I’m of the opinion that kids games shouldn’t be garbage.

Just because a game is licensed or made for kids, this should not be used as an excuse to shove shoddy, unfinished games out the door. More often than not, short development cycles thwart any attempt to make a licensed game good, because much of the sales come from hitting the shelves at the same time as the movie a game is based off of.

That’s why I was happy to see that Toy Story 3 felt like a real game.

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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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Crackdown 2 is one of the most brutal punishments one can inflict on a critic. There is nothing to say about Crackdown 2. At best, you can spin a handful of disappointments into a competent, but bland review. Once the review is over, that same critic will then place Crackdown 2 on a shelf, where it will sit for months. Later, he will realize it’s utter worthlessness, and eventually trade it in to some form of used game service. Its worth will be approximately seven dollars, and that man will look at himself and wonder, “Did this game really deserve this kind of time and effort?”

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I’m sure you’ve already heard the Puzzle Quest games described as “Bejewelled with hit points”. It is a pretty base statement, but not entirely untrue. Puzzle Quest 2 continues the tradition of adding role playing elements to a match-3 puzzle game, but this newest version does a few things that make it more enjoyable than its predecessors.

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I really enjoy playing old games. This will come as no surprise to readers that keep up with our Friday Old Games series. But when I do get in the retro mood, I almost always do it on the real console. ROMs, collections, and downloadable releases just don’t feel the same as hooking up an NES (or whatever other system) and playing the game with the setup it was intended for, controller and all.

Lately, this has got me thinking. 20 years from now, will we still be able to experience this current generation of games? And if so, to what capacity?

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It’s that time of year again; a time when countless Xbox 360s will have copies of a new Halo game spinning in their disc trays for hours on end. Whether you’re waiting in line for it or arguing that it’s over-rated, you know we’ll all be playing it at some point because it’s so dang convenient (why can’t more games let you combine local and online multiplayer?).

But while Halo: Reach may have the spotlight, it’s far from all the quarter has to offer. Head past the break to see our full list of anticipated Xbox 360 games for Q3 2010.

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With E3 having come and gone now, I do miss it a little. By all means, it was no walk in the park. Driving around busy downtown LA looking for parking, wading through crowds of gamers, and sitting in lines for upwards of an hour just to try a game for ten minutes; it’s a lot of work. And yet somehow I feel like I came back too soon. Sure, it was fun to try out a lot of cool games before they release, but there was also an energy in the air that I miss being a part of.

At any rate, I must give sincere thanks to Capcom, especially Joveth “jgonzo” Gonzales. Due to my large involvement with The Mega Man Network, and promoting Mega Man in general, they offered me a pass as a way of saying thanks for the support. I am very humbled to know how much they appreciate the work I do, which has never struck me as anything incredible. Still, it’s unfortunate that none of Capcom’s announcements pertained to Mega Man… but I’m thankful all the same! Above is me on Capcom*Unity’s E3 stream with jgonzo and Noah, another Capcom fan. Sadly, I don’t recall what was said to make jgonzo produce such an awful expression.

Also deserving of thanks is my good pal Cheston, who accompanied me and helped out with some of the expenses, and more of the driving around. He also acted as our eyes as assistant media coordinator and took many of the photos we’ve used here in our reports. Cheston is getting married next month, so this may have been our last big adventure. But who knows! Couldn’t have done it without you, man. Congrats on tying the knot.

Finally, I guess I should thank the WingDamage crew for giving me a podium to express my experiences, since they wouldn’t really fit on TMMN. But having gotten to know Jesse and Jonah… yeah, I dunno. They’re sketchy to me. Anyway, enough sentimental crap. To close things up, I’m taking a look at Hard Corps: Uprising, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Metroid: Other M, Dead Rising 2, and Marvel vs Capcom 3.

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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.

Ever since Grand Theft Auto 3, people have been trying to outdo the precedents established by Rockstar. They have had to go bigger and more over-the-top crazy with each game to keep things interesting. With GTA4, Rockstar tried to scale things back and make it a little more serious.

Thank goodness Volition didn’t do the same thing. 2008′s Saints Row 2 continues the tradition of open world games that provide a huge, goofy action experience where the world is your playground; a playground filled with fast cars, giant explosions, and rival gangs to take down. It marks the first time I have stuck with an open world game long enough to finish its story mode.

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"Explosive Movie Chase Scene: The Racing Game."

When my cohorts and I attended PAX last year, an unexpected game caught Jonah’s attention. It was an explosive new racer by the name of Split/Second. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to try it while I was there due to the long lines and numerous other games to check out. While it looked interesting enough, I quickly forgot about the game’s existence and it never entered my radar.

All that changed when the Xbox Live demo was released. Curious to give it a shot, I downloaded it. Not only was my racing itch scratched, it was done so in ways that felt fresh, exciting, and extremely polished. But the demo was just the beginning.

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