Episodes 1-4 So I want to preface this review with a little something. I am a casual Strong Bad fan. By that I mean that I watch the flash videos every now and then and am not so entrenched into the whole Strong Bad world or Strongbaddia world if you will. I thought this important so the hard core fans don’t say I am leaning one way or the other. With that said, here we go. For the most part this game plays through, via “episodes,” much like the clips of flash video. Read More...

Sam & Max are back in their second collection of episodes appropriately titled, Sam & Max: Season Two. For those who don't know, Sam & Max are a detective duo, calling themselves "the freelance police", based off of the comic series created by Steve Purcell. Sam, a 6-foot dog in stereotypical detective attire, and Max, a rabbit with a pension for violence, solve crimes without any regard for the law and rarely without conflict. The series consists of references various aspects of pop culture, offbeat humorous dialogue, and quick wit. In Ice Station Santa, Sam & Max journey to the North Pole after being attacked at their office by a large robot, which was tagged as being sent by Santa. Read More...

The last time we saw a James Bond video game that tied into a movie was the release of The World is Not Enough in November of 2000 and it wasn’t so hot. Since then there have been a handful of very good games based on original Bond stories and then of course there was an adaptation of From Russia with Love which once again fell a little short of expectations. But now Bond is going through a reboot phase in the movies, and with the license switching hands from EA to Activision, the latest Bond game Quantum of Solace, has gone through some similar changes. Being an Activision property and a shooting game, it’s probably no surprise that the game is built using the Call of Duty 4 engine but a lot of people were probably wondering would the game transfer over well. Read More...

Time Hollow is a point and click adventure game from Konami for the Nintendo DS written by Junko Kawano of Shadow of Destiny and Suikoden IV fame. The story is about a young high school kid named Ethan Kairos. He lives with his mom and dad, until one night he has a horrible nightmare. During the nightmare, his mom and dad are trapped in a fire, and escape through a portal. After awaking from the dream, he finds that his parents have been missing for twelve years and he now lives with his uncle. His pet cat, Sox, shows up with a pen tied to his neck, and Ethan learns that the pen has the ability to alter time. Read More...

This review is long overdue, but with a very busy schedule lately, it’s better late than never.Gears of War 2 is Epic Games sequel to the acclaimed original, which was one of the best games to ever grace the XBox 360. Will part 2 rise above its predecessor or fall to the way side of sequels that can't capture that same feeling of the original? After sitting down and getting some good playing time in to the campaign and single player, I came away feeling this was Gears of War 1.5. Read More...

Racing titles are ever-evolving. With the intoduction of the open world to the genre, it has seemed that subsequent titles especially after Burnout Paradise have followed suit. While Burnout Paradise was a glowing example of the open world mechanic done right, many of the games it has inspired have been less-than-stellar entries to their respective franchises. The latest evidence of this is Need for Speed Underground. While it aspires to be a “thrilling”, open exercise in evading the cops and rising above the ranks, it falls short in a number of ways, making the other racing contenders available right now the better choice, most definitely. Read More...

:::: COIN-OP TV WEEK IN REVIEW (11/30/08) :::: COIN-OP TV is an Internet TV show about the Video Game Industry, People and Events with hosts Robert Welkner and Hailey Bright.  We broadcast live on Thursday nights on www.TheStream.TV and also do coverage on location which can be found on the regular website www.coin-op.tv     - The Latest stuff! Read More...

With Guitar Hero and Rock band taking a huge command over the market, one would expect Konami's first stab at the U.S. market with a Band music game would be successful. Hell, they are the creators of the genre in the first place, and have always done it right. Unfortunately with Rock Revolution, this is not the case. Konami fails to take their success at Rhythm games to the next plateau or even the same level as its competitors. The multiple missteps in Rock Revolution range in various capacities. Read More...

Dungeon Crawler Hack & Slash RPG games are starting to become a regular genre on the Nintendo DS, so does Aksys Games' set itself apart with From The Abyss? Unfortunately the game doesn't do much to stand out amongst its peers, but it is still a fun time for J-RPG fans. From The Abyss takes place in Rubenhaut where the kingdom has been overrun by monsters flowing through the Abyss Gate. You choose your hero from four possible choices, two male and two female, and then answer a short series of questions to give your character a sense of background. You arrive in Rubenhaut and meet with the queen, whom enlists your help to rid the land of monsters, and thus your journey to free the kingdom begins. Read More...

The Worlds Collide This game has been a huge one on a lot of people's radars since it was first announced. It has been looked to as a way to reinvigorate the franchise into what it once was. Trying to help fans forget the films and lack luster games that have been placed out there on the market. Here's what I have to say. The Premise: At the end of a great battle against Darkseid and Shao Kahn, each in their own universes, something goes awry and begins the merging of the two universes. Through confusion or just trying to find answers to end this universe ending event, both sides fight through to find a way to end it. Read More...

Quantum Of Solace The latest James Bond adventure is actually fun As evidenced in previous James Bond video games, it’s a pure rush of adrenaline to step into the shoes of the debonair agent. From GoldenEye to Everything or Nothing, the Bond games have usually been faithful recreations of the films or entirely new adventures to embark on. With Quantum Of Solace, the newest addition to the Bond game library, the total immersion of being Bond is alive and well. With much owed to the Call Of Duty 4 engine, this is a fast-paced, fun FPS with elements of third-person shooters. Read More...

Mirror’s Edge, developed by DICE and utilizing the Unreal 3 Engine along with a dynamic lighting engine in Beast, is set in what seems to be a beautiful and utopian city. But all is not what it seems, and the city is actually heavily controlled and monitored by a totalitarian regime. To evade the watchful eye of Big Brother, runners are employed to relay information. This is where the main character, Faith, comes into the story. After her parents were killed by the government for actively protesting against the regime, she grew up on the streets. Read More...

Ready to put you’re fishing skills to the test? Then check out Rapala Fishing Frenzy 2009, brought to us by Activision and Fun Labs. The game is exactly what you would expect, a fishing simulation game featuring the Rapala license. But does a fishing sim on the XBox 360 translate to actual gaming fun? Well that all depends on what you are expecting from your fishing experience. In Rapala 2009 you start off the game by choosing whether your character is a male or female, and then you come to main menu. Read More...

Quantum of SolaceESRB: TeenReviewed on: Xbox 360Quantum of Solace is Activision's first 007 game released since gaining the license from EA in 2006. It also marks the first Bond game released on 7th generation consoles (it is also released on 6th gen too). Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikklesen, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, and Judi Dench all lend their voice and likeness to the game, which does give make it seem like you indeed are playing the movie, however, this time, that's a bad thing.Quantum of Solace doesn't fail so much due to the fact that it's not a great game to play, it fails in the regard that it's based on a movie, which while containing some over-the-top action, was largely a drama-love story that couldn't hold a candle to the action found in Goldeneye, From Russia With Love, Everything or Nothing, or even Nightfire. When producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson decided to take Bond in a different direction I was pleased with what came out on the big screen but was disappointed in the fact that the toned down, more realistic action wouldn't translate well to a video game, where over-the-top is the standard. Read More...

Activision and Radical Entertainment bring us the fifteenth installment in the Crash Bandicoot franchise, with Crash: Mind Over Mutant. The game's premise is centered on a brand new technological device, called the "NV", that is worn on the wearer’s head, and acts as the last PDA you'll ever need. The problem with the device is that it was produced by the evil Dr. Neo Cortext and Dr. Read More...