Need for sleep.
This review is part of the 2014 Sh*tty Game Review Fest - read about the event here.
Believe it or not, the Dodge Ram license is the least offensively bad part of this bargain bin shovelware detritus that came out on Wii a few years ago. I'll grant that it's a fairly novel way to grab the attention of the idiot masses, and it's never been done before. Now that the good aspects are covered, it's all downhill from here.
I'm afraid I've got some Bad News...
Come look into our crystal balls as we attempt to look into the future and predict E3. No, wait, come back! I promise you that this is an entertaining pre-E3 edition of Nerds Without Pants. We decided to dream up some wild (but plausible) wishes for the Big Three, and then do a reality check and talk about what we think will actually happen. Before that, Consumption Junction!
Fun, but forgettable.
Going into Ragnarok Odyssey ACE I was excited. To find out that the game was a spin-off of the one MMORPG that I actually was fully engrossed in for a period of time was a treat. Though this game and Ragnarok Online are indeed very different, the similarities and shared aspects were apparent from the get go. However, while I enjoyed those aspects, I may have been better off getting the Playstation Vita version.
One of the less mediocre games to come from Data East.
A few months back, Monkey Paws Games began a 6-week campaign to bring several import games to the US. Among them was Wolf Fang, released this past February on PSN. Originally released by Data East in 1991 as the arcade sequel to Vapor Trail (Kugah in Japan), Wolf Fang is a game that heavily borrows from the many shoot ‘em ups that came before it. If you’ve ever played a shooter that involved Vulcan spread shots, miniature helper drones, and anime-inspired character designs, then this game will be very familiar territory for you. On their own, the gameplay elements could be written off as merely generic. But together they form a surprisingly respectable game.
“Sacred geometry.”
Every so often, I am lucky enough to play a game so delightful, so perfectly engineered for its platform, and so inspiring that I have to take a step back, stunned. While other arts such as literature and painting seem long in the tooth these days, clutching to cynicism and nihilism like a terminal patient clinging to the sheets in his bed, great games seem imbued with a sort of impossible optimism and generosity towards the human condition. Monument Valley, a game about redemption through sacred geometry, is one of those games.
Power Fantasy
Entire consoles and companies have risen and fallen on the expectations of exclusive, first party titles like Second Son. Often seen as the PS4’s first must buy game, there is a lot on the line with Sucker Punches first foray into the new console. While elements of the game may not live up to the grand expectations, once you make it past the hype still you get a sequel that not only stands on its own, but is also engaging, pretty, and a heck of a lot of fun.