Table of contents

Letter from the Editor.....................................................5

Chicken Chaser.................................................................6

Red Dead Redemption.................................................11

Fatal Frame IV....................................................................13

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.......................16

Mass Effect 3......................................................................20

Mario Kart 7.......................................................................22

Clock Tower........................................................................24

Pushmo................................................................................25

The Graveyard....................................................................27

Thanks to..............................................................................30

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Letter from the Editor

Welcome dear reader to our first issue of Gamescom. where we will inform you about anything related to videogames, de-velopers, E3 and many other things you, our reader, will care to know. Here at Gamescom. we pride ourselves with the best information on, about and of videogames, so if you will care to turn this page we will begin a new chapter in the Gamescom. magazine life. We hope you enjoy reading our very first print-ed issue of the Gamescom. magazine, and also enjoy reading our top reviews! Read away!

Thank you,

Editor of Gamescom.

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Image this: you and someone you care about are trapped inside an abondoned village, except the village is not really abondoned and shadows are following you, watching, whispering warnings, whispering pain. That is the plot in this 2003 game, Fatal Frame II: The Crismon Butterfly, the second entry in the Fatal Frame series by Tecmo. Considered the jewel of the franchise , Fatal Frame II received a second edition game, a direc-tor’s cut if you will on the Xbox, before the company moved to Fatal Frame 3 and Fatal Frame 4 (the latter which did not make it to the States or any other part of the world for that matter). Back in 2010, we were teased with a rather small, ten almost

twenty seconds, trailer which showed a small glimpse of the new graphics and looks for the main characters. The release date back then had been a late 2010; come 2011 and then 2012, and still no news, at least until Feburary, where it was announced during the Nintendo Direct Confer-ence that the much anticipated re-make of Fatal Frame II was actually on the workds with a release date in the month of June...in Japan. Now, while it not might guarantee a release here in the States or any other part of the world for that matter, however there is no need to lose hope yet, since it was recently announced that Europe too, would be getting this game in an unknown time, which means it will gladly get a release date here in

the United States and the rest of the world as well, after all, a spin-off is just days away from release! Here’s hoping we get this masterpiece back to the United States...and also a good fright!

FATAL FRAME II: REMAKE

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The Pokemon series has been a constant in our lives every since the first game came out in back in 1998. Now, the year is 2012 and just a year after the release of Pokemon Black and White, it was recently announced that two, not one, two games were on the works...of course, everyone just assumed that it would be the same storyline, better anima-tions, harder gym leaders, more sidequests, etc. Of course, this was nothing compared to what was announced days later. This two games were not actually remakes of the last two Black and White games, but rather, sequels. That’s right sequels without jumping a generation. Unlike past games were a sequel was entitled to a new generation and new Poke-mon, from what little is known about this upcoming Black 2 and

White 2 games is that it will be an entirely different plot from the last two, but except of skipping over to the next batch of new Pokemon, these new games decide to stay with the same new Pokemon and apparently in the same place with a different story to tell. Considering the path the third games or in this case, third and fourth games, take this came to most as a rather big surprise and different takes on the remakes of this games. However due to the lack of information, it is almost impos-sible to make more than assump-tions. Despite this, an important point is made towards the new designs given to the cover Poke-mon, Kyerum, who appeared in the last Black and White games as a shell of those games mascots. From the looks of things, Kyerum, who appeared in the last Black and White games as a shell of those games

mascots. From the looks of things, Kyerum apparently ate the last ver-sions’ mascots, Reshiram and Zekrom and became some sort of overkill dragon ma-chine. But then again, until new information surfaces the only thing we can pull of are just mere especu-lations, for now, let’s just wait and enjoy until the month of June (ap-parently a trend is going on about realeasing games this month) when it arrives in Japan.

POKEMON: bLACK AND wHITE 2

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It has been a known fact that Nintendo has been criticized by a few, or rather those that call themselves, “hardcore gamers” due to the fact that the Nintendo Library is full of what they call ‘kid games’. But is that really true? Has Nintendo only delivered games for kids all these years? Actually, no. Most of the game library on Nintendo systems are full of Puzzle games, adventure games, rpgs, shooters, horror games, etc., but while it may not be known for its large quantity of M rated games, Nintendo has actually put some M rated games to accom-pany all the others. Some people say its rather strange that Nintendo only put E or T rated games (Everyone and Teen) when its just as easy to put in the Xbox 360 or PS3 a game with a major M rate than it is in the Wii or DS or even its new portable console the 3DS. Many people complain that Nintendo is just there for the money...which, while rather true, is not really the reason why they don’t put Mature games in their systems. Consider-ing famous games like Halo or Si-lent Hill series all rated M and on different systems, people wonder why in the world Nintendo does

not join the crowd and put a frickin’ M game on the Wii. To start of with, the Wii itself was in the market as a family console, while it does have a small number of Mature rated games, it doesn’t necesarily mean that they should just put some cool looking M rated game to sell the console, just like Microsoft did with the Halo games if one looks at it in a certain point of view. However the Wii doesn’t nec-esarily need those games to sell. True, perhaps making M rated games may be the way to go, for some, but while many other con-soles competing with the Wii have a more extensive M library than Nintendo, does it really matter for Nintendo to go with ‘sell M game, sell to the hardcore base’ way? Does it really?

While many would argue that today’s generation of gamers want more serious content on their games (aka blood, gore, adult refer-ences, snow bunnies, etc.) others argue that even if Nintendo were to go on and publish every single M rated game they could, would the Wii sell as good as it’s doing now? Maybe, maybe not. Nintendo has been known for years to actually care more about making a family

NINTENDO AND MATURE GAMES

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'M' Count: 28

friendly console instead of just aiming the console at a specific age group or group of people. While some may argue that the PS3 and Xbox 360 are for the whole family as well, they don’t exactly have games that eve-ryone in the family will enjoy. Some games, like those made for Kinect or the Playstation Move may count, however, but not all of them. The games in Nintendo’s li-brary can be played by the whole family, online like in Xbox 360 and PS3, but do all these games offer the same level of enjoyment for the whole family? It really all depends in the point of view of a person and what they want, but the point is this: Nintendo doesn’t want to be like you or me or like

anyone else for that matter. True, they may sell more and make more money if they actually bothered to put games like Batman Arkham Asylum or Skymir on their console but the point is that it really doesn’t need to. Most games for the ‘M’ crowd are just games to enjoy on multiplayer and we are pretty sure that mom or dad would want to play with you a round of Halo...or maybe they would, but just because your par-ents like the game it doesn’t really mean anything. Nintendo targets not just you or your next door neighbors two years older than you, nor that guy living with his mom on the attic and paying rent, no, its not about pleasing just a fair group of people, its about trying to please everyone. It’s like Nintendo is saying, “These are games you can enjoy with your whole family!” And it’s true, play-ing a round of tennis with move or getting your butt handed to you by your little brother on Super Smash Bros. don’t really mean it has to have an M on the cover so it can be ‘hardcore’. But then again, who can really please everybody?

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The lawless west makes a tri-umphant return as you play for-mer i John Marston, who left his criminal life to settle down with his wife and kids. Unfortunately, his past catches up with him and he is told to bring in Bill Williamson and the rest of his old posse. At the beginning of the game you are introduced to a handful of key characters that you will meet on your journey through the west, with barely a word spoken from John Marston. You will have the choice of how to play, either as the outlaw or the lawman. The role you choose will make some of the tasks are harder than other, while others are easier to accomplish. With Rockstar famous for the GTA franchise, RDR uses the same

graphics and physics engine from GTA IV but with obvious upgrades since GTA IV arrived. Due to the small towns and vast landscapes, the graphics that have been devel-oped are beautiful. While it may not be obvious at first, the little details create a sandbox world that feels alive. The entire game is an experience. While adding new touches, RDR tips its hat to many classic western films either by name, subttle musical cues from the most famous west-erns ever made, or almost perfect replicated settings. It is all there, it’s just up to you to find what you are looking for. The wilderness is the real battleground. It’s possible at

RED DEAD REDEMPTION The Wild Wild West has never been this good!

any moment for bandits to attempt an ambush on you, criminals to escape their prison transport, chance encounters with damsels in distress and for bored campers out in the wilds challenging you to gathering or shooting challenges. You can even receive a nasty bite by a snake and watch out for those mountain lions. So when following the GTA-esque structured storyline it doesn’t take long at all for you to see the outstand-ing effort put into each cutscene which gives as much detail as possible to every character. The camera angles create a western movie feel and keeps Marston looking like the best bounty hunter ever to roam the West. As you’d expect in a game set in the Wild West, shooting in RDR is paramount as well as realistic. Stopping shy of complete dismemberment in some cases, if you shoot a knee cap they don’t just flinch and carry on until an invisible health bar health bar depletes, the enemies cry out in pain and limp off. Care to take them alive, to make them surren-der or even fight? Then you can either use the Lasso you get somewhat early on in the story to hogtie them, or make use of the dead-eye targeting system and disarm them by shooting their gun in gold highlighted slow-motion. New Austin holds so many vast real and figurative treasures; it will take

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GAMEPLAY: 9.5

SOUND: 8.0

PLAYABILITY: HIGH

CONTROLS: 8.5

FINAL SCORE

you hours to find them all. You can become addicted to Texas Hold-em poker, Blackjack, horse-shoes, arm-wrestling, Pirates of the Caribbean style liars-dice, treasure hunting, breaking in horses, helping strangers with their problems, collecting wanted poster bounties, hunting wildlife, clearing out ghost towns, high-noon showdowns, robbing banks and trains, to name just a few. Expect your time spent on RDR’s single player to fly-by and clock in hundreds of hours of gameplay. Rockstar have not only made a fantastic single player experience, but they’ve also translated the single player world into the multi-player world with a vast metropo-lis that can grow like GTA IV. This makes the Wild West the perfect setting for a sandbox multiplayer experience. With fifty experience levels to unlock and a separate set of free-roam wilderness chal-lenges to complete, your biggest challenge is finding the time to do all of this stuff.

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Memories, they are eve-rywhere whether one wants to look or not. Unfortunately for our heroes in this 2008 installment of the Fatal Frame series, memories are more troublesome than they appear to be. You play as one of four main characters on a journey through Rougetsu Island, now abandoned by an event that killed everyone living in it, except our four intrepid heroes (one out of four, anyway). Motivated to come to the island after the death of two friends, Misaki and Madoka (both playable characters) decide to investigate the abandoned island to not only find out what caused the girls’ deaths but also to recover their lost memories, ap-parently lost due to some sort of ritual that took the lives of all the inhabitants in Rougetsu…and as luck would have it, just ten min-utes into the game both Misaki and Madoka become separated. And so, it begins with Madoka trying to find Misaki only for her to find a camera and realized that the island is not really as deserted as it seemed. To start off with, the graphics in the Wii, while not exactly top of

the line like the PS3 and Xbox 360, are so well done that the scary atmosphere is felt everywhere. Con-trol easily comes with the nunchaku to move your character, while the Wii remote acts as your cursor to point your flashlight. The fact that the Fatal Frame series fits so well into the Wii control scheme says a lot about the change from Playstation 2 to the Wii in this next installment. The story, while confusing in some parts, is rather good and keeps the players on their toes. You start the game as Madoka, her chapter being the Prologue to those that will come later, as you go around exploring the old sanitarium

FATAL FRAME IV Coming back might have been a mistake...

that used to house patients with the Luna Sedata Syndrome, which causes not only memory loss but death and it is apparently the cause of the island’s decay and the islanders coming back as ghosts to haunt you, quite literally. The main heroine of the story, how-ever, is introduced just after Madoka waves her white flag and loses the camera that would have probably saved her life, that we are introduced to Ruka, a girl, who like Misaki and the deceased Madoka, lost her memories after the accident in the island so many years ago. From then on, the point on the point of view changes depending who you are playing as; you can be the hotheaded Misaki as she ventures

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as she ventures the sanitarium to find her lost friend and her lost memories, you can be Ruka, trying to find just what happened to her two friends and to find out about her past, or you can be the ex-detective Choushiro, who just wants to find the girls and get them home…but as they say, winning is never easy. Gameplay-wise, the controls are good; the Wii remote type of gameplay may remind you of light gun shooters, but with you doing the moving. There are also some side quests you can go on by taking pictures of hidden ghosts; however a few glitches in the game make this almost impossible to do, much less complete the list the game gives you. almost impos-sible to do, much less complete the list the game gives you. While a few glitches in the game make the 100% mark an impossible achievement, the game makes up for it by being as scary as possible every single time you play. Think the hall’s already bad enough because it’s so dark you can;t see your own face? Ha, don’t you worry, a few blood-covered and

transparent corpses are here to keep you company. Think you’re hearing voices? Nope, just the neighboring ghosts wanting to chat before they suck the life out of you. All in all, despite a few minor set-backs with the glitches, this entry to the Fatal Frame series is as good as they come. Uh…just make sure you have someone with you when the ghosts start coming out…and well, live in Japan, because apparently this title isn’t going to be released in the world anytime soon. (Thank god for the internet!) While not the gem that Fatal Frame is, Fatal Frame IV is enough to satisfy any ghost hunter...or schoolgirl looking for their lost memories. Either way, if you are into ghosts and other stuff, this game is for you...just make sure you have a light or two on...trust me, you will need it.

GAMEPLAY: 10

SOUND: 8.5

PLAYABILITY: MODERATE

CONTROLS: 9

FINAL SCORE

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It all began almost 25th years ago. We had nothing better to do with our Nintendo Entertainment System until suddenly, a young boy with green clothes a sword and a shield made his way into are lives…his name, Link. Now, twenty-five years later and we are still playing the Legend of Zelda in this new epic adventure detail-ing the many secrets made by the same legends and myths of the game itself. But now, the anniversary is over but the adventure lives on in “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword”. You play as (you guessed it!), Link, a young knight in train-ing who is about to compete along with others in a special ceremony that will announce his passing from one class to anoth-er. But well, nothing seems to go right with this guy. Ever. Soon after the ceremony is over, his best friend, Zelda, is kidnapped by an unknown force which knocks Link out for the count. He is then sent on a jour-ney to go and find Zelda and find out just what that force that took her was…but it is during this adventure that we get to know a little about past Zelda titles and

the real identity of the titular lady, Zelda. Now before we go and spoil the story, we must look back on the title itself, Skyward Sword. Graphic-wise, the game is like a mix of Twilight Prin-cess and Wind Waker and while many disagree over which look would have been better and what not, it fits the theme quite well. Think about it, while the faces may at time appear comical, the seriousness is still all there. Link’s anger or surprise is expressed quite well, even fantastic creatures such as the ones encountered in the game look fantastic and seem real from a certain perspective. Creatures like the

The Legend of Zelda:Skyward Sword

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Gorons, for example, while not as organic, if you will, look colorful enough and blend well in the atmosphere around them. Heck! Even the enemies are colorful; whether it is a giant skeleton or scorpion or spider thing or a Moblin, they look pretty good despite their exaggerated bodies and expressions. The game itself, too, has its own set of Bosses which add to the colorful look of the game. Like in Twilight Princess, the player can only use the Wii Re-mote to use the sword, items, etc. while moving with the nunchaku; however the twist comes in how you will manipulate Link. Certain enemies can only be hit if struck accordingly to their position, say if a Moblin is holding his weapon horizontally to protect his stom-ach, one only need to move the Wii Remote vertically to make Link hit that sucker’s head! Bam! Down and out! Get the other one out and down he goes! Some-times, however, enemies will get smart and if you are using the same strategy to get rid of them over and over again, they might defend and counter and by the time you decide to get smart they’ll be a little difficult than before. Most enemies will require you to think about how you will strike next and if repeating the same strategy over and over again would be a good idea. Side-quests, too, are some-thing we have come to love in the Zelda series, but while most

of the side-quests are not as extensive or as deep as Majora’s Mask’s own Kafei and Anju quest, they offer life to the characters that Link will interact with during the course of his adventure. Perhaps you might feel generous and help a demon become human so he can interact with others and not feel the need to hide or be feared. Perhaps you decide to be helpful and find missing people around the island of Skyloft. Maybe you might need to exorcise a ghost out of a restroom…umm or maybe not.Many characters will give you new items or Gratitude Crystals needed to aid the demon we mentioned before, and some-times you might get discounts at store and make someone fall in love with you. Ah, such is life in the excit-ing world of Skyward Sword.

What makes this game a wonder-ful experience is not only because of the visuals or because of the controls, but rather because of the experience. The colors the enemies, even, make you feel as if you are ac-tually exploring the world of Skyloft and riding it off the evil creatures that have been summoned by the Demon Lord all the while we go on a journey to save the titular girl. The experience, the gameplay, the basic story, the basic everything! It is a magnificent experience not just be-cause it is Zelda, but rather because despite using the same world over and over again, the creators have managed to pull off the beauty of this world by making it both color-ful and dark at the same time. Of course their are many that will

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disagree with us in this regard but then again, who can really please anyone? The game makes up a magnificent experience despite a few faults here and there, that I will admit are far in between but not too bad to not enjoy the game. While the graph-ics may not be turn of the century kind they still offer a rather enjoy-able experience that anyone will be able to enjoy and get along with. Zelda is not just about the adventure or gameplay but about the experience and I must say that Skyward Sword managed to pull that one off. Skyward Sword, is needless to say, the best Zelda game I have played in years; it may not hold as much water now as its pro-decessors did in the past, but it sure has helped the Zelda legend continue to grow as it is now. For now I can honestly say that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, is the greatest title for the Wii, this 2012.

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Floating down from space (quite literally, in some cases) is the sci-fi space epic Mass Effect 3. Set to finish the grand trilogy, the final chapter of the Mass Effect saga is a beautiful one that will keep you on the edge of your seat and emotionally involved. Please note though, that there may be spoilers from the first two games, so if you’ve yet to play them do so now. Mass Effect 3 starts up right where ME2 left off. Commander Shepard has been removed from active duty and placed under ob-servation on Earth, as a result of his direct involvement in destroy-ing a star system. However, it’s not long until the Defense Coun-cil is requesting his presence, as several colonies have stopped checking in and they fear a Reaper invasion – which is exactly what they get. The meeting is stopped short as a full-blown attack is launched on Earth. Now, the only hope for the survival of the galaxy is for Shepard to flee his burning home world to bring as many allies as he can to stop the giant living machines. The tone for this sequel is much darker than its predeces-sors. Unlike the previous games, there is barely any hope to be

found. Your enemies are winning, people are dying, and everything seems to be against you. This bleak outlook that BioWare has created is heart-breaking, but incredibly enjoyable. Throughout your mission to bring aid to Earth, you see every emotion possible: you’ll laugh, cry, smile, and feel anger, regret, and worry. ME3’s story is one that grips you, makes you the center of it all, and takes you on one hell of a wild and exciting ride. Visually, ME3 is one of the best ooking games I’ve ever played. In older games, close-ups on charac-ters reveal a lot of pixilation, some-

MASS EFFECT 3The Battle for Survival has just begun...

thing you won’t find in this latest title. Textures are carefully crafted and look beautiful regardless of distance, and for the first time in the series, they’re pop-free. Every world you visit and person you encounter is incredibly beautiful and easy on the eyes. Animation has taken a step up as well. A big problem with earlier games was that movements looked stiff and ragged, especially in conversations. ME3 takes a more cinematic approach, with people moving about realisti-cally during talks or cutscenes. Greater care has been given to characters’ faces and expressions; Shepard no longer looks like a poorly-crafted doll, and emotions are portrayed realisti-cally and brilliantly. Even the loading screens are visually stunning, depict-ing a shuttle flying over snowy terrain or watching daily traffic on the Cita-del. The scale of things is also rather gorgeous. Watching a two-miles long alien life-form come crashing down to Earth and start blasting lasers everywhere is horrifying, but awe-inspiring. Taking note of a massive space battle happening overhead while you walk through a ruined dock-ing bay is just one of the little things that BioWare has done to take ME3 that extra mile in graphic quality. o, when the war is over, in either victory or defeat, Mass Effect 3 is easily one of

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the best games ever made. With amazing story-telling driven by player choice, fantastic music, beautiful graphics, and some of the most relatable characters, this is one game that no one should miss out on. Just do something about the load times, and noth-ing can stand in its way. If you have yet to experience the Mass Effect universe, what are you waiting for? Pick up all three, book a month (or two) off work, and get cracking; the galaxy will not save itself!

GAMEPLAY: 9.5

SOUND: 9.5

PLAYABILITY: HIGH

CONTROLS: 8.5

FINAL SCORE

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We’re coming back to the track in this new installment of the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS console. While this new installment may not pack the most characters or tracks that the ver-sion of Mario Kart Wii, it still holds a lot of water. Stages that showed beautifully in the Wii version are recreated in this new game in the series. Not only are the stages abso-lutely wonderful, the characters and customized cars make up for a wonderful Mario Kart experi-ence. The main characters are always the same, Mario, Peach, Luigi (my favorite!), Toad, Yoshi, etc. By completing cups, the player is capable of unlocking new characters to play as, like the famous Metal Mario, Honey Bee from the Mario Galaxy games, and a character that previously appeared in a Mario Kart stage and the famous Super Mario World, Wiggler. In total the amount of characters that appear in the game, while not consid-ered a lot, are just enough to en-joy the whole racing experience.(and if you;re wondering the number of racers that you can unlock is nine, adding to the total of eight from the staring racers to

a good 17 racers to choose from). The controls are great in this small version of Mario Kart, and by switching points of view however, allow you to move the 3DS as if you were actually steering the wheel! This gameplay POV change is actu-ally a reminder of the way Mario Kart Wii played with the wheel accessory or without it if you had an extra nunchaku to spare. Now while the stages may not be much or well, a lot either, they do offer a gaming experience that always keeps you on your toes despite playing them over and over again. Like many other, or rather few, racing games, Mario Kart 7 has

MARIO KART 7Engines Ready...Set....GO!

a lot of content to get over with to un-lock new parts for your customizable car by collecting coins on the tracks. Depending on the amount you collect it will give you some random part or an ultra-rare one. Racing against…uh…ghosts too, is one of the options to practice your racing skills in any stage you want. Ghosts are actually data players, if you will, that will test your completion time in a course and see if you can beat their time as well. The game, too, has VS modes which you can play with friends with other 3DS or online, including races. The VS modes are actually either battles or races; battle modes in VS mode involve your character going against

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a set of other players to either collect the most coins, or pop the balloons attached to their kart with a good Blue Shell attack. All and all, the Mario Kart 7 game is a great experience that will keep you going and going until your hands just can’t get enough of it. The gameplay is good, the music is awesome, and the stages are a joy to look at as are the characters. Believe me, picking this game up and playing it hours after hours will never make you bored unless of course you have been watching out for the new Mario game that just came out recently. Of course, there’s no reason to put this game down, for after all when is Mario Kart ever going to become boring, especially if its number seven? Have fun go karting with Bowser, people!

GAMEPLAY: 9

SOUND: 9.5

PLAYABILITY: HIGH

CONTROLS: 9.8

FINAL SCORE

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GAMEPLAY: 8

SOUND: 7.5

PLAYABILITY: MODERARETE

CONTROLS: 8

FINAL SCORE

It all began in a large mansion with four girls, recently adopted by one Mr. Barrows and his wife, Mrs. Barrows. The girls were all happy...but then, the lights went out, all but one girl were gone. What looks like a classic horror movie setup is...exactly that. You play as Jennifer, a recently adopted orphan who along with three other friends make their way to the Barrows Man-sion, their new home. To make it simple; Mrs. Barrows goes miss-ing, Jennifer goes looking for her, lights go out, girls disappear, Jennifer is left alone with a little maniac with giant scissors bent on killing her. I think we got the movie setup all made up. Despite the lack of amazing 3D graphics, the game is a good point-and-click adventure, where your goal is to not only solve puzzles, but make sure Jennifer stays alive long enough to do it. Like any slasher flick out there, Jennifer will be chased by a little demented boy by the name of Bobby, who is nicknamed the Scissorman because of well...the giant scissors he uses to cut people open. While the game is not about jumping or throwing fireballs, it does require the player to use

use their common sense and hide instead of wasting time in a door that won’t open to hide from Bobby before he...you know, kills you. The game is fun and very...scary if you will, thanks to all the jumping and freaking out Bobby gets from the main character. Health is displayed by a small square with Jennifer’s face on it, showing her current mood, which is really useful, tell-ing the player whether she’s close to having a heart attack or good to go or run away from Bobby’s very sharp scissor’s. Unlike most games back in the days of the SNES, Clock Tower features a multiple end-ings system ranking them up from A to H, and playing a new game will move rooms randombly and change item location. A good game for a Halloween night scare, but also a good game to make you be weary of scissors. This game has span a whole series of games that people will be able to enjoy on the Playsta-tion console; why it never did reach other consoles is a mystery though...as well as Bobby and those giant scissors of his.

CLOCK TOWERIt really did seem like a nice house...

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GAMEPLAY: 10

SOUND: 8.5

PLAYABILITY: HIGH

CONTROLS: 9.5

FINAL SCORE

PUSHMO One push, two push, its a little PUSHMO!

Developed by Intelligent Sys-tems -- the same brilliant minds most commonly known for their work on the Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Paper Mario and Wari-oWare franchises -- Pushmo is a beautifully original, absolutely charming and oftentimes devi-ous little portable puzzler. The game casts you as Mallo, a happy, rotund hero who’s tasked with rescuing children who’ve become trapped inside some unique pieces of playground equipment -- the Pushmo. Each Pushmo is a stack of colorful blocks, and Mallo must push, pull and leap across the tops of each individual block in each puzzle to be able to reach the spot at the top where a boxed-in child is waiting to be saved. It’s instantly obvious that this

game was developed specifi-cally for the 3DS, as each Pushmo is presented in a way that maximizes the system’s stereoscopic visual effect. Mallo approaches each stack of blocks at the beginning of each level, and they’re all initially flat-tened back against the background. He then grabs hold of a block and pulls it forward -- into the fore-ground one step -- and it, of course, simultaneously gets “closer” to your face.He can then pull it again to a second, further distance and one last time to a third, furthest-out and closest-to-you distance. It’s incredible. It really shouldn’t seem so impressive, since these aren’t flashy explosions or wild en-emy characters leaping out at you -- they’re just boxes. But these boxes look brilliant in their stereoscopic simplicity. The game’s wonderfully vibrant color palette has probably

got something to do with that, too, since this game world looks like the stuff a Crayola factory worker’s dreams are made of.

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It is that time once more where we here at Gamescom recall the fantastic classics that made our childhood much more easier...or just made us pretend we could actually beat the bully ten times our size that live next door. First up, we must always re-member the best classic of them all, second to Mario and Zelda of course....PACMAN! The king of eating little...yellow balls and ghosts! That’s right folks, those guys living in the late 70s and early 80s will remember their first arcade machine thanks to Pacman; how many sodas did you leave behind at the vending machine to play this baby? I did more than once back in the day ( I also recalled that I was alwasy without money back then, too). Our second game in this section is the famous Legend of Zelda series which began its neverending quest, not in ar-cades, but rather in the Nintendo Entertainment System, the jewel (at the time) of the gaming indus-try. The Legend of Zelda series introduced us to many adven-tures and the chance to explore a world, that while not as real as the one outside my backyard,

captured the imagination of many by being the most awesome thing ever! While we may never know if Zelda kissed Link in the end of the game, we do know that the legend will keep on going on and on until there is a differ-ent story to tell. The next game in our graveyard list is none other than the lesser known Kid Icarus series, where you play as Pit an angel under the service of the goddess Palutena who in turn you must save from the evil Medusa...and yeah, the story is kind of complicated but the game is good! Like the Leg-end of Zelda, Kid Icarus started on the Nintendo Entertaiment System, and made his way to other consoles too...and then he kind of disappeared from the face of the Earth to appear years later in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The Graveyard

The games of the

past...are still alive in

this section!

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(where probably most knew gamers know him from anyway). While not as well-known as the Mario and Zelda series, Kid Icarus surely has made a name for himself and as now thanks to the new Kid Icarus game in the 3DS, many people will get to know the new and improved Pit and might actually care to play his first game ever. Now, finally because we just had to include them here, we come to our final old school game for today’s issue of “The Graveyard”....we all know him as the plumber or zookeeper or whatever man that chased after a monkey that had kidnapped his girlfriend, then years later, he will work the sewers and find strange turtle like creatures before finally arriving in a world parallel to Wonderland, the Mushroom Kingdom, where the mighty Bowser had kidnapped Princess Peach forcing our hero to go and rescue her...and who is that hero, you may ask? Well, the one and only...Super Mario Bros.! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the Super Mario Bros. the first game of the series (not counting the Mario Bros. game before this one) that introduced us to the great Jumpman, Mario, makes his way into the ‘Graveyard’. Considered one of Nintendo’s finest works and Shigeru Miy-amoto’s videogame gem, Super Mario Bros. for the NES was truly an epic game that made you not only have fun stomping turtles or strange mushroom creatures, but to also become frustrated from the many game overs one will get in seconds to come. You play as, obviously, Mario, who is on a quest to save the mysteri-ous Princess Peach from the evil King of the Koopas, Bowser. Soon, after many fake rescues and so many game-overs one will get in seconds to come. You play as, ob-viously, Mario, who is on a quest to save the mysterious Princess Peach from the evil King of the Koopas, Bowser. Soon, after

many fake rescues and so many game overs that will haunt you for the rest of your days, Mario finally finds the real Bowser and defeats him, saving the Princess and the Mushroom Kingdom from his tyran-nical grasp. But, it was thanks to this game that the gem that is known as the Mario Bros. series lives on. Many games have marked the life of many people and gamers and general. They bring us closer to the imagination than some others are led to believe. Games are to enjoy or play with friends, gems like the ones mentioned here need no substitutes. You can enjoy a good game, whether it has good or bad graphics anywhere! But for now, the dead games have to go back into the shadows until they are called again. Our next issue of “The Grave-yard” will continue on Issue 2 of

Gamescom but for today, just enjoy the memories. And also enjoy the good games that will keep on com-ing and coming for the enjoyment of all people that enjoy playing videogames out there!

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THANK YOU....FOR THIS FIRST ISSUE!

We here in Gamescom. want to thank you for your support in this first is-sue of our Videogame Informer Magazine. Thanks to you, we have sold over 1000 copies of this issue throwout the country and for that we are truly grateful. We can not express more joy than to bring you your favorite games, reviews, pre-views, or just about anything we can throw at you for you to enjoy our magazine even more in the future. Once again, thank you for all of your help and thank you, for being there for Gamescom., who in turn will be there to offer you more over the top information about upcoming games and your favorite past times!

Thank you,

Editor of Gamescom.

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