Pixel Loadout Plays: Until Dawn

It's our first Live Stream!  In the spirit of the season, we're playing through Supermassive's Until Dawn, and seeing just how many teenagers can make it through to the end!

Join us on Youtube tonight at 5PM EST if you'd like to hang out in the chat!  Hope to see you there!

Pixel Loadout Podcast - Episode 014

Great Scott! It's Oct 21st!  Payday 2's new micro transactions continue to develop, Destiny's origins get a closer look, EVE ships are blowing up and Youtube wants to offer you a premium feature.  The future is heavy, man!

Other Show Links

iTunes
Stitcher
Soundcloud
Youtube

Quick Time Events (10/21/2015)

Overkill's micro-transactions are being lambasted by players, Glitches in Destiny are pushing back events, and Valve's Steam Machines and controller are getting some first impressions...

First Impressions: Star Wars Battlefront Beta

Give yourself to the Dark Side. 

    My first impressions of the Star Wars: Battlefront Beta were surprisingly pleasant. Immediately after jumping into the game I had the familiar Star Wars: Battlefront feeling of being in the middle of a chaotic battle between the rebels and the empire. The game aesthetically feels like SWB but how the does game play hold up? Overall I'd say the game play holds up very well albeit a bit stripped down from previous games. I went into this experience thinking it was going to be a Battlefield game with a Star Wars paint job. Luckily I didn't experience that during my four hours of playing the beta. 

Pixel Loadout Podcast - Episode 013

Jason Voorhees returns for some asymmetrical multiplayer action, Overwatch gets a beta date, and game sales are up all around.  What could possibly go wrong?

Other Show Links

iTunes
Stitcher
Soundcloud
Youtube

The Pixel Forecast (Week of 10/19/2015)

There are some pretty big names coming out this week.

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate takes place in industrial-era London with a pair of siblings. Gameplay seems to be the next iteration of the common Assassin's Creed formula.

Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes is the new 3DS exclusive Zelda game. The new  Hero gets split up into three versions of himself to overcome the new challenges. This installment has multiplayer features similar to Four Swords Adventures. One of the interesting challenges is that all players share the same Heart Meter.

Follow the link for some other titles coming out this week on all the current platforms!

Youtube gaming app on Android now supports mobile streaming

Google's relatively young gaming-focused streaming playfor is rolling out a new features named "Mobile Capture" which allows local screen recording and screencasting.

Mobile capture supports 480p SD and 720 HD resolutions and also allows for integration of a front facing camera and the phone mic to record the player as well.

While the technology itself is not new, the true significance comes in the streamlining of the feature allowing content creator's a simple avenue to capture their mobile screen without the need of multiple apps or peripherals.

This technology is becoming ever more relevant as the mobile gaming continues to grow, as well as the integration with mobile apps as supporting technology onto main games (such as for Destiny).

The app also includes a simple video editor when uploading recorded content.

Destiny: The Taken King's New Player Experience Sucks

The new player experience is an aspect of design that serves to not only explain the features of a game, but it also facilitates the enjoyment of the game. There is a minor spoiler in order to clarify some examples.

Bungie's 'The Taken King' expansion for Destiny has injected a wealth of content, streamlining, and intrigue to the game. The Legendary Edition of the game was released as a bundle that packages the base game along with all three DLC's for newer players to jump right in on the action. While the practice of bundling games with post-release content is typical enough with other similarly structured games (such as MMO's), Bungie has yet again neglected to learn from mistakes and wisdom of other titles. In this case the lesson not learned is that of how to maintain a New Player Experience after the base game has been iterated on with several updates.

The Pixel Forecast: New Game Releases (week of 10/12/2015)

(The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone)

        The first major expansion for CD Project Red's The Witcher 3 is out this week. This expansion adds more of almost everything; quests, enemies, equipment, gwent cards, and more. This is the first expansion created for the game and is expected to give players at least 10 hours worth of gameplay. 

 (Dragon Quest: Heroes)

Dragon Quest: Heroes is a spin off to the Dragon Quest franchise which takes famous characters from the series and pits them in an open-field action combat, similar to the likes of Dynasty Warriors. Many of these games have been coming out such as the recent Hyrule Warriors and One Piece: Pirate Warriors. This game is an exclusive to the PlayStation platforms.

Tuesday, Oct 13
Back to the Future: The Game (30th Anniversary Edition)(PS4, XB1, 360, PC)
Corpse Party: Blood Drive (Everafter Edition)(PSVita)
Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below (PS4, PS3)
Jackbox Party Pack 2, The (PS4, PC, XB1)
Legend of Legacy, The (3DS)
Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 1: The Order of the Stone(PC, PS4, XB1, PSVita, WiiU, 3DS, PS3, 360)
Talos Principle, The (Deluxe Edition)(PS4, PC)
Wasteland 2: Director's Cut (PS4, XB1)
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, The - Heats of Stone (PC, PS4, XB1)

Wednesday, Oct 14
Goosebumps: The Game (XB1, 360)

Friday, Oct 16
Warhammer 40,0000: Deathwatch - Enhanced Edition (PC)

Pixel Loadout Podcast-012

The saga of pre-orders continues, Colbert is interviewing  a lot of game personalities, Destiny is getting micro-transactions, and Apple's iOS updates are breaking games permanently.
Other Show Links

iTunes
Stitcher
Soundcloud
Youtube

Pixel Loadout Podcast-011

Tonight we contemplate the value of FPS campaigns, PS4 gets a firmware update, ARG's are getting dangerous, and Gamestop says disc sales will last forever!

Other show links:

iTunes
Stitcher
Soundcloud
Youtube

The Black Spindle: a tale of guns and gumption

One of the often mentioned goals of Destiny before it launched was a desire to make the top-tier weapons and armor found in the game special, but more-so than just being incredibly powerful. Bungie wanted players to have a memorable experience, trial, or ordeal associated with getting an exotic piece of gear, something players would be able to share a story about getting. For the most part however, this hasn’t really happened for the pseudo-MMO shooter, at least in regards to Year 1’s structure. Seeing a gold-backed icon on a player’s character sheet, and 99% of the time, the story was: “I gave Xur some coins on Friday.”

Pixel Loadout Podcast-010

Bit of a wrap-up for TGS, classic games are getting updated, voice actors are thinking about going on Strike, and Destiny manages to sneak in a hidden quest with some cool rewards

Other show links:

iTunes
Stitcher
Soundcloud
Youtube

Pixel Loadout Podcast-009

Tokyo Gameshow puts a few more games on the fall schedule, Kingdom Hearts is proving that words can kill, Blizzard decides to take on Bethesda, and Street Fighter gets a new combatant.  So stuff happening.

Other Show Links:

iTunes
Stitcher
Soundcloud
Youtube

The "Business" that is keeping Final Fantasy XIV from XBox One

Phil Spencer's recent musings on Final Fantasy XIV releasing on XBOX One are a bit misleading. In a recent interview at IGN, Phil Spencer, head of XBOX, commented on the idea of the game coming to the Microsoft platform saying "Its a business. As I've grown in this role, and I've tried to learn the third party exclusivity thing --and you see us doing far less of it now-- [I've found] it's not something I'm a huge fan of." Later he continues to say, "Different kind of deals happen, and I know that's part of the business, and maybe it'll be my failing in the end. but it's not something I specifically embrace with any deal that's out there, whether it's something else. It's not something I can specifically talk to."

To some, Spencer's reference to third party exclusives in the first quote lead them to assume that Sony and Square Enix have an exclusivity deal with the game.

The Pixel Forecast: New Game Releases (week of 9/21/2015)

Interesting game releases this week are rather sparse.

PC will be getting a Final Fantasy V release via Steam. This version of the game will feature updates to the original including a new Interface that looks like it belongs on a smartphone and a devisive graphical update. That being said the content should still be intact

SOMA, for PC, is a science fiction horror game created by the devs who also brought you the Penumbra series and the original Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Look below if you'd like to see a list of other noteworthy or interesting releases for next week.


Tuesday, Sep 22
SOMA (PC)
Blood Bowl 2 (PC, PS4, XONE)
FIFA ’16 (PC, PS4, XONE, PS3, 360)
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (PS4, XONE)

Wednesday, Sep 23
Extreme Exorcism (PC, PS4, XONE, WiiU, PS3, 360)

Thursday, Sep 24
Final Fantasy V (PC)

Friday, Sep 25
NBA 2k16 (PC, PS4, XONE, PS3, 360)
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (3DS)

Lengthy gameplay of new PS4 game Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan was a hit anime that spawned an obsessive fan base and game adaptations. If you aren't aware , here is the basic plot.

Several generations after an undisclosed cataclysmic, humanity found the need to wall themselves up walled cities. These cities are few and far between but they are necessary to keep out "Titans".

For the most part, Titans are rather unintelligent humanoids whose sole purpose seem to be the ingestion of humans.

So build big walls to keep out the big baddies! Well conflict arises as some exceptional Titans appear, some conflicts between humans and other curious things happen.

The protagonist is a part of an elite combat group specially trained to combat the titans with a Spider-Man-like harness that latches onto their enemies or the environment for quick and elusive movement.

Pixel Loadout Podcast - Episode 008

Well that Apple keynote was pretty ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, but hey, Dragon's Dogma is coming to PC so that's cool. Also, I've been playing too much HotS.



In other news, we're up on Stitcher now for your listening convenience!  Tell all your friends!

Other Show Links:

iTunes
Stitcher
Soundcloud
Youtube

Pixel Loadout Podcast - Episode 007

Pre-orders continue their decent into descent into lunacy, last generation gets no Mortal Kombat, and wait whose footprints are these?

We're up on iTunes!

After taking far too long to decipher RSS feeds, I've finally managed to throw the podcast up on iTunes for easy listening and subscribing.  So seek us out!  Give us a listen!  Leave 5 stars!  Tell all your friends!

Subscribe on iTunes

or listen on Soundcloud

Pixel Loadout Podcast: Episode 006

So VGR is more or less done, and we're moving back to a weekly podcast formula.  This week it's the regulars of DJ, Trey and myself as we cover the news this week like Kickstarters and micro-transactions, as well as ponder the moral quandaries around grey-market CD keys.

...and maybe we'll play some slots.

Divinty: Original Sin 2 Kickstarter Launched

(Full disclosure:  just backed this project at the $25.00, keep this in mind when reading future posts associated with this game.)

So I was a big fan of the completely-out-of-left-field hit that was Divinity: Original Sin.  Released out of Kickstarter in 2014, it was simultaneously a love-letter to old-school CRPG's, as well as a fresh modernization on the genre.  Tactical combat interactions were insanely deep, and writing throughout was refreshingly comedic, making for a unique experience that kept me off balance while adding in constant surprises.  I've actually got a bit of a hankering to go back to it, but I'm currently holding off for the enhanced edition coming out later this year.

It's cool to note that Larian is sticking with Kickstarter to bring a second helping of zaniness to the world, and I can't wait to see more.  Their campaign started up today, give it a look if you feel like getting in early, or helping to contribute with some of the stretch goals.  It's worth noting that the game already has a budget thanks to the sales from the first, and the Kickstarter campaign's goal is to expand the scope of the game.  I'm confidant with Larian's last success that this will be a project worth getting involved with, similar to the extra clout that Harebrained Schemes gained with their initial Shadowrun game.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 Kickstarter

Let's Play Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

More Xsplit testing ensues: this time, we're infiltrating Camp Omega on a solo sneaking mission.  Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes makes for a perfect short test of the streaming software, as well as serving double duty to catch people up before Phantom Pain next week.  I've put my fair share of practice into learning guard routes and slipping in undetected, so give it a watch if you're looking for some solid Big Boss action.

Let's open 50 packs of Hearthstone's Grand Tournament expansion

So we've got another expansion set on our hands for Blizzard's wildly popular online CCG.  Admittedly, after keeping an eye on the previews, it seems like we're doing the Magic thing of backing off the power creep from the previous sets, (oh Mercadian Masques, why were you such a bad block to get into?) but that hasn't stopped there from being a few desirable tools worth getting your hands on.  Here's how I fared from Blizzard's pre-order promotion.  Kind of up in the air if I'd do it again in the future.  Maybe if I can get more Argent Watchmen...

On a totally unrelated note, I need more arena practice.

Satoru Iwata Passes Away at 55

A legend of the gaming industry has left us. Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11^th, 2015. I couldn't write this right away, not even a week after was I able to really put my feelings about this event onto paper. Iwata had said “On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.” This alone shows why so many people loved him, and how he could craft and help to craft games which spoke to so many people.

For me personally, I was growing up with Iwata's games and didn't even know it. From one of my favorite early NES games Balloon Fight, to porting the battle system for Pokemon Stadium on the N64. So many of my favorite games could have never seen the light of day without his work. I remember the joy I felt when playing Kirby's Dream Land for the first time, or when I saw my would be rival staring into the Professor's window in Pokemon Gold/Silver.

Nintendo as we know it may not even exist today if it was not for Iwata's business acumen. He took over as President in 2002, while the company wasn't quite as profitable as it had been. With his strategies to make games that were fun for everyone, and fostering a relationship between Nintendo and Capcom, Iwata was able to prove his worth as the first President of the company who was not related to the Yamauchi family who founded Nintendo. Iwata eventually took over as CEO in June of 2013.

More than anything though, I believe most modern day gamers will remember Iwata from his charming personality and humor in the Nintendo Direct videos and his Iwata Asks segments where he often would interview other Nintendo employees. This is one giant of industry who touched the hearts of gamers everywhere, and will be sorely missed. He is survived by his wife Kayoko Iwata.

Please understand, Satoru Iwata has advanced to the next stage.

Bit Brigade at the Blind Tiger

So I got to see Bit Brigade live for the first time, and I've got to say, it was pretty damn great.  For as many times as I've played parts of their albums on the radio or a podcast, it pales in comparison to catching these guys live.  Better yet, they've managed an awesomely entertaining speed runs through one of the classics (with perhaps one of the best soundtracks to boot): Metroid.

Fallout 4 concept art analysis

E3 has come and gone, and Bethesda left a lasting impression on veteran fans, new fans, and industry leaders alike. They blew all expectations out of the water with their press conference, finishing off with the 30 minute presentation of Fallout 4 by Todd Howard. Now, what’s interesting about the structure of their presentation is that it built from the ground up. Most other presentations had a gameplay trailer, additional features, and left the audience with tidbits of release info as well as minute factoids. Howard presented in a similar way, but with one significant difference: the concept art.

Late to the Party: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Price I Paid: $4.00

Available On: PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 3, Xbox 360.

It's a humbling experience when I start raving about something only to change my tune before it’s over. It’s the same feeling I suspect new parents have after two months of insufficient sleep from a crying newborn. Understandably, you might think that you know what I'm going to say about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and stop reading now, but don't. It's not because I get paid when you click to read the full review (because I don't get paid anything for any of this), but because there was so much the game did right. Despite my wavering feelings for it after twenty-some hours, you may find it to your liking.

E3 2015 from the cynic's perspective

It was pretty easy to get swept up in the neigh-constant hype cycle that was E3 2015.  For some of us, there were downright groundbreaking announcements that we'd never thought would see the light of day.  For others however, this was just business as usual for the gaming industry.  Maybe we're getting too good at playing into these kinds of promo events.  At least, that's the viewpoint of some...

SONY had E3 announcements for the Vita all along!

Sony has had a strange relationship with their portable platform. They are no longer producing first party games, but the system is still getting tons of support from third party studios.

Vita sales pale in comparison to Nintendo's 3DS, but it still has a nice foothold on the market.
Check out the video below to see a few games coming to the platform. Most recently the platform has sold over 600,000 units in Spain, and that's nothing to scoff at.

The Friday Wrap-Up 6/19/2015

Sure, they official press shows had some excellent announcements this year, but there was a host of spectacular videos and news that got overshadowed by the hypetrain.  Don't miss out on the best of these.

E3 2015 Press Conference Review

With E3 going into wind-down mode, the folks here and Pixel Loadout decided to do a quick review and breakdown of each individual show and conference for this year.  We had some absolutely monolithic announcements to show for this year, but how does everything stack up when it's all said and done?

Fallout 4 Deep Dive: The Pip-Boy

It's no secret that we're big fans of Fallout here at Pixel Loadout.  Bethesda managed to drop a mountain of info on us with everything they showed at there press conference.  Slow down some videos and you can find a lot of interesting info.  With a release date set for November 10th of this year, it's pretty safe to say a lot of the systems being shown in trailers are probably pretty close to final.  With that being said, lets take a closer look at the SPECIAL system this time around, and what kind of attributes are being governed.  Keep in mind a lot of this is a best guess and general conjecture based on individual screens, as well as past Fallout games.  Anything mentioned here is subject to change when the game releases.

The Friday Wrap-Up 6/12/2015

It's our last Friday before E3 proper for 2015, and it's hard not to be excited with some of the potential announcements on deck.  More so than past years, it seems like a lot of companies are getting in front of the press conference proper in order to get better exposure before the hype machine goes into full swing.  Here are some of the best Pre-3 trailers shown so far, along with some other nifty articles and videos worth a read.

Let's Play Big Pharma

Curing disease and sickness?  Only if there's a profit to be made!  Trey takes a chance on the pharmaceutical market with this Let's Play of Big Pharma.

The Friday Wrap-Up 6/5/2015

It's been busy this week, with leaks and annoucements applenty.  With any luck, this is foreshadowing quite  the busy E3.  If you missed some annoucements, analysis, or just cool things this week, here's a summary of some the nifty things I managed to dredge up.

Fallout 4 Trailer Analysis

If you've listened to a few episodes of VGR this season, you'll know that Fallout 4 has been one of our most anticipated games to see announced.  With the first footage finally being released, we decided to take a deep dive on every little detail we could find and pick out.

Late to the Party: Decay: The Mare

Price I paid: $8

Available on: PC (reviewed), Mac, Linux, XBox Live Arcade, and GooglePlay.

 

As with many games that wave their horror flag, the obvious question is, does it have cheap jump scares? Short answer: no, it does not. What it has is a chilling sound track, gorgeous and artistic environments, puzzles, an interesting story, and an unsettling feeling of dread that taints your perspective and rattles the nerves from the first scene to the last. Decay: The Mare managed to creep me out by doing three things very well.

Fallout 4 First Teaser

Please stand by...

The good, the bad, and the House of Wolves

So we're a few weeks into our second pack of expansion content for Destiny, and it seems like it's being received pretty positively for the most part.  Especially sitting next to the Dark Below, something a lot of players would consider a modest kick in the teeth, House of Wolves manages to shape up and improve a lot of different systems and content problems that the game launched with.  It isn't all sunshine and roses however, with Bungie still not addressing problems that still exist in the game, or falling into new unforeseen pitfalls.  Here are the five best and worst aspects of this DLC pack from where I stand:

A demo reel

Bit of a slow Sunday today, but that hasn't stopped me from being productive.  This is the first (in what I'm sure will be revised many times in the future) demo reel that I've had the pleasure of assembling.  It represents a small portion of the video and audio work I've personally worked on since this blog began back in 2012.  I'll probably add some more later and turn it into the intro video for the Youtube channel.  Feel free to leave some critique and recommendations, always a work in progress.

The nightmare scenario: incomplete stream

It's been an interesting sort of saga when it comes to Playstation Now, Sony's online streaming solution for customers looking to play older games.  Instead of offering traditional backwards compatibility options like the emotion engine chip found in launch PS3's, they've instead decided to invest in a streaming service not unlike what was offered by the late OnLive, electing to stream an intractable image from a remote server farm.  This has resulted in a fair bit of critique from various sources:  high prices for rentals and subscription services, gameplay with noticeable lag and input delay, a truncated available library, and for some, a total non-option for service due to high bandwidth requirements.

The Friday Wrap-up 5/22/2015

It's been uncharacteristically busy in the gaming world for a summer Friday.  Decided I'd take this opportunity, as well as some inspiration from Patrick K. over at Kotaku, to round up some of my favorite stories and videos from the past week that managed to catch my eye.  Granted, a lot of these are playing towards my own personal interests and fandoms, but you might find a thing or two in here that catches your eye or sends you down a rabbit hole for the day, so have a look.

Bloodborne's story explained

For me, there are two names when it comes to taking a magnifying glass to the Souls series.  Marcus, a.k.a. Epic Name Bro, managed to garner quite an audience with the U.S. release of Dark Souls, and has managed to turn his youtube career into helping contribute to the official guides for the series.  His Let's Play series has just recently wrapped up, so he's now doing some challenge runs that are worth a look.

Vaatividya is a bit of a newcomer to the scene by comparison, but he's manage to put out some phenomenal series looking at individual characters and overall plot analysis.  His most recent video is one of the best culminations of conjecture and fact-finding I've seen when it comes to Bloodborne's twisted tale.  If you ever wanted some light shed on the dark activities of Yharnam, or just want to see how crazy a typical FROM SOFTWARE story can get, this is the video to start with.

Late to the Party: The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game: Season Two

Price I paid: $15? I think?
Available on: Windows (reviewed), OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbone, Ouya, PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Android.

By now, you probably already know or have at least heard that The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game: Season One was an incredible, tear-jerking, feels-feeling, undeniable smash hit. I played it, and I loved it. So how could they manage to live up to the expectations people had for the sequel? They did it by giving the player new challenges, different but equally difficult decisions, and pouring just as much soul into this game as they did the first.

Let's Play Dead Space - One Gun Achievement Run

Scanning through my Origin library, I found that over time I managed to obtain all three Dead Space games, through various promotions and humble bundles.  As far as horror series go, this was one of the standouts of last generation, which is reason enough to give it a revisit.  On the achievement list for the first game however is the challenge to beat the game using nothing but the starting weapon: the plasma cutter.  I've always wanted to give this one a shot, so stay tuned for more episodes.

Let's Play Dead Space Playlist

Pixel Loadout on Youtube

Tips for getting started with Heroes of the Storm

Blizzard recently announced a  release date for HotS for June 2nd, but many have been actively engaged in this new all-star game since the release of the alpha last year.  Out of all the MOBA's I've dabbled with, Heroes might be the most game-changing, both in ease and accessibility, as well as just sheer difference in overall gameplay and mechanics.  There's a lot here for both veteran and new players alike, and with a free-to-play model on launch, there will no doubt be a large influx of new challengers.

While we're still technically in a beta phase for the game, history with Blizzard betas show that we're pretty close to a final product, and show expect very few sweeping changes before release.  So for those of you who will be entering the nexus fresh, I've got a few tips and breakdown of systems to help you get started.

VGR 5.14 - Season Finale

Last episode of VGR for our 5th season.  This'll make our 70th episode, and it also marks my last time on the show as a student.  It'll be all up to Trey Fuquay to take over the driver's seat from here on out.  We continue the saga that was paid mods for Skyrim, Konami's business choices continue to befuddle us, and we might even get a bit nostalgic up to the end.

-=Download 5.14=-

Late to the Party: Heroes of the Storm (beta)

Price I paid: Free.

Available on: PC

Heroes of the Storm is currently in beta. Some things may change between now and release.

While League of Legends (League) is not the first MOBA, it is possibly the most popular one. So when trying to explain a new MOBA, it’s easier to explain how it is like and not like League. Heroes of the Storm (HotS), understands this well. They took the formula that made League the dominant MOBA, skinned it in their own IP, glued some extra parts on, shaved the corners off, and made it faster paced. If you have a team that can work together, you can enjoy that faster-paced gameplay. If not, then you can get steamrolled and listen to your teammates complain about it.

VGR 5.13

Conspiracy theories abound this week with some odd going-on's involving likenesses and head transplants, Steam takes a cursory plunge into a paid modding scene for Skyrim, and we start getting some details about the House of Wolves expansion for Destiny.  Plus some spiffy music.

-=Download 5.13=-

VGR 5.12

When there's no more room for delays, GTA V will walk the earth.  DJ and I pontificate about some Kombat most mortal, plastic guitars are getting some second life. and we can't help delving into some Star Wars, DC and Marvel bits from the past week.  Plus a bunch of news, as per usual.

-=Download 5.12=-

Mortal Kombat X Review

Prepare For Kombat!

Mortal Kombat X is the highly anticipated fighting game sequel from developer Neatherrealm studios. Formerly Midway games, creative director Ed Boon has been heading the Mortal Kombat games since the very beginning. There are a few things that come to mind when someone thinks of a Mortal Kombat game: iconic characters, blood and gore, and a gripping story. Mortal Kombat X is the next step for Neatherrealm studios. Their goals this time around was to create a deeper fighting game experience while giving players incentive to come back every day for rewards and online battles, and lastly to write a story about passing the torch to the next generation. Did they succeed? Mostly yes, but it's where it counts. 

Late to the Party: Tomb Raider (1996)

Price I paid: About $1.50 as part of a Tomb Raider bundle while it was on sale on Steam.
Available on: Steam (reviewed), PlayStation, PlayStation Store, Sega Saturn, GOG.com, and probably others.
Released: 1996

When a game is so old it cannot recognize a mouse and the default controls have you using the arrow keys to move, it’s easy for it to turn players off. When the port to PC is so shoddy it loads a black screen if you don’t trouble shoot, I had to play it in windowed mode that didn’t take up my whole screen, and it looks like you’re watching the cutscenes through window blinds, it becomes difficult to enjoy the game because of all its problems. So when I say that Tomb Raider (1996) was one of the best games I played this year despite all of that, you better believe this gem has not lost its shine after 19 years. Unfortunately, I’m just not sure if I can recommend it because of how awful the port is.

VGR 5.11

Mankind is getting divided in the newly announced Deus Ex,  Mortal Kombat's mobile app is good at grinding away a few minutes, fans get jobs with art and mods, and does anyone remember OnLive?  'Cause that's dead apparently.

-=Download 5.11=-

Late to the Party: Damned

Price I paid: I got it as part of a $15 bundle on Humblebundle.com

Damned is a near-perfect outline of what I look for in a horror game. It has a spooky atmosphere. It is legitimately tense. It has monsters. After a player dies, they can communicate with their teammates as a ghost who only knows how to type (voice chat is disabled). Basically, it’s a box describing a digital laxative that you share with friends. It’s a great start, and it has loads of potential. Unfortunately, the game is not in early access. It’s a $20 game. Despite its strengths, it needs a lot of fixing before it is worth that price.

Bloodborne Review

While lacking the typical "Souls" moniker found in its predecessors, make no mistake:  Bloodborne  still retains the particular oppressive atmosphere and difficulty found in previous titles.  Seemingly small system changes and a particular Gothic-Victorian styling do much to make this outing stand apart from its brethren while still retaining the particulars, such as gripping combat and a mysterious story.  Fans of the series should be very pleased with what they find here, proving to be a successful shake-up of previous swords and sorcery styled entries.  Once again however, this is a tough sell to those who aren't already well acquainted with the series.

VGR 5.10

Nintendo Direct for April gets a rundown for all those things to look forward to (especially with a delayed Zelda),  Fire Emblem is confusing, and Pillars of Eternity is striking up some interest in some of the cast.

-=Download 5.10=-

VGR 5.09

What's the real deal going on with Konami and Kojima?  Can we have any more HD collections announced?  Will Broken Age ever come out?  Will a new Toejam and Earl be good?  What kind of crazy things can you mod it Cities: Skylines?  We ponder all these questions.

Also, Bloodborne.

-=Download 5.09=-

Postmortem: Resident Evil: Revelations 2

So it turns out DJ and I are total geeks for Resident Evil, so we couldn't help but talk out some of the finer points of this episodic release.  Spoilers are abound, but if you want to hear some more about what we think and where the series is going, just click play.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Review

 

Resident Evil Revelations 2 is Capcom's new title in the beloved horror franchise. Unlike the previous revelations game, this one was designed from the ground up to be played on consoles. The controls feel tighter, the player is given more freedom and there is the option to play through this new nightmare with a friend. How does the overall package hold up? Pretty well with some snags along the way.

VGR 5.08

Back from Spring Break, and we've got games to talk about.  Square Enix makes a strong showing with Type-0, Duscae, and a host of other upcoming games.  Hotline Miami 2, Cities: Skylines, Monster Hunter 4, Payday 2 and Resident Evil Revelations 2 round out some of what we've been playing as well.  Nintendo is starting to talk about their next console, and other nifty bits of news to boot.

-=Download 5.08=-

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Review

Roaring onto the late indie scene of 2012 in a shower of ultra-violence, gore and neon, the original Hotline Miami made incredible waves in many gaming circles.  There was a lot to love in this top-down package. most obvious being a super-cohesive aesthetic described as  reminiscent of the most garish parts of the 80's mixed with a healthy dose of Refn's Drive. Mixing this with an incredible soundtrack pulsing in time with twitch action, and your left with a game capable of leaving you with a sense of synesthesia, all while your heart rate rises.  At a modest length, it's understandable that fans would want more, especially with no other games out there quite able to replicate what it does so perfectly.

That is, of course, until we got the sequel.

Late to the Party: Hitman: Absoultion

Price I paid: I don’t remember. It was part of a bundle on humblebundle.com.

Stealth games are a lot like sushi to me. I don’t like sushi but I do like wasabi, so I sometimes eat sushi as an excuse to cry tears of joy and horseradish as I shovel wasabi into my face. I don’t like games that focus on stealth, but I like some of the amusing and stressful situations they create and some of the mechanics they use.

The Order: 1886 Review

The mantra "style over substance" is as good as any of a jumping in point in order to understand The Order.  From screenshots, to the first time you see it in motion, there is no doubt that Ready at Dawn has managed to deliver one of the most impressive visual packages in the whole history of gaming.  The moody atmosphere of a dark and dreary Victorian era London essentially oozes out of every facet of the game, and manages to mix light elements of steampunk and gothic horror to a surprisingly cohesive degree.

But once you get past all the visuals, where does that leave you?

VGR 5.07

Studio is full again as we come back from a week long snow hiatus.  We're getting caught up with 2 weeks worth of news, Dragon Age, Destiny, Wolfenstein, DoA, Nvidia Lawsuits, Selfie-sticks, The Order, GDC, MKX, Resident Evil, and even Rock Band, plus a host of other things.  Packing it all in under 2 hours?  That's the real challenge, so make sure to check it out!

-=Download 5.07=-