Quick time events, gore, boobs, crazy camera angles, square-square-triangle. These are just five of the tropes that have been consistent in every God of War game to date. While normally you could argue that these elements are pretty awesome (though the boobs can certainly be a bit much), if you’ve been playing Sony’s Greek mythology-inspired first-party franchise consistently like I […]

From developer Level-5 and animation studio Studio Ghibli comes the collaboration of any JRPG fans dreams in the form of Ni No Kuni. A drop-dead gorgeous effort with some light hearted humor and a serious dose of adult themed issues that I must admit took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting the game to tug at my heart strings but […]

Developer Crystal Dynamics had a lot riding on the new Tomb Raider. The studio was promoting the hell out of the reboot and told the fans that this would not only be a reimagining of the long-lasting franchise, but of the Lara Croft character, as well. The game was in development for quite some time, but did it succeed in […]

If there’s one thing Platinum Games is good at, it’s creating wonderfully insane action games that make you feel like you’re playing a wild anime. Thankfully, the Japan-based studio is also really good at a lot of other things. For example, Platinum is good at taking a revered franchise such as Metal Gear and developing a spin-off that just makes […]

First impressions are important, but they can also be deceiving. I’m not going to lie — I was a little worried when the first thing that popped up when I loaded up Anarchy Reigns was a screen with a wall of text feeding me the game’s plot. I was also a bit worried to think that online multiplayer was the […]

Survival horror in its purest form has all but disappeared over the past several years. While certain games still have elements of horror and stylistically dark themes, it’s really difficult to find a game that makes you feel like you’ve lost all hope — like you’re going to die and you’re really only prolonging your gruesome, horrific fate. The reason […]

The Wii U launched just about three weeks ago, and in that time it’s received its share of praise and skepticism. The fact of the matter is that Nintendo made a lot of promises as its latest console approached release. After playing around with some games as well as the system’s internal apps, it’s easy to see how the company […]

From developer Minority Media Inc. comes the emotional story of Papo & Yo. It is a dark autobiographical tale about a boy named Quico and his best friend, Monster, filled with heart-breaking symbolism describing the complicated relationship of a boy and his father who is battling alchoholism. The character Quico represents Minority Media Creative DirectorVander Caballero as a boy as he […]

The original Darksiders was a fun romp, though for those well acquainted with the action RPG genre, most will agree that it didn’t exactly break new ground gameplay-wise. Compared to its predecessor, Darksiders 2 is a much more ambitious experience that goes beyond a mere improvement. This is not your typical sequel. Sure – plenty of comparisons to Zelda can […]

  Over the past several years we have seen a prolific amount of free-to-play (F2P) games crop up, from your traditional Asia-based studio to one of gaming’s biggest giants, Valve. Free-to-play titles rely on the sale of in-game items rather than the sale of the game itself in order to create a profit. The business model has proven successful for […]

First, I would like to start off my review of Rainbow Moon by saying that I was addicted well before I had played the game. Actually playing it verified everything I had hoped the game would be. To be honest, I’m not sure I will do the game justice with my review, but I will try. My hope is simply […]

Fenix Rising, the third piece of downloadable content included in the Gears of War 3 Season Pass, was made available on January 17th and we were given the opportunity to review it.  The new content includes five new multiplayer maps, a new “re-up” option similar to Call of Duty’s prestige option, four “new” character skins, and additional weapon skins achieved […]

Set across a flashy dystopian world where humans are at war with AI-controlled machines, Hard Reset marks the first effort from upstart Polish studio Flying Wild Hog.  At its core, it’s a twitch-heavy first-person shooter, drawing a hefty amount of inspiration from the likes of old-school standouts like Serious Sam and Painkiller under the guise of a cyberpunk setting. Fluid […]

Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops is the seventh outing into Activision’s seminal first-person shooter franchise. With its debut following in the wake of Modern Warfare 2, arguably the most successful video game launch to date going by metrics, it becomes clear that Black Ops has vast shoes to fill. Fresh out of the box, it’s evident the game has a […]

While the bulk of portable offerings tend to mimic their console brethren in bite-sized form, a select few dare to separate themselves from what is considered traditional for a genre. It’s hardly surprising, given that taking risks from a creative standpoint can be an unsettling venture at times. When risks are taken and executed properly, however, it pays off in […]

As one of the most addictive and well constructed offerings in the RPG space, Final Fantasy is a prestigious household name that needs no introduction. In an effort to expand its offerings in the mobile market, Square Enix decided to take a trip down memory lane, giving iPhone and iPod Touch users an innovative new way to play Final Fantasy […]

It takes merely a glance at the history of releases in the entertainment industry to discern what element is key to a higher chance of success: braaaiiins or, well, zombies anyway. Just take a look at all the titles that have something to do with zombies and the numbers they rack up: 28 Days later: $45,064,000 28 Weeks later: $54,146,747 […]

In many respects, Ubisoft’s C.O.P: The Recruit is a landmark title for the Nintendo DS. Delivering a fully realized open-world environment in 3D, developer VD Dev has crafted a one-of-a-kind experience that no other DS effort to date has managed. From a technical perspective, to pull off this level of visual acuity on a handheld that admittedly is not renowned […]

With the introduction of the PSP nearly four years ago, Sony made its debut in the handheld gaming market with a bang: offering gamers, for the first time, PS2 quality graphics on a portable at an affordable price. The handheld quickly garnered mainstream appeal with its secondary function as a portable media device, able to playback a variety of music […]

For many, the idea of adult education may be something of a misnomer. Why would anyone want to go back to school later in life? Many schemes have been suggested to entice learners back into education. However, whilst governments provide financial incentives for mature learners Nintendo have managed to get them to pay for the privilege of learning on their […]