A few months back, I wrote about the importance of retracing our steps and going back to the games of the past for inspiration. Titles such as Fez became the hallmark of how to create something (mostly) original while resurfacing things from our past to create a more memorable experience. On a similar note, a year ago I wrote about franchise revivals, discussing the best ways to go about handling the resurrection of classic franchises. Unfortunately, both of these topics have a downside. While playing two of 2012’s big releases, I’ve discovered that some franchises and, by extension, game mechanics deserve to be left in the past. READ MORE
Thus far the offerings of designer Xavier Georges have been somewhat mixed in my eyes. I appreciated the Wild West development of Carson City, but it was a little too much work for the amount of entertainment I got from it. Troyes, on the other hand, came up with some interesting dice-worker mechanics but got bogged down by too many options. His latest Z-Man published title, Ginkgopolis, is much more streamlined and as a result faster-playing, but will it stand up to repeated plays where his others have fallen flat? READ MORE
Baldur’s Gate is a legend when it comes to PC gaming. The first two games were already considered some of the best RPGs on the PC, and the Infinity Engine games were all well known among gamers. It is easy to understand why a sequel in the Baldur’s Gate series would be highly anticipated. BioWare’s Infinity Engine went on to power an entire library of RPGs. Following Interplay’s success with Fallout, several employees left the company and formed Black Isle Studios, which would go on to produce Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale, and collaborate with BioWare to develop Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn. READ MORE
Import games and party play don’t usually mix, generally because the language barrier, while surmountable, is less easily done by you and all your friends simultaneously. Even still, there are some great local multiplayer games that just never made U.S. shores, and here are some we think are most worth checking out. You just may need to go… a bit further from the mainstream to get there. READ MORE
It’s our 2013 RPGs episode! The crew talks about this year’s releases we’re most excited about, and discusses the latest like Ni no Kuni and Fire Emblem: Awakening. Plus: The Cave, Skulls of the Shogun, Nintendo Direct, XSEED announcements, THQ fallout and more.
Check out the show here, check us out on iTunes or use the RSS feed in your favorite podcast aggregator. Let us know what you think! Email podcast[at]snackbar-games.com.
Hosts: Chris Ingersoll, Andrew Passafiume, Graham Russell, Henry Skey, Shawn Vermette. Music: Podcast theme by Tom Casper.
