The Goo podcast has a lot to answer for. Specifically, the episodes ‘ExtraLife08’ and ‘ExtraLife09’.
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Podcasts can Save the World
July 24, 2010 By 2 Comments
Hands On with Persona 3 Portable (Combat Edition)
July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Persona 3 was an interesting release back in 2007, coming as it did almost two years after the 360 (one year for PS3 and Wii). It could easily have been one of many forgotten gems, buried in the sand to be discovered only by the adventurous RPG archeologists among us. Luckily, P3 is a fantastic game with a unique flavor of its own. It not only survived its initial North American release but got a follow-up “expansion” a year later. Riding on that success, it has now been ported to the PSP as of the 15th of July.
While the game is not for everyone, after 25 hours of playtime I’ve come up with a quick recipe that may tell you if you’re a candidate for its enjoyment. You take the dungeon crawling and adventure aspect of Shining in the Darkness (or the dungeon crawling bits of Etrian Odyssey, if you don’t remember Shining) and you add a tiny dash of Pokemon catch-em-all madness and teenagers shooting themselves in the head while sprinkling in large dose of Japanese eccentricity. When you’re done stuffing that into the disc you tie it all up with a mysterious plot involving the end of the world you’ve got the beginnings of Persona 3. For the sake of brevity I’m only going to concern myself with the combat and exploration elements of the game, but be advised that there’s a whole lot more to this package. Sound good? Let’s continue.
“Seriously?!” – SSF4 Celebrity Picks
July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment
You didn’t think only normal, sweaty palmed, gamers played Super Street Fighter 4 did you? Of course not. I have it on good authority that plenty of celebrities enjoy a little pixel combat from time to time. I bet that you, like me, wonder all the time what characters some of those people you see on the news would play. Well, wonder no more! I took the liberty of sending some monitor cyborgs interviewers to check out a couple of key targets.
Intuitive, As Opposed to Better
June 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I apologize in advance if this seems only tangentially related to gaming but it seems a good time, with Kinect and Move evangelists flailing about, to speak to the topic of alternate UI and control schemes. Whether you love them, or hate them, chances are that when it comes down to discussing Kinect, Move, Wii waggle or voice control you’re missing the point. As a hobbyist developer I feel fairly comfortable in telling you that UI design is brutally difficult, so much so that it’s easy to believe UI stands for Unintuitive Interactions rather than User Interface. I’m not trying to be an apologist here, I’m simply pointing out a truth. [Read more...]
Cautiously Optimistic – Now in 3D!
May 28, 2010 By 5 Comments
As usual, the first people to be publically excited about new innovations in the entertainment space are the manufacturers of said innovations. This year’s electronics shows have borne many 3D gadgets, from the long array of televisions announced at CES to Nintendo’s promise of a 3D handheld this E3. In response to all of this beating of drums the overwhelming gamer response I keep hearing in regards to 3D is a growing chorus of groans. [Read more...]
Versus: Online Multiplayer, Downloading the Right to Play
May 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Scott: Last week, completely unbeknownst to one another, two of our community writers inadvertently wrote about the same topic. Equally coincidental, they had some differing viewpoints on it. What I’ve done here is compile them in what I hope is an objective and summarizing look at the issue on hand. This kicks off what I hope will be our first of many “versus” articles here. Enjoy. [Read more...]
Top 5 Dungeon Crawlers
March 17, 2010 By 1 Comment
Scott’s news that Bethesda is publishing a new co-op dungeon crawler got me digging out my old favorites, and it inspired me to compile a Top 5. Even though dungeon crawling action-rpgs are a sub-genre in themselves, within that I see at least four obvious styles:
• Classic Rogue-like, just you against a dungeon. With terrifying perma-death…
• Single-player with shops and quests – maybe a pet, too.
• Parties with NPCs. These tend to be more traditional rpgs, albeit with trimmed down combat systems.
• Multiplayer, local (console), and online (PC) with parties
It has to be said that the best dungeon crawlers have probably been on PC over the years, but as a committed console and arcade gamer my top 5 tends to lean toward the latter style, more specifically local co-op, and will probably be different from most peoples’ choices. I’m sure most of you will be horrified at the omission of Diablo (I only played the inferior playstation version, with its use of 10 memory card blocks!!). And I haven’t played Torchlight yet. But hey, here are my TOP 5 DUNGEON CRAWLERS: [Read more...]
White Knight Chronicles
March 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Everywhere I look, the best reviews for White Knight Chronicles (WKC) are saying “meh.” Metacritic has a rating of 65 for it. The complaints range from the graphics are PS2.5 to the single player story complaints of the “princess in is in another castle.” I look at these reviews and think, “no way am I going to drop $60 on a game with all these problems.” Even still, I did. Not only did I buy it, but in three weeks of owning the game I put 100 hours into it, while working full time, being a husband and dad. For me, how can the critics be so wrong? [Read more...]
Walking the Line: The Industry’s New Obsession With Linearity
March 11, 2010 By 1 Comment
Note: This article was written prior to the release of FFXIII, but Scott’s lazy ass didn’t get around to publishing it until now. I’d like to thank thecabbage for his infinite patience, and now we can easily point out how right or wrong he is. Thank you – the management. 
As reviews pour in for Final Fantasy XIII, one word seems to be cropping up again and again: Linear. Most reviewers seem to suggest linearity as the key component that will divide fans of the series. I’m not sure I buy that though, as no one seemed to criticize Final Fantasy X, although that was remarkably linear. XII was too. The grind-fests of the early NES Final Fantasies were fairly linear too as well. So why is this game being criticized for it now? [Read more...]
The Final (PS1) Fantasy Coming to PSN
This one might have slipped under some radars but it’s worth noting that a North American release of Final Fantasy 9 has been confirmed, though no release date has yet been announced. While Wikipedia has a North American release date of June 15th I could find no link or source to corroborate. Comparing the length of time between the Japanese and North American release for 7 and 8, however, makes a good case for a July or August release. While the news is not really surprising, considering FF7 and FF8 have both made it onto PSN, it is reassuring for those who like to go back and enjoy classic RPGs from the comfort of the couch now and again. [Read more...]