Monday, July 15, 2013

Pacific Rim (XBLA)



By now most of you have heard about, or even seen the theatrical release of Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim". Myself, being the Guillermo del Toro fan that I am was actually surprised to learn that he was involved in the making of it. It was a pleasant surprise indeed. Not many directors can create/incorporate such unique, and interesting creature designs as Guillermo can. This fact alone was the driving force behind my decision to take on Yuke's latest robotic video game creation. For those of you who don't know of Yuke's they had previously released another robot oriented XBLA title based on the movie "Real Steel". Myself, and other gaming journalists pretty much agreed that that particular film-to-game release was a pure money maker. The DLC needed to customize your dueling robots would set you back a pretty penny, and as a result the game's popularity waned a good bit. Thankfully though Yuke's has returned with a vengeance, and has minimized the dreaded DLC that they had become synonymous with.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Time and Eternity (PS3/PSN)



Through vivid dream-like animations, symphonic music, witty character dialogue, and brilliant voice acting NIS America breathes life into this vibrant fun-filled anime adventure otherwise known as, "Time and Eternity". The plot, as simple as it may seem involves the marital love interests of a pervy husband-to-be, and a seemingly innocent bride-to-be. Toki, the princess of Kazma is soon to be betrothed to her beloved yet quirky knight in shining armor (*INSERT YOUR NAME HERE*). Sadly, as it often goes in such a tale of love-filled fantasy the main wedding event is spoiled by some uninvited guests, and things immediately go from being joyful to grim, and even sorrowful. In this game's moment of tragedy the princesses' long hidden secret is revealed unwillingly as her dual soul "Towa" emerges to save the day. The prince who was mortally wounded is left unable to defend his bride, and sits slumped down watching his precious Toki, now turned Towa take out the assassins single-handedly.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Scourge: Outbreak (XBLA)

These days it seems that creative innovation has been replaced by inspiration, and influence. Often times game developers stick with tried, and true gaming formulas that have proven successful for others in the industry. Sadly enough the developer of Scourge: Outbreak (Tragnarion Studios) has fallen victim to this process of game design, and thinking. In essence the game that they have created comes off as being more of a GoW (Gears of War) clone. It borrows basic ideas from said franchise creating only a semi-unique experience in the process. At the heart of the story there is a corrupt corporation called the "Nogari" who is dealing in biological warfare, and a counter-terrorist group called "Tran" that are at odds with one another. Tran, and it's ECHO squad are ultimately trying to unearth the secret goings on of the Nogari, so that they can expose their intentions to the world. In the process of doing so they meet opposition from within, and outside of their own operations. The three man, and one woman ECHO squad ultimately finds themselves in the midst of a conspiracy that will have them fighting for their lives, and questioning their source of intel as well.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Avatar Miner Paintball (XBLIG)

Over the past few years the xblig marketplace has been littered with avatar oriented indies, and Minecraft clones. As such honesty I find myself often times wondering where originality has gone. Even with this predetermined mindset I went ahead, and gave 2.0 Studios the benefit of the doubt. I thought surely they would add something interesting, or different to this washed out genre of gaming. As one might imagine though what I had hoped for, and what was realized were two very different things. Unfortunately for the most part those things were not good.

100 Yen: The Japanese Arcade Experience

From TAITO's humble beginnings as the world leader in arcade innovation to the modern day Japanese arcade scene director Brad Crawford takes us on a documentary style journey that will no doubt intrigue many of the gamers of today as well as the gamers of yesteryear. For veteran arcade gamers, and at home console players alike the importance of these socially driven experiences will be explained in a manner that all can understand. You'll get to see interviews with Japanese greats such as Clover-TAC (An expert shmup gamer), Daigo "The Beast" Umehara (A Fighting game expert), and even some of our American favorites (Mike Ross, Mike Z ...) who have helped revive recognition of the declining Arcade industry. Along the way you will also gaze upon the many breathtaking sites of Japan, all of which are depicted in glorious HD. You'll even get to see hardcore Japanese gaming enthusiasts hammering out the arcade buttons in hopes of achieving the next world's record.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

MTG 2014 (XBLA): "Double Take"

I know some of you are wondering what this "Double Take" review/article is all about, so I will gladly explain. As a gaming journalist I strive to give accurate details in my reviews, and as thorough as my initial review of MTG 2014 was it ended up seeming more like a "First Impressions" type of article. I absolutely do not like doing things half-assed, and as thorough as that last review was it still seemed half-assed to me. Being the perfectionist that I am I have decided to right my wrongs, and deliver a more in-depth review of MTG 2014. A game like "Magic the Gathering" is truly complex in nature, and takes some quality time to fully understand. As such a gaming journalist like myself should not rush their work just to get the job done. I knew I needed to spend some more time with the game, but at the same time felt that I needed to rush to get the review out there to support the game. For this I apologize. As I mentioned earlier I am here to rectify that wrongdoing though. So, without further adieu, let us get into this beast of a game that is MTG 2014!!!