The closest I’ll ever come to being a hardcore fighting gamer is knowing that Soulcalibur is one word. So now that I’ve established my credibility as a fighting game authority, let me tell you why I really like Soulcalibur IV.
After the jump, it’s all about the do Continue reading →
Since the very beginning one of my favorite aspects of the Final Fantasy games has been their distinctive, lavish visual design. Even in the 8 and 16-bit era the character art, enemy designs and lush environments have been a strength of the series.
Much of the art was created by the Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano. Amano began working for Squaresoft in 1987 and was responsible for the character designs in every Final Fantasy game through Final Fantasy VI. Because of the technological limitations of the NES and SNES, the games weren’t always the best showcase of his distinctive style. Luckily there was one place you could see his illustrations in all their glory.
After the jump, they’re art books, I swear! Continue reading →
Today, I’m going to save you literally tens of dollars. Maybe.
After the jump: If you’re not using AppShopper, you’re wasting money Continue reading →
I have a mental disorder known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Before I was diagnosed, I thought of OCD as the disease that makes you wash your hands constantly, but there’s so much more! Other than the “wake up in the middle of the night and check your door locks” kind of crazy, I also have a few others, though it’s not necessary to recite them here.
You may wonder what this has to do with Gears of War 3. I’m getting to it. Back off, man!
After the jump, I ch-ch-ch-choose you, Thrashball Cole! Continue reading →
Before they fell off the face of the earth (i.e. started making NASCAR games), developer Papyrus made a racing game called Grand Prix Legends back in 1998. It was brilliant for both the physics and the old timey subject matter of those cars that are like kazoos with wheels sticking out of the sides. They were thrilling for how they looked and felt like they were going to fall apart. There’s no rollercoaster quite so exciting as a rickety rollercoaster.
As I dig on the Need for Speed: Shift games, I think back to what Papyrus did in Grand Prix Legends. They captured that ineffable sense of speed and power where you’re pushing the edge of control. I’m sure physics has something to do with it, but you’d need a scientist, programmer, or race car driver to explain it. I’m just a videogame reviewer who knows words like “ineffable”.
I expect most of the downloadable content for Shift 2 will be cutting-edge supercars that I couldn’t care less about. This may be racist, but all those Italian sports cars look the same to me. And who can remember how to spell their names? Lam-BRO-ghini or lam-BER-ghini? And where does the H go? And how many pairs of Rs are in Ferrarri? And how is it that “Zonda” isn’t a typo?
So I’m elated that the first DLC for Shift 2 eschews all that nonsense and instead looks back. The Legends pack, as it’s called, doesn’t look as far or narrowly back as the legends of Grand Prix Legends, but at least it’s a step backward to more manageable cars on tracks with less product placement. And I don’t have to look up how to spell of Mini Cooper.
After the jump, fully functional and entirely useless rear view mirrors Continue reading →
An $86 million opening weekend can’t be wrong. Or can it? If you don’t want us to spoil Fast Five, fast forward to this week’s 3×3 at the 58-minute mark for a discussion of objects as characters. We’re not entirely certain what that’s supposed to mean either, but we won’t be deterred.
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