Author Archive for Yaris Gutierrez

God of War III Review

Very few games this generation have awed me to the degree where they deserved a standing ovation. Games that have left particles of eminence stamped in our very own psyche; significant moments that are imprinted in our brains which from time to time come to life in the form of the most memorable moments we have experienced in our history of gaming; Moments that leave us in pure bliss as we savor the bewitching amazement that happened on our televisions. This is how I felt throughout my entire playthrough of God of War III – a game that has, indeed, thrashed all barriers of next generation gaming with the brute force that accompanies its protagonist, Kratos.

DualShockers ShockCast Episode 7

With the release of Final Fantasy XIII this week – and the plethora of God of War III reviews that have been tossed out by major publications, things have been a bit… well, a bit hectic, I would say. With Senior Contributing Editor Chad Awkerman frantically shaking like a heroin addict going through withdrawal for Final Fantasy XIII, and my eyes bleeding from all the God of War III I’ve been playing, this podcast is filled with the controversial reviews that both games have been receiving, and our very own opinions on how we have, so far, perceived these games from a personal perspective.

Metro 2033 Has Gone Gold, Folks

Shooting people in the face has become the new black this generation. With an overabundance of shooters making their rounds in this console era, and basically conquering all other genres out there, it has become the preference most gamers have come to embrace. Joining in the mayhem of shooters is the upcoming combination of RPG, survival horror and FPS elements, Metro 2033. And if you’ve developed a “thing” for this title, then your eyes will probably widen in excitement to know that THQ has announced that Metro 2033 has passed the gold master stage of development and has entered manufacturing. And out comes the Astroglide.

Free Realms: Nine Million Players and Counting

Free Realms, an MMO developed by Sony Online Entertainment, has surpassed nine million registered players, SOE announced today.

“With Free Realms, we’ve been able to reflect the needs and wants of our players by keenly listening to their suggestions and feedback,” said John Smedley, president of SOE. “We believe the persistent exercise of capturing in-game research inside Free Realms has been a huge contributing factor as to why we’ve attracted over nine million players in less than a year. It truly helps us give our players a game where they can do and be whatever they want.”

DualShockers ShockCast Episode 6 Feat. HipHopGamer

Welcome to the DualShockers ShockCast episode six – where joining myself (Yaris Gutierrez), Joel Taveras, Al Zamora, Chad Awkerman and Evan Velez is the renown king of controversy himself, HipHopGamer, as we discuss last week’s God of War III event that was held in Los Angeles, California. Both Evan and HipHopGamer attended the event first hand and, with HipHopGamer getting hands-on time with both the game and the developers of Santa Monica Studios, engage in an exciting, detailed conversation about the upcoming glorified PlayStation 3 exclusive which has everyone in the industry desperate for its release.

Play Heavy Rain On… YouTube?

There are some issues at hand currently plaguing the PS3 which has rendered most owners petrified with turning on their consoles. Trophies are going haywire, some people can’t connect to the PSN at all – it’s just a plethora of issues people are experiencing; and gaming on the console, for some, is being put on hold until Sony fixes the newly conceived obstacle(s) currently standing between the PlayStation 3 and gamers. A perplexing issue indeed.

But for those of you wanting to get your Heavy Rain on, there may be a way for you to engage in some gaming via…YouTube. And, yes, you read that right.

UK Loves Their Heavy Rain

Adored by many so far, Sony and Quantic Dream’s PlayStation 3 exclusive title Heavy Rain has managed to top the UK’s All-Formats chart during its first week of release. With the critical acclaim the game’s received throughout the industry by both the media and gamers alike, it isn’t too much of a surprise to see the game selling so well in other territories. I mean, Joel himself continuously calls me during the middle of the night panting like a cheap hotline hooker at how awesome the game is. I’ll be trying the game myself real soon to get to the bottom of all this heavy breathing by our Deputy Editor. Get it? I emphasized the word “heavy.” No? I apologize.

Falling right behind Heavy Rain in second place is Sega’s Aliens vs. Predator – which was last week’s number one game. Just Dance, Wii Fit Plus, Modern Warfare 2, Wii Sports Resort and New Super Mario Bros. Wii joined the list as well.

[Chart-Track]

Borderlands DLC Gets The Retail Treatment In The UK

In yo' face!

Not everyone’s a fan of digital downloads. Some people, like myself, feel a tad safer physically owning their purchased items because it’s located in a safe location of their choosing – preferably on a DVD shelf. The whole idea of having DLC digitally stored on your local hard drive is great as it omits the idea of having to insert a disc, which makes our lazy lives much simpler having everything at the touch of a button, literally. But a lot of us just love the smell of newly opened cases and the intoxicating scent of Blu-ray/DVD plastic discs. Gearbox Studios understands the obsession with the aforementioned details above and has decided to release their successful 2009 shooter’s – Borderlands – downloadable content into one package which will be released for retail shelves. Mmm… more plastic…

UK Names Street After Lara Croft

"My arms are veiny!"

And why wouldn’t they? She’s English, she’s badass, and she’s – for a fabricated character – well, hot. In July of last year, Derby, UK asked for suggestions for new roads. After receiving more than one hundred suggestions (either people aren’t creative with names or no one gives a crap about street names), the city council narrowed down the choices to eight names, one of which includes Lara Croft Way – which sounds more like a workout video than anything else.

DualShockers ShockCast Episode 5

This ShockCast was filled with absolute hatred for our Senior Contributing Writer Evan Velez. But before you even begin to ponder how we can hate such an awesome individual, we have more than enough reasons to do so – and it has something to do with Evan getting to play God of War III before all of us… that dirty, dirty man.

This week’s podcast features the oh-so sexy voices of myself, Joel Taveras, Chad Awkerman, and Al Zamora. What happened to Evan? Oh, as stated above, he’s up and about attending a Sony event in Los Angeles which entitles him to play a bunch of Sony games coming up which, of course, includes the almighty exclusive God of War III. Evan… we sincerely hate you like Ugandan women hate eating Lung fish. Evan’s escapades at the Sony even will be discussed in next week’s ShockCast where he will also answer any questions you guys pitched on his post.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 Release Date Unveiled

We all love Mario and his unprecedented mustache. The tubby Italian is an iconic figure that has spanned over generations of gaming since he was introduced to us by Nintendo. With iterations spawning on just about every piece of hardware Nintendo has released, the series has continued to maintain an avid fanbase of both adults and children alike. I’m all for Mario, his servant gloves, and the nostalgic moments he and his colorful friends and foes have given me. And on May 23, it seems as if I’ll be getting a bit more of the hero who hasn’t been laid, as Nintendo vice president of sales, Cammie Dunaway, announced today during the company’s media event the release date for the anticipated Wii title Super Mario Galaxy 2.

The first Super Mario Galaxy was well-received throughout the gaming community, obtaining praises as one of the best games of 2007. Although the game has received a release date of May 23 of this year, there was no clarification as to whether or not the announced date was worldwide. Once we receive some illuminating insight on the release date exactly, we will update this post. So keep an eye out.

DSi XL Release Date and Price Announced

I hated holding the DSi. For whatever sick reasons God had, he decided to mold my hands in a very ‘unique’ way. My palms are huge, and my fingers are the size of macaronis. Making a fist would be almost impossible as my fingers – which are so short – don’t overlap when closing my hands. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but still… the DSi did my hand no justice, which is why I’m excited to hear that the DSi XL finally has a release date and price announced for North America. Yea… I’m a fan of gargantuan tech toys.

At its Media Summit today, Nintendo announced that it’s hefty-sized DSi XL would be releasing on March 28 in North America with a meaty price of $189.99 (a $20 increase over it’s undersized sibling) to match its size. The DSi XL comes with a much larger screen and a much more adult-friendly stylus. With the Nintendo Media Summit continuing today, we’re hoping to hear of some new titles that might accompany it with its launch.

[Joystiq]