Review: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

GTA4 The Ballad of Gay Tony Screen 1

When Microsoft paid close to 50 million bucks to secure the rights to the episodic content for GTA IV, many thought it was a cheap way to corner the market for one of the greatest games of this or any generation. Many of those naysayers were PS3 owners as they were left out of the DLC party. I grew up on GTA on the PS2 and its controller for this series, however, having the option to get these episodes on the 360 made my decision an easy one. The Lost and the Damned DLC was terrific, but how does Gay Tony fare? Let’s just say that this rainbow is as bright as ever.

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Review: Buzz! Quiz World

Buzz Quiz World Screen 1

Buzz! Quiz World is the latest in the trivia series to grace the PS3. I played a few of the games back on the PS2, but this was my first foray on the PS3 and the first with the wireless buzzers. If you’re a trivia buff on the PS3, this game is for you. With over 5000 questions on disc and the MyBuzz online service, you’ll be hard pressed to not keep coming back.

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Review: Dragon Age: Origins

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Dragon Age has been a long time in the making – since 2004, in fact.  Touted as Bioware’s “spiritual successor”to Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age may appear at first glance to be Mass Effect meets Lord of the Rings, but in fact, Dragon Age is an entirely different beast altogether – and a good one at that.  It’s not a perfect game, but it does provide a solid and satisfying story based experience, something that Bioware prides themselves on.  If you’re interested in an old school RPG, Dragon Age is most certainly worth your time, and here’s why.

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Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

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As you all know by now, the year’s most anticipated FPS title has finally dropped, and we’ve all been living, sleeping, eating, and breathing Modern Warfare 2 for 6 days now. I decided to hack my way through the campaign before I touched the multiplayer, and managed to hack my way through on Veteran Difficulty in just under 9 hours, yielding me roughly 600 points worth of achievements. Now, I make no bones about being a huge fan of the COD series, but this campaign was awesome. I know a lot of you buy the COD games only for the multiplayer aspect, but with this iteration in the series, you are only ripping yourself off. Why? Hit the jump and find out.

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Review: Band Hero

Band Hero - Judy Nails and Midori

The latest in Activision’s “Hero” series is a stark contrast to games past. Band Hero sheds the rock for radio-friendly pop music. Tweens rejoice. If you listen to the Top 40 station on the radio all day and don’t get tired of it, this game might be just for you.

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Review: Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time

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I’ve been a Ratchet and Clank fan since the series’ inception back on the PS2. Insomniac has always brought solid platforming and humor to the games, with A Crack in Time being the most polished Ratchet and Clank game to date. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it certainly gets every part right.

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Review: Vempire

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Odds are you’ve played a game like Vempire at some point in your life. The core gameplay revolves around rotating squares of items to get four in row, either horizontally or vertically. Vempire slaps a few tweaks into the mix, but ultimately it won’t be your go-to puzzle game on the PSP.

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Review: DJ Hero

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The rhythm game genre needed a shot in the arm. Games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are great, but what about other types of music? Enter DJ Hero, where you can show off your skills on wax. As a big fan of hip hop and turntablism, the game immediately piqued my interest. My initial hands-on experiences before release were frustrating while learning the new controls on the turntable controller, but after getting the retail game and playing the tutorial, I don’t want to stop playing. DJ Hero is just that damn fun.

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Review: Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier

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The 6th, and latest offering in the Jak and Daxter series. Even though it’s the 6th game in the series, this game’s events carry-on the story from the ending of Jak 3. The world is running out of Eco, so Jak, Daxter, and Keira must go to the Brink to find some more. In their quest, they discover a mysterious orb that points to all Eco sources. This orb is then lost in a scuffle with Sky Pirates. Along the way they must first fend off, then later, team up with said Sky Pirates to recover the orb, and discover a new Eco source to save the now unstable planet. This installment allows for all the usual Eco powers, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, and the unstable and mysterious Dark Eco. There is no Dark/Light Jak in this game, due to the unstable source of the Eco that is used.

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Review: Football Genius – The Ultimate Quiz

Football Genius Screen

So I get an email from Matt asking me if I wanted to review a football trivia game. Since I live and breathe the sport, I said absolutely. The guys over RTL were nice enough to send us a code and like a kid on Christmas, I rushed to download it and test my trivia against my roommates, who all wanted in on the action. I believe dishes were the bet. The game is finished. I fire it up. The biggest soccer ball I have ever seen fills the screen. Umm.. what? As it turns out, it is not an American football trivia game, but soccer. Yeah, a little surprised and was in line to do the dishes for the next week. Despite the mix up, I played the game and it is a very good trivia game.

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