Rest in peace Pokemon Trading Card Game Online. Welcome, Pokemon Trading Card Game Live!
After a decade of service, the old app will be sunsetting just before the launch of this new one. As of writing, very little has been shown of the new app. Nevertheless, that’s not going to stop me from weighing in on what we do know and bringing forth some questions I have about the new app!
Despite the obvious benefits that come with the digital adaptation of the Pokemon Trading Card Game, it feels like fans see it as an afterthought. At its core, the appeal for players and collectors is the experience of having physical cards. There’s a joy that comes with having them on display, kept safely in a binder, or held in your hand just before playing them on the board. Even when The Pokemon Company gives codes with every physical product to unlock cards and other accessories in the video game, codes are sold for dirt cheap or even simply given away.
For collectors with zero interest in playing the game in any form, the existence of an online version is a moot point. But if you have even the slightest interest in playing the game, Pokemon TCG shouldn’t be ignored.
Though the game was first released in 2018, Among Us has really blown up in 2020. A sizable chunk of that credit goes to streamers who have help to spread the word about its existence. But beyond simply showcasing the game, they’ve also showcased the best (and most difficult) way to play. I get the sense that most players are having a considerably worse experience than their favourite streamers.
A while back, I invested in the Elgato Screen Link. For the purposes of capturing my mobile screen within OBS, it worked as intended.
However, that’s not the only thing the application can do. You can also use it to make your smartphone work as a wireless camera. Though I found this feature to be way more interesting, early tests melted my computer.
Now that I have a modern PC, I revisited the idea of incorporating my smartphone camera into my stream as a vlog cam.
Once upon a time, Tetris on the NES was sold as a full-priced game. Even back then, its feature set was lacking, as it didn’t have local multiplayer. All you could do was chase for a high score. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop the world from buying it in the millions.
Imagine asking players to spend full price on a Tetris game now? No way! Even with the VR support and numerous gameplay modes that it offers, Tetris Effect didn’t launch as a full-priced game. That still didn’t stop many from being critical of its value proposition, specifically its distinct lack of multiplayer. Tetris 99 isn’t full-priced if you buy the standalone edition, nor is Puyo Puyo Tetris, which is essentially two full puzzle games in one. Even I complained about Treasure Stack, a game that I bought on sale for $5 CAD, because its value proposition felt thin.
Taking a step back, it’s been interesting to see how one of my favourite genres has been devalued over time.
The story of two hearts colliding is one that’s explored to great effect in virtually every medium. Except gaming. For numerous reasons, the medium has been slow to create experiences around the themes of love and romance beyond more juvenile dating simulators or bolting on elements of romantic relationships into established genres. As much as I love headshots, juggle combos, and stacking blocks, I’ve always felt like there was a whole world of possibilities that could arise when combining the interactive elements of gaming with the themes of love and romance.
Originally released on mobile in 2018, Florence takes a clever approach to bringing a love story to life within the boundaries of gaming. Though I meant to play it at the time, I didn’t get around to it until it was released on the Nintendo Switch in February 2020. The experience of playing through it has weighed heavily on my heart ever since.
“Have you heard of HQ Trivia?”
It was the fall of 2017 and my former coworker was selling me on the virtues of this hot new mobile game he’d discovered. “You can play for free and you have the opportunity to win real cash!”
A few days later, during the middle of the workday, we stepped aside to play a few minutes of HQ Trivia. Those first few minutes would form the start of a ritual that carried on for quite some time.
At the end of September, Twitch unveiled a host of new features coming to the platform in the coming year. There’s a lot of exciting stuff for viewers and creators to enjoy! This post won’t cover all of the announcements, but I wanted to cover the things that I found the most interesting. Let’s go!
The original Dr. Mario is game that I like, but don’t love. The theme of having Mario cure viruses by smacking them with pills is great. Mechanically, you can create some interesting combos with the two-part pills splitting in half. However, that game becomes a slog the moment you have to put a pill in a bad spot. From there, you spend much of the level in a negative mindset, stressing out over the mess you made and how difficult it is to clean it up. It makes me feel more like a first-year med student rather than a world-renown professional such as the game’s namesake.
Dr. Mario World takes quite a few liberties in adapting the classic puzzler to mobile devices. Purists may raise an eyebrow at how much the game has changed at first glance, and I don’t blame them for that. However, I don’t think its gameplay is this title’s biggest cause for concern.
It’s been an incredibly long wait, but Pokemon Go finally has PvP battles! Having played a few matches and poked my head around the game’s new systems, let’s discuss how it works, my thought on its current implementation, and where the system could go from here!
In Third Person 
