Articles & Content Archives

Two Sides of E3 2015: Hype and Cynicism

Opinion, Video Games | 21 June 2015

Two Sides of the Coin in E3: Positive and Negative Reactions

Despite the negative things in E3 2015, it was still the best one in years. The previous ones had either been underwhelming or just downright sedate. Due to its apparent success, there was something clearly observable through the proceedings. Some were giddy and elated by the announcements, while others responded with either poker faces or just outright exasperation. Each party looks at the other like they’re the enemy; the excited ones look at the cynics as bitter old men and the cynics look at them as idiots who never learned. Despite that, everyone involved cares about gaming, so let’s look into the root of this difference. (more…)

Old Tricks: Not-So-Good Stuff from E3 2015

by: Sonny Go

Opinion, Video Games | 20 June 2015

After posting about the things I liked from E3 2015, I now put on my war face and talk about the stuff I didn’t like. When I was listing them down, I noticed that many of my negative opinions were many other people’s positive ones. With that, I knew I had to post this here to balance my little coverage of E3 2015 out and to attempt putting things into perspective. There are a lot of things to be excited about—even if that optimism may be seen by some as ill-advised—and there are a lot of things to raise eyebrows at. (more…)

New Madness: Good Stuff from E3 2015

by: Sonny Go

Opinion, Video Games | 18 June 2015

Seemingly as if it’s making up for the travesty that was 2014, the video game industry put up their usual masturbatory exhibition known as E3 in an attempt to make panties wet in advance. Okay, pardon me for that crass introduction, but I’ve always been cynical about shows like this. People seem to get their hopes up, only to be angry and disappointed about the results; I only want good results. However, E3 2015 was hard to not watch as it was churning out hype after hype, and I can’t help but consume it like everyone else. (more…)

Primitive Ain’t Easy: Banished and Living in the Past

by: Sonny Go

Opinion, Television, Video Games | 07 June 2015

One day, while watching my usual string of YouTube videos (covering a wide range of topics), I came upon an interview with someone most people may not have heard of, but had lived through a very interesting period back in the late 1970s that isn’t very well known. It’s a bit unusual, but there have been similar examples since.While I may not really be an expert in this subject, I thought the similarities I saw were enough to write about and share here. (more…)

5 Boxing Matches Better than Mayweather vs Pacquiao

by: Sonny Go

Boxing, Lists | 03 June 2015

This is the first proper post in this website on combat sports (the only sports I’ll ever write about here), which is something I have immense passion for. In this occasion, let’s talk about something that temporarily made the Philippines the top producer of salt in the world. It has been a month since the so-called “Fight of the Century”—Mayweather vs. Pacquiao—an over-hyped pay-per-view that should have happened 5 years before that has already proven to be forgettable. The reason why it happened is because it just had to happen and for the money. But that doesn’t mean boxing is a dead sport; not by a long shot. (To hell with those who do think so.) (more…)

Kung Fury — A Love Letter to Inner Childishness

by: Sonny Go

Features, Film | 29 May 2015

When the trailer for Kung Fury first came out, it was already enough to make testicles explode all over the Internet. It had all the good stuff — impossible physics, kung fu, time travel, scratchy video quality, vikings with machineguns, Hitler doing Tae Bo, the MicroBee, and tons of desert chrome. It was one of those Kickstarter projects that seemed too good to be true, and it even more seemed so like those other 2012 Kickstarters when things quieted down after the initial hype. Then came this half-hour donkey punch that makes no damn sense, but is so damn good. (more…)

Game Hoarding and Dealing with It

by: Sonny Go

Opinion, Video Games | 24 May 2015

It has never been easier to get video games than now with digital distribution paving the way to bundles and sales all over the place. They’re great, but you then realize that you have way too many games and too little time to finish them before you know it. Video games now seldom get finished due to both oversaturation and the attitudes of gamers these days. There are so many games now, but so little time to enjoy all of them. I’m not saying outright that game hoarding is really bad, but you have to play what you buy. (more…)

Ironcast — Steampunk Mechs and Match-3 Shenanigans

by: Sonny Go

Reviews, Video Games, Videos | 23 May 2015

It took me some time to come up with this review, which was to include a review video to bring new life to the YouTube channel. After a lot of screwing around, the website has finally gotten back on the game review horse with this look at Ironcast, a British indie game that looks like a classier alternative to HuniePop in a few ways (I may or may not review it). At first, I couldn’t keep gnawing at its faults, but I’ve since had so much fun with it that I had to bump its score up a bit. (more…)

Scorched Earth: The Konami Way

by: Sonny Go

Opinion, Video Games | 18 May 2015

At this point, we’ve been watching Konami turn their famed console gaming department into a veritable wasteland. Just about everything they’ve been doing has perplexed and frustrated everyone involved, from gamers and fanboys to developers and collaborators. Hideo Kojima, Koji Igarashi, and even Guillermo del Toro are some of the famous names that have recently been spurned the way a big Japanese company only can. This is certain not the first time that such a thing has happened, and it surely won’t be the last. (more…)

Playing “Lame”: On Hitting and Not Getting Hit

by: Sonny Go

Combat, Esports, Essays, History, Video Games | 08 May 2015

Since the fallout of the so-called “Fight of the Century” between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather due to how the latter won, which drew minimal amount of excitement in the actual match compared to how much hype it created, I had to finish writing this post sooner than planned. I had planned to talk about cheese and unpredictable play first, but it seems that lame play is more in vogue at this moment, so here’s a look into it from different angles. (more…)

Criticals and No Scopes: Breaking Down the Lucky Shot

by: Sonny Go

Combat, Esports, Opinion, Video Games | 03 May 2015

This has been on my checklist for a long time now, even before I posted “The Apparent Dichotomy of Skill and Luck in Games” that tackles the topic of how different games are affected by different levels of skill and luck. This time, it’s all about luck, or more of the false perception of luck in various instances when victory comes from a seemingly unlikely instance. Most people would call them “lucky shots” — many of which are not as lucky as they would like to think. This may be a new flash to some people, but they can be practiced. (more…)

Where’s Our Cut, Fool? On Paid Mods and Steam Workshop

by: Sonny Go

Opinion, Video Games | 26 April 2015

It’s undeniable at this point that mods do very well in extending the lifespan of any game that supports their use. Publishers who leave them out are said to be behind the times, and those who are in the vogue seem to have been looking for ways to get in on the action. Their efforts have now culminated to this, and what seemed good now doesn’t. What seemed like a helping hand at first later became a stick-up, if you wish to see this truly as a travesty. Whatever your thoughts are on what’s happening in Steam Workshop at this point, all you have to do is look at Steam Greenlight and think about what you’d give your money for. (more…)