Worth Playing – DownStab

Worth Playing vol. 10: Mega Man Games

A recent pickup of several Mega Man Star Force games has had me thinking about my favorite video game character recently. Mainly, why Super Smash Bros for Wii U, of all things, is arguably the best version of the character we’ve received in the better part of a decade. For a character so prominent in the 90s and early 2000s, it’s a shame we don’t see him around any more. And then I took a look at all the games he’s appeared in and suddenly I’m no longer questioning why we don’t have anymore Mega Man games. There were so many games with Mega Man in them, and many of them so drastically different from one another, we as gamers just couldn’t keep up. But don’t sweat, Blue Bomber fans, I am here to point you in the right direction! There are, believe it or not, several excellent Mega Man games outside of the Classic and X series for you to sink your time into! (more…)

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March 9, 2016

Wii

Worth Playing vol. 9: The Wii One

The Wii is officially a generation past and with the bizarre exception of Rodea: They Sky Soldier releasing as a Wii title paced in with the Wii U version, there aren’t going to be anymore games created for Nintendo’s money-making, motion controlled system. The system has sold over 100 MILLION units worldwide, making it one of the best selling video game consoles of all time (and Nintendo’s best selling non-handheld console to date). With that many units on the market it can be easy to skip over a few gems while playing arguably some of the best games out there like Super Mario Galaxy and Resident Evil 4. I’ve compiled a list of ten awesome Wii games that are worth tracking down, even as we’re approaching the little-console-that-could’s 9th birthday! And while the Wii U is chugging along strongly, these games can also be played on that console as well, giving even more incentive to find and play them! (more…)

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April 27, 2015

Worth Playing vol. 8: The Crossover Collection

Crossovers are the best fan service gamers can get. The blending of popular IPs into one unique game usually gets fans in a fever, finally being able to play as Sonic the Hedgehog in a Mario-themed game. Or finally being able to see who would win between the X-Man Wolverine and the Street Fighter Ryu. The opportunities for creating these scenarios is endless, but despite this we don’t get too many crossover games. Maybe it has something to do with publishing rights, company egos, or (most likely) money, but whatever the culprit may be, there are still a handful of crossover video games that are a hell of a lot of fun to play, and totally worth your time!

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August 15, 2014

Randomness

Worth Playing vol. 7: The Spinoff Spectacular

Just like every other medium, video games often spawn sequels focused solely on once side characters, shining a light on their stories or adventures, and thus making the spinoff sequel. With video games specifically, the spinoff doesn’t have to focus on just a character: it can be a game that dramatically changes the gameplay but keeps the characters or storyline; it can be about a side story happening at the same time; it can focus on an entirely different character’s storyline altogether. It can be a lot of things. And an, there are a lot of spinoffs out there for your favorite franchises. Here are a handful of spinoff video games that are well worth your time. (more…)

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March 19, 2014

Dreamcast / Game Boy / Game Boy Advance / GameCube / iOS / PC / Playstation 2 / Playstation 3 / Retro / Saturn / Wii / Xbox 360

Worth Playing vol. 6: The Brawler Bunch

Brawlers, beat-em ups, side-scrollers (to an extent), and just plain arcade. Whatever you label the genre one thing is for sure: there are a ton of them out there!

Since I started playing video games on the NES there have been side-scrolling beat-em ups. My beginnings were with the Double Dragon series on the NES, which then evolved into the Genesis classics Golden Axe I and II. The love affair took off from there, with every generation producing unique and worthwhile entries in the genre. Though there has been a decline with the recent consoles, a spare brawler rises out of the ashes of nostalgia and captures my heart all over again. The following games aren’t in any sort of order. They’re all just games that are entirely worth your time.

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August 10, 2013

Game Boy / Game Boy Advance / Nintendo 3DS / Nintendo DS / PSP / Retro / Wii / Xbox 360

Worth Playing vol. 5: The Remake Rendition

The remake.
It’s been around for years and it has become more common for a developer or publisher to remake or re-release their titles for a new generation to play and enjoy. Many of these games are vanilla ports of their original versions but there are a few that I can say are better than their originals. Needless to say these games are worth your time and will leave you feeling both excited and nostalgic.

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March 7, 2013

GameCube / Nintendo DS / PC / Playstation 1 / Playstation 2 / Playstation 3 / PSP / Wii / Xbox 360

Worth Playing vol. 4: The Compilation Compendium

What can be better than owning a ton of video games?

Owning a one video game that has a TON of video games all packed in to one disc!

The game compilation is an ideal way for publishers to re-release games and have gamers pay for them all over again, but it is also a great way for gamers to experience titles they may have missed or otherwise skipped over from years past. While some packages are just thrown together without any thought, others are done well and are deserving of your dollar. Here is my list of video game compilations that are very much worth checking out.

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April 25, 2012

Dreamcast / Game Boy / Game Boy Advance / GameCube / iOS / Nintendo 3DS / Nintendo DS / PC / Playstation 1 / Playstation 2 / Playstation 3 / PSP / Retro / Wii / Xbox 360

Worth Playing vol. 3: Puzzle Game Madness

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.

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February 7, 2012

Dreamcast / Playstation 1 / Playstation 2 / Playstation 3 / PSP / Randomness / Wii / Xbox 360

Worth Playing vol. 2: The Fighting Edition

If you’ve been playing games at all the last two years or so you’ve probably noticed the fairly large amount of fighting games being released. It’s a second coming for the fighter, which saw most of its best entries come out in the 90s. I decided to take a look back at some of the fighting games I remember playing when I was younger, as well as some of more current titles that can slug it out with the best of them.

Get ready fighters.

Go for it, man!

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December 2, 2011

Dreamcast / Playstation 2

Worth Playing vol. 1

There’s way too many video games to play. Way too many. While everyone will undoubtedly have their favorites there are certain games that might get passed by that shouldn’t have. Maybe it’s a game that came out while another, bigger game was released. Or perhaps its something you’ve just completely overlooked altogether. In the first volume of Worth Playing I’m looking at a few games that may or may not have flew under your radar but should be considered regardless. Let’s get going.

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November 10, 2011