Author: Guy Desmarais

  • Staff Bio Week 7 – Guy Desmarais

    Name: Guy Desmarais Nickname: Kapoutman Location: Montreal, Quebec Three Favorite Genres: Platformers Action-Adventure Too many genres tied for third Favorite Console: Nintendo 64 Three Favorite Games: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Super Mario 64 (N64) Other Places Their Writing Can Be Found: kapoutland.net insidepulse.com tpww.net (archives) Bio:…

  • Review: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo Wii)

    <Super Smash Bros. Brawl Genre: Fighting Developer: Sora/HAL Laboratory Publisher: Nintendo Release Date: 03/09/2008 What is arguably the most hyped game of this generation has finally been released. If you’re a long-time Nintendo fan, chances are that this game has been dancing in your dreams from the day it was first announced. March 9th 2008…

  • Virtual Insanities: Yes, This Is a Column About Red Steel

    When I first got the Wii, I was so excited that I was willing to try pretty much anything that could be played on it. That’s usually what happens when you buy a new console on launch day: you look through the launch line-up, pick-up whatever looks half-decent and hope for the best. This is…

  • Review: Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

    Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland Genre: Action-Adventure Developer: Vanpool Publisher: Nintendo Release Date: 09/14/2007 (Europe) I have searched the world high and low; I have read countless sites and forums in the hope of finding someone like me. Yet, it seems like I am the only fan of Tingle in North America. I don’t really see…

  • Review: Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo Wii)

    Super Mario Galaxy Genre: Platformer Developer: Nintendo EAD Publisher: Nintendo Release Date: 11/12/2007 You’ve seen the previews, you’ve heard the hype. Super Mario Galaxy is supposed to be the best Mario game since Super Mario 64, the same game that many says defined 3D platforming as we know it today. With such a pedigree, the…

  • Review: Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock (Nintendo Wii)

    Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock Genre: Rhythm Game Developer: Vicarious Visions Publisher: Activision Release Date: 10/28/2007 Before Guitar Hero was created, people like me who wish they could play guitar but are too lazy to learn were limited to playing air guitar to their favourite solo, an activity which everybody does when alone, but…

  • Review: Zack & Wiki: Quest For Barbaros’ Treasure (Nintendo Wii)

    Zack & Wiki: Quest For Barbaros’ Treasure Genre: Adventure/Puzzle Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Release Date: 10/23/2007 Here’s a game that could have passed right under everybody’s nose without the help of some seriously devoted fans. This is a title that probably wasn’t on a lot of “must-buy” lists; it’s an adventure game centred on solving…

  • Virtual Insanities: How to Market a Game For Dummies

    The Halo 3 craze is a few weeks old now. Everybody who wanted to has probably already beaten the game, and those who wished never to hear from it again are mostly getting what they asked for. Don’t worry, I am not going to turn this into another rant against the game, because frankly, while…

  • Review: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)

    The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Genre: Action-Adventure Developer: Nintendo EAD Publisher: Nintendo Release Date: 10/01/2007 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker effectively split the series’ fans in two factions. The first one thought that the new hand-drawn look was childish and that a joke was being made out of their favourite franchise. The…

  • Virtual Insanities: Why Can’t We Be Friends?

    My left knee is swollen to the size of a grapefruit right now. All of this is because I am quite the awesome goaltender when it comes to playing floor hockey. As a sidenote (yeah, two sentences in and already a sidenote!), I didn’t know it was called “floor hockey” until today, as we French-Canadians…

  • Virtual Insanities: Let’s Import

    One of my friends from England always tells me how European gamers get lubed up real good and then screwed repeatedly by publishers. He told me stories about his woes and the constant pain of receiving games with a delay; sometimes up to a couple of months after the title has been released in Japan…

  • You Probably Forgot About This Game: RPG & N64

    Despite its flaws, I have always been a fan of the N64. In fact, on a personal basis, it’s probably in my top 3 when it comes to my favorite console of all time. Sure, the cartridge format put a stop to a couple of cool ideas (such as the F-Zero track editor or that…

  • Virtual Insanities: the Old, the New, the Good and the Bad

    A friend of mine came over last week so I could show him Mario Strikers Charged. He’s a big sports games fan, you know, the kind who will buy a new copy of Madden each year, buy both NHL 08 and NHL 2K8 and try the demos of those college football games and as well…

  • Review: Mario Strikers Charged (Nintendo Wii)

    Mario Strikers Charged Genre: Sports Developer: Next Level Games Publisher: Nintendo Release Date: 07/30/2007 Super Mario Strikers, released for the Gamecube in 2005, was a very intriguing game. However, many shortcomings prevented it from being more than a mildly entertaining multiplayer experience. The single-player mode was underwhelming, and outside of playing against a friend, not…

  • You Probably Forgot About This Game: Forgotten Platforming Heroes (Part 4 of 4)

    This week’s edition marks the end of the four parts series about forgotten platform games characters. We have seen animal mascots for the first two weeks, while the last article was about those that were not quite human either. This time, I will present six human characters that tried to become the next big thing…

  • You Probably Forgot About This Game: Forgotten Platforming Heroes (Part 3 of 4)

    In this third part of the “Forgotten Platforming Heroes” series, we will move away from animals to finally introduce characters that would not otherwise stare blankly into empty air or scratch their ass on the carpet if they were not in a videogame. Today’s protagonists are not quite human either, so what does that make…

  • Review: Mortal Kombat Armageddon (Nintendo Wii)

    Mortal Kombat Armageddon Genre: Fighting Developer: Midway Publisher: Midway Release Date: 05/29/2007 Over the past fifteen years, the Mortal Kombat franchise has been called many things, including “innovative”, “gory” and even “disturbing”. However, ever since the series has made the jump to 3D, it seems like the adjective usually associated with it is “stale”. Indeed,…

  • You Probably Forgot About This Game: Forgotten Platforming Heroes (Part 2 of 4)

    As promised, here are six more characters that tried to become the next big hero in the platform games genre. Last week, we’ve seen the disaster that was Bubsy the Cat, as well as the mildly successful Aero the Acro-Bat, among others. This week, we’re continuing with the animal theme with six new videogame heroes…

  • You Probably Forgot About This Game: Forgotten Platforming Heroes

    Videogames have their own set of icons and stars. While movie stars and rock stars are more or less recognizable all around the world, gaming icons are pretty much inexistent for a lot of people. Sure, if you talk about Mario, there’s a good chance the person might have heard about the plumbing legend, but…

  • Virtual Insanities: Manhunt 2, Its Rating and Its Banning

    So apparently, Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 is going to be rated AO – Adults Only. I guess we should have seen it coming. After all, pressure groups kept bugging the ESRB about giving that rating to the game while it was still in production. Their rationale was that this title would be nothing more than a…