It's Jackass: The Game. Now you can play Party Boy, Fridge Racing, Trash Can rolling and whatever the hell else those idiots do. Can this really be any fun to play?
The planet earth silently weeps because of the mere existence of this game. We're all a little worse off as human beings. No, I don't think I'm overstating the situation.
Before we get into this review, I should give you a preamble that is one part disclaimer and one part suggestion. When playing Mean Bean Machine this week to refresh my memory I did not play it on the Virtual Console. Mean Bean Machine is included in the compilation Sonic Mega Collection which I own for the GameCube. You can pick it up for around $15 in just about every big box store out there - and if you want to pick up Mean Bean Machine I implore you to pick it up in this collection, you'll get a far better bang for your buck. Regardless of which route you go, hopefully the following review will help you out.
If you're at all familiar with Kirby's Avalanche, Puyo Pop, or Candy Crisis, Mean Bean Machine won't offer you anything that you haven't already played before. But despite being a fairly generic puzzler (it's all about falling blocks, people - we've all been there) there's a lot of fun to be had for anyone who's enjoyed the simple pleasures of games like Tetris and Lumines. The premise is simple - you match four little falling blobs of the same color to make them disappear. The catch? The game is always a two player competition, whether against a friend or the CPU. Every time your opponent clears a certain number of blobs a number of unmovable pieces fall into your playing field. It's simple, it's addictive, it's challenging - it's everything you want from a good puzzler. The music and colorful robotic opponents that you'll face make for a delightful experience.
Like any puzzler though, you'll only find yourself playing this for so long until it falls into the "I need something I can play for 15 minutes and walk away from/I need something I can school my little brother in" categories. Still, if you enjoy a good falling block puzzle and you've somehow never played one of the many incarnations of Puyo Pop out there, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is well worth your hard earned cash.
Everyone stand back, I'm about to defend the PS3. I'm currently no fan of Sony and the PS3. In fact I borderline hate them these days (mostly related to PR and launch lineup). But I call Shenanigans on this video and story that's been circling the web today.
All over the gamer blogs I keep seeing the video below showing supposed problems with playing PS1 and PS2 games on the new-fangled PS3. Every site leads with a headline that looks similar to the 1st part of the headline above. They then go onto knock Sony around a bit and show the same video. Now every site I've bumped into today has this story up to be fact. And yet none of the blogs have tested it themselves. Their postings always seem to end with a "has anyone else run into this? Let us know."
Now I'm not saying it's not true, but I think it may be a little quick to just take some YouTube clips word for it. ESPECIALLY one that says it doesn't matter what cabling you use. Just cause some guy gets ahold of LiveType and gets some fancy words in his video saying it don't matter what TV you use, doesn't make it true. We also don't know what resolution he's outputting at, or what his TV can handle. Shouldn't we check for ourselves and make sure before running a story about it? Seriously. Think about it. This YouTube clip is the only proof being cited.
So I did a test. Yea, I actually went to verify it myself. Final Fantasy X run on a PS2 with component cables and a PS3 with HDMI, both into my 1080p HD set. And guess what? No big difference. The PS3 just exposes the jaggies that were already there. Adding a blur would've dimished it, but the PS2 was always a jaggy bastard so are we really suprised? I'm gonna say in the long run the games that really look worse for wear are the ones that only output in 480i.
There's enough real reasons to poke fun at Sony these days. This ain't one of em.
So there I am, hopping on the Sega Virtual Console page to grab some screenshots for a forthcoming review, and what do I see? Release dates for Space Harrier II and Toejam and Earl on the Wii! Since so many of you are waiting for TJ&E, I can't possibly waste your time with my usual witty banter - it's time for the good stuff;
A month or so back I picked up my first couple of Atari 2600 homebrew games. I actually reviewed 2 of them, Wolfenstein: The Lost Mission and Ultra SCSIcide. For those that don't know homebrews are brand new games made for old consoles. For the retro lover, they're fantastic.
So I head over to AtariAge.com to see if they're selling their newest title, Medievel Mayhem, which is an update to the classic game Warlords. I've been dying to get my hands on this game for quite some time now. And lo and behold I see something that scratches not only my Atari itch, but my holiday one as well.
Seems every year AtariAge and it's programmers put out a limited edition holiday themed cart. And this years game, titled Toyshop Trouble, is now up for sale.
Looking for that last minute gift for little Timmy and little Johnny? Have more money than Jesus and the New York Yankees combined? Well, it looks like Amazon is more than happy to link you to "12 used & new" Wii's, starting at $747.75. Yowzers.
Ok Captain Richie Pants, if you're really that determined, you can pick it up here. And while you're at it, I could use a waffle iron and a man servant named Ramone. Please poke holes in Ramone's box before you put it under the tree. We don't want a repeat of last year.
NC Soft announced today that the world's 2nd most popular MMO franchise has over 3 million users. In these days of WoW this is a mighty achievement. It's my belief that they accomplished this by making a great game and people actually recognizing that. It has great, balanced gameplay that is always instanced (meaning that it's not a persistant world that continues on when you're not around) meant to be played in groups. The graphics also trample Blizzard's cartoony look they give their games. I'm not dissing WoW, I was just playing this morning, but Guild Wars is definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a fun, free MMO.
They're also adding some new features for the holidays:
Given to Child's Play yet? No?? Well Scrooge, now's the time! And you can get something for yourself out of the deal while you're at it. Perennial Penny-Pincher CheapyD from CheapAssGamer is holding a raffle for the charity all gamers love to love. And the grand prize is a 1,000 dollar shopping spree at Play-Asia!
It only costs 5 bucks to enter the drawing, with all the proceeds going to Child's Play.
Prizes? It's a pretty good list so far:
$100 cash
FF12CE + LE guide (sealed)
Disgaea 1 + Disgaea 2 (the NIS preorder w/ all the artbooks, etc, sealed)
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne LE, DDS1 LE, and DDS2 (all sealed)
Xbox 360 20GB Hard Drive (sealed)
"The random box" (Basically, a ton of older games + accessories, some sealed, some not...NES/SNES/N64/PS1/PS2/Gamecube included)
1 Year Xbox Live
2000 Wii Points
New Sealed Gears of War Collector's Edition
Matted Print of Chakan the Forever Man by the creator Robert Kraus. With the matting its 8 X 10 and Robert has done a original chalk drawing along the bottom of the matting.
Just the other day I was thinking to myself how it had been far too long since the last backward compatibility update. Had Microsoft completely abandoned those of us that were still holding out hope? Would I ever be able to play Warrior Within on my 360? Well it looks like I'll still be waiting for that one, but in their best effort to fit into that old Santa Suit in the baserment Microsoft will be filling our stocking with 32 updates and additions! And it's not all crap this time around, either - we're going to be seeing the addition of Psychonauts, Indigo Prophecy, Shenmue II and Destroy All Humans!
So how did this list make its way into the vast reaches of cyberspace? It turns out someone at the big M had accidentally posted this on the official backwards compatibility page a little early and had it was pulled down just as quick. Luckily, one attentive CheapAssGamer forumite had come across this at just the right moment and was able to score the details. Check out the complete list after the jump.
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Before we get into this review, I should give you a preamble that is one part disclaimer and one part suggestion. When playing Mean Bean Machine this week to refresh my memory I did not play it on the Virtual Console. Mean Bean Machine is included in the compilation Sonic Mega Collection which I own for the GameCube. You can pick it up for around $15 in just about every big box store out there - and if you want to pick up Mean Bean Machine I implore you to pick it up in this collection, you'll get a far better bang for your buck. Regardless of which route you go, hopefully the following review will help you out.
A month or so back I picked up my first couple of Atari 2600 homebrew games. I actually reviewed 2 of them, 
NC Soft announced today that the world's 2nd most popular MMO franchise has over 3 million users. In these days of WoW this is a mighty achievement. It's my belief that they accomplished this by making a great game and people actually recognizing that. It has great, balanced gameplay that is always instanced (meaning that it's not a persistant world that continues on when you're not around) meant to be played in groups. The graphics also trample Blizzard's cartoony look they give their games. I'm not dissing WoW, I was just playing this morning, but Guild Wars is definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a fun, free MMO.
Found over on 
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 