There are other types of goo balls apart from the regular black goo: green goos can be moved and detached from built structure, white goos drip down, red goos can float, yellow goos can stick to vertical surfaces as well as horizontal, and skull goos are impervious to spikes. At later missions, it becomes a challenge to quickly and properly use all these different goos in order to reach the end. The game requires a lot of trials and errors if you do not plan your structure properly.

Unfortunately, the game is marred by control issues: you click on a goo, and drag it to where you want to place it. However this becomes infuriating when the time is running out, your structure is toppling, and you grab the wrong goo as they scurry about on the structure you’ve just built. The game also has an undo function when you click on a time fly that’s buzzing around your structure. It is sometimes too easy to click on them by mistake instead of selecting a goo.

In the end, the charming visuals and physics-based puzzles will give you a very different experience. You’ll soon fall in love with those goos.

Rating: 80%

Game mechanic mixes turn-based combat with real time battles. You control a party of 3 characters and on your turn, the timer kicks in and you need to make your moves such as move, use items, attack and use special attacks. When it’s the enemy’s turn, you need to block and later in the game, counterattack when you’re prompted to do so. This mechanic is interesting, but it gets pretty annoying very fast as you continue your grind. The difficulty sometimes spikes but it’s generally a pretty easy game. You won’t die too often and you won’t need to hog too many healing items.

The biggest downfall of the game is the storyline. Even though the dream world of Chopin afforded an interesting world, the characters in it are shallow, one dimensional and irritating. Worse, the story of a nation bent on war vs. a nation trying to avoid war at all costs is interesting but doesn’t lead to any resolution. In fact, the ending of the game has infuriated me as I was expecting something better to resolve the stories. Throughout the game, Chopin wonders if the dream world is real or if his real world is a fabrication. But by the end of the game, Chopin doesn’t reach the conclusion of that debate and the game finishes abruptly.

This pretty linear game could have definitely used another or two script revisions as the setting deserved better characters and more fleshed out storyline. As it stands, the game’s innovative combat system that relies on real-time reflexes and light/dark mechanic is the saving grace.

Rating: 55%

The game ditches the game show format, and instead present you with a bunch of challenges for you to complete. Most of the screens consist of text and your host Buzz, and that’s about it. It is a passable interface but doesn’t do anything to spruce up the experience. Single-player mode consists of set number of questions that you must answer, by yourself. You are not even playing against computer opponents so the only incentive to continue playing is to… beat your own score.

Multiplayer is where the game fares better with 3 multiplayer modes, 2 of which can be played with only a single PSP with contestants passing it around. It’s passable but it isn’t an immersive experience like passing the controllers on a full-fledged console version. Game sharing mode is incredibly limited, and it isn’t worth the price of admission which involves multiple PSPs in the same room.

Buzz! Master Quiz, with its 5,000 questions, boring single player and limited-appeal multiplayer could be improved upon all areas and I hope the developers will correct all these issues. Until then, it is just a passable collection of trivia.

Rating: 45%

One of the guilty pleasures of C&C series was the live-action full motion videos featuring pretty well known actors. This time, EA has outdone itself by hiring George Takei, Peter Stormare, Tim Curry and other B-level stars to portray in-game characters. The end result is exciting and fun to watch as, thankfully, these actors don’t take themselves seriously and play up the campness. If you buy games based on the amount of real cleavage and legs, then RA3 may be your only choice on the shelves this Holiday.

Gameplay wise, the biggest addition apart from a 3rd playable faction is co-op. The entire single-player experience is designed to be played with another commander: you can either find someone online, or let the AI take over while you issue basic commands. This makes more sense in the universe - after all, if you’re fighting a war, there are bound to be other commanders on the battlefield - and it helps offload some of the work for you.  Another addition is the bigger emphasis on naval combat as a lot of the units are amphibious, and you can even build buildings on the water. This forces you to change your tactics as that shoreline becomes another route for invasion.

The highlight of the game is the units as we’re talking about a game that features armored bears, sonic dolphins, helicopters that can shrink enemies, anime-inspired hovering schoolgirl with psychic abilities and even battleships that can walk on the ground. Almost every unit has secondary functions and it can get tough to properly use all the units’ abilities in the heat of the battle. However it can be a delight to counter the enemies’ tactics by simply changing the function of your unit (such as making it go airborne).

Red Alert 3 feels just like the other RA games, only bigger, badder and faster. Once you set up your economy by building refinery right next to the ore mine, you can focus on churning out units and attacking the enemy. If you’re looking for a fast-paced action with pretty crazy units and George Takei playing a crazed Japanese emperor, this game is a definite must play.

Rating: 90%

Week of November 2, 2008

• Gears of War 2 (X360): If you enjoyed Gears of War, the sequel will offer plenty for you with updated game mechanics such as meat shield, better storyline and new multiplayer modes for you to enjoy well into 2009.
• Resistance 2 (PS3): This PS3 exclusive shooter features innovative weapons and 2 different campaigns: one single-player and one co-op. Add multiplayer and you have a flagship shooter on PS3.
• Tom Clancy’s EndWar (PS3, X360): Tom Clancy’s latest franchise puts you into command of an army as you fight the next World War. Innovative use of voice commands ensure this RTS experience on the console won’t be hampered by control issues.

Week of November 9, 2008

• Call of Duty: World at War (PC, PS3, X360): As if you didn’t have enough shooters to choose from already, the latest Call of Duty builds on the incredible success of CoD 4 and moves the war to the Pacific in the World War II.
• Mirror’s Edge (PC, PS3, X360): EA’s first-person action adventure parkour simulator lets you control an agile messenger who fights the oppressive regime by jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
• World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC): You may as well take the entire month of December off if you are into WoW, thanks to the latest expansion pack.

Week of November 16, 2008

• Left 4 Dead (PC, X360): If you want zombies in your first-person shooter, Valve has the answer for you with Left 4 Dead. It promises unique co-op experiences that adapts to your party’s skill level.

Week of November 30, 2008

• Prince of Persia (PS3, X360): Prince of Persia returns (without a sub title), first time on the current-gen consoles. Early previews showcase gorgeous environment and a sidekick mechanic that seemed intuitive and helpful.

It is more accurately described as 5 games tied together into one package. First game “Cell stage”, your goal is to first choose whether your creature is vegetarian or carnivore, then start gobbling others and grow. At pre-defined points, once you have enough DNA points, you can evolve your creature so that it could move faster, or attack better. After the cell stage, your creature will sprout legs and move in-land in the “Creature stage”. Here you will either befriend other animals or eliminate them: most of the customizations are done by this point. After you eliminate others or befriend other animals on your continent, you develop group skills and enter “Tribal stage”.

Starting with tribal stage, you can no longer change the appearance or the different body parts of your creature. Your job as the tribe leader is to direct your tribe to conquer others, or become their friends in order to be the only village surviving. After you complete the task, you enter “Civilization stage” where you control a basic city, produce military vehicles and conquer other cities, or convert them to your side. It is pretty simplistic as you only have 3 vehicles: land, sea and air. Winning a battle is simply a matter of bringing the most vehicles to the fight. In the end, the “Space stage” allows you to visit other planets, collect specimens and abduct other creatures. This is the most open-ended stage of them all, although there is a basic narrative in place (about helping out a distressed civilization).

The problem with the game is that it is very simplistic. In each stage, you only have a few things to do and it gets tedious after awhile. Mostly in the tribal and civilization stages, you will wish that you could just skip those boring parts and move on to the stars. Luckily, after you play through the game once, you can choose to play a specific stage.

Spore’s accomplishment is its creature, vehicle and building designer as this incredibly flexible tools basically allow you to create anything you can imagine. Already a list of designs available online is astounding in its number and creativity. Even though this is a single player game, you can choose to have creatures other people have designed to be downloaded into your game and populate your planets.

In the end, treat Spore as a flexible and fun design tool and you will be rewarded with the best experience available on the market. If you consider it solely as a game, it is repetitive, simple and too boring to sustain hours and hours of repeat enjoyment.

Rating: 80%

This is the story of Kaim, an immortal that has lived a thousand years already in this world. When Kaim survives a meteor crashing in the battlefield, he’s tasked to inspect the potential source of the problem: the Grand Staff, a device that seeks to amplify the magic energy in the world. The universe of Lost Odyssey is rich and well-detailed, featuring fully-fleshed characters, different continents and countries with diverging interests. As you progress through the main story, you’ll meet other immortals (and mortals) who will join your party, and slowly rediscover your memories.

As mentioned before, the game features random encounters and turn-based battles where you issue an order, wait for the enemy to go through, and then repeat the whole cycle. While the battle mechanics aren’t overly new and exciting, character progression is quite different from other RPGs on the market. As an immortal, you don’t learn new skills as you level up: instead you must learn a skill that a mortal character in your party already knows by linking to him/her. This system forces you to micromanage your party as the only way to improve your immortal characters is to make sure mortals are leveled up as well. The game favors a more even character development. There is also a ring system which grants special abilities on physical attack (such as stealing gold, inflicting status damages…) based on how well you time your attack.

The game isn’t perfect as there are few annoying design choices: you do gain access to the world map (and various ships) but they do not add much to the game as exploring is minimal. Most of the times, you’ll just select a destination from a drop-down list. Some dungeons feature annoying water spouts or falls: coupled with narrow pathways, you’ll easily be frustrated having to go through the same path over and over again.

In the end, if you’re looking for a traditional JRPG and don’t expect too much innovation, you will be happy with Lost Odyssey. Through the adventure that spans 4 disks (yes, 4), the main quest will easily take you over 35 hours. The storyline has some rough spots but overall it’s marked improvement over the previous effort Blue Dragon, with more adult themes and interesting characters.

Rating: 75%

Following Microsoft’s example, Sony is also releasing a keyboard attachment for its PS3 controllers (both DualShock 3 and SIXAXIS are supported). It snaps on to the controller, and it is Bluetooth enabled so you can connect other devices such as cell phones to it.

Available starting November in North America, this device will also feature a Touch Pad button allowing you to scroll your finger over the keyboard as a touch pad to control the on-screen pointer.

Read the press release after the jump:

Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces Limited-Edition Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune(TM) PLAYSTATION(R)3 Bundle Featuring New 160GB PS3(TM) System
PS3 Bundle Includes Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune(TM), PLAYSTATION(R)Network Voucher for PAIN and DUALSHOCK(R)3 Wireless Controller, Offering Tremendous Value to Consumers

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced plans to introduce a new 160GB PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system in North America as part of the limited-edition Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune(TM) PS3 system bundle. The increased storage size enables entertainment enthusiasts to store even more movies, television shows, and games downloaded from PLAYSTATION(R)Network, as well as more videos, music, and photos from their personal collection. Slated to launch in November for $499.99 (MSRP), the 160GB PS3 system will come bundled with the hit game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune(TM), a PLAYSTATION Network voucher for PAIN, and a DUALSHOCK(R)3 wireless controller. The previously announced 80GB PS3 system ($399.99 MSRP) has started shipping to retailers.

"As PLAYSTATION Network continues to evolve with our recently launched video delivery service and more exclusive games, PS3 owners are demanding more storage capacity," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. "Consumers also are utilizing PS3 as an entertainment hub for their digital media, placing content such as their entire music collection on the hard drive. The 160GB PS3 system addresses this growing consumer demand in a compelling bundle that delivers significant value."

he Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune PS3 bundle includes the following components:
— 160GB PS3 system — The 160GB PS3 is a complete entertainment system comprising a Blu-ray(TM) Disc player, HDMI output, an integrated Wi-Fi connection, and Cell Broadband Engine(TM).
— Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune — A 400-year-old clue found in the coffin of Sir Francis Drake sets a modern-day fortune hunter, Nathan Drake, on an exploration for the fabled treasure of El Dorado, leading to the discovery of a forgotten island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The search turns deadly when Drake becomes stranded on the island and hunted by mercenaries. Outnumbered and outgunned, Drake and his companions must fight to survive as they begin to unravel the terrible secrets hidden on the Island.
— PAIN PLAYSTATION Network Voucher* — PAIN boldly tackles a rarely explored area of video-gaming … comedy. The unique mechanic of the game allows the player to load a character into a human-sized, ultra-powerful slingshot, and fire the character into an active, physics-controlled environment, filled with precarious and humorous situations. Download PAIN from PLAYSTATION Store (http://store.playstation.com) to your PS3 system with the included voucher.
— DUALSHOCK 3 Wireless Controller — DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller provides the most intuitive game play experience with pressure sensors in each action button and the inclusion of the highly sensitive SIXAXIS(TM) motion sensing technology.

The additional storage space of the 160GB model will benefit consumers, as several highly anticipated PLAYSTATION Network and PS3 games along with add-on content will be available for download soon, including PAIN Amusement Park, Ratchet & Clank(R)Future: Quest for Booty(TM), SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation, and The Last Guy(TM). The bundle is also a great option for consumers who want to utilize PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service, which offers new blockbuster movies and popular TV shows for download on an ongoing basis.

PS3 momentum has soared in 2008, starting with Blu-ray becoming the
high-definition standard and following the launches of key franchise titles, including Gran Turismo(TM) 5 Prologue, Grand Theft Auto(TM) IV, and Metal Gear Solid(R)4: Guns of the Patriots. That momentum will continue into the holidays and beyond, as PS3’s software lineup will offer the most depth and breadth of any platform across the industry, delivering highly anticipated exclusives such as BUZZ!(TM): Quiz TV, LittleBigPlanet(TM), Resistance(TM) 2, MotorStorm(TM) Pacific Rift, and Killzone(TM) 2.

Space Invaders Extreme doesn’t change the core concept: you still move left to right, enemies descend in waves, and your job is to shoot them all down before they either kill you or reach all the way down. What’s new is the whole audio and visual experience. Your actions such as shooting and destroying a space invader will produce synchronized sound effects, perfectly blended with the up-beat techno soundtrack. It is no black static background either, as the field you play on is incredibly colorful and perfectly matches the sound. It is an experience very similar to Lumines, which speaks volumes about how this game is successful.

Gameplay mechanic is tweaked as well by giving you power-ups: kill 4 of the same colored enemies in a row, and you will receive power-up based on the color of the enemy. Green will give you spread gun, red gives you a bomb, and blue allows you to shoot laser beam that you can sweep the field with. Shooting down those pesky alien ships will take you to the bonus stages (basically minigames) where you can try to exponentially increase your score.

At just $20, this is the best Space Invaders since the original. You shouldn’t miss out on this re-imagineering of the classic franchise.

Rating: 85%