We all have those games that we miss the first time around. With the busy release schedule of modern gaming, no one has time to play everything. That is why we at WingDamage present to you “Fashionably Late Reviews“. This is our series on games from the current generation of consoles that we may have missed on their initial release, but have gone back to experience now.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is one of those titles that I missed the first time around. I think a lot of it had to do with being burned out on Star Wars in general. There has certainly been an over-saturation of the franchise leading up to, and ever since, the prequel movies.

However, I am a long time fan of the original trilogy, as well as many of the “expanded universe” novels. It was always my plan to go back to The Force Unleashed and the Ultimate Sith Edition was the perfect excuse to do so.

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"An over-the-top brawler powered by absurdity."

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is the newest game from the twisted mind of Suda 51. This time around, the zany brawler comes in a more streamlined package than the first, trimming the fat to bring you more ridiculous action.

Desperate Struggle stars Travis Touchdown, the anime/videogame loving assassin, as he battles his way up the ranks of the UAA once again. This time, Travis is trying to take down the number one assassin to avenge the death of his friend, Bishop. But even if you haven’t played the first game, jumping into the second shouldn’t have you too confused. In fact, the characters even playfully break the fourth wall in the beginning to mention that some players are skipping the first game and don’t care about the past events.

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At first glance, Bayonetta seems like it has the perfect formula for the best action game ever. It’s got a sexy, badass protagonist, over-the-top combat, and to top it off, its creative director is Hideki Kamiya, the man behind the original Devil May Cry. All of these components have come together to make something truly special.

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Wii gets a lot of smack talk against it for being a kiddie baby system for little baby kids. Attempts at making Mature titles have been met with mixed results.

Bloober Team hopes to change all that with Last Flight, an episodic WiiWare title that mixes fast paced action-adventure combat, old-school beat-em-up flavor, horror, and a dark sense of humor.

Click below the break for more info and screens. Warning: The screenshots do feature blood, though they are of the cell-shaded, over-the-top, cartoon-ish variety.

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When I look back at the Dreamcast’s library of hits, there is one title that stands out most strongly in my memory. It was a game that was unapologetically odd, with a unique art style, a funky soundtrack, and gameplay unlike anything I’ve experienced.

“Jet Grind Radio” is a standout game worthy of praise, even a decade after release.

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We all have those games that we miss the first time around. With the busy release schedule of modern gaming, no one has time to play everything. That is why we at WingDamage present to you “Fashionably Late Reviews“. This is our series on games from the current generation of consoles that we may have missed on their initial release, but have gone back to experience now.

“Heavenly Sword” has just about everything wanted in a launch title. Though the reviews from the big names only pegged it as “Decent”. From my admittedly average gamer’s point of view, this game was surprisingly awesome.

Even on a standard definition television, the graphics are gorgeous. I am especially impressed by character expressions. Little nuances that make dialogue and character development more believable, lifelike and compelling. I’m sure we’ve all played games where the camera zooms in on a character’s intense expression in order to indicate “It’s on now” and we’re left sitting, waiting for some kind of change, that is never quite as fulfilling as we want.

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Lone Wolf and Cub is the story of a former samurai turned assassin and his infant son as they travel the path of meifumadō , “the Road to Hell.” The epic fight scenes go hand in hand with historical detail and philosophical lessons.  This manga has influenced everyone from Frank Miller to Quentin Tarantino and popularized the idea of the Ronin (the masterless samurai).

There have been 7 films, 2 television shows, and a futuristic sci-fi comic retelling. Yet here in the west, Lone Wolf and Cub has remained at best a cult hit. I was thinking how amazing a video game based on this series would be.

I was even going to write an article about how kick @#$ a game based on this would be. Then, like the good phony journalist that I am I started doing a little research and found someone had already made it. But it doesn’t exist.

Read on to learn more about the mythical Lone Wolf game and why it needs to be remade for XBLA.  (more…)

Coming into “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” I wasn’t expecting much more than an achievement run. The nicest thing I had heard about the game was that it wasn’t “as terrible as you would think”.  Not exactly a ringing endorsement. I probably would have skipped this game entirely except  young Masterlookas had decided to declare Gamerscore War. I needed whatever points I could get and I was not above playing a little movie game for a quick 500 points.

I popped the game into my console with a hint of trepidation. I always feel a little guilty when I play a game just so I can get the points, but this was war! The game starts off with Wolverine skydiving through the air without a parachute and just before he slams into the ground the camera panned around as the action slows way down so you can watch some hapless soldier get obliterated in a shower of blood. The title popped up with a flourish and I grinned maniacally. Maybe there was something to this after all.

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"Thanks for helping me move, Kratos"

We all have those games that we miss the first time around. With the busy release schedule of modern gaming, no one has time to play everything. That is why we at WingDamage present to you “Fashionably Late Reviews“. This is our series on games from the current generation of consoles that we may have missed on their initial release, but have gone back to experience now.

The transition of God of War from console to hand-held was as smooth as one could possibly hope for.  The design of the PSP lends itself so well to this bloody platformer that it easily ranks high on the ‘Must-Have’ of any starter PSP game collection.

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"Extreme Crotch Punch!"

Most of us that have been around video games for a long time can tell you: avoid almost any licensed or celebrity tie-in game (sports sometimes excluded) at all costs. So why would I throw down with the Xbox 360 shooter “50 Cent: Blood on the Sand” when I know it has a huge likelyhood of being a cash grab?

Two reasons.

First, I rented it instead of buying it.

Second, I heard it was actually pretty good.

Did it live up to the “actually pretty good” hype that I was promised? Read on to find out.

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