Handheld gaming should be dead right now. It’s now 2017 and handheld gaming still isn’t dead despite years of predictions to the contrary. Smartphones and mobile gaming were supposed to kill it as soon as they became popular, but here we are. Smartphones are nearly ubiquitous and mobile gaming has become a huge market. Despite…
Category: Gamer’s Life
All the games I didn’t buy, and one I did, from Steam’s Summer Sale
Last week, Steam’s hallowed Summer Sale began. Yes, that one of two times a year when folks can pick up a plethora of games, mostly old(er) but sometime new, for pennies. Though my wallet would like otherwise, I am not immune to Steam’s charms during these sales. In the past, I’ve used the Summer Sale…
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…
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…
Into the Chaos: Borderlands 2
Borderlands 2 and I shouldn’t have gotten along. It’s an first-person shooter, and a fairly aggressive one at that. It strongly suggests the addition of teammates. It’s tiredly open-world. It contains only limited role-playing elements. There are no difficulty options. Its story seemed to require prerequisite knowledge from the first game. Well, what’s that they…
Top 5: Favorite Open-World Games
As much as I enjoyed my first trek through Mass Effect: Andromeda, the game left me a bit soured with regard to open-world games. Surely the feeling is only temporary, but as I search for something to take its place that’s not Borderlands 2 (so fun!), I find myself avoiding anything that resembles an open-world…
Honing My RPG-Skills with Final Fantasy XII
You may recall this past year that I have been discussing with decent regularity my general incompetence when it comes to RPGs. For the longest time, I have been employing the “beat it senseless” method of defeating my foes. When that fails, I proceed to plan B, the “level up a whole bunch and try…
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…
Who Knew Mixing Puzzle Games Could Be So Much Fun?
What would you expect to get when mixing two different puzzle games together? Chaos? An exercise in sheer and utter frustration? A really good excuse to break a controller? How about one of the most surprisingly entertaining party games to come out in the last couple of years? Believe it or not, Puyo Puyo Tetris…
For Once, More Isn’t Needed
Time and again, Nier: Automata has shown itself to be exceptionally unique among its mainstream brethren. It’s unique in its union of two seemingly unrelated styles of gameplay. It’s unique in the delivery of its story. It’s unique in its developing relationship with the player. Perhaps most importantly though, Nier: Automata is unique in that it…
VIRTUAL BASTION 