Weekend Wrap Up - 2/16/2014

I almost totally forgot about my plans to include this weekly post. As you can probably tell I've been swamped with work lately. That work load alone has thrown me off course from my regular routine. Between my work with Xcritic, Paradise Theater XxX, and OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno I've had little to no time to myself. People just don't realize how hectic a journalists' job can be. The fact that I put in more time, and effort than most journalists definitely speaks of my dedication to my work though. Despite my one man army approach I'm still doing good to get reviews out to my readers. At the current time though my adult readers are getting more attention due to the consistent flow of review material. Games on the other hand are a slow go this year, and have not been as plentiful as last year. With the new consoles released one would think that the library for next-gen would be growing steadily. Instead PS4 owners, and Xbox One owners are getting short handed with remakes, upgrades, and a pitiful selection of new releases.

Skullgirls Encore (PS3): "The Good, The Bad & The Sugar Coated"

If you missed it a couple of years back a developer by the name 'Autumn Games" co-produced a fighter titled, "Skullgirls" with another development team known as 'Lab Zero Games'. Together these two studios got on board with 'Konami' to bring to the fighting game community what was suppsoed to be a fresh, and innovative take on the 2D fighting game genre. The teams working on the game incorporated impressive hand drawn character animations with a somewhat mature theme, and a fighting system that mirrored that of previous MvC (Marvel vs Capcom) offerings. While there were definitely nods to other fighting games via color palettes, and fighting styles the game did one important thing differently. That thing of course was a way to fight back against spammers. This innovative mechanic allowed spam assaulted players to break free of a combo if the player dishing out the attacks repeated the same combo twice. In essence it did work out properly, but in an unfortunate turn of events exploiters found a way to perform infinites despite the applied mechanic, and in turn ruined the game's intended experience.

Toukiden: The Age of Demons (PS VITA)

The factual, and mythological history of Japan is a rich one. It is filled with fantastical tales of honor, tradition, and the brave warriors of the past who held quick to their beliefs. Just as real Japan carries with it a vastly expansive past rich with it's own time honored traditions so too does Tecmo Koei's latest multiplayer RPG experience. This latest ancient Japanese tribute titled "Toukiden: The Age of Demons" comes complete with a cast of interesting ancient Japanese characters, a mythology all it's own, and a threat that mirrors the real ancient Japan's own mythology. In this tale of bravery, and survival we find a select group of samurai warriors known as "Slayers" who are each standing their ground, and protecting their homelands from the threat of otherworldly soul devouring Oni. Eight years ago during an event called "The Awakening" a portal to the other world opened up releasing upon the land, and it's citizens a hellbent wrath. Oni swarmed the lands for seven days, and seven nights. It wasn't until that last night though that the slayers, the "Bearers of the Eye of Truth" finally made progress, and were able to save a piece of their fading history for the time being.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (PS VITA)

Hope's Peak Academy, a school for the most ultimate of ultimate. No matter what you do in life if it's ultimate then you'll likely be invited to this most prestigious of places. Not only does it offer the best schooling possible, but as a student you are also guaranteed success in life after graduation. This of course is what the unfortunate 15 invited pupils thought as they approached the seemingly normal building. Upon arrival though their world was turned topsy turvy in a truly disturbing, and unexpected manner. Like a twisted horror story ripped from the script of some Twilight Zone episode their lives on the outside world came to an abrupt end as their days of freedom turned into a fight for survival. Motives, murder, and mayhem were only the start to the trials that these unlucky souls would endure.