By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

FIRST-PERSON shooters are getting more intense, if only for the storyline and the “scare factor.” The last FPS that really scared the hell out of me was Doom 3D and that was only because of the eerie lighting and the odd background music. Prior to this were System Shock and Deus Ex, which had a similar scary feel to the game and had really good gameplay.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is one of the newer FPS games that can send players jumping off their seats not just because of the nail-biting scare tactics that the game employs, but also because of a lot of flashy shootouts with humans and humanoid-like creatures in dark places. What’s more, the game also features a surprisingly good number of plots and twists in an otherwise linear storyline to the point that this seems to be a mix between an FPS and role-playing game. Side quests are abundant and the number of endings is one that has not been seen in any such game in the genre.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is an acronym for Scavengers, Trespassers, Adventurers, Loners, Killers, Explorers and Robbers. Quite a long name for a title, but this largely describes people living within and outside the borders of the worst post-war nuclear disaster site, Chernobyl. As the story goes, you play the character of the mysterious, unnamed and ostensibly mute “Marked One.” You enter the fallout-riddled Zone after having an amnesia and you’re out to search for the man called “Strelok,” whose name is written in your surprisingly antagonistic PDA. So your mission is to enter the Zone, find this guy and know why you have to kill him.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

EVEN if the movie isn’t as fun as it should be, the game plays out well (excuse the pun). Shrek the Third the video game is loosely based on the movie of the same name and casts almost the same retinue of the film’s characters from Shrek, Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey. However, anyone who has watched the film and intends to play the game version will be surprised that Sleeping Beauty and Artie are added as playable characters.

As in the film, Shrek’s mission is to find the young would-be king Arthur (a.k.a. Artie) to install him as the king of Far Far Away. The adventure extends to some of the characters trying to stop Prince Charming and his army of fairy tale villains from taking over the kingdom.

Be aware, though, that this game is targeted at children, thus the gameplay has been toned down to the level applicable to younger players. Shrek the Third is in full 3D and is similar to most action-adventure games. Players can control Shrek, Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey in a series of levels with different requirements, but the main goal is to just get through the levels without dying, which is in itself a fairly easy thing to do since the enemies aren’t exactly that difficult to beat. Each of the playable characters has different attacks with goofy movements but nearly all copied from the movie. For instance, Shrek has his normal punches but he has a combo uppercut punch that connects with one of his throws, the end of which has Shrek catching an enemy and throwing him against other enemies. Despite his size, Puss in Boots does have a fairly good number of attacks especially with his sword. Donkey doesn’t have really good combos but he does deliver a powerful kick that can beat an enemy after one or two good hits.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

GOOD news: your mom or grandma might get to enjoy a free copy of the best-selling casual game Bejeweled Deluxe this Mother’s Day.

Here’s an excerpt from the press statement from our friends at PopCap Games:

PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, today announced that will give all subscribers to its free monthly e-newsletter one copy of Bejeweled Deluxe, the biggest-selling casual game of the past six years, at no cost. To obtain a free copy that can be presented to one’s mother or grandmother, consumers simply sign up to receive The Fizz, PopCap’s monthly digital newsletter, via the link on the company’s homepage www.popcap.com. Beginning tomorrow and continuing through May 23, 2007, existing and new subscribers to The Fizz will receive an e-mail with a special link and unique registration code for a free copy of the full retail version of Bejeweled Deluxe, which must be redeemed by May 30, 2007. Presenting that as a gift to mom is as simple as forwarding the e-mail or printing out the salient information and including it in a card.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

FROM THE VERY start, this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game has one gigantic flaw: it’s only a single player game! I put a lot of emphasis on this particular flaw because of all things, how can a console-based TMNT game lack a multiplayer option?

I mean, the Xbox 360 has a four-player connectivity option and the PS2 has at least two controller ports available. Developer Ubisoft should have made an effort to at least stick to the old formula used in nearly all of the previous TMNT games, especially the four-player arcade version in 1989 and the home version in 1990.

Even the 2003 Xbox TMNT game from the cartoon remake had a four-player option, despite its somewhat ugly gameplay. Perhaps Ubisoft was trying to copy the NES version in 1989, which only had one player and a lot of platforming but that was a generation ago and it was the time when a multiplayer TMNT game had yet to exist.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Relly Carpio, hackenslash Contributor
INQUIRER.net

I SAW my men writhing on the ground, dying, bleeding from wounds given to them by the machine gunners hidden behind a small pile of rubble I commanded them to take out.

The ground around them gave out little puffs of dust as gunfire once again erupted around them. The medics couldn’t get to them as they too were pinned by the chattering barrage. I saw one of them reach an arm up at me, begging for help as the rest tried to crawl to what little cover they could find.

I urged the Sherman Tank I sent to provide covering fire for the ranger team to hurry. No use, by the time it got there, four men were dead. I
called for a retreat. The Sherman arrived just as the two remaining rangers rounded a corner of a shattered building to safety. The Sherman’s first salvo ripped directly into the gunner team killing one. The other was torn to shreds as the mounted 50-caliber machine gun gave them a taste of their own medicine.

[Read the rest of this entry »]