Nine out of ten gamers have one. We don’t mean for it to happen, but new and shinier things always seem to come our way, leading to last week’s new release finding its way to the stack of games we promise ourselves we will get back to just as soon as the summer lull comes around.

For some of us, it’s not so bad. Less than a baker’s dozen of past releases remain sealed or still have that fresh from the factory smell. And we will get to those, just as soon as we finish up a season of whatever EA Sports title or in-depth RPG is causing the hold up. For others (primarily those working in the industry, whether it be as developer or journalist), that stack of games is more likely triple what a normal gamer has waiting.  It’s not that you don’t want to play them, because you most definitely do, but in between playing or making games for work, plowing through weekly review copies and picking up the ones you aren’t comped, it doesn’t take long to watch your backlog develop into a monster. Right now I have 69 uncompleted (by my standard) titles in my backlog as I am writing this. That is including Dragon Age 2 which I know I won’t have finished (read-unlocked all achievements) before I get my hands on 3rd Birthday. This is how they break down:

Wii – 1, DS – 8, GameCube – 5, PS2 – 8, PS3 – 7, PSP – 9, 360 – 31

Most of these are games I bought with the intent of playing them right away. Like Metal Gear Solid 4 which I did play right away, the night it came out. We had a midnight launch at the store and when I got home at 2am, slightly damp from the automatic sprinklers on my short walk back, I played until I hit the section I’d run through in a demo at the very first E4All Expo. Went to bed and honestly haven’t touched it since. Why? Really, I’m not sure. I haven’t been in the mood to go back to it and I don’t feel that same draw toward my PS3 as I do to my 360. I know I want to play it and the other games in my PS3 backlog. And I will. Just as soon as I finish Tools of Destruction.

When tackling the beast I’ve let my backlog become I try to focus on one game per system at a time. I may have four games on the go, but as long as each system is only working on one title, I feel like I have a bit more control. Husband has the TV for the night and is playing something of his own? Great! That means I’ll sit down and work on something from my handheld stack. During the week I’ll work on my console games in-between writing and the other nonsense I accomplish. If I’m lucky I might knock out two to three games in a month – only to have them replaced with something else right away. I like to buy more games as a treat whenever I successfully remove one or two from my stack. I keep an eye on Amazon sales and check out Fry’s every week or so, looking for some great deal I can convince my husband to buy for me with puppy dog eyes and “I finished X, X and X!”

So just how do I determine when I am finished with a game? When I unlock all achievements/trophies in a game? Or maybe when I’ve completed the main storyline?

Honestly, each game is different. I know what kinds of games are my strongest and which are my weakest. Getting through the story mode in an FPS is just as great an accomplishment for me as getting every last side quest in an RPG. Take Modern Warfare as an example. I bought that game knowing full well that I suck at FPS games. I enjoy them immensely, but I know I am not likely to fare well online with more dedicated players (even amongst friends). No clan is going to want me on their squad, and I have no silly aspirations of thinking I could compete with the more serious MLG players. I made it through the story on a fairly easy mode and gave it another shot the next level up. When I hit a wall, I knew it was time to retire the game. Because I had at least finished the story, I count it as a completed title, no longer part of my backlog.

The same cannot be said for adventure and role playing games. With those, I need to explore and complete as many side quests/hidden missions/treasure hunts as possible. Even if they have no achievement or trophy attached to them. I did indeed complete that 100 level grindfest in Final Fantasy X-2…. twice. I will finish every meaningless fetch quest in Oblivion for armour that is inferior to what I have now just so I can see them in the completed quests log. I will spend 90 minutes with that blasted bomber in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood so I can say I destroyed DaVinci’s war machines. I will push myself to finish Alan Wake on Nightmare mode. These are the games where that 100% completion rate matters to me.

Each gamer is different when it comes to defining when they have completed a game. Some gamers play for high gamerscore and trophy counts while others, such as myself, play the games we want to play on the systems we want to use purely for the love of gaming. I know I will never have a 100K gamerscore on Xbox Live or have a platinum collection on PSN to rival those of my friends. And I’m OK with that. Right now, all I want to focus on is enjoying the games I haven’t yet, one to four games at a time while I keep feeding the monster.

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Before I go, I just wanted to share some link-love for the Gamer Banter blog exchange series initiated by GameCouch. This month we’re all discussing how we define “completing” a video game.

Zath: When Do You Know That You’ve Completed A Game?

Gunthera1-gamer: I have never completed a current generation game

Silvercublogger: What Do You Mean By Gamer Banter

The Game Fanatics: Gamer Banter: To Beat a Game

SnipingMizzy: Is it over yet?

Game Couch: The End?

OXCGN: When Is A Game Truly ‘Finished’ For You?

Gamer Banter is a monthly video game discussion series coordinated by Terry at Game Couch. If you’re interested in being part of this, please email Terry for details.

Status: Working through the last rounds
Achievements: 20 of 50
Gamerscore: 430/1250
DLC Purchased: None (yet!)

You Don’t Know Jack is the perfect trivia video game. No silly jumping around in front of a camera when all you want to do is veg out on the couch. Just crazy button mashing, yelling, and Screwing (no, not that kind of screwing!!) all in the name of winning. And collecting awesome prizes (but more on that in a bit). An updated version of the long running YDKJ computer game series and short-lived TV game show, Jellyvision brought this fun and addictive trivia game to consoles everywhere, and gamers are the better for it. Right down to host Cookie Masterson, YDKJ is full of laughter, even if some of the laughter is of the groaning variety. Two five question rounds and the famous Jack Attack constitute each episode, Round Two’s answers being worth double that of the first and correct Jack Attack guesses ringing up at $4000 a pop.

YDKJ brought back the Dis or Dat question in Round One to help the player in last place try to bump up their score. Here you are given two choices, for example is the clue a Britney Spears song or the name of a Pope, and you must quickly select the right one (there are 7 clues in each Dis or Dat) before the 30 seconds runs out. Each correct answer is worth $300 and you’ll lose that if you get it wrong. Other players can also attempt a steal by buzzing in with the correct answer before you make the incorrect choice. There are also new themed questions you will randomly come across as you play through the 73 episodes on the retail disc. These theme questions have special introductions distinguishing them from regular ones. Funky Trash, Who’s the Dummy and Nocturnal Admissions (where you try to guess what movie Cookie was watching when he fell asleep) are my personal favourites.

Dis or Dat

But Wrong Answer of the Game is the one I am currently obsessed with and when I miss that answer I give myself a mental slap. Each episode has a sponsor with some silly name like Lawn Wax and hidden within one of the nine questions (never the Dis or Dat) is a wrong answer to a question that has to do with that game’s sponsor. It’s the only time you want to get a wrong answer, as it comes with a $4000 bonus (double that if it happens in Round Two) and a special prize from the sponsor. There is, of course, an achievement/trophy for collecting all of the prizes from the episodes included on the disc.

Screwing is another way to try to get ahead in YDKJ. Each player is given one screw to use per episode. When you use a screw on a player, they have 5 seconds to choose the correct answer instead of the normal 15 seconds. If the player you screwed gets the answer wrong, you get the money. But if they get it right, they get some of your money as well as the money for picking the right answer. I have yet to find time to see how this works with more than two players, which I really need to fix soon.

I also love the little twists thrown in during the numbered intros. For instance, at one point in the game during the Question 4 intro, one of the four 4s is shot and another one runs away. The next episode there was a funeral for the fallen 4 and the episode after that an “f” replaces the slain digit. I’m personally hoping that I come across another episode in which the dead 4 comes back as a zombie and eats the “f”. On St. Patrick’s Day, the yodeling 2 slipped and fell off the “wo” mountain he climbs and the 1 and 0 from Question 10 produce some pretty odd “n”s on rare occasions. Waiting to see what will happen next and seeing something new just gives the game that much more character.

Wrong Answer of the Day Prize

YDKJ can be played with up to four players, either on one console or online. The biggest downfall with this (at least on XBL) is that each person needs to be on their own console. My husband and I have attempted to play on his console with his father via Live and it will not allow both of us to play. I can understand this with other games, but with a trivia game? It’s very disappointing that the game has this limitation, and I wonder if it is the fault of the game or that of Xbox Live.

Overall Opinion

This game should be in every single gamer’s home. Not for the younger kids (it does have a T for Teen rating), YDKJ has a wonderful variety of questions to make you dig into the furthest recesses of your brain, quite often making you feel like an idiot when you make the wrong choice. It’s perfect for pick up and play when you are looking for something to fill a half hour or you can marathon through for hours at a time. Jack Pack 1 DLC is available for the game, with at least two more packs planned. Once we finish up the original 73 episodes, we are definitely picking up the additional DLC. Best $30-40 you will probably spend this year.

Purchase You Don’t Know Jack for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS or PC from Amazon

Status: 1 playthrough complete, no multiplayer
Achievements: 35 of 60
Gamerscore: 690/1250
DLC Purchased: None

There are few games that cause me to scream obscenities at my television on a regular basis that I still find enjoyable and push through to complete. The Assassin’s Creed franchise currently ranks number one in that category, with Brotherhood feeling more like an extension of AC2 than being a real “third” installment.

My husband gets stressed watching me play any of the Assassin’s Creed games and threatens to take the controller away from me all the time. He’s even said he thinks about buying noise canceling headphones he can wear whenever I am playing beside him on the couch so he doesn’t have to listen to me yell at Ezio/Desmond every time he fails to make a jump I’ve made several times before. In the past, when I’ve had moments of rage that have brought me within an inch of throwing my controller at the wall, he’s stepped in to help me get past whatever it was that was giving me white hairs. This time there was no passing of the torch. Amidst all the swearing, shouting, frustrated grunts and “I hate you”s, I searched every lair, climbed every building, and completed every sequence by myself.

Brotherhood picks up right where we left off in AC2. Desmond, Lucy and the gang find refuge from the Templars in the ruins of Monterrigioni, set up the mobile Animus, and send Desmond back in to find out more about the temples Minerva spoke of and the whereabouts of the Apple of Eden. After an attack on the assassin headquarters by Cesare, Ezio finds himself back in Rome, hunting down the Apple and trying to undo the damage the Borgia continue to inflict on the people of Rome.

Where AC2 was a nice leap forward in terms of game mechanics, Brotherhood didn’t seem to have much of any improvement. On plenty of occasions, Ezio would fail to grab a ledge I had grasped multiple times before, the static camera angles would make some jumps or climbs difficult to pull off (with Ezio constantly trying to fall off hanging platforms instead of jumping as I directed him to), and attempting to climb walls I would bump with an elbow during the middle of a timed chase.

And at this point in gaming, how is it that Ezio cannot climb a tree? Seriously. He can scale the tallest and most awkward buildings in Rome (the Colosseum, for instance) but hiding in a tree to use the leaves as cover and execute an air assassination is the only trick not up his sleeve. I guess the hidden blade and hand cannon take up too much room.

A nice addition was being able to recruit assassins into the guild, sending them out on missions to gain experience and gathering items you can use towards completing shop quests. Having trained assistants at the ready to join in a tough fight or kill your enemies without them knowing you were up to it was also a great help, especially when I was sneaking around the Vatican. Using these recruits in my linked Project Legacy game via Facebook netted more unique items, including the Auditore cape with all its handiness at making sure I would never be notorious (situation willing) again.

The formula of Assassin’s Creed games also remains pretty unchanged. Start your Sequence, do a few assignments, scope out a hidden dungeon, climb the rooftops in search of treasure, then work through the three or four step main mission. Sure, we get a couple new things, like finding and destroying Leonardo’s War Machines (I never, ever, ever want to see that damn bomber again, thank you very much!) and the ability to purchase “outposts” for our various guilds. Three (or 2.5, depending on how you look at Brotherhood) games in I was hoping we might have seen a less predictable pattern.

While I did enjoy Brotherhood, despite my issues with Ezio’s climbing abilities, I can’t say it was my favourite of the three games. Part of me wonders if the game was thrown together in a planning meeting because they wanted to make a multiplayer game and threw in the single player as an excuse to charge full price at retailers. I haven’t gotten into that side of the game yet, partly due to the fact that I hate it when multiplayer is shoved into what I’ve thought were great single player gaming experiences, and because the group of people I will play online with have been busy and unavailable to play when I am. I won’t completely knock something I haven’t tried, but I’m just not pumped about multiplayer kill-fests like I am expect is all this mode is really about.

Overall Opinion

Brotherhood did add to the Assassin’s Creed experience enough to make it worth the hours I sank into the game, but it could have been better. On one hand, it felt as though Ubi was just trying to get a little more milk out of the franchise before the “trilogy” concludes. But there were some very entertaining moments in AC:B that almost made up for it. I am still upset that Ezio/Desmond has issues with bumping into walls and lacks certain common sense abilities. The whole Followers of Romulus side story seemed contrived and thrown in to give a meaning to those hidden dungeons, and I am still on the fence with tossing multiplayer into the mix. I’ll just have to wait and see what AC3 brings to the table before I can completely decide if we really needed Brotherhood or not.

Purchase Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood for the Xbox 360, PS3 or PC from Amazon

The concept was alluring – an M rated game starring an evil and malicious stuffed animal hell-bent on revenge and destruction. Everything seen in previews and trailers looked promising. It was one of the few summer releases that actually was on my “To Buy” list. Unfortunately, once Naughty Bear made its way into my Xbox 360 nothing but disappointment followed.

Poor Naughty. He didn't deserve this.

The repetitive nature of the game coupled with a map that never seems to change is just the first of many complaints I have with Naughty Bear. While the game offers seven chapters with additional challenges, the map is exactly the same each time with very minimal changes to the goals for each challenge. They always have one particular Bear that you need to reach and punish and the optional destruction of X amount of item (insert gift, bird, rosette, etc here). Some challenges require stealth, or simply to not be injured, and that’s all fine and good. Games should be both fun and challenging. However, when you are on your twelfth attempt to clear a challenge asking you to not be seen and out of nowhere five enemies all seem to see you trying to cross the bridge to the next section of the map, you just want to throw your hands up in the air and walk away.

Clearing these challenges is imperative to your advancement in the game. The trophies gained from completing a level helps to unlock additional challenges and main story levels, as well as costumes to increase various stats for Naughty. It’s too bad that playing through them begins to feel like a chore. I would much rather scrub a toilet in a public bathroom than attempt one more run-through on an Indestructible mode challenge.

Ahh! The refreshing feel of water swirling around your head.

Earning points isn’t all that difficult. You can really add to the multiplier meter by sabotaging items and laying a trap right in front of it, then hiding in the forest until some poor sucker gets caught and scaring the stuffing out of him. Then let him limp around the disco for a while before slamming his head into the fire-pit and watching him burn to a smoldering pile of nothingness. But when you get to the challenges that require you to stay out of sight, you have to rely on sabotage and traps to buffer up some points, which is extremely boring and seems to take forever. Over time the de-fluffication moves become stale and you would rather just stab the opposition to death than set up the more elaborate kills and scares.

Naughty Bear also has a multiplayer game mode, but I was not able to experience it. All of my attempts to join matches failed. More often than not I would find myself all alone in the lobby, waiting patiently for someone to arrive. And when someone did show up, they disappeared almost as fast as the arrived. If there had been people available to play with, the multiplayer may have been entertaining, especially with friends.

My other major issue with Naughty Bear was with the sheer amount of glitches that I encountered. The very first level I played my game froze right as I was walking through the gate back to Naughty’s house to end the episode. Frustrating, but I can forgive it the first time. Second glitch I run into, literally, was getting stuck in a tree in the forest surrounding the Disco. Another disappointment as I was just about to progress to the last area of the map. There was also poor collision detection with the doors of the buildings. Often times bears would be standing in the doorway and the doors would close on them, but the bear would be fused with the door. Several times, especially during Stealth and Untouchable modes, I would be attacking an enemy who was coming through the door. And somehow, bears would be able to see or attack me even if the door was closed.

Overall Opinion

Naughty Bear could have been a lot of fun, but it underwhelms and under delivers. A major disappointment as it was one of the few summer titles that had originally caught my interest. Perhaps if the game had released with fewer glitches and more variety in the levels it would have seen a longer stay in my 360.

Buy Naughty Bear on Xbox 360 or PS3 from Amazon today

Going completely controller-free is not in my future, no matter how hard some companies might be trying to steer us in that direction. Part of being a gamer is memorizing button combos and having something in your hands you could almost throw at your TV. The controller is a natural extension of who and what we are.

At first I thought that we were set with the ridiculousness of the Wii. A controller shaped like a remote, waving our arms around, starving for real games and then watching as the great games sold horribly while the shovelware flew off store shelves. The Wii quickly became a hot item for the casual and new gamer demographics, with slews of four player sporting games leading the way. Nintendo also brought out some games for their core gamers, however the wait time in between those games turned a lot of those original purchases into dust collecting machines.

At E3 2010, Microsoft and Sony showcased their new motion control line up for the coming Holiday season. I was not at E3, so my opinions below do not contain any hands-on experience, but I believe there are other gamers who share in my hesitance to have another console turn into another fitness program.

Xbox Kinect (aka-Project Natal)

After everything I have seen and read post-E3, Kinect looks to be a large disappointment for its core gamers. Microsoft’s desire to convert more casual gamers to the system is all fine and good, but it’s a major slap in the face to the long term supporters. Not adding optional support for console selling franchises such as Halo and Gears of War doesn’t entice those hardcore FPS and action adventure gamers to run out and drop the $150 on a fancy motorized camera.

Being completely upfront with my readers, I strongly favour my Xbox 360 over my PS3 or the household Wii. I have spent thousands of dollars on retail and DLC games, I pay for a Gold subscription so that I can play online with my friends. I am not against purchasing accessories and games for a console if I believe that I am going to have a great gaming experience. Kinect’s high price tag and a launch line up of completely casual games that remind me of all the shovelware titles that we’ve previously seen on the Wii make me want to keep that $150 in my pocket. And not including any games (as of now) in that package leaves a nasty taste in my mouth.

The only impressive game that I saw for Kinect was Dance Central, which I’m sure will be a hit with people who want to dance. Me, not so much. From everything I’ve read about it and impressions of people I know who were able to try it out, Dance Central is fun and challenging and worked well with the Kinect camera.

If Kinect remains a tool used only for casual and family games, it will inevitably fail. As much as they believe their hardcore gamers will be buying this on day one, I think that they will be shocked when that does not happen. I don’t know too many people who want to wave their hands around or use voice commands to play movies. Voice commands are fine if you’re the only person in the room, but what happens when you are having a party and everyone is talking? Who’s voice will the system respond to? How will it be able to differentiate amongst everyone in the room and pick out only your voice? And if someone walks behind you while you are playing, how can the Xbox be certain that person is just walking by and not mistake their actions as someone else trying to sign in? These are just a few questions I have not found the answers to, and we probably won’t until much closer to the November launch.

They talk a big game on how Kinect will be something their core gamers will embrace, yet I fail to see anything that makes me feel the need to run out and pre-order this today. We’ll see how things change as we come closer to the Holiday 2010 launch of Kinect and what Microsoft does to counteract a potential loss of sales to the Playstation Move.

Playstation Move

Instead of going completely controller free, Sony’s Move is a lot like the Wii – two unique controller pieces working together with the Eye (camera) to bring the player a new sense of involvement with their Playstation gaming. So while you can choose to play games swinging your arms around, you’ll at least look as though you’re actually doing something.

The key difference between Kinect and Move is that Sony is ensuring it’s motion controllers will resonate with the potential new and casual gamer markets as well as their core gamers. They are bringing a solid mix of family, casual and hardcore games to the PS3 that will make use, if you so choose, of the Move controllers. Killzone 3 and the newest SOCOM title will both offer DualShock 3 and Move support, giving their core gamers a perfect reason to invest in Move. It’s nice to be able to play with your family every once in a while, but there are times when you want to play online with your buddies, and pretending to look down the scope of a sniper rifle is more fun with a controller than it is just pointing your finger at a screen.

Another bonus with Move is that Sony has announced that their Move line-up will be retailing for $39.99 per title (this does not include other titles that support Move controls such as Killzone 3, etc). Smarter still is their introduction Move bundle for people who would like to be up and running with a  game. Granted, it is the standard sports collection, but it is better than getting a peripheral without any software.

While games like Invizimals and the sports collection are not titles I would spend my money on, Sony will be bringing out some action adventure titles such as Heroes on the Move and the Sly Cooper Collection which has a lot of the core gamers talking. These are the kinds of games that Microsoft is missing from it’s launch line up – games that do more than have you swat flies from the screen or run on the spot. Sony already made those types of games for the PS2 when they released the EyeToy.

My only concern with Move is that I might experience the same stiffness/soreness in my wrist that I get when playing a Wii game for more than 20 minutes. Holding a traditional style controller is much more natural position. While I may not play a Move title for an extended period of time, they are bringing some excellent titles to the system that I am sure will have me using my PS3 more often than I do now.

~~~

I’d love to hear any thoughts or concerns that any readers of this post might have. Objective thoughts only, please!

(Playing a trade copy of the game which does not have trophies enabled.)

There is a saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. That is definitely the case with 3D Dot Game Heroes as it pays its respects to the classic 2D role playing masterpieces that shaped so many gamers of my generation.

3D Dot Game Heroes is a brilliant adventure game styled after the most famous 2D adventure RPG of all time: Legend of Zelda. A tale of a reluctant hero summoned by the King to retrieve six magical orbs and defeat an evil sorcerer, the only thing missing from this story is a princess in distress. Throw in a few dashes of humour, and a 3-D environment, and you have yourself an entertaining jaunt through the vast land of Dotnia.

After a brief cinematic where the King of Dotnia pleads with you to save the kingdom, you collect the Ancient Sword and begin your journey across the vast plains, forests and deserts of Dotnia. You’ll want to start out wandering the fields close to Dotnia and its neighbouring village in search of some coin to purchase a nifty shield and some other supplies, not to mention start a couple of side quests moving along. Now you are on your way to becoming a grade A hero.

Your destiny includes listening to smart-ass comments from old men in temples

I believe I wasted a good three or four hours traveling the countryside and talking with villagers, slashing up enemies and tufts of grass for coins in order to enhance my sword. While the basic sword is fine and you don’t have to upgrade or use any other sword, I felt that beefing up my sword was best for getting through the later temples. The extra length and width allowed me to move more quickly through rooms that I had been struggling in and dying too soon for my liking. Exploring the countryside early on proved a bit of a mistake as I soon found myself far off on pathways that I was not prepared for with no means to defend myself. Nothing like getting hit with projectiles and not having a shield to defend with.

Along the way you will acquire the rest of the weapons for your arsenal. It wouldn’t be right if this game didn’t include a boomerang, trusty bombs, and special foot gear. The boomerang is perfect for hitting those just out of reach red buttons. Hidden passages and caves can be discovered with a well-placed bomb in front of cracked walls or stones. Yes, there are even fairy caverns where you can replenish your health at no cost. My favourite cave is From Cave, where there are plenty of in-jokes regarding From Software’s games, including Demon’s Souls.

Now, I was never a big fan of Zelda games. Link never seemed to question why Princess Zelda was always getting herself in trouble. The top-down view of the original games just didn’t appeal to me. I even attempted to play one of the Nintendo 64 versions hoping that I would enjoy it, but it only took a few hours to remind me that I just cannot get into the Zelda groove. This may be due to the lack of proper direction that seems to plague me. 3D Dot Heroes suffers from the same lack of direction, or extremely vague directions, at various points throughout the game. Armed with nothing more than “head west” and a flashing marker on your world map, there are times when you just have to wander around and pray you are going in the right direction.

Once I got past that minor hurdle, the game progressed much more smoothly. Within a few short hours I had made my way through three caves, solved a couple puzzles, delivered mail (a fun little side quest that netted me another Life Shard) and even located a bow for long range attacks. All I needed was to get into a rhythm and I was flying through the main storyline. All told, the main quest doesn’t take too long to complete; a little over a dozen or so hours if you run through the basics. Dungeons can be revisited and new rooms discovered with coloured keys for added bonuses. You can also replay any of the bosses if you wish.

Dotnia's #1 Mini-Game: Block Defense

In between temple and cave spelunking, there are oodles of side quests and some very addicting mini-games your hero can enjoy. Everyone needs to take a break once in a while, so why not do it playing a fun game and maybe pocket some free money or prizes in the process? My personal favourite is Blockout, a brick breaking game which you can find in Ortego Village on your way to the third temple. You can also put your fancy Dash Boots to use by running laps in Dash Circuit, where the goal is to complete three laps without bumping into obstacles which will slow you down. The third mini-game, very popular with Dotnians of all ages, is Block Defense and it plays exactly like you think it would. Like any tower defense game, you must build defenses along a path to stop oncoming waves of enemies from reaching and destroying your castle.

By far the best selling point of 3D Dot Game Heroes is the character creation tool. Hours can be lovingly wasted on building all sorts of people, animals, mecha and just plain random objects to become your avatar as you slay the beasts of Dotnia. Using the in-game tool or the online version, you can save your heroes to a USB stick and upload them to the Hall of Heroes. At the Hall, you can also browse through other submitted Heroes and download them to use in your own game. 3D Dot Game Heroes has a great community of creators Atlus is committed to nurturing and assisting it in any way that it can. Atlus has always been great to its fans, and this is just one more notch on their belt of awesome.

Bringing back the Pompadour

Overall Opinion

If you are looking to relive your gamer roots, give 3D Dot Game Heroes a spin in your PS3. Not only will you remember everything you loved and hated way back when, you’ll also get a good kick out of the several load screen images featuring all kinds of RPG game covers remade in 3D Dot style. Since the text is pretty limited in most cases and fairly easy to understand, you can introduce your kids to the sometimes frustratingly good, clean fun that was our childhood. And at $40 for a brand new copy, including all the things that were once DLC in Japan, 3D Dot Game Heroes won’t hurt your wallet too much.

Review product was provided by Atlus, and does not affect the outcome of this review.

Original First Look from GamingAngels (March 2010)

Once upon a time, in an 8-bit land not so very far away, the 8-bit people and their 8-bit pets, 8-bit grannies and 8-bit monsters came to the realization that 8-bit worlds didn’t have the market value they once did. The money stopped pouring in and life became pretty stagnant. It was around this time they sold their story to the fine creative minds at Atlus, at a reduced rate of course, and proclaimed that they would try this “3-D” craze all the kids have been talking about. (Plus, the King had seen James Cameron’s Avatar, and he knew that 3-D meant billion dollar sales, so he figured it couldn’t hurt.)

Coming May 2010 – 3D Dot Game Heroes: The Game

Dotnia is a land of many classic dungeons and colour coded keys. And swords. Like the giant one the greatest Hero of them all used to wield, until he stuck it into the ground. His sword was so great that it was nearly three times his size and could go through trees. No other sword can do that, just his uber special “yeah that’s not really a glitch” sword. And there are orbs. Because the people of Dotnia have seen countless fantasy movies at the 8-bit drive in and they know that magical orbs don’t get enough love these days.

Oh the humority!

So the King gets up from his throne and declares they are going to upgrade from a 3D 8-bit existence to a 3D one. Now everyone is excited. There is purpose again to their mundane lives. Something is going to happen! And you are chosen to be the new Hero. Aren’t you just happy?

Here we are in 2010 and we are talking about an 8-bit game that isn’t pre-1990s. Why? Because 8-bit games have universal appeal, they are fun and charming, and 3D Dot Heroes is probably the best flattery for the classic 2D action adventure genre that ever will be.

Everybody wants to play a game that is fun. 3D Dot Heroes has all the in-humour and basic yet not-so-basic familiarity of games such as Legend of Zelda or Castlevania way back in the day. From what I have seen via the live web demo I attended last week and through various clips online, I have determined that this game is going to have copious amounts of fun wrapped inside a candy coating of awesome. It’s up to you just how much fun you want to have. Journeying in seven expansive dungeons and exploring the vast lands of Dotnia will probably take about 15 hours for a basic start to finish with a bit of dabbling adventure. Increased difficulties can be unlocked for those who want more of a hardcore “I grew up in the 80s!” experience. (And for those of you out there, just because we grew up with these games in the 80s doesn’t mean they didn’t kick our bumbs back then.)

The majestic beaches of Dotnia

You can choose from one of three various alignments for your Hero – Royal Heir (balanced), Scholar (one of those nerdy book loving… I mean more magically inclined) or Hero (the slightly more I’m going to bash you with this club type). Instead of leveling up your character, all health and magic points are attached to your sword. So make sure you keep an eye out for red (healing) and green (magic) apples if you see you are about to die. And play smart! If you see a monster with a golden crown symbol over his head, that means he’s going to be a bit tougher than an ordinary one of his kind. Don’t think you can take him on? There is no shame in running from a battle if it means you will live to see another dungeon.

And how about mini-games? During the demo I was able to check out two of the three mini-games that are included at NO EXTRA CHARGE! Block Defense is a tower defense mini game in which you will try to stop the bad guys from getting to Point B from Point A, setting up towers (Ha!) along the way in hopes to kill them D-E-D dead. You can also use your custom made character to help if you want, or you can make your towers do all the work (boy, you really are a lazy Hero!). The second game Blockout challenges you to clear out all of the offending blocks in your way with just a few balls at your disposal.

Sword make blocks go SMASH!

Now, the Japanese were able to get an awesome version of 3D Dot Heroes a few months ago, which is cool and all, but they had to wait for some things to be released as download content and we North Americans don’t. Neener neener neener! There are bonus Block Defense levels that we get on the disc, as well as some added pre-made characters to choose from, the option to install the game to the PS3 hard drive (yes, I said “option”-you don’t have to, but the game will load faster if you do) and the best part of it all – the Loading Screen Gallery.

I could spend hours just watching the Loading Screen Gallery. Our 8-bit inhabitants spent hours posing themselves against white backdrops to look like our favourite game box art just to get our attention. Part of the fun is trying to guess them all.

So what do the people of Dotnia ask in return for all the awesome fun they are bundling up for us?

$39.99 US

Yup, for all that stuff I talked about and the epic in-game soundtrack that I am mentioning now, $39.99 will buy you a ginormous good time. There will be several hours of creating amazing characters that you can save to USB and share online with friends and strangers, all of which will be supported by Atlus. Can’t forget about all those cool trophies you’ll want to collect, which will mean more than one play through, not like you won’t play it over and over again to see if you can find all the swords and easter eggs without cheating. You also get a handy camera option, so you can take snapshots of your character taking down hordes of beasts and then use that as a desktop or PS3 background and brag to your friends or impress that boy/girl in your life with your “skillz”.

If you start saving 20 cents a day right now, you will be able to buy 3D Dot Game Heroes on May 11th and bring some financial stability back to Dotnia. What are you waiting for? Check your couches, your car and your linty pockets and pre-order it now!

(No editors were harmed during the writing of this article, however you are urged have a tall latte instead of a grande one and use that 20 cents you save everyday to help the Dotnians clothe and feed their pet dragons. And if you do that, they just might let Yukino out of the Flame Temple. It’s pretty hot in here. There’s fire in the Flame Temple, you know.)

Status:

Purchase Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Oct 2, 2009

Excerpt from review:

Having played (and been stumped) by the original version of Ninja Gaiden 2 on the 360, I decided to give the Sigma version of the game a try. Traditionally, the Sigma and Black versions of Ninja Gaiden have been near impossible to play difficulty-wise. Yet, knowing this full well, I find myself enjoying the latest Team Ninja had to offer me.

Some people will laugh at me. “Ninja Gaiden isn’t that hard,”  they’ll say. Well, let me tell you, as some one who is not the best and hack & slash-esque titles, even playing this on easy is more difficult than most other games in this genre. Add in the fact there are a couple new bosses and you have one female gamer mashing buttons like crazy trying to take out the Black Spider Ninja Clan who have been pestering Ryu Hayabusa for so long.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is going to require some install room on your PS3, so make sure there is a little more than 3.25 Gigabytes of space open for it. The install itself took my 60gig system about 10 minutes to load to its memory. (Yes, you will still need the game disc in order to play!) While the game puts vitals on your harddrive, you are treated to a voiced over version of the comic that is included in the Special Edition booklet.

We open to see the Black Spider Ninja Clan attack Special Agent Sonia and Muramasa in his shop. Ryu shows his face, and its time to whoop some evil ninja butt. The control layout is very similar to the 360 version. X is your jump function, Square and Triangle are your light and heavy attacks, Circle throws shuriken and is your interaction button (opening chests and using the save and shop totems), with L1 as your block button. As you progress, you will also pick up ranged weapons which you will be using the L2 and R2 buttons to utilize. Wielding your katana and making sure to block, you will quickly find yourself discovering new abilities and techniques, acquiring some easy Trophies for your collection when successfully learning them.

As you chase after the Black Spider Ninja Clan and the elusive Elizebet, not only will you learn new moves, but you will also locate various weapons for Ryu’s arsenal. My personal favourite is the Lunar Staff, but there are many other types of blades you will find. Each weapon can be upgraded at Muramasa shops that have the blue light shining beside them.

You will also find yourself traveling the globe in pursuit of the mysterious Elizebet, who is in possession of the Demon Stone stolen from your village. You will be battling against the Greater Fiends as they transform various locations such as New York City into Fiend Realms, as well as Genshin, leader of the Black Spider Ninja Clan, and others who have sided against you.

Some very powerful female characters are included in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Other than the evil Elizebet, we are treated to a newcomer in the Dragon Shrine-Maiden Momiji, the dangerous yet beautiful Ayane, and Rachel the Demon Hunter. These three women are available to play during Team Missions mode, once they have been unlocked.

Team Missions mode allows you to play over the PSN with another player or team up with an AI partner and reach certain goals. Available partners, weapons and skills are all determined on how far along you are in Story Mode. There are a few simple rules for this mode:

1) Items cannot be accessed during this mode
2) Weapons and Ninpo cannot be switched once the mission has begun
3) If you cannot save your team mate in time, or you both die at the same time, the mission is over and you will have to retry

In comparison to the Xbox 360 version of the game, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is very close to the original in terms of music and graphics to what I recall. I will say, the design team has tightened up the overall look of the game, and the redrawing of the characters to make them look more adult is a big bonus. I much prefer the new look for Ayane as compared to her usual babyfaced DOA (Dead or Alive franchise) style.

I have only had two issues with the game. First off, the game requires you to be signed into your profile in order to play. While I understand that it wants access to your profile so that it can keep the leaderboards updated, it is not to the player’s advantage if there is an internet issue in your neighbourhood which is keeping you from playing your game. As for my second issue, I cannot be for certain it is the fault of the game itself or if it has to do with the latest PS3 firmware update. I have experienced “black outs” on the screen during boss fights and randomly at other points in the game. I will be playing and the game will pause momentarily, hitting a black screen for a few seconds. It does come back, but always throws me off when it does so.

The last is not so much an issue as it is a slight annoyance. When acquiring items such as technique or notebook scrolls off fallen bodies, I’m noticing it takes about 10 seconds after I hit the Proceed button to return to gameplay. Exiting from Muramasa’s Shop also has this problem. I don’t recall so much of a lag with the 360 version of the game.

Overall Opinion:

If I was to choose between the 360 and PS3 versions of this title, I would have to call it a draw. While this is a bit easier than the first version, it also has the drawbacks of requiring an install and the minor lag issue I noted. That said, this is still an incredibly fun game. The blood has been toned down a bit to a more realistic level than NG2 but that really does not detract from the game. I do give this version a slight plus over the 360 edition purely because I have been able to play it for a much longer period of time. I’m sure that has to do with the fact I am finding it easier to play on Acolyte mode. Team Ninja’s Sigma edition is not nearly as impossible as Ninja Gaiden Black (thank goodness!) which makes it less of a chore to go back in and take another go at a boss that stumps me. If you have less patience than I do (and trust me, sometimes I have very little), then this game is not for you.