G.I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra Review: YO JOE!

Oh, “G.I. Joe,” what am I going to do with you? When I originally heard that there was going to be a live-action movie based off of a beloved cartoon of my youth, I was a little concerned that they weren’t going to be able to pull it off. I have yet to see the movie, but I’ve heard good things. However, when I heard that there was going to be a game based off of that same movie I was a little more skeptical. I retained high hopes that, even though the game was based on a summer blockbuster that it might manage to still be good, even though the industry’s track record tends to fall a little short in that area. I even crossed my fingers for some kind of throwbacks to the original cartoons. EA managed to cover at least half of my hopes. [Continue Reading]

Family Game Night Review Amendment: Sorry! Sliders

It’s always interesting to play an alternate take on a game that you grew up with, but never knew existed. When I was but a wee child, my favorite board game was always SORRY! (it would have been Mouse Trap, but mine was always missing a key piece of the trap), and, up until the recent release of “Sorry! Sliders” as part of Hasbro’s “Family Game Night” compilation for Xbox Live I didn’t know this particular take on the game I loved existed. Its mere existence means it’s worth a look, even though pretty much the only thing that the two games have in common is their name. [Continue Reading]

Hasbro Family Game Night Review Amendment: Boggle

“Boggle.” It’s a game that has been played for many years, many different ways, but the crux of the game has always been the same – make the most original words by stringing together letters on the 4X4 game board. It’s simple enough to comprehend, but challenging enough to keep players and families coming back to it time and time again Xbox Live now has its own, official version of the game courtesy of EA as part of the “Hasbro Family Game Night” compilation of games, and it is one heck of an addition.

The sixth of seven games to be released for Hasbro’s “Family Game Night” compilation, “Boggle” attempts to bridge the gap between vocabulary and board games, and it does a good job doing it. Much like my “Sorry!” review, this will be an amendment to my original “Family Game Night” coverage, and will include an individual game review, as well as an updated rating for the entire package. [Continue Reading]

Hasbro Family Game Night Review Amendment: Sorry!

“Sorry!” is one of two board games that I actually cherish from my childhood (the other was “Mousetrap,” even though mine was always missing just one piece), mostly because I can remember playing it forever. My memories of the game predate the arrival of an NES in my household, therein ruining the any ability I had to enjoy simplistic board games. Sorry! was, and still is, a very basic game where all you needed to be able to do is count to twelve, and you could very easily begin your first lesson in organized schadenfreude. Hopefully your memories of this board game are as fond as mine, but if they aren’t EA and Hasbro are giving you a second chance to enjoy the game courtesy of the “Hasbro’s Family Game Night” on Xbox Live.

Since “Sorry!” is essentially an expansion pack, and an entirely separate purchase, for “Family Game Night” I’m going to treat it the same way I did of the other games that have already been released for the package. First, I will review the game on its own merits, and then take another look at how it fits into the grand scheme of the “F.G.N.” package.

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Must See Transformers 2 Movie Footage!

Micheal Bay is about to do it again, he will own this summer with Transformers 2! Don’t believe me? Check out this 2 minute scene from the upcoming movie shown at this years Sho West convention. In it we get to see the softer side of Bumble Bee, tears and all. But this isn’t the clip that’s gonna convince you this movie will be kickass. It’s what’s shown afterwords , insane giant robot mayhem! Peep the video and see for yourself. Transformers 2 is gonna own this summer!

Hasbro Family Game Night Review: Mr. Potato Head’s Wild Ride

For the past few years, EA has been doing their damnedest to grab as big of a slice of the casual gaming market as they can. They’ve taken ownership of one of the biggest casual online portals in Pogo.com; they’ve made all of their prized sports franchises more “accessible” courtesy of their All-Play line; and they’ve partnered with one of the biggest toy companies in history, Hasbro. It’s this last partnership that has spawned many recent releases across many different platforms for the publisher in an attempt to get games into the hands of as many potential fans as possible. The latest, and possibly their most creative, release from the two companies is “Hasbro Family Game Night” for the Xbox Live Arcade, which is essentially a port of last year’s Wii release of the same name. While it may not have the “fun” motion based controls integrated into it, “Family Game Night” on the XBLA is something that both traditional gamers, as well as their non-gaming families can enjoy together.

Right now, “Family Game Night” consists of video game remakes of four of Hasbro’s most beloved board and dice games – “Battleship,” “Scrabble,” “Connect Four,” and “Yahtzee,” with the promise of three more to be available for purchase soon, “Sorry,” “Sorry Sliders,” and “Boggle,” and potential for even more after that. Each of the games that are available offer an original style of play, as well as an updated, more video game-centric type of play. Each game offered as part of the “Family Game Night” package is its own purchase, and a separate download, and it’s for that reason that this review will be broken up into a few parts. [Continue Reading]

Trivial Pursuit Review: Have Your Pie And Eat It Too

“Trivial Pursuit” is a game that has been around my entire life. For as long as I can remember, there has been a square, aqua-blue box sitting in the closet of my parent’s house, only to be taken out when my older brother needed his ego boosted. It’s a game that has been played by millions, even if they just asked each other the game’s questions while in the backseat of a car on a long road trip, but fans of the game know it well, and love its simplicity and challenge. EA is looking to capitalize on “TP” fan’s loyalty by releasing it for the first time on the current generation of game console, and, manages to hone in on the fun parts of the game, and exploit them to their fullest.

The recently released “Trivial Pursuit” isn’t the first video game released to bear the same name as the analog classic. Without delving too much into the game’s history, PCs and consoles from the Commodore 64 to the Sega CD have seen releases of the pie piece chasing game, with “Trivial Pursuit: Unhinged” for the Xbox and Playstation 2 being the most recent incarnations of the game. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve never played a full-on video game version of the game, but I have played many games of the original, including some of the DVD integrated ones, and the package that EA has put together in their latest release should keep most fans happy, while at the same time making the list as intellectual gamers’ party game of choice. [Continue Reading]

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra Interview

Unless you’ve been under a rock, you should know that G.I. Joe’s got a new movie coming out this year, and it’s live action. Yeah, we’ll see how that goes… but to go along with the movie will be EA’s video game that will pick up where the movie leaves off, and continue Joe’s battle against Cobra. A few weeks ago, Unit got to check out a preview of the game, and talk with EA’s Senior Product Manager Jason Enos about what kinds of surprises are in store for all you G.I. Joe fans out there. Check out what he could tell us about what to expect from “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.”