The Humble Indie Bundle 5

So, a new Humble Bundle has come out, and I know some people are feeling like these Humble Bundles are a bit overdone.  I will agree that the games found in the last one or two did not particularly appeal to me, but wow - this new one?  Pretty slick in my opinion.

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Epic Mickey 2, Mass Effect 3, Frozen Synapse, MTG, Dead Space 3... it's screenshot time!

Everyone likes pictures. Video games are very visual (hence 'video' games) - well, there's several games I saw some screenshots of yesterday that I thought I'd share this morning.

I have a review for Frozen synapse coming soon - it was a title that surprised me, but that I enjoyed quite a bit.  Mode 7 Games has announced that they have a Red expansion coming, and here's a couple of those images.

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Otaku Gaming: Demon's Souls, Pokemon White/Black 2, Atelier, Tales, Agarest, Resident Evil and more!

Despite not being around quite as much as I would like over the last week, I have gotten quite a few posts up both here and at Otaku Gaming.  I'll start with the oldest stories and work up to the most recent.  That starts us off then with the announcement of Record of Agarest War 2 and its limited edition.

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Back from the extended weekend - several games to touch on

First off - I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Mine was spent in large part with my dad who is up visiting from Florida, but I still managed to get a lot of gaming in this week and some this weekend (with my son nabbing even more than I did I think).  Probably my happiest gaming announcement?  I beam Final Fantasy XIII-2 finally - and beat it thoroughly.  This is my first PlayStation 3 Platinum Trophy and I'm fairly close to level 11 on my PlayStation Network ID as well.  I enjoyed the game quite a bit - review coming soon.

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Warsong - Sega Genesis: Possibly the best strategy game you never played - Retro Reflections

Given my recent article about the Sega Genesis, I thought it only appropriate to discuss one of my favorite Genesis games of all-time.

Okay, there is a chance you played it - but I would guess it's unlikely.  This gem of a game came out for the Sega Genesis (and was called Langrisser overseas).  I am not sure what inspired me to pick it up at the time.  I had heard nothing about this game in any of the magazines I read, none of my friends had played it, but something about it caught my eye when I was mulling what game to purchase next.

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Happy Birthday to meeeee - Reflecting back on the Sega Genesis

So, for starters - it's my Birthday!

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Hope you all had a good weekend!

So, if you try to get every fragment in Final Fantasy XIII-2 - it can take awhile.  I learned this, as I still have like 13 to go out of 160, and I'm sitting at just over 53 hours played so far.  Still, I'm enjoying it and nearly 'done' with the game I suspect.  I spent way too many hours sitting on the sofa playing it this weekend while my wife was out of town.

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So, what's on tap this weekend?

I have a few games I am still trying to get through.  Record of Agarest War Zero is definitely a time-sink, no doubt about it.  My backlog is building up pretty badly of late.  My daughter sent me these pictures though recently, and while I'm envious of the setup, I have to wonder what their backlog is like:

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Something's... different...

So, basically - I got bored earlier on my lunch break, and I decided to go with a new, brighter theme for spring (so I'm a month or two late, minor details).  Anyway - I've been toying around with the idea of coming up with three or four different Blogger layouts for awhile now.

Basically the design and functionality is almost completely unchanged, but the background pictures and the color schemes are obviously quite a bit different.  If you hate it and want to see the old one come back?  I've got thick skin (or is it a thick head?  I always get those two confused) and want to hear about it.  If you like it?  That would be cool too.  If you're indifferent?  Well, that's fine by me.  But if people do seem to dig it, I may fiddle around with making two more to occasionally cycle through. 

It was just way too nice of a day outside today, and seeing that darkly themed blog just seemed out of place - so this is the result. :)

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Puzzle Kingdom - Wii Review

Puzzle games have always been popular in my house - whether it is Tetris or Dr. Mario to the newer breed such as 7 Wonders, Puzzle Quest or Gyromancer.  It is sometimes tough finding a game most of my family will enjoy - my wife in particular.  The Sims, Mario Kart and Puzzle Quest are a few of the titles that seem to appeal to everyone.  When we saw Puzzle Kingdom at the store, my wife wanted to pick it up, so pick it up we did.

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Diable III, Mario Kart 7 update for 3DS, Magic: The Gathering - Gaming thoughts...

Just a few quick blurbs this morning as I try to get through my week.  I may be a bit light on posting over the next few weeks.  I'll have a few things scheduled, but with Memorial Day coming up, my dad visiting from Florida, a family outing to an amusement park planned and of course - a couple of new games that I need to hunker down and review - I may be busy.  And by this time next week, I'll hopefully be playing a little game known as Diablo III.

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7 Wonders - PSP Review

I'm going with one of those newer, lightweight reviews I have been using lately to talk about a game that my wife and I are quite divided on.  The title is 7 Wonders for the PSP, and it is one of the many puzzle games that use the 'match three' recipe that Columns and Bejeweled has been using for so long now.  What makes this game a bit different is the framework around it.  Instead of working within a rectangular space, you actually are trying to build 'shapes' like a pillar or a circle.  You are also pitted against a time and tasked with trying to lower cornerstones to the bottom of the screen where an animated worker will then diligently picked it up and and put it where it belongs as they build the shape.

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Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - PSP Review

This is another quick, light review of a title that has proven very popular with my household.  This is actually one of the first games we acquired for our PSP back when my wife got it for me for Christmas several years ago, and I wrote this review for it on another site, and thought I would share it on here.

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The Elder Scrolls Online - Gaming Thoughts...

I admit that sometimes I am amazed at how angry or worried gamers can get about release announcements.  The excitement I have come to expect, but the apprehension still surprises me at times.  Not that it should - games as media are far more interactive than music, movies or books.  As a result, our level of investment increases as well.  It is a major part of why we play these games - because we become immersed and feel we have a stake in the outcome.

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Random blogging thoughts

Nothing special here, just randomly started to tweak my layout a bit today, then decided I hated the idea of doing THAT much re-tweaking.  I went with a new, slightly light-themed banner at the top with more recent games I had been playing.  Then, I thought about trying to change around the blog itself.  Not hugely, but something lighter in color scheme. I started dabbling with images:

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Enslaved: Odyssey to the West - Xbox 360 Review

This is more of a light review than the fuller, more technical ones I usually offer.  I am planning to post a few more of these here and there.  Titles that maybe for one reason or another I never got to fully play through because I rented or borrowed them, or got to play them at a friend's house and just never got the full experience and time alone with the game I would normally expect of myself before posting a full review of it.

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Capcom Classics Collection Remixed - PSP Review

I am a bit of a sucker for collection games, and they feel right at home for me on a portable unit like the PSP.  I think because they do not need to push any technical limits and tend to play just fine on the system, but they can house quite a few titles as well.  There are a lot of words packed into this game's title, but there are quite a few games as well.

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Demon's Souls, Dead or Alive 5, Person 4 Golden and more at Otaku Gaming

Good morning - I hope you all have a nice weekend and survived Monday with flying colors.  The last week was a busy one for me at Otaku Gaming with quite a few screenshots and announcements that I would like to point out.  A bit later on the week, I'll touch on my thoughts on The Elder Scrolls Online on this blog, continue to drop some more reviews on slightly older games and more. 

Also, for those of you new to my blog, I have a links page listed below my banner and a blog roll in the far right tab of the right sidebar here.  There are so many great gaming sites and blogs out here, and when I get a chance I like to call them out in relevant posts, but don't just wait for me to do that.  I realize that not everyone's blog is for everyone, but there are some really interesting reviews, opinions, announcements and more to be found on this collection of sites.  If you are reading this and you don't see your site linked/blog rolled and want me to?  Feel free to drop me a comment in this article or an email at Chalgyr@yahoo.com and I'd be more than happy to add you.

Gamers are a community unto themselves and those of us passionate enough about our hobby to share our thoughts through blog posts and comments are yet another community that we should take advantage of. 

Now, then - a recap of my articles on Otaku Gaming last week...

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Warlock: Master of the Arcane Trailer - Game Guide

One title that has seen quite a few hits on my site over the last week or so has been Warlock: Master of the Arcane.  I have put up a couple of posts about this game already, and I have spoken to a few people who played and really enjoyed the demo on Steam.

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Dark Scavenger - PC Review

I will admit that this was a game I had heard nothing about, despite getting mentioned on Destructoid and winning an honorable mention at an indie games convention.  When our friends at Digitally Downloaded asked me if I wanted to review it, I said sure!  Dark Scavenger is a mesh of genres, with a sort of over-the-top sci-fi story presented in a hybrid point-and-click adventure game with a somewhat more traditional RPG combat system.

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Are consoles going to be too online dependent?

I have a ton of reviews (some quick ones, a few longer) set to go over the next week or so, but in the meantime - I hope you all have a great weekend while I depart with these thoughts:

That title might sound odd - but keep in mind I'm not saying that consoles should not have online - I think it's a great feature and should be used.  But is it going to be taken too far in the next generation of consoles?  Based on what I've been reading, it's a possibility.

Without a doubt, one of the greatest achievements during this generation of video game consoles was the access to online community.  Some of the consoles did it better than others (We're looking at you, Nintendo Wii - here's hopes you get it right with the Wii U), while computer gamers have enjoyed this sort of connectivity for years before there was a PlayStation Network or Xbox Live.  The ability to play with friends, have conversations through voice chat, get updates to gaming content and watch player-made videos have really helped make this generation of gaming consoles the most successful to date because it appealed to a broader base of people and gave them a means of sharing these experiences.

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Magic: The Gathering - nope... not the video games

Wow - I hit 50 followers last night.  I'm pretty excited about that! :)  So, how about a slightly different post as a result?  It's still gaming related, just not VIDEO gaming related... (but seriously - I really appreciate those of you who come here, and read what I babble on about.  I'm sure my wife does too, because now I have an outlet for talking gaming that is not just her having to smile and nod at me).  Moving on...

I've always been a big fan of Magic: The Gathering.  Well, I can't say 'always'.  I wasn't a first edition player.  I came into things around 4th edition/Ice Age.  I went back and bought cards from prior sets though, once I got into it, and I played for several years quite regularly.

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Gaming Deals on 5/2/12

Just a quick post listing out a handful of the gaming deals out there as of the middle of this week.  I'll lead off with the somewhat disappointing showing by Xbox Live Gold - they have the Battlefield 3 expansion discounted.  Not a bad deal I guess in and of itself, but seeing as I have the game for PS 3 and haven't seen a Gold deal I've liked in over a month, I'm a bit disappointed by this one too.

Steam has Bastion for 60% off on its Midweek Madness, placing it at a pretty solid $5.99.  Their daily deal still has about 4 1/2 hours left on it as of writing this, called Crazy Machines Complete Pack - half off, so $24.99.  It's also worth noting that I have been hearing good things about the Warlock: Master of the Arcane demo, and that my site's been seeing a fair number of hits off from people looking that one up.  One blog I follow said it was like Civ meeting fantasy/Dungeons & Dragons.  Not a bad combination to aspire for in my opinion.  At $20, I may be looking at that one when it comes out May 8th.

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ZEN Pinball iOS tables trailer - The Avengers!

I'm a big fan of Zen Pinball - I've given it very good reviews on the PSN both for its classic tables as well as the Marvel ones I have played (there are some new ones I plan to comment on soon).  I just picked it up for my 3DS recently as well.

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Some IndieGala, God of War: Ascension and posts at Otaku Gaming

Happy May!  Welcome to a new month - and to kick off the month, I have some gaming info to share with the rest of the class! :)

First off, there's a little title called God of War: Ascension coming out in the somewhat near future.  As a big fan of the earlier titles (the only one I haven't played yet is the 2nd PSP title - I plan to get the collection eventually - mmm... trophies), I have to say I'm excited about this one.

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