The vehicles in Micro Machines have this wildly-exaggerated movement. They feel as if they were actually small cars, with little weight and a powerful engine. They accelerate in seconds to ludicrous speeds, raising their kinetic energy to levels your small traction can’t keep under control. Cars bounce around corners, and go flying when hit just to criss-cross the road a second later. It’s fast and chaotic, yet (with practice) perfectly controllable. READ MORE
Batman: Arkham Asylum drew a lot of comparisons to Metroid when it released in 2009. Arkham City and Arkham Origins have been steadily moving away from that formula ever since, trading upgrade-driven exploration for open-world gameplay. Blackgate, however, channels the Metroid franchise quite a bit, which is unsurprising given developer Armature Studio’s ex-Retro origins. 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.
After months of looking at the evolution of gaming’s biggest franchises, it’s time to end this year’s run of From Pixels to Polygons by looking at the game (and series) that helped put Nintendo on the map: Donkey Kong. It may not be as popular as Mario or as well-received as Zelda, but Donkey Kong has a long and storied history and is still going strong today.
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There is far more that can be done with video games than simply challenging reflexes. One of the best examples of this realm of possibility is Capcom’s Ace Attorney, a series that, now going into its third generation on Nintendo handhelds, brings with it a legacy of brain-bending mysteries and colorful characters. By offering something so different from the standard fare, Ace Attorney has been able to carve out a viable niche and ensure its place as a landmark of the adventure genre. READ MORE
Nippon Ichi Software has been releasing niche anime games to the masses for the last several years. The company is constantly trying to put new spins on various RPG subgenres to challenge us with every title it releases. Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman, a PSP title released back in 2010, marked its first foray into the roguelike. While it had its fair share of issues, it sets enough in place for The Guided Fate Paradox to improve upon the formula. READ MORE
