Sony announces new PS4 Pro bundle. Get hype?

Earlier this week, Sony announced a new Limited Edition PS4 Pro Destiny 2 bundle. It features a one terabyte white console, a matching white controller, a hard copy of the game, and a digital voucher for the expansion pass and extra DLC. Its list price is $449, and if you need to mark your calendar,…

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Indie Games On-Demand?

There is a new subscription-based video game service launching soon. The service is called “Jump“, and will be offering an initial library of 60-100 for a flat fee of $9.99 per month. The service is currently in closed beta until July 24th, but once it launches it will offer users unlimited ad-free access to a…

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A Cry for Help from a Weary Kingdom Hearts Fan

Now that I’ve gotten through Breath of the Wild and Yooka-Laylee, my top two games of the year, I’ve been working my way through Kingdom Hearts 2.8.  The bulk of this game’s time has, and will continue to be, spent on the remake of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance.  The most exciting game in this…

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Persona 5 and Rivers in the Desert

I know that I’m about three months late in saying this, but I gotta say it anyway: Persona 5 is excellent! I’d never played a Persona game before this one, so I went into it not really knowing what to expect. What I got was a game with a familiar-yet-new combat system, characters that I…

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YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #17

Hello, everyone! It’s been quite a week, eh? Maybe you enjoyed a little extra time off thanks to the 4th of July holiday. Or maybe you slogged through the week knowing that there was surely a light — a great weekend — at the end of the tunnel. Either way, we’re glad that you stopped…

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Playing Games Past Their Prime

I’m about to type something that might prove…irksome. Ahem. I don’t get Shadow of the Colossus. Oh, I heard that gasp! alright. But hear me out. I’ve only just started the game and have taken down a mere four colossi. It took me three of them to really understand the controls and tactics of the…

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Nintendo’s Coming to Universal Studios

There are a lot of franchises out there that have gotten the theme-park treatment, though rarely, if ever, are those franchises of the video game variety.  Even so, I would often think of how well-suited Nintendo would be for its very own land in a theme park.  And what do you know, it’s actually happening! …

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YouTube Highlights: Weekly Edition #16

It is with good tidings that we welcome you into our humble abode. Our humble gaming abode, that is. It is hereby that time of the week where we display our valiant efforts at playing the games we love from our YouTube channel, all for your amusement. Yes, it’s YouTube Highlights time! Today might mark…

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SNES Classic Mini Almost Immediately Sold Out in UK

Earlier this week, Nintendo finally announced the highly anticipated the SNES Classic Mini. To the delight of many a Nintendo fan, the company stated that they intend to produce “significantly more” of the item than its predecessor. While this is certainly a welcome announcement, it doesn’t seem to be translating into greater availability for the…

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Unforgettable: The Ending of Halo: Reach

Most stories follow a similar pattern.  Certain rules are rarely broken.  One such rule is that the good guys don’t usually die.  It happens, but most of the time when our heroes are in danger, there is no real need for concern because we know the main characters typically have a way of surviving their…

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Beyond Good & Evil 2 Prototype Gameplay and Reiging-In the Hype

Beyond Good and Evil 2 is still a very long way off. The fact that it’s happening at all is certainly something to be excited about, but it’s important not to let the hype take control just yet. The trailer shown at E3, while looking very much like the kind of game Beyond Good and…

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YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #15

Hello, once again, good people of the world wide web. I have triumphantly returned to bring you Virtual Bastion’s latest round of YouTube highlights! Before we get to the videos, I just want to extend a THANK YOU from us to our current subscribers. We’re trying to reach 100 subs, so if you like what…

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Resonance: Hivory Towers

While Yooka-Laylee was not quite what we had all hoped it would be, there is one area where it absolutely delivered, and that was nostalgia.  After having completed the game only about a month ago, and despite having a rather rocky time with it, I already kind of miss it.  I think some of the…

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Beyond Good & Evil 2: Different But Still Familiar

At this year’s E3, long-time fans of Beyond Good and Evil finally got the announcement they’d been waiting for since 2009: concrete proof that Beyond Good and Evil 2 was in development. Ubisoft had previously announced that the game was in development back in October 2016, but talk is cheap when it comes to a…

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Metroid Is Back!

It’s been a long wait, but our day has finally come my fellow Metroid fans! Nintendo has announced not just one but two upcoming Metroid games! After the seeing nothing of substance released for the series since 2010’s Metroid: Other M, holding out hope for a new game was starting to become difficult. Here we…

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Why E3 is Still Important

“I’m pleased  to announce…” These are the magic words of E3. They stoke excitement and they inspire the imagination. They are the prelude to much of what the audience is there to see. The show’s relevance has been getting called into question with increasing frequency over the years, and it’s understandable. Thanks to the internet the…

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Hello Neighbor Alpha 4: Thoughts and Theories

For the last month or so, I have been frequently checking Youtube in the hopes of discovering more updates for the intriguing indie game, Hello Neighbor.  If you’re not familiar with this game, allow me to summarize.  Simply put, your goal is to sneak into your neighbor’s house and discover what he’s hiding in his…

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Ghost of a Tale: A Redwall-Inspired RPG Adventure

In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for me to find enough new games that really interest me.  Many of my favorite series have since ended or update quite rarely.  Plus, I have grown far pickier over how I spend my money.  To continue my quest for new and interesting games, I have been…

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A Look Inside Breath of the Wild’s DLC Pack 1

As many of you no doubt know, it was announced some time back that owners of Breath of the Wild could pay a $20 fee for some DLC entitled “Expansion Pass” (which I discussed in a past post).  Aside from some bonuses I assume were initially available for anyone who bought the DLC, several additional…

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YouTube Highlights: Weekly Edition #9

You know how they say time flies when you’re having fun? Well, that’s certainly true when it comes to our YouTube channel, because we’ve been having loads of fun sharing our Let’s Plays with you! Once again, thanks to all our subscribers  for the likes, comments, suggestions, and general goodness. It all goes a long…

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Will Red Dead Redemption 2 sound as good, if not better than the first?

Earlier this week, an article popped up on VG247 discussing marked similarities, as pointed out by a NeoGAF member, between the song used in in Red Dead Redempetion 2’s announcement trailer, and a song titled “Apertura” (from The Motorcycle Diaries) by Gustavo Santaolalla. Take a listen below. Santaolalla is a composer with plenty of meaty…

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Yooka-Laylee: A Game with Good Intentions

Fans of the Banjo-Kazooie series have long-awaited a true sequel since Banjo-Tooie’s release on the Nintendo 64 in 2000.  When Yooka-Laylee was finally announced as a spiritual successor to the much-beloved pair of platformers, I’m sure every Banjo-Kazooie fan jumped for joy.  Many people, like myself, hoped that Yooka-Laylee would harken in a new era…

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YouTube Highlights: Weekly Edition #8

Greetings and salutations, good people. We’ve reached the end of another week, and that means it’s time to take a trip around Virtual Bastion’s week in YouTube. We certainly do appreciate all the love we’ve received there (and here!) about our new name and look, so a big thank you is due to all you…

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Finale!

Well, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Believe it or not, and despite all things Mass Effect: Andromeda, I have been slooooowly winding my way through the final chapter of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, a game that I picked up on a whim a few months back. And I’m pleased to report that I made it…

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Unreal Engine 4 is Surprisingly Friendly to New Developers

The power of Unreal Engine 4 continues to impress as more and more developers put it through its paces. We seen what the engine could do for some of our favorite games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but what about completely new projects? What can a completely new developer do with it? More…

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Four New Zelda: BotW Features the Duck Can’t Live Without

Just because my time with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has come to a close, that doesn’t mean I have stopped thinking about it.  This game was an amazing experience, and it introduced a plethora of improvements that have elevated the Zelda franchise to new heights.  Below is a list of the…

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YouTube Highlights: Weekly Edition #7

Hello, one and all! We hope that you’ve been having a good time exploring our new digs. We’ve been busy sprucing up the place, making sure that everything is just right. So don’t mind our mess…instead just sit back and enjoy the return of our weekly YouTube highlights! (And be sure to follow Virtual Bastion…

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A Blissful Pursuit: My Relationship Fighting Games [REVISITED]

The following is a repost of an original article that first appeared here on April 16, 2015. This week saw the release of Mortal Kombat X, the latest title in that ubiquitous fighting saga that, if nothing else, well popularized the phrase “Get over here!” But this week also marks another Mortal Kombat milestone: the 20th…

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Time To Go Full Throttle?

DoubleFine fans will still need to wait awhile until the studio is ready to release Psychonauts 2, but those looking for a taste of that wonderfully delightful DoubleFine flair in the meantime are in luck. Another early classic from Tim Schafer’s time at LucasArts has been remastered and released earlier this week! Which excellent piece…

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Breath of the Wild: A Review

It is probably safe to say that The Legend of Zelda series is one of the most beloved in video game history.  With a history of 30 years and counting, it is only natural, then, that such a series would need to change, either to keep up with improving technology or to prevent itself from…

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Spring is Here! Let’s Talk about Games!

Winter is dead. Long live spring! Yup, spring has finally started to settle in around here, so thoughts have naturally turned from staying warm and video games to enjoying the warmer weather…and video games. Alright, so maybe the improved weather doesn’t change all that much after all, but it does have me wanting to see…

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Mass Effect: Andromeda — Screenshot Theater

Being over three weeks old now, Mass Effect: Andromeda feels a little like old news. Most people I know who have it have already completed at least one playthrough. Speedy hares they are! I, on the other hand, am the tortoise in this gaming race — slow and steady. And yes, this is a fancy…

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Breath of the Wild Finally Comes to a Close

It’s been a, ahem, rather wild month, but I’ve finally completed Breath of the Wild.  I feel like a strange emptiness has suddenly opened up in my life after all the many hours I have devoted to this game, but at the same time, I’m also relieved because, honestly, I’m a bit burned out at…

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