Impressions – Okamiden
Okami could be counted amongst my five favorite PlayStation 2 titles. Both before and after its release, there was nothing out there like it. Zelda comparisons were easy and I suppose they were true from a structural standpoint, but Okami’s lore was all its own. Still, even with the Wii port a few years down the road, it was hard to say the drawing mechanic felt natural, precise, or intuitive. It ...[Read More]
Impressions – Enslaved (Eric’s take)
A few months ago Ninja Theory’s inevitable Heavenly Sword follow-up was revealed under the guise of Enslaved. While the name left a little to be desired, the wildly imaginative art direction spoke for itself. Post-apocalyptic settings have been done to death, so it was refreshing to see a slightly different take on the aesthetic. Enslaved screens exposed a ruined landscape ripe with lush, vibrant ...[Read More]
Impressions – Splatterhouse
Thirty seconds into Splatterhouse is enough to convince anyone it’s a title worthy of the macabre name. Almost immediately you character, a tall burly fellow by the name of Rick, is going to be completely saturated in blood, and the carnage seems to follow him in and out of every room. The new Splatterhouse played like a brawler, a satisfying beat ‘em up with all the bells and whistles of a modern...[Read More]
Impressions – Splatterhouse
Thirty seconds into Splatterhouse is enough to convince anyone it’s a title worthy of the macabre name. Almost immediately you character, a tall burly fellow by the name of Rick, is going to be completely saturated in blood, and the carnage seems to follow him in and out of every room. The new Splatterhouse played like a brawler, a satisfying beat ‘em up with all the bells and whistles of a modern...[Read More]
Disgaea Infinite
Disgaea, in case you haven’t heard, is an insanely deep and insanely insane series of strategy RPGs that has graced Sony’s systems through various sequels and remakes. Despite its relative lack of technical prowess in the visual department, Disgaea is looked upon favorably in the gaming community. They’re all great games, but the learning curve is as sharp as that left turn you w...[Read More]
Giant E3 Preview
It’s E3 time again, which means we’re all due for another “too long, didn’t read,” all encompassing E3 preview article from yours truly. As is the usual case, the gargantuan length is in play to conceal the horrendous errors in both judgment and prediction contained within. For 2010 I’m adding a bit more structure. Games are still going to be sorted by publisher...[Read More]
Fighting fighting games
Somewhere along the way, I lost touch with fighting games. The roots of this problem aren’t hard to identify. In my youth I preferred Mortal Kombat over Street Fighter II, which seemed like a great idea at the time but, in hindsight SFII is still being played competitively while MKII (and the entire franchise, honestly) is the definition of style over substa...[Read More]
Rounding out Metroid Prime Trilogy
Metroid Prime and I had a very unusual relationship. I bought Metroid Prime Trilogy because I figured it was probably some sort of modern interactive crime to have never played any representative from that series, but I wasn’t sure if I would actually enjoy playing it. To tell the truth I’m still not sure. It was, almost literally, Super Metroid in the third dimension from a unique per...[Read More]
Eric failed at Mega Man 10, apparently
Mega Man 9 provided a rush of nostalgia unrivaled by much else in the current gaming spectrum. Retro reboots or remakes are great, especially when they’re as close to the source material as a game like Bionic Commando: Rearmed, but nothing else crafted by modern design could reach out and touch my childhood like Capcom’s 2008 reissue of their Blue Bomber. Waxing nos...[Read More]
Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition
Let me paint you a picture. You need directions, so you casually stroll into the nearest bar. Upon entry, you see a cross eyed bartender telling an anthropomorphic pig he can’t consume any rooster blood, then you walk a few feet to the left and find what appears to be a man in leather pants and no shirt wearing a bucket on his head, which happens to be attached to a chain, the end of which h...[Read More]
Nier
Nier could have been easily dismissed. Developed under the inelegant hands of Cavia, announced to mild intrigue at E3, shown to the media under the guise of a 3rd rate Devil May Cry, and ultimately ignored by the Square-Enix faithful, Nier’s hype began and ended with a resounding thud. It didn’t look great, it didn’t look awful, it didn’t look like anything. Utterly unremar...[Read More]
Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake
If nothing else, you had to love Fat Princess for its rather unique charm. Titan Studios blended Real Time Strategy and Role Playing elements together and then removed any threat of intimidation by wrapping their creation around a delightfully infectious aesthetic. Literally and figuratively, it was bloody fun. Sure, you had to worry about managing resources and the proper team coordination, but i...[Read More]