Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is a third-person action game in which you have to hack & slash your way through hordes of zombies. But while the game — which was made by Spark Unlimited for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC (via Steam) under the supervision of Team Ninja — has nothing to do with the Ninja Gaiden games, a myriad of serious problems will prevent even the most forgiving of action fans from enjoying this mess as well.
With a main mission that clocks in around two hours, the third-person stealth action game Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes — which Kojima Productions has made for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 — might seem like just a glorified demo, not worth the money. But with numerous reasons why you’ll want to play this really fun game more than once, the real question isn’t “if” you should buy Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, but “when.”
While Marvel Comics have long made cartoons for kids, in recent years they’ve also been making animes for adults, with rather mixed result. The latest of these is Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher, a eighty-two minute movie being released directly on DVD, in a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack, and digitally.
In the online-only, multiplayer-focused, first-person, overly-hyphenated, sci-fi shooter Titanfall, soldiers use futuristic weapons and giant robot suits to battle it out on alien worlds. And with the game being made for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC by Respawn — y’know, the people who, at their old jobs, made Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — it’s not surprising that this game boasts smooth, intuitive controls and addictive multiplayer.
But what might surprise you is that, while Titanfall can only be played online and with other people, the game’s story-driven campaign is still as engaging as its competitive counterpart.
While everyone loves Doctor Who these days, not everyone loved the episode “The Time Of The Doctor,” which aired last Christmas and heralded the end of Matt Smith’s time as the sci-fi shamus. So does that mean that, aside from people who liked the episode, or who have to own every single thing that has the words “Doctor” and “Who” on it, there’s no reason to get Doctor Who: The Time Of The Doctor on DVD or Blu-ray?
Pretty much.
Like The Simpsons, Futurama, and a lot of American cartoons that are made for adults, South Park hasn’t always had the best luck being translated into a video game. But with South Park: The Stick Of Truth — a turn-based role-playing game made by Obsidian (Fallout: New Vegas) and published by Ubisoft on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC — we finally have a South Park game that’s as fun as it is funny.
Never let it be said that Les Claypool plays it safe. As if the skewed music he’s made with Primus, on his own, and with such side bands as Oysterhead, Colonel Claypool’s Bucket Of Bernie Brains, Les Claypool & The Rat Brigade, and Colonel Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade didn’t prove this hypothesis already, now he’s recorded Four Foot Shack, a country-flavored acoustic collection with guitarist/back-up singer Bryan Kehoe (formerly of M.I.R.V.) and, on three tracks, Stiff Dead Cat’s Wylie Woods on mandolin and background vocals, under the name Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang.
But what if — like me — you’re a fan of Les Claypool but not country? Don’t worry, you’ll be okay.
After a handful of failed attempts, the good people at MercurySteam — with a little help from Metal Gear Solid mastermind Hideo Kojima — finally figured out how to successfully adapt the 2D side-scroller Castlevania series into a 3D game with 2010’s Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow. Now M.S., sans Kojima, are hoping to replicate that game’s fun factor with Castlevania: Lords Of Shadows 2 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. But while it does misfire way more than its predecessor, it’s still a solid action game.
Stealing is wrong. Whether you shoplift a candy bar from the corner store, nick a handful of quarters off your dad’s bureau, or download a pirated copy of a new video game, being a thief is not cool. And if you don’t believe me, just play Thief, a deeply flawed and ultimately dull first-person stealth action game for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC in which you make your living by stealing anything that isn’t nailed down.