video games

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright Review

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The Fire Emblem Fates series of games puts you at the heart of a conflict between two rival armies. On one side is the medieval-style Nohr army. On the other is the samurai-style Hoshido. If you buy Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright first, you’ll play most of the game from the side of the Hoshido clan.

With Fates essentially being three different Fire Emblem games launching at about the same time, this is easily the most ambitious effort. Based on my time with the Birthright edition, it’s also one of the best.

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Fire Emblem: Awakening Review

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(Originally posted on splitkick.com. Thank you to the Splitkick crew for editing this!)

Ever since its 2003 international debut, I’ve been enamored with Fire Emblem’s personal approach to the strategy RPG genre. I love how every unit I manage is a fully-realized character with a unique look and story. I greatly enjoy helping these characters grow as warriors and as people by managing their combat movements and relationships. As things progress, I grow so attached that I feel compelled to protect everyone at all costs, which proves difficult in a series where perma-death can strike in a flash.

On one hand, the fear of death adds a critical layer of emotional weight. However, the stress that comes with losing comrades can be too much to bear for some. I’ve sacrificed dozens of hours of playtime across every entry in the series in order to complete a casualty-free run. Regardless of how you feel on the matter, Fire Emblem: Awakening is the first to implement features to appease both crowds.

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Kickstart Guide to Mortal Kombat X

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The Mortal Kombat franchise has had its fair share of bumps over the course of its 20+ year existence. However, Mortal Kombat X isn’t one of them. Building off of the success of the Mortal Kombat reboot, this is the best iteration of the series to-date. This game may no longer be the new hotness, but it still has a large and active community that play it all the time. If you’re just getting off the ground, here’s a few tips to help smooth out the learning curve!

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Universal Fighting Game Guide: Countering Your Opponent’s Tactics

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Anyone that has ever played a fighting game has been in this kid’s shoes before. Finding himself pit against a particular tactic that he doesn’t have the answer to, he just gets pummeled into submission, wondering what the heck just happened. While it’s easy to feel bad for the kid or vilify Justin Wong for being “cheap”, the kid has no one to blame but himself for getting beat like that. Not only did he fail to counter Justin’s projectile tactics, he just sat there and whined about it in hopes of shaming Justin.

In this edition of the Universal Fighting Game Guide, let’s talk about countering your opponent’s tactics. Whether it’s projectile spam, tick throws, resets, or whatever other gimmicks they have, you’re going to be ready with the perfect counter attack.

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Tsuro on iOS Review

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Tsuro is one of the latest physical board games to make the jump to mobile. In it, players place tiles on the board to create a path for their piece to move along. Be careful though, as moving off of the board or crashing into another player will eliminate you from the game. While the board game might be a popular one, is it something you should also pick up for your phone?

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How-to Learn Frame Traps in Street Fighter V

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Understanding the concept of frame traps is key to the high-level Street Fighter V experience. Thanks to new tools in training mode, it’s easier to learn than ever. I show you in this quick video how you can use the new guard recover action functionality to learn about frame traps and how you can make frame traps of your own!


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Rise of the Tomb Raider Review

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Languishing in mediocrity for years after her groundbreaking debut, Lara Croft came back with a vengeance in the Tomb Raider reboot. Mixing in elements of exploration with a heavy dose of Uncharted-style cinematic events, that game was one of my favourites from the last generation of consoles. With her new origin story in the books, Rise of the Tomb Raider takes Lara on an all-new adventure. What does she have in store for her next act?

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Street Fighter V Rashid (Alex Valle/CaliPower) vs. Rashid (jettFTW)

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Alex Valle’s roots in competitive Street Fighter go all the way back to the first ever Street Fighter world championships where he squared off against Daigo Umehara in the grand finals. While I was certainly starstruck when we fought, I wasn’t going to let him steamroll me off the strength of his legacy. Watch the video to see how I fared against the legend himself!


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I’m Taking Part in the Canada East Championships This Weekend!

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It’s been a few years since I went to a tournament. However, with the new game out, now’s a great time to test my skills against Toronto’s finest at the Canada East Championships! Hosted by the good folks at Toronto Top Tiers, I’m pretty sure this is the first big Street Fighter V tournament in the city. Taking place tomorrow at the Yorkdale Holiday Inn, my game face will be ready to throw down one more time before Steff and I’s wedding (!). Wish me luck!


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Mortal Kombat X and My Fighting Game Superiority Complex

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Prior to the release of Street Fighter V, I’m taking a sabbatical from Ultra Street Fighter IV to play Mortal Kombat X. It was a Christmas present from Steff that I cracked into as soon as the holiday madness cooled off. So far, I’m loving it. Full review to come, but kudos once again to NetherRealm Studios for knocking another one out of the park.

My biggest hurdle with the game so far has nothing to do with the game itself. Rather, it’s an internal problem that has manifested itself through my success in Street Fighter IV and other fighting games. Right now, I’m trying to overcome my fighting game superiority complex.

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