The act of car racing is defined by speed. Video games have almost always done a great job of capturing that sensation as well as the act of racers jockeying for position thanks to their ability to simulate racing in real time. But how do you translate that experience into a turn-based tabletop game? Formula D has the answer. With 2-10 players, you can partake in a thrilling tabletop experience that amazingly simulates the magic of car racing. Continue reading
Batman: Arkham Origins Impressions
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.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Impressions
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.
Pandemic is Now Included on The List of Awesome Board Games You Should Play
Who would have thought that a game about disease control could turn out to be so awesome? It just so happens that Pandemic is that game. In this cooperative board game, you and your friends must work together to contain and hopefully eradicate four deadly diseases before it’s too late. This game made a wonderful first impression on us and it’s quickly become a favourite. Not all games are easy to recommend, but this one is a shoo-in for the list of Awesome Board Games You Should Play. If you like board games, go get this one! Or, check out the full list for other board games you should get while picking up Pandemic!
Yomi Review
I really appreciate board games that do a great job of marrying their mechanics and theme together into one cohesive experience. Some of my favourite games that deliver on this include Formula D and Legendary: A Marvel Deck-Building Game. The former provides players with a cool sensation of racing through dice, while the latter creates a dramatic battle of good versus evil through the now-ubiquitous deck building mechanic. Originally designed as an officially licensed Street Fighter card game, Yomi aims to do something similar by translating the fighting game experience through cards. Does it deliver on that promise?
Pocket Tanks Deluxe: The Battle For Subway Supremacy
(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.
The Slow Season For Video Games is in Full Effect
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!
Jett Plays Super Mario 3D World
My 2013 game of the year is the focus of this episode. Watch as my Princess Peach tackles levels from world 5 and 6. Along the way, I also talk about some of my other favourite games of 2013, the Wii U’s merits as a console and the challenges that come with capturing gameplay off of a PlayStation 4.
Capturing PlayStation 4 Gameplay
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.
Need For Speed: Rivals Impressions
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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In Third Person 