Street Fighter's Impact On My Interest In Fighting Games Plus USF4 Code Contest!!!

I've told this story a few times on this blog. A story about how I grew up in an extremely religious home with parents who frowned upon violent entertainment, and who strictly adhered to the various ratings systems implemented across the entirety of the entertainment industry. I mentioned that it wasn't until my 13th birthday (through some begging & desperate pleading) that I was able to convince my mother to buy me "Street Fighter II: Championship Edition" for the Sega Genesis as a birthday present. Of course after that big feat my world opened up in huge ways allowing me to enjoy various other fighting games, and violent video games while not being strictly monitored or chastised for doing so. Street Fighter, more or less, was my gateway into fighting games and so much more. Some things to my moral detriment ... certain adult things. That aside I have invested years of my life in playing, enjoying, and learning fighting games. None more so than Street Fighter though. It is for that very reason I decided to pre-order Capcom's "Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection". I wanted to relive the moments I experienced as I played through the various series entries in the Street Fighter game library, and after having picked up my copy today I aim to do just that. I don't expect the games to be as impressive as they were the first time around, but the trip down memory lane will be more than worth the $40 asking price. At least to me.

Riddled Corpses EX Mixes Old School Mob Brawlers With Shmup Mechanics

Complete with two co-op score based modes, and a cooperative story mode with five stages of progression CowCat Games, and Diabolical Minds challenges the gamer or gamers to take on one of the most grueling fights for apocalyptic survival ever! Whether you love the oldschool appeal of the side-scrolling wave filled brawlers, or the arcade shoot' em ups of old you will find tons of replay value in this story driven fight against the evil of all evils. A furious fight against an evil which has, and continues to resurrect the dead in order to destroy all of humanity. Through a character upgrade system that alters gun play Gradius-style, and unlockables in the form of other characters and weapons with their own unique combat offerings you will face wave after wave of the undead in an attempt to best the true prince of darkness. The ultimate end goal being a complete story playthrough, or an arcade mode playthrough. Each with a different way to experience the trek through madness. That and one of the most difficult static survival modes to ever grace the shmup genre!

Fighting The Fighting Game Con

I know I'll likely catch flak from the fighting game community, and be passed over for future fighting game reviews, but what I'm about to share with you comes from a deep love, and understanding of a genre that has the potential to be good. Potential that is yet to be realized, because of greed.

Modern fighting games, for all intents and purposes, are a cash grab. Plain, and simple. Though the eSports venues, and competitive scene goers/participants would try and have you believe otherwise there is a reason no one else outside of the perceived viewership window is truly "getting good", and why we don't see new professionals coming into the spotlight as often as one would expect given the hype surrounding competitive gaming. The fighting games of today are ultimately, and purposefully being pitched at the most lucrative gaming crowd ever to grace the gaming industry purely for money sake. That gaming crowd being the casuals. Casual gamers have shown time, and time again they'll blindly follow games and gaming trends if they can look cool to their friends and audience. The keyword being "look". Developers, and publishers aren't dumb, and they fully realize what attracts gamers to the casual scene. They know it's a mixture of faux competition, bragging rights, and plenty of flash added in for extra special effect. What this means to developers is that they can develop, and shovel out incomplete games that simply look, and feel the part year after year with little effort put into the game's competitive infrastructure. They know they have the casuals conditioned to accept this same meaningless routine experience regardless of the lack of competitive value provided. That experience being a year long shelf life of the vanilla version, and other slightly upgraded releases down the line with a few new bits and baubles introduced to keep things fresh enough for casual consumer appeal.

Through Action Packed Capitalism "Penny Punching Princess" Spins A Common Narrative

Socialism, and Capitalism ... it's a touchy topic of discussion for many, and like those many debating the very nature of the roles each side plays in society NISA has also jumped on the bandwagon through this very game. Albeit on more neutral and enlightening terms. Through a comical story with an obvious point to be made we find an heir to the throne of a tyrannical kingdom that was lost to the lure of capitalism. Money overpowered the powerful, as it were. At the heart of the tale being told is a penny punching plot of revenge where the princess and her Miya stag beetle companion Sebastian use the very capitalistic tools that destroyed their king, and kingdom to fight the powerful mob-like presence that is the Dragoloan Empire. With a powerful punch that produces coin, skills that kill, and a calculator that allows the bribing of monsters the Princess, and Sebastian set forth to rebuild castle Tyrannical's influence, and it's population by the very means it was taken down.

Digerati Distribution's Monster Slayers Proves Fun Is Better Than Facade

Some games look amazing, but play poorly. Other games look somewhat primitive, but are tons of fun. I think the latter category is where "Monster Slayers" falls. It's not particularly the best looking indie, but it's rogue-like elements, and strategy RPG mechanics come together in such a manner as to make each playthrough just as fun as the first. Saying "Monster Slayers" is simply a rogue-like strategy RPG wouldn't do it justice though. It is a game inspired by a particular Hearthstone creator's work, and it has it's own unique card battle system in play along with several randomized elements.

The game, like many games in the genre features a cast of class based characters you can choose from, and visually/audibly customize for personality sake. Each class of characters whether it be the rogue, archer, knight, barbarian, dragon, merchant, or any of the remaining class options therein has an underlying class based perk or perks that change the way the player approaches battles in the game. The knight, for example, is a defensive character that can dabble in spells, and strong physical attacks. Others, of course, are a tilted balance of offense, defense, and a particular set of uniquely applied skills. While they all differ according to class they each can use their given AP (action points), HP (health points), MP (mana points), and card collection in the same manner to best the monstrous baddies that lie in wait in the equally rogue-like dungeon areas. Their action points along with their mana points will allow for the usage of color coded, and function varied cards (Attack, Defense, Support, Magic, Interrupt/Counter Spells). The cards, like just about everything else in the game, are initially randomized, and are offered in a class specific manner. Choosing the cards to play in the turn based combat sequences will weigh heavily on that characters' survival. Along the way they'll also pick up companions with helpful cool down focused skills of their own that can be utilized as well as gear/weapons, and additional cards or attribute boosts that can be equipped to better sustain them as they journey from dungeon to dungeon battling the lesser monsters, and even the monsters of legend.

The Battle Hardened Edition Of Dragon's Crown Pro Gets A New Bonus!

For those of you wise enough to have pre-ordered Dragon's Crown Pro from Gamestop you will have gotten, today, the "Battle-Hardened Edition" of the game. This simply means that the game comes packaged with a raised art inclusive steel book case (which is really nice), and a sealed card pack containing exclusive cards made to look like the game's character skills and common skills cards. They look a lot like tarot cards with George Kamitani art on the face of the cards. One thing I forgot to mention about the game in my review is that the soundtrack has been redone by composer Hitoshi Sakimoto. Also included is all of the storytelling (narration voice DLC) including that of the Japanese narrations. The updated game is also 4K optional, and contains cross-play functionality with the ability to import previous PS3, and PS Vita game saves. This is the penultimate version of 'Dragon's Crown'. I hope you didn't pass it up!

Rainbite's Playstation Indie "Reverie" Blends Two Nintendo Favorites While Doing It's Own Thing

As the PR description so boldly stated Rainbite's "Reverie" is inspired by games like "The Legend of Zelda", and "Earthbound". It features the retro dungeon exploring, and village antics that such games harbor. While there is definitely some inspirational elements at play from said games Reverie does good to create it's own unique lore via a story unfolding within a story. What I mean by that is that the game at hand begins by telling a tale akin to a Hawaiian fable regarding brothers who set out to sea to catch some fish. One of which fished up an island leaving the other brothers to be envious. In their jealousy the unlucky brothers drowned the brother who had found the island, and in that moment became bound by a curse on the very island that was discovered. Once this tale is established via story panels, and told through a textual conversation between two off screen characters we find out that the protagonist is a young boy named Tai who is aboard a ship bound for that very fabled locale. He is there to visit his Grandfather, and it is through that meeting of different generations that what once was considered legend comes to life in the form of an epic adventure. Tai ultimately sets out to calm the cursed brothers, and bring stability to the island community after an unusual earthquake shakes the land around them. He faces many worldly, and otherworldly threats along the way as he collects the relics needed to put all of the brothers to rest.

Vanillaware's "Dragon's Crown Pro" Returns To The Playstation In Glorious 4K Or Not!!!

I thought I'd never see Dragon's Crown reemerge on modern consoles. I thought it had lived it's course, and was long forgotten. Perhaps a gem, but forgotten. Thankfully that is not the case though, and a new generation of gamers can enjoy the experience in full with upgraded visuals to boot. For those of you who are new to Vanillaware games, George Kamitani's artwork, or Dragon's Crown you will find in place a fantasy masterpiece brought to life in the form of animated art. It is a beautiful side-scrolling co-op brawler with it's own slightly inspired story, a brilliantly read narration, and a cast of characters that make all the onscreen action worthwhile. You can go at it alone with NPC allies, or join up via the Playstation network with players across the globe. It is one of those buddy games that breaks the bounds of couch co-op, and brings to the gamer a competent online adventure that is worth taking on time, and time again.

Funcom's Take On Conan's Epic Adventures Harkens Back To The Source Material Ultimately Falling Short Of Such Grand Visage

Conan Exiles, for me, conjures up old memories of watching Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the leading role of Conan in the 1980's film adaptations about the fabled barbarian. The heavy drumbeats, the bloody battles, and the scantily clad females who at some point bared half of their lady parts for the audience to stare at comes to mind. It also reminds me of my favorite artistic masterpieces from fantasy painters such as Boris Vallejo which also featured some mature themes as well as the more tame story driven works of comic book artists presenting their own unique renditions of the hero's many adventures. I can imagine it does the same for a lot of you that are my age. At first glance, and first view it would appear to carry such an inspiration even down to the partial nudity, but as I found out hours into it, it's not quite as purely inspired or directed in that sense.

Before I got into the game I took it upon myself to view the trailers as I tend to do for potential game review prospects, and for me that was the initial selling point. That's what made me want to review "Conan Exiles". What I saw in the cinematic intros was a Conan tale more akin to the original source material, and less like the Hollywood counterpart. A Conan I was truly excited to see. Much like the classic stories, and works of art that surround Conan the barbarian this game did go deeper into the lore through character creation details, and within the world in which you survive, build, and dominate. As the intro catchphrase so boldly states in regards to it's mission directive. For that alone I was impressed. When it came to the actual gameplay aspect though I was thrown a slight curve as it didn't seem to hold that initially inspired passion. In saying that I felt the hours I spent surviving, building, and dominating were more along the lines of a game not as inspired by Conan as it could have been. The core focus of gameplay ended up being mostly influenced by games like ARK though much more refined, and tolerable with a Conan theme tacked on.

The Parable Of The Farmer And The Rabbits And How It Pertains To The Gaming Industry

These days the gaming industry providers, and creators are so wholly focused on the money making aspect of what they do that they are losing creativity, originality, and quality in their greedy pursuit. It is this reason that I shared on Twitter a short parable with a moral breakdown regarding what such a focus can, and will do to big business. I urge you to share the parable, and for industry persons to take heed of it. It's a valuable lesson even though it's mildly applied. Enjoy the read!

I Got So Triggered By Bread Team's "Phantom Trigger" I Rage Quit The Review!

Very rarely, if ever do I have to cut a playthrough short, and give up on a game. This, unfortunately, happened early on with Bread Team's "Phantom Trigger". The reason behind this was not so much that the game lacked in quality or was functionally bad, but more so that the game lacked any sense of direction. It lacked a control explanation, menu explanation, and a tutorial explaining the game's mechanics. The developer seemed to want the gamer to figure everything out on their own. This cannot be done in a game that is this complex, and unique even with prior knowledge of seemingly similar video game experiences. All I was able to learn was that a husband, for some unknown reason, passed out after his wife told him she couldn't cook him pancakes. It went from this to an alien world that was truly alien. Nothing made sense at all. Through button mashing I was able to figure out that the new alien protagonist had two types of attacks/abilities that could be used to clear certain environmental objects as well as help in the solving of puzzles via color coded means though. I also figured out that these abilities/weapons level up as you use them. Outside of that there was a menu system brought up by pressing the DPad directions. Beyond that fact I couldn't make heads or tails of the menu's function or purpose. It was like falling down the rabbit hole in Alice's Wonderland, and trying to make sense of the nonsensical. An impossible feat.