Automated Culture

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Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:00:00 EDT

The following link will direct you to the new address for this feed. Sorry for the inconvenience during this reorganization.
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Rainbow Six: Vegas [PSP]

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 15:00:00 EDT

Ubisoft's squad-based shooter goes portable and follows a parallel story to the home console versions, with the player controlling a team of two on a recovery mission to save fellow Rainbow Six members abducted by terrorists.
Full Review

Go! Puzzle [PS3]

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:30:00 EDT

Sony's latest offering via the PlayStation Store is this collection of three puzzle games, also available separately for only a few dollars each. It's a great value, and puzzle fans of all skill levels will find something here to suit them.
Full Review

Forza Motorsport 2 [360]

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:30:00 EDT

Microsoft's racing simulator goes next-generation, and there isn't much for fans to be left wanting.
Full Review

Surf's Up [360]

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:00:00 EDT

Instead of most movie-licensed games, where players generally complete objectives to follow the established plot, Ubisoft decided on a different take here and made a surfing game that reflects the movie's action without retreading the story.
Full Review

Shadowrun [360][Vista]

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Microsoft's first foray into cross-platform online play comes in the form of an adaptation of the 90's tabletop role-playing game, combining the technologies of Cyberpunk fiction with more traditional RPG fare such as Elves and Trolls while adding ancient Mayan magic to the mix.
Full Review

Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End [PS3][360]

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:00:00 EDT

While "Movie Games" have a reputation for being nothing more than a cash-grab, Disney's titles have generally fared better, likely for the mere reason that it's their own property being used. So is the case with this game based on the second and third Pirates of The Caribbean films.
Full Review

Top 20 Games of March 2007

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:30:00 EDT

New releases dominate sales for March, taking up almost half the chart. NHL 07 hangs on as the only Canadian developed title.
Full Story

Dragon's Lair HD [PS3]

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:30:00 EDT

The Laserdisc arcade classic gets remastered in full High Definition video on Blu-ray disc.
Full Review

Enchanted Arms [PS3]

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:00:00 EDT

At Enchant University, Atsuma spends more time asleep in class than actually learning anything, so it's a good thing he has his more studious friend Toya by his side most of the time.
Full Review

Spectrobes [DS]

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 13:30:00 EDT

Rallen is a member of the Nanairo Planetary Patrol, and when he and his partner, Jeena find the survivor of a crashed spaceship, they learn that creatures known as the Krawl are set to invade the galaxy.
Full Review

MotorStorm [PS3]

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 13:00:00 EDT

The original E3 trailer for Sony's off-road racer gave the impression of a chaotic, high speed title with incredible visuals.
Full Review

Dance Dance Revolution Universe [360]

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EDT

DDR makes its way onto the Xbox 360 with generally the same array of modes and options as previous versions...
Full Review

Virtua Fighter 5 [PS3]

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EDT

The father of modern 3D fighting games comes to the next generation of consoles.
Full Review

Top 20 Games of February 2007

Thurs, 15 Mar 2007 15:30:00 EDT

Three new releases top the monthly chart for February, but holiday releases still dominate sales.
Full Story

Kim Possible: Global Gemini [DS]

Thurs, 15 Mar 2007 15:00:00 EDT

Kim Possible returns for another round of portable platform gaming and this time, evil mastermind Gemini plans to take over the world using a brainwashing device.
Full Review

GTA Vice City Stories [PS2]

Thurs, 15 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EDT

Of all the regular GTA games, Vice City has been my favourite so far, so I was looking forward to spending more time in the cheeky, 80's-inspired city.
Full Review

Lumines Plus [PS2]

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EDT

The killer launch title for PSP owners finally comes to the PS2.
Full Review

Formula 1 Championship Edition [PS3]

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:30:00 EDT

The presentation is a bit sparse, but all the official tracks and drivers are here.
Full Review

Ghost Rider [PS2]

Thurs, 22 Feb 2007 14:00:00 EST

Based on the comic books, Ghost Rider doesn't try for much of a plot, but focuses on action instead as you travel through different areas of Hell and Earth to save Roxanne.
Full Review

Top 20 Games of January 2007

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:00:00 EST

The PlayStation 3 makes its software chart debut with Resistance: Fall of Man while Zelda: The Twilight Princess keeps the GameCube on life support and Canadian content stays in the game, mostly thanks to NHL 07.
Full Story

The Warriors [PSP]

Tues, 20 Feb 2007 14:00:00 EST

Based on the 1979 film, The Warriors are a New York City street gang wrongly accused of killing a rival gang leader who was seeking to unite the gangs. Now all the gangs are after The Warriors, who need to get back to their turf if they're going to survive.
Full Review

Ghost Rider [Film]

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:30:00 EST

Ghost Rider is the latest in Hollywood's campaign to resurrect "classic" comic book characters and bring them to the silver screen, and hopefully, renewed popularity. Though I somehow missed out on the comics in the seventies, I definitely would have dug the whole flaming skull and badass bike concept from the get-go, which means I was more than happy to check out the film.
Full Review

Crackdown [360]

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 10:00:00 EST

Tracking down various gang lords and taking them out as a bio-engineered supercop sounds cool, but ends up playing a lot like GTA. Skimpy directives and the use of a voice-over instead of cutscenes prevents players from caring about the situation, and the game quickly becomes an exercise in finding enemies with the radar and dispatching of them. Scaling buildings with your super jumping abilities to get at rooftop enemies is kinda cool, but sometimes it's a pain to figure out how to get where you need to go. Overall, there's just too much here that we've seen and done before. [6/10]

Battlestations Midway [360]

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 12:30:00 EST

Join the U.S. Navy and command ships, subs and planes in various missions based around WWII. There's a lot of depth here, but the controls and various option screens are generally intuitive and well thought out, letting you stay focused on the action. You can choose to command from afar, issuing engagement orders, or take control of individual units for a more hands-on approach. The graphics are realistic, but not mind blowing by any means. In addition to the single player game are various challenges and an online battle mode. Military and strategy game fans should have a blast here, but it's likely a bit more than casual gamers will want to take on. [8/10]

Sonic The Hedgehog [PS3]

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 12:00:00 EST

Sonic makes his next-gen return and somehow manages to fail almost completely. There's an even greater sense of watching the game rather than playing it this time and the core gameplay has flaws that you'd only expect from the greenest of developers, such as a text box that appears telling you to jump after you already should have. Adding in the silly "shop for power-ups in the town" feature, some truly atrocious presentation with voiceless characters, and probably the most loading times I've sat though in years and you get the worst possible combination of everything wrong with Sonic since the series went 3D. Shame on you Sega! [2/10]

A Delta State primer [DVD]

Tues, 13 Feb 2007 19:00:00 EST

I did this up since the Delta State season one DVD set is out today, and if you don't know what Delta State is... you should, because it's pretty cool. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for the second season.

UPDATED: Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection [PS3]

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:30:00 EST

This PlayStation Store download appears to be a direct port of the arcade machine, including support for 1080p resolution and it looks great. Dark Resurrection continues the Tekken 5 story and adds fighters Dragunov and Lili, as well as unlockable boss character Jinpachi Mishima (Heihachi's father). Armor King fans will be happy to note his return as well. The standard Arcade and Vs. modes are here, as well as Ghost Battle, where other players' fighting styles are downloaded as ghosts for you to play against. It's not the same as directly playing online, but it works well, and eliminates any concerns with network lag ruining the gameplay. You can also buy items to customize your characters with gold earned during fights. Though the bonus games fans have come to expect are missing here, the game is easily as good as the excellent PSP release, and for less than $20 will more than sate the appetites of fans until Tekken 6 is released later this year. UPDATED: The game is available now in Hong Kong and Japan, and will be coming to North America "later this month". [9/10]

Hockey scores top spot in 2006 sales

Tues, 16 Jan 2007 15:00:00 EST

Hockey's dominance of the year's top sellers once again is no big surprise, EA's NHL 07 took first, eleventh and fourteenth place on the PS2, Xbox 360 and Xbox, respectively. Meanwhile, Take 2's NHL 2K7 for the PS2 came in at nineteen, relegating the only other sports title (Madden NFL 07) to the bottom of the chart.
Full Story

Top 20 Games of December 2006

Tues, 16 Jan 2007 14:30:00 EST

NPD Canada announced the top twenty selling games of December 2006:
Full Story

Far Cry: Vengeance [Wii]

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:30:00 EST

This latest version of Far Cry seems to be a reworking of the previous Far Cry Instincts Evolution title with support for the Wii Remote. Jack Carver has been given a mysterious serum that gives him feral abilities to take out his enemies, though the back story isn't really fleshed out here.
Full Review

Blazing Angels [PS3]

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:00:00 EST

Taking the historic WWII simulation in a different direction, this game's all about the battle in the sky, insead of on the ground. After the obligatory flying, shooting and bombing training, the action starts right away with you defending a bridge from enemy bombers. The game plays up the interaction and commeraderie between pilots through radio chatter and the use of wingmen, who you can assign rules of engagement to. A good selection of planes and various multiplayer modes add depth and you can also fly by tilting the controller for more challenge. [4/5]

Star Wars: Lethal Alliance [PSP]

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 21:00:00 EST

Taking place between Episodes three and four, this game introduces Rianna Saren, a slave trade escapee and mercenary. Along with Zeeo, her droid sidekick, Rianna's story helps fill in the blanks between the original and newer trilogies while showing some of the earlier days of the Rebel Alliance.
Full Review

Rainbow Six: Vegas [360]

Tues, 19 Dec 2006 21:30:00 EST

After briefly undergoing development at the Red Storm studio last year, Rainbow Six returns to Ubisoft Montreal for more anti-terrorist action, this time taking place in Sin City. The series also comes to the Xbox 360 for the first time as well, promising more realism and plenty of multiplayer features.
Full Review

Need For Speed: Carbon [PS3]

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:30:00 EST

The latest iteration of EA's street racing series puts you in a turf war with rival racing crews for control of the city. Meet and recruit new members to fill various roles during races, such as blocking or scouting the road ahead for short cuts and then win races as a team to take over sections of the map. As with most of EA's PS3 launch titles, the game looks quite similar to the Xbox 360 version, though curiously, it only supports up to 720p where the 360 version has 1080i output. It looks good, but it's hard not to think it could look better. You can customize your car almost limitlessly with a new feature called Autosculpt and the cutscenes with the cheesy acting are slightly less painful than they were in last year's NFS: Most Wanted. The multiplayer modes feature online play for eight players, but the 360's new co-op mode is absent here. There's also a Challenge Series of medal events that allow you to unlock new parts and visual upgrades for your car. Though it doesn't stray too far from the series' formula and it seems features were dropped to ship it for launch, the racing action is still as good as ever, and the canyon "boss" races are a good challenge. [7/10]

Need For Speed: Carbon [360]

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 11:04:00 EST

The latest iteration of EA's street racing series puts you in a turf war with rival racing crews for control of the city. Meet and recruit new members to fill various roles during races, such as blocking or scouting the road ahead for short cuts and then win races as a team to take over sections of the map. The game's looks haven't changed much since last year, but you can customize your car almost limitlessly with a new feature called Autosculpt and the cutscenes with the cheesy acting are slightly less painful this time. The multiplayer modes have been upgraded as well, with online play for eight players and a new co-op mode. There's also a Challenge Series of medal events that allow you to unlock new parts and visual upgrades for your car. Though it doesn't stray too far from the series' formula, the racing action is as good as ever, and the canyon "boss" races are a good challenge. [8/10]

Eragon [360]

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 11:03:00 EST

I haven't read the book or seen the movie, but if you have, chances are you'll be disappointed in this low-grade cash grab. Guide stiffly animated title character Eragon through static backgrounds that would look embarrassingly bad even on last-gen consoles and battle groups of literally identical foes that blindly walk into your sword. The game doesn't even use scenes from the movie to further the plot, but instead uses skimpy cutscenes inexplicably narrated by some guy with a Caribbean accent. Likely the worst game of the year. [3/10]

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 [PS3]

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 11:02:00 EST

EA's golf game comes to the PS3 seeming mostly like a port of the Xbox 360 version. That's not a bad thing in general, since the graphics look amazing, but it would have been nice to see better use of the motion sensing controllers. There's also less courses than in the PS2 and Xbox versions, making this feel a bit less like a "next-gen" title and more of a money grab as the missing items will probably become pay downloads; Aren't Blu-ray discs supposed to hold more content? [7/10]

Guitar Hero II [PS2]

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 11:01:00 EST

The sequel to one of last year's best games brings another classic-laden tracklist to wannabe shredders including "Shout at the Devil" and "You Really Got Me". The lineup seems a bit more diverse this time as well, including more melodic selections like "Heart-Shaped Box". The real improvements though, are the ability to play your choice of lead, bass or rhythm guitar and co-operative play modes where you and a friend can play a song together. The music is once again performed by sound-alikes, except for the indie tracks, which include an exclusive new Freezepop song and even the burninating stylings of Strong Bad's "Trogdor". [9/10]

Chicken Little: Ace in Action [DS]

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST

Instead of following the plot of the movie, Ace in Action is based on the action hero versions of the characters from the film-in-a-film at the movie's conclusion. Armed with various weapons and vehicles, your team attempts to stop Foxy Loxy from taking over Earth.
Full Review