Nintendo Wii Review: Ice Age: Continental Drift - Arctic Games

After only one hour of playing Ice Age: Continental Drift – Arctic Games for the Nintendo Wii, I was confident that I had experienced enough of the game to write this review. Before you accuse me of being the laziest critic in history, I’d like to present an important piece of evidence in my defense: Arctic Games contains only 10 mini-games, and each of them will take you only a couple of minutes to play. The result is a completely forgettable experience with so little content that it’s not even worth a rental, let alone a purchase.

Yes, these 10 mini-games come packaged in three different flavors: Story Mode, Tournament, and Free Play. Sadly, each mode is essentially the same. All three game modes contain the exact same mini-games, with the only change being how you gain access to them.

Xbox 360 Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

If you haven’t seen the Amazing Spider-Man movie yet, you should see it before you play this game. I promise to keep this review as spoiler free as possible; however, The Amazing Spider-Man videogame serves as a sequel of sorts to the film, taking place right where the movie left off.

Oscorp Labs has been busy using Dr. Connors’ research to create human and animal hybrids. When the beasts escape from the lab, Spider-Man breaks the former Lizard from his cell, and the two begin working to undo the evil deeds of Oscorp -- before all of Manhattan becomes overrun with creatures.

The story here isn’t necessarily great, but having an original story is a nice change from the typical movie tie-in game, which usually just presents some half-assed version of the film’s narrative. The Amazing Spider-Man is also different from your typical movie tie-in game because, to my surprise, it’s actually pretty good. It may not be the best game you’ll play in the action genre, but it’s certainly fun enough to be worth your valuable time. 

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

It’s been a mere five years since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy came to a close, but Columbia Pictures and Marvel have teamed up to reboot the franchise, this time with Mark Webb (500 Days of Summer) at the helm. The Amazing Spider-Man is a darker take on the series that, while it’s still very good, suffers from an inconsistent tone and a plot that lacks proper focus. 

This reboot begins with the same teenage high school student, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), whom we all know and love. A visit to Oscorp Labs causes Peter to be bitten by a genetically altered spider, leaving him with super powers and a new Spider-Man alter ego.

Yes, it’s the same origin story you’ve seen before, and the changes to the formula really don’t switch things up all that much. Peter has trouble with his newfound strength, and constantly finds himself breaking doors, computers, and basketball hoops as he attempts to balance all the aspects of his new life.

I guess these scenes are provided as comic relief, but none of them work very well at all. The over-the-top comical moments don’t mesh with the darker plot, which otherwise succeeds at bringing out a more human side to the character.