Today Galaga Legions was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace. “What?” you’re saying, looking at the above picture. “That doesn’t look like the Galaga I know!”

That’s because the same team at Namco who created the excellent Pacman Championship Edition has retooled this timeless arcade classic for the Xbox Live Arcade. After playing the trial game today, I walked away very impressed - and hungry for more. Let me tell you, the next Microsoft Points card I get will be spent on this and Braid. That might not happen for a while though, with school starting for me next Monday and, if I’m not mistaken, three games arriving from M80 next month.

Still, it’s hard not to want to play more Galaga Legions. Just like Pacman C.E., the game feels fresh and original while still retaining the familiarity of the arcade game it’s based upon. Your ship can only shoot straight ahead, as in the original, but this time around you can deploy what are called “satellites” anywhere on the screen facing up, down, left, or right. These satellites are like mounted guns; they shoot when you do (which, if you choose the “autofire” option at the beginning, is all the time). While that may sound like they make the game too easy, that’s a false impression. Enemies fly in from literally every angle, and the satellites are essential tools for helping you attack fighter ships in positions you can’t reach, such as right below you if you’ve been pressed to the top of the screen. And believe me, the enemy ships will push you into tight spots. The game isn’t called “Legions” for nothing - there’s always an absurd amount of opposition headed your way.

Thankfully for you however, is the ability to capture these entire legions and have them fight for you. I mean, why settle for one fighter ship when you can take them all, right? By shooting a black orb that pops up occasionally, all the surviving ships on the screen are sucked into the orb and shot back out at you, where they stay behind you and unleash a flurry of attacks every time you shoot. Fighting with a legion behind me was one of the high points of the demo.

The menu design is slick, as are the graphics, music, and sound. A female voice always seems to be warning you of something. Oddly, at the beginning where you come under attack, I was reminded of a Disney World ride where you sit in a moving “spacecraft” and get jolted around while watching a video where something is always going wrong on the pilot’s end. But that feeling added to what I thought overall of this game - that it was arcade-worthy. And I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. Galaga Legions is interesting and frantic enough to be a huge success in an arcade. The loud, but crisp sound work and stunning neon graphics reminded me of an arcade’s wonderfully chaotic atmosphere.

That said, I had a great time with the Galaga Legions demo, which appears to be quite a meaty experience by the look of it - an Adventure Mode consisting of five different areas as well as a Championship Mode. Now that they have another DLC success on their hands, it’s time for Namco to 1. release this in arcades, and 2. start working on DIg Dug!

By Josh60502

Today I did something I should have done a long while ago - created an archives page for Frayed Wire. Located on the top bar, this page allows you to see what we’ve reviewed in the past at a glance, without having to click through every single post. Take a look at it.

This summer has given us some very nice movies, with Iron Man, WALL-E, and The Dark Knight to name a few. The Mummy 3 is the latest big-budget summer blockbuster, but it unfortunately doesn’t meet the lofty standard set by the above movies.

It seems like it should be a hit, with romance, suspense, a few well-known actors, and an overdose of CGI action, but in the end the whole thing just turned out to be a meh experience. The story lacks any sort of heart, so you can never be engrossed by it at all, and the humor is so forced that it loses all charm. None of the acting is noteworthy and the characters are forgettable. The action is fine, and it’s probably the best part of The Mummy 3, but a movie needs more than a handful of cool explosions to sustain itself.

I never saw the first two Mummy films, but this one had a plot that could stand on its own without the viewer needing any prior knowledge of the series. Rick O’Connell and his wife Evelyn have retired from being adventurers, but when they are asked to transport a giant stone called the Eye of Shangri-La as a kind gesture from Britain to China, they gladly oblige. However, the Eye is eventually stolen and used to resurrect the evil Dragon Emperor, who was long ago frozen along with his army as terra cotta statues. It’s up to our protagonists to stop the Emperor and his army from becoming immortal and taking over the world.

Now there are a lot more details I could go into, but I don’t feel the need to. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t see this unless you’ve seen all of the other excellent movies that came out this summer, because The Mummy 3 sits near the bottom of the pile.

Pros: Nifty set design, Jet Li, plenty of CGI action

Cons: Almost too much CGI action, uninspired plot, bad attempts at humor, overall forgettable

Final Score: 5.5 out of 10

It’s been a long wait, but Braid has finally arrived on the Xbox Live Arcade. Does it live up to all the hype it’s been getting? Well, I can’t say for sure since I only played the trial version, but what I can say is that I walked away very impressed. Braid appears to be nothing but a platformer at first, but as players will soon discover, there’s more to this than meets the eye.

Speaking of what meets the eye, the graphics are excellent. Everything looks like a beautiful watercolor painting, so I can easily understand how some people might want to revisit stages just to take another look at the environments. The music is just as deep and beautiful, with violin and piano melodies playing in the background. Not something that would appeal to everyone, I’m sure, but something that definitely added to the experience for me.

The goal of Braid is to rescue a princess that’s been kidnapped by a horrible monster. Sound familiar? The game is full of Mario references, and I’m not quite sure what to make of them. Are they a respectful nod, or an attempt to poke fun at Mario games? I can’t say for certain at this point. But anyway, the princess is in an unreachable castle, so you must create a ladder to it with puzzle pieces scattered throughout a series of worlds. Finding each puzzle piece is the real challenge to Braid, since any mistake you make, be it missing a jump or getting killed, can be instantly reversed by pressing the X button. This time-altering power may sound like a cheap gimmick, but in reality it leads to some genius (and deeply satisfying) puzzle solutions. Each world brings some new gameplay mechanic to the table as well, so you’re given something new to work with often.

At fifteen dollars, I’m a little hesitant to buy Braid, but after seeing how well-made and genius it is, I wouldn’t count out a purchase. Braid is the most innovative and unique game I’ve played since Portal, so I’d be glad to spend more time with it.

By Josh60502

Today a post was made on the official PlayStation Blog concerning the upcoming bike pack for Burnout Paradise. The developers say that they’re just “adding the finishing touches” to this free update which features not only a dynamic weather system, 70 challenges, and variations of the “Burning Rides”, but a whole new type of vehicle to drive. Check out the official post for more.

By Josh60502

Today I saw an interesting article on IGN that said a teenager in Thailand decided to rob a taxi in order to see if it was as easy to do in real life as it is in Grand Theft Auto IV. However, not everything went according to this kid’s plan, as he ended up stabbing the driver to death when he fought back. If the teenager is found guilty of robbing the taxi and murdering its 54-year-old driver, he faces death by lethal injection. Thailand game distributors have now requested that shops pull the game off their shelves as a result of this incident.

Crap. It’s dumb people like this that make all gamers look bad. No, kid. It’s not that easy to rob taxis and drive away with them. I wonder what he was planing to do after taking the taxi - driving a few dozen feet away and waiting a second or to for the police to give up their search?

Source

By Josh60502

The first trailer of Harry Potter 6, a movie that’s sure to break numerous box-office records, came out yesterday. Take a look:

By Josh60502

… I bought Soulcalibur IV the other day. Great game so far, and a review will come in due time. But some of you out there are probably still wondering where our E3 awards are. They’re coming; the main thing holding us back from doing those is the fact that JustMattPwn3r is on vacation and can’t help us out in the selection process. But I’ll try to get something worthwhile up soon to ease the pain of waiting…

By Josh60502

The final battle is at hand! Who will emerge victorious and win and series?

By Josh60502

Another day, another fight. Can Matt continue his comeback or will Josh crush him mercilessly?

By Josh60502