by Omar (@siegarettes)
Upon starting up Desync I could immediately hear someone somewhere beginning to write a thinkpiece about how with the release of Desync and nuDOOM shooters are finally returning to their glorious past. But while DOOM learned from, and subsequently owes a debt to, the last decade of shooter design, Desync fails to do the same.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
A few weeks ago I said to a classroom, “List articles are very arbitrary,” I still stand by that statement. But I’m also a hypocrite, so here are two games that you should be playing on your tablet right now. Yes two. (And to be fair, I targeted top-five lists – not top-two.)
by Omar (@siegarettes)
There are few feelings more satisfying than a good parry. Bleed 2 knows that, and not only does it center itself on it, it brings the best version of the parry: the one that can reflect missiles into an enemies face.
That’s what makes Bleed 2 work. The slow motion gunplay, the agile character, the two color bullet system – it all complements the parry. The parry changes the way you approach levels. It makes it smarter to be the aggressor, forces you to run towards bullets to create breathing room. The best moments in Bleed 2 are the ones that play with that. They create tension as you rally bullets until your opponent drops it, then have knock them out of the air with a quick response to their dive attack. Or they have you defend an ally by parrying a car out of the air.
She Remembered Caterpillars is a bit like what I imagine doing Chess problems is like. It requires you to think multiple steps ahead, read what spaces are available on the board, and work out how you can get each piece into the right position. Despite its cute facade, it becomes complex quickly. It starts with only a few pieces, then adds to it. And while each new piece might initially seem like a short solution to previous problems, there’s always a new wrinkle that keeps success just out of reach.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
It was 2002. My mom brought me to Target to get the Game Boy Advance. For what reason? I don’t really know and I can’t be bothered to find out why. But with that purchase solidified my love for the medium. And I’d like to share some of the memories I have with this delightful device.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Videogames have long been tied to the world of racquet sports. Titles like Arkanoid and Pong are some of the earliest and most imitated concepts in games history. Enter SpiritSphere, a modern entry that attempts to revitalize the concept by bringing in influence from another oft imitated game: The Legend of Zelda.
In what seems to now be a regular occurrence, Dariusburst CS has once again expanded its already massive scope to cover even more territory. While previous DLCs mostly consisted of well known titles, this one digs deep even further into the die hard SHMUP catalog, adding Battle Garegga, Terra Diver and Mahoudaisakusen characters into the mix. Luckily, it’s also one of the best releases so far.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
For all its distractions, Yakuza is a romantic series. There’s a certain nostalgic feeling towards its city, its characters, and its ideas of masculinity. So there’s no better time to set one of its games than in the 80’s, when Japan’s boom economy created in atmosphere of prosperity and excess. Of course, within excess breeds corruption, and so in the midst of this new prosperity rise the machinations of ambitious men. Enter Kiryu and Majima, two inexperienced yakuza caught in the web of a conspiracy. A conspiracy they’ll have to untangle by punching a lot of other men until they give up the truth.
In practical terms, this means roaming the cities of Kamurocho and Sotenbori, hitting up bars and brawls on your way to the next story beat. Yakuza’s dense cities often get it compared to open world games, but its rhythms and pacing are distinctly JRPG. Cutscenes are lengthy and frequent, often accompanied by excellent voice acting and theatrical facial expressions. Naturally, plenty of these escalate into violence.