Eric Layman

Few titles on the show floor were less guaranteed than Sega’s latest Yakuza entry. While we spent the better part of 2009 wishing, hoping, and praying Sega would throw us a bone and localize Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4 was thrown our way without the need of a giant internet petition or fan boy pleading. It’s on its way, and it’s awesome. Though I consider Yakuza’s more subtle, cultural features to be its c...[Read More]

My big takeaway from Red Faction 3 wasn’t the story or the shooting mechanics, but the gratifying sense achieved when you systematically dismantled some massive structure with everything from an axe to a Nano Rifle. Seeing giant buildings slowly crumble and fall into a huge messy pile of junk was unrivaled by anything else in interactive entertainment, which made Armageddon’s debut trailer all the...[Read More]

While I never really grew tired of the Capital Wasteland, I’ll be the first to admit I wouldn’t have objected to a spontaneous shift in aesthetic. That prayer was answered in the first five seconds of playing New Vegas, a game that seemed geared more toward refinement rather than revolution. Modeling 50’s era Vegas, the latest Fallout (and first from Obsidian…sort of) hit me with a fresh blast of ...[Read More]

I haven’t been the biggest fan of the Wii-exclsuive Sonic games. Both Secret Rings and Black Knight were leaps and bounds ahead of their HD console brethren, but they had a tendency to show their hand early in the game. Creatively bankrupt, they had zero room to grow after the initial appeal wore off. Sonic Colors, while not officially associated with either Secret Rings or Black Knight, appears t...[Read More]

Platinum Game’s M.O. Could fall under complete interactive insanity or, if nothing else, the purveying feeling that the development team hasn’t been subjected to the creative poison of focus groups. Neither Mad World nor Bayonetta were concerned about the need to appeal to a casual audience, and Vanquish operates under the same school of thought. The cover based shooter aesthetic may look generic,...[Read More]

It’s kind of difficult to walk around the E3 and find a game that looks significantly different than anything else on the floor. I’ve played so many first person shooters of the last two days that, if it weren’t my notes, they would have all run together in my head as one giant alien slaughtering bloodfest. Walking by de Blob: Underground elicited a slightly different reaction. Rather than endless...[Read More]

Retro rivals are typically well publicized and, amongst the fan community, celebrated events, which was why I was completely taken aback when I heard a reboot of Rush’n Attack was present at Konami’s booth on the show floor. It literally came out of nowhere, and couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of it. First impressions, from a presentation standpoint, screamed Shadow Complex. The Unreal 3 Engine ba...[Read More]

Cautious optimism seems to be the best way to approach modern day Sonic games. It’s hard to be open minded after so many failed attempts at bringing Sonic into the third dimension, but seeing Sonic slammed back into 2D was, if nothing else, cause for a smile or two. Playing it gave way to a similar response. Sonic 4 does its best to emulate Sonic’s days on Genesis, and I’m pleased to report it hit...[Read More]

If nothing else, Ninety Nine Nights 2 conveyed a fantastic sense of scale. Bashing giant hoards of bad guys is easy, but sidestepping the monotony that often goes with it is a bit trickier. The sequel to the 2006 original looks to solve this issue through a variety of maneuvers related to the combat engine. Using the face buttons for light and heavy attacks is a given, but holding the left trigger...[Read More]

For whatever reason my stop at Konami felt like the right time to finally give Kinect a shot. They were happy to oblige by giving us some time with two of their games, Adrenaline Misfits and Dance Master. Adrenaline Misfits, or at least the level we played, revolved around a downhill snowboard racing. After a brief setup that involved me standing in a box and raising my right hand to confirm my ex...[Read More]

I was pleasantly surprised by Lords of Shadow. Bringing Castlevania into the 3rd dimension is usually considered an act of blasphemy and punished accordingly with poor sales, but MercurySteam (with assistance from KojiPro) scoffs at the notion that you can’t let Castlevania escape the second dimension. Lords of Shadow is depature for sure, but it carries enough references and nuance to lay safe cl...[Read More]

I didn’t get much done it Dead Rising 2. I played it for a good while, longer than most other games on the show floor, but I couldn’t be bothered to meet a goal when I was having so much damn fun screwing around. Every game has that fresh new car smell that you exploit before eventually growing bored, but Dead Rising 2 failed to hit that infamous mark during my considerable time with the game. I b...[Read More]