To be completely honest with you, Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon is a very difficult game for me to review. That’s because I’d much rather be playing it than writing about it.

The bugs are BACK, baby. Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (henceforth referred to as EDF:IA, or just awesome game) is a reprisal of the cult classic Earth Defense Force 2017, though this time by American developer Vicious Cycle as opposed to Japanese developer Sandlot. Some things have changed, but trust me when I say the insect crunching action is just the same, and in some cases better.

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I’ve been a bit irresponsible when it comes to Dragon’s Dogma. I had my first taste of the game a couple months back while at Captivate 2011. In lieu of there being any Mega Man titles, Dragon’s Dogma was easily my favorite of Capcom’s offerings (and this was still the case at E3). I fully intended to report my impressions on the game back then, but I sort of just… let it fall by the wayside. It would be a travesty to make the same mistake twice, so I’ll now, finally, regale you my impressions along with data I picked up from Captivate.

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"Monster Hunter meets anime in Gods Eater Burst."

With the Monster Hunter franchise currently selling approximately one hojillion copies per entry in Japan, it’s no surprise that other companies are taking notice. Several games borrowing its formula of mission-based, cooperative beast slaying have popped up recently. Among them is Gods Eater Burst, a game that fortunately has enough fresh ideas to become more than just a “Monster Hunter clone”.

Gods Eater Burst takes place in a post apocalyptic future where giant monsters named Aragami attack what is left of civilization. As part of the anti-monster group Fenrir, you (as a male or female character of your own creation) must take these creatures down with your rag tag crew of overly fashion conscious teenagers.

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I picked up Monster Tale because I’ve been getting tremendously annoyed at Jesse flaunting his progress in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. As the guy probably most responsible for getting me into the series, it tears me up to hear about his stories of Ice Barroths and Poison Royal Ludroths. I keep seeing all the fancy new equipment and armor dancing around in my head at night. I had to do something, anything, to tear in and bash up some monsters. I had to get my fix.

It turns out Monster Tale has absolutely nothing to do with Monster Hunter, but it’s still a really good game.

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Popular fantasy/satire game, Magicka, just released its first piece of DLC today on Steam: the Wizard Survival Kit. The pack includes a sweet, sweet “Wizard Hat” (an item desperately missing from the game), “Sharp Sword” (comes with the instructions “stick them with the pointy end”), “Staff +1″ and the brand new spell “Meteor Shower”.

At 99cents, the pack will be a welcome addition to Magicka’s frantic spell casting action. This is the first paid DLC for the game (the first pack was part of a free update), and according to the game’s publisher, more is on the way.

“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

As the resident Mega Man fan here, you… oh wait, I guess Jesse is here too. As the resident other Mega Man fan here, you might think I love the series all over and I think it can do no wrong. I mean, I do maintain a Mega Man fansite and try to shill for it at every opportunity I get. But the truth is I’m pretty discerning in what I see as quality in games, and Mega Man 5 is an interesting case. While it was the first Mega Man game I ever owned and I do have fond memories of playing it, I’ve come to determine it’s one of the weakest games in the series.

It’s by no means a terrible game; it was derived from a tried and true formula and had the benefit of a few years of experience and fine tuning. It’s probably still one of the better NES games out there. But Mega Man 5 is also where the series really starts to run out of steam. If Mega Man 2 was lightning in a bottle, Mega Man 5 was a bottle opener. Had I not been 10 when I played this game, my perspective of the whole franchise might be wildly skewed from what it is today.

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"When in Rome, do as the assassins do."

What’s this? Crotchety old schooler Adam is reviewing a modern, immersive, narrative-driven game!? After all that stuff he’s said about old games being so much better!? What’s the world coming to!?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I know this is quite a shock to you all. I am outed. Much in the same way a Halo and God of War loving self-proclamated hardcore would be sheepish to admit he likes Pokémon, I must confess that Assassin’s Creed is one of my guilty pleasures.

Okay, so it’s not like I’m actually embarrassed about it or anything. And as much as I’d love to review something like Donkey Kong Country Returns, truth be told I was looking forward to Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood for some time (or AssCreBro as we’ve come to call it around the WingDamage HQ).

So how does it stack up?

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It has come to our attention that some people still haven’t picked up the excellent action/shooter, Vanquish. With all the great games 2010 has brought us thus far, it would be easy for people to forget to try Platinum’s new IP. But make no mistake, we will… stop that from happening.

We’re giving away a copy of Vanquish for the Playstation 3 to one lucky commenter. To prove to us that you’re man enough to take the game on, read the rules below and give us your best grunty, space marine line below. Examples from the game include “I’m gonna need a bigger gun!” and “This fight is for the men going home in pine boxes!” Just keep you’re lines PG (unlike the game) and make sure to grunt a lot while you type them.

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For this review, please imagine me hunkered over, holding my back with one hand while propping myself up with a cane with the other. My trousers are held up with suspenders, my plaid shirt is tapered, and my face wears a constant scowl. Got all that in mind there? Ready? Ok, good. Ahem.

In MY day, games were hard as hell, and we liked ‘em that way! Didn’t need no too-tour-ree-alls, or yer fancy shmancy fast time situations or whatever ya have. Ya hit start at’n the title screen, ya played the game, and ya got yer keester whipped. And that was just fine! … … … AN’ ANOTHER THING! There ‘as no ten minute cuttin’ scenes or surround sound dij’tal Dolby an’ all that nonsense. Only had there 256 colors, at best, and we LOVED it! Why in my day, yadda yadda yadda… I think you get he point.

So many games these days are too complex, too stuffy, and frankly too easy. And I’m from the late NES era. Just imagine what the arcade era thinks! Ahh, but thankfully, before I really do turn into that old man and make my grandchild hate visiting me, there’s Super Meat Boy.

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When Shinji Mikami first described how Vanquish would blend the third person shooter genre with the fast pace of an action game, my interest was immediately piqued. I loved the concept, but at the same time I had no idea how it could successfully be pulled off.

Amazingly enough, they found a way. Vanquish has all the normal concepts of a cover based shooter, but polished up to be incredibly smooth. They then added an insane sense of speed and mobility for both you and your enemies, creating a game that really evolves the genre into something truly special.

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