VIRTUAL BASTION

Playing Forsaken While Eating My Words

I’ve not been kind to Destiny 2 or its developer, Bungie, for a good portion of this year. As I’ve said in several of my posts, I’ve been a Destiny fan for a long time, and I was particularly disappointed with Destiny 2 at launch. It was enough to get me to stop playing the…

Still Feeling Cautiously Optimistic About Anthem

“Anthem looks interesting.” That’s more or less what I’ve been thinking ever since the game was announced. Plenty has been released about it; plenty has been shown, but I’m still not feeling all that much excitement for the game. This latest trailer, like all the others, shows a game that looks very promising. And yet…

Is Xbox All Access a Game-Changer?

Taking a potentially bold step forward, Microsoft recently announced Xbox All Access. Signing up for the two-year, monthly payment program will not only get you a brand new Xbox – the Xbox One S or Xbox One X – but also two years of Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass. There’s a nice breakdown…

Octopath Traveler is the Right Kind of Simple

I’ve been finding myself drawn to games that don’t require all that much thought lately. I mean that’s not exclusively what I’ve been playing, quite the opposite actually. Now that I’ve finished Vampyr (finally!), I feel like I can act on this attraction (such as it is). It’s kind of strange, but as my working…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #72

Happy Friday, friends and fellow gamers! With the end of yet another week comes the opportunity for us to share more enjoyable highlights from our YouTube channel! No matter if you’ve been following us for awhile or have just joined (welcome!), we do hope that you’ll enjoy the moderate spread of gaming goodness that we’ve…

Persona 3 Portable: Final update

When I first started playing Person 3 Portable late last year, I had no idea of what laid ahead. I tried, and failed at the original Shim Megami Tensei. But it was interesting, nonetheless. I remember being highly intrigued by Persona 4 and even more so by Persona 5. After playing a teensy bit of…

Makers of ‘Until Dawn’ Trademark ‘Shattered State’

For many “Until Dawn” was one of the better horror experiences to come about during this console generation. Sure, it was more or less just a spooky walking-simulator peppered with QTEs, but that spookiness came across in a major way. “Until Dawn” sold its players on its atmosphere and managed to send a chill down…

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Might Just Live Up to Its Name

I usually don’t let hype get the better of me when deciding whether or not I should buy a video game. Trailers are still fun to watch, and I often talk animatedly with my friends about this announcement or that reveal. However, I still like to think myself as a rational gaming consumer most of…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #71

Hello good people, one and all! Tis that magical time of the week when we share a selection of highlights from our YouTube channel. And how nice it is, because there’s so much gaming to highlight! We’re currently featuring videos from our two ongoing Let’s Plays of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the…

Thoughts on Red Dead Redemption II’s first gameplay video

When it comes to new games I really want to play, I often start avoiding news, trailers, etc. a couple months before release. I like to be as surprised as possible once I load up my new experience. But with Red Dead Redemption II, the excitement I feel is far too palpable for me to…

It’s Official…King. K Rool is in SSB!

I’ll admit that, in recent times, I haven’t really bothered to keep up with gaming news. Life’s taken up too much of my focus, plus I haven’t felt the need to spend a large quantity of cash on the Nintendo Switch when it only possesses one game I actually feel like playing (Super Mario Odyssey,…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #70

Whew, what a week! If ever there was a need for some gaming goodness, well…never fear, because our YouTube channel is here! Uh…here, actually. No matter where you click, it’s for some YouTube Highlights, which is the perfect remedy for a week such as this one. This time we’re bringing you more from our two…

Destiny 2: Solstice of Heroes Looks Interesting

Destiny 2’s brand new summer event, Solstice of Heroes, is now in full swing. The month-long event gives players access to new gear, remixed campaign missions, and new challenges to complete. This appears to be a special event aimed specifically at players who’ve stuck with the game through all the goofiness its gone through thus…

Vampyr and the Torment of Temptation

In some ways, Vampyr is very frustrating. It features frequent load times. It’s combat is kind of clunky and never quite allows the player to have the upper hand against their enemy; this leads to frequent defeats and sitting through the above-mentioned load times. Resources feel finite, and leveling-up comes with risks. Now, what if…

Shadow of the Tomb Raider Has a Hub City This Time

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is promising a somewhat different experience from that offered by the previous two games. The trailers shown thus far certainly show a darker story about (among other things) Lara (finally) being confronted with the consequences of some of her decisions. Pretty cool, no? Well it looks like the story isn’t…

There’s No Escaping the Backlog

It wasn’t too long ago that I used to be a different kind of gamer. The kind of gamer who spent every moment of free time they had on finishing their next game. The kind of gamer who would play games through multiple times, and then revisit them every year to relive the experience. I…

Hopefully Conquering Final Fantasy 8: Part 4 – The Moment of Truth

My most recent playthrough of Final Fantasy VIII has been going swimmingly. Or, to be more accurate, it was. Because it has now come to an end. I pretty much completed every extra task, with the exception of winning Doomtrain back from the Queen of Cards’ son. He just wouldn’t use it. Except for this…

Even if Forsaken is Amazing, I Might Still Be Done With Destiny For Good

I haven’t played Destiny 2 since the first couple of weeks after it launched in September 2017. Even though I went in expecting it to be less than what the original Destiny was, but was still massively disappointed by the sheer lack of features and complete (and unnecessary) retooling of how everything worked. Over the…

Monstrum is a New Mesh of Roguelike and Survival Horror

Developed by Team Junkfish, Monstrum promises to combine the best elements of the survival-horror and roguelike genres. All the elements appear to be here, but the question is whether or not the team behind it can really pull it off.

Resonance: Fossil Falls

I know that I can’t say that Super Mario Galaxy is an objectively awesome game, but I really want to! I realize that it trades tight level design for worlds that are often a little too big, and getting Power Moons is altogether too easy. I can acknowledge that. It’s not a perfect game and…

Remedy’s New Game is Called “Control”

After the disappointing performance of Quantum Break, it looks like Remedy is back and ready to get back to what they do best: pairing third-person action with mind-bending phenomenon. It’s not that Quantum Break didn’t deal with potentially mind-bending subject matter, it did deal with time travel after all; it’s just that time-travel isn’t all…

Resonance: Rain

The Halo games have changed quite a bit over the past few years, and not always for the better. One could even argue that the series started going downhill right after Halo 3. I disagree. Without getting into it, the Halo series entered its prime with Halo 3 and only started declining with Halo 4…

Resonance: Kushi’s Ride

This is not the first time we’ve written a Resonance post for Okami. Why, way back in 2013, I wrote about a rather interesting tune called Giant Monster in Wait. Three years later in 2016, Hatm0nster discussed Battle of Orochi II. There’s a good reason why Okami has gotten so much attention, for it is…

Resonance: Don’t Think Twice

With all this E3 buzz in the air this week, I found myself drawn away from gaming’s past and focused upon what looks like an almost blindingly bright future. True, this year’s E3 didn’t have everything I wanted to see, but it did have a lot. Rage 2, Death Stranding, Prey DLC, Super Smash Bros….

Nintendo Didn’t Bring Much to E3, But Was Still Impressive

I’ll be honest, with the Switch such a good state, I was expecting quite a lot from Nintendo at this year’s E3. I was expecting Metroid news. I was hoping for Animal Crossing news. I was sure that I was finally going to see more news about that new Yoshi game they’re working on. Alas,…

Resonance: Uphill Both Ways

So, anyone still remember Halo: Reach? Of course you do! I know I certainly do (…I’m not the only one, right?) I’ve often said that Halo 3 is my favorite of the entire series, and for the most part, that’s true. Halo 3 gave me some of my fondest gaming memories, and was my very…

Bungie Partners with NetEase to the Tune of $100 Million

The gaming community has been a buzz for the last few days over Bungie’s new partnership with NetEase, a Chinese tech and gaming company. In a post on Bungie’s official forum, the developer stated that they’ve entered into the partnership in order to move towards self-publishing smaller-scale games in the future. Of course, this announcement…

Resonance: Time To Relax

It’s Resonance month everybody! This is perhaps our longest running series of articles, and since it’s our five year anniversary, why not take the opportunity to really dive into it for once, right? To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what song I should talk about to kick things off. I have plenty personal favorites…

Resident Evil 7 Coming to Nintendo Switch…Via the Cloud?

On Sunday, Nintendo and Capcom announced that the much beloved latest entry in the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil 7, will soon be coming to Nintendo Switch. While most Switch-owning horror fans will certainly welcome this, the announcement is still surprising considering Resident Evil 7’s impressive visuals. It’s a game that shouldn’t be able to…

N-No Virtual Console for the Switch?!

Say it ain’t so, Nintendo! Say it ain’t so! Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just…a bit upset right now. It’s fine, really. But hey, did you hear, Nintendo is apparently not bringing the Virtual Console to the Switch! What is happening to my life! I am ill-prepared for this news; why, cruel world, why! (Oh,…

Octopath Traveler Introduces Final Two Characters, Reveals Features

Fans of the classic Final Fantasy games may have something to forward to this July. See, Square-Enix is releasing a new JRPG on the Switch that both calls back to the classic 2D JRPGs and advances the genre in significant, but somewhat subtle ways. This game is known as Octopath Traveler, an RPG that puts…

Sunday Video Round Up: September 9 – 15

We’re back at the weekend and that means it’s time for a brand new Video Round Up! We’re still a few days away from the official start of the annual Tokyo Game Show, but that hasn’t stopped some companies from releasing trailers early. There’s a lot to get to, so here’s a small taste of…

Comparing Crash Bandicoot 1-3

After many long hours of platforming peril, both delightful and frustrating, the Duck has finally completed the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. And almost with 100%, too. While I was able to get 100% in the first two games (minus the relics), I was not able to get the final gem in the third game. …

The Duck Finally Plays Crash Bandicoot

(Note: I know I’ve already written posts about playing Crash Bandicoot…I simply forgot to publish this until now….) The Duck’s mission to experience all the classic games I possibly can has been mighty successful these past several years. I’ve played such beloved SNES titles as Super Metroid, EarthBound, and Super Mario RPG. I’ve even caught…

Sunday Video Round Up: August 19 – 25

If last week seemed a little light on content, this week will more than make up for it. The big news is that GamesCom 2018 finally arrived and of course, plenty of new content and trailers erupted out of it. So, let’s get to it then! Regardless of how you feel about Destiny 2, Bungie…