MTG: The Secretist Pt.1-3 (Kindle, NOOK, ebook)

Magic the Gathering novella author, and website producer Doug Beyer brings to us a vividly fleshed out tale of one of MTG's (Magic the Gathering's) most powerful Planeswalkers, Jace Beleren. If you've played the "MTG: Duels of the Planeswalkers" video games then you'll likely recognize that the name "Jace Beleren" belongs to the Planeswalker/Mind Mage who is sporting the mystical blue cloak. In this particular story arch the author takes us, and Jace on a thrilling adventure to uncover an unknown power that has been locked away ages ago by the Guildmasters of Ravnica within it's maze-like streets. Jace, and a couple of his fellow companions (Emmara of the Selesnya Guild & Kavin a Valdalkian) not only find themselves in the midst of the mysterious findings, but also find themselves collectively threatened by various Guilds of Ravnica's Ten Districts.

CastleStorm (XBLA)

Zen Studios is a gaming company that is mainly known for their amazing arcade style pinball releases. I for one have spent many hours enjoying the various tables that they have created on both the Xbox 360, and PS3 consoles. I have even spread the word on the latest table releases here on this blog. While most of Zen Studio's early focus was on the previously mentioned pinball consoles releases it was nice to see Zen Studios branch out recently, and bring their award worthy games to different platforms (Mobile & PC). What surprised, and intrigued me the most about this developer though was their decision to make a type of game that gamers usually don't associate with the Zen Studios brand of gaming. This newly released game I speak of is none other than "CastleStorm". It's a unique medieval arcade style experience that seems to borrow the quirkiness of Zen Studio's "Epic Quest" Zen Pinball/Pinball FX2 table. It even takes the inspiration leaps and bounds further. The game definitely offers a lot more than it's pinball based predecessors, and does so in an entirely new way. Whether, or not the gaming community will welcome it with open arms remains to be seen though.

BattleBlock Theater (XBLA)

Recently I was blessed enough to have a friend give me a code for The Behemoth's "BattleBlock Theater". I had tried my hardest to get a code from the source, but it turned out to be another failed attempt. Thankfully though @WOLFZKRIEGER did have a code to spare, and because he was so kind I'm able to deliver this review to you (my readers). My thanks goes out to him for his generosity. I will definitely try my best to not let anyone down with this review, and believe me I've already somewhat preplanned what I'm going to say. I'm hoping that by some chance in hell I'll be able at least add a minute hint of humor to my review since this game is overflowing with many "LOL!" moments. It only seems right to me.

Next-Gen Console Discussion w/OtakuDante

Okay. So here I am sitting in front of my PC as mother nature takes a proper sh*t on my day. I figure why not type up my thoughts about the Xbox One, and the PS4 while I await my untimely demise. As most of you are aware I've been very opinionated these past several months with the way gaming in general has turned out. I've bought game after game for both the PS3 & Xbox 360 in hopes of finding something worth my time and money. Unfortunately with each game purchase I've found nothing but half-assed releases, and games that are almost immediately overrun by the worst sorts of gamers (hackers, lagswitchers ...). It is this growing trend of game development half-assery, and online tomfoolery that have me worried the most about the offerings of next-gen consoles. Are the console developers, and main gaming companies going to be able to produce noteworthy products/titles? Are they going to be able to offer a secure online experience with a proper reporting/banning system, or is it going to be a repeat of what we are experiencing now? These are the things that concern me. Sure the blocking of used games is a bummer, and always online seems a little fishy, but my worries lie mainly with the social aspects of gaming consoles.

Tiny Token Empires (PSN)

When I first watched the trailer for Tiny Token Empires I honestly did not know what to make of it. I noticed that it seemed to feature some sort of "RISK" style of gameplay, but that it also featured some puzzle gameplay similar to that of various PopCap games. Needless to say it had me intrigued enough to want to see what it was all about. After contacting the French developer (BiP Media), and discussing the usual review arrangement I immediately got started on trying to figure the game out, so that I could relay what I found to you guys. Unfortunately as it sometimes goes with reviews I found myself not only struggling to understand the game, but I also found it damn near impossible to put what I was seeing into words. I knew I had my work cut out for me, and there was no doubt in my mind I'd be spending more time than usual learning the ropes of "Tiny Token Empires".

PESTER (XBLIG)

Earlier on this year, or late last year I decided to buy an indie shmup from the XBLIG marketplace with the spare 80 msp that I had left over. The shmup I speak of was titled "Super Killer Hornet", and it was developed by Flump Studios. It featured unique classic shmup (shoot 'em up) gameplay with an interesting mathematical power-up system. It was this math based feature that really caught my attention, and held it for quite some time. The math system had definitely added an edge that you would not expect from an arcade style shmup, and it seemed to fit in perfectly. For some reason though I totally lost track of the developer's name over the months, and thought that "Super Killer Hornet" would likely be this developer's only XBLIG release.

Thankfully though Flump Studios has made a return with a new shmup title, and they seemingly intend on bringing more innovative shmups to the XBLIG marketplace in the months to come. Today though I'll be reviewing a recently released Flump Studios shmup titled "Pester". Unlike the previous shmup title it pays homage to the classic arcade experience of old with numerous features, and modes that the older generation of gamers will be able to relate to.