"Plus" may be a stretch, but this port is at least equal to its source.
Dead or Alive 5 earned my respect with its accessible and fluid combat, healthy challenge, and wealth of single-player content. Following the Plus ports of the first two Ninja Gaidens, DOA5 is Tecmo Koei’s latest re-release to hit the Vita and joins Mortal Kombat and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as another fighting game port done right for Sony’s handheld.
If you're expecting more of the first, don't.
While WiiWare never made quite the splash that competing services XBLA and PSN did, it still managed to offer a few gems. Fluidity was one such title, providing Metroid-inspired exploration along with physics-based puzzles starring an amorphous blob of water that could phase change between ice and steam. Spin Cycle follows that experience with a more linear adventure that’s broken out into a set of 60 levels. The shift away from the original design proves less successful, with a number of the levels falling flat in their implementation.
No longer enslaved to Enslaved!
Final thoughts: Pigsy is a pig, Monkey is kinda like a monkey, and Trip is... kinda hot. What, you want to know more? Well listen to the 'cast!
What will the label of the first official 8Bit Beer look like? You decide!
[UPDATE: The people have spoken! Due to community input, we've added a fourth option! Unfortunately this means that the poll has to be reset - so if you already voted come back and do it again!]
Infinite Praise
The wait for BioShock Infinite has been extremely long for some. I however, failed to realize the hype until I finally finished the original BioShock just a mere six months ago. Though I experienced the game late, its effects still resonated with me, and I found myself extremely excited for more. Ken Levine’s promises sounded fascinating: A living breathing world, a constant and helpful partner, and a refinement to the core BioShock action. The only question for me was “can Irrational Games pull it off?” After finishing BioShock Infinite, I can easily say… yes.
Get in on this Game Freak gem before Nintendo cuffs them back to Pokémon.
Pretending to be a rock star with mini-guitars was pretty cool for a few years, but we’ve thankfully moved past that fad and can start getting music-based games that aren’t just for fulfilling your leather pants wearing fantasies. We’ve had a few highlights in the rhythm genre here and there as those plastic instruments made their way from Best Buy to Big Lots, but now that they’re completely gone it looks like we should get more innovative and quirky music games like we used to. If HarmoKnight is an indicator of the upcoming rhythm game onslaught, then I say “bring it on.” Mixing platforming with call-and-answer beat matching, HarmoKnight is a wonderfully cute and addictively fun journey that will keep you on your (tapping) toes.
Play it loud!
It's time again for Nerds Without Pants! This week, JD joins us for a very special look at growing up in the '90s, and all the great games we experienced back then. So lace up your army boots, tie a flannel around your waist, and chug some Crystal Pepsi folks, because this episode of NWP is full of attitude and is so effing XTREME!
And the winner is....
It’s been an exciting couple of weeks, but just like that MIA March Madness is winding down. The polls have been closed and the votes tallied. It was anyone’s guess as to who would be crowned the 2013 MIA Champion, but we do have a clear winner. And that winner is….
Oh my!
In this week's PB & Jason, a few blogs are invaded, specifically Nick's "Ask Me Anything -- Volume #2" and GirlGamerBritt's "Replay Hell: Final Fantasy XIII (Yes, I'm going there)." Beyond those blogs, talk continues about Square-Enix's problems, courtesy of Coolsetzer's comment last issue, along with discussion about why LucasArts may have closed, Gearbox's Borderlands 2, and a little bit of Luigi's Mansion 2. Click through to listen to the podcast!