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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
As my first pickup of the 2015 spring anime season, Shokugeki no Soma (also known as Food Wars) made me scratch my head right off the bat. I tend to only go for anime that is mostly about sexualized aspects when there’s something extra to go with the creepy bullshit (i.e. Kill la Kill). However, since food anime and manga are quite relevant to my interests (i.e. Cooking Master Boy), I had to look into this title. (more…)
It’s easy enough to imagine life as a roguelike game as they both share some commonalities, especially when it comes to random encounters. As with everyday life, you can have streaks of good or bad luck, depending on the conditions and how prepared you are for all eventualities. I’ve come to a realization that perhaps those who play roguelikes and other games that feature encounters and events that call for careful decision-making and may lead to either reward or undesired consequence. (more…)
Square Enix just released the announcement trailer for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the sequel to Deus Ex: Human Revolution that is not a mobile or browser game (because to hell with Deus Ex: The Fall). As you can see from this website’s design (as of this posting), I quite like the look and feel of DX:HR. However, it was far from perfect as it had some “broken” parts that got in the way of immersion. These are my thoughts on what can be improved through the new game. (more…)
This website is admittedly not even a tiny blip on the blogging radar (or at least not yet), but I’ve been finding ways to get there somehow. Perhaps being able to post daily content is the best solution to my current problems, but I’ve also encountered another problem recently that’s quite annoying on its own. It’s not bad enough that the website is trying to get more views, but also that the views from real people and not from referrer spam. The latter has become quite a pain in the neck for many websites lately, especially for the smaller ones like this one. (more…)
This is an anime series that I had to review due to its premise, although it did take a bit of brain-twisting to get a finger on its strengths and weaknesses. Shirobako seemed to be on a mission to show the animation industry in a more honest light, and it seems that P.A. Works succeeded there. It may have started slow and hard to follow, but it did finish strong. If you’re fascinated with art or animation and have some patience, you won’t regret watching this series. (more…)
Talk about being late to the party. However, I actually took quite a bit of time to sort my thoughts out on what I think about the short film in order to come up with this post. Perhaps it was good that I posted this only now as Henshincon — a celebration of the tokusatsu genre that had been a part of Filipino childhoods during the 90s — gets underway. I myself grew up with Power Rangers and tokusatsu shows imported from Japan (and translated into Filipino), so it seems apt for me to start off a tribute of sorts by looking into someone else’s tribute. (more…)
Commentary on the Progression of Western RPGs – Part 3
As I worked to conclude this series that may or may not have been worth writing about, I did start thinking that this had been dragged on for too long. Perhaps I was thinking that while western RPGs were worth talking about at length, the things I’ve mentioned in this series aren’t exactly new information and may even be full of holes. I do admit to those doubts, but I still have to finish what I started. (more…)