After many delays (and even a cancellation), the Kojima Productions and Platinum Games joint project, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, is finally here. While it may not be the next Metal Gear Solid game, Revengeance attempts to bring together the zany storytelling from the series with the stylistic action found in many of Platinum’s releases. Luckily for us, it’s a match made in heaven. READ MORE
As someone who grew up playing as many JRPGs as one person possibly could, it’s safe to say that I’ve always loved the genre. It was easy to see why, growing up with the classic Final Fantasy games, Phantasy Star, Breath of Fire, Earthbound and so many more. My love affair with the genre continued well into the life of the PS1 and PS2, only to die down once this current generation of consoles hit the market. There were some good JRPGs to be found, sure, but they were so few and far between that it was hard to get excited about them anymore.
And then Ni no Kuni came along. It’s a game that manages to capture everything I love about JRPGs and then some. I consider it a hallmark of the genre, but does it scratch that itch purely due to nostalgia, or is there more at the heart of Ni no Kuni that helps it stand out? READ MORE
The original Dead Space came out of nowhere and surprised almost everyone with its careful blend of third-person shooter gameplay and atmospheric horror. After a fantastic sequel and some interesting spin-offs, Visceral Games returns with Dead Space 3, the supposed last game in a trilogy. This time there’s a greater focus on expanding the formula from the original two games, with more open environments, a weapon crafting system and a healthy dose of side content, giving us the biggest Dead Space experience to date. Unfortunately, bigger isn’t always better. READ MORE
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
When rebooting a franchise, you have to take into careful consideration what made that franchise so well-liked to begin with. When rebooting a franchise with a different developer at the helm, your chances of appealing to hardcore fans of the previous games has been reduced exponentially. Despite the outcries those fans, DmC: Devil May Cry manages to capture everything that was great about the original games, while carving out an identity that’s all its own. READ MORE
