What is Yakuza 0? Well, it’s an ultra-serious drama of Japanese organized crime, murder, and betrayal…except when it’s not. When not serious it’s crazy and kooky and downright silly. Mix the two extremes together and you get the full Yakuza 0, a video-game yo-yo of sorts…and the ups and downs are mesmerizing!
Continue reading Yakuza 0 Review: Deadly Serious, Deliciously Silly
The 2D, side-scrolling masterpiece, Limbo, took many players by surprise upon its launch in 2010. Using only a minimalistic visual style and without resorting to any exposition, the game somehow managed to draw a deeply moving experience out of a short puzzle-platformer. In fact, Limbo added new fire to the debate on whether or not video games can be regarded as art. Continue reading Planet Alpha – Review
In the 2012 Disney animated hit Wreck It Ralph, you might recall one specific moment when our hero accidentally finds himself trapped in an arcade game called ‘Sugar Rush.’ For the unacquainted, the fictional game is a kart racer based around the theme of candy and confections, and in the movie it represents something of a light satire on Mario Kart. Continue reading All-Star Fruit Racing – Review
Shining Resonance Refrain is a Media.Vision-developed (Wild Arms series) SEGA-published action-JRPG originally released exclusively in Japan in 2014 for the PlayStation 3. All these years later the Western world gets to experience this lively but dated blend of visual-novel storytelling, dating simulation, third-person adventuring, and party-based real-time combat.
Continue reading Shining Resonance Refrain Review: Spicy, Tender, and Tedious
The moment a Uplay notification popped up announcing that The Crew 2 had finished downloading, I had a stroke of genius. It had just been a week of hard work, and I was looking forward to some intensive, gaming therapy to relieve my exhaustion. My girlfriend also happened to be at a conference, so the living room was all mine! I freed my entire weekend, hooked my PC up to the TV, and raced on the (relatively) big screen while I lived off nothing but pizza and beer for two days. Believe me, it was a weekend to remember. Continue reading The Crew 2 – Review
First introduced to us back in 2014, The Banner Saga made big waves across the indie scene where it was a hit among gamers, receiving mostly positive feedback. It can be easy to forget how far we’ve come in such a short time with creating an arms wide open acceptance to things like early access and crowdfunding, establishing a solid foothold for the little guys to make a name in the industry. It is games like this that make me glad for it, and while not all of them may be successes, and we’ve certainly had our share of blunders, The Banner Saga has made a name for itself as nothing short of brilliant. So, does the third and final game of the series serve as a worthy finale?
Crash Bandicoot, the lovable late 1990’s creature and video game series, has now spun its way out of the blocky polygon past and into 2018 in full remake fashion. This newly-branded N. Sane Trilogy features beautiful graphics, excellent PC performance, and all the still-maddening old-school jumping mechanics one could ever want!
I’m a big fan of stealth games. There is something about the challenge of trying to accomplish an objective without being detected, whether it’s to steal something or to assassinate a target. Continue reading Thief of Thieves Season One Review
Since the glory days at the pinnacle of 16-bit, it’s safe to say that for many, the love for this familiar style has not yet withered. With an entire generation riding the nostalgic wave of the 80’s and 90’s, there’s still no shortage of 2D side-scrolling adventures being pumped out, and it can prove to be a challenge digging up the gems hidden among them. With its deeply satisfying combat, beautiful 16 bit art, and a world full of secrets that is satisfying to explore, Aggelos is a modern example of such a gem. Continue reading Aggelos Review: A True 16-bit Throwback
Seeing cars being smashed to pieces will always be the ultimate guilty pleasure of the motoring industry. Human beings are simply fascinated by it. We enthusiastically fork out our hard-earned money to see trucks with giant wheels pulverise entire rows of cars, and a Vin Diesel movie always feels a little lacking without at least ten SUV’s being engulfed in a fiery explosion. So I am kind of bummed that the number of games which embrace a more destructive style of racing has declined in recent years.
