Off the Newsstand: Game Informer Issue 228

Two editions of Off the Newsstand in one week, well that is a first.  Got both issues of EGM and Game Informer on the same day so immediately after I breezed through EGM, I breezed through Game Informer.  The bad part of that breezing through both magazines was that I had nothing to read until this past Tuesday when I got my newest issues of both Nintendo Power and Game Informer.  After an underwhelming March issue of Game Informer, let us see if Game Informer can bounce back with a good April issue.

In short, Game Informer Issue 228 is a better than Issue 227.  It is not the best issue out there, but a solid nonetheless.  With Ubisoft's announcement of Assassin's Creed III releasing this coming October, Game Informer has new protagonist, Connor gracing the two special covers.  While the Assassin's Creed III cover story is a much more informative and a better read than The Last of Us cover story from the last issue, it did nothing to get me excited for the fourth Assassin's Creed game in four years.  Honestly, I was more excited for Assassin's Creed: Revelations after reading Game Informer's cover story back last June than for the newest entry in Ubisoft's cash cow.  Maybe it is franchise fatigue or Assassin's Creed may not  be my cup of tea.  If you are a fan of Assassin's Creed, you will definitely eat up everything that is reveled in Game Informer's good cover story.  If you are not a fan of Assassin's Creed, this issue of Game Informer is packed with good articles.  Some of the articles you can find in this issue are an interview with Mojang's Markus "Notch" Persson, the man responsible for a little indie game by the name of Minecraft, coverage of the D.I.C.E. summit in Las Vegas, a roundtable interview with Marvel Comics' top writers about video games, comics and Avengers vs. X-Men, a look at Zen Studios, makers of hit downloadable game Pinball FX 2 and a interview with the designer of the Flash game tribute to the 8-bit era, Abobo's Big Adventure, Roger Barr.  Those all come with another solid round-up of previews on upcoming games such as Hitman Absolution and Far Cry 3 and reviews on recently released games like SSX and Syndicate.  One article I could personally do without is Game Informer's annual April Fool's tradition, Game Infarcer, a fake magazine within Game Informer.  It will illicit a few laughs here and there, but there are much better ways to use those few pages on a stupid jokes about the gaming industry.  I will say it is funny watching somebody skim through Game Informer only to stumble upon the Game Infarcer article and believe everything on those few pages.

Overall, Issue 228 of Game Informer is a solid issue.  The cover story will only excite fans of the Assassin's Creed franchise, but it is still an enjoyable read.  If you do not enjoy the cover story, the other great articles will more than make up for it.  You will not be disappointed if you pick up Issue 228 of Game Informer at your local book store or library.

Launch Station: SSX

Well it is the calm before the storm.  This week has quite a few big releases such as Binary Domain, Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition and the game featured in this Launch Station, SSX, but next Tuesday will be insane.  We got Mass Effect 3, Street Fighter X Tekken, MLB 2K12, MLB 12: The Show, Unit 13 for PSV and few more that I can't remember at the moment.  Next Tuesday will see the release of close to ten games.  Gamers better get ready March 6th, 2012 will be a day to remember.  We are still a week away so let us stay in the here and now and take a look at the high-anticipated return of SSX.

It has been close to five years since SSX has graced a video game console.  Originally EA introduced SSX's first foray into the current-gen consoles as the gritty looking SSX: Deadly Descents (or SSX: Black Ops as fans named it).  After a lot of backlash from fans, EA changed the name to simply SSX and got rid of the dark grittier direction in favour of a lighter tone more in line with past entries of the SSX series.  For returning fans, the gameplay is the same as previous entries in the series.  Take control of one of many snowboarders as you snowboard down a mountain successfully preforming tricks, which builds build your Tricky meter that allows you to perform more intricate tricks, that all builds your score and earns you more money to buy gear and other characters.  For the new SSX, EA Canada has pulled all the stops as they have used geotagging data from NASA to create 27 realistic mountains and 9 realistic peaks from the Canadian Rockies to the Himalayans for the game.  SSX offers a rather simple single player mode as you take the role of a member on Team SSX having to compete in snowboard events in order to earn respect and money for your team.  The Deadly Descents that were mentioned in the original subtitle for SSX are actually in the game.  These Deadly Descents serve as boss battles testing your different snowboarding abilities.  For those not into snowboarding solo, you can play SSX online or asynchronously with friends through SSX's version of Need for Speed's Autolog called RiderNet.  Much like in the recent Need for Speed games, when you post a high score or any other achievement in the game it is sent to all your friends as a challenge.  If they beat your high score, you are sent challenges from them, but if they do not, you will receive money to be used on unlockables for your game.

Being a fan of SSX 3 from the last generation of consoles, I have been looking forward to SSX since EA showed off the new lighter tone back at last year's E3.  After playing the demo, I am very much excited to play SSX as it looks like the series has not skipped a beat since it last showed up on home consoles.  The snowboarding is smooth, the tricks are easy to pull of, the animation is fluid and overall it looks to be one fun ride.  For those who have waited to get there hands on a new SSX game for a long time or fans of sports games in general, SSX looks to be the game for you.  For everybody else, download the demo and see what you think.  You might be surprised how SSX's cartoony graphics and polished gameplay pulls you in.