25,357 community articles
Published
My principle with run-based games is that I have to be making forward progress on a semi-consistent basis, even as incremental as it may be; it's an intriguing framework that uses RNG in place of a considerable amount of level design work, one of the first instances of AI algorithms taking over what would normally be a human's job (see how you like it now, artists and musicians), but one that c...
Published
When we left Halo Infinite in the cold twilight of January, the game was in cryo sleep. As a boxed product, it had yet to be fully assembled, its slow load times and ugly glitches giving it the feeling of a beta rather than a final build. As a live service game, it left UNSC recruits pounding at a low progression ceiling and parched of new cosmetics and play experiences. When Infinite launched...
Published
For the last few years, I've been able to play 25-35 games in sufficient quantity to rank them for a GOTY list. I write at least a paragraph about my top 10, as well as short blurbs on my Honorable / Dishonorable Mentions. An unfortunate side-effect of this structure is that I fail to even note some games that are worth discussing. This is especially unjust for any early releases that occupy a...
Published
July 2023's first entry for the Video Game Hall of Fame is Streets of Rage's Axel Stone. Next week's addition will be a character from Portal.
justiceleaguecanada (Premium member)
Published
Well, here we are at the end. Our goal today is nothing short of 100% completion of the Retro Achievements set for Super Mario 64 . Once we hit all 132 achievements (Part 3 left us with 23 to go) I'll be moving onto a bonus section and then wrapping up this feature for some other retro-gaming shenanigans. For those just joining us at the conclusion here, the Kobayashi Mario is this potentially...
Published
Adventure games have gone through many evolutions since the Indie market more or less completely took them over from the apathetic AAA industry, but the old point-and-clicks still have their proponents, myself included. Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit initially felt like one of those tourist information type games—where a country with very limited representation in the video game industry m...
Published
Hey, Steam Got A New Update That Makes Playing Games On Steam Better! This is definitely cool. Recently, Steam hosted another edition of its Next Fest event. During this promotion, developers, primarily smaller indie outfits, paraded various demos and prototypes for projects they have been toiling away on for years. Outside of Steam's seasonal sale events, Next Fest is one of the most valuable...
Published
Around the end of last year, I expressed my desire to see the Hottest Mess category return to Giant Bomb, even if it needed to come to the forums rather than Game of the Year discussions. Hottest Mess 2022 got a pretty good response, both in the call for candidates and in the voting. I meant to post something a week after the vote, but life got in the way until the topic felt moot. Recently, a...
Published
I am fully aware of everyone proving disrespect to Activision Blizzard since, like Ubisoft, they don't deserve any respect these days since they easily milk every single franchise they own until one dies out. Call of Duty used to be a good franchise, but now I can see its the worst offender, and everyone is likely to be burned out from it. This is the best example of using an established franch...
Published
We're halfway done with 2023's class of my Video Game Hall of Fame, and this week's entry is Pyramid Head. Next week's character will be a Sega classic.
justiceleaguecanada (Premium member)
Published
This video spotlights the self-proclaimed largest adventure game on the Game Boy Advance, Zero One by Fuuki. Learn about this ambitious handheld adventure along with Zero One SP, a remake that features character designs by the creator of Outlaw Star, Takehiko Ito. Sources 1997 Print Ad for Fuuki’s Arcade Business 2003 Fan Review for Zero One 2004 Fan Review for Zero One SP ADV Fan Site that Con...
Published
A classically-trained cellist, Greg Heffernan graduated from New York University in 2005 with a degree in music composition. Adopting the moniker Cosmo D, he became a passionate contributor to the Brooklyn music scene, playing in bands such as Bing & Ruth and Archie Pelago. Nine years after graduation, Cosmo would reenroll at his alma mater, but this time, to study game design. With his 2014 re...
Published
Do you kids like your Mega Man s? I know I sure do. I don't generally play a whole lot of Indie games imitating the Blue Bomber's numerous quirks, despite the fact they're almost as popular as all the Metroid s and Castlevania s understudies out there. Mostly it's because they tend to be on the tougher side (I swear I'll give RosenkreuzStilette Freudenstachel another go one of these days, and I...
Published
In the exciting world of Fortnite, where players have a blast battling it out, some gamers want to find ways to get an advantage over others. That's where cheat codes come in handy. Cheat codes are secret commands that can give players special abilities or help them discover hidden treasures within the game. By using cheat codes, players can unleash the full potential of their Fortnite experien...
Published
An explanation of what I'm doing here can be found in my introduction post . This post is in reference to Part 023 of All PS1 Games In Order . I've had a bit of a hiatus for the last month, so before getting back into the swing of things let's take a short look at Namco's early contributions to the PS1. **This post is also featured on my site, fifthgengaming.blog , and can be found here .** ---...
Published
Teemo the Swift Scout, of League of Legends fame, is the 25th entry in the Video Game Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Next week's character will be a Konami favorite.
justiceleaguecanada (Premium member)
Published
Eternights hands-on preview （I have been toying with the idea of doing this tricky thing we call “hands-on preview” for a couple of months now. First in March with Bayonetta Origins demo and Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Demo, but those products came out before I got around to write previews so I just wrote reviews instead. Then there were the couple of 15 minutes long demos of the Ludonarrative con...
Published
I blogged earlier about buying an Evercade and some of the experiences I've had with that system, mostly playing 80s/90s console games and some cool obscure arcade titles. Blaze Entertainment, which makes the Evercade, is a British company so it was perhaps inevitable that they'd start dipping their toes into releasing emulated Commodore 64 and Amiga games, because unlike in the US and Japan th...
Published
I want to talk about this year's Summer Game Fest, and inevitably, every discussion of Summer Game Fest becomes a eulogy and postmortem of E3. So, let's not beat around the bush. The current crop of mid-year games events are trying to fill the pleasure hole left behind by the old expo up and vanishing, and there's the question of whether any replacement to E3 can survive in the same habitat. Pr...
Published
We like to joke around here with our silly made-up names for genres, like Zeldersatzes and explormers , but it's really hard to narrow down which of those two perfectly cromulent words best encapsulates what Studio Pixel Punk has made here with Unsighted . Waking up in an underground laboratory, you play as Alma, a dexterous combat automaton built to resist the human incursion on your city. A m...
Published
Preamble Can you think of any game that serves as a better swan song for the Switch than this one? Before we get into the premise and inspiration of this blog, let me say I think Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece . It's a technical marvel, and I have enjoyed almost all I have played of it. Its seamless transitions from the underworld and sky environments provide one of the most satisfying g...
