Nerdage NewsOK.com Blogging Community

From Friday’s The Oklahoman: 

By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor

THE NEXT LEVEL

In the future, humanity has made a mess of earth. Wall-E — a Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class droid — is one of the robots created to clean up the mess, so that humans can perhaps someday return. “Wall-E” is the star of the latest Pixar film, and he comes to portable gaming in this PlayStation Portable game. Gamers take on the role of Wall-E in the game. As the game begins, it’s early in Wall-E’s career, as a series of tests measure the quality of Wall-E’s work. As the game continues, it moves more into the storyline shown in the film. Farther along in the game, the gamer can take the role of EVE, a new robot for whom Wall-E develops affection.

The game has multiple levels, each with different problems to solve. Gameplay types include puzzles, mazes, races, shooting and smashing. In several levels, crates must be smashed to get energy charges to move to the next level of the game.

Wall-E can use his “box form” to smash crates. Other times, Wall-E needs to create junk cubes by compacting trash. These cubes can be used to open doorways or move levers. Wall-E also has a laser that can be used to destroy obstacles. Minigames are also included, which add to the replay value.

The graphics are good, as Wall-E’s movement and the level designs are both artistically rendered. The music is straight from the feature film.

The worst aspect of the game is the control, as the small analog stick on the PSP doesn’t always perfectly respond to what the gamer wants to do.

The game is rated E, for everyone.

From Friday’s The Oklahoman: 

By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor

THE NEXT LEVEL

“Hellboy: The Science of Evil,” for PlayStation Portable, unfortunately fails to capture much of what has made the hero one of the most enduring comic-book characters of the past 15 years.

After appearances in a comic convention special and in “John Byrne’s Next Men,” Hellboy starred in his own series, “Seed of Destruction,” in 1994. The blue-collar hero with the body of a demon caught on with fans, as did Mignola’s atmospheric art. Mignola had been a professional artist starting in his early 20s, but the success of Hellboy moved Mignola to another level. Multiple successful miniseries followed, as did a 2004 film directed by Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”). A sequel to that film hits theaters today.

Video games, however, have been a medium where Hellboy has never fared particularly well.

Both the PC game “Hellboy” and the PlayStation game “Hellboy: Asylum Seeker” received generally poor reviews.

“Science of Evil” at least bragged the voice actors from the film, but that voice acting is absent on the PSP version. Mignola and del Toro supposedly gave input on “Science of Evil,” but it doesn’t seem to have helped the gameplay.

The backgrounds are suitably spooky, but the poor camera allows Hellboy to walk into a fatal ditch invisible to the gamer. The battles are too easy and repetitive.

“Science of Evil” begins with Hellboy on the trail of a witch, but the plot never coalesces. The cut scenes, done in a comic-book style, are decent but don’t match the overall look. The character deserves better.

The game is rated T for teen audiences.

Create an all-new theme park empire with “Thrillville: Off the Rails.”

The LucasArts video game sequel is similar to the original “Thrillville,” in which the gamer reinvigorates Uncle Mortimer’s amusement parks by training staff, adding attractions, setting prices, schmoozing guests and building roller coasters.

 “Off the Rails” stands strong on its own, offering all new parks with fresh, entertaining themes. Old rides are back, along with some new ones.

As always, gamers can indulge in the arcade. Ride a stunt bike without tipping over, fight as a chinchilla, operate a tank or try to knock out a giant robot in a variety of minigames. The minigames can be difficult but are not complex.

Also new to “Off the Rails” is a vendor puzzle game that helps you increase sales. The sideshow features “Alley Ball” and “Test Your Strength” awards stuffed animals as prizes that can be later passed on to impress park guests.

The biggest addition to “Off the Rails” is the “Whoa” options in the Coaster Builder menu. The “Whoa” features are wild additions to custom coasters, many of which literally take the cars off the rails. “Big Guns” allows the car to shoot off the track like a cannonball, and land on another portion of the track. “Candy Drop” catapults the car across segments of track. “Nosedive” uses a lever to tilt the track while cars are in motion. “Pendulizer” catches the car in a pendulum swing. Other options place cars on an elevator to reach extreme heights in limited space, or place exhilarating hazards on the track, such as a ring of fire or a breakaway wall. 

“Off the Rails” is mostly more of the same for fans of “Thrillville,” but it does have enough interesting twists and turns and loops and spirals to lure gamers back for another visit. “Off the Rails” is available for personal computer, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS.

– Matt Price