Monthly Archives: May 2015

Commentary, Gamer's Life, General Commentary

To the Lighthouse!

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Image by Flickr User: Ferino Design (cc)

I once wrote a post lamenting how unlockable content has largely become a thing of the past. Rewards that were once challenges to find and fun to show off to your friends are now just extras to buy. Where once we might have had to do something special to unlock Jason Voorhees in Mortal Kombat X, now we just pay $5 or so and boom, he’s available to play. This has been great in that many of us get to see everything a game has to offer, but it’s left most of our games without anything special to attain. Beyond a a handful of special weapon, costumes, or even a cheat, there’s hardly anything in our games that we need to strive for; barely anything that we can look at and recall with pride the effort it took for us to acquire it. So, even though I myself may never reach it, I just needed to express how excellent it is that Bungie has brought back a little taste of the unlockable content of old with their inclusion of “The Lighthouse” in their new House of Wolves expansion! Continue reading To the Lighthouse! →

Collaborations and Projects, Console, News, Previews and Trailers

Saturday Video Round Up: May 24 – 30

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The following post was submitted by GamerCrash. See more trailers and news at GamerCrash.com!

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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to an all new Video Round Up featuring the best trailers and gameplay videos from the week that was. For those of you who are new here, welcome aboard. Now sit back, kick those feet up and crank the volume. Here’s a small sample of what’s below the jump.

This week’s big title appears to be Batman: Arkham Knight with a pair of videos for you to enjoy. PlayStation 4 owners can get a great look at some of the “exclusive” content coming with the game. Not only that, Rocksteady revealed almost 8 minutes of new gameplay footage all of which I have for you below. Just keep reminding yourself, there’s only a few short weeks to wait.

Considering all the hype that the movie is getting, Avalanche Studios released a brand new trailer for their upcoming open world game, Mad Max. This time around, the trailer focuses on the story line in the game with a good amount of gameplay and combat mixed in. For fans of The Road Warrior, this appears to be a title to keep an eye on.

I’ve also got new videos for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Yoshi’s Woolly World, Until Dawn and so much more after the break, so come check out this week’s batch of trailers!

The full list of videos await you after the jump…

Continue reading Saturday Video Round Up: May 24 – 30 →

Food For Thought, Gamer's Life, General Commentary

Why the Tony Hawk Games Matter to Me

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By Marco Verch (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Marco Verch (Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
With the recent announcement that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is going to become a reality, our house has been abuzz with, well…let’s say cautious optimism, as well as comments like “they better get the controls right…” Though the Tony Hawk games don’t rule our gaming roost much anymore, they were once kings in our humble abode. I didn’t play the games, but they still affected me and my outlook on games and the people who play them. This I mused over in a post that I wrote a couple years back for Geek Force Network, shared below.

The following article was originally posted on Geek Force Network on August 2, 2013.

The X Games are in full swing this weekend in Los Angeles, and we’re tuning in as we’ve been doing for many a past summer. Though I’m not quite the extreme sports enthusiast that my husband is, I still enjoy watching the amazing output of these amazing athletes. The same notion definitely applies to his long-standing interest in skateboard video games and how much I enjoy watching him play those too. They’ve been THE staple summer games in our house since the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater in 1999. Aside from building a few parks here and there, I’ve never actually played one of the games. Even so, this series has probably had more influence over my life than any games that I’ve played.

Continue reading Why the Tony Hawk Games Matter to Me →

Resonance, Retro

Resonance: Highland

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Classic gaming at it's finest
Classic gaming at it’s finest

You may recall the post I wrote for the Isle of Skye theme from Quest 64, a game which manages to occupy a special place in my heart despite all its many flaws, probably thanks to a combination of nostalgia and the many, many hours I spent playing the game because I had little else to play back then.  But, what I think really helped to give me warm feelings for a game I’m not even particularly fond of were two songs that really, well, resonated with me.  It’s time for the second of those songs and my favorite of the two, Highland.

Highland plays in Brannoch, the final town in the game.  Brannoch was always a depressing place, I thought, with the night sky and the kingdom’s war-hungry king, not to mention the fact that this place is set within a wasteland the player only reaches after a long and trying trek through the Boil Hole.  The setting does a fine job of giving this place an ominous feel, while its theme plays an integral part in setting the mood and letting you know as soon as you escape from the horrors of the Boil Hole that you’ve nearly reached the end of the game, and things are only getting to get worse.  (It might be interesting to note that this is also the location of some of the only plot in the game.  At least, I think this game had a plot.) Continue reading Resonance: Highland →

Gamer's Life, General Commentary

A Major Improvement

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Image Captured by Hatm0nster

I thought I was more or less done with Destiny at this point. I’d long ago maxed out my favorite class, acquired all the weapons and armor I’d wanted, grown tired of the bounties, detested the story missions, and had had my fill of the Raids (even though they were quite fun!). I’d had enough of the grind and had moved on to other games. That is, I did until House of Wolves came out.
Continue reading A Major Improvement →

Collaborations and Projects, News, Previews and Trailers

Saturday Video Round Up: May 17 – 23

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The following post was submitted by GamerCrash. See more trailers and news at GamerCrash.com!

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Saturday is back and so to is a brand new Round Up. Once again, it’s bringing the latest trailers and the biggest gameplay footage for your enjoyment. Kick those feet up, crank the volume and relax as we dive into the biggest videos from the week that was. Here’s a small taste of what’s below the jump.

After taking a year off, the long running franchise, Need for Speed, is making a big comeback this year with Ghost Games back at the helm. While officially announced, we don’t have many details for the upcoming racer but we do have this interesting teaser trailer. Expect more in a few weeks at E3.

After laying dormant for a couple months, out of nowhere Capcom unleashed a brand new trailer revealing the next character for Street Fighter V. The one and only dictator, M. Bison, is the fourth playable character and from the looks of the trailer, he’s packing a few new tricks this time around.

I’ve also got new videos for LEGO Dimensions, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Batman: Arkham Knight and so much more after the break, so come check out this week’s batch of trailers!

The full list of videos await you after the jump…

Continue reading Saturday Video Round Up: May 17 – 23 →

Gamer's Life, General Commentary

Metroid Prime: Throwing in the Towel and Final Thoughts

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Image by Flickr user Umesh Bansal (CC)
Image by Flickr user Umesh Bansal (CC)

A little less than a year ago, I made a promise to myself to beat Metroid Prime, a game that had long been shamefully lingering in my backlog. At first, it was “All Systems GO!” I conquered the Pirate Frigate and the Parasite Queen. I bravely explored the Chozo Ruins and put an end to Flaahgra. I beat the heat of Magmoor Caverns and found solace in the Phenandra Drifts. I had a terribly rocky time with Thardus but came out on top. I found the crashed frigate and carefully crept through the Phazon Mines. The Omega Pirate was nearly my undoing, but once I remember the difference between the X-Ray Visor and the Thermal Visor, the Omega Pirate was no match. I rambled through the Impact Crater and met Meta Ridley undaunted.

The time I spent with the game, though fragmented, was filled with purpose. But by the time I finally faced off with the Metroid Prime this past February, I was tired, and I was tired of continually losing to this formidable foe. I then questioned my future with the game, and put it on the backburner for awhile.

Continue reading Metroid Prime: Throwing in the Towel and Final Thoughts →