First off, I’d like to quote what I heard somebody say on twitter. “The people behind Duke Nukem should have taken a page from the people behind Matt Hazard. That’s how you keep a franchise alive.”

The first game in the Matt Hazard “series” Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard was more or less a dud at retail, and didn’t do that well in the reviews either. Who would have thought that there would be another game to show up with that branding, and one that was quite a bit better as well?

Quickly, let me tackle the gameplay. Fairly simple, a side scrolling shooting adventure, in the vein of Contra or more recently, a more simple Shadow Complex. It plays well, including the shooting into the background, but quite frankly, its almost too simple. There isn’t much to vary the gameplay, even with some varied guns and different bosses. If it wasn’t for this next thing the game would just be an alright side-scrolling shooter. Don’t get me wrong however, the gameplay that it does have does work and play well without any issue.

Mirrors Edge anyone?

The real star, the real entertaining part of this game comes with its humor. For those who don’t know, the series is based off the idea that Matt Hazard is a video game star that started his career all the way back in the 1980’s and has been in every game possible since. The first game parodied different games and gameplay, but fell short. Here, they stripped the idea of making parody of the different gameplay, but the environments and slight changes in enemies parody everything from Mirror’s Edge to Mario. They also take a good amount of time making fun of itself, including Matt Hazard himself commenting how the last title can be found in bargain bins everywhere. Sadly, the parodies of other games stop at the environments and chat mostly. Utilizing the properties a bit more would probably have put this up as a top XBLA title for me. Even so, that part plus the willingness to make fun of itself completely creates an entertaining experience that fits well with the Xbox Live Arcade model. However, it may be a bit pricy at $15 for what really equates to one good playthrough.

Simply put, Matt Hazard is a much better entry in the series, still with some things they could work on. The main issue of lack of variety creates a lack of having a lot of replay value. Even so, the first playthrough is great. The premise of the whole series is one that is entertaining and different enough that it earns entertainment points in that itself. If they continue the series, and the next is as much of an improvement as this one to the last, we might have a hit on our hands.

Even Johnny 5 from Short Circuit made an appearance.

Simply put, Serious Sam HD is old school. It’s a revamp of a older game, but not as old as it feels. The original was only made in 2001 and then, it was in a way a homage to shooters from the early days. Gone are the more in depth storylines and cover systems. The more personal battles and intelligent AI are done away with as well. Instead we have a straight up first person shooter in all its big gun glory. Masses of enemies are thrown at you and you have more than enough firepower to take it on.

Now just because this game is lacking those newer conventions doesn’t mean this game is easy. There are hordes of enemies, of all different types, including my favorite, the headless men running at you with bombs in hand, basically ready for suicide. And when they come, they come from all sides it seems. Thankfully, for some reason, they scream…. the whole way in. That, along with charging skeletons, mini-gun toting giant scorpions, and plenty of other off the wall enemies makes for a fun, if not frustrating solo experience.

The gold in this game really comes from getting a friend (or up to 15) in the co-op campaign. Instead of a fun but frustrating experience, it slowly turns in a war with you and your buddy(ies) vs all. The hordes of enemies are much more manageable, and unlike some co-op, this adds zero complication as all you need to do is shoot stuff, got it?

The weapons vary from your beginning pistol to a handheld cannon, literally shooting cannonballs at your enemies. By the end you tend to shy away from the early guns like the pistols and shotguns, but have to go back more often than you would like as ammo seems to run short more often than you would like. Still there is enough bigger better weapons by the end that you usually are able to take down most of the enemies in a large encounter if not all before you get down to those options.

Serious Sam HD is fun, do not get that wrong, however, for a lot of people, it may feel a bit old, and a little to simple. The encounters are scripted, A.I. stupid, and gameplay basic. And for those achivement whores our there this isn’t going to be your easiest 200 points either. however if you look back to the old days shooters, or just need to mow down some enemies and vent some steam, this just might be the ticket.

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is available on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Here at 360Sync we like to stay involved with our community, in places like the comments, Twitter, and Xbox Live. There is one little thing when it comes to our gaming though, we can get a little competitive, as I’m sure it does with many of you as well.

So why not join us in a Gamerscore Challenge over at 360Voice! Just follow this link and get signed up and ready for a race to see who can gain the most points in two weeks. We aren’t going to be starting for a few days so we can get everybody signed up that wants to. So if you have a few easy ones coming up, you may want to save them. See you there and good luck! Feel free to do a little pre-challenge trash talk as well.

Challenge is scheduled to start the 25th, but the date may change. Also, yes there are going to be prizes involved, but those have not been decided 100% at this time.

Another thing you should notice is that in the previous two challenges, there seems to be a trend showing. As you can see here and here, the winners both earned close to 3500 gamerscore, and 2nd place about 3200. Yes I know the lengths of the challenges were different, but maybe there is only so much gamerscore whoring that can go on? It also seems that the front runners are never safe as there have been up to 3000 point days, so this really is open for anyone to win right up to the end.

As you probably know, along with Halo 3 ODST came 3 more multiplayer maps for Halo 3 (on a disc with all the maps). With those maps, came 3 more hidden skulls, and you can finally complete a few achievements in Halo 3 that I’m sure has been bugging a few of you. Now where are these skulls? Let me show you.

Citadel

Heretic

Longshore

Sneaking out to the marketplace yesterday without much fanfare was the demo for the upcoming over the top game Wet. I personally haven’t seen to much about this game before, but first impressions have me thinking it’s fun, but I worry that the craziness of the gameplay will get dull and repetitive over time. If they are able to keep the feeling fresh, the game could be a lot of fun overall. Either way add it to your download queue, and while you are waiting, check out the carnage.

As usual, follow through to youtube to watch in HD.

Here you go, the long awaited 3rd episode of the official podcast of 360Sync.com is here, and as you may have guessed, the main topic of conversation is The Update. By that I mean the update to the Xbox 360 dashboard, and all the entertainment and controversy that entails.

As you may have noticed, there has been an issue getting the show completely on schedule, but, as people (such as myself) move to new locations soon and daily schedules change, the show should soon be cruising along at an even pace soon. Also, hopefully no more things like one that caused this delay (problem) will happen again anytime soon.

Don’t forget to contact us with anything you want to say, have be said, or ask about at our podcast email address: Synccast [at] 360Sync [dot] com. Oh, and anybody want to watch a movie.…

iTunes Subscription Link

Sync-cast RSS Feed (You will need to rename this as it inherits the same name as our official RSS feed.)

Update: Challenge starts Midnight Pacific Standard Time (7/29/09 00:00), so get going! Follow the action here! Good luck!

Here at 360Sync we like to stay involved with our community, in places like the forums, twitter, and Xbox Live. As you can tell, we are also a bit competitive, and I’m sure a lot of you are too. As such, it’s time for another Gamerscore Challenge. Like last time, it’s hosted over at 360Voice. Just follow this link, sign up, and prepare for 14 days of points gaining action. The challenge will start in a few more days so 360Voice can get all maintenance out of the way. Feel free to talk some trash in the comments/forum, and there may be a prize or two given out randomly to people who join… you never know….

Sometimes around here, we get distracted by things that may or may not be within our control.  School, is not within our control, but ADD attacks might, ever so slightly, be within our control. Neither is the red-ring of death, under our control. Most likely, it was due to a combination of all these things and others.  Due to these circumstances, we don’t always finish things on time, or at all.  Because of such things, I bring you, one of those things we like to call, a “Lost Chronicle”.

Most of you should remember, or at least have an idea of what Space Invaders is. Enemies come across the screen, down 1, reverse direction, and repeat. Your goal is to kill all before they get to you. Fairly simple, and worked for it’s time, but when I first heard of this new revamp last year before it’s handheld release I was quite skeptical. Fast forward a year as I had forgotten all about it, and here it shows up on XBLA. Quick hint on how this will go… Pac Man Championship Edition.

The game still plays along with the classic concept of the enemies coming down, but the rate and style is way different. They come in waves, with different bonus enemies for different special stages, and after conquering enough waves a large boss enemy shows up to take down. The graphics also work quite well with using the classic look of the sprites of the original, but adding a Rez HD/Pac-ManCE type graphics and music to it to create a fun experience that seems to fit perfectly with Xbox Live Arcade.

There is also plenty of power-ups to gain with killing a certain color of enemy in a row, for bombs, multi-shot, and laser weapons.

Graphics: Mix of the classic look with Current-gen for a good, if sometimes hectic, look.

Sounds: The pulsating sounds and music could be one of the best things about this game, along with the beat being felt in your controller.

Xbox Live: There is a co-op mode for the single player levels, that works fairly well… when you aren’t being plagued with lag. Not as bad as some XBLA games, but still not great either.

Best Experience: Realizing that Space Invaders isn’t a dead concept and enjoying it all over again.

Biggest Complaint: That the online co-op doesn’t work great, and the stupid deaths that sometimes happen.

Will You Continue Playing: Definitely. The concept has lasted this long for a reason.

Final Thoughts: The game is based on a classic formula that if had been just replicated, it would be a complete pass. But with the updates to style and tweaks and additions to the gameplay makes for a fun new experience with a classic feel.

The DLC is also already out and is a nice little pack with 3 new stages, 3 new bosses, and adds emulations for the classic Space Invaders as well. All for 240 points, which isn’t too bad at all.

Space Invaders Extreme

Sometimes around here, we get distracted by things that may or may not be within our control.  School, is not within our control, but ADD attacks might, ever so slightly, be within our control. Neither is the red-ring of death, under our control. Most likely, it was due to a combination of all these things and others.  Due to these circumstances, we don’t always finish things on time. Because of such things, I bring you, one of those things we like to call, a “Lost Chronicle”.

Ah yes Lode Runner. Another classic revamp for Xbox Live Arcade. The gameplay was fairly simple in it’s original incarnation, but unique at its time. Run up and down all over platforms and ladders, avoiding and trapping enemies in holes created by you, all the while, trying to gather all the gold on the level. Fun and simple formula, that I have always loved.

Then here comes Tozai games, the same people that brought us R-Type Dimensions, with this new version of Lode Runner. Like a lot of these classic revamps recently, Tozai has done a great job bringing this franchise up to this generation without losing it’s classic feel.

First thing they did change was take away the classic gameplays shovel and replace it with a blaster, which may sound stupid, but actually was a smart move on their part. It allows you to travel to more than just places with dirt/sand to dig up with your shovel and them to vary your backgrounds a bit. Not the biggest change of course, but a good one none the less.

There are a few single player modes, Journey, which is one level after another, 5 worlds in all, more or less the classic mode. Next up is Hang-On, which has you enter a level, and try to gather as much gold and last the longest, while more and more enemies keep on coming. It’s quite hectic, but a lot of fun. My personal favorite is the Puzzle mode. First off they are quite simple puzzles, but after a time, there is puzzles where every step you take has to be right and quick as they get quite intricate. There is also a Level Editor, with the ability to share, which is a fantastic addition to any of these 2D games, and I wish more had them.

Graphics: A colorful smooth scheme with new graphics over the classic look. Much better than just trying to upgrade classic graphics to HD.

Sounds: Good enough, with a decent soundtrack to boot.

Xbox Live: Best part is the ability to share levels by far.

Best Experience: Pulling off some of the escapes from enemies just barely is a blast.

Biggest Complaint: The 1200 point price does seem a bit steep, but there is a lot of value here, and done with a lot of love for the product.

Will You Continue Playing: Definitely. Need to get through all those puzzles.

Final Thoughts: Lode Runner for the Xbox Live Arcade is a very well done upgrade to the classic franchise. Plenty of modes for different people (I could almost recommend it on the puzzles alone) and smooth fun gameplay definitely makes it a must have for any XBLA fan.

Lode Runner Marketplace

Well hello everybody. I’m Sedington, and I’m proud to bring you the true first episode of the 360Sync-cast. In this episode we discuss everything E3, big announcements, hands on time, and a bit of speculating as well. Enjoy!

There are some things we want to do differently than other podcasts:

• Keeping it short – We’re going to try to keep our podcasts to under an hour, so that it doesn’t drag on forever.
• Music extra – At the end of every episode we’ll have different full outtro music for you, all with a gaming feel to it.
• No randomness – We’ll try to keep all the random conversations to a minimum, of course, unless you guys like it.

Here are your options for the show:

Listen Live:

iTunes Subscription Link incoming, bear with us, iTunes is having “technical difficulties.”

Sync-cast RSS Feed (You will need to rename this as it inherits the same name as our official RSS feed.)

Download Directly

Music this week:

Fast Turtle – Anamanaguchi