You know that moment in gaming where you’re no longer making conscious decisions and instead find yourself relying on pure, razor fast instinct? This is how I felt for almost the entirety of the time I spent with SkyDrift. Much like the fantastic Split/Second, SkyDrift‘s brand of racing puts you on the verge of death constantly, and everytime you manage to narrowly escape certain doom at the hands of the track’s terrain or your opponent’s weapons it feels like a miracle.

It’s amazing how much the concept of flight changes how a racing game plays. The added verticality of racing in an airplane instead of a car allows for a sense of freedom that really makes every race play out differently. This is also helped by some really superb track design. There aren’t a ton of tracks, but the ones that are there are filled to the brim with branching pathways, a ton of variety, and plenty of extra dangerous obstacles that reward players willing to take risks.

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The past few years have not been kind to the storied Medal of Honor franchise. As rival franchise Call of Duty soared to greater and greater heights, the Medal of Honor series struggled to keep up. It’s setting had even become a joke as every year we gamers were treated to a glut of World War II shooters.

It was obvious that a change was needed to spark the franchise back to the top. New studio Danger Close was brought in to handle the single player campaign and legendary Battlefield creators DICE took care of the game’s multi-player mode. This was the first game in the series that was going to have an M rating. The setting has also been changed from World War II to modern day Afghanistan.

Everything was in place for Medal of Honor to challenge Halo and Call of Duty for shooter supremacy.

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When I first heard of Monday Night Combat, I awaited its release cautiously. I’m not saying that the game looked bad when it first came to my attention, but I wasn’t sure I could trust the folks at Uber Entertainment to deliver on such a bizarre concept.

As some one who has a difficult time playing a Call of Duty match type any more complicated then “SHOOT ALL THE DUDES”, I approached the supposed “Tower Defense Shooter” with cautious optimism.

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Scott Pilgrim is having a bit of a media explosion at the moment. It’s gone from an independent comic (started in 2004) that I had only heard about in passing, to a franchise that the entire internet seems to be talking about (both positively and negatively) with a movie and a videogame released last week.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is an old-school brawler through and through. You and up to three local friends (sorry, no online multiplayer) play as either Scott, Ramona, Kim, or Stills and get to punching and kicking your way through each of the game’s stages.

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Much like Dragon Quest, the Monster Hunter series is one of the biggest names in gaming in Japan and almost unheard of in North America. Most people over here just don’t “get it”, and many of them don’t want to put forth the effort required in order to really understand what the game is all about. After all, even with more accessible entries in the series such as Monster Hunter Tri, there is still a very steep learning curve to overcome.

Originally I wanted to write a review of Monster Hunter Tri in order to spread the word. However, after over 100 hours of playing the game, I still haven’t experienced all it has to offer. I’ve come to realize, it’s not a traditional review that’s going to spark interest. My hopes are that by sharing the reasons that the series is so engaging (many of which are not immediately obvious to the new player), it will help more people realize the joys that can be found from becoming a Monster Hunter.
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"ICED TO MEET YOU!"

Watching trailers of the original Lost Planet was what made me want an Xbox 360. When the game finally came out, it had its flaws, but I still loved it. When the sequel was revealed, I was very excited.

Lost Planet 2 takes place a decade after the original. This time around, the planets snowy regions have begun to melt, revealing jungles, deserts, and other areas. That’s both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, I really enjoyed the lonely ice planet of the first, but it is nice to have a little more variety in terrain this time around. You’ll even have some missions near the end that take place on a space station, complete with low gravity.

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There are a few new things on the horizon for WingDamage. One of these is HD video. Above, you’ll find a montage of gameplay footage recorded from one of my play sessions of the Lost Planet 2 multiplayer beta. This video is a bit of a guinea pig for video capturing, editing, and processing, so expect quality to increase with future videos.

At the beginning, you can see the basis of the weapon customization system. There are five categories to customize. The weapons dropped on the stage from your point of view will be based on those selections. For example, you might see a short range weapon drop. Depending on your settings, this will give you either a shotgun or a revolver. It’s a really interesting system that I look forward to seeing expanded on in the full game.

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Don’t you just hate it when you don’t have a copy of Capcom’s new Wii exclusive rail-shooter, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles? We here at WingDamage empathize with your oddly specific predicament. How? We’re giving away a free copy of the game to one lucky reader. Simply follow the rules below and let us know what your favorite zombie movie is and a winner could be you!

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"A hard game to ask for by name."

Kingdom Hearts is a series that is starting to have more “side stories” than numbered games. The latest entry, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, takes place after an event that happened most of the way through the first game and spans all the way up until Kingdom Hearts 2 begins (with Chain of memories taking place in parallel). But enough about time-lines.

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"Like Umbrella Chronicles, only better."

“2 Player Reviews” is a series of articles in which two members of the Wing Damage staff separately review a game, so as to give our readers multiple perspectives on the subject matter.

Player 1 – Jesse “Main Finger” Gregory

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is Capcom’s latest Wii exclusive rail-shooter and the follow up to 2007′s Umbrella Chronicles. You and a friend (or artificial intelligence in single player) will each take on the role of one of the Resident Evil franchise’s established characters as you set out to unload rounds into zombies and other strange creatures.

The Darkside Chronicles features approximately twenty stages spread out over three scenarios: Memory of a Lost City (Resident Evil 2), Game of Oblivion (Resident Evil Code: Veronica), and Operation Javier. The game begins and ends with Operation Javier which, unlike the other scenarios, is an original story (starring Leon Kennedy and Jack Krauser) not based on an existing game.

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