Pikmin 3 and Doing It Wrong

Recently, I started playing Pikmin 3. Having never played any of the games in the series before, it caught me off guard in a number of ways. For instance, I didn’t expect the little critters to melt my heart with their sheer cuteness. I also found that watching those same adorable creatures die in assorted ways was rather traumatic. Most surprising to me was how hardcore its gameplay mechanics were. Dig past its cuddly exterior and this is a game that can mercilessly rip out your still-beating heart from your chest.

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Check Out My Kickstart Guide To Fire Emblem: Awakening On Splitkick.com

Though I’m reluctant to call myself a Fire Emblem: Awakening connoisseur, I did beat the game 4 times (and would gladly do it again). If you’re jumping into the world of Ylisse for the first time, I recommend checking out my Kickstart Guide to help you formulate the dream team of medieval awesomeness.

Check Out My Kickstart Guide To Fire Emblem: Awakening On Splitkick.com

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is Coming to iOS

Reports out of PAX East indicate that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is getting directly ported to iOS. Because it is being ported in full, expect this one to be a premium price when it launches in the iTunes store.

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Check Out My Fire Emblem: Awakening Review on Splitkick.com

Since its release, Fire Emblem: Awakening has been tough to track down in stores. Though I’ve heard reports of the game being under-shipped, there’s also the fact that it’s really good. I enjoyed it so much that I beat it twice before finalizing my review for Splitkick. If you can find it, the game is definitely worth tracking down!

Check out my Fire Emblem: Awakening review on Splitkick!

XCOM: Enemy Unknown Review

My love affair with the turn-based strategy games began after the original XCOM faded into obscurity. Advance Wars and Fire Emblem were my introduction to the genre, and for the most part, the only games in the genre I play. Not for a lack of desire, but for a lack of options. Sure, there are a lot of indie strategy games on PC/iOS, but when the big-budget strategy game market shrunk to nothing, the only real standout to me was Nintendo. Even then, neither of their strategy titles have lit up the sales charts or help revive the genre.

I’m not sure what compelled 2K Games to push ahead with a new XCOM now, but I truly appreciate the fact that they did. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is not only a fantastic turn-based strategy game, but easily one of the best games I played that came out in 2012.

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Check Out My Borderlands Legends Review on Splitkick.com!

As a fan of the Borderlands franchise, I jumped into this iOS spin-off with both feet. To my dismay, Legends falls well short of the standards set by its console and PC brethren. If that last sentence isn’t enough to ward you off from spending your hard-earned money on this mediocre action strategy title, check out my full review on Splitkick.

Dominion by Donald X. Vaccarino for iPhone/iPad Review

My love of video games has historically not translated well into other forms of gaming. When it comes to card games, I don’t play anything more complicated that Klondike Solitaire. As far as designer card games go, anything beyond Uno I either classify as too complicated, too boring or too nerdy for my tastes.

While I still hold that general sentiment around card games (designer card games in particular), I fell in love with Dominion not too long ago. My girlfriend invited me to a game night hosted by one of her coworkers, and we spent all night playing Dominion. What surprised me most about the game was how easy it was to learn while exhibiting a great level of depth. I told Steff multipe times as we were playing it that the mechanics that drive Dominion scratches an itch that I normally get out of Street Fighter.

Immediately after our first game, I searched the iTunes app store to find a Dominion equivalent. To my surprise, it’s available as a free download. While you won’t need to read my review to decide if it’s worth your money, you may want to see if Dominion on the iPhone is worth your time.

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My Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Team

To say that Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has swallowed me whole would be an understatement. The game is less than 2 months old, and I’ve already spent over 50 hours with it, having played over 1,000 online matches in the process. While there are potentially thousands of different ways to assemble the 38 characters into a three-character team, I found a team that worked for me close after the game’s release and have stuck with it since. In a game where team mechanics are critical, having spent a lot of time practicing one particular team that fits my style has helped me tremendously.

Though I’m still experimenting with new teams every time I play, this is currently my main team.

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How-To Beat Sentinel in Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Sentinel is arguably the most divisive character in the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 roster. Though he’s wildly popular nowadays, many people consider him to be extremely overpowered. As a Sentinel player myself, I love the fact that he his damage output is insane for the amount of work you have to do (which is not much).

However, Sentinel is not perfect. Though you can’t deny his damage output, he also has holes in his game, which many players are starting to find every day. I actually get excited when I play against a Sentinel player, because in most cases, I can exploit Sentinel’s weaknesses with my own team. It also doesn’t hurt that the majority of Sentinel players I run into have no idea how to use him to his full potential, simply because they’re Sentinel bandwagon jumpers. I’m no pro at Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but here are some words of wisdom for how to beat the machine based on my own experience and information I’ve learned elsewhere.

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Jett Vs. Episode 4 – Trapped

 

Welcome to episode 3 of Jett Vs., a series of blog posts where I post one of my Super Street Fighter IV match videos and analyze it for your viewing and reading pleasure.

If for some reason you’ve been hotly anticipating the day when I’d post a video of myself losing, you’re in luck. Not only do I take an L, but I go down in flames.

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