E3 Hands-On: Castle of Illusion Remake

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Back in late 1990 Sega wowed players with a great platformer starring Mickey Mouse known as “Castle of Illusion”. It had great graphics, sound, and challenge for its time. To this day, it’s the game Mickey’s most well-known for. 23 years later, Castle of Illusion is back again thanks to Emiko Yamamoto and Sega Studios Australia. It features graphics that give it the look of a $60 game, while still being the simple but challenging platformer we’ve grown to love.

Angry Joe’s Top 10 Reasons Aliens: CM Will Kick Ass!

Me and Nux are big fans of internet celebrity Angry Joe and his video reviews. I even got to meet him at E3 2 years ago. It looks like he’s just as excited for Aliens: Colonial Marines as we are. Here, he gives a top ten list of things he’s most excited for in this upcoming release. It feels a bit stretched with some of the reasons, but it shows his enthusiasm for the upcoming release. Check it out.

Hands-on with Rhythm Thief: Find out why this should be on your radar

There’s no doubt about it; there are many games out there, all of them vying for your money and attention in a competitive marketplace. At a time when the industry’s favoring, by and large, a play-it-safe approach to development, it’s always a breath of fresh air when a game surfaces that feels like something truly unique. Judging by its latest demo (now available on the 3DS’ North American eShop) Rhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure is one such game.

E3 Preview: The Cave

Welcome. Don’t let my sultry and mysterious voice startle you. For hundreds…nay, thousands….nay, nay, nay…..TENS of thousands of years, people have come to me in search of what they desire most. Few find what they are looking for…even fewer ever leave. Welcome to…the cave. That’s me, the cave. Yes, I’m a talking cave. Don’t laugh, it makes dating hell.

Thus begins the start of Ron Gilbert’s new adventure game “The Cave” from Double fine studios. An adventure game in the same vein of other 2-D adventure titles like Lost Vikings or one of Gilbert’s previous games, Maniac Mansion. Much like that game, it is full of character and dark humor. Not to mention some mind-bending but fun logic puzzles. Keep reading to get a little sample of what the game is all about and see if it’s to your “heart’s desire”.

E3 2012: Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz Hands On

Hardcore has returned to Super Monkey Ball. After being completely absent from the disappointing 3DS release, SEGA is bringing the difficulty back to the franchise in what looks to be the strongest handheld entry in the series yet.

Several modes were available in the E3 demo: Beginner’s Mode, Advanced Mode, Monkey Bowling, Love Maze and a stage generator mode. Beginner’s mode is exactly what it sounds like: easy Monkey Ball levels. People who are either new to the franchise or want to freshen up on easier levels can play this mode without worrying about being brutalized by the game’s difficulty. It is essentially like the early levels of any Monkey Ball game.

Preview: Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed

Sega has become synonymous with San Francisco. Station Square and the City Escape level from Sonic Adventure are loosely based on it as well as the first Crazy Taxi game. Even Sega of America itself has its offices based in the city by the bay. So it’s only natural that here is where they show off their latest game in the All-Star/Superstar series that includes both the blue-blur and B.D. Joe.

Just off the 101 freeway in good ‘ol San Fran is a Go-Kart tracing track which for one Tuesday afternoon, was taken over by Sega. In a meeting lounge, me and Nux (check out his preview at TSS) and other press were presented with the first preview of two tracks from Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. (Sega, if you’re going to shorten the title, wouldn’t “Sonic and Sega Racing Transformed” have been better? You’re cutting out your own name!) Anyway, onto the preview!

PAX East: Crimson Dragon Preview

Shut up. Right now.

I realize it’s not wise to tell our readers such a thing, but I thought I’d just get that out of the way now. I don’t care if SEGA’s not on the box, nor that it wasn’t at their booth. This is a SEGA game, if not in reality then in spirit, and I’m writing about it. Ladies and gentleman, Crimson Dragon is Panzer Dragoon 5.

I confess, I haven’t been following this game too closely. I’ve seen far too many Kinect titles I’ve thought had potential crash and burn and I wasn’t about to let myself get my hopes up for a new “Panzer Dragoon”. Upon playing it though, I have to say…Crimson Dragon is the best Kinect game I’ve experienced.

PAX East: Hell Yeah! Preview

What happens when you take Sega’s special brand of lunacy, a Western developer, a digital platform, and toss it all in a blender? This game. I didn’t really care for Hell Yeah’s debut trailer or initial screens. Perhaps it had something to do with the opening trailer’s focus on gore, I’m not really sure. All I did know was I was disinterested. Needless to say, after playing the demo, my interest has been caught.