Sony’s current console and all it’s glory
Castlevania: You love killing all demonic creatures and have a thing for whips.
Left 4 Dead: You think zombies are alright and welcome the apocalypse if it means you can blast the living dead to pieces with a shotgun.
Lots of good deals this week, lots of systems, and lots of games for this edition of the Sunday Roundup. Visiting new cities is always an opportunity for myself to venture into uncharted video game stores and sift through their wares, trying diligently to find that gem among all others, the diamond in the rough.
I’ve got an experiment for you. Try and find me any gamer that doesn’t have at least one strong memory about the soundtrack of a game. You can’t do it. As endearing as the story in many a Final Fantasy, or the excellent gameplay of titles like Uncharted 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3, music in games has left an undeniable impact on gamers. Whether it’s the blips and bleeps of the Atari 2600, the MIDI music from the SNES, or the fully orchestrated masterpieces heard in the current generation of consoles, music has played an ever important role in shaping a video game. I want to take this time to share some of my personal favorites from my gaming past. I highly encourage you to sit back, pump up the volume, and bask in the warmth that a finely tuned gaming song can give you.
Recently it was made aware that Obsidian Entertainment, the company responsible for the excellent game Fallout: New Vegas, was not given any royalties or bonuses for the game because the game failed to garner a high enough score on aggregate review site Metacritic. Aside from this being a terrible story for the talented developers over at Obsidian, it is also a ludicrous practice for a publisher to utilize. There has been a bevy of articles and opinion pieces on the situation, with a lot of the argument aimed at Metacritic. But is Metacritic really to blame, or should the pointed finger of the outraged public be directed towards someone else?
I’ve been busy traveling around and enjoying my time at the Mall of America with some of my friends from college, so I’ve been away from the computer and thus away from this blog for some time. Fortunately, a big new city means a handful of new game stores to hit up. I was able to find a few good titles that I’ve added to my collection. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.
Mega Man.
No other series has a spot closer to my heart than this one. I have the fondest of memories playing these games as a child (in fact I’d say Mega Man III was one of my first games I ever played), and these games still rank up there as some of the best I’ve ever played. Everyone has, or rather should, play any of the games in the classic Mega Man series. Yes, they’re that good.
Something I could never keep up with though was the incredible amount of Robot Masters the series has. With ten games in the numbered series, a handful of spin-offs, a portable series, and some games never released in America, there are over 120 Robot Masters for Mega Man to defeat. And those are just the ones in the classic series (so not including those in the X, Zero, ZX, Legends, Battle Network, or Star Force series).
Below I’ve done my best to compile an all-encompassing list of every Robot Master seen in what would be considered the classic series of games. I’ve separated out the games I’ve never heard of and the ones not released in America to lessen confusion. I’ve also listed each Robot Master’s name as well as any game they’ve appeared in. Clicking on the RM’s name links to their Wiki page for more information. If there’s one I’m missing or something I’ve left out let me know in the comments. Without further ado… (more…)
Why do people just stand still, looking solemnly into your eyes with a cold gaze of death?
Or how about explaining why sleeping outside on the ground can miraculously heal any and all wounds, no matter the severity?
And what about no one seeming to care that there are people carrying around weapons and ammunition to initiate a small war at any given second?
These are the questions that are never asked when playing a Role-Playing Game, yet they are always there in the back of your head, eating away at your thoughts long after the console has been turned off. Most of these issues are just components of the RPG itself, but some of them simply don’t make any damn sense. Here are ten unexplained, bizarre, and truly peculiar themes in RPGs.
I did it for one of my favorite genres (the fighter) and I’ve got to do it for another genre close to my heart, the puzzle game. Whether you’re connecting colored gems, filling in gaps, solving brain teaser, or shooting shiny balls at other shiny balls, the puzzle game is a staple to the video game community that isn’t going anywhere. And with so many excellent games to sink your teeth into it can be hard to determine which games offer the best challenge, the most addictive gameplay, and the most satisfaction upon completion. Vol 3 of Worth Playing is here, so let’s get this underway.
Another visit to Lafayette and another trip into Disc Replay. What that all boils down to is me finding new excuses to throw my money away. Personally it’s always a small victory every time I get to buy a new old game: I feel like I’m doing the game a personal favor by freeing it from the confines of the store rack. Also, there were some great deals at Best Buy this week: Lots of new game for just about every console were on clearance. And to make things better, I felt even more victorious this week since I wasn’t able to get any new titles the previous week! Huzzah!
There has been no short supply of good games for me to play these past few weeks, especially after receiving so many excellent gifts from friends and family over the holidays. I’m surprised, however, that after wanting to play Skyrim for so long and finally getting the game for my own, I have spent my time instead playing Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure on the PS3. The game certainly is unique (with physical toys being used to represent your avatars on screen), but why has it held my interest over the much more acclaimed Skyrim? Why have so many games come out recently with “Sky” in their name? Maybe it’s a coincidence, but what if it’s something more? Hmmm…