After months of pain and suffering, our ragtag group of survivors have finally reached their promise land. All that stands between them and freedom is a boat. Or at least that’s the hope upon arrival. Spoilers: it’s not that easy.
video games
A Look Back at F-Zero X
When most think about the F-Zero franchise, their minds immediately head towards the Super Nintendo original. There’s no shame in that, as the original F-Zero is a classic. For me, when I hear the name, my head speeds towards my fond memories of the Nintendo 64 sequel F-Zero X. Though I feel it was highly overlooked, it was easily one of my favourite games on that system and one of my favourite racing games of all-time.
Borderlands 2 Review
Welcome back to the planet of Pandora, Vault Hunter. If it’s been awhile, things may appear much like how you left them last time. The cell-shaded art direction is seemingly the same. Many of the friends (and enemies) make a return. And of course, your primary motivation to explore this world is to collect increasingly superior loot.
But as you play through Borderlands 2, it’s clear that this isn’t just a new coat of paint. Granted, the added polish on the graphics look great. However, almost every other aspect of the game has seen meaningful upgrades that really refine the original vision.
Rayman Origins Review
For much of Rayman’s life, he’s suffered from an identity crisis. After his stunning debut outing, Super Mario 64 seemingly made 2D platformers obsolete. Ubisoft felt obligated to move Rayman into the third dimension, which led to a string of mediocre 3D platformers. Eventually, Rayman would find his name slapped on the Raving Rabbids mini-game collections, where he ultimately got out-shined by his insane rabbit compadres.
With seemingly nowhere else to go with the franchise, Ubisoft takes him back to his 2D platforming roots with Rayman Origins. Within minutes of playing this reboot, it’s clear that he never should have left.
Syndicate Single Player Review
Sometimes, a product can be lesser than the sum of its parts. Even if a product contains top quality components created by some of the best minds in the business, the way in which those components are implemented will ultimately dictate the difference between a stud and a dud. Off the top of my head, the ultimate example of this phenomenon is the mid-to-late 2000s New York Knicks. Despite spending the largest amount of money on players in the NBA, their team was terrible; all because its players could not mesh into a championship team – or even a competent one.
Judged on its components alone, Syndicate is a stud. Sporting gorgeous art direction, a great soundtrack (with a contribution from Skrillex, if dubstep is your thing), and clever moment-to-moment gameplay that’s been clearly thought out, there’s a distinct level of polish that most games wish they could boast. However, throughout my time playing it, I couldn’t shake my general sense of apathy towards the proceedings.
NBA Live 13 Gets Canceled
This wasn’t supposed to be NBA Elite all over again. With the extra year off, EA was supposed to return to basketball glory with NBA Live 13. Heck, NBA was even planning on making the offer sweeter by making it a cheaper downloadable game. So much for all of that, as EA just announced that NBA Live 13 has been officially canceled.
A Still Unnamed Podcast: Brought to You by Jett, Jason and Mat
In our final pilot episode, our vault hunters gush about Borderlands 2, bid adieu to the Wii, and look into our crystal balls to predict the Wii U’s future. We also talk about Street Fighter X Tekken Mobile, Just Cause 2, Color Bind and Dead Island along the way.
Next time you catch us in audio form, we’ll be fully equipped with a show name, a podcast feed you can subscribe to, and do all those other things that legit podcasts do. Until then, enjoy this one!
DOWNLOAD: jett_jason_mat_-_podcast_3_output_mp3
(Apologies for the crap downloading process. This is temporary until we get our dedicated feed set up!)
Jett – Splitkick, In Third Person, @jettlandicho
Jason – Inside Gaming Daily, Slick Gaming, @jjasicki
Mat – Biff Bam Pop, @matylang
Can You Play Borderlands 2 From a Third Person Perspective?
Since the release of Borderlands 2, my site has been slammed with traffic from users searching “Borderlands 2 third person” and all variations of that query. It seems like a lot of you want to know if/how to play Borderlands 2 from this particular camera angle, and coincidentally, my blog is called In Third Person. Though I appreciate all of the extra traffic to my site, I really hope Google isn’t driving people here that will ultimately be disappointed when my posts don’t answer the question. With that in mind, I’ll answer this seemingly burning question:
“Can you play Borderlands 2 from a third person perspective?
Coming Soon: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins
In just a few days, Capcom is scheduled to open the fighting game vault once again and release Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom 1 together as Marvel vs. Capcom Origins for XBOX Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Though this pair of vs. games may not have the legacy that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 does, they were considered great for their time.
Check Out My Mark of the Ninja Review on Splitkick
Released outside of the regular XBOX Live Arcade schedule, and with virtually no marketing, Mark of the Ninja was the talk of the town for a total of one day when the glowing launch-day reviews hit. If it weren’t for those, I wouldn’t have even know this game existed.
I’m so glad to have played it, because it is fantastic. As a guy who hates stealth games, that says a whole lot.
If you’d like to read my full review, head over to Splitkick to learn more!
SPLITKICK REVIEW: Mark of the Ninja
In Third Person 