, but I can’t stand that book/movie. Nothing against the fans of Twilight, but I can’t imagine a gamer liking the awful thing.
That bit of love comes to us from reader TwilightHater. Now on to this issue’s games!
Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #239 (March 2009)
By Joe Fourhman | February 24, 2009
Issue #239 arrives about a year too late to cash in on the Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull craze, and about fifteen years too late for anybody to give a crap about Indiana Jones in the first place.
Yes, the cover story teased last issue with a map of Indiana is in fact a new Indy game, a waggle-heavy nostalgia fest called Staff of Kings. Can Nintendo Power make us love Indy Jones all over again? Read-a-long?
Issue #239, March 2009
featuring Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (Wii), The Conduit (Wii), Boom Blox: Bash Party (Wii), Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (DS), Major Minor’s Majestic March (Wii), Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (Wii/DS)
OK, I need a researcher assisting me on these articles. Because the seven page feature on Indy begins with this quote from lead designer Stephanie Brochu: “Indiana Jones is perhaps one of the best video game licenses out there.” Come again? For serious? What past Indiana Jones video game was anything much above mediocre? Is there a single Indy game anywhere near the greatest video games of all time?
Anyway, Staff of Kings seems to be gunning for the most motion controls packed into a single Wii game. Every time you turn the page, the feature is crowing about another “immersive” gesture. You punch enemies by swinging the Remote and/or Nunchuk. Light a torch with a flint-striking motion. Shake to scramble up a cliff. Shake to reload your gun. Fly a plane by holding the Remote like a joystick. And of course B+swing flicks the whip. I’m tired just thinking about it.
Interested in something beyond the waggle? How about the ability to smash up an aquarium in a bar fight, and then chuck a liberated octopus at an enemy?
« Previous Entries
