Plenty of information and media about this fall's upcoming PC title The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Contrast - Xbox One Review
Imagine a world where there is an alternate universe. Not one that is sparsely connected to our own, or a branching path of fate and destiny. One we constantly see all around us, but pay no mind to. A world in the shadows - quite literally, in fact. Where those with the knowledge and power can transverse between the physical world we know and live in, and that of two dimensional shadows. Where the din we cast on the walls around us becomes the landscape for those in this other realm. How would you use this power, if you are a young girl in a broken family? Contrast, the first release from Compulsion Games in Montreal, looks to explore this world through a unique game mechanic that lets you move between these worlds at will.
Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland - PS3 Review
The Atelier games have been around since the late 90's though they have not received much notice outside the JRPG fan base, which is tragic as the games are quite enjoyable. My first encounter with the Atelier games was either Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana or Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis, both for the PlayStation 2 (I had picked them up at the same time and played them simultaneously) and I thoroughly enjoyed the break from the traditional JRPG style. When the opportunity to review the recent re-release of Atelier Rorona (the Plus variant) with an updated battle system amongst other items like a bonus stamp card, a handful of new costumes, as well as some reworked special attack scenes, I jumped on it. Does the Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland re-release build on the already-excellent Atelier Rorona? Read on to find out.
Color Zen Kids - 3DS Review
Color Zen Kids has a fairly basic set of goals in mind with its handheld release. Create a series of puzzles out of cheerful visuals geared toward that group of lower aged humans generally referred to as kids. This is the same formula we have seen on several other platforms, but it still feels more at home on a mobile device than the Wii U's full bodied console alternative.
Color Zen - 3DS Review
The game Color Zen provides what it says in the title - a nice, calm feeling, and all around it is a very happy game to play. Color Zen is good for a brief sit down and play session, and can provide a lot of fun for a long time as well. It is basically a perfect fit for the portable, short burst Nintendo 3DS when you want something on the go or to simply pass a few minutes with.
The Swapper landing on PlayStation soon
One of the upcoming PlayStation titles we have been looking forward to is the puzzle game, The Swapper. Well good news - August 5th we will see it in North America!
Shovel Knight - PC Review
Shovel Knight, by Yacht Club Games, is a game made in 8 bit style, that doesn't take itself too seriously, and excels at it. Instead of regaling you with myriad shovel puns, though, I decided to take the high road and stick purely to reviewing this awesome title... So let us dig in.
Color Zen Kids - Wii U Review
It is great to see indie developers bringing content to consoles now, especially one like the Wii U that often feels starved for more content. A title like Color Zen Kids is not going to move any consoles, but it is a pleasant, relaxing game that is reasonably priced and fits right in on the often family-friendly Wii U console.
A quick look at Abyss Odyssey
One of the more interesting upcoming games has been Abyss Odyssey, which looks like it could be a good deal of fun.
MotoGP 14 - PC Review
I have always been a big fan of racing games. I remember playing RC Pro Am and the original Top Gear as a kid and playing racing games always reminds me of those good old days. As games have evolved the racing genre has always been a solid set of games, giving gamers some of the most breathtaking visuals, amazing crash physics, and most in-depth racing simulations that one can find outside of actually heading to the track to tune your rides for the fastest time. Out of all the different types of racing, from the open-city sandbox style of Forza Horizon to the rally racing of Dirt, gamers have their pick of the type of racing games they can pick up. One of the most over-looked genres of racing is the superbike racing arena, fortunately MotoGP 14 sees that there is a lack of entries into the super bike racing field and tries to fill the void but does it?
A little more Dragon Ball Xenoverse tease
Not much to this tease, but as a big Dragon Ball fan personally, I am curious to see what comes of the new generation console Dragon Ball games.
Last Dream - PC Review
Every RPG fan has that one special experience that brings them into the genre. So when my brother told me that he played what seemed to be a hardcore Final Fantasy I, not only did I raise my eyebrows, but I said sounds like fun and I set out to attempt it. Last Dream is the story of a man who gets separated from his children while on a beach, and he winds up in this mystical realm where he sets out to figure out what happened and if he can make it back.
Ninja Slayer anime announced
Usually, we talk about games here, but sometimes we talk about anime, hardware and other things as well. This is one of those other times with the new Ninja Slayer announcement.
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms - PC Preview
Once upon a time, if someone had mentioned Early Access from Steam I would have looked at them sideways and asked if they were sure about that idea. Now? The idea of being able to have a say in the way that a game evolves is greatly appealing to me. This is especially true with a hack and slash action RPG like Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms from bitComposer Games. There is a real opportunity to see what the developers have in mind, and it is far from a complete game, it is still a lot of fun. The events of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms take place several years after the events of Kult: Heretic Kingdoms and it is currently within it’s early Alpha stage of development.
Magical Beat - PS Vita Review
It can be a real challenge taking an established genre and trying to do enough different with it to make it stand out enough to convince players it is worth their time and dollar. Match three puzzle game. Four words that readily bring to mind games ranging from Columns to Bejeweled and more. How does one go about breathing fresh life into the matching puzzle genre? By making it not just about the matchmaking, but the timing as well. This is what Magical Beat proposes, and by and large it succeeds.
Pro Cycling Manager 2014 screens and trailer
Now out on PC and soon to his the Sony platforms, we can take a look at Pro Cycling Manager right now.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter - Xbox 360 Review
Medal of Honor: Warfighter puts you in the role as a member of Task Force Mako; a team primarily made up of U.S. Navy Seals and, you guessed it, you're on a mission to stop some bad people from doing bad things to assets of the U.S.A. (pretty typical fare, for a modern-day military FPS game).
Battle Princess of Arcadias - PS3 Review
There has been something of a resurgence in the beat 'em up genre over the last year or so. Whether it was seeing an older property given a new gloss of paint such as Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara or the fairly well-received Dragon's Crown. That these two titles had a fantasy theme might also play a factor in the attempt to bring Battle Princess of Arcadias to North America on PlayStation 3.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 - Wii U Review
The Wii U has had its struggles, with a lack of third party support from major publishers. This means that outside of the big first party Nintendo games, it has fallen on smaller development and publishing teams like Little Orbit and Torus Games to try and fill the void. Unfortunately having the license to a great movie has been proven time again to be anything but a guarantee for a great (or even decent) game. How to Train Your Dragon 2 unfortunately continues the trend of mediocrity for licensed games.
Dragonball Z coming to the newest generation consoles
Dragonball Z games are almost always popular releases, and now fans of the series will have something to look forward on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - Xbox 360 Review
Following the same suit that most other first person shooters do, there's an emerging bad guy group that's out to cripple the USA and it's up "Bad Company" to go through and stop them.
AiRace Xeno - Nintendo 3DS Review
AirRace Xeno is a simple enough title that does a good job of simulating speedy futuristic racing, getting most things right and very few wrong along the way. It is not the most spectacular game of its type, and if you have a prior AiRace title in your library it may not feel all that different, but it is hard not to enjoy the ride while it lasts.
Anomaly Defenders - PC Review
The Anomaly series flipped tower defense on it’s head, swapping the player into the role of the ‘creeps’ or, essentially, the assailants. Anomaly Warzone Earth and Anomaly Warzone Korea were two great titles that let you pick your route through enemy towers in a series of campaign levels, rewarding you more for each tower that you destroy. This was dubbed ‘Tower Offense’ and has been a mainstay of the series until now. Anomaly 2 introduced a Tower Offense/Defence mode that pit two people against each other, one person controlling towers, the other the creeps, and let them sort out who was more awesome.
Pre-order DLC for Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn announced
The upcoming Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn is one of the titles our team has been very excited about, so any news is interesting news on that front. The recent news? What kind of pre-order bonus you can get with the game.
Homefront - Xbox 360 Review
Homefront takes place in the near future in rural USA where North Koreans have successfully invaded (and occupied) parts of the western coast of the United States.
The Wolf Among Us - Episode 4: In Sheep's Clothing - PC Review
Since my last experience with The Wolf Among Us from Telltale, I took a bit of time to read about a dozen of the comics themselves. This was partially to get a better sense for the existing universe, characters, and style that writer Bill Willingham created, but it was also because I needed my fix. Though I came into the game as a skeptic about the fairy tale setting, the gritty, almost noir, take really gripped me. Episode 4 was released just recently, and keeps the story moving, but is it enough?
Munin - PC Review
There are some games out there that feel like if nothing is said, nothing will be understood. I’ve played a few of these, confusing 40-80 your RPGs and by the end you are still wondering why everything happened. Sort of like that Big Bang Theory episode when they are told in retribution that even if Indiana Jones was not there, the result would have been the same at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. That’s ok. I’m a Last Crusade fan! Then there are some games that need not speak but that they say volumes. Munin is in this category. Based in Norse Mythology, the Trickster God Loki does what he does best and turns one of Odin’s Ravens, Munin, into a mortal form to walk the realms instead of being able to fly. She sets out into the realms walking on two legs with the aid of the other raven Huginn to recollect her feathers and in by doing so, return to Asgard.
Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment Trailer
One of our more anticipated games of the coming year has some new information and a trailer to go with it!
Crysis 3 - Xbox 360 Review
Crysis 3 takes place 24 years after the events of Crysis 2 in an even more dilapidated New York City where the entire city has changed drastically (due to the events of Crysis 2) over the last two-and-a-half decades.
The Whispered World Special Edition - PC Review
The Whispered World Special Edition by Daedalic Entertainment puts you in the role of Sadwick, a rather depressed clown, and your adventures starts as Sadwick begins his quest to determine the meaning of his recurring nightmares. Through your point-and-click adventure, you will visit all manner beautifully crafted locations. From the simply yet colorful caravan that you start out at, to stunning castles and creepy dilapidated shacks, your journey will take you across the world. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, will the unusual hero Sadwick have what it takes to save this fantastical world?
Pulstar - PC Review
Pulstar is an extremely fast-paced, arcade-style twin-stick shooter that totes no-nonsense gameplay and is brutal in its singular focus; show no mercy. Admittedly I am not very good at twin-stick shooters / bullet-hell style games and thus have stayed away from the genre since playing Ikaruga when it was first released (that game was brutal), but when I got the opportunity to review Pulstar I decided to give the genre a second run. Suffice to say, I am glad that I did.
A whole lot of Atlus trailers
With E3 in the books, there were a ton of trailers that came out. One of our favorite publishers might not have had the stage time that others did though, but they did kick out a ton of trailers worth looking at.
Crysis 2 - Xbox 360 Review
The sequel to Crytek's Crysis from 2007. Crysis 2 starts off shortly after the end of the original Crysis (you can read my review of Crysis here) and start in the instantly recognizable New York Harbor; naturally there are explosions and bullets and water ( the theme for first person shooters at the time was water ... everything seemed to be revolving around water and yes, I'm looking at you Call of Duty and Battlefield games ...).
Ascendant - PC Review
Roguelike-like. An actual term being thrown around in the industry. A true Roguelike is a turn-based RPG game, with procedurally generated maps and permadeath, such as Rogue, Nethack, or the more modern Dungeons of Dredmor. In recent years, the procedural and permadeath aspects have been used in platformers, first person shooters, or top-down action games, while adding in aspects of long-term progression, unlocks, and other new twists. As these new games eschew the turn-based fantasy dungeons of old, die-hard fans of a true Roguelike are very defensive of the term, and Roguelike-like was born.
Not including a female avatar is not the end of Assassin's Creed: Unity
In a fairly rare turn I would like to take a moment to weigh in on the recent 'scandal' and 'outrage' surrounding Ubisoft's decision to not include female avatars in their upcoming games Far Cry 4 and Assassin's Creed: Unity. While we normally stay away from topics like this, avoiding the controversy and trying to stay on the subject of bringing you reviews and previews of games, this particular event is something that I just wanted to discuss a moment.
A dev diary look at Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has been on our radar for a bit, so when we found out about the developer diary, we thought we would share with the rest of the class.
Rayman Origins - PlayStation Vita Review
I will come right out and say it: I am not a real good platforming gamer. At least, not anymore. I used to be. When all the Atari and NES seemed to have to offer was running and jumping, I had those reflexes finely honed. Over the years however, as sports, RPG and strategy games have become my favorites, my skill in platforming has decreased.
Daedalic announces Blackguards 2
We were big fans of the first Blackguards game, reviewing it to a score of 7.5. So when Daedalic Entertainment announced that a sequel was on the way, we were of course excited.
Magic: The Gathering 2015 a trailer and more
We have been covering the Duels of the Planeswalkers games here for years, and with 2015's offering closing in soon, we plan to continue to do so.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified - PS Vita Review
When my wife so kindly bought me my PlayStation Vita early in 2013, she went ahead and nabbed me one of the bundles. At the time there were three released - the Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified and Instant Collection bundles. She opted for the Call of Duty one, which made perfect sense for me.
Rollers of the Realm merges pinball with RPG - seriously
I love pinball games and RPGs are my go-to genre so mixing the two may seem a little strange, but I am most certainly willing to hear this one out.
Hotline Miami - PlayStation Vita Review
Sometimes games just resonate with me right away, sometimes they take some time to sink in and I really appreciate them. Other times, games just fail to click altogether, even if I feel like maybe they should. Hotline Miami for the Vita falls into that third and final category as a game I expected to like based on the reviews it received, but when it came time for me to jump in and give it a try, I was completely unimpressed.
E3 2014: Top games of show and final thoughts
After what has proven to be a very busy week, the team talked about the games that we felt were misses (or just plain missing) during E3 2014. However, all was not lost as there were some genuinely interesting things to come out of the show as well. Here are some of our favorite takeaways from E3 this year.
E3 2014: The Disappointments
A lot of time and effort goes into every year's E3, and many of the reveals and updates are received in different ways from different gamers. A game that may excite one player could cause another's eyes to roll. Sometimes what matters most to someone is not what is shown, but what game or property failed to make an appearance. Here the team talks about the worst of the show, no no-shows.
Space Run - PC Review
Space Run completely surprised me. I was initially approached about reviewing Space Run and I was a bit skeptical about the game; while I love space games, I was unsure how this hybrid tower-defense / ship-building game would turn out. Even though it is being developed by a single-man development studio and early looks and generic summaries do not do this game justice. When I first booted up the game I was greeted with a comically gruff narrator by the name of Buck Mann who explains the world (well, universe) the game takes place in.
Tetris Ultimate - who is ready for some more falling blocks?
I have been playing Tetris since the NES and have acquired it in some fashion on almost every console since. It still has incredibly staying power not only with me, but my family and friends as well. That make this upcoming release that much more exciting for me.
Machinarium - PS Vita Review
What do you get when you mix the charm of Wall-e with a more traditional click and point adventure like those I grew up with on computer? I imagine it would look a lot like Machinarium, which has a good deal going for it, despite these types of games having lost their overall popularity years ago.
All things E3 2014
We have been posting a fair number of articles this week at Chalgyr's Game Room pertaining to E3. Well, we wanted to put it all together in a single page where you could find it below.
E3 2014: A half dozen interesting trailers
There are so many games being thrown around this week, some big and some small. We will have more thoughts about what caught our eye and what let us down tomorrow, but for today we wanted to show off just a handful of trailers in case you missed them.
