As many of you may be aware, the newly created Xbox LIVE Productions creation, Fable II Pub Games, was released to gamers everywhere via Gamestop & Amazon’s Fable II pre-order codes. (The game was also released on the Xbox Live Arcade, where it can be purchased in full for 800 Microsoft SpaceBux, or $10). However, the immediate response by hardcore Fable fans has been starkly polarized — some love the game while others seem to loathe it.

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Being the huge fans of the Guitar Hero series that most of us here at MEGATONik are, we’ve managed to stumble, and I do mean stumble, across the complete track listing for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. I was pretty leary about picking this edition up because I thought it would be nothing but songs done by Aerosmith, but I’m glad to report that only about 63% of the 41 songs listed below are.
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Let me begin this review of one of this past week’s new Xbox Live Arcade releases with a quick disclaimer. Sea Life Safari, developed by WildTangent Game Studios, is less of a game and more of an experience. The game pits you as an underseas photographer bent on shooting animals with film instead of bullets to provide research material for a crotchety old professor, who then rates your photographs based on different criteria. These three major criteria are as follows: whether or not the animal is in the middle of the picture, the relative size of the animal in the picture (I guess he doesn’t like negative space) and whether or not the animal is doing its special movement, which can be elicited by heaving a glowstick or flare at the animal by hitting the B button. The professor then ranks these pictures on a basis of zero to three stars (three being the best) which are then needed to move on to the next level. This type of system seems natural for the type of game that it is, and the professor’s continual dissidence with you will have you hunting for three star photos for quite a while.

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Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipe of Darkness is the first installment of what developer Hothead Games promises to be a four-part series surrounding the world of the popular webcomic, Penny Arcade. The creators of Penny Arcade, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, took a major risk in jumping their strip from relative cult success to mainstream Xbox Live Arcade media. Has the risk payed off for us gamers? Hit the jump to find out!

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Stubbs the Zombie in “Rebel Without A Pulse” and Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows will both be available on Xbox Live Monday, May 19th for 1200 Microsoft Points each. I’ve never played Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, so I don’t have an opinion about that release, but Stubbs the Zombie is definitely worth trying.

Stubbs the Zombie is one of the few original Xbox games that I really enjoyed mostly due to the game’s humorous presentation and soundtrack. Stubb’s soundtrack features covers of songs from the 50’s and 60’s by artists such as Cake, Ben Kweller, and Phantom Planet. Few things in life compare to seeing humans fleeing from zombies while listening to “If Only I Had A Brain“.

Do you guys have any experience with either game? Will you be buying either of these when they’re released on Monday? Do you get the feeling that I like Stubbs?

[via MajorNelson's Blog]

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Today, Rare has shown and confirmed that cooperative play will be a feature in the highly anticipated Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise. Sadly, there is still no confirmation on whether or not there is an online co-op mode. As it stands, Rare has only said that they hope to have the feature implemented by the time it is released.

In a statement by Rare about the co-op mode:

“The other player will not have full control over the game, and, for example, will not be able to build new houses or other constructions, but with spade in hand you can help with tending the garden thus gaining a form of magic for every useful act than can be used to turn objects in the garden into different things.”

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I don’t know about you guys but I spend a considerable amount of time playing what I (and many other gamers) thought to be a children’s game. To this day I am still trying to get a Roario and an Elephanilla to stay in my garden.

Luckily at MS Gamers Day, Rare not only leaked info out about the new Banjo Kazooie game, but also a game that I will probably be the first in line on release day to get…Viva Pinata 2.

The tentative title for the game is Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise and we were lucky enough to secure a half dozen screenshots to put up. Since this is only the first day of the MS Gamer’s Day event, lets hope that they have even more amazing items to reveal tomorrow.

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This week is admittedly a little sparse, although everyone is too busy playing Brawl to notice. Condemned 2 was supposed to be coming out for the 360 and PS3, but unfortunately the PS3 version has been delayed a week, so you’re going to have to turn to Microsoft for all of your hobo-beating needs.

There are several ports released this week. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters was originally for the PSP, and now available on the PS2. The other port is more of a classic, with House of the Dead 2 & 3 coming to the Wii, utilizing the Wii Remote’s light gun-replicating capabilities.

Finally, the next installment in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series, Rings of Fate for the DS. Now, the only Crystal Chronicles game I’ve ever played was the original for the Gamecube, and I thought it was pretty horrible, so if Rings of Fate is anywhere near decent I will be happy.

What are you picking up this week?

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Today marks the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, possibly the most hyped game of the year so far. With it comes a comic ready to poke fun at the fervor, but, surprisingly, it’s not a webcomic. It’s the nationally syndicated FoxTrot, one of my favorite comics of all time. The best part about the strip is that Bill Amend, the strip’s writer and drawer, slips in a few other jabs at game stores like “AB Games” besides the main punchline. My favorite part is how the poster underneath the counter switches between the first and third panels.

FoxTrot by Bill Amend

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[Author's Note: I left Brawl out because it technically does not come out this week(Sun-Sat), but since it will be out by the time the next MEGAMonday New Releases is published, I have decided to include it]

Welcome to another MEGAMonday New Releases, this one being more MEGA than the others because, of course, the new site layout is up and looks awesome! But what about the games you say? Oh yes, the games.

America’s favorite pastime is getting quite a bit of love this week, with a baseball game on almost every console with the releases of Major League Baseball 2K8 and MLB 08: The Show. If you’re more worried about academics than athletics, pick up Bully: Scholarship Edition and enroll in Bullworth Academy. Finally, for those with a taste for blood, the anticipated prequel to the God of War series, God of War: Chains of Olympus, is coming not to the usual Sony home console, but to the PSP.

Oh yes, and BRAWL! After multiple delays, and more months than we could count, Super Smash Bros Brawl is finally out! I’m not even going to tell you to go buy it, since everyone that owns a Wii (and some who don’t) already have this at the top of their lists.

What are you picking up this week?

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Yesterday, I told you guys I would be buying LOST: Via Domus no matter how horrible it turned out being.

After an annoying experience at Best Buy and sixty dollars emptied from my wallet, I’ve kept true to that promise and the game is sitting on the title screen as I type this.

Now, I won’t be reviewing it … so how will you know how bad (or good, but that is really less likely) it is? Well, in what I hope turns out to be a regular feature by our various editors, I am going to liveblog my journey (followed by a brief summary) through LOST: Via Domus right here and right now for you guys. As I play through the game, this post will be updated as frequently as humanly possible. Lets begin, shall we?

Updates will start flowing in a few minutes.

*WARNING: SPOILERS*
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The guys at Bizarre Creations are masters of gaming innovation. When the first Project Gotham Racing game was released upon the world, it was an amazing change in the world of racing sims. Instead of going the route of Sony with their IP of Gran Turismo, which is all substance over style, they made a game that was all killer no filler. Races were short, and involved score rather than time, and all the while were gorgeous!

This review, however, has nothing to do with Project Gotham Racing, moreover the innovative nature of the company. The same magic that was brought about with Geometry Wars has now been weaved into the shooter genre and has made me a very happy nerd. Hit the jump to see the how and why I love this game.

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This week is solid, with many solid titles in place of a blockbuster game. Gamers of every genre will be satisfied, from sports to shooters to action and adventure games.

The tried and true button mashing gameplay of Dynasty Warriors is back, filling the need for medieval ass-kicking. Those with a thirst for blood can check out the third-person shooter The Club. A new Dragon Quest game is coming to the Wii, tiding over those wanting an RPG fix.

Most possibly the most looked forward to game this week comes out on not one of the mighty next-gen consoles, but a handheld. The Ace Attorney series has what can easily be called a cult following, and this time Phoenix Wright has stepped down, leaving new attorney Apollo Justice to fill his shoes. Whether Apollo will have as rabid a fanbase as Phoenix Wright did is to be determined, but surely it will provide a great experience Ace Attorney followers will enjoy.

What are you picking up this week?

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If there is one thing I’ll remember last year for it will be games that did not live up to their hype. From the severe disappointments like Lair to the semi-successful like Bioshock (yea, I said semi), games are costing more and thus requiring more and more hype from the PR people. Many times this results in more and more disappointments from the gamer. With their hopes built up over months of teasers, previews, and interviews with attractive game developers only to find that he or she has in their hands a disc comprised mostly of suck. What is a poor gamer to do?

Well this year I’m not going to take it! Actually, yes, yes I am going to take it. But, like any good journalist, I’m not going to take it without commenting on it. Therefore I bring you “The Hype Machine,” a monthly feature that will discuss the top three most hyped games (as I perceive them). Every month I will discuss these games and the hype behind them. In the next month’s feature, we’ll see if the games lived up to the hype via the general opinion of the Internet along with the next top five games. I’ll also try to discuss a game or two I feel isn’t getting the hype it needs. Sounds like fun…or a lot of work.

So let’s start with January. Beginning with the games of January and seeing if they lived up to their hype then in part two, which will be posted later this week, we’ll take a look at what’s coming in February and the hype around those games. Normally you’d have a link to last months post so you can refresh yourself on all the juicy hype but we’ll have to skip that here. Hit the jump for the truth behind all the double speak.

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Thank God this week got here when it did. If you remember, last week wasn’t exactly thrilling (unless you were a die hard Bomberman fan), and the biggest release the week before was a Wii exclusive. This week we’re getting into some good stuff. The anticipated Devil May Cry 4 is coming out for both the 360 and PS3, which I will be picking up tomorrow.

There also seems to be a strange theme of animal games this week, with My Horse & Me, Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure, Zoo Tycoon 2, and Downstream Panic! all coming out.

Finally, if you didn’t notice, The Spiderwick Chronicles is being released for the 360, PS2, DS, PC, Wii, SNES, Atari Jaguar, and Turbografx 16. OK, maybe not those last ones. But geez, can they feed us that shit any harder?

What are you picking up this week?

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