List of Games Confirmed at E3 and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Gets a Teaser

E3 is just one week away. I'm very excited about this, the first E3 since I started up this blog and you better believe that I'm going to be doing a mountain of posts for this. So what games have been confirmed? Quite a few actually and a lot them I'm very interested in learning more about. I'll get into my interest in them a little more tomorrow but for now I'm going to list all the games that are confirmed for E3.

• Animal Crossing 3DS
• 3DS
• Published by Nintendo

• Anarchy Reigns
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Platinum Games
• Published by Sega

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Ubisoft Montreal
• Published by Ubisoft

• Asura's Wrath
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by CyberConnect2
• Published by Capcom

• Bastion
• Xbox Live Arcade, Windows PC
• Developed by Supergiant Games
• Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

• Batman: Arkham City
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Rocksteady Studios
• Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment

• Battlefield 3
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by DICE
• Published by Electronic Arts

• Binary Domain
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Sega Japan
• Published by Sega

• Bioshock Infinite
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Irrational Games
• Published by 2K Games

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Raven Software (for multiplayer)
• Published by Activision

• Call of Juarez: The Cartel
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Techland
• Published by Ubisoft

• Dark Souls
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by From Software and Namco Bandai Games
• Published by From Software (Japan) and Namco Bandai Games (North America and Europe)

• Dead Island
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Techland
• Published by Deep Silver

• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• PS3, Xbox 360, PC
• Developed by Eidos Montreal
• Published by Square Enix

• DmC Devil May Cry
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Ninja Theory
• Published by Capcom

• Devil's Third
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Valhalla Game Studios
• Published by THQ

• Driver: San Francisco
• PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Windows PC, 3DS, Mac
• Developed by Ubisoft Reflections
• Published by Ubisoft

• Duke Nukem Forever
• PS3, Xbox 360, PC
• Developed by Gearbox Software
• Published by 2K Games

• Dungeon Siege III
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Obsidian Entertainment
• Published by Square Enix

• Forza Motorsport 4
• Xbox 360
• Developed by Turn 10 Studios
• Published by Microsoft Game Studios

• From Dust
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier
• Published by Ubisoft

• Gears of War 3
• Xbox 360
• Developed by Epic Games
• Published by Microsoft Game Studios

• Hitman: Absolution
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by IO Interactive
• Published by Square Enix

• Journey
• PSN
• Developed by Thatgamecompany (seriously)
• Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

• Just Dance 3
• Wii
• Developed by Ubisoft Paris
• Published by Ubisoft

• Kid Icarus: Uprising
• 3DS
• Developed by Project Sora
• Published by Nintendo

• Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (see what they did there)
• 3DS
• Developed by Square Enix 1st Production Department
• Published by Square Enix

• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by 38 Studios and Big Huge Games
• Published by Electronic Arts

• Mario Kart 3DS
• 3DS
• Developed by Nintendo
• Published by Nintendo

• Mass Effect 3
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by BioWare
• Published by Electronic Arts

• Mega Man Legends 3
• 3DS
• Developed by Capcom
• Published by Capcom

• Metal Gear Solid: Rising
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Kojima Productions
• Published by Konami

• Need for Speed: The Run
• PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Windows PC, 3DS
• Developed by EA Black Box and DICE
• Published by Electronic Arts

• Ninja Gaiden III
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Team Ninja
• Published by Tecmo Koei

• Paper Mario
• 3DS
• Published by Nintendo

• Prey 2
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Human Head Studios
• Published by Bethesda Softworks

• Prototype 2
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Radical Entertainment
• Published by Activision

• Rage
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC, iOS
• Developed by id Software
• Published by Bethesda Softworks

• Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One
• PS3
• Developed by Insomniac Games
• Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

• Rayman Origins
• PS3, Xbox 360, Wii
• Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier
• Publisher by Ubisoft

• Red Faction Armageddon
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Volition, Inc.
• Published by THQ

• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Slant Six Games and Capcom
• Published by Capcom

• Resident Evil: Revelations
• 3DS
• Developed by Capcom
• Published by Capcom

• Resistance 3
• PS3
• Developed by Insomniac Games
• Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

• Risen 2
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Piranha Bytes
• Published by Deep Silver

• Rocksmith
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Ubisoft
• Published by Ubisoft

• Shadows of the Damned
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Grasshopper Manufacture
• Published by Electronic Arts

• Silent Hill: Downpour
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Vatra Games
• Published by Konami

• Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
• PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Windows PC, 3DS
• Developed by Toys for Bob and XPEC Entertainment
• Published by Activision

• Sonic Generations
• PS3, Xbox 360, 3DS
• Sonic Team and Dimps (for 3DS)
• Published by Sega

• Soul Calibur V
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Namco
• Published by Namco Bandai

• Spider-Man: Edge of Time
• PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Windows PC, Nintendo DS, 3DS
• Developed by Beenox
• Published by Activision

• SSX
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by EA Canada
• Published by EA Sports

• Star Fox 64 3D
• 3DS
• Developed by Nintendo
• Published by Nintendo

• Starhawk
• PS3
• Developed by LightBox Interactive and Santa Monica Studio
• Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

• Star Wars: The Old Republic
• Windows PC
• Developed by BioWare
• Published by Electronic Arts and LucasArts

• Street Fighter X Tekken
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Capcom
• Published by Capcom

• Super Mario
• 3DS
• Developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo
• Published by Nintendo

• Tekken X Street Fighter
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Namco Bandai
• Published by Namco Bandai

• The Darkness II
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Digital Extremes
• Published by 2K Games

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Bethesda Game Studios
• Published by Bethesda Softworks

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
• 3DS
• Developed by Grezzo and Nintendo
• Published by Nintendo

• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Wii
• Developed by Nintendo EAD
• Published by Nintendo

• The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Snowblind Studios
• Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

• Tomb Raider
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Crystal Dynamics
• Published by Square Enix

• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
• PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Windows PC, Nintendo DS, PSP
• Developed by Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Red Storm, Next Level Games and Virtuos
• Published by Ubisoft

• TrackMania 2
• Windows PC
• Developed by Nadeo
• Published by Ubisoft

• Twisted Metal
• PS3
• Developed by Eat Sleep Play
• Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
• PS3
• Developed by Naughty Dog
• Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

• XCOM
• Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by 2K Marin
• Published by 2K Games

• X-Men: Destiny
• PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS
• Developed by Silicon Knights
• Published by Activision

This is going to kick ASS!

Finally StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was, without a doubt, one of the best games of 2010 and one of the best RTS games out there. It had solid strategy gameplay, a good storyline (though it could be better), and brilliant multiplayer. Before Wings of Liberty even came out, Blizzard said that the campaign would be split into three games, one for each faction: the Terrans, the Zerg, and the Protoss. In Wings of Liberty, we played the Terran campaign.

Now Blizzard is setting up for the release of the first expansion titled Heart of the Swarm which will be centered around the Zerg. The Protoss will get Legacy of the Void. Sarah Kerrigan will be the main protagonist though whether she'll be a hero or villain protagonist remains to be seen (paraphrasing Wikipedia here). No release date has been announced but it's expected that it will be released sometime in Q1 or early Q2 of 2012.

Anyway, a teaser trailer was released so let's take a look.

I'm anticipating it very much and with Blizzard behind it, I can't see how it will possibly fail. This is going to be awesome. Anyway, tomorrow I'll post my list of the 10 games I'm most excited to see at E3.

LA Noire Review

Team Bondi's LA Noire has been in the making since 2004. It is a game that has strived to be different among the myriad of shooters that we get so many of every year. Personally, that right there earns it some of my respect. I admire games that are not just about the shooting (even if they have shooting).

But respect and admiration for an effort don't mean much if the execution does not work correctly. So, with that in mind, does LA Noire's differing approach to video games and facial scanning technology allow it to gain more than just some admiration for an effort?

STORY

Okay, so obviously this game's story is a callback to film noir and takes place in 1940s Los Angeles. We've known that for quite a while (with the title). But, little to no information has been given about the overall storyline and whether there's a connection to things that you do. Well, there is. You play as Cole Phelps, a veteran from Okinawa who decides to become a cop to make up for stuff done in the war.

You start out in regular patrol and move your way up from there and eventually the cases that you're involved in get more complex and puzzling. It's really fun to see where a case is going to go. Many of the cases are also based on real-life cases from the same time period, including a series of cases based around the notorious and unsolved Black Dahlia killer. The way that ends is actually really clever.

Cole Phelps is, for the most part, a great character though I still would put John Marston ahead of him for a few reasons that I don't want to spoil (for either of them). The partners are also great and each have distinctive personalities that will get you to either like them or hate them by the time you get through. You'll feel a nice sense of camaraderie with most of them by the time you move onto bigger things with a new partner.

As for the main story, it's definitely strong but I wouldn't necessarily label it as the best in the medium. The problem is that it really starts to pop up so late into the game and the clues that you found beforehand hinting at it will be almost completely forgotten by that point. I understand that they wanted to build things up properly but they could have baited me a little more beforehand. Until the last 25% of the game, I was going through not even seeing any sign of a greater story.

LA Noire doesn't pull punches with content.

There was also a case of character derailment that came completely out of left field and it's never attempted to patch up, it just stays there. In other words, it isn't just a single out of character moment, there's no foreshadowing to it that would have made it work better and no attempt to reconcile it.

So LA Noire's story has a few rough spots, but for the most part it has great execution, slowly revealing information about Phelps to get you to like him more and it makes a sympathetic and compelling character and while the story comes in pretty late, when you do see it coming in, it's quite an enjoyable and well-written story of corruption and greed.

GAMEPLAY AND DESIGN

As I said above, you start out as a simple patrolman and Team Bondi uses this to slowly ease you into the main portion of the gameplay: investigation and interrogation. They also ease into chases, fist-fights and shootouts but the main thing is the investigation.

Basically the design works like this: you go to the crime scene and investigate, looking for clues, then you go to a location specified by a clue and either look for more clues or interrogate someone. For finding clues, you have a few tools to help you which can be turned on or off in the options menu. You can have investigation music playing which will stop once you've found every clue and you can have your controller vibrate whenever you approach a clue. I turned the vibration off and kept the music playing.

The main problem with investigations is that it can be difficult to figure out what is relevant to the case. Cole, thankfully, will voice outloud that something is irrelevant but not until you attempt to examine an object. This means that you'll go through the area looking at EVERYTHING to see if it's a clue. I guess this is how it's done in real life, but it can make investigating tedious. Think of it like "button-mashing" for detective work.

For interrogation you ask questions which differ based on who you're asking. After they answer, you try to discern whether they are telling the truth, lying, or you have doubt either way. If you accuse someone of lying, make sure you back it up with some evidence. Otherwise this could cause them to shut-up and you could miss out on some important information, such as a potential suspect name or a location. The interrogations never feel overly frustrating because the faces usually sell it so well. If you don't branch a question correctly it's your fault.

For both investigation and interrogation you can use intuition points which are gained as you gain ranks. For investigating, using an intuition point will highlight clues in the vicinity and for interrogation, they work like lifelines in a game show, eliminating answers or allowing you to ask the PlayStation or Xbox community for help.

You technically can't fail any cases but that's okay. The reason it's okay is because you'll have to spend more time on cases until you do solve them and you'll get a lower score at the end of each case. The scores are judged by how many clues you find, how many questions you correctly branched and how little damage you did (car damage, city damage, and injuries to civilians).

As for the other elements, shooting is alright. It's obvious not as much attention was put to this as the other parts of the game, which is understandable given that it's not about the shooting. It uses a cover-system similar to Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption but not quite as refined.

Driving is also a big part and it's something that you need to be careful with because of your score. The problem is that the driving controls are pretty loose which can cause quite a few unintended accidents. Luckily the score is pretty lenient with accidents and you can have your partner drive. There are also car chases where your partner attempts to blow the tires on the other car.

Fighting and foot chases are also a part of the game and the fighting system is more like Grand Theft Auto IV. For the foot chases there are a couple of kinds. The first is just chasing until something gets in his way or you can tackle him. These are for people that you NEED alive. For those you don't need alive you can either shoot them or fire a warning shot.

As for collectibles and extras, there are quite a few. Over 40 street level crimes to resolve, 95 cars to find and attempt to drive, 50 film canisters with films which are all from around the 40s and 50s (no you can't watch them), 13 newspapers which are part of the clues that hint at a larger story at first and fill in gaps, and 30 landmarks to find. All these add up to 100% completion.

The main story will take you between 15-18 hours. But it's a nice game to go back to once you figure out the main arc involved and if you want 100% completion, it's going to take you a good bit of time. At the end of the day, LA Noire has some great concepts and they almost all work great, though the game can get repetitive at points especially before the main story arc becomes clear.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

For those who want to know how the faces look in this game, I've got one word: Incredible! The faces in the game react just so realistically. The muscles and wrinkles move and shift just the way you would expect them to in real life. Sometimes this actually works against it. Sometimes it looks too real but not real enough at the same time. I can't really explain it better but if you've ever seen a full CGI movie, you probably have experienced that.

As for Los Angeles, Team Bondi used over 180,000 photos and maps to recreate 1947 Los Angeles and it shows. Everything looks authentic and matches my vision of what 1940s Los Angeles would look like. The cars look correct, the city looks correct and feels right, everything just clicks.

You are also given the option to play in either color or black and white. This was a cool feature and a great callback to noir films both new and old. I tried out both though I primarily played the game in color, however I do plan on going back and doing an entire playthrough in black and white.

Soundwise, the standout is the soundtrack. It feels like a soundtrack made in the 40s and it fits the mood and enhances the game to a remarkable degree. Voice acting is also great though every now and then someone doesn't sound quite right but at its best, it's able to be listed among games like Mass Effect and Uncharted. Aaron Staton does an outstanding job as Cole Phelps.

While the voice acting is great, every now and then there's a problem with the shift in emotions. I see this in a lot of games but with this one it stood out a bit more when it happened. People will break down in tears and then out of nowhere be able to have a straight face to answer questions, even kids. It led to a few unintentionally funny moments.

CONCLUSION

LA Noire has been compared quite a bit to Heavy Rain and the comparison is not without merit at all. They share two similar styles of design and storytelling. However, the main difference is that Heavy Rain, while it had great set-up and concepts, had a lot of problems in its execution with plot holes and some laughable voice acting. LA Noire succeeds where Heavy Rain faltered with a story that, while it has problems and one case of character derailment, for the most part succeeds and is both compelling and interesting.

It's clever with great dialogue and some great design and gameplay concepts which for the most part succeed. The game gets a little tedious and repetitive at points but it still manages to pull you through as once it starts getting repetitive, there's always something to pull you back in.

For those of you who want something that isn't just about shooting, this is one game that I would recommend you to pick up. For those of you who are fine with shooters, I would still recommend a rental, as it provides some interesting ideas that might make you want to try something new.

Releases in June

A few big releases this upcoming month including the historical release of a 14-year developed game that had been the butt of everyone's jokes about development hell for years. But there are a few other big releases so let's see what we have this upcoming month.

JUNE 7

• Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters
• PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, 3DS, PSP
• Developed by Double Helix Games (PS3, Xbox 360) and Griptonite Games (Wii, Nintendo DS, 3DS, PSP)
• Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Infamous 2
• PS3
• Developed by Sucker Punch Productions
• Published by Sony Computer Entertainment
• Operation Flashpoint: Red River
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Codemasters
• Published by Codemasters
• Red Faction: Armageddon
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Volition, Inc.
• Published by THQ and Syfy Games

JUNE 13

• Wii Play: Motion
• Wii
• Developed by Nintendo EAD
• Published by Nintendo

JUNE 14

• Alice: Madness Returns
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Spicy Horse
• Published by Electronic Arts
• Child of Eden
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Q Entertainment
• Published by Ubisoft
• Duke Nukem Forever
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Gearbox Software
• Published by 2K Games
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, 3DS
• Developed by High Moon Studios (PS3, Xbox 360) and Behaviour Interactive (Wii, Nintendo DS, 3DS)
• Published by Activision

JUNE 16

• Dawn of Fantasy
• Windows PC
• Developed by Reverie World Studios
• Published by 505 Games

JUNE 19

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
• 3DS
• Developed by Nintendo and Grezzo
• Published by Nintendo

JUNE 21

• F.E.A.R. 3
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Day 1 Studios
• Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Dungeon Siege III
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Obsidian Entertainment
• Published by Square Enix
• Shadows of the Damned
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Grasshopper Manufacture
• Published by Electronic Arts
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Trilogy
• PS3
• Developed by Ubisoft Montreal
• Published by Ubisoft

JUNE 28

• Call of Juarez: The Cartel
• PS3, Xbox 360, Windows PC
• Developed by Techland
• Published by Ubisoft
• Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3
• PS3, Xbox 360
• Developed by Koei and Omega Force
• Published by Namco Bandai
• Sniper: Ghost Warrior
• PS3
• Developed by City Interactive
• Published by City Interactive

My Pick


This one is a little bit more difficult than last month. In May, it was between a game that I was unsure about but looked cool, a sequel to a game that I had never played before, and a game that was on my most anticipated of 2011 list. This one is more difficult because none of them REALLY jump out for a Day 1 purchase for me.

It comes down to three games: Infamous 2, F.E.A.R. 3, and Duke Nukem Forever. Ocarina of Time 3D isn't one of them because, well, I don't own a 3DS. Now, with Infamous 2, I enjoyed the first one though I didn't fully finish it because it was a rental. It got a little tedious at points and I felt the controls were a little too loose at times but reading IGN's review has really intrigued me. I'm planning on downloading the first game for free (PSN perk) and then check out the second.

With F.E.A.R. 3, I'm being a little weary. It's being developed by a different company as the first two and while the second game was good, it didn't quite hit the quality bar of the first one. If this were a company that I commonly trusted (I don't distrust them, just not familiar with them), I would overcome that. But I'm not sure just yet. Still, I'm curious to see how the story ends and the cutscenes are being directed by JOHN CARPENTER. Yes director of The Thing and Halloween John Carpenter. So I'll be keeping my eye open for that.

So my pick for this month is Duke Nukem: Forever.

Crude and rude to the extreme and I wouldn't have it any other way. Barring some freak accident, Duke Nukem Forever has gone gold after 14 goddamn years and will be released on June 14 (By the way, what is it with Duke Nukem Forever and 14: it was #14 on my anticipated list, took 14 years to make and is coming out on June 14th).

Gearbox Studios is a great developer and I have some high expectations for this game. I'm hoping it will both pay homage to its roots while putting in a few new innovations from the past few years. 14 years can build up hype for something and it's one of the reasons why Duke Nukem Forever is my pick for June.

PSP to PS3, New Voice for Harley, The Witcher 2 to Consoles, and Duke Nukem Forever is Golden

Hey guys, a few news items that I want to talk about. First about the blog. As I said in my blog post about Monster expect the review up next week and hopefully System Shock 2 within the week or two. Next week I'll also begin talking about E3, making my predictions and expectations known to you. The biggest trade show in gaming is less than two weeks away and while I may not be attending, I'm content with relaying information to the rest of you.

So anyways on to industry news.

On the PS3, with tighter controls? HELL YES!!!!

Sony is announcing intentions to port a few PSP games to the PS3. In my mind, this can only be a good thing as many awesome games on the PSP could have been better had they had a second analog stick. Chief among them might be my favorite game on the PSP: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

There have been rumors going around that at E3, Konami and Sony will announce of port of the game to the PS3 along with a few others. As said above, one of the only problems with Peace Walker was the lack of a second analog stick which made it difficult to control. So please bring her over Sony and Konami.

As I've said before, with Mass Effect 3's delay, Batman: Arkham City is now my most anticipated game yet to be released this year. The Penguin has been added to the villain roster, but one item has caught a few peoples' attention. Arleen Sorkin will not be voicing Harley Quinn. I am not sure as to the reasons why as I have seen no comment from either Rocksteady or Sorkin.

Her replacement will be veteran voice actress Tara Strong. Before people want to get up in arms, I can understand the disappointment. But let me say this, Tara Strong is a talented voice actress, a very talented voice actress. She's arguably one of the best out there up there with people like Jennifer Hale. That and I don't think any of us noticed much of difference in Harley's voice in the gameplay trailer, so I don't think we have much to worry about.

The Witcher 2 has been getting excellent reviews. I haven't played it yet so I can't make my opinions on it known. Hell I still have to play the first game. But a recent ESRB leak has almost completely confirmed that The Witcher 2 will be coming to consoles.

Personally I'm probably going to pick it up on PC, due to the fact that the first game is only on PC and you can transfer your choices like in Mass Effect. Hopefully my PC will be powerful enough to play the damn thing, but if not, at least I'll have a fullback option (at least if the port is good).

Finally, DUKE NUKEM FOREVER IS FINALLY DONE!!!! After 14 F*#KIN years, it went gold this week confirming that the longest development time for a game in history is finally over. Though considering that this is Duke Nukem Forever we're talking about, don't be surprised if I write up a report about a freak fire accident that burns every copy in existence.

If that freak fire or some other unfortunate accident does not happen, than Duke Nukem Forever will FINALLY be released on June 14th. So preorder your copy or put it into your GameFly queue and get set because (knock on wood) the Duke is HOPEFULLY almost back.

Monster: A Mature, Intelligent and Brilliant Psychological Anime Thriller

Okay, I'm going to talk about a little something different today. I want to talk about an anime that I've watched which is part of the reason I haven't posted anything LA Noire yet (by the way, my review of it should be up next week). What does this have to do with video games? Well, nothing. This is rare exception and probably not going to happen all that often. But I really want people to see this series as I absolutely loved EVERY minute of this series.

Monster is a brilliant psychological thriller, both mature and thought-provoking, with remarkable writing, pacing and characterization. It's an incredible character study into the minds of a total psychopath, the titular monster of the story, as well as an extremely complex jigsaw puzzle plot where little pieces of information are given out each episode to create a very addicting series.

The series is both very dark and gritty but also can be very uplifting...sometimes. It's not a series that settles just with using different story elements but with deconstructing and analyzing them for the audience while asking tough questions and leaving them to the audience to answer.

Let me get this out of the way real quick: I'm not the biggest anime/manga fan for two reasons. First I'm not a big fan of the art style that I usually see with anime, the over-the-top style just puts me off. To be fair, I'm not going to make a judgment on all anime because I've never gotten into that much. The other problem is that a lot of anime that I've seen seems to request some knowledge of Japanese culture which I do not have.

Monster doesn't have either of these. It's animation has a foreign feel to it but is nice and subtle. It's main themes are also universal, ones that anyone can understand no matter where they are from.

So without giving away too many spoilers, I want to go over why this series is so good and why should go check it out now.

STORY

The basic set-up for the story is outstanding and part of what drew me in within just four episodes. Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a brilliant Japanese neurosurgeon in Germany who eventually has a pair of twins, Johan and Anna Liebert are brought in. Their parents were murdered and one of the twins, Johan, was shot in the head and is barely alive. Dr. Tenma manages to save his life but the mayor, who had a cerebral hemorrhage of some kind dies in his place.

His superiors are angry that he sacrificed the mayor to save some kid and tell him that his career is ruined. Eventually his superiors are mysteriously murdered and the case is never solved. Fast forward nine years later and it's eventually revealed to the doctor that the boy he saved nine years before, Johan, not only murdered his superiors when he was ten years old but also has murdered dozens of people since.

The doctor is accused of another murder that Johan commits forcing him to go on the run from the law while at the same time attempt to kill Johan and uncover his mysterious past to see what turned him into the sociopath he is. To this end, he joins up with a few others including Johan's compassionate and kind-hearted twin sister who is now going by the name of Nina and the story unfolds from there.

It's an incredibly well-plotted story with excellent pacing which gives a good amount of screen-time to every character. Not one character who plays any level of importance is just a two-dimensional cardboard cutout and all have intriguing backstories and motivations. Mixed with the way it slowly gives information about Johan and the other characters and it makes it one of the more alluring series I remember watching.

The story has many themes and while it's violent and definitely not for kids, it has some very family friendly themes. Its primary ones are forgiveness and atonement and it works those into the story exceptionally well through other characters who try to make up for past misdeeds. It also carries the message that "no matter how f'ed up your life has been, you can always pick up the pieces and start anew."

The series also deconstructs and analyzes many of its story and character elements. One of the most notable is the analysis of the psychopath through Johan Liebert and it questions whether any person is beyond redemption. It also analyzes the the concept of the pure hero and asks if their deeds always make everything better or if they can cause more harm. There are many more and it generally leaves it up to you, as the viewer, to decide the answer to these questions.

The story isn't perfect, but then again no story is. There are plotlines that are brought and resolved offscreen which makes for some awkward moments if you really pay attention. There are also some characters who are very important at one point who just seem to nearly drop off the face of the earth later with very minor appearances. This is okay, but it can still be a little disappointing. Finally, it can take a few episodes to really get into. That's not a big problem though, and this "flaw" is something that was present in The Wire, arguably the greatest television series in history.

As for whether you should watch the anime or read the manga, I haven't read the manga though from what I've heard the anime is almost 100% faithful to the manga, with just minor differences in where the scenes are placed in the storyboard. Other than that, they are almost identical. I personally prefer to watch when the similarity is that close so I did the anime.

CHARACTERS

There are a LOT of characters in this series and almost all of them have incredible depth to them and play importance in the plot. So I'm going to shorten this down by just talking about the three most notable characters: Dr. Kenzo Tenma, Johan Liebert, and his twin sister Nina Fortner (the difference in last name is complicated).

Usually the pure and nearly perfect hero is a sign of lazy writing and a boring character. Here, it works exceptionally well.

First up is Dr. Kenzo Tenma. He is the hero of the story, a brilliant neurosurgeon and most importantly an idealist who believes that every human can do good and redeem themselves of past sins. In most stories and under poor writers, he would have been a disaster. He is essentially a nearly perfect human being who always stops to help everyone in need even if it causes him suffering. This is usually the sign of a lazy writer who can't write a multi-dimensional and interesting hero.

However, in this case, it works exceptionally well for a few reasons. First, he's a deconstruction of that type of hero as the series asks if his compulsion to help/save everyone he can and his unwillingness to shoot just about anyone, even the villain just makes things worse in the long run.

The second reason is that he works as part of a dichotomy between him and the relentlessly evil Johan, a battle between idealism and cynicism with Tenma representing idealism. The atrocities that Johan commits as the ultimate evil are contrasted with the amount of great deeds that Tenma does as the ultimate good.

This makes for many of the uplifting moments in the series as he consistently proves that humans can always do the right thing and it's never too late to atone and it's never to late for those who have been through horrible suffering to pick up the pieces in their lives and keep on going. With an evil as great as Johan, it's only natural to pit it against something as good as Dr. Tenma.

Don't let this innocent face fool you. Johan Liebert may be the most evil and heinous fictional character ever created and is incredibly terrifying.

Next up there's the title character, Johan Liebert and good lord does he live up to the title of Monster. Don't let his innocent face fool you. Johan Liebert may be the best looking character on the show but he is, to put it simply, evil incarnate and may very well be the most evil fictional character ever conceived. If you can name a fictional character more evil than Johan...you know what, don't even try. I think that the only character who might match him in terms of evilness is Judge Holden from Blood Meridian but no one is MORE evil than Johan. He is essentially every terrible quality of human beings packed into one unspeakably evil character.

He's basically a combination of the Joker from The Dark Knight, Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men and Hannibal Lecter. He has the philosophy of the Joker that lives are worthless so who cares if he kills them but the utter emotionlessness of Anton. He gets no joy from what he does, he just does it. And finally he has the charm and politeness of Hannibal Lecter making him a master manipulator especially due to his incredible intelligence.

Basically he has no true motivations for what he does, he just does it. This is part of what makes him so terrifying and when I say terrifying, I mean he will make you crap your pants MANY times throughout the 74 episodes. Some of his horrific atrocities will make you cringe especially when he manipulates children (yes, not even children are safe from his horrible deeds). Yes his incredible manipulation skills is another aspect that makes him so terrifying. He uses guns every so often but his favorite thing is to break people psychologically and get them to do themselves in or murder others for him (even if they do, he'll probably just kill them later).

He could have been a disaster as a villain with having no motivations and being so evil but just like Judge Holden from Blood Meridian the writers made it work. His mysterious past is the driving force of the story and while he may be evil incarnate comparable to the Devil and Antichrist, he's not simple-minded and has a complex psychology and plans. The entire story is primarily about the battle between his point of view and Tenma's. Idealism, represented by Tenma, versus Cynicism, represented by Johan.

Nina is practically the polar opposite to her monstrous and amoral twin brother, kind and compassionate, the yin to his yang so to speak.

The last of the three main cogs in this machine is Johan's twin sister Nina Fortner aka Anna Liebert. Nina is essentially the yin to Johan's yang, a kind and compassionate character who may be a little more to the gray side than Tenma is still idealistic despite all of the horrible things that happen to her, both in backstory and in the series itself.

Along with Tenma and one other character, Nina is one of the few people that Johan refuses to kill. His relationship with her is EXTREMELY complicated and to talk about it here would both take up WAY to much time and would ruin the series for you. While he would never hurt her physically though, there are other ways he damages her and he seeks to corrupt her the same way he does Tenma, to turn her into himself.

Nina is a fascinating character and seeing her attempt to overcome the enormous heartbreak that she goes through in the series is one of the more rewarding parts of it. She's also very intelligent and resourceful, however her weakened mental fortitude holds her back sometimes but at least there's a good excuse as to why she needs a lot of help, rather than her just being a "weak woman."

She takes it upon herself to try to kill her brother because she doesn't want Tenma to have to corrupt himself by taking the life of another human being. Her story in the series both has probably the most heartbreak but it's a very well done character arc.

VISUAL AND SOUND

The animation in the series is great. The cast of characters is what is known as a cast of snowflakes. In other words, like snowflakes, no characters look exactly alike and therefore the series makes each character feel more important rather than just cardboard cutouts of other characters.

The visual appearance of the scenes varies depending on what it's mood is. Happy scenes are bright and colorful. Almost ANY scene dealing with Johan is dark and gritty, with an almost film noir feel to them. I love it and it's one of the reasons his scenes are some of the best in the series.

Only one thing is equal for all. And that is death.

As for the sound, the music is outstanding with a fitting score for each situation. Once again, happy scenes have fitting pieces, while scenes dealing with Johan or his followers have very atmospheric and VERY creepy pieces that make him even more unsettling than he already is, and that's saying something.

However, I will say there is one that I don't like and it's the piece when they show the "To Be Continued" screen. This is right after they show clips from the next episode (the music there is fine by the way) and it sounds like an infomercial and is very offputting when you see it played while they're replaying a clip of a man getting murdered.

As for the voice acting, let me start by saying that for the first episode I watched both the subtitled version and the dub and found them to be exactly the same so for the rest of the series I watched the dubbed. The voice acting is excellent in the dubbed version with some really great and well-known voice acting names pitching into the series.

CONCLUSION

Don't expect me to make a habit of writing about non-video game related items on this blog. If I do, I'll just start a new blog connected to this one. I wrote about this because it was something special. I loved it so much that I just had to write up about it.

Almost everything about this series was a sign of incredible execution. The characters are very complex and interesting, the pacing is great and keeps the series moving, the jigsaw puzzle plot makes it very addicting, and the series makes it a priority to deconstruct and analyze its different story elements rather than just using them.

If you haven't seen this series, do so. They are all available on Hulu, at least dubbed. About 50 or so episodes are available subtitled but you won't miss out on anything if you watch the dub. It's a remarkable series that deserves a bigger audience and more praise. So go check it out.

Portal 2 Review

Well, it's finally time for my Portal 2 review. Some of you might remember that this was my 2nd most anticipated game of this year (before Mass Effect 3 got delayed). The first Portal was a remarkable experiment with a unique design, playstyle and was just plain fun. There was and still is no other game quite like it.

So how did Portal 2 stack up in comparison? Well, before I start this review, I want to apologize for how it's taken to get it out. April was a really annoying month in terms of schoolwork and other things. My house was having internet trouble all month and even when I had internet, finding a suitable teammate for the co-op was a bitch. I finally played a little with my cousin and that's allowed me to compile all my thoughts.

So, with that, let's jump into Portal 2.

STORY

The story for the first Portal was simple, but that was part of what made it enjoyable, especially for a game that could be finished in 90 minutes. Because this game was longer, the story needed a little more depth to it and it got that. Chell, the protagonist from the first game, wakes up in stasis after what appears to be a few hundred years. She meets up with the character Wheatley, voiced by Stephen Merchant (yes, co-creator of the UK version of The Office).

The new character for Portal 2, Wheatley

Eventually she meets an old friend from the first game, GLaDOS, who is not particularly happy about what happened at the end of the first Portal. So she does what any pissed off AI does, she sends you down a pit into a bunch of testing chambers with the Portal gun. It's a simple set-up but it works and the addition of a new character plus a voice in the background for a few stages, and few twists along the way allow it to stay enjoyable.

I think we can put our differences behind us, for science, you monster.

 Part of what made the first Portal so much fun, was its humor. With this, Portal 2 definitely delivers. Portal 2 is simply hilarious. The dialogue is so clever and enjoyable and the delivery so excellent, that you would have to completely lack emotion not to get a chuckle out of at least ONE line. Surprisingly, no mention of cake ANYWHERE! What the hell is up with that?

The story has much more depth and more twists than the first game but it's still relatively simple compared to most games that we see today. That's not a bad thing however. A story doesn't have to be incredibly complex to be enjoyable and it thrives on its simplicity. A small number of characters and a few twists keep it going and keep it entertaining.

GAMEPLAY AND DESIGN

Like the first game and the story, the gameplay in Portal 2 is relatively simple. Also like the story, it thrives on this simplicity and is all the more fun because of it. Actually, change that to it starts out simple. Eventually new pieces are thrown into the puzzles that make them require much more thought.

One of the few complaints against the first Portal was that it was too short. This wasn't big though since it came on The Orange Box with four other games, one of the best deals in video game history. This game has much more content than its predecessor. The campaign is longer at between about 4-5 hours and there's also a co-op mode which will also take quite a bit of time.

The game's still a little short but the experience is so enjoyable that it didn't bother me at all. There were quite a few new elements added this time. First up, the gels. There are three kinds of gel: propulsion gel (the orange gel), repulsion gel (the blue gel), and conversion gel (the white gel).

Propulsion Gel

Repulsion Gel

Conversion Gel...and there are SO MANY inappropriate jokes I can make here

The propulsion gel is used when you need to get through an area quickly or if you need to make a big leap across a gap. The repulsion gel is when you need to jump to a high area and the conversion gel is used to make a portal-friendly surface. What that means is that if you can't put a portal on a certain wall, if you can get conversion gel on it, you'll be able to put a portal there.

Next there are the hard-light bridges, which kind of remind me of Halo. You can make these go anywhere by sticking a portal at the end of a light bridge and sticking the other portal on a different wall. Lasers also work like this.

Hard-Light Bridge

Finally, there are the anti-gravity funnels or "excursion funnels" which while inside of them push you (or pull you) towards a certain area. These can require smart and precise use of the portal gun. It's a bit hard to explain here but you'll understand what I'm talking about when you play it.

Excursion Funnel

There's a nice difficulty curve which makes it easy for anyone to pick up and play. However, some of the difficulty from the puzzles come not from brain-teasers but knowing where the hell to go and this is probably the game's biggest problem. Some of the chambers are ENORMOUS and it can be a real headscratcher knowing where to fire you're next portal since sometimes the area to fire it at is so far in the distance and so difficult to spot.

I don't mind challenge, but figuring out where to go didn't make me feel rewarded like the game's genuine brain teasers but made feel frustrated and like an idiot for not being able to complete something faster. That's something that the first game didn't really have except in one particular spot near the end. It's not a gamebreaker but it's still there. Other than that the campaign is excellent.

One thing that I remember seeing in videos that I'm shocked wasn't in there were the vacuum tubes. You know, those things that sucked everything up. Go on Youtube and you can probably find short clips of them. I was said to not see them in the game.

Now for co-op. This was probably the biggest addition that Portal 2 made and all the puzzles in co-op are remarkably well designed for four portals at once, or at least perfectly designed for four players.

Some of the puzzles can be very difficult to figure out. If you have a friend online or at your house, it's an awesomely fun time. However, it can be extremely annoying to play with someone who doesn't have a headset online.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

Portal 2 doesn't need to have the best graphics but the environments can get a little repetitive. The first Portal had this problem too but its shorter length kept it from being a noticeable flaw. The Source engine is also still being used and upgraded by Valve and its physics are still solid but its showing its age. It's still looks good but there are better looking games out there.

Where the game really succeeds in its presentation is in its audio. The voice acting is the biggest strength here. Stephen Merchant is brilliant as Wheatley and his delivery of the dialogue is part of what makes the game so funny. Ellen McLain returns as GLaDOS and has the same great effect that she did in the first game. Finally J.K. Simmons plays the CEO of Aperture Science, Cave Johnson, who's voice can be heard from recordings in the facility. His lines are, like the others, hilarious and well-delivered.

The music is also great. Jonathon Coulton returns and scores the game and he does great work here just like he did with the original Portal. However, the ending theme doesn't quite match up to "Still Alive" from the original. It's good but "Still Alive" was just more memorable.

CONCLUSION

Portal 2 has more noticeable flaws than the original but that's just the consequence of being a bigger game. It's a catch-22, bigger game means more room for problems. Portal 2 is still an incredible game, probably the best new game I've reviewed on this blog. The campaign is very fun and rewarding even when it feels more like finding out where to go than actual puzzles and the co-op is enjoyable and nearly perfectly designed.

It's impossible for me to say which game is better because like I said, Portal 2 may have more flaws but that's because it's bigger and has more depth. If you enjoyed the first Portal though, you will love Portal 2. It's level design is outstanding and it's just a blast. For those of you wondering whether it's worth the $60, play the first Portal again and see how much you still enjoy it. Personally though, I recommend a purchase. It's just too good to pass up.

LA Noire Launch Trailer

Well my Portal 2 review will be up this weekend. Yes, it's been a long time coming but there have been a LOT of things holding it back, which I'll go into a little bit when I put the review up. But for now, we've got an original IP coming out soon. In six days actually.

LA Noire, the investigation/interrogation game being co-developed by Team Bondi and Rockstar, will be released on Tuesday and I am really excited. This was one of my 10 most anticipated games this year and I've been posting a lot of news about it. The game has been in development for seven years (only half the time of Duke Nukem Forever) and it's finally about to come out.

With the release date less than a week away, the launch trailer has been out and I'm giving it to you now. A short post but I wanted to make the launch trailer available on my blog, so here you go guys. I can't wait to enter 1947 Los Angeles this Tuesday.

Alan Wake "Sequel", PSN Reboots, and Dark Souls Trailer

A few pieces of news that I found today and one new trailer. PSN is still down and I'm done making any predictions as to when it will come back up (though I haven't made any on this blog). A "sequel" to a game that I enjoyed is not really a sequel nor DLC and another sequel that's not really a sequel gets a new trailer.


Alright first up, PSN is still down. I'm finished even thinking about when it will come back up. Today I read three different possibilities. One said that it would be fully functional again by May 31st. Another said it would be up in a few days and finally one said that it wouldn't be up until June.

Now to be fair, the one that said that it would be back up in a few more days could just be talking about basic functionality and/or online play. Things like DLC and PSN Plus perks might be the ones that come later with full functionality.

However, I'm taking all of this with a grain of salt as PSN was supposed to come up last week. And then some more shit was hit when it was reported that security was outdated and without firewalls and hackers threatened to hit Sony again. So I suggest you all take those with a grain of salt as well.


It was kind of a love it or hate it game, but I enjoyed Alan Wake. It had a unique method of storytelling and paid a great deal of homage to Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft (who along with Edgar Allan Poe, I consider the god of horror). It was atmospheric and the scenery was brilliant with some really creepy moments.

A leak came out that a sequel was being made. The official announcement hasn't been made yet but Remedy has said that it is related to Alan Wake. They have also said that it is not a direct sequel or DLC. Remedy said that they will probably release more official information about the game this fall 2011.

I really don't know what they're doing so if you want me to go into more detail, I unfortunately can't. I still thought it was interesting because I did enjoy the first game and partly BECAUSE I know so little about what they are doing with this. Let's just hope this game doesn't enter development hell like its predecessor.


Finally, I am very excited for the release of Dark Souls. Demon's Souls was one of the best games of 2009 with its punishing yet reasonable difficulty, deep RPG mechanics and character customization, and fun hack-n-slash gameplay.

A new trailer for Dark Souls got released today and it's not incredibly in-depth, but there are some interesting monster designs, one of which reminds me a little of a small-version Clotho from God of War II. This is not a direct sequel to Demon's Souls as that game really didn't have much of a story or character development. Think of it as a spiritual successor.

I'm a little sad about the release window: October 2011, the same month Arkham City is getting released. Arkham City gets my pick but if I can find a way to pick up both for a reasonable amount of money I'm jumping. Damn, October and November are just to crowded.

Top 10 Licensed Games

There's an unwritten rule among gamers: If a game based off an outside license is coming out, TREAD CAUTIOUSLY! I think we can all admit that they usually suck enormous balls. Whether based on movies, television shows, comics, books, etc. they are universally bad or mediocre at best.

However, there are also some licensed games that overcome that barrier. These are the ones where the developers sat down and said, "We are going to make a kick-ass game no matter what." So every now and then we get a few games that are surprisingly good and some that are phenomenal. I want to pay respect to the licensed games that did much better than they should have based on their reputation.

The games that make this list both pay good respect to their source material and also are just damn fun to play. Only one game per license will be on this list. So let's get into it. Also we'll be seeing a lot of Capcom and Konami on here during the 8 and 16 bit era.

#10. Spider-Man 2

What do you get when you take the open-world Grand Theft Auto formula and place it into a superhero game based on a movie? Okay, well you could get crap like Superman Returns. But you could also get gold like Spider-Man 2. For the most part Spider-Man has had a pretty successful career in video games but this is probably his best.

Of course you can play through the story and experience everything from the movie. But you also get a lot of additional plotlines such as a particularly well-done relationship between Spider-Man and Black Cat, and extra enemies such as the Shocker, Rhino and Mysterio (which ends with a hilarious "boss" fight).

But of course, the main attraction for this game is the ability to have New York City as your playground. This is the game that will really make you feel like Spider-Man. Swinging through well-known landmarks and helping civilians (even saving that girl's f*^kin balloon) can make you feel pretty awesome. There aren't many superhero games that make you truly feel like the hero you're playing as but Spider-Man 2 did justifying its place on my list.

#9. Little Nemo: The Dream Master

Yeah, this is a licensed game. It's based off a comic strip and an animated film so therefore, it counts. This means another Capcom game is on the list. In Little Nemo, you play as Nemo (obviously) as he goes through levels in his dream world looking for keys to unlock doors at the end of each of the stages.

These stages were large and very open, much larger than just about other level driven 2D sidescrollers that I can think of from that time. The controls were tight and the difficulty was high but fair. It wasn't as difficult as Mega Man but difficult enough to keep you going.

What really set this game apart was it's power-up system. You feed animals candy which puts them to sleep, then walk into them and get their powers. You needed to use these powers to obtain most of the keys in each of the stages and this was a really cool element to the game. These elements made Little Nemo one of the best games on the NES.

#8. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

A perfect example of a game that is actually BETTER than the source material, Escape from Butcher Bay was developed by Tigon Studios, a company founded by Vin Diesel himself. Vin Diesel is a gamer himself (citing Baldur's Gate II as his favorite) and created the company partly to avert having a crappy licensed game.

What we got was an awesome combination of FPS gameplay and stealth that expanded on the source material, primarily in showing the relationship between Riddick and Johns. The voice acting was great and helped pushed the story along, as did the excellent scenery that we saw throughout Butcher Bay. The game looked great.

Now it did have an update on current-gen consoles with Assault on Dark Athena which has both Escape from Butcher Bay and Assault on Dark Athena but it didn't quite work as well for some reason. It's still worth it, if you never played it originally and the game Assault on Dark Athena itself is also great, but the original is still the king. Well done Tigon and well done Diesel.

#7. Aliens vs. Predator 2

What an awesome game. This is where the formula for AVP games was perfected. And they never even came close to hitting the same mark ever again. You had an average expansion, an RTS game that I enjoy but admittedly is not that great, and the recent one that's good but feels like a game that should have been made in the early 2000s.

This one though is outstanding. The game is naturally split into three campaigns for the marines, the predator, and the aliens and they are all fantastic. Part of what makes them so excellent is the surprisingly well-done storyline which factors all the races in together and perfectly conveys how much chaos is set upon the humans. It's mixed with quite a few creepy moments such as the venturing into the alien nests, your escape from a science facility as a predator, and you biting your way out of a chest.

It also had a great multiplayer component which had some balance issues but was still great fun. The sound effects were outstanding taking all of the sound effects from both franchises and throwing them in perfectly. If you can find a copy of this and get it to run on your PC, do it because you're in for one badass time.

#6. Duck Tales

And yet ANOTHER game from Capcom. Duck Tales about rich bastard Scrooge McDuck and his nephews looking for more wealth is another one of the best games on the NES, showing just how awesome of a company Capcom was.

The game had a Mega Man design with a level select rather than just linear stages. Scrooge McDuck went everywhere in his search for treasure and there were five stages in this game: Africa, the Amazon, the Himalayas, Transylvania, and the moon. Scrooge McDuck used his cane to get through some creative platforming areas and as a weapon, and they all ended with a nice spot of treasure.

One thing this game is really remembered for is its music. It was excellent and how could it not be coming from the cartoon with one of the most annoyingly catchy themes ever? The moon stage theme is often the most fondly remembered by NES players and is often treated as one of the great pieces on the NES. There was also a bonus ending if you found two hidden treasures and had at least 10 million dollars. So it's also a nice game to go back to.

#5. The Simpsons Arcade Game

I popped so many quarters into this Konami classic when I was younger and I was still able to find them in arcades. It is definitely one of the all-time great beat-em-ups. Sure the story makes no sense as Smithers kidnaps Maggie in the middle of stealing a jewel for Mr. Burns and then EVERYONE tries to kill our favorite dysfunctional family. My question though is this: did it really need to? NO!

Each of the four family members have different attacks: Homer punches, Marge uses a vacuum, Lisa uses her jumprope, and Bart uses his skateboard. You go through many stages encountering many characters from the show. It's just a ridiculously fun time, even more if you were able to find three friends to play it with.

The Simpsons have had almost universally crappy games but this is one of the few exceptions and even out of those few probably the only that I would call a classic. This one also gets bonus points for being released the day that I was born: March 4, 1991 (if Wikipedia is correct). Recently the X-Men arcade game got released on Xbox Live so Konami, can you please release this on Xbox Live? That would be awesome.

#4. Goldeneye

Yeah I know you guys ALL saw this coming. Rare's legendary FPS is considered one of the best and most influential in the genre. This was actually more profitable than the movie and probably more enjoyable than the movie (though the movie does kick ass). There was one other Bond game that I was thinking: Everything or Nothing but that didn't push the boundaries of a genre the way Goldeneye did.

So why was this game good? The answer to this is something all companies should think about. This game came out two years after the movie. The problem with many licensed games (primarily movie games) is that they're rushed out to meet the release of the film. This game shows that you don't have to do that. Goldeneye had awesome action sequences and it's multiplayer (with the exception of the cheap bastard Oddjob) is still loved to this day.

I played a little bit of Goldeneye on the Wii and it's also good but like I said, this game left an impact on the industry that few other licensed games can claim to even come close to matching. That's why it's on here. It's one of the most important games released in the 90s and is one of the main reasons we have such a huge amount of FPS games now. It's influence and legendary status secured it a place on this list.

#3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

There's a damn good reason ScrewAttack has consistently labeled this as the greatest beat-em-up of all time. It's because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time is plain awesome. Konami's stellar title is great on both arcades and on home consoles with excellent controls and memorable stages for both.

There are so many options for beating the crap out of enemies in this game all the way up to throwing enemies into the screen. In fact that's actually REQUIRED for one of the stages in the game. You have to throw Foot Soldiers at Shredder who's standing right in front of the screen. Yeah there were quite a few great boss fights in this game and going back in time definitely made this game stand out.

There were a lot of TMNT games and most of them were pretty good but this is definitely the best. It had great graphics, great music, great sound effects, and most importantly great gameplay. Do not pick up Reshelled. It's nowhere near as fun as the original. If you can find the SNES cartridge for this game, do so because it is awesome.

#2. Batman: Arkham Asylum

With the delay of Mass Effect 3 and Portal 2's release last month, Batman: Arkham City jumped to the top of my list of most anticipated games of 2011. This made me reflect on how excellent Batman: Arkham Asylum really was and that actually inspired me to make this list. If you consider yourself a Batman fan, you OWE it to yourself to play this game.

With a story written by Paul Dini and the voice acting cast including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Arleen Sorkin as Batman, The Joker, and Harley Quinn, this game had a lot going for it. Yet I still didn't expect much. I at most expected it to be mediocre. When I played it, I was shocked at how good it really was. It was dark, had a compelling story, looked great, and was both fun and exciting. It also paid a lot of respect to the source material.

The game covered every aspect of Batman. You beat people up, you hunted them from the shadows, you platformed your way through Arkham, and you found items hidden by the Riddler which added quite a bit of time to a single playthrough. This was everything a Batman fan and a gamer could want and it was one of the best games of 2009 and truly one of the best licensed imaginable. We'll see later this year if Arkham City improves on it.

#1. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars has had so many games that it's actually not to hard to find good Star Wars games. There were many to choose from: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Tie Fighter, any of the games in the Super Star Wars trilogy, Battlefront, etc. But for this, I had to go with my golden company, BioWare.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic had a great storyline that took place 4,000 years before the movies with a memorable cast of characters. After the death of Darth Revan, Darth Malak takes his master's place and continues the conquest of the galaxy, utterly obliterating the Republic. Standard set-up but it works great because of BioWare's excellent writing. Lucas could learn a thing or two from BioWare.

The story also contains arguably the single greatest twist in video game history. The twist is concealed well but also foreshadowed brilliantly throughout the story. It is so well done that it's one that when I look back I think, "it's so obvious" yet I never saw it coming. It totally changes how you look at the story on repeat playthroughs.

The game also had great RPG gameplay with stat buildups and a focus on light and dark side morality. Both are fun in their own ways and make repeat playthroughs a must as well as being able to choose different classes and genders. I also recommend the sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, though it's not as good. At the end of the day this is simply the best licensed game in history.