playstation 4

Out Now – BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

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This one came out of nowhere for me.

Giving this one little attention up until a few weeks ago, I was wowed by the BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle beta for finding a seemingly warm balance between depth and accessibility. Granted, it doesn’t look nearly as good as Dragon Ball FighterZ or have the name brand roster like other heavy hitters in the genre, but that gameplay was so enjoyable that I poured many hours into the demo’s training mode alone just to squeeze out every last bit of fun I could from it.

Won’t be able to play any of it tonight, as I’ll be heading over to a concert right after work. However, for sure I’ll be playing it this week and you should be able to watch me play later this week on Twitch! Stay tuned!

Buy BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle Now From Amazon.com

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Review

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My fandom for Castlevania is a relatively recent phenomenon. Despite having played a few games in the series over the course of my lifetime, none of them really clicked with me until I spent an extended period of time with the original game on the NES Classic. While this epiphany occurred well after the Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Kickstarter ended, I jumped in just in time for Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon.

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Out Now: Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

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Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is here! Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, you can 12 versions of the iconic series on a modern platform. If you pre-ordered the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One versions, you’ll also get a download code for Ultra Street Fighter IV, essentially giving you the entire series save for the latest game. Switch owners sadly won’t get Ultra Street Fighter IV, but they will get an exclusive tournament mode that could be cool with friends and extra consoles.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle threw a monkey wrench in my plans to grab this on day 1, but I do plan on grabbing this sooner rather than later!

Buy The Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection Now From Amazon.com

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Live Stream

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Castlevania fans need to check out Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon! It’s a throwback to those old games with some modern improvements in terms of graphics and gameplay!

Buy the Nintendo Switch from Amazon.com

God of War Review

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I’ll always love that first God of War game. Even though I experienced it on the PlayStation 3 years after its original release, I was wowed by the game’s balance of frenetic action, bombastic setpieces, Greek mythology, and light puzzle solving to keep players on their toes. However, the formula got stale after a while, and issues with Kratos’ always angry character design became too hard to ignore. Though the series would add five other games to its catalogue before going on hiatus, I never got very far in II or III and I skipped the rest.

Had Kratos never come back, I would have been okay with that. His first game made an impact on me that I’ll always cherish and I thought that was good enough. 2018’s God of War proves that sentiment wrong as the Greek God returns in a wholly new experience that is bigger and better than any game in the franchise before it.

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BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle Beta Impressions for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch

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Up until the release of Dragon Ball FighterZ, Arc System Works was the fighting game developer I wanted to love more than I actually did. Experts at making visually-luscious and mechanically-complex fighters, the former has gotten me to buy a number of their games, while the latter has caused me to push them away in short order. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a place in this world for fighters with their level of depth, but it’s a bridge too far for me.

Maybe it was just the developer trying to cater to the Dragon Ball audience, but Dragon Ball FighterZ shows what Arc System Works can do when they attempt to tone down their core formula for something more accessible. While I think it went a smidgen too far with accessibility to the point where the game feels a bit too limiting in ways, it was the first of their games that I could really sink my teeth into and love on a deeper level.

It may be too much to assume that the impact of FighterZ influenced the development of BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, but based on my time with the beta on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, accessibility continues to be a focal point for the developer. At this pre-release juncture, I’m greatly enjoying what I’m seeing.

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Excited for NBA Playgrounds 2?

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I really wanted to like the first NBA Playgrounds.

Appearing to be a spiritual successor to NBA Jam with a dash of NBA Street for good measure, NBA Playgrounds should have been a slam dunk. Instead, it stumbled horribly out of the gate with wonky shooting mechanics, a barebones single player experience, bad AI, a reliance on loot boxes to unlock players, and specifically for Nintendo Switch owners, no online play for the first few months of its release. Even though Saber Interactive gone a long way towards writing the wrongs of their base product, I still have a very sour taste in my mouth from that first experience.

Despite a lukewarm reception from myself and other online critics, the game sold well and the sequel is just around the corner. Is there anything in this new game to change my mind?

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Piccolo is One Technique Short of Being a Great (or Maybe Broken) Character in Dragon Ball FighterZ

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In the Dragon Ball universe, Piccolo has always been an impressive and resourceful warrior in his own right. No human fighter would stand a chance against him. However, he also exists in a universe where he’s outgunned by mythically strong fighters that could blow up a planet for the fun of it. Despite his best efforts to get stronger and smarter, he routinely comes up short against the best in the universe as he simply doesn’t have the raw power to keep up.

In the world of Dragon Ball FighterZ, where fighting game developers have to balance their rosters out as much as possible, Piccolo’s skills as a fighter come through with his tricky move set and devastating damage potential. However, one hole in his arsenal prevents him from being one of the best combatants in the game.

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Untitled Video Game Show Episode 0.2 Featuring Mat and Jason!

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The original Recurring Bosscast crew reunites to talk about God of War, an assortment of video games, crappy Toronto traffic and more!

Returning to God of War

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My love affair with the God of War franchise was brief, yet torrid. Years after its original release on PlayStation 2, I played the original God of War remaster on the PlayStation 3 and was smitten by its thrilling action. However, my desire to play the remainder of the series fell off a cliff. I felt like God of War II and III were too much of the same and I dropped them before completion. Didn’t even bother playing Ascension because I had completely lost interest.

Almost as if Sony heard my criticisms, this new God of War appears to be the shakeup I wanted. From a new setting, to an emphasis on story and adventure over shock-factor combat, the reviews are glowing and the parts I’ve seen of it look right up my alley. Looking forward to picking this one up tomorrow!

Buy God of War Now From Amazon.com