video games

Got The Street Fighter IV Double Crown

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Just over a year ago, I reached the milestone of #1 ranked Rose player in Canada on Xbox Live. While this was met with no fanfare beyond any created by me, it’s still an accomplishment I hold near and dear. As someone who can still vividly remember losing 20+ straight matches online when I first started playing Street Fighter IV, it’s a testament to how far I can go in a game if I put in the time and effort to get better.

Though I haven’t played the game with much vigor (or much at all) in 2012, I just crossed another milestone.

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XCOM: Enemy Unknown Review

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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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The Recurring Bosscast: 007 – Smells Like Coconuts

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Having spent time on the CES show floor, Jason gives us the first-hand scoop on Project S.H.I.E.L.D. and Xi3’s ‘Steam Box’. We then get into games we’ve been playing, which include Dark Souls, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, Unchained Blades, ZombiU, the God of War: Ascension beta, and Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed. Before calling it a night, we discuss the gaming outlook for 2013 and wildly speculate on what the next consoles from Microsoft and Sony will be like.

Jett – In Third Person
Jason – Downstab
Mat – Biff Bam Pop

Check Out Vault Play: Rocksmith Now on Splitkick.com!

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The best girlfriend ever got me the Rocksmith guitar bundle for Christmas. Since then, I’ve been shredding the six string in hopes of someday not sucking at guitar. If you have ambitions of learning, this might be worth looking into. Head over to Splitkick to read the full post!

Check out Vault Play: Rocksmith on Splitkick!

Dead Island Review

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The original Dead Island trailer – as amazing as it is – ultimately did much more harm than good for my perception of the game. After watching it, I had high hopes that it would have more emotional weight to it than your run-of-the-mill zombie slaughter-fest. Then the preview coverage ultimately revealed that the contents of the trailer had virtually nothing to do with the actual game. Feeling burned by the misleading ad, I refused to buy or play this until it hit the bottom of the clearance bin. Maybe the trailer did little to reflect the final product, but that’s not to say the final product is bad. In fact, I’m actually really impressed with how the game came together.

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Alan Wake Impressions

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Alan Wake isn’t short on ambition. This survival horror title bookends each of its chapters with drama that could stand up against a television thriller. It’s during these points when I get really jazzed about the game.

And then it falls apart when I actually have to play it.

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Dead or Alive 5 Review

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“She kicks high.”

Having never played an entry in the DOA franchise before, that and breast physics were the extent of my knowledge going into Dead or Alive 5. Why would I even bother with the series at this point, especially when my track record of enjoying 3D fighting games is not very good? Academic curiousity, for one. Ever since I jumped deep into the competitive fighting game scene, I’ve bought almost every fighter on the market just to get a sense of what’s out there. Two, you’ll never know what awesome games you’ll come across if you don’t put your neck out there every now and then.

In this case, I’m really glad I did.

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The Recurring Bosscast: 006 – 50 Shades of Wonderbook

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The Bosscast returns with socks, scarves, and a sleigh full of video games to talk about! Tune in as Jason gushes about The Walking Dead (spoilers around the 48-minute mark), Mat shares his Black Ops 2 battle report, and Jett reveals his Rocksmith-related daddy issues. On top of that, we also discuss Wonderbook: Book of Spells, Dead Island, Dead or Alive 5, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy and more!

Jett – In Third Person
Jason – Downstab
Mat – Biff Bam Pop

The Recurring Bosscast: 005 – Bill Clinton in My Bedroom With Handcuffs

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Happy holidays from the Bosscast! We use our last episode of the year to reflect on the best, most underrated, and worst games we played in 2012. Jett also enlightens Mat and Jason on Boong-Ga Boong-Ga – an arcade game all about poking people in the bum. Though we didn’t get to go behind the Pacific Mall curtains to play this butt-poking simulator, we do talk about our experiences playing Street Fighter X Megaman, The Walking Dead, Pop’n Music and more!

Jett – In Third Person
Jason – Downstab
Mat – Biff Bam Pop

Lollipop Chainsaw Review

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Worst 18th birthday ever.

Star cheerleader Juliet Starling just wanted to go to school and see her boyfriend on her special day. Instead, she finds her school overrun with zombies. Luckily for everyone involved, she just so happens to be a certified zombie hunter, who regularly travels with her trusty chainsaw everywhere she goes. Wait, what?

Lollipop Chainsaw starts out ludicrous and only gets more insane from there. It’s Tarantino-esq presentation, storytelling and humour will definitely hit the spot for some. But does it make for an engaging gameplay experience?

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