SpongeBob – surely everyone’s heard of him. The animated series has enjoyed huge success in the long years of their existence, and like with most other popular TV shows, that success lead to the creation of an entire merchandise, including over a dozen video games of all genres (and qualities). SpongeBob’s Boating Bash is yet another game in the SpongeBob line, this time featuring a racing theme.

Gameplay

In SpongeBob’s Boating Bash, you get to play as nine different characters from the series, including Patrick, Sandy, Squidward, and of course SpongeBob himself. There’s even a simple backstory to the game, involving SpongeBob attempting to get his driver’s license, but ultimately failing as he picked the wrong school. All of the characters have been represented true to their originals, and each comes with its own uniquely-designed car.

The game is very hectic and fast-paced, with traditional elements from arcade racing games. The AI has been developed especially well, always offering you a challenge even on the easier modes of play (which we’re not sure is that good of a thing, actually). If you’re playing on the Wii, you can use the Steering Wheel controller with SpongeBob’s Boating Bash, as it’s fully supported and compatible.

Graphics and System Requirements

We wouldn’t call SpongeBob’s Boating Bash exactly spectacular in its graphics – it’s a common problem for games designed after cartoon shows to look odd and slightly distorted, as animated characters never truly fit in a 3D environment, no matter how much the developers may try. This is valid for this title as well, though it’s also evident that the devs have been sweating hard over bringing the characters as close as possible to the originals.

The Nintendo DS version has been reported for having some odd issues such as long loading times, but nothing game-breaking or too serious, so it shouldn’t deter you from trying it out in any case. The artistic style of the levels is varied enough and each can be instantly recognized if you’ve played the game for a few times.

Other

There’s a multiplayer component to SpongeBob’s Boating Bash, but at the beginning you won’t have access to absolutely everything – you’ll have to complete the singleplayer campaign fully before every option is made available to you for online play. It shouldn’t take you that long though, and if you’re having problems with the AI you can always “cheat” and turn down the difficulty (which, as we mentioned above, does surprisingly little in this game, but the difference is still noticeable).

Conclusion

Fans of SpongeBob will either love this, or choose to ignore it given the abundance of SpongeBob-branded games in recent times. Even if you’re not a follower of the franchise though, the game should still give you a few entertaining hours as a racer title.

See larger image Spongebob Boating Bash (Video Game) List Price: $29.99 USD New From: $19.26 In Stock Used from: $16.00 In Stock Release date March 2, 2010.

Real-time strategies used to be pretty straight forward – collect resources, construct buildings and units, advance your technology and dominate the opponent(s). There have been various experiments with that formula though, for example removing the resource gathering aspect and concentrating solely on good tactical skills and unit micromanagement. This is what WorldShift was designed in mind, and managed to achieve almost perfectly.

Gameplay

You control a handful of units in a setting that takes place thousands of years after the near-extinction of the human race. The world is now separated in five huge mega-cities, and the outside areas are populated by various tribes and groups of refugees. The primary focus is the multiplayer, with the game offering various ways to defeat your enemy, be it through tactical excellence or sheer brutal force – anyone can find their style here.

The idea of complicated technology trees has been scrapped as well, with each unit providing its own set of abilities that can be upgraded. You need to explore the maps and find specific items which can improve your units’ performance, making them stronger and more powerful in combat.

Those items can be attained through exploration or direct combat, and it’s up to the player to tweak his playstyle until they find a suitable solution. There’s certainly lots of room for exploring different ways of becoming victorious, and the game delivers greatly in that aspect.

Graphics and System Requirements

There’s some beautiful artwork employed for WorldShift – the environments are truly captivating and immersive, making the world feel really alive and believable. The races are stylized and unique enough, each can be instantly recognized by their units, which is always an important factor in real-time strategy games.

It’s slightly less optimized than you’d expect, on the other hand, as some modern-day computers can even struggle to handle it in the more heated battles. You can always turn down your resolution, but in games of this type this puts you at a serious disadvantage by limiting your vision more than the enemy’s – so you’ll have to invest in a good computer if you want to be a formidable opponent here, and not just cannon fodder.

Other

There’s a singleplayer campaign present, but it’s somewhat disappointing – it’s not what you would expect from the great gameplay the game offers. The story is not very deep and rather predictable, and there are few cutscenes or special attention to the singleplayer in general. Don’t let that stop you from trying though – it’s still worth a few hours of fun.

Conclusion

WorldShift is another attempt at “shifting” the RTS gameplay in an innovative direction – it’s too early to say if those changes will prevail or if someone else will come up with a better solution, but for the time being, WorldShift offers a great dose of action-packed fun.

See larger image Worldshift (CD-ROM) List Price: $39.99 USD New From: $3.99 In Stock Used from: $3.08 In Stock Release date November 25, 2009.

After “Return to Castle Wolfenstein”, some thought the series couldn’t be continued any better and should be left alone – but id Software, developers of the franchise, apparently believed otherwise and went ahead with the production of a sequel. When it came out, the general opinion of the previous games’ fans was that the new Wolfenstein was a decent successor to RTCW, despite some of the more notable flaws in its gameplay.

Gameplay

Like in the previous games, you play the role of B.J. Blazkowicz, a soldier caught in a battle against the Nazis. The plot that drives the game is very intricate and deeply interwinding, in a slight departure from the previous games which focused more on the sheer gameplay and pushed the story to the back. This doesn’t mean that the gameplay is lacking though – on the contrary, there’s an impressive arsenal of weapons available to the player, some of which are based on real-life guns, and the enemy’s AI has been upgraded.

A new major aspect of Wolfenstein’s gameplay is the player’s use of an ability called “Veil”, which allows them to travel to an alternate reality which is at times required to progress – for example, the player can use the Veil to pass obstacles that are normally impassable in the real world, as well as defeat enemies that are using some strong and near-unbreakable shields.

There’s a well-developed multiplayer as well, and it should be noted that the engine version used in it has been slightly modified from the one in the singleplayer version. The gameplay is balanced, features enough gameplay modes to keep your interest active, and has a lively community.

Graphics and System Requirements

Based on the id Tech 4 engine, you’d expect Wolfenstein to look slightly outdated – but id have really outdone themselves in improving their engine, as it now produces noticeably sharper and smooth-looking graphics than previous games using that engine (like Prey). The annoying-looking plastic edges on rounded metallic objects are also gone, and the lighting looks very realistic and contributes to the immersion.

System requirements haven’t changed much from the previous games based on that engine, and it still doesn’t require a beast machine to run it well – you need a DX9-capable video card, a moderately good CPU and at least 1 gigabyte of RAM, and you should be good to go to explore the German catacombs or blast away with your friends online.

Other

The game’s marketing went through a few hurdles – there was an interesting promotion going on, where one of the game’s developers claimed that he would personally restore anyone’s money for the purchase of the game, if it managed to outsell Madden NFL 10 in the first month of its release. Even though that plan failed, the game still recorded some notable sales compared to id’s previous titles.

Conclusion

Wolfenstein seems to never get old for some reason – the premise behind the game is solid gold, and as long as id keep finding new ways to freshen up the gameplay, we sure don’t mind seeing new games come out in the franchise.

See larger image Wolfenstein (Video Game) List Price: $39.99 USD New From: $16.99 In Stock Used from: $12.18 In Stock Release date August 18, 2009.

It’s more or less a tradition for each Olympic Games event to have its own video game. We’ve seen various results from this in the past – some have been very good, some have failed heavily. The latest one, Vancouver 2010, lies somewhere in the middle – while it’s not exactly a shining example of what a sports game could be (and should be), it offers some very interesting features that the genre hadn’t seen so far, while also presenting its content in a catchy way.

Gameplay

Vancouver 2010 includes a good variety of sports to play, ranging over all of the categories featured in the actual Winter Olympic Games. You can play over a dozen different disciplines, from skiing (both freestyle and alpine), sledding and snowboarding, to ski jumping and spee dskating.

Shooting disciplines don’t seem to be present, as well as some others that were part of the real Winter Olympics, but it’s understandable that one game can’t include so many different gameplay modes.

Additionally, you can play most of the modes with your friends online, though the net code has been playing a bit wonky from what’ve seen – there is a good amount of lag compensation provided, but if you’re playing against people with weak connections you may see some annoying problems, such as “teleporting” players and other lag-related issues common to games of this genre.

Graphics and System Requirements

For a sports game, Vancouver 2010 looks nicely enough – detail has traditionally never been a major focus of this genre, but you can relax your eyes with some very attractive eye candy here – the spectator crowds, for example, aren’t just static flat images but actually contain 3D models that are spawned on a semi-random basis, creating a lively and believable crowd cheering you as you’re trying to get that gold medal.

There hasn’t been much effort put into optimizing it properly, on the other hand – even though it doesn’t look that impressive, it still requires some formidable hardware to run it properly and steadily, without having to succumb to framerate drops. Even players with powerful machines have been, strangely enough, reporting problems with the game’s framerate fluctuating up and down, seemingly unrelated to what’s going on in the game at the moment.

Other

The nationalities included in the game don’t cover all of those that participated in the actual Winter Olympics 2010, with some being notably absent. You may find this slightly disappointing if you come from one of the nations that got omitted, but we wouldn’t take it so deeply/seriously.

Conclusion

A freash breather into the life of the sports games genre, Vancouver 2010 sets some expectations that it lives up to all the way – despite its hardware compatibility issues and the poorly optimized engine, it’s still a remarkable gameplay experience.

See larger image Vancouver 2010 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games (Video Game) List Price: $39.99 USD New From: $29.99 In Stock Used from: $12.90 In Stock Release date January 12, 2010.

The newest Terminator movie came out closely followed by a game named after it, which was the result of the collaboration between several developers. Despite its short length, it serves as a nice addition to the experience from the movie, and if you own an iPhone you’ll also get to enjoy a very refined version of the game that completely blew people’s expectations when it was later released on that platform.

Gameplay

You control a soldier in a squad fighting against Skynet and its Terminators, and the game is played from a third-person perspective. You’ll see some familiar “faces” from the movie, such as various robots that you’ll have to come up against – while the storyline and background plot have been expanded by introducing several unique opponents which haven’t been references in any of the movies so far.

You’ll have to interact with your squad in what unfolds into a very fast-paced and twitchy gameplay, with enemies constantly popping out from behind the trickiest locations, and there’s an extensive and well-designed cover system that allows you to shoot from behind various objects without leaving your cover. There’s no health system, instead the developers have opted for a regenerating health system, something which we’re seeing in more and more titles lately.

There’s also a multiplayer option, though only local, where you can play with one of your friends in a cooperative campaign that will take you through the singleplayer levels and pit you against some new challenges that you’ll have to face as a team.

Graphics and System Requirements

The Diesel Engine has been employed by the developers of Terminator Salvation, and even though it hasn’t proven to be a very popular one for some reason, it’s used with great success here. The environments resemble those from the movie very closely and realistically, characters are lively and unique-looking, and the effects during combat will keep you screaming “Wow!” after every explosion.

The game comes with some very bearable system requirements too, and those of you who’re playing on some older rigs shouldn’t see much problem playing it at low-to-medium graphics quality settings. Some of the larger battles can strain your processor very heavily though, as the AI tends to be rather intensive at times and requires lots of calculations from your CPU when there are many enemies on the screen at once.

Other

Fans of the movie may find it slightly disappointing that the voice of Connor’s character differs from that in the movie – and for a good reason, as Christian Bale (who played Connor in the film) isn’t the one behind the voice acting for Connor in the game. Still, the voice actor has done his best to sound convincing, and if you’re not paying so much attention to that it shouldn’t even bother you at all.

Conclusion

A successful follow-up to a great and intense movie, Terminator Salvation can satisfy your desires to dive into some of the scenes from the film.

See larger image Terminator Salvation (Video Game) List Price: $19.99 USD New From: $13.97 In Stock Used from: $8.89 In Stock Release date May 19, 2009.

Cheyenne Mountain has a mixed reputation as a game developer studio. They managed to release some profitable titles, while on the other hand their latest installment in the Stargate video game series (the one before Resistance) was widely regarded as a failure, both commercially and in terms of gamer reception.

With this in mind, most of us didn’t really know what to expect from Stargate: Resistance, which came out a bit out of the blue while the company was still struggling under some financial difficulties.

Gameplay

Stargate: Resistance is a third-person shooter designed exclusively for online play. The game features most of the standard gameplay modes familiar from similar other titles, like team deathmatch and capture the flag.

It uses a class system, which means that players get to pick their own specific class before hopping into battle, and each of the two sides in the conflict offers three distinct classes to pick from. Each comes with its own unique strengths and weaknesses, and the balance has been executed very nicely.

The levels are a bit scarce – just three of them shipped with the game on its initial release. On the other hand, their design is commendable, with each level offering a very unique and instantly-recognizable environment. There are plenty of hiding spots for the stealthy classes, and some great sniping positions for those of you who like to fight from a distance.

We did notice several small issues with the way levels catered to some of the classes though – for example, in one map the sniper class felt really overpowered compared to the rest, and the fact that the good sniping positions were mostly inaccessible to other classes didn’t help either.

Graphics and System Requirements

Stargate: Resistance employs the very popular Unreal Engine 3, so most of you probably already know what to expect from it – good graphics quality, some solid visual effects, and high-resolution textures on both the world and the characters. There were some problems with the player’s model though – it didn’t look as detailed as everything else and this sort of made it stand out in a bad way.

Also, even though UE3 is well-known for handling wide open areas very easily, Stargate: Resistance seems to struggle with this type of environment for some reason. The maps concentrate mostly on open spaces as well, so you can expect the odd framerate drop to occur in the heat of battle. Some users have reported that even running the game on a computer that exceeds its system requirements is not a guarantee that you’ll be able to run it smoothly.

Other

Unlke Cheyenne’s previous title, this one is remarkably bug-free and a very smooth gameplay experience – there are no annoying glitches to block your progress or crash the game, no missing texture problems (as Cheyenne’s last game did), and generally they’ve obviously spent more time polishing the product.

Conclusion

The game may only really appeal to Stargate fans – to the rest, it won’t be more than an online shooter that incorporates some well-known gameplay mechanics and wraps them in a new package. The way it blends with the Stargate universe is nice though, so the game is definitely worth a try.

See larger image Stargate 15th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Starring: Robert Ackerman, Rae Allen, Erick Avari, Alexis Cruz, Kenneth Danziger Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) List Price: $24.99 USD New From: $11.37 In Stock Used from: $8.82 In Stock Release date October 27, 2009.

Most games coming out today focus strongly on realism, coming out with better graphics, better-detailed characters, realistic simulation of environments and what not. However, as good as this is for those who enjoy this sort of thing, sometimes players want a bit more variety and less seriousness in the games they’re playing. So with this in mind, Spyborgs already stands out from the majority of its competition. How well does it live up to the expectations for something unique in its gameplay though? Quite well, actually.

Gameplay

Spyborgs takes you back to the times where simple, beat-em-up type games were popular. You control an agent in a team of cyborgs, who’ve been tasked with helping each other progress through the levels, each using their own unique set of abilities.

You can choose to control one of three robots, which cater to different styles of gameplay – if you like mowing down through your opponents without much regard for mobility or finesse, you can play with the Bouncer – or perhaps pick the Clandestine if you prefer to be more sneaky and surprising.

There’s also the Stinger, who’s somewhat of a balanced middle ground between the two, offering a good combination of stealth and full frontal action.

The level design is great, you’ll have to use all of the characters’ abilities at one point or another in order to progress, and some of the occasional puzzles will leave you smiling after you’ve figured out the solution.

Being a Wii title, you can of course play with the remote which will allow you to perform some special combined attacks with your teammates, while you can also use the controller’s buttons if you want to opt for a more classic feeling of the gameplay.

Graphics and System Requirements

The Wii is falling behind a bit with the quality of its games’ graphics – and while Spyborgs is far from an exception, it also looks surprisingly up-to-date compared to other titles. This is mostly due to its art style, which manages to make a great use of the console’s capabilities in order to deliver some captivating worlds and environments. You’ll love the design of each character, from the lovable giant that is the Bouncer, to the sneaky ninja-like character behind the Clandestine.

The game was originally intended to look a lot brighter and cartoonish-looking, but that was changed at some point in its development, probably by popular demand from the game’s potential fanbase.

Other

Be sure to try out the cooperative gameplay as well – it offers a great experience that’s quite different from what other titles have to offer, and if you’ve got someone to play through the entire game with you, it’ll be something neither of you will soon forget.

Conclusion

We need more games like this on the market – enough with the ultra-realistic depiction of yet another World War 2 scene. We sincerely hope other developers will pick up on the community’s demands for more similar titles, and we’ll get more games of this quality in the future.

See larger image Spyborgs (Video Game) List Price: $14.99 USD New From: $6.67 In Stock Used from: $3.99 In Stock Release date September 22, 2009.

Conviction is the latest game in the dramatic Splinter Cell series, following the life of special agent Sam Fisher. The game was met with much anticipation from the public, and upon its release it was quickly established as the next best installment in the series by some, and as a rather unpolished and rushed sequel by others.

The truth maybe lies somewhere inbetween, if you consider all of the game’s aspects carefully, and it’s not hard to see how some were left disappointed by it – while on the other hand, it’s also quite obvious what dragged so many people into loving it even more.

Gameplay

In Conviction, you find yourself on the other side of the barricade, being hunted as a rogue agent by the entire government all around. You’ll have to make your way through the game’s various missions, eventually uncovering the plot behind your framing, and exposing those responsible for getting you into the mess in the first place.

There are several new elements added to the gameplay, such as the ability to mark your targets and follow them around in a discreet manner; you can also interrogate your enemies, trying to find out some useful information about your current situation from them.

The game is much more dark and grim in its setting, reflecting on what Sam Fisher is going through and all the dramatic events surrounding his life at the moment. It should be noted that the characters were especially well-developed, and it was simply a miracle hearing some of the conversations that took place between them at times – there were some unique, golden moments in those lines of speech.

Graphics and System Requirements

The engine used is sort of custom-made – it’s based on the Unreal Engine 2.5, but it’s been heavily upgraded from its predecessor. You’ll get to enjoy various new eye-candy, such as high-resolution textures, smooth and fluid motions on the characters, and last but not least, a much-improved lighting system that finally addresses some of the engine’s longest-standing issues that have previously been criticised quite a lot, such as the square patterns visible in some of the lighting streams.

Despite the technical improvements, the engine isn’t that much heavier on your system, and if you’re able to run regular UE 2.5 games fine, you should see no problems playing Splinter Cell: Conviction either. If you’re seeing framerate drops or other performance issues, try toning down the lighting and model quality settings as those tend to help the most with UE games.

Other

The interrogation system can play a bit wonky at times, and it’s best to make sure there aren’t any enemies around you when attempting to extract information from one of their buddies – at times, even though you fit all the requirements for not being seen, you’ll still receive an unpleasant rush of bad guys storming your position.

Conclusion

It doesn’t quite feel like a Splinter Cell game, the gameplay is a drastic departure from the previous ones and the stealth action has been reformed as well. Is this a bad thing? Depends on what you enjoyed in the previous games in the series.

See larger image Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction (Video Game) List Price: $39.99 USD New From: $26.98 In Stock Used from: $22.00 In Stock Release date April 13, 2010.

The skating genre in video games has generally been dominated by two franchises – the Tony Hawk series, and Skate. While Tony Hawk’s line has been seeing more and more additions since it was started a while back, Skate hasn’t been that much actively developed – only a handful of games have come out so far, this being the third one. The thing is, while Tony Hawk tends to build on the same formula, each new Skate adds something unique to the franchise – and the genre – and this one is no exception.

Gameplay

The game has been split into two major styles of playing, called “Easy Mode” and “Hardcore Mode”. As you may be guessing, one is aimed at more casual players, while the other provides a lot more challenge and need for quick thinking. Playing on the “easy” setting will make the game reminiscent of other skating titles, with physics somewhat helping you perform your tricks better, and the game will automatically help you attach on to surfaces for railing, etc.

Playing in hardcore mode, on the other hand, will make the game resemble real-life physics a lot more closely, and you should expect to fall on your head quite a few times if you’re not careful. You’ll also be more restricted in your tricks, and you’ll have to get a better acceleration if you want to pull off the same stunts without falling down.

Generally, if you’re unfamiliar with the genre, you should probably start at the easy setting, while those of you coming from other skating titles will probably feel fine jumping in the hardcore mode right away.

Graphics and System Requirements

Skate 3 looks very detailed for a console sports game, and if you look around your environment you should be able to catch a lot of detail and attention to the small things. The levels don’t look like they’ve been churned out of a machine for the sake of being there, each one offers its own unique style and can be instantly recognized when you just catch a glimpse of it.

It runs smoothly on both consoles, but Xbox 360 owners may see slightly longer loading times, which has been confirmed by the game’s developers as well. The difference isn’t that large though, and in general both consoles should provide the same experience.

Other

You’ll sadly no longer be able to play against your friends without an Internet connection, a feature that was available in the previous titles from the Skate series. On the other hand, the game’s community interaction is getting improved a lot, as there’s now a map editor that allows you to create your own custom skate parks, and share them with your friends. It’s very comprehensive in its functionality, and should allow you to replicate most of what you see in the actual game.

Conclusion

A solid title for skate lovers, Skate 3 should be able to entertain even those that aren’t into sports that much, as it offers solid, bug-free gameplay that is hardly matched by other titles on the market right now.

See larger image Skate 3 (Video Game) List Price: $59.99 USD New From: $39.98 In Stock Used from: $37.00 In Stock Release date May 11, 2010.

Section 8 comes out as an odd game right from its title – some of you may already know the meaning behind the term; it’s a reference to a regulation in the US Army related to discharging personnel for mental issues – and this relates quite well to the game’s characters, which are presented in an almost suicidal manner, always engaging in life-threatening missions and highly risky situations.

Gameplay

There’s both a singleplayer campaign with a good number of levels, as well as a multiplayer component to try out your skills against others online. If you’re playing the campaign, you’ll be taken through a rather cliched story, which still serves the game’s purpose nicely – obviously the focus here has been on the sheer gameplay, and not that much on the plot. You’re given a special suit equipped with various gadgets, allowing you to move at great speeds on the ground while also using a jetpack to move around the aerial space of levels.

Respawning in multiplayer has been handled very uniquely – instead of starting over at a pre-determined point, you’re given the choice of doing a “burn-in”, in which you first pick an arbitrary spot on the battlefield, after which you’re dropped from a spacecraft from a tremendous height.

You’re not completely unlimited in your choices of where you can land though, and you’ll have to be careful not to fall into the sightlines of enemies and their anti-air defenses, which can blow you out of the skies before you’ve even realized what’s going on.

You can maneuver your character as you’re falling down though, and even stop the fall completely, allowing you to more finely readjust your landing spot if you notice any trouble waiting for you on the ground.

Graphics and System Requirements

Hey, it’s the Unreal Engine 3 – wouldn’t you know it! Sarcasm aside though, it’s easy to understand why FPS developers are turning to the UE3 so often these days – it offers a good balance of graphics quality versus system requirements, while also being extremely flexible for the developers themselves, allowing them to concentrate more on designing their actual game, instead of trying to work their way around engine limitations and problems.

The system requirements are somewhat higher than the standard UE3 game, on the other hand – you’ll need a faster processor and more RAM to run it smoothly, plus a video card that supports Pixel Shade 3.0 (there’s absolutely no backwards compatibility for the older versions, so if your graphics card isn’t top of the line – you’ll have a problem running this).

Other

There’s a faint sign of cross-play between console and PC users in this title – using the Xbox 360′s “X-Server” function, you can set up a dedicated server from a PC, which can then be played on by Xbox 360 players. There’s a similar feature for PS3 players as well, represented by the TGNServer technology – which basically serves the same functionality.

Conclusion

Section 8 lives up to its name by providing fast-paced, dynamic action played out by characters that are anything but sane. It’s a thrilling experience whether you choose to play it in singleplayer, or against other people online – your time spent will be well worth it.

See larger image Section 8 (Video Game) List Price: $39.99 USD New From: $12.95 In Stock Used from: $9.77 In Stock Release date September 1, 2009.