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Podcast: Non Playable
By: Joe Sayer & Chris Holmes

Review: Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game
By: Matt Purslow

Review: Shank
By: Matt Purslow

Metroid Other M Hands-On

Posted by Chris Holmes at 5:45pm on August 9th, 2010

The Metroid series has always been one of Nintendo’s major hardcore gaming pillars. It has followed the company from platform to platform, stopping off on the GBA for a few titles and really came into its own during the Prime saga on the GameCube. Prime was my first entry into the series, and it was perfect to introduce new players such as myself. Retro Studios understood our mindset and made the Prime series immersive and fun to play.

So, imagine the world’s surprise at last year’s E3 when Nintendo announced that Retro will be stepping aside for Team Ninja to take up the reigns for the next title in the series: Metroid Other M. It was the only hardcore title announced at that particular conference, but it split fans. Could Team Ninja really deliver something comparable to the epics Retro treated us to?

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Wii Party Hands-On

Posted by Chris Holmes at 6:38pm on August 4th, 2010

When we went to Nintendo last week, Wii Party was not on our main list to play. However, after grabbing some Nintendo-made OJ and saddling up some seats, we settled to try it. All three of our epic staff members were perched around their delightful cubes, accompanied by their Wii-motes (including wrist straps for all) and the game begun.

This is where something we didn’t plan for happened: we actually enjoyed it. Wii Party was like a guilty pleasure, intoxicating our mind like a mainstream “indie” album from a hot woman in her 20s. The gameplay is like every other party game out there. You have to go around a board by rolling some dice. Only this time, you play as Miis and the board is actually fun. Random squares would bring up challenge dice, special treats and if you got lucky, a catapult to a square to the other side of the board.

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Nintendo | Nintendo Wii | Previews | Social Gaming

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Non Playable Episode 5: So Special

Posted by Joe Sayer at 11:15pm on August 3rd, 2010

This time, Massive J Productions and Homez Industries are granted access to a super top secret hands on viewing of the Nintendo 3DS, and thus feel rather special.

Furthermore, the crew take it upon themselves to rage, shortly after offering insightful converse on such topics as Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Don’t forget to enter Ramblings of a Madman in a comment below.

Details:

Duration: 37:56

File size: 52.3mb

Non Playable E05 Direct link to file, right click to download.

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Your thoughts on this episode will be very much appreciated, please leave a comment below or send feedback to chris@thenpcs.com

Non Playable is co-hosted by Joe Sayer and Chris Holmes. Produced by Joe Sayer.

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Super Scribblenauts Hands-On

Posted by Chris Holmes at 3:01pm on August 1st, 2010

As you may know already, we’ve visited Nintendo this week and now have a great deal of content to give to you. We’re trickling some hands-on reports throughout the week (news is a bit average this week to be honest) for your reading pleasure. Now, let’s talk about something that’s dear to all our hearts: Super Scribblenauts. Sat alone at its own DSi XL unit at the Nintendo event like a forgotten GameBoy, Super Scribblenauts quietly got on with basking in its glory.

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5th Cell | Hands-On | Nintendo DS | Previews | Warner Bros

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Epic Mickey Hands-On

Posted by Chris Holmes at 4:13pm on July 30th, 2010

Our dear Jereme has already previewed Epic Mickey but when Nintendo invited us to go and play lots of cool stuff with them, we were able to get our hands on the game itself for a much longer time period. After a mammoth talk and introduction from a designer on the game (whom was a rather nice chap), we managed to get Mickey under our control.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Platformers are not easy to demo at any event, especially one where you have to stand to play. They usually have intricate designs and bizarre objective placement to encourage exploration, but that takes time. Time events don’t have. Epic Mickey was a keen demonstration of this.

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Disney | Hands-On | Nintendo | Nintendo Wii | Previews

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Nintendo 3DS Hands-On

Posted by Chris Holmes at 10:23pm on July 28th, 2010

Nintendo invited the UK’s media to come and play lots of exciting things yesterday. We were invited, and to kick off our coverage of what we got to have a look at is the Nintendo 3DS. When Nintendo first announced the device, people were left scratching their heads. A 3D based gaming system that didn’t require glasses was too much for some to take, with most people wondering if they were in the future and stuff.

I’m happy to report we are in the future. Nintendo took us to what can only be described as a flock of gorgeous women with 3DS’ everywhere and told us to have fun. We obliged. Some of us obliged a little too much (they tried some outrageous geek flirting, which didn’t go down too well. If anyone from Nintendo is reading this, I apologise profusely for their unprofessional behaviour and their bizarre understanding of physics). Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the Nintendo 3DS hardware.

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Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days demo impressions

Posted by Chris Holmes at 9:21pm on July 1st, 2010

The Kane & Lunch 2: Dog Days demo was released today (on the 360) to those lucky enough to get a download token from Square Enix. We were in the bunch that got a code, and have just finished up with our first play of the demo from the third person stop and popper. Immediately upon loading the game up, you can see the new CCTV-esque presentation and a fancy, clean UI. There’s a lot to try out here in the demo, including a small part of the story mode, arcade mode and a smattering of online modes.

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Disney Epic Mickey Preview

Posted by Jereme Puik at 12:46am on June 26th, 2010

While I wouldn’t call myself much of a fan of Disney aside from being a fan of a few of their movies, but Epic Mickey is looking pretty epic so far. The game itself is pulling from a history of over 80 years of Disney characters and Mickey Mouse history in general. For me, the many references in the game would probably go right over my head and would be pretty hard to find something for me to latch on too. For instance, the world of Epic Mickey starts off with Steamboat Willie, a cartoon from 1928 in which Mickey made his first appearance. This is where the adventure kicks off and you can read more about below.

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Disney | Nintendo | Nintendo Wii | Previews

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Preview

Posted by Jereme Puik at 5:57am on June 20th, 2010

The newest entry in the Zelda series has lately been a shroud of mystery. Coming off of last years E3 all we were given was a graphic designed internet poster not revealing much at all about the next installment. However, with this year’s E3 in the bag and the box opened, we finally have all the details regarding this new title, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Read on to find more.

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Nintendo | Nintendo Wii | Previews

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Crackdown 2 Preview

Posted by AJ McGahran at 6:52pm on May 26th, 2010

The original Crackdown (developed by Realtime Worlds) initially garnered a great deal of attention. This was likely because of its attachment to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta; however, after a bit of playtime and some critical acclaim, it was apparent that Crackdown was much more than a $60 ticket to preview Master Chief on the Xbox 360. Fast forward three years and you have now brought peace to Pacific City and are eagerly awaiting the follow-up to the game that put a refreshing spin on the sandbox genre. Things, however, are not necessarily how they appear.

Upon completion of Crackdown, you were lauded for your work in the removal of some of the most dangerous organized gangs of Pacific City. You were hailed as a hero, but in actuality you only eliminated the opposition so that the Agency could rule with an iron fist. Over the course of ten years in Pacific City, the freaks that underwent Shai-Gen bioengineering and were released during one of your raids began to take control of sectors of the city. The citizens formed an underground rebellion to combat both the power-hungry Agency and the blood-crazed freaks. Things spiraled out of control with the entire city once again becoming a warzone. The Agency’s power is slipping, the humans fear for their lives, and the freaks are continuing to terrorize everyone that they encounter. Welcome back to Pacific City, agent.

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Microsoft | Previews | Xbox 360

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Red Dead Redemption Preview

Posted by Chris Holmes at 10:54pm on April 19th, 2010

Western movies have been on the decline these past couple of decades thanks to sci-fi and action genres taking over, but fortunately, western games have been on the rise. Games such as Gun, Red Dead Revolver, Call of Juarez and Desperados have helped to propel the genre to a new audience thanks to the increased power of this generation of consoles.

Now, Rockstar is back with another entry in the Red Dead series: Red Dead Redemption. The game is set in America in the early 1900s. It follows main protagonist John Marston as he is given free reign by government agents to capture or kill his former gang members. The government has threatened to kill his family if he doesn’t comply to their demands, so he doesn’t get much of a choice.

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PlayStation 3 | Previews | Rockstar Games | Xbox 360

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