Ninja Gaiden II For Xbox 360 ++
I downloaded a few demos the other day from Xbox Live and amongst them was Ninja Gaiden II. Which is a pretty fast ride. When starting up it felt as if I was watching someone else play instead of myself. I didn’t really know what was going on. Good thing the game explains tricks as you go, like running up to walls ‘crouching tiger’ style and then slashing your way down.
Ninja Gaiden II is a great action game with a platform flavor. The visual (combat) effects are great, but this is a very linear experience: you can’t really step outside a fixed path. But then again you don’t really need to. All you need to do is fight, fight and hack-and-slash your way trough. On the box (I picked up the full game straight away) it says “Hard stopping action”. And that’s actually quite true. I had to put the controller down after a while. Its that intense.
I’m not really sure what the plot is though. You are a ninja. You fight. I guess that’s the plot.. but what the hell who needs a plot anyway?
The C64 Orchestra
I went to Paradiso yesterday evening to check out the C64 Orchestra.
What a great concept: Classic Commodore 64 videogame tunes like IK+, Commando and Monty on the Run played by an orchestra. And its not just a gimmick, some of the tunes actually sound like they were made for this. Check out the C64 Orchestra on Myspace.
GTA IV Bringing Back Memories
Played a bit of GTA IV tonight with my friend Otto driving around Liberty City beating up people, trying out different cars, checking out the various radiochannels and enjoying vintage pop like Godley & Creme’s ‘Cry’ from 1984.
Classic.
A Refreshing Racing Experience On Xbox 360
GRID is a race simulation that combines official circuit-based championships with road races and urban street competitions.
Besides doing the rounds and (trying to) finish first I really enjoyed driving the wrong direction and causing huge crashes, which is really darn realistic in this game. It also gives you the possibility to playback crashes in slomo, scrubbing style, which is nice. As IGN puts it: ‘Grid stands out as a stylish but serious alternative to both hardcore driving simulations and over-the-top arcade racers’.
Why Every Guy Should Buy Their Girl Wii Fit
I wasn’t part of the 2,5 million viewers (!) that have already seen this. From the maker:
This is a personal video I made… I just work at Tinsley Advertising (not related to Nintendo whatsoever). However I’d love to do work for them.
GRO Projects 11 - The Beautiful Game
‘11′ is a collaboration of two companies - (dutch) GRO design and Tim modelmakers – each contributing their world-class specialist skills to this showcase project.
Exhibited during the Milan Design Week 2008, 16th - 21st April, Via Forcella 8, Milan, Italy.
Justin can you get me one please ; )
New Video Game Designed To Have No Influence On Kids’ Behavior
Electronic-entertainment giant Take-Two Interactive, parent company of Grand Theft Auto series creator Rockstar Games, released Stacker Tuesday, a first-person vertical-crate-arranger guaranteed not to influence young people’s behavior in any way.
I’m loving the irony here - more on The Onion..
Fun Euro 2008 Viral
There probably will be quite a few Euro 2008 virals this year. This one here is a fun & simple skill game made by Rubberrepublic for JVC.
The Thule Trail - Retrotastic!
I stumbled upon this rather nice advergame type thingy tonight while shopping around for a mountainbike carrier for my car. Its called The Thule Trail and its made in the style of the Lucasarts SCUMM adventures from back in the day.
LockJaw Labs
I’ve been more then a little addicted to the game Hexic HD for 360. Its a puzzle game from a few years ago that I find strangely addictive - possibly also because of the music. The soundtrack is made by Jerry Schroeder and is called Hexophilia. If you like ‘dark-deepish-ambient’ style music, check out the Hexophilia soundtrack which you can download from the Lockjaw Labs site (free).
I also discovered a new album that was posted only a few days ago by Dr. Schroeder: The Kirkbride Plan. Nice!