On this weeks episode we talk about Kane and Lynch 2, Alpha Protocol, Resistance 2 and Quake 4 in what we have been playing and for news its Insomniac announcing new game at PAX, Socom 4 coming in 2011, Battlefield 3 beta key in new Medal of Honor copies, and Halo 4 being developed by 343 Industries.



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News:
Insomniac announcing new game at PAX
Medal of Honor to have Battlefield 3 beta invite
Socom 4 releasing in 2011
GTA5 set in Hollywood rumor
PS3 Q1 sales
Halo 4 being developed by 343 Industries
3DS details coming soon


Games:
Kane and Lynch 2
Resistance 2
Split/Second
Alpha Protocol
Perfect Dark Zero
Quake 4
Trials HD
Splosion Man
Hydro Thunder
Madden 11


Twitters:
@RonyDean
@RacingFreak
@TVandLust


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This week Andreas and Ronnie discuss Planets vs. Zombies coming to XBLA this September, Kinect's prices. Dead Rising 2: Case Zero release date, Halo: Reach Xbox 360 bundle along with Crackdown 1/2, Limbo, Medal of Honor 360 beta, Split/Second and tons more!



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News:
Planets vs. Zombies Releasing in September
Scott Pilgrim Coming to XBLA August 25th
Kinect Priced at $150
Need for Speed World Releasing July 27th
Sly Collection Launching for $40 this Fall
Netflix Losing the Disc this October for PS3
Case Zero Releasing August 31
Mafia 2 Demo Coming August 10th
LittleBigPlanet Coming Out Novemeber 16th
Halo Reach Xbox 360 Bundle
InFamous 2 Cole Makeover


Games:
Halo: ODST
Crackdown 2
Crackdown
Castle Crashers
Limbo
Medal of Honor
Alpha Protocol
Kingdom of Keflings
Split/Second


Other:
Destination Arcade
Andreas's Tweet: MS really skewed this graph
Playstation Graph
LittleBigPlanet 2 Amazon Link


Twitters:
@RonyDean
@RacingFreak
@TVandLust


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The Bungie team has just released a brand new video for Halo: Reach showing off its all new Forge mode along with the game's huge Forge World for you to mess around in. Check the trailer out after the jump, its an awesome one!

This week we talk about Driver San-Franzisco releasing in 2011, Breach delayed, no third season for 1 vs. 100, 4GB 360 model coming soon, $200 Walmart Kinect bundle, Split/Second, Medal of Honor, DJ Hero, Persona 3, Death Spank, WET and lots more!



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News:
Driver: San-Francisco Releasing 2011
Sign up today for Spec-Ops: The Line Beta
Breach Delayed untill January 2011
James Bond: Blood Stone Releasing This Holiday
Oddworld Returning!!!
Good Bye 1 vs. 100
4GB 360 Model Coming Soon
Milo at TED Conference
Walmart $200 Kinect Bundle
New Mega Man Downloadable Game
New 360 Dashboard Coming - Rumor
Garry's Mod Coming to Mac… At Somepoint
Destination Arcade Available for Only 1 Month


Games:
Split/Second
Medal of Honor
DJ Hero
MAG
Death Spank
REZ HD
Borderlands
Angry Birds
Persona 3
Dragon Quest DS
Guilty Gear Dust Strikers
WET
Lego Harry Potter


Other:
Rogue Warrior Credits Video


Twitters:
@RonyDean
@RacingFreak
@TVandLust


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Lugaru is a game that makes me both very happy and very sad. It’s the kind of game that I hate giving a negative review, because the game has a very solid concept and mostly well done mechanics, but unfortunately a concept doesn’t make a game, as Lugaru proves.

Lugaru is a fighting game that sets out to differentiate itself from other fighting games by being based around context sensitive actions as opposed to memorizing a whole spreadsheet of convoluted button presses, and the core combat is where Lugaru shines. I’ve never really been a fan of fighting games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat because I simply can’t be arsed to sink in the time required to learn the button combos and actually get good at the game. Lugaru is different by using only two primary action buttons for attacks and dodging. You’re forced to watch the enemy’s attack patterns and dodge at the right time to deliver counterattacks. Although the system takes some getting used to, it works really well once you do. It requires you to actually focus on the onscreen actions as opposed to more poorly made fighting games that end up being “who can mash the X button fastest” contests. There are a couple of different weapons you can use to assist you in combat as well, and let me tell you, there are few things more satisfying than cracking a rabbit’s skull with a staff that you stole from him.

So the core combat works well, but what’s wrong with the game? Unfortunately, despite the fun and unique combat system, there’s quite a bit to dislike. For starters, the game is incredibly difficult. I started the game up for the first time on normal difficulty and couldn’t get past the starting village before I had to drop down to easy, and even on easy the game is pretty challenging. This isn’t helped at all by an archaic tutorial system that I thought died out back in the ninety’s. You see, instead of integrating the tutorial into the intro sequence like most modern games, Lugaru opts to make a completely separate tutorial mode. There's a lot of information to take in at one time, and the game just kind of throws it all at you at once. Like I said previously, Lugaru definitely has a learning curve to it and not being properly taught how the game works is a major problem. A few other little nagging issues make the game extremely difficult as well, such as the invisible health bar. For some bizarre reason the developer, Wolfire Games, decided to make the health bar invisible. The only way to tell if you’re nearing death is if the screen starts turning a shade of black, but by then it’s probably too late and you’ll probably die before you can do anything about it. Enemies also have a tendency to gang up on you, which is a problem because the fighting system works best when it’s one on one sparring, with you completely focused on one enemy. When more than one enemy gangs up on you, you’re pretty much screwed and you may as well start over because they’re going to smash you to a pulp. What’s even worse is that sometimes if you’re focused on one enemy and you get him to low health, he’ll run away and go alert all of his other friends on the map, turning what should’ve been a simple encounter into a huge, five-bunny brawl.

There’s a story, but it’s entirely forgettable. Fairly generic stuff, there’s some bad guys that attack your home village and slaughter your friends and family, so you go beat them up for revenge. It’s a shame, because perhaps a better story might have kept me more involved in the game. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot to grab your attention. The maps all vary in terrain slightly and have different themes, but they’re all pretty much just open spaces for the combat to take place in. The enemies are all pretty much the same as well. Sometimes you’re fighting unarmed bunnies, sometimes you’re fighting bunnies with knives, very rarely there will be a bunny with a staff to fight, and you start fighting wolves later on. But generally all the fights feel the same and it gets very repetitive. Outside of the story missions there are some challenge missions you can partake in, but they’re just more combat missions and they aren’t much more different than the combat missions you’re getting in the main story.

Normally, I wouldn’t decry a game for its lack of multiplayer, because I certainly don’t think every game needs multiplayer, but generally fighting games shine in their multiplayer modes. Having an actual human opponent to fight may be more gratifying than fighting the AI and I imagine the fighting system could make for some pretty intense matches. Of course this is all just speculation, and I probably shouldn’t comment on what isn’t there. But it does feel kind of like a missed opportunity.

As much as I would like to, I can’t really recommend Lugaru at $20. The combat is solid, but it’s plagued by tiny issues that add up and it doesn’t have much to offer outside of the combat. However, I do recommend that you download the free demo for Lugaru, because it’s certainly intriguing if nothing else.

You can purchase the game, or download the demo, here: http://www.wolfire.com/lugaru

This week on onCAST Andreas, Craig and Ronnie talk about Blacklight: Tango down, IronMan 2, Medal of Honor beta, Crackdown 2, Persona 3 PSP, Death Smiles and much more in the what we have been playing section. And for news its Enslaved and Vanquish release date, Dragon Age 2 revealed, Xbox LIVE Arcade browser, and Split/Second coming to PSP.



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News:
Enslaved Breaks Free to Retail on October 5, New Screens Released
Vanquish hits North America Stores October 19, European Stores October 22
505 Games Reveals Deep Black for Xbox 360, PS3
Final Fantasy XIV PC Beta Phase Begins Saturday
Dragon Age 2 Revealed by Game Informer
Ubisoft's Boivin: Assassin's Creed License "Needs a Breather" after Brotherhood
Upcoming Red Dead Redemption DLC adds Multiplayer Poker, Weapons and Zombies
Dead Space 2 Prequel Game Announced
Split/Second Crashing on to the PSP this Holiday
Summer of Arcade" Dated and Priced
Xbox Live "Hulu: PlayStation Plus Only Required During Hulu Plus Preview Period
Xbox Live Arcade Content Browser Launching July 14
Sega: No Sequel for Obsidian's Alpha Protocol


Games:
Blacklight: Tango Down
Medal of Honor
IronMan 2
Persona 3 PSP
Crackdown 2
Death Smiles
Burnout Paradise
Force Unleashed
Split/Second
Monkey Island 2


Other:
Play On


Twitters:
@RonyDean
@RacingFreak
@TVandLust

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On this episode of onCAST, Craig, Ronnie and Andreas discuss Hulu Plus, May NPD's, Dead Rising 2 delay along with Zombieville, Medal of Honor, Lego Harry Potter, Transformers: War for Cybertron and oh so much more!



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News:
May NPD's
Bioshock 2 Singleplayer DLC
Milo Still Coming
Hulu Plus Announced
Dead Rising 2 Delayed
Downloadable Red Faction Game Before Armageddon Release


Games:
Farmville iPhone
Zombieville HD
Medal of Honor
Crysis
Lego Harry Potter
Yakuza 2
Sin and Punishment
Darksiders
Transformers War for Cybertron
Metal Gear Solid


Other:
TV and Lust
Fable 2 Sales
RacingFreak Done Buying Games at Launch

Twitters:
@RonyDean
@RacingFreak
@TVandLust

Linkout.onPause.org
Email us: onCAST@onPause.org

Sponsors:
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