Sega Bass Fishing Review (XBLA)

Game Review: SEGA Bass Fishing
Release: October 05, 2011
Genre: Fishing / Outdoor Sports
Developer: SEGA
Available Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii
Players: 1
MSRP: 800 MSP or $9.99 US
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
Website: http://www.sega.com/games/sega-bass-fishing/

Bass fishing is not the first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of video game content, but I do like to see games that stray from the highly saturated genre of shooters. So I loaded up Sega Bass Fishing, packed a lunch with a fried Spam sandwich and returned to the fishing trips of my childhood from the comfort of my living room sofa. Strapped into my virtual Bass Boat, I take to the lake to see if anything is biting.

Here is what Sega has to say about the game:

“In SEGA Bass Fishing, players can cast their lines at eight different fishing holes, utilising 14 unique lures while battling realistic weather conditions that affect fish behavior. Players also have the opportunity to master their angling techniques to catch as many fish as possible in four tournaments, where the best of the best cross fishing rods! In addition, exclusive to the PlayStation 3, you’ll be able to get that realistic fishing experience right in your living room with the PlayStation Move motion controller. Cast off and reel in with a simple flick of the wrist.”

At first glance, the game’s graphics will not knock your socks off. This is not a remake, but a port of the original Dreamcast game with some tweaking for HD widescreen. Once you cast your line into the water and see first hand how the control of you poles and speed of reeling effect the lure in the water, you will be hooked. It really feels like fishing – even if the fish always tend to be hungry – which makes for the best fishing trips. Am I right?

The game breaks down to three modes: Arcade Mode, Original Mode and Practice Mode.

• Original Mode puts you through a series of tournaments where you have limited windows of time in which to fish. Score is kept by the weight of you catch and placing in the (pre-determined) top 10 earns your progression to the next series. As you progress through the tournaments, additional lures are unlocked as rewards.
• Arcade Mode is exactly that.  This operates as if you walked up to a machine in an arcade and dropped in a quarter.  You begin with two minutes and must earn additional time by catching fish and meeting weight goals.
• Practice Mode is just kickin’ back and fishin’; no competition or time limits. This is the closest thing to a relaxing day of fishing, just jump in the boat, pick a time of day, a location and the preferred weather. This is my favorite mode.

The game mechanics are the star of this game. With the left stick you control the direction of your pole. The right trigger controls the speed of reeling. Combine this with the accurate rumble feedback and it’s not to hard to imagine that you are actually fishing. Getting a fish on the line is made truly enjoyable by the lure-cam, giving you an underwater view of the action. Getting the fish in the boat is a completely different challenge – just like real fishing. A meter constantly shows the amount of tension on the line – and if it is too slack the fish will get away, too taught and the line could break. The fight to get your catch in the live box feels just right.

Even though the game mechanics feel spot on, Sega should have gone further with the graphics. Even though this is an HD version (port) of a classic game, it would have been great to see the graphics completely overhauled with more detailed models and recreated menus and pictures. Many of the menu screens are just stretched to the HD aspect ratio unless the Display Mode is set to “Wallpaper” rather than “Full screen”, then they are displayed in 4:3 with a pad around the edge.

While this new HD version of Sega Bass Fishing is not all that much of an improvement over the original, it remains a fun-to-play game that is a pleasant departure from shooting stuff.  At 800 Microsoft points ($9.99) this is not a bad deal, but there is a better deal to be had.   Sega Bass Fishing is part of the Sega Dreamcast Classics for Xbox 360 (with three other games) at a retail price of $19.99 US (Amazon has it now for about $15 US).  Sega Dreamcast Classics also includes Space Channel 5 Part 2, Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure, so if you are also interested in these Sega remakes, this may be the way to go.

• Realistic Lure Use
• Varied Locations and Time of Day
• Three Modes of Play
• Blend of Crisp HD Port with Outdated Models and Graphics

Final Score: 8 out of 10

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October 2011 To Bring The Best Gaming Tablet Yet

Possibly.  It is at least a serious contender.  All gaming systems require a few vital things: speed, great video, memory and plenty of storage for all of your games.  In the world of Android tablets, these elements are usually in short supply, especially at a reasonable price.  Archos is trying to change that with their G9 Android tablets.

The entry-level Archos G9 tablets will start hitting stores worldwide on September 30th, 2011 (available for pre-order on September 20^th) with the following configuration: Archos 80 G9

• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 8 GB flash storage
• Retail price of $299 US

• OMAP 4 dual-core processor up to 1.5 GHz
• 10.1 inch multi-touch widescreen (four point)
• Android Honeycomb 3.2  with Android Market
• Adobe Flash 10.3 support
• 1080p HD video with HDMI out for mirrored output
• Storage capacity of 250GB
• Built-in GPS, compass and G-sensor
• WiFi and Bluetooth
• HD front camera (720p encoding)
• Microphone
• Kickstand
• Etc., etc., etc.
• Check out the impressive full list of tech specs for the 101.
• Retail $469 US

Archos G9 tablets also come with a suite of Google mobile applications including:

• Google Talk with video chat
• Gmail
• YouTube
• Google Maps with Street View and Navigation
• Google Calendar (beta)

With 250 GB to store games and media, you have to wonder what formats are supported.  Well, just about every format is supported.

To get the best multimedia experience on the G9 tablets Archos have replaced the standard Android multimedia apps with the Archos multimedia app suite: 12 years of multimedia experience distilled into Video, Music and Photo apps. Able to decode Full HD (H.264 HP, 1080p) videos and with massive codec, format and subtitle support – the days of converting video are over.

See the full list of supported formats and codecs

Plus the 250 GB storage is a hybrid configuration to save battery life.

 “Wanting to give users the best of both worlds, Archos paired the Seagate Momentous Thin hard drive with a dedicated 4GB flash caching system. This Archos engineered hybrid solution offered on all Archos G9 hard drive tablets is designed to limit spinning and to keep the drive powered down when not in use, which will protect it when on the go as well as preserve battery life.”

The dual-core 1.5 GHz G9 series will be available in stores and online in October with the following recommended retail price:

• Archos 80 G9 16GB  – 1.5 GHz at $329
• Archos 80 G9 250GB – 1.5 GHz at $369
• Archos 101 G9 16GB – 1.5 GHz at $399
• Archos 101 G9 250GB – 1.5 GHz at $469

All of the G9 tablets are also upgradable to 3G connectivity by simply plugging in the Archos 3G Stick.

Plus – they all come with Angry Birds pre-loaded so you can immediately start taking down those smug little egg-stealing pigs.

For more details on the Archos G9 tablets visit www.archos.com or follow Archos on Facebook and Twitter.

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Dead Island Review (Xbox 360)

Game Review: Dead Island (Xbox 360)
Release: September  6, 2011
Genre: Zombie Action RPG
Developer:  Techland / Deep Silver
Available Platforms:  Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Players: 1 – 4 Online Co-op
MSRP: $59.99 US (Consoles) / $49.99 US (PC)
ESRB Rating: M for Mature
Website:  www.DeadIsland.com

Dead Island takes place on the Island of Banoi, in and around the luxurious Royal Palms Resort.  A mysterious and contagious zombie outbreak sends the entire island into chaos.  Among the guests at the resort, only four are immune to the virus, and they are called upon by all of the other survivors to risk their lives to go find everything from gasoline to Champagne.  The main quest is to escape the island before an approaching monsoon hits.

Playing as one of the immune, you explore the huge open-world island, finding weapons, looting luggage, drinking energy drinks (health packs)… and killing zombies.  Each of the four playable characters has a special skill (guns, blunt weapons, blades and throwing weapons) and just enough back-story to explain why they have their specific skill.

The huge island is divided into areas (resort, city, jungle, etc.) and access to each consecutive area is earned  by completing quests.  Weapons are literally everywhere and degrade with use, so scavenging for money to pay for repairs and supplies to modify your weapons are an important part of the game.  Fortunately there is no karma system in the game, so feel free to loot everyone’s luggage, steal medical supplies and help yourself to whatever you want in the church.

Dead Island is a culmination of some of the best features of many great games.  Imagine a Franken-game created with parts taken from the following:

• Sound design from Dead Space
• Four playable co-op characters from Left 4 Dead
• A huge open world map unlocked a section at a time from Borderlands
• Lots of NPCs with scavenging quests from Fallout 3
• Assorted zombie types from Left 4 Dead
• Skill trees from Borderlands
• Weapon mods from Dead Rising
• Vehicles from Far Cry 2

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Happy Toy Machine Review

Happy Toy Machine

Product: Custom Plush Toys

Website: www.HappyToyMachine.com

MSRP:  12 inch toy $29.99 US / 24 inch toy $49.99 US

Even though I have done many reviews in the past, this is something totally new for me, as I have never seen anything quite like Happy Toy Machine before.  Happy Toy Machine (HappyToyMachine.com) is an innovative new online business that allows you to use a simple website-based tool to design your own plush toy, and then have it custom made and shipped to you.  In order to get more perspective from the target audience of the resulting toy, I enlisted the help of my four year old son, Richard.  He helped design the toy online with me, unboxed it when it arrived and will share his comments with you in a short video at the end of this review.

The website which serves as the storefront for the business is divided into a few main areas: Create a Toy, Your Creations and a Public Gallery.  The meat is in creating your own toy, but first, let’s look at examples of what can be created in the Public Gallery.

The Public Gallery is where you can browse toys designed by others who have chosen to share their designs publicly.  In the gallery there are pictures of their toy design side-by-side with a photo of the actual toy.  This allows you to see exactly how the onscreen designs translates to physical toys.

Designing a new toy is a simple process that your child can help with.  First, you choose a starting point by selecting a basic design from the list above.  Richard decided, after looking through the gallery, that he wanted to design a robot.

The interface was simple enough for him to follow along and make choices for the head, arms, hands, legs and feet.  Color selection for each is also a simple process of just clicking on a body part then choosing a color for it.  Some of the colors look very similar on screen, especially red and magenta, so double check them all before completing your toy.  This is how our robot ended up with a pink body.

We detailed our robot with square eyes, angular eyebrows and nose, a zig-zag mouth and some gauges on the chest area.  All of these elements are pre-designed and added or changed with just a click.  Additionally they can be moved, rotated and size adjusted.  If you like, text can even be added.

When finished, you give your toy a name and save it in the My Creations section.  This section not only shows you the toys you have designed, but also has options to show your toy in the public gallery and allow others to order you design.

When placing your order, there is a choice of two sizes for your toy.  The regular 12″ version is $29.99 and the large 24″ version is $49.99, but for a limited time we have a coupon to get a 15% discount (at the bottom of this post).

Once your toy is ordered and manufactured, Happy Toy Machine takes a portrait of the finished product and shows it on the website side by side with your design.

From the time I placed the order until the box hit my door was one week.  We live in Central Illinois which is right in the middle of the United States so your delivery time may vary, but I felt this was extremely reasonable for a one-off custom product.

  When the box arrived, we knew, and more to the point, Richard knew it was his robot because of the Happy Toy Machine sticker on the box.  This simple but genius touch created immediate excitement because we all knew that our creation had arrived.

Inside the box, our toy was sealed in a plastic bag to protect it from moisture during shipping.  Also included, and also protected by a separate plastic bag, was a thank you letter and, to our surprise, an 8.5″  x 11″ color portrait of our robot.

We were, and still are, very impressed with the quality of the toy.  All of the seams are tight and solid and all of the decorative details are intricately embroidered.  The material is soft like flannel and surface washable.  ”Red Robot” has been played with every day and slept with every night since his arrival about two weeks ago and shows no signs of wear.  It is rugged and durable enough to easily handle all the typical play and abuse a rowdy four year old boy can dish out.

  Even though we thought our robot was all red when we designed it, we ended up with a magenta “shirt”.  Richard was not about to send his robot back, but, we certainly could have.  Happy Toy Machine has a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee on all of their toys.

The only thing we found disappointing was the frequent message on the website that “this feature is coming soon”.  While it’s great to know there are more options coming in the near future, it’s hard to explain to a child.  The upside is that soon you will be able to add all of the following to your custom toys:

• Use fuzzy plush cloth in place of the standard material (September 2011)

• Add hair (October 2011)

• Choose clothes for your toy (November 2011)

• Upload and add your own images (January 2012)

Richard absolutely loves his robot, partly because it was something we designed together and partly due to the magic of designing a toy and having it become real.   While surprises are fun, don’t leave your child out of the design process.  If you want to give a gift from Happy Toy Machine, give a gift certificate and design the toy together.  You will be glad you did.

I promised Richard that he could help with the review so, here he is to tell you what he thinks of Happy Toy Machine and his Red Robot.

The first 500 customers to use this coupon code at HappyToyMachine.com will get 15% off their entire order: PLATFORMJDG4

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Age Of Empires Online Review (PC)

Game Review: Age of Empires Online
Release: August 16, 2011
Genre: RTS
Developer: Gas Powered Games / Microsoft Games Studios
Available Platforms: Windows XP, Vista, 7
Players: 1 – 4
MSRP: Free + $ for Add Ons
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone (10+)
Website: www.AgeOfEmpiresOnline.com

Age of Empires is back with a new online “Live” enabled version of the popular RTS game.  With two civilizations to begin with, the Greeks and the Egyptians, you can build your Empire as you see fit.  With a blend of features from both Age of Empires II and III, this is not a watered down version of the game per se, but many of the parts are sold piecemeal (more on this later).

The entry point for the game is somewhat carved  from AOE III – having a Capital City serve as a main menu of sorts – but it’s much more than that.  Here is where you spend Technology Points, placing them in a tree structure to guide the development of your civilizations.  This is also much like a trophy room, as you can add structures, shrubbery (as an upgrade pack, seriously), etc. to show off your accomplishments to your friend, who can visit your Capital City.  Among the buildings here is the online store where a plethora of bolt-on content is available for sale.

OFFICIAL TRAILER

Beyond the “hub world” Capital City for each civilization, AOE Online feels very much like an HD version of AOE II.  Collecting resources such as food, stone, gold and wood allows you to build your civilization, train armies, and advance through the Ages.  Quests are handed out by Quest Givers and initially serve to ease players into the complexities of the game, but the real meat and potatoes is in the player verses player arena.  This is where you go 1 on 1 (or 2 on 2) against other online players to build a civilization to conquer and defend against the others.  Don’t worry if you can’t jump directly into the PvP arena; it’s not available until you have reached level 6.  Sadly missing are the AI opponents, forcing the anti-social crowd out of their comfort zone and into the community.

Game play and the controls feel like a well worn pair of boots, nice and comfortable, especially for those who are already familiar with AOE.  For those new to PC gaming who are overwhelmed easily by keyboard shortcuts – the entire game can be played with the mouse.  Graphically, the makeover looks great and can be adjusted to compensate for available PC horsepower.

GAMEPLAY VIDEO

The best thing for me about Age of Empires Online is the integration into Games for Windows Live which connects me with my Xbox 360 and PC gaming friends.  It also allows players to trade or gift items to other players via email message via Live.

One of the requirements for this game is a broadband Internet connection.  Not only is the connection needed for delivery of the game to your PC, but, let’s just say that when they call this game Age of Empires Online they really mean it.  If you are not connected to the Internet, the game simply will not even load, so take the ONLINE part very seriously.

I will miss the AI player matches; it was my favorite part of the past renditions of the game.  This is mainly because I could set the difficulty level to keep from getting my ass handed to me while taking my time and trying various strategies.  However, my main concern with this “free to play” game is the “free” part.  It feels so stripped down it could pass as only a demo, leaving the two included civilizations in need of the premium content upgrades just to be able to create player vs. player arena matches and have access to configure the match the way you would like it – or – to be able to invite other players of the free version to join your game.

Granted, there are package deals being offered to the early adopters.  One such package is a season pass that includes all the downloadable content for the first six months at 30% off.   That’s not bad until you realize that it cost 8000 points or $99 US.  It includes more civilizations, campaigns, even plants to decorate your Capital Cities.  It sort of feels like Gordon Gekko picked up the aging franchise for a song and is splitting it up into pieces and selling it all off individually at a huge profit.  Unless there is a ton of content coming for that hundred bucks, it will fall very short of what was included with AOE II (13 civilizations) or AOE III ( 9 civilizations) for half the price when they were released.  Additional “Premium Civilizations” will be $20 US each with other additional content costing from $5 US to $10 US per pack.

For my final take on Age of Empires Online, I am torn.  It’s a game that is true to the canon of the Empires franchise, with a bit of social network city building thrown in – thankfully without the micro-transactions.  In order to get the full Online experience, is it worth a hundred bucks?  Maybe.  You can pick and choose the content you want, so there are certainly cheaper routes to enjoying this game.  My advice is to download and try the free version and go from there.  My gut tells me that content pricing is going to come down or be restructured to appeal to more people, but that probably won’t keep me from buying some nice shrubbery for my Capital City, and it’s just this level of addiction that Microsoft and Gas Powered are counting on.  If it wasn’t habit forming, do you think your first hit would be free?

• Great looking HD graphics makeover
• Familiar Controls
• Fully integrated with Live for Windows
• Free to play with Greeks and Egyptians
• Potential high cost for completists

Final Score 8 out of 10

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