Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Developer: Insomniac Games

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Release Date: Oct. 27, 2009

System: PS3

ESRB Rating: E10+

Official Web site

In a nutshell: The future looks a lot like the past. And the past was awesome.

0:00 I've been a big Ratchet and Clank fan since their first outing, and my love hasn't diminished much despite yearly updates that don't bring much new to the table. I vaguely remember playing a quick demo of this at E3 2009, but not being terribly impressed with the time-based puzzles.

0:01 Gentle fantasy music plays on the preview screen. What looks like Ratchet on steroids looks out over a cliff edge with some sort of cat thing at his side? What the... where's Clank?

0:02 "The latest update data for this softare has been found." I suppose that's understandable since the game has been out for months now...

0:04 14MB file downloaded and installed. That was relatively painless.

0:05 "This game needs to perform an initial setup process." Of course it does.

***-->CONTINUE READING AT<--***

***-->JOYSTICK DIVISION<-***

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Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2009
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Ow! I got snow in my festering chest wound. Look out!

0:00 I enjoyed the writing and presentation in the first Uncharted, but stopped when the game started throwing endless streams of ridiculously tough enemies at me. After reading a bunch of reviews that call this sequel the greatest game of its generation, the bar is set mighty high. Will it live up to expectations? We shall see...

0:01 After a good minutes of loading and logos we've reached ... the title screen. Really? That's why you needed all that loading? Anyway, birds fly around amidst golden idols in a sun-lit jungle tomb. Timpani-heavy, John Williams-esque music sets the mood.

0:02 Difficulties are Very Easy, Easy, Normal and Hard. Where's my Very Hard? I DEMAND SYMMETRICAL DIFFICULTIES. Oh, maybe it's locked. Well ... all right, then ... Normal it is.

0:03 There's an option for "Motion Sensor Throw." OFF PLEASE!

0:04 This is the first game I can recall that lets me set the "dynamic range" on the audio. I don't even know what that means, but it can be set to Maximum, Wide, Normal, Narrow or Midnight. That last one sounds cool. Let's go with that.

0:05 Twitter! Yes, the game can update your Twitter account as you play. A few of my Twitter friends had this on, pestering my feed with endless updates on their progress through the chapters. I think I'll pass. I actually like my Twitter friends.

***-->CONTINUE READING AT CRISPY GAMER<--***

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SingStar Vol. 2

Developer: SCE London Studios
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: May 20, 2008
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site

In a nutshell: I love to sing-ah. About the moon-ah and the June-ah and the spring-ah.

one of those days for me. I doubt it'll be much different than the first PS3 SingStar volume I reviewed, but at least the songs will be fresher.

0:09 These first minutes were spent digging through my closet, looking for my SingStar microphones and EyeToy PS3 camera. I know this isn't the game's fault, but it's true, so I'll include it in the count.

0:10 A 55 MB update to "version 4.10" is available, apparently. The only listed upgrade is "Polish is now a language option," but on the off chance there's something else important, let's download it.

0:15 During the initial loading, the game zooms in on specific buttons on a 3-D model of the controller, describing what each one does in about 50 bazillion languages. Then a Latina and what looks like her grandmother sing along to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now". The sing-along video cuts to young sisters in red polka dots, a blonde girl in pigtails, a teen with her grandfather, and two "rapper" types, all singing along badly but seemingly having a great time. The video eventually goes slow-mo, showing their hair flying everywhere as they gyrate. At the end, the video gets four stars from an unseen rater, and zooms out to reveal a video mosaic making the SingStar logo. Captures the feeling of the game pretty well.

0:19 Scanning the song list. There's a few decent ones, but mostly I'm surprised by the sheer number of songs I don' recognize. I guess I'm getting old ... ooh, "California Dreamin'"! Done!

***-->CONTINUE READING AT CRISPY GAMER<--***

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Fat Princess

Developer: Titan Studios
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: July 30, 2009
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Castle Crashers + StarCraft + CAKE!

0:00 Most of my knowledge of this game comes from the feminist controversy surrounding its concept. And since controversial = good, I'm looking forward to it!

0:01 A light medieval melody plays as tiny, cute, cel-shaded characters run around a castle, picking up cake and such. In the corner, a fat princess sits munching on a sign that says "Start." Yum!

0:02 The options menu is called "Twiddly Knobs." From that I can tell that this is gonna be my kind of game. I "Get Fabulous" by randomizing my character's look a few times. He ends up with pale white skin and a spiky black beard and hair.

0:03 There are 18 pages of "how to play" text with simple picture tutorials. I'm guessing the actual game has a better tutorial, so I'll save this for later.

0:04 I'm definitely not ready to "Play with Others," so I guess I'll just "Play With [Myself]." Wait ... that didn't sound right...

***-->CONTINUE READING AT CRISPY GAMER<--***

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Resistance: Retribution

Developer: Sony Bend
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: March 17, 2009
System: PSP
ESRB Rating: M
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Oh look, another Chimera to auto-aim at.

0:00 I'm really interested to see how the intensely detailed PS3 dual-stick shooter makes the conversion to the diminutive, less powerful handheld.

0:01 The title appears over a yellowed map of Europe and a skull and crossbones, only the crossbones aren't crossbones ... they're GUNS! YIKES!

0:02 Looks like the face buttons take the place of the second analog stick. I'm not fully convinced this'll work well. My fresh-faced protagonist looks out, rifle in hand, as I choose "Campaign" from the menu. I'm constantly amazed that a portable system can turn out 3-D graphics like these.

0:03 I choose Normal difficulty because I don't wanna be a wuss. "I had heard of Grayson, of course," says an unseen narrator. "Everyone had, in those days leading up to the fall of the London tower." One night in Manchester, Grayson's life changed forever. We see a mutant tower over a human on a slab. "We got a live one here. No. No, Johnny. No! Johnny..." Grayson's brother has been "changed." "We can't let him live." Bang! Bro's death sent Grayson over the edge, apparently. He deserted and tried to destroy conversion centers on his own. Months later, at the trials, he found "the law makes no exception" for desertion.

0:06 Grayson would have died in prison except for the intervention of ... Raine Bouchard, of the French Maquis. She wants help taking out a Chimera Tower in Paris. "Taking orders from frogs and a broad. No thanks, sister?" he says in his best "Rebel Without a Cause" impression. "So you lost your family," Bouchard responds. "Look around, we all lost family." Decent writing and presentation, here.

***-->CONTINUE READING AT CRISPY GAMER<--***

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Everyday Shooter

Developer: Queasy Games
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Oct. 11, 2007
Systems: PS3 (reviewed), PSP, PC
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: What if Geometry Wars were even MORE abstract...
0:00 Despite absolutely loving a five-minute demo of this game at E3 '07, I somehow never managed to actually buy it or even request a press copy. That situation ends NOW!

0:01 A pleasantly small 38 MB download and quick install. All PSN games should be this painless to access!

0:02 "Everyday Shooter: A Queasy Game by Jonathan Mak." There's some utterly simple and charming acoustic guitar plunking in the background of the nice, basic menu screen.

0:04 First, some notes: "In the spring of 2005 I started work on what I called 'the new game,'" Mak writes. It was self-indulgent and "games-as-art-theory-innovation wankery," apparently. Then he went back to his roots: the top-down shoot-'em-up! Yes!

0:05 OK, let's do this. Options are Normal Play and Single Play. I'm married, so I guess Hetero-Normative play is for me. Eh? Eh? *crickets chirping*

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

Linger in Shadows

Developer: Plastic
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Oct. 9, 2008
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: The PS3 goes to art school and gets all pretentious on us.

0:00 While cleaning out my email I stumbled upon a months-old download code for this piece of self-described "interactive art." It might be unfair to expect a whole hour of interesting content from something like this, but they are charging money for it, so I don't think it's that much to ask.

0:01 The title screen appears after a decently long bit of loading, only there's no title, just a close-up of some sort of stone robot with undulating wires flitting about. Reminds me a bit of Shadow of the Colossus. I love the deeply resonant string music in the background.

0:02 My menu choices are "Linger," "Watch" and "Linger in Shadows and demoscene." Er, let's try Linger, I guess.

0:03 We start with a shot of an orange sky, which slowly pans down to fluffy white clouds. As the camera falls through a hole in the clouds we see painted images of what I assume is the development team, along with their names in stylized text. The ethereal music helps set the mood.

0:04 Once we get through the clouds, everything fades to black. Then the scene quickly rewinds, complete with VHS-style sounds and image distortion, back to a scene with a picture of a woman and some silver orbs hovering around a shiny cylinder. Leaning the controller to one side or the other rotates the orbs around their cylindrical axis. Shaking the controller, meanwhile, distorts the entire scene and threatens to undo reality itself. It looks like something's trying to break out of the TV!

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

MLB 09: The Show

Developer: SCEA
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: March 3, 2009
Systems: PS3 (reviewed), PS2, PSP
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: A realistic bit of spring on a cold winter's day

0:00 Apparently I didn't like MLB 07 but did like MLB 08 when I played them for an hour. This could be because of the many (read: few) differences between the versions, but more likely relates to my mood at the time of playing.

0:01 The intro video has a "then & now" theme. "He anchors the front of the rotation. He's an All-Star. A Hall-of-Famer. He's the guy you count on to start the season, to stop a losing streak, to start a post-season series. They deliver the strikeouts, they deliver the wins, and most of all, they deliver the glory." He's ... the pitcher, I guess? "THE TRADITION CONTINUES!" the screen blares. Title screen! OK then!

0:02 "The game requires data to be cached to the HDD. This process will take 6-7 minutes." Of course it does...

0:04 Just as a warning: It's roughly 5 degrees Kelvin outside in Pittsburgh today, so I'm not really in the mood for baseball...

0:06 During the HDD preloading process I get to stare at an HD image of some screaming Red Sox player. If I were a better baseball fan I'd probably know who he is...

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

Secret Agent Clank

Developer: High Impact Games
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: June 17, 2008
System: PSP
ESRB Rating: E-10+
Official Web site

In a nutshell: The game most likely to get Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man" stuck in my head.

0:00 I've liked pretty much every Ratchet and Clank game so far, including the the other one on the PSP. Still, I hope this one deviates from the formula a little bit.

0:01 Tiny robot Clank stands on the street in a tuxedo and sunglasses, reading a newspaper. He occasionally looks up, like he's expecting trouble. I press start and the scene changes to a static menu with a picture of Clank. So what was the point of that newspaper scene?

0:02 A ship flies through the bluish-blackness of space, no doubt to hide the loading time. The Boltaire Museum is the destination, on a purple-ringed planet. Cut to the roof of a building; Clank lowers himself down through a skylight on a tether. An automatic glass cutter makes a circular entrance to the museum proper. Clank spies furry, orange Ratchet in a brown robe. The Lombax gets caught by a laser grid and apprehended by the guards. "Greetings, Agent Clank; were you able to protect the Eye of Infinity?" asks a robot on the ship's viewscreen. No such luck. Cut to a news report that shows Ratchet being taken away in a paddy wagon. He's raving to the cameras in a crazy voice about how he's hidden the Eye of Infinity where no one will find it. A retinal match shows it's actually Ratchet, but Clank doesn't believe it. I don't either...

0:05 Clank jumps out of the ship and is off to look for clues to the Eye's whereabouts. Running around with the analog stick, I stumble into a search beam, sending robotic dogs out to bite at me. A few punches bring 'em down.

0:08 The controls are decent but not great so far ... I don't like how the camera needs constant taps of R and L to stay behind Clank. I also don't like Clank's lack of a double jump. I do like his fluid punch/kick combos when I jam on the attack button.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

NBA 09: The Inside

Developer: SCE Studios San Diego
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2008
Systems: PS3 (reviewed), PS2, PSP
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: What fun is a basketball game if you can't push people over and do thirty-foot dunks?

0:00 I usually only enjoy basketball games of the NBA Jam/NBA Street variety, but this one has been staring at me from my shelf for months, making me feel guilty that Sony sent it to me and I haven't played it yet. So I guess I'll give it the old college try.

0:01 Shocker, there's a 49 MB downloadable update available. Now I remember the other reason I was loathe to try this one out ... it's on the PS3.

0:04 53-percent downloaded so far. I've been passing the time by listening to this excellent Harvey Danger album. It's free! Go download it! NOW!

0:06 The download and install are done. That really wasn't too bad. The music helped the time pass quickly.

0:07 Oh, looks like I spoke too soon ... now we're "Installing game data files. Please do not turn off your system or eject the disc or BUY AN XBOX 360 during this process." I may have embellished that message a little bit...

0:09 57 percent. The install is pretty fast, but still slow enough to make me want to just bust out the DS for some Retro Game Challenge.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

LocoRoco 2

Developer: SCEJ
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Feb. 10, 2009
System: PSP
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: The cutest game you'll ever watch.

0:00 I played the demo of the first LocoRoco a couple of years ago, and I believe the catchy music is still in my head. I hope LocoRoco 2 is just as catchy but also a bit more involved -- I don't want another screensaver that I can kind-of-sort-of control.

0:01 A floating mass of black dreadlocks with a mouth flies around. A big, yellow LocoRoco falls in and splits into a bunch of smaller version of himself on a green field. The title "LocoRoco" lowers down from above, and a "2" shimmies in from the right. As the menu comes up, the Locos go into autoplay mode, getting shot around, pulled through gears, caught on the wind, landing and tilting a balance, etc. I could watch this all day ... but that would be boring for you guys, wouldn't it?

0:02 A black silhouette of a planet against a starry night. The music gets louder as smoke rises from the planet. A conductor leads a bunch of dreadlocks in a dark melody. A rock launches from the planet and goes zooming into space. Pan to a happy green and blue world. Zoom in to find a blue guy hammering away at a rock, then a lone LocoRoco bouncing around. "I am MuiMui, LocoRoco's friend," says another blue guy in the corner. Thanks for clearing that up!

0:04 Good thing I know the controls from last time, because no one seems very eager to explain how to tilt the world to make me roll, or how to pop it to make me jump. Controls feel a little more responsive than last time, actually. Or maybe it's my imagination.

0:06 As in the last game, collecting orange flowers makes me bigger. A tap of O splits me up into little versions, and holding O brings me back together with cries of "NOI!" SO CUTE! That said, the music isn't nearly as catchy so far.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

Crash Commando

Developer: Epos
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Dec. 18, 2008
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Rocket Launchers and Running People Over: The Game

0:00 The only thing I really know about this game is that Sony sent me a voucher code to download it. Also, I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with Crash Bandicoot.

0:01 Man, the driving military beat music over the preview screen is LOUD! I have to jump for the remote to lower the volume.

0:02 The game itself is much quieter than the preview screen, blessedly. On to the Help screen to figure out what this game is all about.

0:03 "In Crash Commando, you play as the Grunts or the Jarheads in a war that wages across various maps and game modes." OK then! There are jetpacks and vehicles and weapons and turrets and such.

0:04 There's a lot more to read about weapons and map types and game types, but let's just jump on in and figure it out as we go, OK? OK! As the Help screen says, "Let the mayhem begin!"

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

echochrome

Developer: SCE Japan
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: May 1, 2008
Systems: PSP (reviewed), PS3
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: If M.C. Escher made a videogame.
0:00 I've been excited about this one ever since I saw a video of its Escher-like worlds at last year's E3. I got a free copy along with the PSP-3000 Sony sent me a few months back (yeah, I know, my life sucks) but haven't gotten around to playing it until now.

0:01 Some credits go by quickly, then a stark white title screen with some wailing/singing in the background. The protagonist walks around some sample levels. "Knock on the door," the game says. Uh ... does that mean press the X button? Because that's what I did.

0:02 The menu options are Freeform, Atelier, Canvas and Etc. Is this menu the first puzzle? Where's "New Game"?

0:03 I choose Etc. and jump into the tutorial. I think I'm gonna need it for this one ... "Welcome to the world of Echochrome," says a soothing ethereal voice. "In this world, special laws apply." The first is "Perspective Traveling," where you can "change the perspective and connect the path." I move the camera with the analog nub as the protagonist walks forward automatically. Two disjointed platforms suddenly connect when they line up on the 2-D plane of the screen. Did that make sense? This is hard to describe with mere words. I'm loving the gentle violin music.

0:05 "Perspective Existence" lets me cover up gaps and make them into walkable platforms. "You may not be able to see it, but there is a path." Similarly, "Perspective Absence" can cover holes and allow safe passage. "Hide the obstruction and it no longer exists." Very philosophical, for a puzzle game.

0:06 Finally, "Perspective Jump" lets me swing the platform under a jumping guy to catch him. Now I'm into my first real puzzle. "Use the five mysterious laws and create a path." The music sounds like a wailing cat ... in a good way!

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty

Developer: Insomniac
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Aug. 21, 2008
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: E-10+
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Intense excitement followed by intense boredom.

0:00 What a ridiculously long and unfortunately punny name for a game. Anyway, I've liked pretty much every Ratchet game to varying extents, so I can't imagine this will be very different. I like having the game on my hard drive, too, so I don't have to search for the disc.

0:01 A treasure map sits on a table and the menu screen appears over top. I adjust the brightness to the prescribed level and it seems really dark. R&C is supposed to be a bit dark, but still, this is ridiculous!

0:02 Hard difficulty is described as "Ye must have a death wish, me hearty!" This is just scary enough to get me to try Medium.

0:03 A storybook opens as a narrator tells a tale: "Once upon a time, there was a fearless young Lombax who gained fame throughout the galaxy by ..." Blah blah blah. Clank the robot was kidnapped by the "Zoni." Ratchet used a computer to get a clue -- a pirate named Darkwater who might have a key to the Zoni dimension. Transfer from storybook to full 3-D. A woman with a rocket pack, Talwyn, is with Ratchet as they hop onboard a mysterious ship.

0:05 A drunk-sounding robot, Rusty Pete, talks to the disembodied head of his departed captain. "Alas, poor cap'n. No one misses you but me!" "I miss you too, Rusty Pete." says the disembodied head/puppet. "You may not have me body, but you'll always have me heart." Heh. I love the animation. Big robot pirates sneak up behind Ratchet and Talwyn. The biggest of them puts Ratchet in his arm cannon and fires him into the next ship. "Whoooooooooa!"

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

PixelJunk Eden

Developer: Q-Games
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: July 31, 2008
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: A garden party.
0:00 I've heard this game described as good but "hard to describe." Good thing I don't have to describe my experience playing it for the next hour or anything...

0:01 After adjusting the display size to my tiny SDTV and skipping through a 12-page license agreement, a title screen... grows. It's red and yellow silhouettes of flowing flowers amidst a black background. Ethereal synth music drones on behind.

0:02 Before I know it an extremely tiny gnome-like guy appears on the floor. I bring up the options screen and immediately gravitate to "How to Play."

0:03 "Eden is on an unknown garden. You use the oscillator to tune into other gardens which you can explore freely." Um... what? The game recommends an HDTV and headphones. THANKS FOR RUBBING IT IN, GAME!

0:04 So far, I've gathered that collecting floating Spectra, whatever they are, can make my home garden grow. "If the oscillator goes out of tune you will be ejected from the garden." Oh sure... who wants an out-of-tune oscillator in their garden? Not me!

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

MLB 08: The Show

Developer: SCEA
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: March 4, 2008
Systems: PS3 (reviewed), PS2, PSP
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: MLB 07: The Show + 1

0:00 I played MLB 07 a bit after I reviewed it for lunch about a year ago, but the last time I really got into a baseball game was back in the NES days.

0:01 I'm downloading a 36 MB update. I'm reeeeeally getting tired of this, Sony.

0:05 The update is installing. The download wasn't quite as bad this time.

0:06 "2007: Year of the Milestone" flashes across the screen. "In 1989 Sammy Sosa made his major league debut..." He was chasing the "600 club" re: home runs, and he got it in a fetching Rangers uniform. Some nice full-screen game footage here, then an abrupt transition to a legalese loading screen and the title. Gives the game a good sense of history.

0:08 After some longish initial loading, the game asks me to create a profile. An old-timey baseball radio announcer comes on in the background -- nice touch -- then transitions into the song "Low Rider." Not as nice.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

High Velocity Bowling

Developer: SCEA
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Dec. 6, 2007
Systems: PS3 (PSN download)
ESRB Rating: E10+
Official Web Site

In a nutshell: Shoobidy-doo-wop Bowling

0:00 After yesterday's disappointing experience with Brunswick Pro Bowling, I thought I'd try Sony's answer to Wii Sports. Who will be best in the better bowling battle?

0:01 Apparently I need to download 30MB of update data to run this game, which I downloaded months ago. All righty then.

0:04 The download and install are finally done. Let's go bowling!

0:05 The game is THX certified. My TV is barely stereo. What a waste.

Read the full review over at Crispy Gamer

WipEout Pulse

Developer: Sony Liverpool
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Feb. 12
Systems: PSP
ESRB Rating: E10+
Official Web Site

In a nutshell: Fast to the Future

0:00 I haven't played a badly-capitalized WipEout game since XL on the original PlayStation, so this should be a futuristic hover-racing blast from the past.

0:01 Stylistic, computer-styled menus flash by before some relatively standard hovercar porn video. "Welcome to WipEout Pulse," says a computerized voice.

0:04 I end up spending three minutes just sampling the 16 techno tracks in the options screen's Music Playlist. The soundtrack was big reason I got into WipEout originally, even though I don't listen to much techno in everyday life.

0:05 Time to dive into Campaign mode, "The definitive WipEout single-player experience." Definitive? Like there are so many others?

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

God of War: Chains of Olympus

Developer: Ready at Dawn
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: March 4, 2008
Systems: PSP
ESRB Rating: M
Official Web Site

In a nutshell: Madness? THIS! IS! PORTABLE!

0:00 After reading a butt-load of glowingly positive reviews for this game, I feel like I'm going to have my official "game critic club card" revoked if I don't like it. Here's hoping it doesn't come to that.

0:01 This minute spent upgrading my PSP to firmware version 3.80.

0:02 See minute 0:01.

0:03 Here we go! Hero difficulty (Normal)... "Suffering for years, Kratos, the once-great general, now known as the ghost of Sparta, pledged himself to the gods of Olympus. In return, he only hoped to rid himself of the nightmares that had haunted him for far too long." But today, he's been asked to defend Attica from the Persian army. In other words, here's a bit of unnecessary story, now GO FIGHT. As should be the case in a game like this.

0:05 The first thing that strikes me about the game is how pretty it looks for a PSP game. The second thing is how long Kratos' Blades of Chaos are. They can reach, like, two times his height. Good gravy.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

PixelJunk Monsters

Developer: Q Games
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: Jan. 2008
Systems: PS3
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web Site

In a nutshell: PS3-top Tower Defense

0:00 After a heated, split debate on the Game Trust mailing list, I had to check this one out for myself. I love the various Desktop Tower Defense games I've tried online, and I'm hoping this will capture the same feeling on my TV.

0:01 For some reason, the screen seems stuck in a widescreen ratio, meaning thick black bars sit at the bottom and top of my TV. Not all of us have fancy widescreen TVs, PixelJunk!

0:02 How to play: "d-pad or analog stick moves, X selects, O cancels." Can't get much simpler than that! I have to walk around and turn trees into enemy-destroying bases so I can protect a flock of cute, bouncing head things. There's lots of stuff to learn, but there's a tutorial. Let's go!

0:04 "They'll come soon! Get ready!" Creepy! I build an "arrow" tower and watch as a helpless monster wanders into its attack radius and explodes with a cute little yelp. Collect the coins it drops, build another tower, lather, rinse, repeat!

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer