Reviews
Sushi Go! Review
I’ll be the first to admit that seafood isn’t my cup of tea. Aside from certain kinds of white fish, I’m either not a fan of the taste or allergic. In Sushi Go! from Phil Walker-Harding and Gamewright, 
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Review
Having played bit roles in Nintendo games since the original Super Mario Bros., Toad finally gets an opportunity to shine in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Using the Toad mini games from Super Mario 3D World as a base, Nintendo expands on that experience with dozens of new levels on a disc that’s less than full price. Is Toad’s debut a real step towards stardom?
XCOM: The Board Game Review
Aliens are hell bent on taking over our planet, but to quote Will Smith from Independence Day, “Welcome to Earth!” In XCOM: The Board Game, you and your fellow teammates will square off against the extraterrestrial threats on multiple fronts. This particular conflict may not be completely new to you, as this is a licensed board game based on the hit video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Nonetheless, it brings something very alien to the table for gamers of all sorts (pun intended), as it’s one of the first board games that needs to be played alongside of a digital app. Should you suit up for what might be Earth’s last stand?
Peggle 2 Review
The original Peggle caught lightning in a bottle. For a game with such a simple premise, it executed on its Pachinko-like vision perfectly. It immediately became a staple on my iPod Touch and one that I could always come back to. Hoping that PopCap Games would recapture that magic with a sequel is probably a bit unreasonable. However, I was also expecting more out of a game called Peggle 2 than what’s contained here.
Camel Up Review
Marvel Dice Masters: Uncanny X-Men Starter Set Review
Making its debut in 2014, the Dice Masters series of games won me over in a huge way with Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-Men. Once I got a hang of it, I found the game to be fast and entertaining while keeping the spirit of the characters intact through their card abilities and generally-excellent dice designs. It also didn’t hurt that the game is generally sold at a very attractive price point. That said, I also had a few problems with the terrible paper bags that are used to contain dice and the fact that only one playmat came with the game as a centrefold in the manual.
Next in the lineup is Marvel Dice Masters: Uncanny X-Men. Fully compatible with all Dice Masters games, this starter set has the same general pros and cons of the original, including those crappy bags and only one playmat in the middle of the manual. The key difference is that the game comes with a new set of basic action cards, character cards and character dice.
The Walking Dead Season 2 Review
Telltale’s first season of The Walking Dead is a hard act to follow. It was an evolution of the Heavy Rain style of game, a revolution in terms of episodic content, and a game so emotionally charged that it routinely caused me to gasp, yell at my television and shed tears. It was by no means perfect, but it’s a game that shook me to the core in a way that I’ll cherish forever.
With The Walking Dead: Season 2, Telltale Games cleans up a number of design and technical issues that plagued the first game to deliver an ultimately smoother experience from a gameplay standpoint. But the real question is, can this new season deliver the feels like its predecessor?
The Yomi Business Model
Given the chance, I will sing the praises of the Yomi series every chance I get. Compared to anything else on the marketplace that is trying to replicate the Street Fighter experience in tabletop form, Yomi crushes them all. I love the core concept of Rock Paper Scissors combat, which is an accurate analogy for how fighting game combat works. I love being able to manage all of the different maneuvers that each character has and the nuances that make them different. For the hardest of hardcore fighting game fans, there are so many nods to how a real fighting game plays that it scratches the exact same itch for me.
Despite that, this marquee title from Sirlin Games suffers from a steep pricing challenge. The complete first edition, packed with 10 characters and two playmats, will set you back about $100 if you’re lucky enough to find it nowadays. I’m certainly glad to have it, but it’s a very difficult proposition for even the most enthusiastic customers. Instead of anchoring the series down with a complete big box – and potentially an even bigger box with the additional 10 expansion characters on the way – Sirlin Games is moving in a different direction.
Dungeon! Review
Originally released in 1975, Dungeon! transforms Dungeons & Dragons into a board game. Granted, it’s an experience that is greatly streamlined compared to its source material, though it aims to still deliver the essence of what D&D is all about. Is this a dungeon worth raiding?
In Third Person 