Sunday, June 20, 2010

Post-E3: Thoughts and Opinions



E3 is a big event for gamers. E3 is as important to gamers, as the FIFA World Cup is to Soccer fans. While I obviously didn't attend E3, though I would definitely love to in the future, I thought I'd do a write-up on this years E3 event from the perspective of a fan, an onlooker from home excitedly watching the live streams. I know it's not a review, but I wanted to voice my opinions and thoughts on how E3 went and how the future of video-gaming looks for a gamer like myself.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Red Dead Redemption Review


The Western genre for video games is an interesting one. It was never really well expanded on and games based on it weren't rated very highly. I thoroughly enjoyed Gun, the only other open-world Wild Western game I've played. Yet it was too short -- 100% accomplished in under a week. Red Dead Revolver is another Western game that was initially being developed by Capcom, but then Rockstar grabbed ahold of it. It gained average to positive reviews but it wasn't anything special. Now, from Rockstar San Diego, comes Red Dead Redemption. Built on the same engine as Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption boasts a vast open world, an exciting story-line and definitely plenty to do.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? Review


Disgaea is a fantastic series. The original, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, was released six years ago and brought a colorful and hilarious world to gamers across the world. With lots of grinding (up to level 9999 per character!) and a gigantic amount of weapons and dungeons to trawl through, Disgaea provided a ton of replayability and fun. While the main character of the original was Prince Laharl, NIS have released a PSP-exclusive 2D side-scroller action game which instead stars the lovable and explosive side characters of the series: the Prinnies.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley Review


Harvest Moon is an addictive series, there's no doubt about it. The first Harvest Moon came out for SNES in 1996 and its been drawing people in ever since. The premise of Harvest Moon is simple: Manage time, make money, become friends with the villagers, harvest crops and make home improvements. It's compelling stuff and every Harvest Moon game has hundreds of hours of content to keep you hooked.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review


I've never been that much for the "video games as art" argument. Beside games like Shadow of the Colossus and Okami which definitely took my breath away with their unique and attractive imagery, I've always thought of a game as being a form of entertainment and nothing more. Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a work of art and a fine one at that. If it were possible, you could hang up a screen in an art gallery, allow people to play Muramasa and it would blow their minds.