Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is kind of a landmark venture in the gaming world.  When it was first announced, many decried it as a paid demo, and why pay for something that is meant to convince you to pay for something else?  Others saw it as an opportunity for a new type of marketing, or even a new genre of games.  Now that it’s out, we can finally answer the question of just what it is, and more importantly, if it’s worth paying for.

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It’s odd how something that I hadn’t even heard of until about two months ago could suddenly become such a big part of my life, but in a short time I have become a completely devoted Scott Pilgrim fan.  I loved the movie, devoured the graphic novels, can’t get the movie’s soundtrack out of my head, and after finishing the game, am completely smitten by it as well.  The tale of Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers has left an indelible tattoo on my non-Canadian brain, and while the game itself may not have quite the storytelling flare as its other renditions, it’s probably the best possible way that such a story could have been translated into a video game.  It takes all the tributes to gaming that the books and movie relate and condenses them into it’s own tribute, and it gets even more fun the more I play it.

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It’s been a long, bumpy ride, but Sam and Max have finally reached the end of their latest journey.  We’ve battled evil space apes, petulant pharaohs, elder gods and their minions, even a misguidedly demonic dummy.  The final episode of this third season leaves us with our biggest challenge yet: saving the city from a giant, mutated, rampaging Max-beast, and most importantly, attempting to save Max himself.  Naturally, this will involve more crazy characters, a few pointed jokes, and plenty of zany puzzles.  But how does this finale measure up against previous episodes?  How does the season fare overall?  Is it worth taking the plunge at last (for those of you who’ve been holding out)?

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BioWare has done a more than fair job so far at releasing DLC.  A few of their packs have been decent, a couple above and beyond what I generally expect of DLC, and now with the release of Golems of Amgarrak we get a new end of the spectrum.  If you don’t want to read the rest of this review, I can tell you how much this DLC is worth in dollar terms right now: one shiny American dollar.  Big Dragon Age fans might be interested in throwing down more.  The measly five dollars they ask for it, however, is overpriced for what it’s worth.  In short, this is Dragon Age’s worst DLC to date, and its shortest, to boot.

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I’m not really a huge zombie fan.  When it comes to the supernatural, I’m more into werewolves and the kind of vampires you would find in an Anne Rice novel.  I enjoyed the Evil Dead franchise, 28 Days Later and the more recent Zombieland but I would never peg myself as a zombie lover by any stretch of the imagination.  What I am a big fan of is Plants vs. Zombies, Dead Rising (despite its flaws) and the Resident Evil games.  I’ve had fun with zombies in video games, so when I was given the chance to review Burn Zombie Burn, I was kind of excited.

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Oh, Dragon Quest, how they love you.  In Japan, anyway.  With the recent release of Dragon Quest IX for DS, however, Nintendo hopes to change that.  Through a careful combination of old and new, Nintendo, Square Enix, and Level-5 hope to make the West crazy for (or at least more familiar with) the iconic, “smiling slime” RPG.  Still, as gamers, we all know that while avoiding innovation can make a franchise feel stale, changing things up too much can ruin the core experience (just ask Sonic).  So has this group of developers and publishers succeeded in crafting something that can be successful outside of Japan?  An experience not just for the die-hard few, but something perfectly palatable for a wide-range of Western gamers?

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Coming off the heels of what I thought was the best Madden of our current generation of consoles; Madden NFL 11 looks to yet again impress football fans across the nation. However EA Sports decided to go in a new direction this year by creating a game that simplifies the formula for newcomers or for those returning to the franchise after a long break. To accomplish this they’ve introduced a few new features, one of which is called GameFlow that not only simplifies the play calling but also cuts the play time in half. Although casual football fans will love this feature, the hardcore fans will not and they might also feel like this year’s Madden wasn’t made for them at all.

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Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow made a pretty big impact on the PSP scene after its 2007 release. I can only assume that the extremely warm reception the original title received (ranging from Game of the Year and Editor’s Choice awards from many publications) was the primary focus behind bringing the portable game to the PS2. With that being said, there is an inherent downside to bringing a portable game to a home console; this is to say nothing of a game nearly three years old.

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Castlevania: Harmony of Despair is a game completely geared towards the Castlevania fan. Everything from the combat, to the enemies you face, and even the setting should be instantly familiar to those who have played other Castlevania games. Adding to this idea is the lack of information given to you on how to play the game. Those who aren’t familiar with the franchise should proceed with caution. With that said, this title gives the loyal fans a new way to experience the franchise with excellent online co-op and a strangely addicting grinding system.

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Atlus really does treat their fans well.  Many associate them with the lavish pre-order bonuses they include with their games, usually without any additional charge, running the gambit from collectible figurines or plushies to art books, soundtracks and more.  And while they are as willing and eager as most other developers/publishers to re-release games (i.e. for a new platform), they almost always are sure to update and add something extra to reward those who might be buying a title for the second (or third) time.  Obviously, Persona 3 Portable is a prime example of this.  Originally released in August 2007, the game was later re-released in a “director’s cut” version (with added content) less than a year later, also for the PlayStation 2.  Now, almost three years to the day after the first game came out, gamers old and new to the title can play it once again in a third iteration, this time for the PSP, with Persona 3 Portable.

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DLC in games is hit or miss with a lot of people. If it attempts to expand the story and lore of the game, it more often than not succeeds at drawing in those who were face-to-screen for hours with the game the first time around. Alan Wake’s upcoming DLC release (July 27) “The Signal” is something I can easily label right now a “hit.” It successfully expands the story past the ending of the game, provides solid gameplay time, and actually intensifies any feeling of craving that light for shelter or just wondering if you will ever escape Bright Falls. In The Signal, Bright Falls manages to up the ante and gets a whole lot crazier. This place has been doomed from the start.

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I have the feeling that DeathSpank is going to appeal to a lot of old-school gamers. Too many modern-era games try to deliver a serious, intense, epic, and dramatic story with multitudes of plot twists, betrayals, and the like. DeathSpank goes the complete opposite direction. Full of crisp visuals and irreverent humor, the latest from Ron Gilbert and Hothead Games delivers what many gamers want, but not necessarily what they might expect.

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Sam & Max’s third season has been a bit of a roller coaster ride.  If you’ll forgive the cliche, it’s had its ups and downs, its times at which the series seemed to push the envelope of what an adventure game could be, and the moments when everything felt a bit too recycled.  However, as the season nears its finale with its fourth episode (out of five), does it seem like it’s been worth the price of admission?

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The Summer of Arcade returns to Xbox Live with a little known title called Limbo. If you are not aware of Playdead’s side-scrolling platformer, allow me to summarize it: direction-controlling parasites, giant spiders with piercing legs, and motion-detecting machine guns threaten to kill a young boy in search of his sister as he solves complicated puzzles across bleak, dreary landscapes. That sentence describes Limbo in a nutshell, although it is much more than that. It is a well-crafted masterpiece that leaves you feeling incredibly accomplished with every obstacle overcome. Although its brevity and disappointing conclusion detract from the experience, Limbo earns its spot as one of the best Xbox Live Arcade titles.

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Naughty Bear, when first announced, gave me a vibe that I’d get from those games I used to play as a kid but shouldn’t have, you know, like Conker’s Bad Fur Day. The games you had to have your friend’s less-righteous-than-your-mother parent to buy at Blockbuster for you because you’re 12. While not nearly as mature as anything like Conker, you can perform some incredibly criminal acts to the seemingly innocent sacks of fluff living on Perfection Island. Oh, if they had just invited me to their birthday party…

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