PlayStation Minis, like Xbox Live Indie Games, have been a way for smaller developers to get their games out to the masses at an affordable price. Every so often, you stumble across a game on one of these services that surprises you. Despite its best efforts, Idiot Squad is not one of those games. READ MORE
The Vita is on a roll with yet another downloadable-exclusive title, Sumioni: Demon Arts, brought to us by XSEED. This stylish 2D action-platformer combines traditional mechanics found in similar titles, while also utilizing the Vita’s touch screen capabilities. It’s a perfect fit for a handheld and there is a lot of promise to be found, but it never quite lives up to it. READ MORE
How do you evolve a genre that has remained consistent for as long as it has existed without alienating fans? Japanese RPGs have grown in terms of quality and scale, sure, but they all follow a very basic formula and rarely do they deviate from it. Xenoblade Chronicles changes all of that. By taking a few pages from the Western RPG playbook and giving them a JRPG spin, it manages to take a genre and push it out of its comfort zone. The results are simply spectacular. READ MORE
Disclaimer: No nuns were harmed during the writing of this column.
Perhaps this isn’t necessarily something that needs defending, but now’s as good of a time as any to discuss moral choices in games. They seem to be popping up everywhere these days, especially in games that don’t really need them. They allow for developers to give players multiple endings, but those endings (like the choices that precede them) are usually on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. What if you don’t want to be as good as Superman or the incarnation of evil? READ MORE
Fighting games have never made an entirely successful transfer to handhelds in the past. Some have been designed to suit the strengths of that platform, but rarely has a direct port been successful in capturing the experience of a fighter on the go. Thanks to leaps ahead in technology and some innovative new ideas, we can now experience fighters like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 properly on handhelds. READ MORE
