The Neo Geo Pocket Color, released in August of 1999 and made by SNK, makers of the (incredibly expensive) Neo Geo systems and arcade cabinets, was a great little handheld — one of the last dedicated to 2D gaming. Made of a smooth, sometimes see-through, sometimes multicolored plastic resistant to finger smudges and damage, it felt great to hold. Battery power lasted so long they rarely needed replacement and huge, backlit 16-bit color screen was a relief to see after over a decade of the Game Boy’s muddy display. There were only two face buttons on it but my god, man, the tactile feedback! They had a joyful spring to them. And the joystick!
SoulCalibur V, the latest entry in Namco Bandai’s 3D fighting game franchise, is on store shelves and ready for you to hack and slash opponents into submission. We had the opportunity to get our grubby lil’ paws on the game a few weeks ago before it hit retail, and got some serious sessions in–one of which you see here.
Previously on The Final Fantasy XIII-2 Diaries! Noel, a boy from the future has to get main character Serah, Lightning’s younger sister, to Valhalla via time warp gates! A moogle with a fat head named Mog accompanies them! The Paradigm Shift battle system from Final Fantasy XIII returns with a few tweaks, random encounters with weak monsters happen, and I’m pleasantly surprised by just about everything so far!
The Square Enix rep played through the demo twice. The first go, he was stealthy and patient and hid the bodies of any NPCs he had killed. The second time around things got a bit more violent. To show us just how many options you have in tackling missions, he rescued a cop that was being interrogated by criminals and used a fire axe to take out three thugs. This doesn’t sound all that gruesome in text, but seeing is indeed believing.
Part One of a chronicle through the time-traveling odyssey Final Fantasy XIII-2. Does this RPG sequel start with a bang or a whimper? With this sequel, Square Enix set out to right the wrongs of the previous game, namely tunnel vision level design, off-kilter pacing, and a lack of player immediacy. But this new one promises to be a different beast. Let’s find out together if that’s true. Instead of playing, finishing the game and then posting my final review I will chronicle my time with it. This will be different from my typical reviews. The format will be looser, a bit more free-form. It should be fun! So let’s dive in.
You want some gaming gear? We got your gaming gear. Well, actually, Mad Catz does. Many gaming-related accessories graced the CES 2012′s halls and hotels, but no company matched the variety that Mad Catz showcased. From fight sticks to MMO mice to flight sticks (and beyond!), Mad Catz had plenty of wares on display. But enough of our yappin’; check out the gallery below for some most excellent shots of Mad Catz’ new merchandise.
When Shane Bettenhausen, former business development director at UTV Ignition Games, passed me the controller to sample El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron after watching him demo it for a few minutes at a long-ago NYC showcase, I noticed something–or a lack of something–that wasn’t apparent when he played: the protagonist, biblical hero Enoch, didn’t have a health bar.
2011 was an incredible year for gaming, especially for Sony. PlayStation 3 owners suffered battered pockets as at certain points throughout the year the collective cries of broke gamers could be heard everywhere. It was gamepocalyse. Sony hammered gamers with first-party exclusive after first-party exclusive: Uncharted 3, Little Big Planet 2, Kill Zone 3, Infamous 2, Socom 4, the list can go on. And 2012 looks like it will repeat the set trend. Sony’s 2012 line up looks stellar once again with Starhawk, Sly Cooper, Twisted Metal, The Last of Us, and hopefully The Last Guardian (don’t hold your breath).
After years of alternating between misjudging and flat-out ignoring the personal computing gaming space, I can now officially state that I am a PC gamer. I have Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony to thank. And the Xbox 720, Wii U, and PS4 won’t coax me back.
The king of “I did it first,” the Nintendo 64, is one of the most innovative consoles ever manufactured, having set many of the standards we now see today. It was the first console to support four players out the box. It was the first to introduce analog controls. Force feedback? We have the N64 to thank. It’s truly under-appreciated, and for all of its innovations, it should be hailed as the greatest console of all time. The N64 also had a number of great games. Yes, many of them were first-party gold, but don’t let that fool you; a number of third-party developers supported the console with excellent games. With the rise of the Virtual Console players can now experience some of the games they might have missed. Complied here are the ten greatest N64 games. The list is subject to opinion and debate, but without a doubt these are one of the most solid games on the console.
