Então vou aproveitar o tempinho agora pra postar sobre os últimos jogos que peguei para Xbox 360. Alguns velhos e outros que acabaram de sair do forno.

O primeiro depois do meu Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 foi o tão esperado GTA IV, eu não to na metade do jogo ainda mas já posso falar que é muito bom. Os gráficos até que não é algo de se espantar, tem algunas falhas e tal, principalmente nos rostos e expressões, mas os gráficos dos carros, luz, água, cenários é muito bom. Aliás nos cenários pra mim que está o destaque. Nessa versão a interatividade com os objetos do cenário é incrível. Enfim, jogo muito bom que acaba te prendendo por horas sem notar. Ainda não liberei muitos "Archivements" pois é fogo, e minha pontuação na Live tá baixa, sem sem quanto. Depois eu coloco meu GamerTag aqui.

Depois consegui o Iron Man, muito bom o jogo, mas se parar por algumas horas termina rápido. Eu demorei umas 6 horas pra terminar o jogo. O jogo é ótimo pra quem vê o filme e vai jogar, pois tem alguns detalhes de animação e roteiro bem legais. O ponto fraco do jogo é somente 1, a SEGA pecou (na minha opinião é claro) na renderização do Iron Man, ele fica com tipo de névoa na volta da armadura. Parece que ele fica mais claro do que deveria dependendo do cenário. Fora isso vale e muito a pena. Após virar se deixou de fazer alguma coisa na fase, pode voltar e terminar sem problemas. Também tem a opção "One Man Army" que habilita as outras "armaduras". depois faço um review completo.

Agora peguei 3 de uma vez e deixei 2 para depois, com mais calma. Os jogos são Gears of War, Army of Two e The Simpsons Game.

O Gears e o Army of Two é que vou deixar pra falar depois com mais calma, mas certo que é bala. Afinal na casa do meu irmão fiquei jogando por 5 horas direto o Gears of War, e o Demo do Army of Two que peguei na Live achei muito bom.

The Simpsons Game é melhor do que eu esperava, a história tem muita animações exclusivas para o jogo e a jogabilidade é muito boa. O esquema é que a família "vira" um jogo e os personagens adquirem super-poderes. Cada um mais bala e engraçado que o outro. Comecei a jogar ontem e hoje vou continuar, muito legal, principalmente com alguém do lado vendo junto (pois não consegui comprar outro controle ainda hahaha) e utilizar o modo Co-op. Jogo para a família, crianças até podem jogar ou olhar, pois o jogo é em inglês e a legenda também é óbvio, então não vão entender nada!

Bom pessoal, vou deixar por isso só hoje e vou tentar voltar amanhã com mais algumas novidades ou então procuro por notícias que valem a pena. Se bem que o Vagabundo de plantão tá mandando bem hahahaha

Abração!

I finally finished The Simpsons Game yesterday, which should have been done a long time ago, but along came a small speed bump known as the "COD4 Variety Map Pack" that was taking up most of my gaming time. After seeing the end of it, though, I was mad at myself for not having completed it earlier.

Everything about TSG was great, except one thing: the game itself. It was written by fo' reals Simpson's writers, and it was hilarious. It had all the popular characters, as well as minor ones that hardcore Simpsons fans love (no Frank Grimes, though, which was disappointing). The same thing goes for the settings. It takes place at various spots around Springfield, complete with explorables like the Simpson's house, and the Android's Dungeon.

It's been said over and over, though, that the actual playing of the game; running, jumping, fighting guys, is really bad. The camera is out to make your life hell, and there were some moments when I wanted to throw my entire Xbox 360 out the window (I'm looking at you, pole-to-pole jumping). But the good parts of the game, especially the last thirty-ish minutes, is worth playing through the whole thing. Tyler mentioned that if he could go back, he would make this his GOTY 2007 one of his GOTY's 2007. I don't know if I would go that far, but I do think this game was highly underrated. For a more throrough review, check out Tyler's here, but I highly recommend giving this game a go if you are a fan of the show. If you are not, I hate you.

Writing 95/100

Gameplay 65/100

La película de esta familia cumplió su cometido, campañas promociónales y millones de productos basados en The Simpsons invadieron el mercado, y claro los VG no son la excepción. EA nos trae a los Simpsons en una aparente buena adaptación, y lo digo así para que lean mi revisión de este titulo.

Este titulo es de acción-aventura. Donde tomaras a 2 miembros de la familia para realizar misiones y avanzar tus objetivos. La historia es un clásico, un refrito de todas las cosas que podrías ver en un capitulo de “Halloween”. Y como parte de la campaña de EA se parodian juegos famosos. Tales como Neverquest, Grand Theft Scratchy, Medal of Homer y Shadow of the Colossal Donut, entre algunos otros.

Y aquí empieza la crítica. El gameplay es mediocre. El control sobre tus personajes es aburrido, aun cuando cada personaje tendrá sus propias habilidades conforme avances en la aventura. Las misiones son frustrantes en un 90% de las veces, puesto que estas limitado a correr, eliminar y volver a correr. Y claro con esto también me refiero a la búsqueda de los objetos y clichés que debes hacer a lo largo de las misiones, para obtener nuevas habilidades o premios. La música es tediosa, haciendo tu vida en el juego aun mas larga. La IA es molesta, puesto que no hay en realidad dificultad, o destruyes a todos o solo déjalos atrás; es decir no hay un buen reto.

En resumen, este juego prometía mucho. Te vas a divertir al ver las animaciones como si estuvieras viendo la serie de TV, incluso cuando escuches los diálogos que te harán recordar viejos chistes. Pero el problema es lo frustrante del control sobre tu personaje perdiendo “vidas” una y otra vez, hasta que le agarres el modo y pases el nivel; o te veras enfrentando a cientos de enemigos genéricos, para llegar a un seudojefe, que eliminaras por suerte o porque simplemente apretaste botones a lo loco. Estoy desilusionado de este titulo, porque aun cuando lo puedes jugar con un amigo, sigue siendo tedioso. No importa que versión compres, mi veredicto es el mismo. Ay carumba!!!

Peso total: 3.25 GB

Contenido del torrent:
tsp-dgr.rar (47.6 MB)
tsp-dgr.r00 (47.6 MB)
tsp-dgr.r01 (47.6 MB)
tsp-dgr.r02 (47.6 MB)
[...]
tsp-dgr.r68 (45.6 MB)

- Gra roku na PC

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

2. The Orange Box

3. Test Drive: Unlimited

4. BioShock

5. Crysis/Unreal Tournament III

- Gra roku na PS3

1. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

2. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

4. Assassin's Creed

5. The Orange Box

- Gra roku na Xbox360

1. Mass Effect

2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

3. BioShock

4. Assassin's Creed

5. The Darkness

- Gra roku na Nintendo Wii

1. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

2. Super Mario Galaxy

3. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

4. The Simpsons Game

5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

- Najładniejsza oprawa graficzna

1. Crysis

2. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

3. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

5. BioShock

- Największa grywalność (oceniam tylko gry PC)

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

2. The Orange Box

3. Wiedźmin

4. Test Drive: Unlimited

5. Crysis

- Najlepsza oprawa dźwiękowa (oceniam tylko gry PC)

1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

3. Wiedźmin

4. BioShock

5. Crysis

- Największe rozczarowanie roku (oceniam tylko gry PC)

1. Blacksite: Area 51

2. Clive Barkers: Jericho

3. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

4. Overlord/Driver: Parallel Lines

5. Stranglehold

- Najciekawsza fabuła

1. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

2. Mass Effect

3. Wiedźmin

4. BioShock

5. Assassin's Creed

- Najlepszy tryb multiplayer (oceniam tylko gry PC)

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

2. Team Fortress 2

3. Unreal Tournament III

4. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

5. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

- Najbardziej innowacyjna gra

1. Portal

2. Assassin's Creed

3. Rock Band

4. Super Mario Galaxy

5. SKATE

Najlepsza gra na PSP:

1. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters

2. Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow

3. Jeanne D'Arc

4. Sid Meier's Pirates!

Najlepsza gra na PS2:

1. God of War II

2. Rock Band

3. Burnout Dominator

4. Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Najciekawsi bohaterowie:

1 Team Fortress 2

2. Kane & Lynch

3. Altair z gry Assassin's Creed

4. Nariko z gry Heavenly Sword

5. GLaDOS z gry Portal

Najlepszy dodatek do gry:

1. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

2. Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles

4. Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance

5. Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

Najlepszy klimat:

1. BioShock

2. Assassin's Creed

3. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

4. The Darkness

5. Portal

Opóźnienie gry, które najbardziej zawiodło graczy:

1. GTA IV

2. Alan Wake

3. Spore

4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

5. Alone in the Dark: Near Death Investigation

Najlepsza gra akcji:

1. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

2. Assassin's Creed

3. God of War II

4. Heavenly Sword

5. Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Najepszy FPS:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

2. The Orange Box

3. BioShock

4. Crysis

5. Unreal Tournament III

Najlepsza platformówka:

1. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

2. Super Mario Galaxy

Najlepsza gra wyścigowa:

1. Forza Motorsport 2

2. Project Gotham Racing 4

3. MotorStorm

4. Colin McRae: DiRT

Najlepsza gra RPG:

1. Mass Effect

2. Wiedźmin

3. Eternal Sonata

4. Super Paper Mario

Najepsza gra sportowa:

1. SKATE

2. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

3. Fifa 08

4. Madden NFL 08

5. NHL 08

Najlepsza gra strategiczna:

1. World in Conflict

2. Supreme Commander

3. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

4. Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

To już wszyscy laureaci, rok 2007 można uznać za podsumowany. Zapraszam do komentowania i przedstawiania swoich propozycji w poszczególnych kategoriach ;)

Cineq

On the Simpsons game first you give your pet homer some chocolate and then he falls asleep and dreams about chocolate world and you need to move homer round the level by killing chocolate rabbits , jumping on and off of marsh mellows and jumping onto moving burgers.After you kill a rabbit at the top of a cake homer turns fat and you fall into the cake and your only attack is dash attack. After that you go to the map and choose the museum you get to be homer and bart.

10/10 multi player with and with out more than one cartridge

Track List:
CD 1
1 Danny Elfman - The Simpsons Theme 0:30
2 Bookend Cinematics - The Land Of Chocolate (Part 1) 3:04
3 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Springfield 1:13
4 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Bartman Begins (Part 1) 4:04
5 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Bargain Bin 2:16
6 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Mob Rules (Part 1) 2:16
7 Duff Gorman - Big Super Happy Fun-Fun Game 2:04
8 Mutato Musika - Around The World In 80 Bites (Part 1) 4:20
9 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Neverquest (Part 1) 4:04
10 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Lisa The Tree Hugger (Part 1) 1:58
11 Michael Giacchino - Medal Of Homer (Part 1) 4:04
12 Mark Mothersbaugh - Around The World In 80 Bites (Part 2) 3:15
13 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Bartman Begins (Part 2) 2:04
14 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Mob Rules (Part 2) 2:09
15 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Invasion Of The Yokel-Snatchers 6:02
16 Corey Allen Jackson - Enter The Cheatrix (Part 1) 6:11
17 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Lisa The Tree Hugger (8 Bit) 1:54
18 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Neverquest (8 Bit) 3:18

CD 2
1 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Menu Music 1:40
2 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - The Game Engine 1:29
3 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - NeverQuest (Part 2) 6:04
4 Bookend Cinematics - The Land Of Chocolate (Part 2) 0:58
5 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Mob Rules (Part 3) 2:10
6 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - The Day Of The Dolphin 2:07
7 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Bartman Begins (Part 3) 2:08
8 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Flying Boat 2:22
9 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Shadow Of The Colossal Donut 2:07
10 Corey Allen Jackson - Enter The Cheatrix (Part 2) 6:17
11 Michael Giacchino - Medal Of Homer (Part 2) 2:10
12 John Enroth - Around The World In 80 Bites (Part 3) 2:03
13 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Lisa The Tree Hugger (Part 2)2:05
14 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Five Characters In Search Of An Author 3:54
15 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - The Battle With William Shakespeare 3:08
16 Behrooz Shafiebeik - Rock You Like A Hurricane (God's Wroth Remix) (Performed By Scorpions) 3:16
17 Hans Zimmer & Chris Lennertz - Game Over 4:03
18 DJ Poochie Pants - Grand Theft Scratchy (Mono / Hidden Track) 3:07

Detalles:
Año: 2007
Genero: Soundtrack
Compositor: Varios Artistas
Peso: 76,05 y 69,33 Mb.
Formato: Mp3
Método de Descarga: Gigasize

Descargar Disco 01 Descargar Disco 02

«Lego Star Wars – The Complete Saga» (3 år)

«The Simpsons Game» (12 år)

«Juiced 2» (12 år)

«Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction» (7 år)

«Assassin’s Creed» (18 år)

«Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare» (16 år)

«Pes 2008» (3 år)

These will hopefully keep us busy until Christmas. The Simpsons Game is FUN! The comments are hilarious and the powers are pretty nifty.

The Boy (while playing Call of Duty 4): "Ooohhh, that's hot."

I want to stay home tomorrow and play video games. A four day weekend is so hard to recover from. My internal clock is out of whack. On a Sunday not after Thanksgiving, I'd be asleep by now.

All Format Chart

1. ASSASSIN'S CREED - Ubisoft - 360/ PS3

2. CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE - Activision - 360/PC/PS3

3.THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games - Wii/PS2/360/DS

4. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ - 360/PS2/PS3/PSP

5. SUPER MARIO GALAXY - Nintendo - Wii

6. DR KAWASHIMA'S BRAIN TRAINING - Nintendo - DS

7. FIFA 08 - EA SPORTS - 360/PS2/PS3/PSP

8. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: SING IT! - Disney Interactive Studios - PS2/Wii

9. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 - Konami - PS3/360/PS2/PC

10. MORE BRAIN TRAINING FROM DR KAWASHIMA - Nintendo - DS

Xbox 360

1. ASSASSIN'S CREED - Ubisoft

2. CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE - Activision

3. HALO 3 - Microsoft

4. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ

5. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 - Konami

6. FIFA 08 - EA SPORTS

7. LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA - Lucasarts

8. THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games

9. PROJECT GOTHAM RACING 4 - Microsoft

10. SCENE IT? LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION - Microsoft

PS3

1.  ASSASSIN'S CREED - Ubisoft

2. CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE - Activision

3. MOTORSTORM - SCE

4. RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN - SCE 

5. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 - Konami

6. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ

7. FIFA 08 - EA SPORTS

8. THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games

9. FORMULA 1: CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION - SCE

10. RATCHET & CLANK: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION - SCE

Wii

1. SUPER MARIO GALAXY - Nintendo

2. BIG BRAIN ACADEMY: WII DEGREE - Nintendo

3. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: SING IT! - Disney Interactive Studios

4. THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games

5. WII PLAY - Nintendo 

6. LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA - Lucasarts 

7. MARIO PARTY 8 - Nintendo

8. CARNIVAL: FUNFAIR GAMES - 2KPlay

9. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ

10.MARIO STRIKERS CHARGED FOOTBALL - Nintendo

PC

1. CRYSIS 

2. CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE - Activision

3. FOOTBALL MANAGER 2008 - Sega

4. SIM CITY SOCIETIES - EA Games

5. THE SIMS 2: BON VOYAGE - EA Games

6. GEARS OF WAR - Microsoft

7. CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER 2008 - Eidos

8. THE ORANGE BOX - EA Games

9. HELLGATE: LONDON - EA Games

10. THE WITCHER - Atari

PS2

1. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ

2. THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games

3. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 - Konami

4. FIFA 08 - EA SPORTS

5. THE SIMS 2: CASTAWAY - EA Games

6. CRASH OF THE TITANS - Sierra

7. BUZZ! THE HOLLYWOOD QUIZ - SCE

8. THE LEGEND OF SPYRO: THE ETERNAL NIGHT - Sierra

9. DRAGON BALL Z: BUDOKAI TENKAICHI 3 - Namco Bandai Games

10.BUZZ! JUNIOR: MONSTER RUMBLE - SCE

Charts compiled by Chart Track (c) 2007 ELSPA Ltd.

All Format Chart

1. CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE - Activision - 360/PC/PS3

2. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ - 360/PS2/PS3/PSP

3. THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games - Wii/PS2/360/DS

4. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 - Konami - PS3/360/PS2/PC

5. FIFA 08 - EA SPORTS - 360/PS2/PS3/PSP

6. DR KAWASHIMA'S BRAIN TRAINING - Nintendo - DS

7. MORE BRAIN TRAINING FROM DR KAWASHIMA - Nintendo - DS

8. THE SIMS 2: CASTAWAY- EA Games - DS/Ps2/PSP/Wii

9. RATATOUILLE - THQ -PS2/PSP/Wii/DS

10. HALO 3 - Microsoft - 360

Xbox 360

1. CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE - Activision

2. HALO 3 - Microsoft

3. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ

4. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 - Konami

5. THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games

6. FIFA 08 - EA SPORTS

7. PROJECT GOTHAM RACING 4 - Microsoft

8. TIMESHIFT - Sierra

9. LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA - Lucasarts

10. THE ORANGE BOX - EA Games
PS3

1. CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE - Activision

2. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ

3. RATCHET & CLANK: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION - SCE

4. MOTORSTORM - SCE

5. RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN - SCE

6. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 - Konami

7. FIFA 08 - EA SPORTS

8. HEAVENLY SWORD - SCE

9. FORMULA 1: CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION - SCE

10. THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games
Wii

1. THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games

2. BIG BRAIN ACADEMY: WII DEGREE - Nintendo

3. METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION - Nintendo

4. MARIO PARTY 8 - Nintendo

5. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ

6. RATATOUILLE - THQ

7. CARNIVAL: FUNFAIR GAMES - 2KPlay

8. ENDLESS OCEAN - Nintendo

9. FIFA 08 - EA SPORTS

10.RAYMAN RAVING RABBIDS - Ubisoft

PC

1. THE SIMS 2: TEEN STYLE STUFF - EA Games

2. THE SIMS 2 - EA Games

3. WORLD OF WARCRAFT: THE BURNING CRUSADE - Blizzard

4. THE SIMS 2: H&M STUFF - EA Games
5. WORLD OF WARCRAFT - Blizzard

6. ZOO TYCOON - Xplosiv

7. THE SIMS 2: SEASONS - EA Games

8. ROLLERCOASTER TYCOON 2 - Mastertronic

9. LEMMINGS FOR WINDOWS - Dice Multimedia

10. PRAETORIANS - Sold Out

PS2

1. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 - THQ

2. THE SIMPSONS GAME -EA Games

3. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 - Konami

4. FIFA 08 - EA SPORTS

5. THE SIMS 2: CASTAWAY - EA Games

6. THE LEGEND OF SPYRO: THE ETERNAL NIGHT - Sierra

7. CRASH OF THE TITANS - Sierra

8. RATATOUILLE - THQ

9. BUZZ! THE HOLLYWOOD QUIZ - SCE

10.JUICED 2: HOT IMPORT NIGHTS - THQ

Charts compiled by Chart Track (c) 2007 ELSPA Ltd.

La compania EA encargada en realizar este video juego, (para las consolas PlayStation2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 y Wii), utiliso a Springfield en un nuevo campo de aventuras para esta familia, con mas de 100 personajes ya antes vistos en capitulos (lo cual lo hace muy divertido para los fanaticos), con esto se busco no desepsionar a ningun fan.

Una de las cosas que nos sorprenderan es que esta ves presentan "superpoderes" y alguna que otra parodia de otros videos juegos.

Aca les dejo algunos trailer........

Na maioria das vezes paródias agrado o público em geral,mas algumas produtoras não gostaram de algumas paródias segundo o designer principal do jogo Greg Rizzer.A brincadeira não agradou a todos "Eu sempre tive a impressão de que quando você faz uma paródia, é sinal de respeito... Se fizermos piada com Grand Theft Auto, não traremos problemas para as vendas de Grand Theft Auto...".

Rizzer lembrou do episódio na feira de alemã Games Convection em que um dos produtores da Rockstar Games (produtora do GTA) ao ver um cartaz de "Grand Theft Scratchy", paródia do jogo original pelos Simpsons,pediu que o cartaz fosse retirado.

Mesmo assim o designer acredita que o jogo será um sucesso e preencherá uma lacuna no mercado de games para paródias.The Simpsons Game será lançado para PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, PSP e Nintendo DS até o fim de 2007.

Expectations for licensed games aside, I really enjoyed what I played. The camera does need some work, though. In the demo level, a loose Shadow of The Colossus parody featuring Homer and Bart attempting to take down a living version of donut shop mascot Lard Lad, it often became tough to reconcile moving the camera around while trying to perform certain actions neccesary to complete the level. In order to defeat Lard Lad, you need to shoot hatches on his back and then climb up onto him and rip out the wires. You have to repeat this process three times with the hatch getting progressively higher on Lard Lad's body.

Since the first is so low, it's not that much of a problem to just run around behind him and shoot, but the others require that you navigate a network of rooftops and construction equipment to get into the right position. Meanwhile, the oversized boy robot is trying to thwart you by shooting laser beams out of his eyes. He actually tracks you quite well, making it harder to get a bead on his hatches with Bart's slingshot the higher that you go. This is where the camera problems begin to kick in, because you can't effectively lock-on and control the view at the same time. So it wanders by itself and you lose track of your position. If the lock-on function worked better, keeping the enemy in the center of the frame as it does in most games, it wouldn't be quite as bad.

However, I really did appreciate the relative freedom you have in choosing how to send Lard Lad to the scrap yard. You can switch between Bart and Homer at any time (with the other being temporarily controlled by AI) and each has their own special techniques. For instance, Bart can float upwards on vents by opening his Bartman cape or whip out his grappling hook to reach out-of-the-way areas, while Homer can inhale helium gas and propel himself through the air for a short period of time. All three of these options are valid ways for accessing the upper hatches on Lard Lad's body. Or you can get creative and use one of the two to lure him to a certain spot and attack with the other. To be honest, you only need to play as Bart in the demo, but I'm sure the final game with promote use of all characters.

There isn't much to do besides trying to dismantle Lard Lad. There are a bunch of Mini-Krusty Dolls running amok that try to attack you, but they're more of a nuisance than anything. You can pummel them for some extra power-ups that fill your special attack gauge, which might be necessary, since it can get depleted easily.

The gameplay pretty much amounts to small combinations on platforming and mindless brawling. That may leave some players feeling empty (and I'm not sure myself, the trailers seem to indicate more variety), but remember that the best Simpsons game of all time, Konami's coin-up beat-em-up, is nothing but mindless brawling. The elements that really made that fun were the theming, graphics (at the time), and co-op play. These are all things The Simpsons Game shares with its predecessor, which is why it puzzles me that so many are already down on what it has to offer.

I don't care if the gameplay isn't anything spectacular, because I'm totally into the level of detail EA has put into faithfully recreating The Simpsons' universe. It's right there from the opening of the game which features both the 20th Century FOX and Gracie Films bumps and segues into some excellent animation for all of the characters. Lard Lad really moves like he would in an episode of the television series, instead of some awkward and stiff video game facsimile. It's all very convincing, and if you can move past the "3d-ness" of the environments, this is Simpsons through and through. The parodies are strong, the references plenty (its drenched in them, from the obvious to the most obscure), and how can you beat running around a ruined Springfield chasing a gigantic monster mascot gone mad with Kent Brockman periodically "reporting" from his news chopper high above the scene? It's funnier than any recent episode of the television series (now where know where all the writers' talent went!).

If this demo is any indication, The Simpsons Game falls prey to plenty of gaming conventions (cliches are even a collectible, called out by Comic Book Guy when you encounter them), but the spirit is certainly though. It goes without saying that, if you're a fan, it's worth looking into. If you don't understand any of the references, then I suppose it was never meant to be.

They are even bigger pussies than I thought.

I mean, seriously??

The company that brought you one of the most violent and (secretly) pornographic video games in history is OFFENDED?! You gotta be kidding me, right?

And what about the other side of the coin? The Simpsons is known for its parody of everything under the sun. It frequently bites the hand that feeds it at Fox with impunity! Now the mega-billion dollar franchise caves to the likes of Rockstar?

Have I used enough question marks in this post??? (They were on sale today.)

The main reason I watch The Simpsons is to laugh at our culture. Like it or not (and I don't), Rockstar's games are a part of our culture. Newsflash: Part of the price of fame is FAME, people!!! Rockstar should be honored to be parodied alongside the likes of President Carter, The Rolling Stones, JK Rowling, and Albert freakin Brooks. If it's good enough for those folks, why isn't it good enough for you, Rockstar? Get your ego out of your poop-hole and have a laugh at yourselves.

And you, EA. Come on, grow some stones. If you take out all the parodies in The Simpsons game you won't even have a game worth playing. Are you really that indescribably wimpy? If you are, John Madden should take his name away from you. You'll get massacred in the locker room anyway. Who cares what Rockstar thinks. The Simpsons has taken on Rupert Murdoch for peetsakes! Your reputation as a game publisher is on the line too. Your little Simpsons game is going to tap into a HUGE market that you've never even approached before and also get some folks to play video games that would never have thought to do so. You want to throw away your intellectual cred in front of people with this kind of economic clout?

[shrug] What-eva.

What would serve Rockstar right is if some clever game developer at EA surreptitiously distributes the verboten level in much the same way that the sex scene level was "unofficially" distributed for Grand Theft Auto.

Payback's a beeyotch, boys.

Games:
--Go! Sports Ski (2.99 US) - Go! Sports Ski is a visually stunning, skiing simulator that harnesses the SIXAXIS controller.

Demos:
--The Simpsons demo
--Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War demo

Tutorials:
--NBA 08 key control play calling tutorial video
--Eye of Judgement tutorial video

Other video:
--Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune BTS
--Haze Dev interview
--Tekkonkinkreet video
--Surf’s Up BD trailer

We've known about Go! Sports Ski for awhile now, though I'm still not sure what to make of it. The whole "Go!" brand is just too vanilla for me (though I enjoyed Go! Sudoku). They feel more like a collection of Xavix games than Sony products. Flesh these concepts out! Theme them! Do something! Casuals like bright colors and stupid mascots!
I don't know, maybe Ski will end up being alright, but I haven't seen anything yet that blows my skirt up. Motion-controlled skiers and having only two courses just seems a little light in the content department, but at $3, it's probably worth giving a shot. As I do with most PSN releases, I'll post some impressions in a couple days, regardless.

A Simpsons demo sounds really neat, though. I didn't know the game was that close to being upon us and it'd be a good opportunity to see whether or not the gameplay is fun enough to back up the hilarious parody. There really hasn't been a decent Simpsons game released since the coin-op beat-em-up. Bladestorm is...interesting, to say the least. I played the Japanese demo which was hard to work through with all the kanji, but the concept has promise. It's not unlike a slower-paced, more strategic Dynasty Warriors (both series come from Koei) set in Europe, instead of Asia. You run around the battlefield, as usual, but instead of mindlessly hacking away at enemies, you have squads with timed commands. Use any one of them and you'll need to wait until the bar fills back up to use it again. Depending on how far the concept is taken, it could end up being either really deep or disgustingly lethargic. Got good reviews from Famitsu, though:

Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War (PS3, Koei): 9 / 8 / 8 / 8 - (33/40)

Tutorials seems like a new category for PSN. I'm not sure how useful it is for NBA 08, but the one for Eye of Judgment should clarify a lot of things for gamers who still don't quite get what it's all about (it's fun, trust me).

The rest of the content is par for the course, but it's a good week overall; a little bit of everything. Also, you should probably check out the trailer for Tekkonkinkreet. It looks absolutely incredible, even with the weird characters and tongue-twisting title.

A Simpsons game is coming out soon? Do we really need one? Outside of the arcade game has there even been a good Simpsons game? If you ask me you'll get a resounding HEEEELLLZ NO! But its not up to me if we get another Simpsons game or not, and thats a good thing I guess.

If you're interested in the new Simpsons game check out this recent Q & A with GameSpot and the games executive producer Steve Amos. Check it out here.