Swords and Soldiers Review: de Blob’s Creators Make An RTS

Every now and then a WiiWare game comes out and catches people off-guard, because really, who’s expecting something good from that platform? (Certainly not Nintendo, who neglected to mention anything about it at this year’s E3 press conference, and barely even showcased it at their booth.) However, after making your way through a lot of the shovelware that has found its way to Nintendo’s downloadable service, there are some gems, the latest of which is Romino Games’ “Swords and Soldiers.”

Developed by the same team that brought the world “de Blob,” “Swords and Soldiers” is unlike anything else that’s available on the Wii – it’s an accessible (it’s a good word here) real-time strategy game that takes out all the complexity of the genre, but leaves in all the fun. Throughout the course of the game you play as three different factions all with goals they need to accomplish (most of which involve food) and you have a wealth of units, attacks, and spells to help you accomplish them. It’s a familiar genre for gamers that have been around for a while, but since it is usually fairly complex, has scared away many potential newcomers over the years; “Swords and Soldiers” will do a good job of bringing them back. [Continue Reading]

Top 10 Overlooked Games of 2008

It’s bound to happen every year; there’s always going to be a handful of great games that get overlooked by the general gaming population. It can happen for a variety of different reasons – bad release date, not enough buzz, or it simply just slips through the cracks. While it’s sometimes a good thing that gamers missed out on some of the crap that was shoveled this past year, there are some quality titles in the mix that that didn’t even land on most gamer’s radars, and that’s why I’ve put together my list of the top 10 games of 2008 that were overlooked – from least to most disregarded.

10. de blob

“de blob” was the little game that couldn’t this year. One of the Wii’s most unique and inspired games this year was lost to the fact that it was the Wii’s most unique and inspired games this year. While the gaming press really loved the game, it seemed that your average Wii owner would rather buy a balance board and not use it, instead of playing a quality game.

9. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen

Square Enix’s remakes are getting to be a dime a dozen lately, but the release of “Dragon Quest 4” went off with barely a blip on the radar. Maybe that was because it came out the same week as “Rock Band 2” and “The Force Unleashed” but that’s still not a good reason to pass on this DS update of a PS1 update of a classic NES title; especially since it was the first time the game hit American shores. [Continue Reading]

Top 10 Games of 2008 That I Didn’t Play

As each year goes by, it feels like the number of good games released over those 12 months just keeps rising. This year was no different. I would argue that it saw a bigger increase than previous years largely because of the influx of quality casual and indie games. I think nearly every gamer missed out on a game they planned to get because they didn’t have the time, or saw yet another awesome game and just didn’t have the resources to cop it. I was definitely a victim. I’m closing out the year with empty pockets, plenty of great games, and a stupid-long list of games I really wanted to play and didn’t.

This is the top 10 games from that list:

10. Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy

Why I wanted it: It was a movie-licensed game that didn’t suck. Bonus: I actually liked the movies.

Why I didn’t play it: It just barely missed the must-buy list. It got some decent reviews, but something about buying a game where the title includes a full name that isn’t Tom Clancy or Sid Meier made my stomach turn.

9. de Blob

Why I wanted it: Who can resist a fun platformer where the plot centers on putting a smack-down on conformity? Not to mention, their marketing blitz blind-sided me a couple of times in the backfield.

Why I didn’t play it: I must confess–I have been neglecting my Wii. I won’t let myself buy another Wii game until I finish “Zelda: Twilight Princess” and “Metriod Prime 3: Corruption.”

8. Soulcalibur IV

Why I wanted it: “Soulcalibur” has made a healthy impression on me with every game since the original was released for Dreamcast. Ivy’s Snake Sword and Maxi’s Nunchucks (I am a huge Michelangelo of TMNT fan) sealed the deal pretty much every time. A little hint of Star Wars doesn’t hurt either.

Why I didn’t play it: Lately I just haven’t had the urge to play fighting games. Seems like those Street-Fighter-II-Turbo-at-birthday-parties-and-sleepovers glory days have faded. Plus, fighting games just aren’t the same when your opponent isn’t in the room with you.

7. Dead Space

Why I wanted it: I always wanted to be trapped on a dark space station with limited ammo and vicious creatures, who would love to rip my body into nice happy meat chunks…

Why I didn’t play it: WHAT!?!?! I am not scared to play this game…

6. Ninja Gaiden II

Why I wanted it: Ninja + Speed + Buckets of Blood = Fun

Why I didn’t play it: This is the first (but not last) game on this list that I am truly puzzled about. I think I just didn’t have 60 bucks to shell out when it was released. [Continue Reading]

de Blob Visits NYC – Brings A Giant Pumpkin

Last week, THQ celebrated the release of their new Wii game “de Blob” by delivering and painting a giant pumpkin to NYC’s City Hall. Sir G was on hand to check out the celebration, and find out more about the game. [Continue Reading]

de Blob Review: No Boy Included This Time

Revolution has always been a great theme for video games. Why wouldn’t it be? Good versus evil; the oppressed rising up against the oppressor; underdogs overthrowing the controlling regime. Who would have thought that idea would have translated so well to a game staring a blob? Not just any blob though, it’s “de Blob,” from THQ’s new Wii title about a ball of liquid committed to bringing color back to a monochrome world. While the plot may sound a bit out there, the game play, and shear entertainment factor make it easily one of the best Wii titles to date.

Imagine how bland a black and white world would be. Now, imagine if there was a group that sucked all the color out of the world, and made everything that was fun dull and boring. That’s where de Blob comes in. It’s on a mission to take down the Inkt Corporation who have turned its’ world into a monochrome hell, and imprisoned all of the world’s inhabitants, the Raydians, and turned them into Graydians. de Blob has to free them by bringing back color, which it does by covering itself in paint and rolling over as much surface area of everything that makes up Chroma City as possible. It essentially plays out like an artistic reverse “Katamari” game where, instead of rolling things over to pick them up, you have to roll over things and put them back. In other words, since the Wii will never see a “Katamari” game, this is the next best thing even better. [Continue Reading]