Author: Mark B.

  • Review: Curious George (PS2)

    Curious George Genre: Action/Adventure Developer: Monkey Bar Games Publisher: Namco Release Date: 2/1/06 I’d go into the whole “Curious George” as a character in literature ordeal, but hey, if you’re like me, your parents read his books to you when you were growing up, so you know who he is. For me, as a character,…

  • Playing the Lame Vol. 5

    Hail folks, it is I, Mark B, here to regale you once again with a tale of crap from the anals of history. And no, that’s not a typo. I took last week off to work on college stuff, but I doubt you really missed my presence all that much, so I’m not too concerned.…

  • Playing the Lame Vol. 4

    Hey everybody, welcome to Playing the Lame, the content-free edition! Basically, I’m working on a project that’s taking up all of my site-writing time (it’s for IP, so don’t think I’m wasting my writing time having a life or something, that’ll never happen), but I figured I’d give y’all something to mess around with. I’m…

  • Playing the Lame, Vol. 3

    Hola cats and kittens, it is I, the Crapmaster himself, Mark B., here to bring you more bad gaming goodness, because I love ya. I’d have sooner been the Crapkeeper, but Lloyd Kaufman said if I did that, he’d sue me for defamation of character. If you don’t get that joke, congratulations, you have better…

  • Playing the Lame, Vol. 2

    Hello hello, and welcome to another exciting, fun-filled installment of Playing the Lame! Gee, that sounded so sincere in my head. Anyway, I’m Mark, here once again to bring you the cream of the crap, as it were. I’d have finished this up earlier, but I had to go back and play around with the…

  • Playing the Lame, Vol. 1.

    Hello and welcome to the inaugural “Playing the Lame”. I’m your gracious host, Mark B, and I bid you welcome to my domain of terrible games. Well, technically, I’m not that gracious… the soda’s warm and I ate all the chips, but if you can ignore that, I think we’ll get along fine. Anyway, since…

  • Review: Dead or Alive 4 (XB 360)

    Dead or Alive 4 Genre: Fighting. Developer: Team Ninja Publisher: Tecmo Release Date: 12/29/05 This is probably going to be the hardest review I ever write. See, I’m a fan of Team Ninja. I loved DOA 2, I loved DOA 3, I loved DOAU, I loved Ninja Gaiden, hell, I thought DOAX was entertaining, as…

  • Review: Ridge Racer 6 (XB 360)

    Ridge Racer 6 Genre: Racing Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco Release Date: 11/17/05 Ridge Racer 6 isn’t exactly appropriately titled; even if we exclude the mobile phone RR game and R: Racing Evolution (which I think everyone should, on principle), we should be looking at Ridge Racer 9 by now. Wonky continuity notwithstanding, the RR series…

  • Review: Perfect Dark Zero (XB 360)

    Perfect Dark Zero Genre: First-Person Shooter Developer: Rare Limited Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Release Date: 11/17/05 Outside of the now delayed Oblivion (sorry, Lee), Perfect Dark Zero is probably the most anticipated launch title for the Xbox 360, and with good cause. Rare originally announced the title when they signed on as a developer for…

  • Review: WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 (PS2)

    WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 Genre: Wrestling. Developer: Yuke’s Publisher: THQ Release Date: 11/14/05 Let’s get this out of the way up front. No, I’m not Lucard. No, I don’t have any specific appreciation for the Smackdown series, but I’m tolerant of it. No, I didn’t like Day of Reckoning or Wrestlemania 21. Yes, I’ve…

  • Review: Karaoke Revolution Party (PS2)

    Karaoke Revolution Party Genre: Singing/Rhythm game Developer: Harmonix Publisher: Konami Release Date: 11/09/05 Before I start this review off, I’d like to say, simply, Godspeed Eddie, you will be missed. Nothing else I could possibly say otherwise hasn’t been said by other people here, and much better than I could say it. You were one…

  • Review: Soul Calibur 3 (PS2)

    Soul Calibur 3 Genre: Fighting Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco Release Date: 10/26/05 Ah, another year, another Namco fighting game. They’re certainly consistent with their releases; with the exception of 2001 and 2004, Namco has been releasing a fighting game every year since 1995. For Namco fighting fans, this year has so far shaped up to…

  • Review: Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

    Shadow of the Colossus Genre: Action/Adventure Developer: SCEI Publisher: SCEA Release Date: 10/18/05 I think it’s fairly safe to say that Fumito Udea is not your stereotypical video game concept creator. In September of 2001, his first brainchild, Ico, was unleashed stateside onto the PS2, and received critical acclaim for its beautiful graphics and superb…

  • Review: The Bible Game (PS2, XBX)

    The Bible Game Genre: Party game Developer: Mass Media Inc/Crave Entertainment Publisher: Crave Entertainment Release Date: 10/25/05 I’d like to start this review off with a little bit of personal observation. Feel free to skip to the “Game Modes” section if you like. I’ve been playing video games for, roughly, about twenty years. In that…

  • Review: Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (PS2, XB, GC)

    Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects Genre: Fighting/Beat-em-Up Developer: Nihilistic Publisher: Electronic Arts Release Date: 9/20/05 What do you get when you take Powerstone and stick Marvel characters in it? Apparently, you get Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects from Electronic Arts. Marvel Nemesis puts the player in the position of being able to answer…