What are you playing right now?

[soloist]

Congratulations on acquiring the Final Fantasy Anniversary
title, Roemello! Would you believe that I have not eve-
n touched Two Worlds as of yet aside from the pic-
ture-taking moment (laughs)? Currently, I am b-
eing entertained with the likes of the WWE
Smackdown vs Raw 2008 demo that I w-
as allowed to play thanks to a friend
who works at a gaming store. It
allows for more options whe-
n grappling with context
sensitive moments t-
hat appear more
often than in
previous
gam-
es.
Also,
the visu-
als on each
grappler as we-
ll as those on the c-
rowd are much improv-
ed. Speaking of the crowd,
they are more animated this t-
ime around. During the intro sequ-
ences of each wrestler, their manager-
s (when selected) is visible and when the n-
ext wrestler enters the ring, the previous grap-
pler and their manager can be seen also. A minor
detail, but a nice touch. The wrestlers have two mov-
e sets which yield different attacks, but only one can be s-
elected before the match begins. Playable in this demo were:



WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 (demo)



-Randy Orton (RAW)
-Bobby Lashley (RAW)
-Rey Mysterio (Smackdown)
-The Undertaker (Smackdown)



Also, I am playing
Halo 3 in multi-
player whic-
h a maj-
or fu-
n!

[Roemello]

Good to hear SvsR is looking good so far! I still play '07 a decent bit with the GM mode. Hopefully they worked out all the quirks in from '07 for a better '08. Like entrance music not looping and stopping before the entrance is done Not getting to visibly carry a title to the ring with a created character if not using a superstar entrance and last but not least... custom entrance music!! Their pre-selection always sucks!! It would make created characters a lot better and fit better to the game if we can put in their actual entrance themes or at least something better than the generic crap they always put out

As for Two Worlds... It's actually getting a little addictive the more I delve into it! Despite the horrid voice acting, I've been having fun with it!

[soloist]

There is one bit of bad news (depending
on how you see it) with reference
to WWE SVR 2008. A major
change has been mad-
e concerning th-
e GM mode
this ye-
ear:





Just a few months ago, THQ gathered the gaming press in the shadow of Wrestlemania and let the world know that the general manager and career modes from SmackDown! vs. Raw's past was dead.

Fans didn't take it well.

It wasn't so much the elimination by combination -- you can now play as a GM or a Superstar in one mode called 24/7 -- that raised their ire; it was the overall ambiguity of this new super-mode. Would it retain the story-driven single-player mode? Would it retain the cutthroat GM business of trying to keep your show on top while keeping your superstars healthy? How would the modes bleed into one another?

We've been able to spend an extended amount of time with 24/7 Mode -- an early build of the game that is subject to change -- and have come away with a number of impressions both good and bad.

Home sweet home.Let's start where the changes are the most noticeable -- 24/7 Mode as a Superstar. When you select the option you'll be able to start a career as a Superstar or created character. If you choose your created brawler, you'll start with your minimum attributes and begin working your way up the ladder through skill training. Choose to be an established character, and you'll be able to start with the steam the wrestler already has or from scratch to build your own dynasty.

Now, readers, brace yourself; I have bad news … possibly terrible news. You can't take an ECW Superstar (CM Punk, Elijah Burke, etc.) through 24/7 mode. Worse? You can't take an ECW Superstar who swapped shows (i.e. Sandman, Bobby Lashley, etc.) through the new career mode either. Go ahead and let out a frustrated cry, ECW fans -- we did. There's a fair amount of voice acting and show-specific storylines for Raw and SmackDown, and it would appear that just couldn't be done for poor ol'ECW.

Once you get over the grief of not being able to play as any ECW dude -- with the exception of Johnny Nitro on Raw -- you can begin your dream of becoming a WWE Legend with one of 19 available wrestlers. The mode kicks off with your Superstar meeting Vince in the middle of an empty arena and him challenging you to become a legend and make it to the squared-circle for that awe-inspiring event known as Wrestlemania. From there, you adjourn to your new home away from home -- the WWE Locker Room.

Invading will get you over, but it'll cost you, too.Rather than last year's first-person/glide-around-the-locker room view, this year has you anchored in one spot staring at your shirt on a hanger, Diva posters on the wall and four interactive objects -- as well as a percentage meter in the corner of the screen that tracks your progress on becoming a legend. On a bench is the latest issue of WWE Magazine (where you can check out what the other Superstars are saying about your feud), your cell phone contains e-mails -- some packing voice work -- that keep you up-to-date on backstage opportunities as well as who hates you, the calendar is where you manage your daily schedule, and your laptop keeps track of the WWE Shop, the Power 25 and your health.

Yes -- your health. New to the single-player career this year are the health woes that made up the GM mode of SmackDown's past.

For our first jaunt through the life of a WWE Superstar in SVR '08, we chose Matt Hardy and set out to make our mark on SmackDown. Theodore Long prepped us with some lengthy voicemails about becoming the number one contender, Rey Mysterio kept sending us emails saying that we hadn't earned anyone's respect, and Booker T got pretty pissed when Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley started looking at us for a starring role in an upcoming WWE film.

To make this kind of impact, we needed to push Matt pretty hard.

See, there are four days of activities outside of your respective program -- if there isn't a PPV, you get the weekends off -- and from the calendar you can choose what you want to do on these non-wrestling days, but each choice will come with its own set of positive and negative elements.

Sandman = ladies man.Matt's on SmackDown, so his week is free and clear up until Friday. On Monday I might invade Raw and get a popularity boost with the fans but risk getting more fatigued. Tuesday, I can select a day of R&R to counteract the fatigue but lose the ground I gained with the fans. Wednesday, I can star in a movie to get over with the fans and grab some cash, but I'm going to be fatigued coming into Friday's show.

This give-and-take is spread out over training exercises -- nifty mini-matches where you're given a goal such as completing a set number of taunts or Ultimate Control Grapples to better your stats -- skill improvement training that costs money but will teach you mic moves and heat-gathering abilities that will lead to bonuses in your daily events, and the events -- autograph signings, trophy dates, etc. -- themselves.

Now, other than the training exercises, this is all strictly handled on the stat sheet. If you choose to put your wrestler through the $5,000 pain management session, which improves your recovery rate, you're only going to see the number you've added to your skill and the money you've lost. The same thing can be said for any press conference or photo shoot you hold.

Hurt your back? Keep on wrestling, Matt.So, you can see all the options we had for young Mr. Hardy. We wanted to crack the Top 25, so we started doing movies to get over. We wanted to make a name for ourselves, so we started invading other shows. We wanted the ladies, so we started going out on dates. Our fatigue went up -- you can monitor the stat on your computerized health report -- and as that happened, so did our injury probability.

A few weeks into his run to become the number one contender, Matt suffered a herniated disc in his back. The WWE medical staff suggested he take seven weeks off to rehab the injury.

Here's where it gets weird -- and keep in mind that this isn't the final build of the game -- there was no time-off option. The WWE was telling Matt to stop wrestling, but we couldn't make Matt stop wrestling. With the herniated disc tearing apart his life, Matt began entering matches with his torso already showing damage on the HUD.

Although not being able to take time off stunk, the fact that the game made us carry injuries into our matches was a cool feature, one made better by the AI's ability to pick up on our hurtin' back. When Matt faced off against his former tag team partner Mark Henry (don't ask), the World's Strongest Man repeatedly strong Irish whipped Hardy into the corners. Matt would slam into the turnbuckles and his back would get worse and worse. In a few exchanges, Mark had Matt down for the count.

A lot of fans on the IGN SmackDown message board have asked how the backstage environment works. No, you won't be able to roam the halls at your leisure, but there are a handful of cutscenes that have your superstar walking into the ladies locker room, cutting promos -- occasionally, you get to choose your response -- and dealing with your fellow Superstars.

You can manage ECW Superstars in 24/7, but you can't play as them.Hopefully, THQ and Yuke's will shake things up in the final build. In our few months as Hardy, we walked in on the ladies changing more than once and saw the same walk down an opponent-filled hallway two or three times. Worse, the walk didn't make any sense. One moment we were getting a rambling, pissed-off message from Rey Mysterio, and the next we were shaking his hand in the hallway.

Whether you love or hate the changes to the individual side of 24/7, you should find GM Mode familiar and suped-up. The mode'll start and you'll have to choose if you want to be Theodore Long on SmackDown, the Coach on Raw or Tommy Dreamer on ECW -- yeah, even though you can't wrestle as any of the ECW guys in 24/7, you can book them and use them in the GM part. From there, you'll have a private meeting with Mr. McMahon on his jet, and he'll basically tell you to take your brand to the top or look for another job. Of course, Vince says all of this in that gravely growl of his so it sounds more intimidating.

You draft a roster (or pick the preset one) while managing your budget, set folks as clean or dirty, choose champions, get to hiring writers and set up feuds, which can be tracked in WWE Magazine along with trades and the health of your crew. Basically, it's a slick version of last year's model -- except that you can now put your boys through the paces on their off days.

Hone your skills, or job forever.Just like in the Superstar portion of 24/7, GM allows you to put your performers through training exercises, skill improvement and events. It's a good way to make your roster more durable, popular and better wrestlers while making you an extra buck or too.

Obviously, there's a lot to 24/7 mode. On the single-player side, you'll be able to track your skill progression, morale and progress to Legend status while being a GM will have you balancing the books and trying to push your faces and heels in the most appropriate way. Succeed, and you can take your earnings to the WWE Shop and unlock Legends, belts, move sets and more. Fail, and Vince will make sure you never work in this business again, chump.

-IGN-

[Nakor]

Picked up Phantom Hourglass. I was a bit surprised. Almost no problem with the controls. (The only thing that seems to be difficult at all is doing a roll. Fortunately, it's almost totally unnecessary anyway.) Difficulty surprised me—I expected cheezcake (it's Nintendo, c'mon) and it did start off that way, but (I figure I'm about half-way through now) I did start to run into parts that took some serious thought, and it managed to knock me off once (albeit thanks to a timer).

[Roemello]

I went on a binge today and picked up 4 new titles Carnival Games for the Wii that I've been looking for... amusing and fun game when only time for some quick play! Also got Phantom Hourglass for DS, but haven't gotten started on that yet. PGR 4 for 360 as well as Eternal Sonata... which is a really beautiful game... looks like another of those great sleeper titles! Story already has me and I just started

So back I am backlogged as can be... I knew the holidays approaching were gonna kill me

[soloist]

Congratulation on obtaining Phantom Hourglass, Nakor! At
first I thought using the stylus for every action (just a-
bout) would be cumbersome, but it works rather w-
ell... better than I initially expected! My word,
Roemello! At this point, you will not have
anything to pick up during the holiday
time-period (laughs), but I under-
stand since I was able to inve-
st in two titles yesterday
and there are more t-
han 8 games out
now that I w-
ould like t-
o own!



(now playing these two...)



The Orange Box (which features 5 Half Life and/or HL based titles...)

-Half Life 2
-Half Life 2: Episode 1
-Half Life 2: Episode 2
-Team Fortress 2
-Portal

(all on one disc!)


And then there is Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (based on the cell-shaded Link from Windwaker)...

[soloist]

I should be playing the portables
on my way to Phily tomoro-
w. Phantom Hourglass
will be joining me
as well, so th-
e commut-
e will b-
e fu-
n!




Got these today! Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron (PSP), Resident Evil 4 (Wii), and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (PSP)...

[Roemello]

How's the orange box? I'd been considering it, but not sure... do the graphics look nicer or anything of note that sets it apart from the original Xbox version? Aside from the obvious of the additional games?

As for me, been playing a lot more Two Worlds... actually gets a lot more fun as ya go further into it! I don't listen to half the dialogue and I'm all set! Also inching through Eternal Sonata some and Halo 3 And then on the go, it's all Phantom Hourglass!

[soloist]

From what I have played, tis a grand compilation, but do not expect the visuals
to exceed that of current gen titles, because essentially, the Orange Box is
a compilation of various versions of Half Life 2 featuring a multiplaye-
r game based on the HL universe of sorts and a game called Porta-
al, also a spin-off from HL. As a result, the first HL2 of this c-
ompilation is an Xbox port (the weaker of them all) while
the rest are more derived from their PC counterpart-
s and more visually impressive. Accepting these
details would lead to enjoying this package,
however, if you are not a fan of the Hal-
f Life series, it may not appeal to y-
ou much. These games are heav-
ily built around physics and t-
he ability to utilize gravit-
y in actual gameplay, s-
o expect puzzles to
be either enjoy-
able or a pa-
in, yet f-
un!!!



(more later...)

[soloist]

Victorious Boxers: Revolution was difficult to find surprisingly,
however, Growlanser and Syphon Filter were easy to loca-
te... odd. VB will definitely envoke perspirating since
every swing you produce actualizes on screen, as
does dodging... so expect to get wet (laugh-
s)! I may not even open Growlanser sinc-
e it was purchase strictly for collecti-
on purposes, and Syphon Filter i-
s a wide improvement over i-
ts predecessor, Dark Mirr-
or thanks to a better o-
nline mode and mor-
e refined gamepl-
ay and abiliti-
es not to m-
ention th-
e A.I.!





Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (PSP) and Victorious Boxers: Revolution (Wii)... front




The rear of each title...




Growlanser: Heritage of War - Limited Edition (PS2)... front




The back...




This edition includes the game, a 100-page art book, multimedia CD-ROM, Growlanser keychain, 2 Growlanser linticular cards and 3 Growlanser pins.

[soloist]

Two more! Castlevania: The Dracula X
Chronicles features Castlevania: S-
ymphony of the Night (yes, I kn-
ow I have it on 3 systems no-
w... laughs), Castlevania:
Rondo of Blood (revise-
d and partly in 3D),
and the origina-
l Rondo of B-
lood! Pro-
ject S-
ylp-
heed
was on
sale and s-
ince it is diff-
icult to find thes-
e days, I thought to
obtain for this very re-
ason. Hope to play them...

(soon!)





Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception (360/Square-Enix) and Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles (PSP/Konami)!




The back of Rondo of Blood...

[Nakor]

Picked up Overlord for the PC today. Game seems like it'll be pretty fun. Also picked up Phoenix Wright: Trials & Tribulations, and played through the first trial. Impressive for what was still basically a tutorial trial.

Now that I have a system that can handle them, I'll have to get some recommendations from the crew here for PC games of interest. Keeping in mind, I'm not big on FPS types.

[soloist]

Good selection on both parts, Nakor! I have been meaning
to obtain Overlord for some time, but too many other
titles intervened (laughs). Having orcs/trolls do y-
our bidding be it ransack a villiage for plunde-
ring or solving puzzles using the specific a-
bilities of these orcs/trolls rewarding to
say the least. I enjoye the demo and
hope to get the game someday so-
on. Phoenix Wright: Trials & Tr-
ibulations has kept with trad-
ition throughout its previ-
2 incarnations and this
version continues w-
ith the recurring
theme... whic-
h is a good
thing! C-
ongra-
tula-
ations
on your p-
urchases, N-
akor! Choices f-
or a PC game? Well,
not quite my forte, ho-
wever, here are some sel-
ections which received high
scores. Posting them very soon:

[soloist]

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties - Strategy:

Asian Dynasties is another great chapter in the Age of Empires series and one that strategy gamers with a yen for the Far East should definitely investigate. The units are colorful, the combat is exciting, and the story, though not as thrilling as Age 3 or as historically relevant as Age 2, is still strong enough to carry the action. It's true that the missions leave a bit to be desired in terms of but I don't want to come down too harshly on the campaign here because at the end of the day, Asian Dynasties is a heck of a lot of fun. I mean, the elephants alone are worth the price of admission.







Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer - RPG

Mask of the Betrayer is a fine expansion pack from Obsidian. It's a more stable experience, seems to run slightly better, and more importantly delivers a narrative that, for the most part, proceeds along without getting tangled by the catches of cliche. Its characters and their interactions are sure to strike many satisfying chords within the hearts of the Dungeons & Dragons fans, though those uninitiated in the ways of these types of games should steer their attention toward the original before tackling this high-level affair.



The Orange Box - Action Compilation

Damn you Valve. That's what rival game publishers must be thinking. Not content with releasing a brilliant expansion pack in Episode 2, Valve has thrown in the phenomenal Team Fortress 2, as well as the mind-bending Portal, into a package that sells for the price of a regular game. Oh yeah, you also get Half Life 2 and Episode 1. It's a ridiculously over-stuffed box of high quality gaming, which simply can't, and won't, be matched for years to come. Oh how we pity the poor rival publishers. We'd have quite happily paid double for all of these games (provided TF2 had a few more maps) but no, Valve has given us all an early Christmas present in Orange Box. Shrewd marketing or insane accounting? Who cares when the gaming is this good? Game of the year then? More like Games of the Year.







Enemy Territory: Quake Wars - Shooter

The formula set forth in Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory in 2003 has evolved rather well with Quake Wars, delivering a distinct gameplay experience centered around team dynamics. It may not be the prettiest game out there or feature the greatest sound effects, but the enjoyable core of gameplay helps keep things interesting as you blast through the twelve well-designed maps. The elaborate persistent statistics system only strengthens the game's already impressive replay value, as it gives you something to work towards aside from in-game objectives. It's not the kind of mass-market gameplay that's going to appeal to every FPS arena fan out there, but it's highly entertaining nonetheless.





-IGN-

[Roemello]

3 more new acquisitions... I went crazy again Add Guitar Hero III, Conan and The Simpsons to da mix!