The Awakened Fate Ultimatum (PS3)

In our world governed by gods, and choices the rights, and wrongs of society can often times become blurred into various shades of grey making judgment, or the lack thereof a most difficult task. Deciding what is wrong, and what is right in a just manner definitely depends on seeing the situation from all angles, or both sides. In a similarly decisive fashion NISA's latest follow-up release of "The Awakened Fate Ultimatum" tries, in it's own way to pose the ultimate question to the gamer regarding what is right, and what is wrong when it comes to one's personal beliefs on life's many choices. Is it good to be on the side of evil, or is it evil to be on the side of good? These are two questions that the newly crowned God of Celestia must answer for himself as he scrambles to make sense of his unusual, and wholly demanding predicament. As such the protagonist who unwillingly fills the shoes of Celestia's God (Shin Kamikaze), and whom you role play as will find that he must act, and react carefully lest he ends up making the wrong decision regarding these two age old questions. Being God in the fight for the angels is definitely not a job for the faint of heart, and Shin finds that out alongside of you as you take the weight of the world on your shoulders, and decide the fate of both angels, and devils alike.

Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype & Last Chapter DLC (PS VITA)

Taking on it's own unique lore within a futuristic timeline of war ridden events, eastasiasoft's "Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype" aims to capture the audience's attention with hardcore Gradius style shoot 'em up action. If you are not familiar with Gradius, or the Soldner-X franchise they are two side scrolling score based shooters that basically have you piloting an upgradeable spaceship while blasting other enemy ships out of the sky amidst screen filling bullet hell spray. Unlike Gradius though, Soldner-X and it's "Final Prototype" follow-up features groundbreaking HD visuals in the form of rotating, and milti-layered moving background environments as well as eye catching ship designs that are anything, but generic. One thing in particular that sets the Soldner-X series apart from other side-scrolling shmups is the fact that the immersive audio soundtrack that accompanies it makes you feel as if you are a part of the action. In fact the female announcer this time around talks to you as if you are an actual Soldner-X pilot fighting the good fight in a universe being threatened by the oppressive D'aarg. There are plenty of bullets to dodge, and bosses to fight as you make your way through stage after stage racking up that high score while completing your mission as a designated Soldner-X fighter jet pilot. Just know that it will take some serious skill to make it to the top of the rankings, and some serious skill to also save the universe without losing all of your ship stock!

March's Comic Book Pick-ups

My collection is slowly increasing each month. I blame my dedication to gaming, and the expenses therein on the slow incline. I guess it's good that I'm gaining back my comic book collection though. Anyways, last week I once again took a trip to the local "Area 52" to see what new number ones, and series offerings they had in stock. At first I was going to just pick up series follow-ups that I had begun collecting from issue one, but a chance encounter with a female store patron clued me into the fact that the store had some variant covers of the latest Darth Vader spin-off, so I nabbed a couple pricey issues limiting my follow-up purchases to a single issue of "Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. #3", and the first issue of IMAGE's "Defender" on top of everything else. I do wish I had more money to spend on comics, but sadly gaming is a frontrunner for my monthly spending.

Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters (PS3/PS VITA)

Ghost hunting, and the theme of ghosts in general are two topics that are explored in a lighthearted fashion within the world of Toybox Inc.'s new interactive visual novel, "Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters". The tale itself begins rather abruptly with you put in the thick of it's plot as the main character 'Ryusuke Touma'. You are given little explanation of why it is that you are there other than the the information gained through your initial tasked duties of conversing with the Kurenai academy students, and staff who appear before you. This commonplace RPG socialization which is done through multiple choice actions, and reactions (via two five point wheel apps) gets you acquainted with the main characters of interest, and helps you eventually become a part of a secret ghost hunting society known as "The Gatekeepers Inc". It is this rag tag group of individuals led by Chizuru (a mature secretary type woman) who ultimately discovers your unique ability that enables you to see ghosts, and in doing so they recruit you for a job that is not unlike that of a Scooby-Doo, or Ghostbusters team member. There are plenty of otherworldly hijinks as you, Chizuru, Sadoi the driver, Sengen the support specialist, Kyosuge the rocker, Mifune the troubled school girl, and the rest of the gang do business as modern-day exorcists for hire. Between the tasks of organization, the actual job completion, and the breaks thereafter the episodic track by track set of encounters will draw you ever closer to finding the truth about the life hereafter, and those who work with you behind the scene as mediators, "The Gatekeepers Inc".

'DOA5: Last Round' PS4 Impressions (Patch 1.02)

Dead or Alive is, and always will be one of the more unique 3D fighters out there. It utilizes a simple button layout, and combat system that is both easy to pick up, and difficult to master. Veteran players of the series will know exactly what I speak of. From it's early beginnings to the iterations of late the series continues to try to improve upon it's in-game, and out of game offerings. You'll find an upgrade to the visuals, more characters to play as, and plenty of sexy new DLC costumes to throw your hard earned money at. DOA5: Last Round, in particular aims to be the ultimate version of a game that began as a free-to-play model on the Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 consoles earlier in 2013/2014. In "DOA5: Last Round" you'll find an all inclusive roster of characters, an entirely separate tutorial mode, and some extra costumes that weren't initially obtainable outside of a DLC purchase. While the graphics are definitely a step above what last-gen offered with the new additions included in the mix you will still find that the game suffers from some old, and newer problems ...