DuckTales Remastered is just that: an HD conversion of an NES classic. It isn’t a remake or a reboot, and should not be viewed as such. Most of the mechanical and design changes are subtle. The real draw is the presentation: the adorable HD visuals and robust animations, fully-voiced cutscenes and yet another energetic Jake Kaufman soundtrack. As long as you know what you’re getting into here (or aren’t above choosing “Easy” mode), DuckTales is just as fun as it was on the NES, with a hefty helping of extra charm. READ MORE
August 2013
Can you like a game because it’s broken? It’s a strange concept, but sometimes it’s fun to go against what the designer intended and turn the mechanics of the game against themselves, subverting the rules and pushing to create a completely different experience.
Not all games crash beautifully, but Pokémon Trading Card Game does. READ MORE
Genre 101 is a series that looks at the past and present of a game genre to find lessons about what defines it. This time, “guest lecturer” Lucas White gives us a primer on the beat-’em-up.
A new path for combat
Lucas White: Before Kung-Fu Master, combat games were generally one-on-one affairs. Kung-Fu Master bears a rudimentary resemblance to later, more refined games, as the player navigates down linear paths, punching and kicking endlessly spawning enemies before reaching the boss fights. This basic formula would lead to Renegade and later Double Dragon. The familiar street brawling setting trope came into play, and players were given more combat options, such as the use of items and vertical movement. READ MORE
In From Pixels to Polygons, we examine classic game franchises that have survived the long transition from the 8- or 16-bit era to the current console generation.
This series is about standing the test of time, and the adaptations a series must make to do it. For Civilization, how could it not? Adaptation, progress and making prudent advancements is exactly what you learn from playing Civ, and over the past two decades, it’s also proven to be what you learn from making it. Change has certainly come to Civ with each new installment, but there’s something about playing it that is still so true to the original idea.
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Henry returns to the podcast! While he finally gets to talk about Dota 2, Graham weighs in on recent releases: Pikmin 3, Tales of Xillia and Dragon’s Crown. Also: what’s the ideal JRPG party size? Will Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney be Henry’s first Layton game and his first Ace Attorney? Did everyone else run away because they’re scared of red hair?
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: Graham Russell, Henry Skey.
Music: Podcast theme by Tom Casper.
