PNG Review – DungeonQuest

Publisher:  Fantasy Flight Games
Designer:  Jakob Bonds
Players: 1 – 4
Ages: 13+
Play Time:  90 mins

MSRP:  $59.95

Grade: A-

Before you read on, know that this game is unforgiving and ball breaking hard.  Playing by the original rules without variation almost guarantees your character will die.  In DungeonQuest, you play one of six adventurers attempting to get to the dragon’s hoard in the center of Dragonfire Dungeon and get out before nightfall.  As nightfall comes the dungeon very well may seal you in forever and leave you at the mercy of Kalladra, the dragon who owns said hoard.  This sounds simple enough but the first thing you learn in this game is that it excels at killing player characters.  I used to think that Arkham Horror was the most brutal and difficult cooperative board game,  until we had our go with DungeonQuest.  It took eight full games with our friends for someone to actually survive Dragonfire Dungeon by getting to the loot and escaping.  While this may not sound enjoyable, there is a sick sort of pleasure you get as you continue to throw yourself in the game.  It becomes becomes an obsession… an unhealthy competition between you and the game.

First Impressions: Red Faction Guerilla Demo

It has been a long time since we’ve gotten our hands on a new Red Faction experience, but that will all change come June.  For those, like myself, that simply cannot wait to begin destroying Mars brick by brick, THQ and Volition Studios has seen fit to throw a one level demo our way, provided you pre-order the game at your local GameStop. 

Red Faction, along with TimeSplitters, helped lay the foundation for the massive popularity of console first-person shooters, a foundation that Halo would cement a short time later.  However, Red Faction had something that Halo and nearly every other shooter has never had until last year’s release of Battlefield: Bad Company, realistic destructible environments.  Not only did it look cool, but it added a level of strategy not yet seen in the genre. 

Guerilla is bringing back the destruction in a big way with their new, retooled Geo-Mod 2 engine.  This time, instead of using quick art swaps like all games that have come before it, RFG is using real-time piece by piece implosions.  I am happy to say it works brilliantly. 

PNG Review: Wheelman

 

 

 

Publisher:  Ubisoft, Midway
Developer:  Midway Studios Newcastle, Tigon
MSRP:  $59.99 (PS3, Xbox 360), $49.99 (PC)

Grade:  C

 

 

 

 

 

After playing the demo for Wheelman, I was convinced that I would buy this game.  It had speed, explosions, fast cars, and Vin Diesel, the current apple of PNG’s eye.  It was looking like it for fans such as us, starting with the week of Wheelman’s release, we were about to get more of our deep gravelly voiced hero than we could handle with 3 straight weeks of Diesel.  So I dove into the game on launch day with a personal sized frozen pizza, a glass of wine, and Wheelman.

PNG Review – Wanted: Weapons of Fate

Publisher:  Warner Bros. Interactive

Developer: Grin

Platforms: XBOX 360, PS3, PC

MSRP: $59.99

Grade:  C-

Just like an irritating rash, movie games just won’t go away.  You can not cure it, but you can treat it.  However, every now and then you just can’t help but reach down and scratch that itch.  Wanted: Weapons of Fate is different though from the standard movie games that release in step with the film, rushed out the door without giving a second thought to creating anything more than what you’ve already seen.  Wanted functions as both a prequel and a sequel to last year’s blockbuster action flick, bringing both familiar and new characters and plot twists to the fold.  So with the developers and writers taking a fresh look and doing it the right way, have they managed to buck the trend of Hollywood tripe and deliver a game worth playing?  Find out after the break

PNG Review- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

Publisher: THQ
Developer: Swordfish Studios
MSRP: $59.99

Grade: B

There has been a lot of talk here at Pixels and Grids about Mr. Cent’s latest foray into the video gaming world.  Some of us have been patiently waiting; taking in each new, beautiful screenshot like a cool breeze carrying the scent of fresh baked pies.  Others prepared for its coming like Y2K, buying out the hardware store’s supply of propane and saving water in the bathtub so that the toilet could still flush in a post-apocalyptic world.  Either way, we were all pretty sure that if we were still alive, it would be an event we would remember forever.  Where were you when the game came out?  Were you stuck at work?  Riding on the subway?  Standing in line at an amusement park?  Or were you like me, in da club?

Even more questions: Did 50 and Swordfish Studios take the game straight to the bank, or just put out another bad apple?  Did Fif ever get his oh-so-precious skull back?  And most importantly, did 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand live up to our own hype of 2009’s game of the year?

Guess you’ll have to venture the break to find out wangsta.

First Impressions: Wheelman Demo Review

Last week we got a double dose of Diesel on Xbox Live and man were we pumped here at PNG.  Jeff definitely piqued my interest during our last Audiophile when he compared it to Burnout with a story.  As I fell deeply in love with Burnout Paradise, I couldn’t see anything wrong with giving the demo a shot.  After all, it is free.

After playing the 3 missions they give you in the demo, I can say three words enthusiastically.  Play this now.

Candy Cage Match – Two men enter, one man leaves

Run For Your Life, Candyman!

Publisher: Smirk and Dagger Games

MSRP: $29.95

 

 

 

 

I figure I’d make my debut post on PNG with a run down and review of one of my favorite board games, Run For Your Life, Candyman!  A game that basically amounts to a Candyland with a black box couldn’t possibly be that much fun, now could it?

Carcassonne Vs. Carcassonne

 

Let’s say you’re low on fuel and the intersection up ahead has two gas stations.  At station A you can get out, pump your gas and be on your way.  At station B, however, they will pump your gas for you, check your oil, clean your windshield, check your tire pressure and generally tell you how awesome you are all in less time than it would take to pump your own gas over at stupid station A.  Now what if I told you that not only would you receive all these added luxuries at station B but that it would also cost you 20 bucks less?