Last year’s mobile-exclusive RPG Adventure Bar Story wasn’t the finest example of the genre, but it had a charm about it, in no small part because the game’s scenario was written by Shinichi Yoshiike – a minor legend in Japan’s game industry for his work on the Atelier series, amongst…
Read MoreTokyo Jungle was a weird game. Not just because it is weird (though any game which features psychopathic Pomeranian that can take down a fully grown freaking Tiger is not just weird, it’s downright terrifying), but because it is a game that I really, truly should have loved. But I…
Read MoreConsidering today’s video game market is more expansive than that of any other time frame, it’s logical that most companies are attempting to either make their titles more accessible or streamline them for mass appeal. This is not just the case for western shooters but Japanese-centric franchises as well. Nintendo’s…
Read MoreThe term ‘roguelike’ gets used quite a bit. My son has even heard of and used it – though he does not know what it refers to. I actually sat down and explained to him what the game Rogue was. I was pretty young myself when that title came out…
Read MoreWhile randomly-generated stages in a video game can offer great variety, they can also easily be exploited to make up for less work on the side of the developer. Bending pseudo-random numbers in certain ways can allow for enormous amounts of video game content to be created within a very…
Read MoreBaroque is one of the least well known games that keeps getting remade, I’ll wager. This exact title which is now an iOS download was originally a Sega Saturn and PlayStation 2 game, and then ported to the Nintendo Wii. Either it sells well enough each time to justify a…
Read MoreTokyo Jungle doesn’t necessarily make this obvious, but it’s actually a horror game. When my pack of Pomeranians can tear into a tiger and rip it apart, I’m sure I’m looking into a crystal ball, and my life-long suspicion has borne out true; Pomeranians are evil incarnate. Of course, I’m…
Read MoreSilent Hill is a sacred series. I realise that’s a bit ironic since it’s also a series about horrible ghosts, suicidal guilt, and other such depressing matters, but it’s the truth – it’s the premier horror franchise (even moreso now that Resident Evil has turned into a Call of Duty…
Read MoreAs I’ve already mentioned, I hate Spelunky. But it’s a great game. Don’t take my distaste for the soul-crushing difficulty as anything other than personal opinion – this is a really well made game and most people are going to like this one. Part of the appeal of the game…
Read MoreI’m a big fan of roguelike games. There’s something mesmerising about wandering through randomly-generated dungeons, focusing on nothing more than a simple but elegant combat system. There’s been a lot of good roguelikes through the years, and I suspect there will be many more to come. That said, Eternal Quest…
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