VIRTUAL BASTION

A Tribute to a Tribute – Mortal Kombat: The Album

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of one of my favorite game-inspired soundtracks – Mortal Kombat: The Album. This techno romp through the mid-90s world of this now-classic fighting game isn’t for everyone, but it’s lovingly feisty and novel enough for me. My tribute to it here first appeared on Geek Force…

Crackdown 3 Is Out Later This Month…Wow.

Crackdown 3 is out later this month, and…it’s kind of weird saying that. Games suddenly emerging from the bowels of development purgatory are nothing new, but after so many delays and so deadlines broken, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought the game would eventually wind up being vaporware. Obviously, I was wrong.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate Review

Now that I’ve worked my way through the majority of Super Smash Bros Ultimate, the biggest game of its franchise to date, I thought it was time to write a little review. Since this game is so big, it would be difficult to discuss everything thoroughly without creating a very long post indeed, so I’m…

Hollow Knight is the Metroid Sequel I Never Knew I wanted

I know I’m a little late to the party here. I mean, Hollow Knight spent almost the last two years getting all manner of praise heaped upon it. If you’re interested in platformers at all, you’ve probably already heard how good the game is, and you don’t need me to convince you. All that said…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #91

Up this week: Vexx (GameCube, 2003) – a little-known fantasy 3D platformer Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U, 2014) – completed! This week featuring a “Best Of” video. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii, 2010) – makes a brief return with a “Best Of” video! Midway Arcade Treasures (GameCube, 2003) – various retro games for…

Patience is a Virtue…Maybe

This week, Kingdom Hearts fans who have been waiting thirteen years for an actual sequel to Kingdom Hearts II, have had their dreams realized in the form, finally, of Kingdom Hearts III. Last year, Persona fans got their hands on the series latest installment, the much-heralded Persona 5 after just a ten-year wait. Dipping into…

Resident Evil 2 (Remake) is Already Getting a Free Update

Resident Evil 2 (Remake) is already off to great start filled with both critical and commercial success. Horror fans are thoroughly enjoying the game, and its about to get even better. Capcom announced Monday that Resident Evil 2 will be getting a free update on February 15, one that will add three additional stories exploring…

Top 5 Sub-Worlds in Ultimate’s World of Light

Having completed Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s World of Light, I have to say I had mixed feelings about the whole experience, but that’s a subject for another post. The biggest highlight for me were the game’s sub-worlds (the locations reached via portals), which managed to break up the tedium of battles with some puzzles, quizzes,…

On Machinima Closing Their Channel

Last week it was discovered that Machinima, the once-massive and massively despised YouTube multi-channel network, had set everything on their channel to private. EVERYTHING. Every video they’d published over the past 19 years, gone just like that. As hated as the network is, it normally wouldn’t be a big deal. However, many a classic video…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #90

Up this week: Vexx (GameCube, 2003) – a little-known fantasy 3D platformer Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U, 2014) – the newest game in the Donkey Kong Country series Midway Arcade Treasures (GameCube, 2003) – various retro games for our “Nostalgic Notions” series Connect: Twitter ~ Facebook ~ wegameunited@gmail.com Watch: YouTube ~ Video Bastion…

To Craft or Not to Craft?

Last week, my new favorite obsession on the PS4, Neverwinter, received a significant update, which included a complete overhaul of its crafting system. Prior to the update, in-game crafting was, well…in my mind, it was perfectly fine, though some might call it dull. Crafting was a mostly passive experience. In the game, you simply navigated…

In Case You Missed it, There’s a Power Rangers Fighting Game in the Works!

So…there’s a new Power Rangers game in the works, and this time it’s a 2D fighter instead of a beat ’em up! Based on the trailer, it looks like we’ll not only get to fight villains in this one, but also finally settle which ranger is objectively the best!

Unforgettable: Master Hand and the World of Light

In case you’re wondering about the vague title, I didn’t want to spoil something major for Ultimate’s World of Light, so… Ahem, though World of Light was not nearly as cinematic as Brawl’s Subspace Emissary, what few moments it did have were epic indeed. But what I think surprised me the most was not any…

On Bungie’s Departure From Activision

Early last week, Bungie and Activision shocked the gaming world by announcing the Bungie’s departure from the publisher, and their retention of the Destiny IP. It was no secret that relations between the two businesses were tense since before the launch of the original Destiny, but they had an agreement; a contract that was supposed…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #89

Xbox: Goodbye or Hello?

For the past several years, my household has started off each new year with the same question: Do we need a new console? Some years this has meant, do we need to replace a dying but still useful console?, such as an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. (As far as our library goes, these consoles…

Rocket League Has Crossplay on PS4 Now

After an excessively long period of insisting that it couldn’t be done, Sony has finally opened up their previously walled garden to crossplay with the other riff-raff out there. Given how adamant Sony was in their stance, I was certain the day would never come, but here we are. It’s 2019 and we can finally…

Who is Your Smash Bros Main?

Now that Super Smash Bros Ultimate has been out for a little over a month, I thought it would be fun to pose a little question to all of my fellow Smash Bros fans out there. Who is your main and why? If you want, I can go first….

Super Mario Party Finally Gets It Right!

I’ve been a fan of the Mario Party series since the very first one back on the the Nintendo 64. I’ve played countless hours across Mario Party 1, 2 and 3, and moderately enjoyed the first couple of entries on the GameCube. Ever since then though, I’ve been waiting for an entry in the series…

Resident Evil 2 Demo Available, Has a Catch

Resident Evil 2 is only about a couple of weeks away now, but avid fans can get some early hands-on time right now. If you have an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, all you have to do is download the recently released Resident Evil 2 “One-Shot” Demo. It’ll put you in the shoes of Raccoon…

Kindgom Hearts is Almost Here, The End is Finally in Sight

When I saw the E3 trailer for Kingdom Hearts III, I was honestly not all that excited about it. I used to be a massive Kingdom Hearts fan back when it was still relatively new. I knew Sora’s story backwards and forwards; I mastered the combat; I completed both Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 multiple…

Sonic Team Leader Might Want to Remake Sonic Adventure

When Sonic Mania was released, we all were convinced that Sonic Team and the Sonic fanbase had finally reached an understanding. We thought that Sonic was finally on the right track. …and then they released Sonic Forces, putting everything back to square one. I’d say Sonic Team doesn’t know how to get Sonic right, but…

Trophies: My Final (Late) Gripe of 2018

The year of 2018 was a decent year for gaming, and 2019 is looking like it’ll be even better. After spending this last month talking about all the good things we’ve seen this year and all the great stuff coming next year, I figured now would be the best time to finally talk about something…

Listmas 2018: Games I Want to Play Next Year

Last week, the Duck talked about games I didn’t get around to playing in 2018. In my final Listmas post, I shall be looking to the future and listing the games I plan to play in 2019! There are some pretty good ones coming up this year….

Listmas 2018: Games I Can’t Wait to Play!

Welp, the end of 2018 will soon be upon us. Much like 2017 before it, it was both a great and terrible year for gaming. The highs reached were almost astronomical while some of the lows really couldn’t get much lower if they tried. That said, 2019 is looking like it’ll be even better, and…

GRIS is Something Special

I realize Wednesdays are usually news days around here, but I’ve got something a little more important to talk about this week. There’s no crisis that needs discussing or anything, just an excellent game that feel deserves all the attention it can get. As you might have guessed from the title, that game is GRIS.

Listmas 2018: Games I Didn’t Get to Play This Year

With 2018 nearly at an end, we’re spending this week listing the games we wanted to play, but didn’t get around to. The Duck’s list is going to include games released in 2018, plus a few others.

Listmas 2018: Games I Didn’t Get Around To

Merry Listmas everyone! As long as the year is, it’s still very easy to run its entire length and still miss out on playing at least a few of the games you’d planned on spending some time with. Just like with my last list, I wasn’t sure how to build this one at first. This…

Beyond Good And Evil 2 Gets Explained

Beyond Good and Evil 2 is a game that’s been in the making for about 10 years. That’s not 10 years of continuous development mind you, but rather how long the rumors of its existence have been floating about. So when fans got to see actual in-game footage of this long-fabled project at E3 2018,…

Listmas 2018: Top Games with Stylized Graphics

With video game graphics getting more and more realistic, the games that really stand out to me above all others are actually those with interesting and unique art styles. There’s certainly something to be said for a game that looks like a work of art, and below, I’d like to list my top examples of…

Listmas 2018: Games I Didn’t Think I’d Like (But Did Anyway)

Most of time, I only buy games I’m pretty sure I’m going to like. Games aren’t cheap things after, neither in terms of money nor in time. If I’m going to invest in a game, I want to know that I’ll enjoy my time with it. That said, I wound up taking more than a…

Destiny 2’s Black Armory Has Arrived

The first installment of Destiny 2: Forsaken’s Annual Pass, Black Armory, is here. Instead of the minor update many fans were fearing, it seems that this is will indeed be a proper piece of DLC instead. As the name might imply, the Black Armory is bringing players a new set of weapons to play around…

Listmas 2018: Most Memorable Odyssey Moments

Listmas is back for another season of list-making mayhem! Santa’s got his list of good and naughty children. We here at Virtual Bastion have lists for more gaming topics than you can shake a Wiimote at. In recent months, I got the immense joy of playing Super Mario Odyssey. Though I had many memorable moments…

Listmas 2018: Top Gaming Moments

At long last Listmas 2018 is here and we’re kicking things off by listing our most memorable gaming moments of the whole year. This list was actually a little trickier to build than I though it would be. Despite having less time to just game than I’ve ever had before, I still managed to play,…

Pauline’s Coming To Mario Tennis Aces!

Nintendo released a new trailer a earlier this week revealing some of the new characters coming to Mario Tennis Aces early next year. The first two weren’t anything particularly special: just Luma and Boom Boom. Dunno who Boom Boom even is, but Luma is a nice addition; I was starting to wonder if we’d get…

I’m Grateful For: Overlooked Conveniences

Good day, dear readers! Are you ready to be thankful! I can’t hear you!!! Ahem, it’s time to discuss a few more things the Duck is grateful for in celebration of Thanksgiving. Today will be a random collection of convenient gaming features the Duck appreciates that most people probably overlook.

Making Time For Live Services

Ever since Destiny 2: Forsaken came out back in September, I’ve really been trying to put time into the game. I’ve raised my character up to 585 Power (close to max), did all the strikes, got some nice loot, spent plenty of time in the Crucible with my trust Main Ingredient fusion rifle, and even…

Don’t Forget About ‘Gooigi’

The Luigi’s Mansion remake for the Nintendo 3DS has been out for a couple weeks now and it’s actually pretty good. Aside from the somewhat wonky controls required by the 3DS, the game plays well and even adds some extra challenge for players who’ve already mastered the Gamecube original. Upon completing the game, players can…

‘Entitlement’ Goes Both Ways

The announcement of the mobile game Diablo: Immortal has been controversial to say the least. For those unaware, the basic gist is this: at BlizzCon 2018, Activision Blizzard decided to announce a brand new mobile Diablo game known as “Diablo: Immortal,” and it sparked a great deal of outrage among fans both in attendance at…

Co-Op Comes to Tomb Raider with ‘The Forge’ Challenge Tomb

Tomb Raider games have always been solo experiences, and that’s held true with the most recent entry in the reboot series: Shadow of the Tomb Raider. However, it appears that’s changed with the arrival of the game’s first DLC challenge tomb: “The Forge.” In this new challenge tomb, two players can work together to solve…