GamePro Arcade

LucasArts does a whole slab of things in an utterly unique way, whether it's painting a completely obscure scene or injecting steroids into the creativity sector of their brain while in the planning stages of making a quality video game. One can always tell the cartoony feel of a game from their company. While that entails one-of-a-kind production value, it also means hours of fun through story lines and addictive gameplay with lovable characters.

In Lucidity, that main goal isn't present.

Fun.

This rather bare game asks you to place objects and obstacles in Sofi's pathway while she scrolls to the right side of the screen. Yes, this is a 2D video game. And while many gaming companies can still pull it off, LucasArts, well, fails.

I have a confession to make. It’s an unexplainable fondness for text adventures. Never mind that I am nowhere near old enough to ever have played them when they were originally created. The experiences are unlike what we see today in major console games. You are forced to read and picture the scenarios in your mind.

My imagination runs wild with thoughts of what could be on the other side of a pitch dark room. I don’t even know what a Grue is, but I don’t want to find out. For some reason, the mere thought of what a Grue could be is much creepier to me than what I think any game engine could visually reproduce.  It’s probably because the monster represents my own fears, rather than being some creation an art director thought looked cool.

Guybrush Threepwood just can’t catch a break. Despite getting beat up, knocked down, and humiliated by every living (and undead) man, woman and creature in the Caribbean, his latest exploits have left him stuck in the stomach of an enormous manatee. Continuing onward with Telltale’s unique brand of episodic point-and-click adventure gaming goodness, Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 3: Lair of the Leviathan presents Guybrush with a few unique, completely absurd problems, all of which are a joy to play thanks to the wonderful characters and fantastic writing. Oh, and because I haven’t worked one of these in already: ARRRRRRR!

Congrats to ozzyrules200, you have been randomly selected by the GamePro Arcade Super Computer as the winner of our most recent giveaway prize - a download code for the awesome PC title Zuma's Revenge. Email me at tterrones@gamepro.com with your GP login name and password and I'll send you your code. 

Didn't win this week? Get over it. Another GPA giveaway is right around the corner, and this time there will be multiple winners. 

Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones 

Another week, another opportunity for you to win something for free from GamePro Arcade. Up for grabs this time? A download code for PopCap's awesome match-three puzzler, Zuma's Revenge. 

Winning as always, is easy. All you have to do is write a comment on this post telling us who or what you'd most like to take your revenge out on. For me, its an easy choice. I'd like to get back at Megan Fox for breaking up with me. But after seeing her on Saturday Night Live recently, it looks like I might have to choose someone else.

Now its your turn. Feel free to write as many comments as you like, just remember that posting multiple times does not increase your chances of winning. One (1!) lucky gamer will be randomly selected by the GPArcade Super Computer and announced on Sunday.

Good luck!

Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/terryterrones  

Gemini Lost is quite unlike any game that I’ve ever played. Being raised solely on consoles, I was never able to experience the god-like glee of Black & White, nor did I spend much time concocting devious methods of destruction for my newly spawned Sims. I did get to play a lot of Gemini Lost however, which is a life-simulation/adventure game that focuses on a group of people that need to collect the twelve zodiac signs hidden around a mysterious land to get themselves home. All of this was so refreshing and different to me, and--to be honest--the game made me feel like a dope for neglecting PC titles for so long.

The dashing, handsome, and occasionally mighty pirate Guybrush Threepwood is springing into action yet again, and this time, for free! Telltale has announced that the first episode of Tales of Monkey Island, the recently reborn Lucasarts adventure series, will be made available as a free download to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day this Saturday, September 19th.

Gamers will be able to cannon themselves to http://www.playlikeapirate.com anytime after 12:01am GMT on Saturday (which works out to Friday at 8:01pm EST or 5:01pm PST) to download Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, the first of five monthly installments of the Tales of Monkey Island saga. You can check out GamePro Arcade's full review of that episode here to see if that pile of rum is worth its weight in booty.

For those of you who have already plundered that chest and are looking to sail into unexplored seas, Telltale has announced a September 29th launch of episode three, Lair of the Leviathan. Very little is known about this upcoming adventure, aside from the fact that it begins with Guybrush stuck in the belly of an enormous manatee. Expect the usual assortment of endearing characters, witty dialogue and nearly impossible puzzles that the series is known for.

If you mateys want to know more about Tales from Monkey Island, checkout GamePro Arcade's interview with one of the game's designers or hit the jump for the full swashbucking press release. Now if only I could convince them to bring back Stan...

Did you ever want to be inside someone else's body? If your answer involved Megan Fox, we weren't thinking along the same lines. Perv. What I was actually referring to was how cool it would be to step into another person's shoes, instantly possessing all of the skills and abilities that they have acquired. Imagine climbing into the mind of an athlete as they are about to take part in the big game, or an actor as they walk the red carpet, or Megan Fox's boyfriend as he...nevermind.

Trine takes this concept and runs with it. Three distinct characters are melded into one, and the player has to take advantage of each person’s talents to get through a mystical environment jam-packed with deadly traps, obstructed pathways and hidden dangers. Sounds cool, right?

When it comes to movies, consumers expect a certain type of product depending on what studio/director/producer it comes from. Video games, not surprisingly, almost exactly mirror the film industry in this respect.  Hollywood has Judd Apatow, Quentin Tarantino and Jerry Bruckheimer; gaming has Tim Schafer, Sam Houser, and Electronic Arts.

What films are to disc console games, TV is to casual games.  Short, sweet and easy to digest, casual games are like a season of a half hour sitcom. This brings us to the Seinfeld of downloadable arcade titles, PopCap Games. With a history of excellent match-three puzzlers that are inexpensive, addictive, and fun to play, gamers always know what to expect. And with its latest release, Zuma’s Revenge, PopCap once again shows that it’s master of its domain.