I must admit that I kept one or two of them out of the show because to be honest, they did not deserve the attention.  I managed to grab a few though that I thought would make for a pretty entertaining show.  Have I mentioned that Canada is now my second home?  There was a tremendous amount of awesomeness from the Canadians.  They were mostly in text form so they did not make the show.

Enjoy the show and welcome back to your regularly scheduled dose of gravy.

Format:
19mins 39secs, 9.5 MB, mp3

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Developer: EA Redwood Shores
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rating Guide: How I Review Games
Screenshots: Available Here

Audio Recap:

Review:

There comes a time in every man’s life when he must stand up against all that is evil but when that evil is a menacing species called Necromorphs that often keep coming at you even after losing their heads, then I submit to you that it’s okay to run.  It would be wise if you just turned around and ran for your precious life (or what little is left of it).  But what’s the fun in running when you can stand there and dismember every freakish looking Necromorph around?!  These decisions are but a small taste of what to expect when playing Dead Space.

I am Isaac Clarke.  Blasting the limbs off of foul creatures and following the kill with a brutal face stomp is what I do.

Gameplay, Graphics and Sound

Dead Space is the latest original IP from EA that will disturb you in ways that other countries would have you not enjoy.  You’re Isaac Clarke, an engineer expert, who unfortunately finds himself on board the USG Ishimura where a rabid alien species called the Necromorphs have taken hold.  These aren’t the types of creatures you take home to domesticate.  You have to unravel the mystery surrounding what happened to the crew.  Once on board, you find yourself tasked with a series of objectives to complete that will guide you to discovering what the hell happened.  Watch all the video files, read the text files and listen to the audio files to piece the puzzle together.

Controlling Isaac is surprisingly very user friendly.  With all of the things going on in the game, I expected a more challenging control setup but that wasn’t the case.  The Left trigger aims; Right trigger fires your weapons primary while the RB button fires its secondary.  Each weapon has a primary and secondary fire mode.  The secondary fire on the Line Gun is a work of art if you time it right.  LB button controls your sprinting which you’ll defintely need because Isaac doesn’t move very fast without it.  I understand making him so slow adds to the fear but still.

You have seven main weapons and two alternate powers in the game.  You have the Plasma Cutter, Line Gun, Flamethrower and a couple of others.  The way your ammo count is displayed was one of my favorite things.  It’s a hologram-like screen as you aim that shows how much ammo you have.  You don’t have a high ammo count on your weapons in the beginning but you can adjust that as well as other aspects of your weapons.  You can even melee with the R trigger and face stomp with the RB button.  Curb stomping (I call it Limb/Face stomping) looks and sounds so brutal!

Developer: EA Sports
Publisher: EA Sports
Rating Guide: How I Review Games
Screenshots: Available Here

Audio Recap:

Review:

There isn’t much to say about sports games that could lead to fans of the sport knowing more about that particular sport.  That’s why sports games are probably the most difficult to review because they’re so simple in explanation.  Does it play like the real thing?  Can you call plays and defend?  After playing NBA LIVE 09 for the past few days, I’m happy to say that it’ll be an easy review because it’s a huge upgrade over any other in the series.

And that makes it the best NBA LIVE game I’ve ever played.

Gameplay, Graphics and Sound

This is easily the best NBA LIVE in the series.  As a gamer you should want to be able to say that with each new entry into an ongoing franchise.  It hasn’t been true in the past, but NBA LIVE 09 takes so many steps forward from previous versions that it’s not a stretch to say this game stands on its own.  It could literally be a new beginning for EA’s basketball franchise.  From the ESPN integration to the new features, they’ve finally gotten closer to the “NBA” in its name.  The new features include new Pick & Roll Control, Lockdown Defense, Signature Playcalling, and Quick Strike Ankle Breakers.

The Dynamic DNA and NBA LIVE 365 is something that will change the landscape of the game at a moment’s notice.  This will probably be one of those things that no NBA game can go without from this point forward.  NBA LIVE 365 gives you all the daily stats and shot charts from real NBA games and brings them right “in the game”.  You get DNA Scouting reports, ratings, streaks and even tendencies!  You have to be entitled to NBA LIVE 365 though.  Yep, only new game owners will receive a code to unlock it.  If you buy used, you’ll have to dish out some money to get it.

NBA LIVE Academy is new as well giving players a chance to practive the fundamentals of the game.  You can get some freestyle practice on in the gym or go on to a variety of challenges to compete in.  Dynasty Mode is again pretty deep taking you from rookie to superstar; from training camp to the season.  Like its NHL counterpart, NBA LIVE 09 also has ‘Be A Pro’ mode that lets you take control of your favorite player exclusively on the court.  You control whether or not he gets better or worse.  I like it.  I like it a lot.

The animations and moves of the players are all done extremely well.  The players look real especially the stars.  I almost forgot it was just a game while watching some of the ways the players react and adjust to a shot.  The crowd gets pumped during a blowout or close win and they’ll be silent during a loss.  It’s mind bottling how the momentum is captured to get you as close to the game as possible.  Even the announcing team of Marv Albert and Steve Kerr have gotten much better with calling the action.  They’ll have you screaming “Yes!”.

One thing about the game that puzzled me is that for some reason dribbling the basketball wasn’t a natural, smooth flow.  There was a split second delay that created this weird type of pause when dribbling.  It’s something I definitely noticed but nothing I think ruins the flow of the game.  It’s almost as if the ball didn’t go directly into the players hands.  It’s just weird.  The jumping also took a bit to get used to because players react closely to how they do in a real game.  This means you have to have the right position and momentum to time a rebound right or a block.

Other than this, the gameplay is solid.  Once you get comfortable with the new moves (Quick Ankle Breaker for example), you’ll enjoy the game that much more.

Xbox LIVE Extras

There isn’t much new when you game on Xbox LIVE except the Team Play and Clubs.  This should add a lot of replay value as you can get 10 user controlled players on the court at the same time.  Yep it should be madness trying to run sets but that’s the fun.  Online Leagues are a dream to any wannabe Commissioner out there.  You can control all of this from you “My NBA LIVE 09″ online account.  You can view all your leaderboards, player HUB and news here.  This is a direct connection to EA Sports World, the new interactive experience on the interweb.

They’ve tied things up very nicely between Xbox LIVE and the interweb.  To get the entire experience, you’ll want to make sure you take advantage of all this.

Conclusion

NBA LIVE 09 brings the heat this year!  I wonder if we’ll even need a new basketball game with NBA LIVE 365 and the Dynamic DNA element adding real time statistics and updates to the game.  In so many ways this game is just like its cover boy, Tony Parker.  They both stick to what works, improve on what was wrong and in the end they usually are left standing as the champion.

It’ll be interesting to see where EA Sports takes this series after NBA LIVE 09.  Check out the audio recap for more!

Developer: Black Rock Studio
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Rating Guide: How I Review Games
Screenshots: Available Here

Audio Recap:

Review:

PURE.  It’s the perfect name for a game that’s a pure thrill ride waiting to happen each time you grab the controller.  I’ll try to limit the amount of times I include the name of the game to describe it but it might be a little hard considering the fact that it’s really pure, unadulterated fun!  Black Rock Studio and Disney simply blew my friggin’ mind with this game.

PURE is purified racing bliss in its finest hour.  Let’s get aerial with the review.

Gameplay, Graphics and Sound

PURE is a simple game involving ridiculous racing and freestylin’ that would make even a professional racer smile.  There are seven real world locations (Italy, New Mexico, Wyoming, Thailand, New Zealand, Glamis Dunes and Ocotillo Wells) with more than 30 tracks for you to enjoy.  You can have no fear when you play this game because it requires you to go all out from beginning to end.  The competition rests in the PURE World Tour, Single Events, Freestyle or Sprints.  The World Tour is where you earn the glory by competing to become PURE World Champion.

Your weapon of choice is of course an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle).  PURE allows you to build your ATV from scratch with dozens of parts available for you to tweak, color and plaster with decals.  As you race, you unlock more parts, outfits, garage slots, special tricks and locations to race in.  There wasn’t much in terms of color choices so it was hard to have every one of my ATVs unique.  A character customization option would have been nice as well.  The only thing you can do with your character is change the helmet color and unlock a few other costumes.

The controls of the game allow anyone to pick up and play.  There are a variety of moves to pull off while you’re in the air and that’s when the fun starts.  You can pull off all kinds of tricks both normal and special.  Just pull the L stick in any direction combined with pressing the A, B, Y or LB/RB buttons.  The level of tricks you can do depends on how much boost you’ve earned.  The more boost you earn, the more your Thrill Bar fills up and unlocks A button tricks, B button tricks and so on.

Each character even has their own unique special trick.  Rosa does a sick move to where she’s actually sleeping on the ATV.  I wish there were a greater number of tricks to do and unlock but I guess you can’t have it all.  I must say though that even when I did repeat the same tricks, it didn’t get old.

I haven’t even mentioned how great this game looks and sounds.  The locales are beautifully crafted and the draw distance on some of the jumps you pull off is simply mind blowing.  Pulling an Air Guitar or Sidewinder special trick is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen and done.  You have to do it to understand.  What impressed me the most were the little details like the way your shirt blows in the air while your ripping incredible speeds and the gestures your rider would have while speeding by another racer was really cool.

You can even see mud and dirt splattering on your clothes and your ATV when you’re driving through dirt and mud.  The characters are also animated and I was definitely impressed seeing how they react to certain events during races.

Xbox LIVE Extras

PURE features online play for up to 16 players on Xbox LIVE.  And it is crazy action!  The most amazing thing is that there’s little to no drop off in gameplay or design.  It looks just as good online as it does off.  You can play in ranked or player matches and even set the preferences while competing.  You control the engine class, the location and the type of race you want to play in.

There isn’t much to say about PURE on Xbox LIVE except that it’s the same fun from the single player experience magnified by dusting others across the world.

Conclusion

PURE is a heavy dose of wild fun!  If I could, I would take Black Rock Studio and Disney Interactive out for dinner for a game that’s “pure” greatness.  The only thing I can say that disappointed me was the fact that I didn’t want the ride to end.  I could’ve used a few other options as I mentioned above but overall this game is pure in its purest form.  Okay, that’s the last of using the title to describe the game.

I’m hoping there’s a sequel planned because I want more.  Pulling off some of these tricks in mid-air is what I came to crave.  PURE is the Xbox 360’s first thrilling off-road racer.   Rise above the competition!

Developer: Pandemic Studios
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rating Guide: How I Review Games
Screenshots: Available Here

Audio Recap:

Review:

I love blowing things up.  Apparently so many others loved the exact same thing years ago after playing the first Mercenaries that Pandemic Studios decided to do it again with Mercenaries 2: World In Flames.  This time there’s a much bigger world to do your merc work in and a bigger set of tools to have fun with.  It’s not groundbreaking but Mercenaries 2 does provide you the necessary tools to break plenty of other things.  It won’t cause you to spend less time with the wife so don’t worry.  Oh know he didn’t!  Oh yes, I did.

Gameplay, Graphics and Sound

If you’re familiar with the first Mercenaries then you’ll love this game.  You’re in Venezuela trying to get your money and payback on Ramon Solano and General Carmona, two people who royally screwed you.  Mattias Nilsson, Chris Jacobs and Jennifer Mui are back for more mercenary action.  You’re assembling the Private Military Corporation (PMC) while doing “your work” in Venezuela.  It may be about fuel for everyone else but money takes no second place with you.  And that’s when the fun begins.

In Mercenaries 2: World In Flames it’s all about taking over the factions so that your life is easier getting some payback.  Each faction controls a different area and the heat can be on you depending on the mood of that faction.  They can be hostile, friendly or neutral.  It’s all about choice in Mercenaries 2 and your choices will determine how a faction responds to you.  You can get away with being in disguise for only so long in some areas so it’s best to get in the good graces as often as possible with as many factions as possible.  It shouldn’t matter too much because the AI isn’t exactly impossible to conquer.  Typically you can navigate just about anything with the right arsenal and the resistance isn’t that strong.

The controls are pretty straight forward.  One quick note is to hold the Left trigger to crouch.  I know it’s in the manual but it’s just weird at first to get the hang up.  So when you’re looking to crouch somewhere remember that the Left trigger is actually your crouch coupled with your zoom.  Remember your PDA when you get into the action because it has all the handy information on targets, factions and your location.

I really enjoyed searching and finding the different types of items for your stockpile.  You could find and steal cash to keep your operation going.  You could find air strikes and other destructive weapons which allows you to handle jobs more efficiently.  You could steal some fuel to keep your operation flowing.  There was no shortage of fun running around trying to find all kinds of items.

When I played the game at Pandemic Studios, I was a bit concerned about how much fun hijacking tanks and helicopters would be.  It’s fun for a while but it did get old after doing it repeatedly.  But then who wants to do that a lot anyway when you can torpedo bikes, cars and other objects into a tank to make for a much better experience.  Yep, the weapons and ways to kick much ass are plentiful.  Along with your air support and vehicles, you’ll have a variety of machine guns, grenades, C4, rocket launchers, sniper rifles etc.

Visually, the development did a great job on the look of the game.  I had some fun learning with Pandemic on what the “sheen” was all about on some characters (in particular Chris).  Some of the character models was a little disappointing and the vehicles weren’t exactly stunning.  I won’t mention the civilians.  Was there a point to them?  Overall, Pandemic Studios did a wonderful job increasing the scope of Mercs 2 and giving players a huge world to play in.  And you’ll love what they’ve done wiht the sound.  I can’t say enough about how important it is to have a decent surround sound system because that’s when games like this really shine.

Xbox LIVE Extras

Co-operative play is the best.  You and a friend can play the entire campaign together over Xbox LIVE.  Even if you’re in the middle of a campaign, a friend can join in to help out.  You can share stockpile with each other and dish out punishment side by side.  There are settings that allow you to restrict who can join your game while you’re in progress so don’t worry.  You can opt to have friends only, by invitation only or simply not allow it at all.

Conclusion

There is definitely a crowd for Mercenaries 2: World In Flames.  I think the replay value with co-operative play alone makes it worth dealing with some of the repetitiveness during the campaign.  There are even some costume unlockables that some may find interesting enough to wear and give it another play through.  I think the game will give its fans a wild ride and even manage to grab a new set of Mercenaries fans.

Don’t forget to listen in to the audio recap!  It’s something new I’m adding to reviews and I hope you enjoy it.  Yes, you could opt to head straight to the audio recap if you’d rather not read.  I gotcha covered lazy bones.

The game ships on September 9th which is right around the corner.  Hopefully this show will help you learn a little bit more about what’s new.  Get ready to play on the ice once more with NHL 2K9 while you listen in.

Format:
42mins 30secs, 19.5 MB, mp3

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Silent October even managed to win a potential 500 Microsoft Points courtesy of BostonPimpDaddy.  One thing to note about this who is that the usual player at the end of the post will not be there.  There are some issues I am waiting to get resolved with the player so you will have to simply download the show.  I will try to get the quick play option back as soon as possible.

Enjoy the show and I will see everyone when I get back.  I will hopefully have some time to post while I am at the Mercs 2 event.

Format:
58mins 40secs, 26.9 MB, mp3

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Format:
67mins 58secs, 31.1 MB, mp3

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The show went so well that I will go ahead and put my plan into motion of having the 10 x 10 Show a permanent fixture into the U360 arsenal.  Look for another 10 x 10 Show in the coming months!  Start requesting the communities you’d like on the next 10 x 10 Show now.  I want to give a big thanks to all the community guests and everyone who came out to chat and call in.  And a special thanks to Blogtalk Radio for making the 10 x 10 Show one of its featured shows.

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10 x 10 Show Outline
LAGtv - TappedOut - 16:10
Platform Nation - Paul & Steve519 - 28:10
Xbox Addict & Gamertag Radio - KamShaft, Godfree, JVB - 39:36
Gamer Girls Radio - Dangerdoll, Cori - 01:04