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The gamer crack known as Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords kept getting better as it evolved from PC screen, to handheld screen, and finally to glorious HD. As this blogger has officially not been able to use the Xbox 360 for the last four hours because of household members discovering the game for the first time, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to go back and update our original metareview on Puzzle Quest. Although the Wii version costing $30 and PS2 version at $20 are expected Nov. 13, the real gem in the Puzzle Quest iterations is certainly the $15 HD version available on XBLA. Civilization may be known for its "just one more turn" line of addicts everywhere, but Puzzle Quest could very well become known for "just one more quest" as more and more people discover this addictive puzzle/RPG hybrid.
Previous Metareview for DS and PSP:
Gamespot(85/100) - "What's most remarkable about Puzzle Quest is how a simple change of context turns some tired genre conventions that have been done to death into something that's suitable for just about anyone, regardless of your interest in the components."
Gamesradar(70/100) - "The source material Bejeweled is fantastically compelling, so the puzzling is solid even if purists may dislike the addition of spells and powers. But those powers can definitely tip the scales in a match, so they add a whole new nuance and added strategy. And your constantly rising stats, abilities and property deliver a nice feeling of progression."
Update for XBLA:
Gamespot(90/100) - "Online play is a great addition, even if it's limited to straightforward ranked and player matches. It's still fun to be able to take the character you've been building up in the single-player campaign against another live player, and the ability to adjust the time limit for each player's turn can make the action much more frantic and challenging. ... Despite coming out on XBLA a good half a year after the original DS and PSP releases, Puzzle Quest still feels incredibly fresh and vital, and the changes made in between make it even easier to recommend."
IGN(90/100) - "The minor glitches that were apparent in the DS version are nowhere to be found here. It's also a bargain on XBLA, priced at half the amount of the portable versions. If you haven't played Puzzle Quest, yet, this is a definite download. And if you have it's likely you'll fall in love with its seemingly endless set of quests to be accomplished, different classes to try, and new spells to master all over again. Throw in achievements, higher resolution graphics, and online multiplayer -- Puzzle Quest is a marriage that will last."
Gallery: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (XBLA)
Introductory paragraph Insert something completely unrelated, irrelevant and painfully unfunny. Possible similes this week: "As quiet as a graveyard of mimes." "More awkward than a handshake between Samus and Mega Man." "As quiet as a graveyard of mimes... in space."
Middle Filler text. Filler text. Analysis -- mention DS Phat and GBA being dropped from chart by Media Create. Xbox 360 sales increase due to Project Gotham Racing 4 release (at #25 in software chart)?
Conclusion Filler text. Oh God, is this really the 61st sales post? How did life go so horribly wrong that I spend my Friday evenings calculating and commenting on inane statistics from a foreign country? And people keep expecting these to be "entertaining." Can't take the pressure anymore. Will kill Self tomorrow. Then, will kill self.
Reminder: Replace all filler text before auto-publish time and stop procras Reminder: Finish previous sentence. Reminder: Feed Self.
Britney and Commander Shepherd from Mass Effect have something in common: they're both looking for friends. Apparently, having your visitation rights with your kids removed and attempting to stop an evil force from causing the downfall of the entire galaxy produce a similar result for such pensive souls: loneliness. While Britney's response isn't terribly civil (then again, when is running over anyone's foot, let alone a paparazzi's?), the commander has tackled the problem in a more head-on way ... by signing up for Facebook.
That's right, after developing space flight mankind still uses Facebook in the year 2138. Amidst photos of underage coeds goaded into performing less than savory acts on frat members and annoying invites to install vampire, werewolf, zombie, pirates, ninjas, or pirates versus ninja applications, Commander Shepherd and a fellow Mass Effect character Wrex have both created their very own profiles on the social networking site. Anyone looking for some friends that are truly out of this world?
Though we already knew "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" was going to be in Guitar Hero 3 we didn't realize it was going to be the final track (the end boss, if you will). A helpful press release just informed us of the distinction while pointing us to this MP3 file of the now fiddle-free version. Gone is the violin and in its stead is, of course, a guitar – a fast guitar – played by one Mr. Steve Ouimette who, when asked for comment said, "I told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been."
Peep the entire track list to date after the break (with helpful YouTube links!).
Cheapy D's army of frugal Fannies bring word that this week's Best Buy flyer (beginning Oct. 21) reveals Heroes on HD DVD is free with the purchase of an Xbox 360 HD DVD player. So, if we're grasping this properly, if you purchase the Xbox 360's HD DVD player from Best Buy you'll get King Kong (still bundled in), Heroes, and five free HD DVDs. The five free movies offer has also now been expanded to Europe. If the Xbox 360 HD DVD unit ends up being true, this ridiculous HD DVD vs. Blu-ray format war might actually be heating up rather than ending. All we know is that the consumers who wait for this mess to end are the ones who'll "win."
Here's a surprise: Life would be a lot easier for EA if they didn't have to port all of their games to so many different platforms. In fact, they'd be happier with just one. Gerhard Florin, EA's head of international publishing, told the BBC, "We want an open, standard platform which is much easier than having five which are not compatible." Well, count this as one of the many times when we're happy we're living in reality, rather than an alternate, EA-crafted dimension. We probably don't have anything to worry about though, Florin says he thinks dedicated consoles could be around for "up to 15 years."
The way we see it, everyone is better off having consoles competing, pushing each other to do better. But out of curiosity, do any of you feel differently? Would you rather have just one box that handled all of your gaming needs?
So this is a fun lesson in how to handle your Super Street Fighter II HD Remix marketing campaign. Putting out a bunch of really sexy, high-def images of your characters is a great start. Following it up with great pictures of stages is just as good. But when things are going that well, don't let your first video be an ugly, poorly-lit shaky cam clip.
Here's a thought: What about capturing from the actual game? Sure, it's a few more wires to plug in, but isn't it worth it? See, when the whole point of your game is that it looks purty, you probably want a video that makes it look ... you know ... purty. As far as what we can see in this clip ... well, it looks like Street Fighter.
Capcom announced ballpark dates and prices to go with some of the downloadable titles they plan to offer on Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and PC in the next half-year. The details were given in London, so to ere on the side of caution, we're going to call these Euro details until further notice -- we doubt that's the truth, but a little caution never hurts. The games are:
Capcom also said that (seriously these long titles need to stop) Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix on PS3 will be available on PSN "soon" and "global headset support" will launch with the European version. Now if we could just get a better video of SSFIITHDR we might understand what's taking so long for the prettified update.
Self-described Australian "lifestyle technology guide" Smarthouse is citing "a senior Toshiba executive in Singapore" as saying that Microsoft and Toshiba are working on a new Xbox 360 with a built-in HD DVD drive. "An Xbox with a built in HD DVD drive is critical. They and we are working on it," the unnamed executive told the site, adding that the system might have Toshiba branding rather than Microsoft (Panasonic Q, anyone?). As if that weren't enough, the article also hints at the possibility of wireless networking, an HDTV tuner and and MP3 player dock for the super-system, which would at the point probably have the MSRP of a small house.
This isn't the firsttime that rumors of an internal HD DVD drive for the 360 have leaked out, and it's just as hard to give them much credence now. The HD DVD-free system is soundly beating the Blu-ray equipped PS3 in sales and the $179 external drive is already serving the smallish segment market that wants high-def movies. Then again, with Blu-ray movies threatening to run away with the high-def movie crown and developers saying additional storage space is a must, maybe Microsoft is finally ready to make a strong move toward the format.
Or maybe not. According to Smarthouse, the new device won't be announced until late 2008 or even the January 2009 CES. We're not holding our breath but we're not exactly ignoring the possibility either.
Since we were running from appointment to appointment, we didn't have much time to shoot video, although be sure and check out our 200+ image (and growing) E For All gallery for your edutainment.
What video we did manage to shoot and cram into iMovie and then upload hastily to Viddler is here, also for your edutainment. As you can see, Rock Band and Guitar Hero III were popular stops, and Namco's Pac-Man heads were a hot commodity. There's a bit of Super Smash Bros. Brawl tossed in, although a Nintendo-bot came over and told us that we couldn't film the gameplay footage since, "The game isn't out yet." Strange, but we sort of thought that was the idea behind showing it off at E For All. Anyhow, she let us keep what we filmed, and then went off after another amateur cameraman.
We'll be bringing you more from the floor today and through the weekend, including more impressions of MGS4, some interviews, and more hands-on than you can shake a Wiimote at. If there's something you've heard about at the show that you want captured on video or with some photos, let us know ... just please don't make us document the selection in the food court. We beg of you.
You may think that the guys handing consumer relations for Microsoft have it easy (discounting, of course, the occasional bout of scarlet unpleasantness). But we're not sure we could handle the kind of scrutiny they put their new employees under. Take this poor sap who was allowed to work from his home ... as long as he'd agree to a portal in his living room.
Selfish as we are, we're less concerned about Nelson Rodriguez's plight than we are about the implications. Think about it for just a moment: Microsoft in bed with Aperture Science? Can that really be good news for anyone?
So, we came, we saw, and we'll be back for more throughout Friday and the weekend, but the big question you all wanna know is ... will there be an E For All 2008? Signs point to "not very likely." Judging by some of the empty rows of gaming stations we saw, and the fact that it doesn't fill the South Hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center, it's hard to imagine this show being a giant success.
In fact, since it's held in the exact same place that E3 used to be, it's impossible not to compare it to the other shows. In fact it sort of feels like E3 reborn, except that they forgot to send out invites and let people know about it. There were a few busy areas, like the Konami booth which had a line of people all day long waiting to play the MGS4 demo (which was sweet, more on that later), and the Nintendo booth had bleachers set up where people patiently waited to get their hand on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was also sweet. If by sweet you mean button-mashy, which we do.
Also popular was Link's Crossbow Training, which we'll be playing tomorrow, and of course, Guitar Hero 3. We also witnessed several people pulling Peter Moore's at the Rock Band trailer, which was an extremely cool setup ... but sort of sparsely attended. Probably due to the fact that no one really wants to hear perfect strangers butchering The Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go."
While there's not a ton of material out there that hasn't already hit the shelves, we did have fun playing around at the EA booth (we still love you, The Orange Box), and Civiization: Revolution is a lot of fun, which we'll be telling you more about soon. For now, the obligatory Guitar Hero III stations, the elaborate Rock Band stages, the ubiquitous cosplay shots and an overdose of Fatal1ty await you in the gallery.
Apropos of its title, the last time we discussed Dark Void it was shrouded in mystery, but now a trailer has shined light into the void which, while scientifically unsound, is helpful for those trying to make a purchasing decision. It seems that, if this trailer is any indication, the first half of the game will be some boring stuff about gods and then your character will get a jet pack and everything will suddenly be awesome.
OK, so we're trying to keep our cynical composure, but this actually looks pretty cool, doesn't it? Not only are we a fan of the jet pack (we are) but it seems like its pretty integral to the game. Check out the part where the hero is falling while still using ledges as cover, it's sort of like Gears of War meets ... falling. OK, Dark Void you win. You're officially on the radar.
To start with, there's "the horrendous box art, which I'm pretty certain was designed by a select group of mildy-talented fifth graders." (8)
For Half-Life 2 and its episodic add-ons, "the visuals are not as good as they should be." (8) "The graphics don't compare with say BioShock, Gears of War or Halo 3," (6) and the game "suffer[s] from occasional framerate stutters and issues." (1) "There's also some noticeable pop-up." (6) "You'll ... see some chugs at certain points, such as during large chain explosions with equally large numbers of characters onscreen." (1)
"There are mid-level loads that halt the action... often [for] 30 seconds to a full minute. This is especially aggravating when a load comes during a high-speed chase." (8) "Whenever you approach a new area, the game pauses and loads. This feels distinctly last-gen, especially compared with FPS of the moment Halo 3, which seamlessly loads new areas without pause." (6)
As for the game itself, "some sections feel over-long, others just a lonely set of corridors." (3) Your AI teammates "can often get in your way when trying to move about small places [and] the AI often ignores [your] orders or will simply refuse to stay put and let you get through a corridor." (8) "Episode 2 is still linear. ... It's not exactly innovative - there's only one new enemy type and the lone new weapon isn't seen until the finale." (4) "The sense of familiarity can dull the game's appeal to [an] extent." (3)
From the man who brought you a Big Daddy caretaking a zen garden comes ... Big Daddy skateboarding. Now imagine, if you will, that the skateboarding Big Daddy has just crashed and, though the laws of ragdoll physics, lands in a very relaxed pose on a bench. Keep dreaming and check out the highlights for today:
Introductory paragraph
8,699 (9.95%)
1,543 (14.26%) 
To start with, there's "the horrendous box art, which I'm pretty certain was designed by a select group of mildy-talented fifth graders." (8)
