Guilty Gear (NS)

Though I've played, and owned most of the other Guilty Gear games I've never, before now, played the original release. I knew it was released on the original PlayStation console, and that the series never really caught on big until later on. Having the chance to experience It though I've gained a new appreciation for the advancements in tech the newer series releases made in the way of in-game mechanics. Though the original Guilty Gear does harbor at least some hints of the series direction taken by Arc System Works in the way of design it is not the perfected fighter that is Revelator/2, or Xrd SIGN. It has it's flaws, and a unique, but never again used Chaos Gauge that was kind of abusive. In the right hands, and with the right character the gauge could be filled multiple times quickly, and the action mechanics used in rapid succession without much pause. There's that, and the Insta-Kills that can be done in the first round ending all rounds thereafter. Before I get too far ahead of myself though I will say that for the asking price of $9.99 it's not a bad deal, regardless. Gameplay maintains a smooth experience across a couple modes of play, and one that offers a bit of an origin story for those looking to see where it all began. With 10 classic characters, and the presence of one that was never seen in such a way again it is truly something to behold, especially for fans of the series and the studio.

Hellmut: The Badass From Hell (NS)

Badassery. It comes in many forms. From heroes doing heroic things to kung fu masters beating the ever-loving daylights out of gangs of misguided miscreants, and more you'll find that there are many different reasons as to why someone would be considered a badass. In the case of this here twin-stick shooter and rogue-like dungeon crawler known as "Hellmut: The Badass From Hell" though said badassery comes in the form of something rather unexpected. In the short-lived story tease we find a mad scientist looking for immortality. Unfortunately for him he creates a DOOM portal situation opening up the gates of hell, and letting loose into the world the devil and his demonic minions. It results in the scientist being blasted into nothing but the remnants of a Sub-Zero Mortal Kombat fatality ... head, spinal cord, and all that jazz ... and has him resurrected as such by a playful DnD style watcher God who decides to toy with his newly found play thing. This old God known as Ka-Ra basically reanimates the mad doctor's remains, and gifts him the ability to shoot projectiles like a shmup spaceship. That, and the ability to mutate into a select variety of hellish minions with their own unique active, and passive abilities. With these newly gifted powers the mad antagonist must face the demons he's let loose, and survive long enough to fight the devil himself.

Golem Gates (PS4)

I've got a joke for you. A MOBA, an RTS game, and Deck Building game walk into a bar ... out walks Golem Gates. I know it's not particularly the funniest thing you've ever read, but it sums up Golem Gates quite well. Golem Gates is it's own take on the whole demons versus angels mythos. One that has MOBA style lane objectives in the form of maps, and RTS and TCG strategy implementation via card decks and resource management. It ultimately pits harbingers of heaven against harbingers of darkness, or hell. As one such heavenly harbinger you must stand your ground against hidden armies of darkness as you make use of their energy sources to create glyphs that can be used to amass your own army of troops as well as defenses and enhancements to keep yourself from being stealth killed by unseen mobs. It is your use of energy, and crafting of glyphs that will allow you to meet various end goals. Whether it be facing, and dealing with like-minded harbingers, or downing generators to cut off power supplies to bigger targets you will need to strategically play the battlefield like a chess master if you hope to prevail.

Octogeddon (NS)

I do so like games with odd blends of retro experiences. They are rare occurrences in the industry, but when done well they can bring together genres in such a way as to revitalize them. Octogeddon just so happens to be one such experience. To me Octogeddon is a game that takes the rolly polly action of Katamari Damacy (Calamari Damacy ... sorry, couldn't help it) at it's base level, and blends it quite nicely with the city destroying antics of Rampage. The gameplay revolves around a disgruntled social media consuming cephalopod with interchangeable arms, and pits him against a world of cruel humans who engage in regular mockery of his species on a Youtube-like streaming platform known as "Stoopstoob". From the display of sea creature butchery to comedy at the expense of octopus kind this tentacled terror finds himself enraged enough to enact Armageddon. Octogeddon, if you will. Using advance DNA splicing he replaces his tentacles with various creature DNA, and even welcomes support of aquatic mates to aid in his wanton destruction of cities, and famous landmarks. Starting with New York City, and the Statue of Liberty he sets out on a mission spanning across oceans and land to put a stop to the stoopidity of Stoopstoob, and the human consumption thereof.