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December 15 Gamehelper's 2007 Holiday Buyer's Guide This week we recap our personal picks for the year's best titles by platform,
including downloadable content (DLC), so you can make an informed buying
decision this holiday season – just in time for these last two shopping
weekends - or for after you've raked in that holiday cash from grandma. We also
take a look at Digital Extremes upcoming shooter Dark Sector, and
catch up with two down and out guns for hire named Kane & Lynch who
just can't seem to get a break. Enjoy! Stay tuned for next week when we announce the next Gamehelper Giveaway as well as our Year End Awards where we recap the year's best happenings, announcements, personalities and events. Happy Holidays! Holiday Buyer's Guide 2007 Celebrate good times (c’mon), or just celebrate a great holiday filled with awesome games. Whatever your reasons may be 2007 isn’t over yet, but it’s produced some of the most original concepts this industry has ever seen. So many in fact that we’re sure you’re perplexed just staring down the shelf at your local game shop. To make the decision making process a wee bit easier we thought we’d share what we felt are the top must haves for your holiday shopping list. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/features/buyers-guide-2007 A Sector Darkly Today we take a look at the current state of Digital Extreme’s own epic, Dark Sector, with commentary from Steve Sinclair, Game Director at Digital Extremes, and Producer Josh Austin of D3P. “The concept was originally, Jack Bauer (24) goes to Russia and becomes Wolverine”, explains Josh “There’s a little bit of the Bourne (Bourne Identity) character in there too, [Hayden’s] a bit of a tortured soul”, adds Steve. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/features/a-sector-darkly-preview Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Walking? Kane and Lynch: Dead Men is a mess of a game that squanders its potential slowly. For each step forward it tries to take, the result is four or five steps back. http://www.gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/kane-lynch-dead-in-the-water-rev Catch Up On All The Latest Trailers and Videos! Visit the GamehelperTV for all the latest trailers, dev diaries and more! http://www.youtube.com/gamehelper Enjoy, Joe Markert aka Pachoey Editor in Chief http://gamehelper.com/forums/index.php November 30 This Week on Gamehelper.comThis Week on Gamehelper So, if you're anything like us - you're a bit overwhelmed this holiday season. There are so many titles on the shelves at your local shop it's becoming difficult to make that quick decision on which game deserves your hard earned skrilla. Well, we're going to help you out with that next week by offering a couple simple suggestions, per platform, as to which games we think absolutely deserve your attention. This week we feature one of those titles that, without a doubt, is at the top of every Gamehelper editor's holiday wish list - Rock Band from Harmonix is that game! Rock Band manages - at a $170 it better manage a lot - to recapture the spark of it's predecessor - Guitar Hero - once again bringing even non-gamers into the fold for hours of nonstop fun. Speaking of which - I think I just heard the doorbell - excuse me but I've got to run for band rehearsal. Meanwhile, check out our review below and we'll see you on the flipside. Rock Band On the Run If you can afford the $170 bones for the box – hey man, get your mates to split the cost and share one – just like that practice pad – you won’t be disappointed…that is unless your drum set stops working. DOH! But seriously, with downloadable content (DLC) set to stun, (Rock Band will feature three new songs per week!), a deep song list out of the box, and a group experience that outclasses most multiplayer games, Rock Band is the FireStarter of the holiday season. Turn it up to 11 man, and get ready to Rawk! http://www.gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/rock-band-on-the-run-review Uncharted Fortunes Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is an excellent blend of high-adventure ala Indiana Jones, action-oriented combat ala Gears, puzzles and exploration ala Tomb Raider and a great story that all adds up to one hell of a ride. Look out Lara, there’s a new gun in town! http://www.gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/uncharted-fortunes Conan For most of us knuckle dragging simians, Conan will be a “mostly” fun but also completely forgettable experience. Even with a surprisingly satisfying combat system, Conan lacks any real “wow” factor. http://www.gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/conan Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure Although point and click adventures seem to have gone the way of the dodo, Zack and Wiki is a quality investment for anyone who’s ever enjoyed solid puzzle design and a penchant for waggling controllers. http://www.gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/zack-and-wiki-reviewed Catch Up On All The Latest News Visit the Gamehelper Newswire for the latest news that matters! http://gamehelper.com/newswire Enjoy, Joe Markert aka Pachoey Editor in Chief http://gamehelper.com/forums/index.php November 16 This Week on Gamehelper.comIt's the most wonderful time of year...well, at least that's the impression I get from wandering around any of the local retail establishments. It's been Christmas around here for the last three weeks already! If you're like me at all then this crushing sensation of mismashing our Holidays together for consumer benefit has sapped any and all of the love and special fuzzy feelings out of this time of year for you. Luckily, there are a lot of great games hitting this year that should help to remove some of the pile from your downtrodden fuzz. This week in particular we take a look at Assassin's Creed, Virtua Fighter 5 and Gears of War for PC. Rock Band should be darkening our doorstep any moment so I'll have to cut this short. But do come back next week for a little pre-Turkey Day look at Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and our initial reactions on Rock Band. Bon Appetit! All Geared Up for More? If you can get around the bugs and the fact that you still have to struggle to get used to the games clever ‘cover-system’ Gears of War for PC is is quite simply gorgeous, linear, controlled shooter action at it’s very best –the inclusion of the professional Game Editor simply seals the deal. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/all-geared-up-for-more-review Valve Interview Series Part IV This fourth and Final (We Swear!) entry focuses on our discussion with David Speyrer, Project Lead on Half-Life 2: Episode Two, as he shares with us their lessons learned in moving to an episodic format, the decision behind the game's surprise ending and what's next for the series. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/features/valve-interview-series-part-iv-d Living By the Creed Ambitious. A word that best describes the Ubisoft Montreal project entitled Assassin’s Creed. A game so complex and ambitious in scope that most critics - and some of the development team themselves - believed would it would not see the light of day this year. The reasons for its early arrival are unclear; call it divine intervention, sheer tenacity on the part of the developers or a mighty mandate from on high within Ubisoft’s finance department. However you choose to explain it, Assassin’s Creed has arrived – and though it is a little rough around the edges – this game suffers not. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/living-by-the-creed-review TimeShifted Against all odds, TimeShift has persevered and crawled its way to release, wanting nothing more than to please eager gamers. You gotta give the team credit for trying! http://www.gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/timeshifted-review The Virtuous Fighter Five The Xbox 360 build offers the latest revision of the arcade: Version C – a rebalanced update that tweaked the beloved fighter for frenetic arcade fighting fans -, more unlockable items and accessories in Quest mode, and the highly anticipated Online Vs. Mode over Xbox LIVE – a first for the venerable franchise. http://www.gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/the-virtuous-fighter-five-review Catch Up On All The Latest News Visit the Gamehelper Newswire for the latest news that matters! http://gamehelper.com/newswire Enjoy, Joe Markert aka Pachoey Editor in Chief http://gamehelper.com/forums/index.php November 11 This Week on Gamehelper.comWe game journalists know more about games than the average gamer right? We get the game’s first, we have access to the developers making said games and we have spent years fine-tuning our analytical prowess, poring over NPD sales statistics and otherwise decoding the tabula of the games industry all so we can tell you – Joe gamer (don’t take offense – my name is also Joe) what’s good for you. Well guess what – I’m ‘man enough’ to say it – sometimes we’re just plain wrong. Like any critic we’re guilty of falling victim to believing that our insular world is a reflection of yours. We forget what it means to spend our hard earned pay on a game since… they’re often given to us. We complain about sequels and rant about the need for the industry to innovate. And we are often so jaded that in our desire to push the industry forward – we’re quite simply incapable of spotting great entertainment – even when it’s right under our turned-up noses. It is with this in mind that I present my take on the most recent entry into the Ratchet & Clank franchise entitled 'Future Tools of Destruction'. The game has been getting a fair share of bad press - and I feel this is due to the aforementioned defects of our trade. Give my review a read below and then let me know what you think HERE. Ratcheting Up The Action With the majority of titles for the PS3 to date being made up of ported versions of action titles – often released a month after their Xbox 360 counter-parts – Insomniac’s delivery of Ratchet & Clank: Future Tools of Destruction provides the platform with a much needed shot of ‘exclusivity’ and a title that any owner of the platform should not be without. Trust me when I tell you that, “lack of innovation” plus “identity Crisis” equals yet another fun-filled romp with two of my new favorite videogame heroes. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/ratcheting-up-the-action-review Gears Wages War on the PC Front The Locust Horde gear up to lay waste to PC hard drives the world over with the release to retail of Gears of War PC. Our initial verdict? It's worth it for the LIVE experience on PC alone! http://gamehelper.com/newswire/2007/11/gears-wages-war-on-the-pc-front Cryptic - City of Heroes + X360 = Console MMO? With Cryptic's rather cryptic sale of the City of Heroes and City of Villains franchise to the series publisher NCSoft - the rumor mill has begun churning - is Cryptic trimming down to focus on an MMO for the Xbox 360? http://gamehelper.com/newswire/2007/11/cryptic-x360-console-mmo Call of Duty 4: Best Cheat Mode Ever! Call the Cops! The Keystone Kops that is! Call of Duty 4 offers up one of the most hilarious cheat modes ever, complete with sepia tone coloring and piano accompaniment. Find out how inside. http://gamehelper.com/newswire/2007/11/call-of-duty-4-best-cheat-mode Trend Micro to Secure Your...PS3!? Sony's latest firmware update also includes a new offer to try Trend Micro's Web Security for PS3 free through April 2008. Now if Sony can just get the browser to work by then we'll be in good shape! http://gamehelper.com/newswire/2007/11/trend-micro-to-secure-yourps3 Catch Up On All The Latest News Visit the Gamehelper Newswire for the latest news that matters! http://gamehelper.com/newswire Enjoy, Joe Markert aka Pachoey Editor in Chief http://gamehelper.com/forums/index.php October 26 This Week on Gamehelper.comThis Week on Gamehelper I get this question a lot from our readers, “So, what are you playing right now?” Well, I’m actually digging the rather short, but satisfying Guitar Hero III demo on XBOX LIVE. I just love rawkin' out to 'The Metal' by Tenacious D! That should tide me over until Sunday’s release ;) I’m working on a review for Ratchet & Clank: Future Tools of Destruction and as a preview – I’m going to show this game much love. It’s a blast and would seem that if the PS3 has something going for it – it’s Insomniac! I’ve also been loading up Gears of War on my PC – but you didn’t hear that here ;) What all this means is – I still haven’t finished Halo 3 – DOH! I know, lame, lame. But as you can see from this week’s list of updates – we’ve been busy! OH! Crysis Demo tomorrow! W00t! Sigh…never going to finish Halo now… Valve Interview Series – Part Two - Portal As the second part of our Valve Interview Series we take a look at Portal’s contribution to The Orange Box in our Portal review and we sit down with Kim Swift and Jeep Barnett, of the Portal team, to discuss the game’s development and their path from college seniors at DigiPen to Valve Superstars ;) http://gamehelper.com/magazine/features/valve-interview-series-part-ii Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: Japanese Demo Impressions It must be great to be Japanese. While the rest of the videogame world waits with interminable anticipation for Gran Turismo 5, the Japanese gamer is downloading the demo as you read this! (well, sort of ) Released this past week to the PlayStation Network Store (of Japan!), the demo to Gran Turismo 5 Prologue stands as the most visually impressive racing sim ever released (if we don’t count the Gran Turismo HD demo). While virtually unmatched in photo-realism and physics design, the demo still points to one major flaw in the midst of its packed 16 car field. We take a look under the hood! http://www.gamehelper.com/magazine/previews/gran-turismo-5-prologue-japanese Sandio 3D Game O - 6 Degrees of Freedom Review Our man SecretAsianMan makes it back - complete with name change - as he tackles Sandio's attempt at innovation under the SwollenOstrich pseudonym...sigh...we won't ask SAM. he leaves us with this, “Innovation is the fundamental flaw in 99% of new products.” You can quote me on that. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/features/sandio-3d-game-o-6-degrees-of-fr Sonic Rush Adventure Review [DS] If the developers had put a lot less effort in trying to create some kind of fantasy-inspired story and a little more on some original level design, this game might’ve been something special. Instead we have a classic title given some new bells and whistles to keep players interested, and that is not a bad prospect at all. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/sonic-rush-adventure-reviewed NBA 2K8 Reviewed [X360] NBA 2K8 should easily appeal to basketball fans. The full season option gives players all the tools they could want for managing their favorite team. While, the game involves a fair amount of micro-managing, its stellar visuals and easy to pick-up play (mini-games aside) help to make NBA 2K8 a solid title. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/nba-2k8 Dewy’s (Not So Great) Adventuere Reviewed [Wii] What we’ve got here is a game made for children but lacking any gameplay features that might draw in an older crowd of players. Add to this recipe a frustrating and imperfect control scheme with an unbalanced increase of difficulty over the first couple of levels, and our triptych from hell is complete. http://gamehelper.com/magazine/reviews/dewys-not-so-great-adventure-rev Catch Up On All The Latest News It's been a busy week with Zenimax netting $300million in investment, more Fallout 3 details being dropped and yet another barrage of PS3 bashing to spread a grin across the face of all your X360 fanboys out there. Visit the Gamehelper Newswire for the latest news that matters! http://gamehelper.com/newswire Enjoy, Joe Markert aka Pachoey Editor in Chief http://gamehelper.com/forums/index.php
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