Or is it the other way around? Lego plays Batman? It doesn’t really matter, does it? What matters is that we can all be playing Lego Batman pretty soon. If you are at a loss as to what I am talking about, go back a couple of years and try to recall the Star Wars game wherein the characters were made out of Lego. It was pretty cool actually. When I first heard about it, I honestly had misgivings. I thought that it was going to be lame. As it turned out, I was wrong.

I have not seen demos of Lego Batman yet but if the Star Wars Lego is anything to go by, then this game should be just as fun. According to Alice Liang over at 1UP:

But basics aside, the dark and detailed cityscape isn’t the only thing that sets this apart from its Jedi predecessors. The fan-servicing Villain Mode allows players to run rampant in Gotham’s streets as notorious menaces like Catwoman, Joker, and Scarecrow, each with their own special abilities.

She expounds on more details:

But developer Traveller’s Tales isn’t going to let the bad guys have all of the fun. The Dynamic Duo has its own tricks: special suits. Like Batman and Robin’s gadget-filled belts, the suits allow them to do some amazingly useful things. In his Glide suit, Batman can cross long gaps, and, as you’d expect, with the help of hot air or steam vents, he can reach even longer distances and greater heights. The Sonic suit, which has the Caped Crusader holding what looks like a black bullhorn, sends out strong sonic waves that can shatter obstacles made from blue glass Lego pieces. And, of course, Batman has to have his explosives. With the Demolition suit, he can set and ignite Bat Bombs to blow up Lego objects.

This is all the information they have for now but the screenshots look pretty good. I wonder if I can get my hands on a demo version anytime soon?

Who says casual games are way too easy and have no story line at all? If you think this way, then you haven’t played too many casual games at all. I think that one of the more task oriented casual games that I have played is Hot Dish. I just got a copy from a friend a few weeks ago and I was immediately hooked.

As the name implies, you get to pretend that you are an up and coming chef. You go through several different restaurants – from Italian to Asian to French. The hard part is managing your time when you have to make 3 dishes at the same time. The game play is quite complicated, simply because of the way you have to manipulate your mouse.

The task windows tells you what you have to do and there are small icons which indicate the action – click, move the mouse up and down, left to right, clockwise motion, etc. Clicking is easy and so are the up-down and left-right motions. What irks me is that I have tons of problems with the clockwise motion (used for stirring, mixing, and grinding). It seems that it’s not only me who has this problem – people at Casualicious had the same problem.

Anyhow, you can purchase recipes as you go along as you will be awarded stars depending on the judgment of the food critic after each meal that you serve. I am honestly stuck on the French level – I just have to finish the last meal and I need 42 stars to get past it but I keep getting only 40 or 38. Help anyone?

Well, if Metsbrotha is to be believed, then yes this baseball video game is the best there is. Here is what he has to say:

For you baseball fans with Playstation 3s, I strongly suggest walking down to your nearest Best Buy, Gamestop, Walmart or wherever you buy your video games from - and do yourselves a favor and pick up MLB ‘08 The Show. Simply put, this game is the most realistic baseball game I have ever played. It’s sick.

For starters, the graphics are amazing. The stadium recreations are top notch and the player movements are as real as they come. For example, if you play a game at Shea, there are cranes working on a half-done CitiField in the background. Sick.

It actually really FEELS like you are playing a baseball game, which is why I like it so much. Not since Baseball Stars on NES have I enjoyed playing a video baseball game.

Check out the YouTube video below and you’ll see what I’m talking about. I apologize in advance as the vid shows Pedro and the Mets losing to the Braves (which we all know will never happen lol). Notice how Pedro’s windup and pitching style is recreated EXACTLY in the game. Sick.

I have not really played the whole version of the game as I have only tried the demo but from what I have experienced, it does indeed have the potential to be the best baseball video game in my book. So why haven’t I bought my own copy yet? Simply because I am not really into baseball for video games. If you are, though, you might want to check it out for yourself.

Another casual game that is set to keep you playing all night long – well at least it kept me up all weekend! Actually, Airport Mania has not yet been officially released. Created by Reflexive Media, the official release date is sometime in April. Lucky for me and you – and the host of casual game enthusiasts out there – there is a Beta version circulating around the Internet. I was fortunate to run across one and have been playing it this weekend.

So what’s so great about Airport Mania? Much like all other dash games, it requires coordination, time management, and strategy. The idea is to manage different airports by landing planes, unloading and loading them, and then making them take off again. In between, you might have to repair planes and refuel them as well. You can repaint planes in order to get higher matching color bonuses for the gates. There are also numerous upgrades which you can buy.

For the Beta version, there is a glitch which will not allow you to pass the second level of the second stage. I had to search for a workaround – it turns out that you have to merely pass the goal (the minimum requirement) and don’t earn any more points. If you do, and you reach the expert goal, the game will simply loop and not progress. Was I glad to have found that workaround! However, I was not able to get past the 6th stage (there are 8 in all). I have not found any solution as most people are saying that since it is a Beta release, maybe it really does not go past that stage. Oh well, for a Beta, 6 stages are good. I just have to wait for the full release.

As you’ve probably surmised, I have been shopping this weekend. Together with the copy of Skate, which I reviewed in the previous post, I also got a copy of Dynasty Warriors 6 for PS3 – a game which I have been waiting for for quite some time now. It came out a month ago but I have not been able to get it till this weekend. So what’s the dish?

The graphics are awesome – but I already expected that. The attention to detail and the effects will just blow your mind as you play the game! My problem is that my TV does not seem to be good enough for my PS3 games!!! I have a pretty nice Sony TV which performs very well for most anything but when it comes to PS3 games, it just doesn’t have enough resolution. For Dynasty Warriors, especially, I can barely see the map and it makes for harder gameplay.

What happens is that I usually end up just running around not knowing where I am and where I am supposed to go. I didn’t realize the importance of the map until now. It still is fun just going around whacking crowds of enemy soldiers but when I lose the level because I do not know my whereabouts and where to go, it really irks me. Maybe it’s time to get a new TV? A 1080p one, perhaps?

Anyhow, there are some changes – naturally – with Dynasty Warriors 6 like during the preparation you can choose a weapon but you don’t have your choice of officers – maybe it’s just like that in the beginning. I haven’t really made much headway because of the TV issue. In any case, it still is a game worth buying for yourself.

I have been playing Skate since I was able to download its demo from the PlayStation Home. To be honest, I never really was interested in buying the game. For one, I am no skateboarder in real life. I think that if I even dared to try it I would be the laughingstock of the most average of skateboarders out there. Yet when I tried the demo, I found myself unable to stop playing it. Ever since I started playing the demo, I knew that would buy the game and finally, this weekend, I bought my own full copy.

What can I say now? It has not failed my expectations. Perhaps one of the best things I like about Skate is the fact that you can merely roam the streets and the areas of the map. You don’t even really have to take on challenges – you only have to go around and do your tricks. The open environment is something that I really appreciate. More so, some of the tricks are not that easy to master. You need to learn how to flick the analog sticks and you get a sense of achievement when you get to master a trick. It gives you pleasure – as Joe B says in his blog, you are not merely “mashing buttons” to get the tricks done.

I am really excited about trying out the online venue but unfortunately, my Internet connection does not seem to be cooperating. I have had the game for a day or so only so I am sure that I will be able to figure this out soon enough. If I were you, I’d buy your own copy now.

To be honest, I have not tried the game hands on, but if the buzzing around the Internet is anything to believed, it is one heck of a game. It seems that it has all the essential elements of a good video game - a deep storyline, great graphics, open environment (which allows you to interact with the surroundings), first person action, and more. Here is what Gamespot has to say about this 360 exclusive:

The Good:

• Absolutely amazing atmosphere and visual design with the technical prowess to back it all up
• Lots of character customization options to play around with
• Great voice cast really sells the storyline.

The Bad:

• Annoying hitches cause the game to freeze for a few seconds at a time, but it only seems to start happening after playing the game for several hours
• Lack of death penalty keeps things fun, but also keeps things a little too easy.

The score? A whopping 9! Read the whole review here.

By the way, did I say that this was a 360 exclusive? Well, according to a rumor going around, 2k Boston is looking for PS3 developers. For those who do not know, 2k Boston is the team behind Bioshock. So they’re looking for PS3 developers, huh? Does this mean that we can expect a PS3 version of the game? Or maybe the sequel is going to be for the PS3 as well. We can only speculate for now.

I have always been a fan of the Need For Speed franchise. From the PC version to the PS2 games and now to the PS3, I have faithfully followed this game series. I know that NFS Pro Street has been out for quite some time now but it was only a couple of months ago that I got my copy. From what I have been reading, there have been a few changes and I was more than interested to try it out. Here’s my take on it.

First the game play. I was thoroughly disappointed with how EA designed how you can play around. I did not like the fact that there was no free roam mode. If you can remember, the other Need For Speed games (starting with Underground) enabled you to merely roam the streets, have fun speeding, and make money while at it. With Pro Street, you can only go from one race to another – no driving around on the streets. I think that blows big time. Once you’ve beaten the game, it does not have much replay value and that is something that I look for in a video game. I tried playing it again after I beat the whole game once but I got bored after a while – it just gets too repetitive.

The graphics are the redeeming factor of Pro Street, though. It takes advantage of the capabilities of the PS3 and you can really enjoy seeing all the details while on the race track. There is also an expansion pack for the game but I am not sure it will do much to improve the game play. Maybe the next NFS will be more interesting.

Here are the last couple of PS3 games that you may want to check out before Christmas.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Who has not heard of Call of Duty? It is practically a legend in the world of gaming. Any decent person who calls himself a gamer should at least try this latest in the Call of Duty series. It gets a rating of 9 from Gamespot. The good:

• High-quality story mode packs in a lot of thrilling and unexpected moments
• Well-designed multiplayer progression gives you something to shoot for online
• Terrific audiovisual presentation.

The downside:

• Campaign mode is much shorter than those of the average shooter.

Now that really sucks – having a great game with a campaign that leaves you begging for more.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Though I have heard nothing but good about this game, I am still undecided about whether to get a copy for myself. I was just talking to a friend this morning and he was raving about the game. Gamespot seems to tone down a bit with a rating of 8. They do detail the following pros:

• The best tracklist of any Guitar Hero game to date
• Lots of master tracks from the original bands and artists
• Online play is a fantastic addition
• Higher difficulty level ensures experienced players won’t get bored quickly.

The downside:

• Higher difficulty level ensures most people’s arms will fall off halfway through the expert career
• Battle mode and boss battles aren’t interesting additions
• A heavy dose of in-game advertising
• Some frame-rate issues .

I still can’t decide but it seems a lot of people out there are convinced.

Here are the next couple of great PS3 games for the year.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
This game got an almost perfect score from Gamespot – a 9.5! I am sure you know that this game made it big on the PC and the Xbox 360 before it came to the PS3 but it seems to be just as good – maybe even better because of the platform. Gamespot says:

• A massive and gorgeous world to explore
• an engaging story and dozens of hours’ worth of intriguing and exciting side quests
• core role-playing mechanics like combat and magic are as adaptable as they are enjoyable
• excellent music and hours of good voice acting.

The only negative point to it is that there are slight performance issues – but don’t they all have that?

The Orange Box
This is a compilation of some of the best loved games in video gaming history. Overcoming the negative perception that many have when it comes to game compilations, The Orange Box offers the following: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, the puzzle game Portal, and the colorful multiplayer action game Team Fortress 2.

What does Gamespot have to say? They gave it a 9 and following points:

• The Half-Life 2 saga represents some of the greatest shooter gameplay ever made
• Portal is a brilliant and humorous puzzle game
• Outstanding visual and audio design
• An unprecedented value.

Again, the downside has to do with slight performance issues. For 5 games in one, I’d say it is a very good deal.