VIRTUAL BASTION

The Road to Resistance is Paved with Good Intentions in The Outer Worlds

I must admit that I had pretty high hopes for The Outer Worlds when I started playing it late last October. I mostly ignored whatever the big gaming sites had to say about it, preferring, instead, to read the blogosphere’s judgement. Which was roundly positive. Well, mostly. In the midst of reading, I penned a…

Dreams Has Gone Gold

Free-form game-making uh…game has gone gold! This means that the game is now feature complete and mostly polished. All the developers have to do now is chase down minor bugs and work on further optimizations for the game’s launch on February 14th!

A Newcomer’s MediEvil (PS4) Review

I want to start off this review by saying that, no, I have never played the original MediEvil game on the PS1, having been a Nintendo-only sort of gamer back in the 90’s. In fact, my first exposure to the series, in any sort of form, was the inclusion of Sir Daniel in PlayStation All-Stars…

Top 5(-ish): Favorite Games in 2019

Happy new year everyone! At last the holiday season is over and we can all get back to our normal lives with a little more pep in our step. It’s a new year filled with new possibilities, but I’ve still got one more list I’d like to share before getting back into the full swing…

Top 5: Favorite Games Played in 2019

Happy 2020, y’all! With the start of a whole new year with lots of twos and zeroes, it seems more than appropriate to bridge this moment between the end of Listmas and the beginning of a new year in gaming with a festive not-Listmas list post. And that list, the one that is right here,…

Listmas 2019: The Duck’s 6 Favorite Mini Games

For our final week of Listmas 2019, we decided to write about anything we felt like. Ironically enough, the Duck usually doesn’t enjoy mini games. In fact, I often resent it when a game makes me play them in order to progress or to obtain an item I need for 100%. However, having recently enjoyed…

Listmas 2019: Games For Christmas-time

Hey everyone! I hope your Christmas season was filled with fun times and good cheer! I know this is coming a little late, but we’ve still got New Year’s this week, so maybe you’ve still got enough quality time with your consoles coming to really enjoy some your favorite games. I definitely do, and these…

Listmas 2019: Holiday-ing with Games

Christmas, Christmas time is here! And whether you’re still reveling in gifts or looking for a cozy spot to take a nap on this day after, it’s also as good a time as any to pick up a controller and dive into a game or seven. In my household, the season of Christmas and New…

Listmas 2019: The Duck’s Favorite Games to Play Around Christmastime

This week, we’re covering the games we enjoy playing around Christmastime, whether it be alone or with others. I must confess that I don’t have many games that I would specifically play around Christmas, so I’m instead going to largely focus on games that I have played around Christmas (regardless of how much fun was…

Listmas 2019: Jubilant Jiggies

When it comes to gaming, I think there’s nothing quite so satisfying as collecting things in good, old-fashioned platformer. I’m honestly not sure what it is about it. Maybe it’s the little celebrations the characters do every time they get the thing; maybe its that little burst of excitement from completing a goal, or maybe…

Listmas 2019: Getting Jiggy With It

Who got jiggy with it first? Will Smith or Banjo and Kazooie? Not that it really matters, because we all know the real answer. And it’s that the Banjo-Kazooie series is among the best 3D platformers ever! And while these besties, (errr, mostly, at least when Kazooie isn’t being uppity) have plenty to celebrate, least…

DualShock 4 Gets a New Button!

It’s kind of weird seeing this since the idea of official controller attachments is still kind new to me, but really this has been a long time coming. There’s been a demand for more “professionally-oriented” controllers for some time now, so it’s odd that it’s taken Sony this long to bring a product to market….

Listmas 2019: The Duck’s Favorite Jiggies

With Banjo and Kazooie’s semi-recent inclusion in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, we thought we’d make a list dedicated specifically to the bear and bird duo, a list of our favorite Jiggies! Today, I am listing my top 5 Jiggies from each game on the Nintendo 64. Let’s get started!

Listmas 2019: The Best Ways to Get Around

One of the best things about gaming in general is the myriad of transportation options available to players. Most of the time it’s mundane stuff like cars, horses and planes, but not always. Sometimes we get to indulge in a bit of fantasy and unreality, and that’s where the magic happens! Using these is part…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #134

Up this week: Nostalgic Notions (multiple consoles) – our periodic feature showcasing various classic and retro titles Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage (PS4, 2018) – enjoy more fiery fun from this second game on the Spyro Reignited Trilogy Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Wii, 2009) – tackling the further adventures of Samus, where this time she faces…

Listmas 2019: Round Round, Get Around, I Get Around

When it comes to moving about in games, some of them offer more options than just your two feet. For this week’s Listmas list, our topic is all about transportation, which, I will admit with my choices, I have widely interpreted to mean anything from things you actually ride/drive to things that help quicken your…

Cross-play Has Finally Come Minecraft on PS4

As reluctant as they were to allow it, it looks like Sony is being true to their word in regard to allowing cross-play on their platform. The next wave of cross-play-enabled games is coming, and the first among them is Minecraft! The Bedrock version of the game has finally hit PlayStation 4, and it’s about…

Listmas 2019: Top 6 Favorite Modes of Transportation

This week, we’re covering our favorite modes of transportation in gaming. And when I started thinking about all the possible options for this particular list, I realized that there is truly a wide variety of ways to get around. And they don’t all have to be vehicles, either. And so, below are the Duck’s top…

Listmas 2019: 5 Best 'Waiting Around' Moments

Idle animations have always be somewhat underappreciated in games, don’t you think? The developers could just let the characters stand there like statues while we do whatever it is that’s taken us away from the game, but they don’t. More often than not, game makers take the opportunity to add just a little more fun…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #133

Listmas 2019: Just Idling

Welcome once again to everyone’s favorite time of year…Listmas! As devoted followers, you, no doubt, already know that we’ve kicking off our favorite blogging holiday celebration with a particularly interesting topic on a game element that’s easy to overlook: idle animations. That’s to say, the things your character or characters do when you put down…

Listmas 2019: Top 5 Favorite Idle Animations

As you no doubt know (but I need an intro), idle animations have always served as fun little Easter eggs in select games. In platformers in particular (but not always), I’ve always enjoyed just standing still and watching what my characters do when they’re bored. Honestly, they’re a great way to add extra personality to…

Merry Listmas Everyone!

Well everyone, looks like the holiday season is upon us once again. That’s right, it’s finally time for another holly, jolly Listmas. As is tradition here on Virtual Bastion, December is the month of Listmas and boy have we been looking forward to it! For the next few weeks, we’ll be serving up all manner…

Returning To Reach After 7 Years

Despite all that’s happened over the past several years and all of the incredible games that I’ve played in that time, some part of me still can’t believe that it’s been about seven years since I last booted up Halo: Reach. I’ve always insisted that Halo 3 was my favorite of the series, but I…

Resonance: The Outer Worlds – Main Theme

Even though the Mass Effect series has become my current jam, it doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about The Outer Worlds. In it, my “new” ship is currently waiting patiently for me to blast off from the town of Edgewater to unknown places and further adventures in the greater galaxy. My character, Charlee, waiting there, too,…

Gris is on PS4 Now

One of my absolute favorite games from 2018 is finally out on PlayStation 4! Yeah, I admit it; I absolutely love this game, and I was a little disappointed that it could only be found on the Nintendo Switch and PC at first. I consider it too good to be confined to a single system….

Top 5 Boss Fights in Luigi’s Mansion 3

As I already mentioned in my Luigi’s Mansion 3 review, this newest entry in the franchise manages to improve upon the original game in pretty much every conceivable way. And that includes the boss fights! While the original Luigi’s Mansion had some…okay battles against, you know, a giant baby, or an annoying giant Boo that…

Revisiting Nier: Automata

You know, it’s actually kind of crazy to me that’s already been about two whole years since I was first introduced to Nier: Automata. It’s been on my replay list ever since I finished it the first time, and I kind of can’t believe I wasn’t able to work my way back around to it…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #132

Valve Announces New Half-Life Game…for VR.

It’s been 12 years since the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2. It’s kind of hard to believe, but it’s true. It really has been twelve years and two console generations since we were last able to check-in with Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance. Well, the wait is finally going to be over! Valve has…

Top 5 Best Floors in Luigi’s Mansion 3

As I played through Luigi’s Mansion 3 for the very first time, one of my favorite parts of the game was the sheer anticipation of discovering the theme for each new floor. The Last Resort is no ordinary hotel (haunted or otherwise), as its many floors contain some pretty cool surprises. Being one of the…

We Happy Few ‘We All Fall Down’ Expansion Hits on November 19th

Despite suffering a pretty terrible launch (not to mention a controversial stay in early access), it looks like Compulsion Games’ We Happy Few is still hanging in there. The game will be getting a new expansion next week, titled “We All Fall Down.” As the name implies, the tenuous situation in Wellington Wells is about…

Luigi’s Mansion 3: So Good, It’s Scary!

I just finished Luigi’s Mansion 3, and boy, what an amazing experience it was! As much as I enjoyed the original game, this game completely blows that one out of the water. If you liked the first game, then you don’t even need to read my review. Just go out and buy it! …But, if…

Minecraft is Still Incredible!

There are few games that I’m able to come back to year after year and still thoroughly enjoy. Most of them are childhood favorites: Super Mario RPG, Metroid Prime, Majora’s Mask and such. There’s also Minecraft, a game which I never thought I’d like until I tried it. Despite preferring games that offer curated, structured…

Planet Zoo is Open For Business

It seems like it’s been forever since the days of Zoo Tycoon. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time someone tried to make a game in the same vein, but I suppose that’s all moot now. Planet Zoo is finally here and our inner-zookeepers can finally run wild once again!

The Outer Worlds is the Fallout: New Vegas Sequel I’ve Always Wanted

Two of my favorite games from the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii generation of games are Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. I’d never played anything like them before, and they captured my attention immediately with their large worlds filled with intriguing quests and witty writing. The presentation was a bit wonky and the bugs were numerous, but…

PlayStation Plus Free Games For November Announced

Sony has announced the games being put on offer through PlayStation Plus this November, and they’re actually pretty decent. On the one hand we have Outlast II, a game that is still very spooky despite not living up to its predecessor. On the other we have Nioh, which could also be considered scary in a…

Check out Final Fantasy VII Remake's Opening Movie!

Final Fantasy VII Remake is still several month away, but there’s good news for all us eager fans: there’s a demo on the way! It doesn’t have a release date yet, but it’s coming. Ah well, at least the game’s opening movie leaked online. Check it out below!