Video game franchises come and go all of the time. To think, just three years ago the Guitar Hero brand was one of the biggest in the industry. In five years, even Call of Duty may not be as prominent as it used to be. We all expect the Marios and the Final Fantasys of the world to be around as long as video games are, but what about those franchises that don’t make it? It’s always nice to see them return, but is it always for the best? READ MORE
February 2012
I love Law & Order. Dick Wolf was right on the money to make two 30-minute shows, tie them together, and stick them in a one-hour time slot. I’m rooting for the cops to find the bad guy, and then ten minutes later I’m pulling for the prosecution to put him away. Telltale has proven the episodic adventure gaming can work, and they’ve proven that licensed games don’t have to be bad. Legacies isn’t their finest work, but despite the flaws I was just as engrossed in it as a rerun of L&O on TNT. READ MORE
Square Enix took a risk creating a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, possibly the most polarizing game in the long-running series. Many felt that Square simply needed to pretend XIII never existed and go back to a more traditional style in XV. I feel like Square Enix made the right decision with XIII-2, as it corrects virtually every complaint leveled against XIII, successfully adds new mechanics and continues the intriguing story of Cocoon and Pulse. READ MORE
I’m not typically a fan of fighting games, because I’m always the worst person in the house at them (a difficult feat considering that four out of the six people in my house are under the age of two). The systems always feel over-complicated to me, and then somebody who has never played comes by and whoops me at it. Fortune Summoners manages to control like a fighting game without making me frustrated, because there is no second player. The enemy A.I. is good, but with time and practice you can figure out what you’re doing wrong and get past it. READ MORE