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Review: Resident Evil 5 “Lost in Nightmares”

Nicholas Lohr — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:01:25 +0000

Resident Evil 5 was first unleashed on gamers in March of 2009. Almost a year later, Capcom is giving players another reason to re-enter the world of survival horror. Love it or hate it, Resident Evil 5 was a more action-oriented experience rather than a return to the series’ trademark horror stylings. The DLC pack “Lost in Nightmares” is a much-welcomed return to the franchise’s roots now available through the Playstation Network and XboxLive. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine are back in a creepy mansion, looking to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and it’s founder, Ozwell E. Spencer. The episode is a closer look at a side-story only glimpsed in a cutscene during Resident Evil 5.

The setting is a complete dose of nostalgia. Capcom has taken special care to bring the original game’s Arclay Mountain mansion into the current generation. Every turn creates another feeling of deja vu. It doesn’t feel recycled or lazy in any way, quite the contrary. It feels more like wearing your favorite pair of jeans or eating your favorite meal. Even though you may have experienced something like it before it feels familiar and, for a die-hard Resident Evil fan, it’s good to be back.

Jill and Chris explore the mansion looking for Spencer, running into various puzzles and some recognizable death-traps. It’s not a very long experience, most players will be able to complete the episode in a little more than an hour but it’s a great ride while it lasts. The developers behind Resident Evil have proven they still have what it takes to create a new, horrifying creature. Lurking beneath the estate is a new enemy, a giant monstrosity dragging some kind of large anchor, waiting to impale Chris and Jill at a moment’s notice. While the duo start off with a small arsenal, they are quickly stripped of their weapons, which really heightens the tension.Moves like this- pitting players against these hulking enemies, in a dungeon without conventional weapons, is genius. It forces players to work cooperatively with their partner to trap them. Not only that, it keeps the sense of terror alive in a series where too much firepower has taken away all the scares.

Lost in Nightmares stumbles a bit when players complete the chapter and realize there wasn’t a whole lot to do. The time spent exploring is almost entirely devoid of enemies, in fact there are only about ten or so apart from a boss battle. It felt like there were some missed opportunities. At one point, Chris is walking down a hallway lit by flashes of lightning. Dogs can be heard outside. In typical Resident Evil fashion, I was expecting something to come crashing through the windows but, to my dismay, nothing happened. There were a lot of moments like this where I kept wishing there were more enemies, zombified or not, to dispatch.

As I said before, the time spent in the mansion is short. However, it is spent going through a nostalgia-inducing good time and, for under $5.00, it’s an incredible deal. The DLC also comes with additional trophies/achievements as well as new characters for the Mercenaries mode, Excella Gionne and fan-favorite Barry Burton. Series purists are likely to declare this is what next-gen Resident Evil should have been from the start. While I wish the episode were longer, it’s definitely given me more hope for the next RE installment and I’m eagerly awaiting the next DLC, “Desperate Escape” coming in March. Both DLC packs will also come with the “Gold Edition” of Resident Evil 5, set to release this Spring.
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Holiday Game Demos!

shloomz — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:23:49 +0000

Strapped for cash this holiday season and can’t afford those expensive game titles for your PC, Xbox, Playstation or Wii? Here at GameShack we have the cure – Game Demos! Yes they may only last a few hours and don’t include all the weapons, levels and fun that you get in the full versions of these games, but yes they are completely FREE! Hey, this may at least help you decide what games you want to buy. We’ve all been there and bought a video game for $50-60+ and ended up hating it or finishing it in a few hours, and then what? We strongly suggest heading to GameStop this holiday season, you can trade in some old video games towards a new one or other used games. If you have enough games to trade it, get the EBGames EDGE card, it may even pay for itself, and then you get an additional 10% off when selling or buying used games. We know it’s not free, but it can help. You even get a free subscription to Game Informer magazine! Talk about a Christmas bonus.

DiRT 2 Demo (PC)

Call of Duty4: Modern Warfare Demo (PC)

Medal of Honor: Airborne Demo (PC)

Spiderman Demo (PC)

SWAT 4 Demo (PC)

Greed Demo (PC)

Age of Empires III: WarChiefs Demo (PC)

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Demo (PC)

Sniper Elite Demo (PC)

Need for Speed Most Wanted Demo (PC)

Machinarium Demo

shloomz — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:31:50 +0000

Check out this game demo for Machinarium, an award-winning puzzle and strategy game that is sure to put your mind to test! In Machinarium, you play as a little robot whose been thrown into the scrapyard and must make it’s way back home to save his ‘robot girlfriend’. On this journey, you must confromt The Black Cap Brotherhood in this zaney adventure. This unique gaming experience truly plays on the fact that 3D is not always better than 2D. The creative designers for Machinarium have really created something special and we are definetly excited for the full game to launch.

The full version of the game is due to be released later this fall, and can now be pre-ordered directly from the Machinariun Website.

*Download Machinarium Demo*

Final Fantasy 3 Flashback

shloomz — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:49:01 +0000

Please reminisce with us on the good old days of Sabin, Terra, Edgar and Locke, and the many others on the magical journey that encompassed Final Fantasy 3 (VI). For any Final Fantasy lovers, or any RPG lovers out there, we really hoped you played this game, as it is truly a masterpiece of gaming. At it’s time, it was way ahead of the curve, a long and exhilarating gaming experience that truly connected us with each character and twist of the storyline. Remember Terra in her Magitek armor? Remember Shadow and his dog Interceptor? Remember that damn guy Siegfried who robbed us on the Phantom Train? We are still pretty pissed at him. What the hell was that item we found?!

Please download at your own discretion. We have also found a copy of the graceful ending scene of Final Fantasy 3, so please watch and enjoy. Try not to let is bring a tear to your eye.

*Download Final Fantasy 3 (VI) Rom*

If you’re in need of an emulator, we recommend the following:

*Snes9x*

Super Mario Bros 3: Mario Forever

shloomz — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:14:32 +0000

Check out this cool game designed and distributed by Softendo Free Games. It’s definetly worth a check, whether you’re bored at school, work or home, you can always have some time for Mario!

Softendo Game Description:

Super Mario Forever is really a classic Mario remake. Once again you strap on your wrench and hardhat and guide the chubby plumber through many skillfully made levels. The diversity of the levels is very impressive. You will have to get through levels ranging from underwater caverns to levels filled with hot lava.

Version 4.4 features additional options in window menu and adds check points to all levels in normal campaign.

*Download Super Mario Bros 3: Mario Forever*

Softendo Publisher Profile:

Softendo is a fans video game web site founded by Buziol in 2002. We’ve published the first Super Mario Bros clone on PC using smooth graphics and greater resolution. Our activity is a creating and hosting freeware games. We’re creating freeware games and game remakes like Super Mario Games, and Sonic Games. All information about our activity can be found on official home site. The most of our games in a web site directory were submitted by nintendo, sega fans. If you’re interested in making freeware games and you want to show your productions to people just visit our forum for more information. All games created by us and users are free and we don’t take any charge from them.

Batman Arkham Asylum Demo

shloomz — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:32:12 +0000

Batman: Arkham Asylum, another highly anticipated title, is going to rock the comic book world. From the previews, this game not only looks fun, but offers many new gameplay elements and a cool episode of the Batman storyline. For those that don’t know, The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, is the fictional psychiatric hospital in the DC Comics Universe in which Batman has imprisoned many of his dangerous foes. Get ready to face off against the notorious cast of bad-guys and gals, ranging from the infamous Joker, to Poison Ivy, the Riddler and Two-Face.

*Download Batman: Arkham Asylum Demo*