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I recently had the opportunity to review Pokemon Soul Silver, the newly remade version of Gameboy Color classic, Pokemon Silver. I have some experience with the series, having previously played through Pokemon Diamond, which was part of Generation 4 of the Pokémon series, along with Pearl and Platinum. The new version of the game introduces 3D animation into the gameplay mix, creating an impressive visual experience.

As a fan of the Pokémon franchise, having played through at least one game from each generation, I really enjoyed this game. There are a number of new and different gym puzzles this time around, which make the game more interesting and fun. The new story line in the game was great, and added positively to the overall experience. You play as a 10-year-old, trainer on a quest to save the world from two very destructive Pokémon™, Dialga and Palkia, who control time and space. You’ve already seen them: they are the mascots for these remakes, appearing prominently on the front of the box. Giratina is the mascot for Platinum, and controls the Distortion World. It’s a little mind blowing  that a 10-year-old kid would be given this kind of power and responsibility, however as with any sequel, they always look for bigger and better. And oh how they get better and better!

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Everyone at some point in their lives wants to improve their health, but adapting to a more healthy life style entails a lot of details. Eating healthier and being more physically active can be somewhat of a challenge when we’re not used to it. Honestly, I cannot remember nor do I have the time every day to journal about what I ate, how many calories I consumed or if participated in any exercise activities. I’ve attempted to keep track of my daily progress, but in the face of a busy life I haven’t had much luck. Hey, tracking this stuff is important to me, not only to see how far I come in the end, but to focus on my ultimate goal. So, I decided to hire myself the most affordable personal coach a person on a budget-especially my budget, oh paycheck granting gods-can buy.

 
My personal coach goes by the name of “My Weight Loss Coach” (Ubisoft). It’s a fun way to keep track of your progress to becoming a healthier individual! The game comes with a pedometer which you plug into the Nintendo DS on a daily basis to keep track of the distance traveled throughout the day. In my first two days I managed to climb Mount Everest without even having to pack for the trip…hey what more can a person ask for? It has motivated me to keep on walking, take the stairs at the office, park further away, and to go that extra lap around the block, just to get those steps adding up on the pedometer. I want to see what else I can climb!

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Breathe deep, I know you don’t hear this often: I wish it were 2008 so I could snag the full version of a PSP game. Yeah, it was weird for me too. Anyway, so after letting my PSP charge overnight, I was finally able to dig into the juicy morsel that is the God of War: Chains of Olympus demo, and much to my surprise I’m mightily impressed (and kind of pissed that it’ll be so long until the full game hits).

Since it’s just a demo it was, suffice to say, not nearly long enough, clocking in at a mere 20 minutes or so, but what there is to be had was a load of fun, and it completely captured the feel of the PS2 masterpiece it follows.

If you were worried about the visuals, don’t be. They’ve somehow managed to capture all the fidelity of the PS2 version on this tiny screen, and moreover, they even managed to get the controls to work with an incredible amount of finesse. The demo starts as you would be crazy not to expect, with a frak-ton of combat. You’re immediately dropped into the siege on Attica, with Persian soldiers attacking the city by boat and on foot. Your first task is simply to dispatch said soldiers in a brutal fashion, and then destroy one of the attacking boats by firing off a ballista.

From there you drop into the room below, where you fight off more soldiers–of course–and are then faced with what appears to be a large troll. The troll, as it turns out, is really only there to drop off a massive club, which you’ll use momentarily to pummel a gigantic Basilisk in the eye with. Well, I take that back–he’s also there to feed said hungry Basilisk, but that’s neither here nor there.

Like the other God of War games, Chains of Olympus makes use of a locked camera that the player doesn’t control, but it really does a great job at keeping itself in the action and, which gives the player an excellent vantage point at virtually all times. Gameplay is fast and furious, and the enemy soldiers are no match for you at any point. The boss characters present more of a challenge, and again in true God of War tradition end up letting you throttle them spectacularly with a series of well timed, prompted button presses that don’t disappoint. Well, OK, the scenes don’t disappoint, the button presses kind of do, but it all works out for the best.

In any case, the demo so far gives me high hopes for this game, and from what I’ve tasted so far I have to say that it’s certainly looking like a must-buy for me.

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Have you ever found yourself shaking, tilting, and jumping up and down with your game controller in your hands as if this is going to make a slight difference on the way your game on screen will be affected? Wish that your acrobatic grace would help you win the game? Well wish no more, Yoshi Topsy-Turvy is here to tilt your world around.

Developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance or Nintendo DS systems Yoshi Topsy-Turvy is a true tilting adventure. I was skeptical at first that the game would really change depending on how you tilt the system while you play, but boy was I proven wrong! You cannot play this game the conventional way of just pushing buttons; Yoshi depends on you to tilt him around to accomplish the tasks that the spirits assign to him, as he tries to rescue Yoshi Island from the pop-up book world it’s been sucked into.

The graphics in the game are excellent; I really enjoyed the detail they put into making it look like Yoshi is inside a pop up book. As a texture artist who’s created textures for both 3D models and 2D animations I really enjoy looking at the detail that goes into a design, and this game’s artwork is really excellent. What I thought was an excellent design element is the cardboard-like edges on things. The art style flows with the whole concept of the game. The art style is very cartoon-like and the sound effects and music in the game are what one would expect from a Yoshi game.

This game really relies on your handling of the system. One small tilt will determine whether you get Yoshi up to the next level or you bring him to his doom and have to start the level over again. It’s really very enjoyable how they incorporated this type of mechanic into how you play the game. With each level you play, you’ll gain more experience that will help you reach the end and help Yoshi save his world. The game is not multiplayer by design and I doubt it would work well as a multiplayer title anyway. Unless the group you were playing with was really coordinated Yoshi would never get anywhere!

Personally I would enjoy working on designing a game such as this. The art style is to my liking and it really is an addictive game; I couldn’t put it down. It’s a lot of fun to play because it’s very different from most games on the market, where you just sit there and push a couple of buttons to get your character moving.
You actually have to move the entire system to get things rolling with this title, and that’s a cool and entertaining dynamic. The only thing I found to be annoying in this game is “The Spirit Who Loves Swiftness,” and believe me when I say this that this Spirit can be a pain. Check it out for yourself by picking
up a copy of Yoshi Topsy-Turvy.

Quality: 5/5

Sound: 5/5

Game Play: 5/5

Developers Perspective: 5/5

Over all score: 5/5

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