I am a James Bond nerd. Everyone has their vices, okay? But I am. Watched all the films often enough that I’d give a 007 trivia competition a red hot go. Choreographed ballroom dancing shows to various theme songs. Read all the books. Even went out there in the early Internet days of bulletin boards and defended Goldeneye – no,…
I almost forgot about Supermassive Games’ Dark Pictures Anthology. That’s not from a lack of quality – each title in the series to date has been very worthy – but it’s just that things move quickly in video games and the Dark Pictures titles don’t quite have the longevity behind…
There was a moment there where I thought that my issues with…
If you were to ask me what genres I think developers should…
As most people know, I’m generally opposed to streaming streaming services. I find the idea of ceding any control whatsoever over what you can see, hear and play to corporations to be a very bad idea, and the fact that stuff moves into and out of these platforms (meaning your…
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Let’s all remember for a moment here that Sony basically gutted its Japanese game development operation, and the developer behind Astro Bot, Team Asobi, was the only one that survived. Even then it was diminished. Then consider that it created this game, with its abundant creativity and warmth. Where all…
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At the risk of irritating a certain group of fans to the point that I need to lock down the comments box for my own sanity: I have an issue with how a lot of games handle the Warhammer 40K license. Not that I want to get into this debate…
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Visions of Mana is Secret of Mana, 20 years later. I said as much in my preview, and the deeper I played the more the game seems exclusively interested in tapping into my nostalgia for that SNES classic. Given that the Mana series has been otherwise highly experimental in recent…
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Without trying to be too controversially political about a game that is really little more than a philosophical manifesto with some gameplay bits and comic book graphics squished in between the lecture, there’s an ugly superficiality about what passes for mainstream left-wing politics in America. Dustborn is a textbook case…
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Schools are excellent locations for horror. They’re a shared experience for most of us, so developers benefit from the familiarity and can play on that to set up unease. Attending school is also a highly emotional experience that covers the full gamut thanks to a combination of societal pressure and…
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Visions of Mana is, almost immediately after you start playing, like a warm blanket to wrap yourself up in. I can already see some elements complaining that it lacks “innovation” or the intricate action combat systems that we’ve become accustomed to in JRPGs. But not every game needs to be…
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I am absolutely terrible at SHMUPs, bullet hells, and other such action game experiences. For this reason, I don’t generally play them. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them, it’s just that my progress through them is so slow – on account of my own lack of skills – that…
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Shin Megami Tensei V was already a good game. SMT V: Vengeance adds an entirely different narrative route that, while similar enough in the early stages, diverges drastically deeper into the game. The core is still a battle between angels and demons in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo that your protagonist is…
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Square Enix recently announced that it was cancelling some $150 million worth of games that had previously been greenlit as it shifts to more proven quantities and a strategy of being more selective in what it develops and publishes. What that means is that you should all enjoy SaGa Emerald…
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