When you’ve been the reigning video game hoops champ for the last few years, the next logical step is to add Jay-Z and Justin Bieber. Wait, what? NBA 2K13 is quick to tell you that its a Young Hova production, but did they make the on-court experience any better? Find out on Splitkick!
(Regular button not pictured above. They look identical to the regular ones, so I used a regular button picture instead)
The clicking, and clacking of an arcade fightstick is music to my ears. However, as I’ve come to learn in my few months of living in a condo, not everyone agrees with this sentiment. Because my gaming setup is in the living room, my girlfriend has been subjected to the noise far more than she’d like, to the point where it drove her nuts. Though I love me some fighting games, I genuinely love my girlfriend more. As a means of not driving her insane, I’d either reserve my fighting game time to moments when she’s not around, or asking for permission before playing; neither of which are ideal.
Luckily for me, Sanwa has released a new line of quiet buttons, and joysticks to alleviate the noise. Though the joysticks were prohibitively expensive ($80 each, which is roughly 4x the price of a regular joystick), I did buy two sets of quiet buttons to use on my XBOX 360, and PlayStation 3 fightsticks. Are these buttons able to maintain their signature feel, and durability, while reducing the noise?
A wizard, knight, and thief walk into a bar. No, this isn’t the setup for a bad joke, but a bad setup for a Trine 2 review. In this 2D puzzle platformer, your objective is to use the three characters you have at your disposal to get past any obstacles in your way as you search for the a magical treasure. Though it was released last year on PC, Mac, XBOX Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, I didn’t really give it much thought. However, I always did hear great things about it, and I picked it up when it went on sale recently on XBLA.
As much as I love Trials Evolution, I haven’t played it since wrapping up my review. Once I unlocked the extreme tracks, which I will never have the skill to complete, I set the game down and moved onto other things. Sure, I could have kept myself busy all of this time with user-created tracks, but it just fell out of my rotation. The Origins of Pain DLC pack aims to bring players like me back to the fold with 36 new tracks, more skill games, and a hundred extra track creator objects to play with.
After months of pain and suffering, our ragtag group of survivors have finally reached their promise land. All that stands between them and freedom is a boat. Or at least that’s the hope upon arrival. Spoilers: it’s not that easy.
For my latest Splitkick assignment, I review the latest Capcom fighting game re-release, Marvel vs. Capcom Origins. This XBOX Live Arcade and PlayStation Network release includes arcade perfect ports of Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes. For diehard fans who have waited for over a decade to play these games in their original glory, this is right up your alley. For everyone else, proceed with caution. Check out my full review below!
Marvel vs. Capcom Origins Review
Welcome back to the planet of Pandora, Vault Hunter. If it’s been awhile, things may appear much like how you left them last time. The cell-shaded art direction is seemingly the same. Many of the friends (and enemies) make a return. And of course, your primary motivation to explore this world is to collect increasingly superior loot.
But as you play through Borderlands 2, it’s clear that this isn’t just a new coat of paint. Granted, the added polish on the graphics look great. However, almost every other aspect of the game has seen meaningful upgrades that really refine the original vision.
Sometimes, a product can be lesser than the sum of its parts. Even if a product contains top quality components created by some of the best minds in the business, the way in which those components are implemented will ultimately dictate the difference between a stud and a dud. Off the top of my head, the ultimate example of this phenomenon is the mid-to-late 2000s New York Knicks. Despite spending the largest amount of money on players in the NBA, their team was terrible; all because its players could not mesh into a championship team – or even a competent one.
Judged on its components alone, Syndicate is a stud. Sporting gorgeous art direction, a great soundtrack (with a contribution from Skrillex, if dubstep is your thing), and clever moment-to-moment gameplay that’s been clearly thought out, there’s a distinct level of polish that most games wish they could boast. However, throughout my time playing it, I couldn’t shake my general sense of apathy towards the proceedings.
Released outside of the regular XBOX Live Arcade schedule, and with virtually no marketing, Mark of the Ninja was the talk of the town for a total of one day when the glowing launch-day reviews hit. If it weren’t for those, I wouldn’t have even know this game existed.
I’m so glad to have played it, because it is fantastic. As a guy who hates stealth games, that says a whole lot.
If you’d like to read my full review, head over to Splitkick to learn more!
SPLITKICK REVIEW: Mark of the Ninja
The original Borderlands ate me alive. I could not stop playing that game until I had done everything their was to do, and it was awesome. For the past 3 years, I’ve been fiending for my next hit. With Borderlands 2, I’ve relapsed hard.
In Third Person 