Ace Team has carved out a niche for itself, both as a South American developer and as a company not afraid to see an idea through to its conclusion. Zeno Clash II, the sequel to its first release, is no exception. With the industry often choosing to play it safe and follow established genres, it’s nice to play a game that isn’t scared to make those crazy ideas that pop up during brainstorming sessions become reality. READ MORE
Imagine you’re playing a game in a series you particularly like. In the middle of it, you stop and think, “What if this game was actually something entirely different?” I run into those moments countless times, and yet when I actually stop to consider how that would turn, out I can’t help but become obsessed with this nonexistent game. Developers and publishers love to graft the ideas and design philosophies of certain series onto the core of different genres, either for the potential to expand the series’ audience or perhaps to simply try something different. Some of these ideas seem like obvious choices, but others might leave you scratching your head.
Regardless of the results and the potential backlash from fans, I love to see developers try new things with franchises. What’s the harm in a little experimentation?
One of the first games I purchased at my then-new FLGS was Tsuro, a simple tile-laying game that challenged players to not fall off the edge of the board as the ever-winding path they laid in front of their pawn took numerous twists and turns. It supports up to eight players, has zero text, has a pleasing aesthetic, and barely takes more than fifteen minutes regardless of the number of people involved. As such, it is less of a game and more of a palette cleanser between actual games. With no real strategy other than “don’t commit suicide until you can no longer avoid it,” it is one of those titles that I really couldn’t talk about in this space without maybe dedicating a column to multiple quick-bite games… unless I had an ulterior reason to bring it up, like now. READ MORE
If you haven’t heard of Black Rock Shooter, you probably aren’t a part of the aptly-titled Black Rock Shooter: The Game’s (yes, it really has an adorable nineties-esque “The Game” subtitle) target audience. That said, the character does have an interesting history. The franchise started as a mere collection of character drawings by an artist known as “Huke.” The drawings became popular in indie fandom circles and spawned a theme song via the infamous Vocaloid program that drew in millions of hits.
People with money noticed, and now we have a multiverse of animations, manga titles and of course, this game. A PSP title from 2011, NIS America has brought it over in a surprising move, no doubt making tons of crazy anime fans very happy. READ MORE
Injustice is exciting; it’s one of those games that a lot of people are hyped up for, but also one they weren’t sure they wanted or thought would even happen before it did. One would think that after the historic tragedy of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, DC Comics would have been spooked and snatched away its license before you could say, “get over here!” Nevertheless, here it is! It’s a thing, you can buy it, and even play it. Here’s the kicker: it’s actually pretty good! Unfortunately, this is a NetherRealm game, and it’s still running on the usual Mortal Kombat framework. You should know by now what that means. READ MORE
