Case Zero to Hero
Going on vacation a few weeks ago resulted in a few unexpected consequences. Failure to properly operate sunscreen led to the bulk of my problems, but another was the byproduct of being a thousand miles away from my 360; I couldn’t review Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, Capcom’s incredibly priced downloadable prequel to Dead Rising 2 (Greg did an excellent job of that). Thankfully $5 wasn...[Read More]
Phantasy Star Portable 2
It’s anyone’s guess as to why Sega decided to roll Phantasy Star into their idea for an offline/online RPG cash cow. Brand recognition probably had something to do with it, but the modern day interpretation of the series is a far cry from its inception (and three sequels) in the eight and sixteen bit eras. Whatever their reasoning, Phantasy Star Online ran away with the hearts of many ...[Read More]
Cladun: This is an RPG
New-old is the new new. Retro reboots are a dime a dozen, but the recent homage spin-off, one that seems to deliberately replicate the aesthetic 8 and 16-bit classics while simultaneously lampooning their respective genre conventions at every turn, is considerably fresh in its approach. Half Minute Hero, with its ridiculously fast paced spin in JRPG conventions, 3D Dot Game Heroes, which basically...[Read More]
Red Dead Regrets
Warning: Fourth paragraph contains heavy spoilers for Red Dead Redemption. Red Dead Redemption, a game I was ready to embrace an evolution of Rockstar’s aging open world design, wound up letting me down. I give credit to the rich atmosphere that perfectly captured the last gasp of the Wild West, but I can’t forgive marginally interactive design wrought with repetition. Red...[Read More]
Ace Combat: Joint Assault
Flight combat almost feels like a genre left behind by time. Arcade roots in Afterburner and Top Gun cashed in on the undeniable appeal of taking command of military jets and then using them to blow stuff up. Sure, the genre evolved a bit when it when it went into the third dimension, but mechanics from twenty years ago still form the basic principles of flight combat design today. Real life authe...[Read More]
Exclusive Interview: Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka
Greetings! Recently we were fortunate enough to take part in a small Q/A with Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka regarding both Sonic 4 and Sonic Colors. Without further adieu… On Sonic Colors… Digital Chumps: Producer Takashi Iizuka recently stated that Sonic Colors isn’t intended for the core audience, but, rather geared toward those between the ages of six and twelve. This seems to be in l...[Read More]
Ys Seven
I didn’t know what to expect from Ys Seven. My Japanese RPG resume is considerably large, but completely absent of any representatives from Falcom’s venerable Ys series. It wasn’t that I was purposely ignoring Ys, rather, somewhat like excuse conjured by The 40 Year Old Virgin, “it just never happened.” Expectations were framed and, from the few screens I saw, Ys Seve...[Read More]
Earthworm Jim HD
Being eleven years old and consuming media in 1994 was awesome. Transformers and Ninja Turtles were fine for my formative years, but I couldn’t say I was disappointed when they gave way to a cornucopia of weird cartoons masquerading as children’s entertainment. Ren and Stimpy and, to a lesser extent, Rocko’s Modern Life retired standard kid’s show archetypes and replaced th...[Read More]
If you have to ask, you’ll never know (re: Limbo)
In-game databases are a love/hate feature in the current console generation. On one hand, one shouldn’t complain about the developers attempt to flesh out their world with every detail imaginable. On the other, some players don’t like having to interrupt their experience to check a reference for something that, in all likelihood, usually wasn’t that important anyway. Not unlike F...[Read More]
Alan Wake’s DLC signals irrelevance
Warning: Spoils both Alan Wake and downloadable episode “The Signal.” I was worried about “The Signal,” Alan Wake’s first chunk of downloadable content. Alan Wake was oddly episodic; six chapters (complete with individual credits) spread out over eight or so hours sounded perfect for an experience like Siren or Sam and Max, but the thing came out on a disc anyw...[Read More]
Red Dead Impressions
For the first couple hours, I was convinced I was playing a reskinned Grand Theft Auto IV. My mini-map looked the same, missions were being distributed evenly, narrative and character exposition was being delivered in a similar manner, and for some reason I had GPS. A change in setting was obviously apparent and a few engine tweaks were noticeable, but Red Dead Redemption was giving me weird paral...[Read More]
I hate the GameStop retail experience
Last week, GameStop had a sale of considerable merit. There were quite a few deals to be had, but Darksiders, a gem from THQ that apparently hybridizes Zelda and God of War, was going for $19.99. That’s a steal, especially when it’s still going for mid-$30’s used everywhere else. As a fairly frugal individual who rarely buys new games at full price, a discounted Darksiders was ju...[Read More]