With the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era nearing its twilight, we saw a number of high-profile franchises stumble over themselves with one entry too many. God of War: Ascension came and went without a care. Gears of War: Judgment I felt was a huge disappointment, as it played like a shameless cash-grab. After playing an hour or so of Batman: Arkham Origins, I’m disappointed to also toss Bruce Wayne’s latest into that pile.
I’ll be the first to admit that Japanese role-playing games are not my cup of tea. I’m generally not a fan of menu-based combat, level grinding or stories that take dozens of hours to complete. The only JRPG I ever played and loved was Super Mario RPG on the SNES. Pretty much everything else from Chrono Trigger, to Final Fantasy VII and everything up to this point has completely passed me by. Quite frankly, I don’t even regret being mostly oblivious to that whole aspect of gaming, because it’s just not my thing.
So why even bother with Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch? Well, for one, its phenomenal visuals went a long way towards grabbing my attention. Then, the positive word-of-mouth just wouldn’t go away. I figured that if I was going to give this genre a fair shake, I might as well try the best.
(Download Pocket Tanks For iPhone)
My first encounter with Pocket Tanks occurred in 2001. I was in high school computer programming class and one of my friends asked me to come over to his computer and play against him. I don’t remember why we had enough time to get in a few matches instead of actually writing code, but that’s moot at this point. Years later, I picked up the free version on a whim because why not?
While it sat on my phone for years collecting cyber dust, the game became the focal point of my afternoon commute when my office moved downtown.
After the November rush of releases, the flow of gaming releases has completely dried up. If you’re looking for something new to play, I feel your pain. For me, now’s the perfect time to knock some backlog games off of my queue. Since the holidays, I’ve knocked off Pokemon X, New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Mario Kart 7. I have plans on getting back to Ni No Kuni in the near future, as well as hopes of starting up Batman: Arkham Origins and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. Past that, I’ve got a bunch of other games collecting dust on the shelf that I really should get around to.
However, instead of diligently playing games, I’ve actually been investing my time into board games and board game writing. As a relative newcomer to the scene, there’s no dry spell season as basically everything is new to me. If the dry video game release schedule has got you down, now isn’t a bad time to pursue a new hobby either!
I’m still just getting my feet wet with the whole game capture thing, but I’m already thinking ahead to capturing PlayStation 4 content. As of writing, the PlayStation 4 currently doesn’t support capture through a device such as the Elgato Game Capture HD due to its built-in HDCP. However, through some research and a few extra bucks, I could be capturing PlayStation 4 video today.
Aside from one attempt at a Need For Speed iPhone game, I’ve never played any of the games in this franchise. I’ve never held any sort of grudge against it, though its particular brand of racing action hasn’t really grabbed my attention, either. With Rivals, EA caught me at just the right point where their latest entry built up a lot of positive word-of-mouth during a weak console launch. Is this the game that hooks me in for good?
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Back from CES, Jason shares with us his experiences from the show floor. Listen in for his hands-on impressions of the Oculus Rift, Sony’s VR headset, the Steam controller, PlayStation Now and more!
Games Mentioned: Day Z, NBA 2K14, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Pokemon X, Mario Kart 7, Game & Wario, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Bravely Default, Formula D, and Yomi
Jett – In Third Person
Jason – Downstab
Mat – Biff Bam Pop
Mind over matter is a valid adage in the world of fighting games. Most matches are won by knowledge and good decision-making; not through large combos. However, the human mind can’t always be counted on when it’s under enough stress. Players in fighting games sometimes choke, just like anyone in any form of competition.
How can you take advantage of a choking opponent without caving under pressure yourself? Find out in this installment of the Universal Fighting Game Guide
Testing out video capture from the PS3 to the Elgato Game Capture HD. Man, did I ever get bopped in the worst way.
In Third Person 