PixlBit

This is a natural 20 of arcade goodness.

Former arcade rats and fans of old school beat ‘em ups have something special to look forward to in the near future. Capcom is slated to unveil ports of their Dungeons & Dragons arcade games for PSN and XBLA at the upcoming PAX East. The two side scrollers were somewhat of a rarity in arcades, most likely due to the immense popularity of the fighting game genre, leading to arcades doubling down on those types of games at the expense of others. Now, though, players who missed out will finally have a chance to play these lost gems.

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Metallica, Megadeth, Metal Gear?

Spinoffs can be a dicey proposition. There’s a real danger of diluting the name of the original franchise by slapping it on a bunch of games that are only somewhat related, and if the spinoff isn’t a quality game to begin with it can cause brand degradation. When a spinoff succeeds though, it can lead to an entirely new franchise that runs parallel with the source material, slicing and dicing its own path to popularity. I’m happy to say that Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is just that type of game; something that can stand on its own as a great action game while still fitting into the convoluted Metal Gear universe. But this isn’t your daddy’s Metal Gear; if Solid Snake is a little bit country, Raiden is 100% metal.

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Don't miss this thrilling successor to 2010's cult classic, 999.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who spent countless hours in the elementary school library reading each and every Choose Your Own Adventure book available, exploring each and every deviating path the story offered. Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward is not unlike these books of our youth; however, it offers an added puzzle-solving experience that differentiates it from its paperback brethren. If you’ve any love for these types of experiences, there’s no question that Virtue’s Last Reward will have you on its hook for well over 30 hours.

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Publishers aren't the main reason horror franchises are quick to lose the scares.

It’s hard to talk about games like Resident Evil 6 and Dead Space 3 without having someone go off on a tangent on how the publishers “ruined” these series by trying to broaden the series fanbases – moving beloved franchises away from their horror roots and towards the more spectacle driven action genre.  There is an idiom of truth to this complaint.  Horror doesn’t generate Call of Duty sales volume.  It’s a niche genre where only the exceptional few break into the mainstream.  Action titles, counterparts of the money eating summer movie blockbusters, appeal to a much greater audience and are thus able to bring in much more cash.  So yes, it makes sense that the “big bad” publishers would be responsible for the taming of your favorite horror franchise.

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