Bioshock releases tomorrow in stores

Bioshock, the game in which some people can’t get over with because it’s “so good”, releases tomorrow in stores where people will be able to pick up the full version of the game. However, being such a “popular” game I don’t see why 2K games didn’t advertise it more. Funny, since Halo 3 is advertised all over the place. I have yet to see one Bioshock commercial. Anyways, the game is for the PC and the Xbox 360. The PC is the cheapest and the Xbox 360 is the most expensive.

UPDATE: BioShock is out!

Today’s Wii Virtual Consoles games are Super Metroid, Shinobi III and Neutopia

Ack! I forgot to tell you what today’s Wii Virtual Console games are! I have been so entranced into Custom Robo Arena (Which is okay. The story line sucks and is extremely tedious. But the battling is awesome). Anyways, this week’s virtual console titles are Super Metroid, Shinobi III and the LOZ clone, Neutopia.

And like every week, here are the descriptions:

Super Metroid (Super NES, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Mild Violence, 800 Wii Points): The Space Pirates, merciless agents of the evil Mother Brain, have stolen the last Metroid from a research station, and once again Mother Brain threatens the safety of the galaxy. Samus Aran must don her awesome array of high-tech weaponry to retrieve the deadly Metroid hidden deep within the cave-riddled planet Zebes. Super Metroid features excellent graphics, with a huge variety of enemies and worlds to explore. The side-view action will be familiar to many players, only now there are new weapons and items, including the Grappling Beam, which allows Samus to swing across large chasms, and the X-Ray Scope, which reveals secret passages.

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Sega Genesis, 1 player, rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older – Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): In this thrilling sequel to The Revenge of Shinobi, Joe Musashi finds that Neo Zeed – the crime syndicate he believed he had wiped out two years earlier – is indeed still alive and well. The return of Neo Zeed and its leader, the mysterious Shadow Master, forces Musashi to return from exile and confront the growing evil. As the Shinobi, the master of long-forgotten Oboro Ninjitsu martial arts, Musashi must utilize all his powers to overcome his various enemies. Thanks to his considerable combat skills and special Ninjitsu moves, only the Shinobi can thwart Neo Zeed and vanquish the Shadow Master.

Neutopia (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 600 Wii Points): In this action role-playing game, you take control of a brave boy who sets off on a journey to rescue the kidnapped princess and reclaim the eight medallions that were stolen by the evil demon, Dirth. You’ll need to rely on your magic compass and information you’ve gathered to find entrances to labyrinths and defeat the bosses in them. Solve puzzles, avoid traps, move blocks and destroy walls to uncover secret rooms in the labyrinths. Carefully use your map to uncover hidden treasure and powerful equipment. Travel the land, underground, sea and sky on your quest to recover the medallions. With a save function, the right difficulty level and a system that doesn’t include experience points, this is truly an RPG that anyone can enjoy.

Blog Post VI: Return of the BioShock news

Woo, another BioShock post. You can’t get enough of the upcoming game (oh, and more reviews came in…more 10/10 reviews; sadly, its worst review now stands at a 94…) from Irrationa- oh, wait, 2K Boston and 2K Australia. Anyway, recently, the demo hit the Xbox LIVE Marketplace- and absolutely rocked- but the PC fans were sadly left out (I’m not a PC gamer…but I hear they were left out, and I’m sure they were sad!). Apparently 2K has announced that a PC demo will be available tomorrow at 7:00PM EST (oddly precise…), presumably from their website. Those of you who haven’t played the demo, it is absolutely fantastic, and those who still aren’t big on BioShock, how about this: many sources are considering BioShock overtaking Ocarina of Time as the best game ever made. Now, how can you not play something that’s sure to set video game records?

Hint: You can’t.

BioShock reviews are nothing short of INSANE

Yeah, that’s right. I’ve been tracking the underwater sci-fi shooter for a while, and it looked really nice. The demo recently hit the Marketplace and solidified my opinion: this game will rock. But hey, that’s just me. Normally, I’d tell you not to go with the critics: their jobs are to be critical and truly let you know if it’s worth the $60 to drop down on it. Maybe I still should. IGN just put up their review for BioShock. They gave the game a 9.7/10- the highest any Xbox 360 game has ever received- ever. Not in the last month, not in the last year, ever- no Xbox 360 game has received a higher score from IGN. Maybe you don’t like IGN? Not big on their reviewers? Maybe you should take the five other 100%s? How about the 99% from Console Game World? Oh, you’re the type that looks for the worst review?

Ok, feel free to look at TeamXbox’s 95% review- the worst BioShock review out there. The game’s just that good, people- it’s rated the third best on IGN’s Top 100, too. Thought I’d throw that in.

Beautiful Katamari Demo Rolls into Marketplace

Yup!
The possibly-not-on-PS3 Beautiful Katamari was released earlier this morning on the Xbox Live Marketplace for demoing purposes. Weighing in at a 432.37 MB, it lasts only three minutes and takes place on a small stage, which is too bad. But, hey, who cares? It’s Katamari. On the 360!
Though, the controls are bothersome. With the odd placement of the analog sticks on the 360′s controller, it feels weird moving both forward, even if they’re at different spots…maybe you won’t mind it, but personally, I do. To each his own!

Portal Facts from interview with Jeep Barnett

Today, I got the most awesome opportunity to talk to Jeep Barnett, a programmer (one of the original 7 on the Narbucular Drop team) of Valve’s new game called Portal. The talk was mainly about the latest game Portal and about the Digipen game, Narbucular Drop. Please be warned, that thecakeisalie. And there might be a few cool things you might not know yet about Portal.

After introducing some of his work to me and a group of others, he went on to talk a bit about Portal and how it really works (which I won’t discuss how the game works from a code aspect [that would spoil everything, and no one likes spoilers]).

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Reminder: Madden 08 tomorrow, launch parties tonight

Yup, today’s the day: August…13. You know, the day before Madden 08 comes out. If you want to preorder, today’s your last day to do it- and preorders are selling like hotcakes for the 08 installment. If you already have it preordered, your store probably has a launch party, so I suggest calling them.

I don’t know what else I can say. Uh, buy Madden?

Pokemon Trainer is a new character in Brawl

From today’s update, we learn the newest character in Brawl is a Pokemon trainer. The Pokemon Trainer is a somewhat odd character as he stays on the sidelines (you can’t kill him) rather than in the fray unlike other brawl characters. He has the ability to fight with 3 Pokemon; Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charzard. Those Pokemon can be swapped out at any time, but they all use the same health meter. The rotation order of Pokemon goes in the order above with Charzard going back to Squirtle. While playing as the Pokemon Trainer has it’s advantages, it also has a huge disadvantage. Pokemon have another stat called stamina, which you don’t want to diminish else you won’t be able to fight with that Pokemon.

Another hint given was: “If you keep fighting with the same Pokémon, or if you change them out too often, it’s not so good for the Pokémon.”

Wii Virtual Console games- Cratermaze, Metroid, Shining in the Darkness

This week’s Virtual Console theme is “all about evil”. It does feature the somewhat odd Cratermaze, and Shining in the Darkness as well as the original Metroid. Anyways, the games come out in about 30 minutes on the Wii Virtual Console.

Here are Nintendo’s descriptions of the games:

Metroid (NES, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): The first installment of the immensely successful Metroid series introduces us to the hideous title creatures and the slick, cybernetic bounty hunter Samus Aran. As Samus, your mission is to penetrate the space pirates’ home planet, Zebes, and keep them from destroying the galaxy with the dangerous life forms known as Metroids. Metroid has all the high-tech weaponry, creepy tunnels and crawly alien creatures that anyone could ask for. With its deep and complex game play, excellent music and a rare sense of setting, it establishes a frightening ambience that will haunt and entertain you for a very long time.

Shining in the Darkness (Sega Genesis, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): Dark Sol has vowed to reign over the enchanted Kingdom of Thornwood, and only you can stop him. Find the powerful Arms of Light and battle the deadly beasts that keep your people desperate and starving in this epic journey for peace. Roaming the dark Labyrinth, you’ll seek out enemies and collect weapons, all of which will help you pass the test of the Ancients and become a shining knight. Get into the adventure with a stunning 3-D perspective, amazing cinematic views and fast-paced scrolling. You’ll move from battle to battle, solving puzzles and discovering secret items in this engrossing struggle between good and evil.

Cratermaze (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Comic Mischief, 600 Wii Points): Cratermaze is a comical action game set in a parallel world. While on a trip through time, you and your friends are confronted by Kublai, henchman to the evil Zenzombie. He traps your friends at separate points in the space-time continuum. Now you must fight your way through 60 rounds of mazes to save your friends. Dinosaurs, ninjas, robots and other enemies lurk within the mazes, spanning from primitive times to the future. Escape the enemies by digging holes to trap them in and then filling the holes to finish them off. Collect all the chests within the time limit to get the key and exit to the next round. With special items such as shovels and spring platforms, Cratermaze takes its game play to new heights, making for an unforgettable gaming experience.

More BioShock goodness: Demo Impressions

Warning: Spoilers for the DEMO ONLY will be from here on in…

I’ll go ahead and let you know this: BioShock will definitely be in the top three best 360 games to come out this year- that’s with Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed, and Halo 3 in mind, too. The Plasmid system is fantastic, and the game’s nice and fast, and there isn’t a dull part at all (aside from the lame cutscenes…). The game’s extremely creepy- maybe even moreso than the Resident Evil series (!)- all thanks to the underwater setting and eerie noises (creaking metal, dripping water- so cliche, but so cool). You find a radio real early on (first minute) and use it to talk to some guy who’s trying to find his family. He acts as the tutorial, guiding you through the game- not button-wise, but goal-wise, telling you where to go and such. (more…)

Bioshock Announcement: BIOSHOCK DEMO!

As I mentioned in the previous posts, Spike TV ran an exclusive trailer and a surprise announcement regarding Bioshock: THE BIOSHOCK DEMO IS AVAILABLE ON THE XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE RIGHT NOW! It came along with an exclusive trailer. The demo is free and can be downloaded for 1.35 GB, albeit extremely slow with the bogged-down servers.

Why it was announced on Spike TV as a commercial during a crappy show, I don’t know, but it’s Bioshock news nontheless, which promises to be one of the best games for the 360…ever.