PixlBit

Lighting effects in a Mario game are still kind of weird to see.

Being the fourth entry in the series, prepending “New” to the title seems disingenuous. Despite tossing in a new power-up in the form of a flying squirrel suit, New Super Mario Bros. U is more of the same tried-and-true gameplay the series is known for. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad thing, but it’s hard not to feel some fatigue with the now familiar art style, level layout, and presentation. Despite this fatigue, there’s little question that New Super Mario Bros. U is the strongest title in the subseries and a fond callback to both Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.

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The crystal began shedding its light silently....

Welcome to the final part of PixlBit’s comprehensive look at the Final Fantasy series. In our last installment, we went through the PlayStation 2 era, which took the series into uncharted territory, for better or worse. This time, we look at the most recent Final Fantasy games, which have gone on to become the most divisive and controversial games in the series so far. Join us as we explore the Seventh Generation years!

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The douche bag sim you never knew you wanted.

I never expected to become so enamored with a game where you inhabit the body of the hugest douche bag to ever visit the South Pacific, but it happened.  After suffering through a fairly irritating opening sequence, you eventually find that you are free to explore the Rook Islands at whatever pace you desire.  In some of my early self-paced explorations, I decided to stealthily capture an enemy outpost.  Hiding in the bushes and taking stock of what foes lay within the compound, I heard the loud roar of a tiger that charged into the outpost and slaughtered everyone inside while my knife and gun remained completely unused.  I conquered that outpost by letting the game’s systems collide and work in my favor.  These types of situations happen continuously in Far Cry 3 and whether they were to my benefit or demise, it’s always a blast to witness.  It’s these interacting systems that make Far Cry 3 a special experience that is worth playing, despite the grating narrative.

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Nothing of import detected.

On this, the final episode of Backloggers Anonymous covering Too Human, we discuss the final two missions, the overall plot and story, and dig a little deeper into the issues we had with some of the choices the game designers made. Joaquim gives up on his quest for dragon armor, Julian explains his love/hate relationship with Denis Dyack, and I, now free from pain meds, discusses my difficulty understanding Baldur as a character. Finally, we say our goodbyes and offer our final opinions of our journey though Too Human.

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It's hard to see the line when it's drawn in the shifting sand...

When the creative minds of game designers come up against the practical, business-focused minds of game publishers it can lead to endless frustration. This frustration is shared by the consumers, wanting a unique gaming experience but also needing that experience to be something that they can instantly click with. This frustration is the crux of my feelings for Spec Ops: The Line, a game that pushes narrative into some refreshingly interesting places, but stumbles with game mechanics that smack of publisher homogenization.

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