VIRTUAL BASTION

There’s Something About Star Fox 64

The Nintendo 64 is a system of classics, there’s no really no debating that. It had fewer games than it’s biggest competitor, was less technically sophisticated and had a controller most gamers seem to hate (for some reason beyond my understanding), yet even some of its most minor games are celebrated as classics even today….

PSN Users Can Finally Change Names

Well, they did it; they finally did it. After years and years of PlayStation users requesting the ability to change their online ID, Sony has finally figured out how to make it possible on PSN. Why it took them almost two console generations and 13 years to implement is still anybody’s guess, but the feature…

Reaching One’s Limit: Ni no Kuni II

I have noticed with a lot of gamers that we, as a group, seem to be willing to put up with a great deal of aggravation in pursuit of our dearest hobby. We all have different levels of tolerance, but I have been rather impressed with various Youtubers who are willing to subject themselves to…

Halo: Reach is Finally Coming Back!

So, it’s finally happening. After years of answers like “we’re definitely interested” and “maybe” whenever they were asked, 343 Industries has finally announced that Halo: Reach will be added to Halo: The Master Chief Collection later this year. It’s a announcement many of us (myself included) thought would never come given that the Halo compilation…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #100

Up this week: Pikmin (GameCube, 2001) – the first game in this now-classic strategy/puzzle/crowd-control series Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (GameCube, 2003) – the third game of the funky and fun platforming series, Rayman Not Zangief (PlayStation 3, various) – fighting game fun, all the while NOT playing as Zangief Connect: Twitter ~ Facebook ~ wegameunited@gmail.com…

Yooka-Laylee’s 64-Bit Tonic is Finally Ready!

Despite a mostly lukewarm reception upon its release in 2016, Playtonic games has been faithfully supporting their debut title, Yooka-Laylee, for the past three years. This dedicated support has mostly taken the form of ports to additional platforms, bug fixes, quality-of-life updates, and such. All of these are very important, and they definitely show that…

KH3 Disney Worlds Ranked

Hey there, everyone. I am still trying to fill the empty void that was left in my life once I completed Kingdom Hearts 3, so why not enjoy a ranking of every world in the game? When choosing what order in which to rank these worlds, I took into consideration many factors, including the story…

Marble It Up: Marble Blast Ultra Finally Has a Successor!

Back in the early days of the Xbox 360, there were only a handful of games available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Some of them weren’t so great, but many like Geometry Wars and UNO have cemented their places as classics of the time. For me though, the one that stands above them…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #99

Esports to be Large and In Charge in New Fusion Arena

Will fans of esports will soon be traveling in droves to the east coast of the United States to see their favorite teams in action? It’s possible! Earlier this week, plans for a new esports arena, touted as the largest such complex in the Western hemisphere, were unveiled by Comcast Spectator and The Cordish Companies,…

‘Persona 5 R’ Revealed to Be ‘Persona 5: The Royal’

Back in December, Atlus released a brief trailer teasing the existence of a brand new project involving Persona 5. No real information was given of course, but fans at least got the project’s code name, “Persona 5 R” to chew on until the next bit of info dropped sometime in March. Well, that time finally…

Sonic’s Getting a Live Action Movie

In recent years, live action adaptations have been quite the trend. Disney has been producing live action remakes of their animated features, there’s a live action Detective Pikachu movie in the works, and now…Sonic the Hedgehog is getting the same treatment.

Google Announced Their ‘Stadia’ Game Console, And I’m Concerned

Yesterday at GDC 2019, Google officially entered the console space. Well, that’s what I would be saying if the company had actually unveiled a new console. What they actually announced was “Stadia,” yet another attempt at a video game streaming service.

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #98

Resonance: Fallout 4 Main Theme

Could it be said that a game is only as good as its theme song? In all the various theme songs that we’ve covered on this site, it may be that, if nothing else, greeting players with memorable music upon starting a game is a very good thing. Not only does a good theme song…

System Shock 3 Gets New Trailer at GDC 2019

I’ll be honest, I forgot this game was even coming. The System Shock series of games has become the stuff of gaming legend over the years, so the idea that another one is in the works is still taking some time to sink in. Regardless, System Shock 3 is coming, and we have a new…

Nintendo Labo VR and Possible Switch Mini

Two sets of news concerning Nintendo’s current (and possibly future) plans for the Switch have cropped up recently, the release of a Nintendo Labo VR and the possible rumor of a Switch Mini (I must emphasize that the latter has not been confirmed by Nintendo). And I can’t help but speculate that, if rumors of…

Holding Back the Backlog

With all the shady business and pushy live services present in the modern video game industry, it’s very tempting to think that there’s very little worth getting these days. That is, of course, absolutely false. There’s still plenty to get excited for every year, more than ever before actually. It’s great, but it’s also kind…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #97

Mario Memories

This past Sunday was Mario Day, a faux but fun holiday created by Nintendo a few years ago to celebrate all things Mario. With all the Mario-themed output across the Internet on Mar. 10 (which kind of looks like “Mario,” right?), I couldn’t help but get a little swept up in all the silliness. Because…

Haven’t Heard of ‘Seven’ Before, But Am Glad the Enhanced Version is Coming

Isometric exploration games have always been a rare breed. They never play quite like anything else out there, and usually it takes a a certain kind of gamer to appreciate them due to the unusual gameplay mechanics they tend to employ. Those that do it well can definitely find great success within that niche; one…

Challenge Mode: Getting Excellent in KH3’s Bistro

In our Challenge Mode posts, we like to discuss a really difficult moment in gaming and how we overcame them. Today’s newest entry is going to be for the recently released Kingdom Hearts 3, in which I recently got Platinum. It was a particularly easy game in which to do so, but that didn’t mean…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #96

Knowing When to Start Over

(This post is a continuation of the thought processes that evolved out of Knowing When to Move On.) So you and your game have been on a break. You spent some time away, exploring other worlds, completing other tasks, getting to know other individuals. You had a good time in these new spaces, but now…

Are You Ready for Devil May Cry 5?!

There’s something about games like Devil May Cry,, Persona 5 and DOOM that just plain makes them exciting, even if they still aren’t necessarily appealing. This has always been true, but I think the state of modern gaming makes it even more acute. There are so many joyless, dull-as-dishwater-looking games coming out these days that…

Offering Some Solutions to KH3’s Messy Story (Spoilers)

Yes, I’m still fussing over Kingdom Hearts 3. Though I did enjoy the game to some extent, enough to keep playing until I got Platinum, I wanted to discuss a little something regarding the plot that I thought was rather baffling. And I’d really like to know if I’m the only person bothered by this…

I Hate Cash Shops

I’ve tried tolerating them. I’ve tried rationalizing them, and I’ve tried to ignore them. You know what though? I just plain hate cash shops in full-priced video games. I hate the effect the presence of those shops tend to have on the games that employ them, and I hate the lie that supposedly justifies their…

YouTube Highlights, Weekly Edition #95

Up this week: Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (GameCube, 2003) – the third game of the funky and fun platforming series, Rayman Kingdom Hearts III (PlayStation 4, 2019) – the twelfth game Square Enix’s massive mashup of Disney and Final Fantasy SCP: Containment Breach (PC, 2012) – free and open source, this survival horror game is…

Knowing When to Move On

Several years ago, when this site was under a different name, I offered a post about that moment when you and a game click. I looked at the subject from two different angles: “love at first play” and building a relationship with a game over time. In either scenario, an assumption remains that said game…

Nier: Automata – Game of the YoRHa Is Here

It’s been about two years since Nier: Automata originally released, and PlayStation 4 owners are finally getting the all-in-one version. There wasn’t any real need to wait for this version since there’s only one piece of DLC, but better late than never, eh?

Kingdom Hearts 3: A Critical Review (No Spoilers)

The Kingdom Hearts series is very near and dear to my, well, heart, as it is with countless other people across the Internet. To say that I have fallen in love with it and its characters would be an understatement. Perhaps this sounds contradictory, but I am of the belief that if you really love…

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Looks Great (Despite the School Setting)

Fire Emblem has seen something of a rebirth over the past several years thanks to the Awakening and Fates games. It’s not quite the hardcore strategy game it once was; perma-death is optional instead of mandatory, players cannot play themselves into a no-win situation, and more emphasis has been put on the characters and their…

Feeling Cautiously Optimistic for The Division 2

When I bought the original Tom Clancy’s The Division at launch back in 2016, I thought I was going to get something to fill the Destiny-shaped hole in my gamer’s heart. I got that, but only for a couple of hours. It really didn’t take long to discover that The Division was a very hollow…

Resonance: Galeem

I know I’ve been talking a heck of a lot about Super Smash Bros Ultimate lately, but darn it, it’s a great game! I’ve already written posts about the characters, unforgettable moments in World of Light, and I’ve reviewed Ultimate as well as I possibly could, considering it’s such a massive game. But one thing…

Kingdom Hearts’ Story is a Mess, and That’s Just Fine

Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally here and I absolutely cannot wait to play it. I was a bit hesitant to jump back into the series after years of side-stories and spin-offs turned the plot into an intimidating monstrosity, but I’ve been thinking about it and I’m actually okay with not knowing exactly what’s going on….

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.

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…

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…

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…

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!