Pillars of Eternity was an awesome game - I sunk a good deal of time into it personally. I am also a huge fan of strategy card games. So this announcement really caught my eye.
Month in Review - May
Looks like it’s that time of the month again! See everything that we’ve been up to and catch up on anything you may have missed.
Is the Vita now a legacy system or not? Sony's message is confusing - Gaming Thoughts
It was not terribly long ago that I was a bit down on Nintendo for their various mixed messaging to customers. Now Sony is giving us a taste of the same. It was first mentioned a couple of days ago that SCE chief executive officer Andrew House referred to the PS Vita as a legacy system. As the internet is prone to doing, many people kind of lost their minds over this as the Vita has been touted as a big part of Sony's plans going forward, including pairing it with the PS4. Since then there has been a bit of backtracking on the part of Sony.
More news on the upcoming Lord of Magna title
We have been following this title for a while, and there is more information available about the game now.
RPG Maker 2003 - PC Review
RPG Maker 2003 is a much older version of the software that has only just recently been translated and localized. In the years since many have seen and used the later versions of XP, VX, and VX Ace. I have personally spent hours upon hours trying to make even the tiniest of games and there is always this wall that comes up blocking further progress. This was generally due to either a lack of more ideas or complete hard drive crashes and the loss of data.
Brawl - PS4 Review
I love a good four player local multiplayer game where everyone can be in the same room to yell at one another regardless of what happened so when the idea of Brawl came around I figured it would be perfect as I already had several people coming over that I could throw controllers into their hands. Knowing that it was like Bomberman was going to make for an interesting experience due to the creepy music, macabre artwork, and special powers.
Through the Woods looking to spook players early next year
I admit it - horror games are one of my favorites genres. As such, almost every new one at least catches my eye and Through the Woods has done just that so far.
Toren - PS4 Review
Toren is an interesting Arthouse title that comes to us from a Brazilian Indie developer Swordtales who even had backing from their government which is not something that we see everyday. Players will find themselves in the literal growing shoes of the Moonchild on her quest to restore the moon into the sky through a beautifully designed tower named Toren to end the stasis of time from the raging sun.
Golem Arcana Base Game Set - Tabletop and Board Games Review
I love board games. I love video games. I love when the two hobbies can come together successfully. Generally that means that a traditional board game is developed for the PC or a console. However, Golem Arcana flips that script around by building a strategic board game with some video game sensibilities that help with community structure and streamlining of the gameplay. The end result? Something that feels genuinely unique.
The Bard's Tale IV coming to Kickstarter on June 2nd
The Bard's Tale has quite the legacy, so to hear that the franchise has a future installment planned is pretty great news.
Kingdom Wars 2: Battles - PC Preview
Kingdom Wars II: Battles aims to merge numerous elements from different styles of game play. Primarily real-time strategy, Kingdom Wars II: Battles also incorporates a playing card game while bringing in elements of long-term crafting strategies, fast-paced city-building, and skirmish-style siege combat. With KWII: Battles, Reverie World Studios is working to provide old-school RTS gamers with something both new and familiar, but does it work with Kingdom Wars II: Battles? Read on to learn more about this Early Access title.
Half-Life: Blue Shift - PC Review
Half-Life was such a memorable and unforgettable experience for many, for me, for you, for anyone who played it and left with a huge smile of satisfaction on their faces. Naturally, people wanted more of said experience; a sequel was imperative. But Valve, the developer, not exactly known for their punctuality (bluntly speaking, they're worse at keeping time than John Romero), they finally came up with a sequel 6 years later (which was totally, totally worth the wait). That's a lot of years - so many in fact that you need an extra hand to count on - and a lot of the fans were getting impatient.
Koei Tecmo unveils the cast of the upcoming Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess
I love the information slowly leaking out on this updated version of the most recent Deception title. While it is lacking in trailers and images, the information is still a good tease for the game that is less than two months away.
Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones - Retro Reflections
You had to know that this one was coming eventually, right? After all of the time I spent talking about the Double Dragon Trilogy arcade titles brought to Steam recently, and my Retro Reflections on Double Dragon and Double Dragon II: The Revenge, it was pretty much inevitable I was going to revisit Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones for the NES. Problem is - I always hated this game.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Pathfinder Unchained - Tabletop and Board Games Review
I find the premise behind Pathfinder Unchained to be incredibly interesting. Take a tried and true series, but let's break a bunch of the rules we have previously put in place. That is not to say there was anything wrong with the base system - in fact I am a huge fan of it personally. But variety is good, and I often feel as though the best tabletop RPG products are the ones that provide ideas but give you room to improvise. Here it feels like the development team has had a chance to share their own improvisations, and by and large they are a great way to add variety to the system.
Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition announced
Divinity: Original Sin was one of our favorite titles last year. It was a glorious homage to old school RPGs with plenty of modern day sensibility. So this particular announcement really caught my attention.
Street Fighter 2 - Retro Reflections
If you haven’t played Street Fighter 2 then you… are younger than me! I put a lot of coins in this arcade every day after school back in 1992/1993 and along with Tower of Doom it was my favorite Capcom game.
Memorable Music in Gaming #5
In our continuing effort to try and bring more than just reviews, previews, retros and news to the table, we have another Memorable Music in gaming. This one has a decidedly older school feel to it.
A look at the upcoming game Giana Sisters: Dream Runners
Giana Sisters was a fairly bit surprise hit when it came out, so naturally there are some eyes on the upcoming Giana Sisters: Dream Runners. The dev team at Black Forest Games has given us just a bit of an inside glance into the inner workings of the upcoming title.
Deathtrap - Play Time
Deathtrap brilliantly mingled action with tower defense to create a game that Pierre-Yves was incredibly fond of. PY took the time to go ahead and record some Play Time sessions of the game, so you can see it for yourself.
Command and Conquer: Renegade - Retro Reflections
Command and Conquer: Renegade is a first person shooter based on the famous real time strategy series∙ I found it in the “C&C: the first decade’ collection for the PC.
Nobunaga getting a North American and European release
Now, this one hits home especially well for me, because I first cut my strategy game loving teeth on Nobunaga's Ambition for the NES many, many moons ago. As a kid I loved the KOEI games and their take on historical strategy (as well as fantasy titles like Bandit Kings of Ancient China). I don't even want to guess how many hours in total I sunk into these games - and for me it all started with Nobunaga.
Rise of the Runelords for Hero Lab - PC Review
Hero Lab is not a game, but an accessory for getting the most out of your game. It supports several different gaming systems such as Shadowrun, World of Darkness, Mutants & Masterminds and more. The specific expansion I was interested in was the Rise of Runelords module for Pathfinder, which we talked about recently before its release.
Mionix NAOS 8200 Laser Gaming Mouse - Hardware Review
We recently had the good luck to review Mionix's excellent Zibal 60 mechanical keyboard and have now gotten our hands on their flagship gaming mouse, the NAOS 8200. For those that are unaware, Mionix is a small company based out of Sweden that is dedicated to making the world's best performing gaming mouse and the NAOS 8200 is what they came up with. Is it really "the world's best performing gaming mouse?" Read on to find out more.
Ark brings open-world dinosaur adventures to PC and consoles
Admit it - you want to fly or ride on top of a dinosaur. I'm pretty sure ninety percent of kids envisioned doing this. Well, that childhood dream may be coming true in the upcoming Ark: Survival Evolved.
Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King - Tabletop and Board Games Review
Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King is the latest release from Soda Pop Miniatures and Ninja Division and is a miniatures-based board game. The Forgotten King "expansion" is less of an expansion and more of a 1.5 "re-release" where you have additional content and game modes as well as tweaked rules. With the success of the original release, Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King looks to expand the lore-heavy, fast-paced "hack-and-slash" style dungeon crawling world of Crystalia. Does it succeed?
MLB 15: The Show - PS4 Review
More of a home run than a grand slam, MLB 15: The Show provides ample baseball action and plenty of tweaks and lesser improvements without taking any great strides in evolving itself. The end result is a really good game that is still a lot of fun to play, but does not feel all that different from past iterations.
A first look at Amnesia: Memories
Idea Factory is at it again, and I am always interested in a new IP. Here we have information on the basic story, some of the features and plenty of assets as well.
Gratuitous Space Battles 2 - PC Review
What does one honestly say about a game that was already excellently designed? For starters, Gratuitous Space Battles 2 is now out of the beta stage and into full release for your epic space fleet battling needs.
Phantasmal - PC Preview
Halloween may still be months away, but if the recent buzz about P.T.'s removal from the PS4 store tells us anything, gamers like their scare-fests. Well, Phantasmal should help to address that particular itch as it provides plenty of tension as you navigate procedurally generated levels.
Swords & Soldiers II - trailer and other news
Swords & Soldiers was a really solid game that took a lot of people (myself included) by surprise. As a result, any and all news about the upcoming sequel next week.
Order of Battle: Pacific - PC Review
At a glance, The Order of Battle: Pacific feels like a game you and I have played before. The visuals, the layout of the maps, the way units travel and more all reminded me very heavily of the older Panzer titles I used to sink so much time into. That was a good first impression, truth be told, because I am a huge fan of the Panzer games. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a lot more to this game than first met the eye once I dug into it.
Memorable Music in Gaming #4
It's been a while since we last took a look at some of the more memorable soundtracks in gaming. Hamza, our newest member of the team, has decided to share his thoughts on the matter on a more regular basis - so you should see more like this coming soon.
Plenty of Lost Dimension news here
I am a huuuuge tactical RPG fan, so I have been following Lost Dimension for a while now. Well, a trailer plus a host of news came from Atlus today. Let's take a look.
Axiom Verge - PC Review
In 1987, the world first met Samus Aran, and I fell in love. In '91 and '94, we collectively enjoyed the second and third games, and the Metroidvania subgenre was born. 2002's Metroid Fusion was the original reason I bought a GBA, and the reboot of Metroid 1 in 2004 was the last we heard of the 2D Metroid series.
Vulgus - Retro Reflections
You can’t get more ‘old school’ than the strangely named Vulgus. This is Capcom’s first arcade game, released in 1984, and can be found in ‘Capcom classics collection-vol. 1’.
DMC 4 Special Edition arriving in June
This update to the 2008 release looks like it could be pretty sharp. I enjoyed Capcom's somewhat recent DMC update for the new generation of consoles and hope that this one gets a similar amount of love from the team.
Wasteland 2 Game of the Year Edition - a free upgrade
What's better than Wasteland 2? Not much according to Robert in his review. However, a Game of the Year Edition might just be one of the few answers to that question. Making it free for existing users? That seems like an even better answer.
The Sega Saturn turned 20 (part two, games 10-1) - Gaming Thoughts
Yesterday we talked about the Sega Saturn (which recently turned 20 years old) and began a countdown of the best games released the tragically short-lived console. Today we take a look at our top ten - which game is number one? The answer might surprise you.
Sayonara UmiharaKawase + - PS Vita Review
Sayonara UmiharaKawase + is a platformer that follows a woman on her adventure through a crazy land jumping over obstacles, rappelling down ledges, and swinging over pits and death traps armed with nothing more than her fishing rod. Then again when mounted up against what people have generally seen between animes, mangas, and video games as a whole. It’s not that crazy.
Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star coming soon
We were fans of Ar nosurge when it first released on the PS3, so the news that an updated version will be making its way to the Vita in the near future is welcome indeed.
The Sega Saturn turned 20 (part one, games 20-11) - Gaming Thoughts
Sega has released some of the most memorable consoles in gaming between the Genesis and the Dreamcast. The Sega Saturn however, was a console that just never really took off at all, which was a shame because there were some very good games for it - but some early mistakes kept the system from ever really getting solid footing.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon - 3DS Review
Atlus has been a roll of late when it comes to experimenting outside of “what usually works”. Persona Q was a perfect example of how a serious Dungeon Crawler like Etrian Odyssey could be when merged with the much more story designed machinations of the Shin Megami Tensei Persona sub-series. Cracking at the edges once again with an almost make it or break it mentality, Etrian Mystery Dungeon makes it by challenging you in the fashion that Roguelikes are so good at.
Operation Abyss gets a new trailer
Not a whole lot to say about this one. The NIS America title for Vita is releasing in North America on June 9th, 2015 (and June 5th for our EU readers). It will be getting a physical and digital release. But now? We have a shiny new trailer for it.
Shovel Knight - Xbox One Review
I would like to start this off by declaring 'Game of the Year', and finish it off with 'what a year that was'.
In all seriousness though, this is going to be a contender for my Game of the Year. It might not be new to you, but this is the first time that I’ve played Shovel Knight. Having been released on just about all the consoles and the PC, it feels as though the best was saved for last. the Xbox One provides Battletoads. Sorry Kratos, but these guys were one of the best parts of my childhood.
In all seriousness though, this is going to be a contender for my Game of the Year. It might not be new to you, but this is the first time that I’ve played Shovel Knight. Having been released on just about all the consoles and the PC, it feels as though the best was saved for last. the Xbox One provides Battletoads. Sorry Kratos, but these guys were one of the best parts of my childhood.
Exanima - PC Preview
At a glance, Exanima looks a lot like other isometric RPG dungeon crawlers. Visually it might harken back to an earlier age in computer gaming, but this is a very different kind of beast altogether. As such, it requires a substantial investment to make any significant headway, but the potential for a fun, unique game is definitely here.
New screens for Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3: V Generation
The Hyperdimension games tend to get a lot of coverage around here, so I am more than happy to share some of the first English translated screenshots for the upcoming Vita title.
Shovel Knight - PS4 Review
Shovel Knight is a love letter to classic gaming. Thankfully it manages to be fresh, taking current gaming conventions and playing them out against all kinds of classic NES throwbacks. The end result is a charming, challenging experience that would have been at home on any number of consoles over the years, but still feels perfect on the PlayStation 4 as well.
8-Bit Adventures: The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition - PC Review
A few years back a large amount of gamers never would have thought that “retro” gaming was “cool”. Actually this topic comes up often enough between just Breanna alone whenever I pick one up even for just my own amusement. Part of it comes from the lack of having grown up with that generation of gaming and not having the nostalgia factor, while another part comes from those who need the level of graphics that the AAA titles provide.
Phantasmal, a Survival Horror Game That is Never the Same Twice, Now Available on Steam Early Access
I like horror games, so I am always always willing to give a new one a chance. I have my doubts on the effectiveness of procedurally generated horror games however, finding scripted events to be more effective from a narrative standpoint, but I'm always willing to be proven wrong.
