Archive for the ‘Games’ Category

11 Jun

Conference Call 2013

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Another year, another round-up, another desperate relationship with sleep.

What an exciting Electronic Entertainment Expo. If you ask me the 2013 major publishing conferences were the most interesting, surprising and, in at least one case, outright brutal I have seen for a long, long time. Wow.

Just as I did last year, I’ve broken down and ranked each conference from least to most impressive in my own opinion. Of course each company just showed so very many games that I cannot possibly hope to remember them all, so please keep that in mind. I will say that even though last year I placed Ubisoft on top of the list, this year’s EA conference (which is ranked lowest here) would have given that purple French showcase a real run for its money. 2013 was just that good for E3 conferences.

Continue reading →

7 Jun

Retrocity

Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, Games, Wii U. Tagged: , , , , , , .

To think I have the nerve to call myself a Nintendo fan.

I’ve never played either of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle games.

Also, I’ve never played Super Metroid.

And, uh, um, I’ve never played Super Mario World.

012115sad_mario

Yeah, I know, I know.

And by that what I mean to say is, I hadn’t played them until very recently.

You see, there’s this console called the Wii U that Nintendo released at the end of last year. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. It hasn’t had a lot of games released for it in the last several months (that’s an understatement) and I haven’t used it much, but it did recently unveil its new online Virtual Console service, which does give Wii U owners some actual content to enjoy. Old content, sure, but content nonetheless.

So, starved of reasons to pick up my Wii U gamepad, I had the best excuse I’ve ever had to delve into those two critically untouchable supposed gems of the Super Nintendo era: Super Mario World and Super Metroid. I downloaded the pair for the grand total of ten dollars and seventy cents. I played them.

And my self-worth as a Nintendo fan plummeted.

Continue reading →

4 Jun

SLE3P IS FOR THE WEAK

Posted by vagrantesque in Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Another year has passed and we are once again on the doorstep of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. One week left!

For those Sydneysiders and Melbournians (etc) who are keen to watch the conferences but can’t be bothered looking up and cross-referencing time zones to work out when they have to get up, I’ve written them up right here. Look no further!

All times are in AEST.
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JUNE 7TH 3am –
KONAMI (pre-E3)
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Metal Gear Solid V, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: The fact that David Hayter will actually be voicing Snake again and that Pro Evo no longer has exclusive rights to the J-League. Fat chance.
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JUNE 11TH 2am – 4am
MICROSOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Plenty of games for Xbox One, some current-gen stuff and some casual stuff no-one cares about.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Price, release date and launch game confirmations for Xbox One, clarifying information on preowned games and always-online functionality.

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JUNE 11TH 6am – 7am
EA
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Battlefield 4, plenty of EA Sports titles and their lucrative new Star Wars game license.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: A new Star Wars: Battlefront game. Oh please please please let this happen.

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JUNE 11TH 8am – 9am
UBISOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Watch_Dogs, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: When we’ll finally get to play South Park: The Stick of Truth. This year.

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JUNE 11TH 11am – 1pm
SONY
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: What the PS4 console actually looks like, Killzone Shadowfall, Infamous Second Son and the gang.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: The unveiling of Final Fantasy XV and a new Gravity Rush sequel on Vita.

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JUNE 12TH 12 midnight –
NINTENDO (via Nintendo Direct Broadcast)
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Zelda Wind Waker HD, a new 3D Mario platformer, new Mario Kart, new Smash Bros
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: The new Wii U Zelda title, a new Advance Wars for 3DS, Lloyd Irving playable in Smash Bros. All unlikely.

30 May

What a Wonderful Month, Again

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Lists, Movies. Tagged: , .

Every one of these days is going to offer so very, very much.

About a year ago I sung the praises of the month of June right here on Vagrant Rant, mentioning a handful of promising entertainment media releases releasing that month that made it a truly exciting time to be a fan of movies and videogames. Well, quite frankly, the 2013 edition of June smashes the 2012 version on promise alone. My word, look at just ten of the things that will be available to us this month (in chronological order): Continue reading →

27 May

IDO: Playstation Plus

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, IDO, PS Vita, PS3. Tagged: , , , , .

Well what do you know, looks like I’m in a bit more of an apologetic mood than usual. Let’s do another one.
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I N   D E F E N S E   O F

–==Playstation Plus==–

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Note:
For those without a current generation Playstation console or just not in the know, Playstation Plus is a completely optional online subscription service for owners of its consoles, launched by Sony in mid-2010. In Australia, it costs $20 for a 90-day subscription and $70 for a year’s worth. The company also likes to throw around free 30-day trials for the service as bonuses with its new games from time to time. The biggest reason to be a member of Playstation Plus is access to what the company calls its “instant game collection”, which is basically a constantly changing list of games available as full downloads for free. Members are able to play these full games until their subscription runs out, at which point they have to either renew their subscription, pay for the game completely or surrender the legal right to play it. The service also provides small discounts on normally priced game downloads (which can be played for as long as you like) and allows for automatic game and system updates on PS3 while it isn’t being used, among other things. Glad we got that out of the way. Now:

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The Case Against:
The one thing that the Playstation 3 always had over the Xbox 360 in the online department was that it was free. You didn’t have to pay any stupid yearly online fees just to enjoy a multiplayer game online with your friends. While Playstation Plus technically doesn’t change that, it does represent a cynical attempt by Sony to take more money from its loyal customers. This leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth, but it’s nothing compared to the outrage that is the service itself. The idea of downloading a game and being forced to pay to keep playing it is utterly repulsive. The service is a blight on the Playstation name and it should not exist.
-◊-◊-

More like Playstation Minus, amirite? hehe

The Defense:
A lot of things attract hate on the internet. Wait, what am I saying? Everything attracts hate on the internet. But the reasons for hating on Playstation Plus that I most often encounter on forums and the like are simply some of the weakest I have ever seen. And they are a lot more plentiful than they should be. Continue reading →

25 May

IDO: Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale

Posted by vagrantesque in Games, IDO, PS3. Tagged: , , , , .

It has been a LONG time since I last did one of these, perhaps because I haven’t felt the need. But this one is kind of topical. Nintendo just announced that it will be debuting its new Super Smash Bros game at E3 in a couple of weeks, and I fear that means this awesome game will be forgotten, if it isn’t already.
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I N   D E F E N S E   O F

–==Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale==–

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The Case Against:
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is a shameless rip-off of the Super Smash Bros series. It looks and plays exactly the same; but with a HD graphical sheen to it. Because of this it makes little to no sense that it even exists at all, given that it cannot hope to compete with the sheer presence of Nintendo’s many, many recognisable characters. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon aren’t even in it! What kind of self-respecting Sony mascot fighter doesn’t have those two? Also, the menus look horrible. The game isn’t worth anyone’s time.
-◊-◊-

The same thing?

The Defense:
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale launched last year in October for PS3 and PS Vita and it hasn’t quite sold as well as Sony may have hoped. Sure, it came close to the company’s rather low expectations and in that sense the game didn’t actually do badly per se, but it didn’t exactly do Smash Bros numbers. Of course it was never going to do Smash Bros numbers, but that was because of a whole range of factors ranging from budget to marketing to the cobbled-together nature of SuperBot, the studio that made it. But its very average sales performance had absolutely nothing to do with it being a bad game. Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is not a bad game. It isn’t even a mediocre game. It’s a really good one, actually.

Here’s why. Continue reading →

22 May

Xbox Won?

Posted by vagrantesque in Console, Games, Xbox One. Tagged: , , .

Yes, the pun is too obvious. No, I don’t believe it is true at this point.

So something pretty big happened this morning. Three months after Sony lifted the curtain on the Playstation 4, Microsoft finally unveiled its next generation gaming console, henceforth known as the Xbox One.

The whole thing was done in under an hour and had a bit of an unfinished air to it. E3 is less than three weeks away, after all, and Microsoft probably felt like they needed to leave some content for their major LA keynote.

If you missed the presentation, this amazing minute-and-a-half video sums it up pretty well:

As expected, the internet is abuzz with fanboy wars right now. Generalisations and melodrama are sweeping forums the world over. Most of them are declaring the PS4 the early winnner of the latest console ‘war’. Personally, I think that’s ridiculous. We just don’t know enough about the X1’s games yet -I shall be waiting until E3 before deciding which of the two consoles to pick up first.

In the meantime, I have thrown together a short list of three things I like and three things I dislike about the Xbox One so far, based on what we do know:

Continue reading →

18 May

Game Review: Zero Esape – Virtue’s Last Reward

Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, Games, PS Vita. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Now for a little gem that came out very late last year in Australia and got buried in the AAA blockbuster rush. It only came to my attention last month when it was available as a free download on Playstation Vita as part of the Playstation Plus service. I liked it so much that I tracked down a 3DS copy of the game so my Vita-less friends could play it.

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Platform: 3DS, PSV
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Rating: M
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Creeeepy.

Creeeepy.

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It was agonizing.

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The first time I was faced with that terrible screen, forcing me to select either “ally” or “betray”, I stared blankly at the two options for what felt like hours. There were so many implications to that decision, so many permutations. What if my opponent betrayed me after I left myself open by choosing to ally? What if I was the one who betrayed a vulnerable player, bringing them that much closer to their death? Which option was worse? Such is the primary dilemna at the heart of the truly mind-bending Virtue’s Last Reward.

Simple, but never, ever easy.

Simple, but never, ever easy.

Continue reading →

1 May

Vita or 3DS?

Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, Console, Games, PS Vita. Tagged: , , , , .

Because I play far too many portable games not to write this.
3DS_Vita_Textile

As far as portable gaming in today’s society is concerned, the naysayers and doomsday prophets haven’t quite been proved right yet. Apple’s portable devices, while demanding a huge market share thanks to their usefulness in other areas of life, have not stamped out the need for dedicated portable gaming devices. Sales figures show as much. Call it the need for physical buttons, call it the type of development costs that go into creating dedicated experiences, call it what you may; at least for the time being, you can still get some fantastic, fleshed out experiences on dedicated handhelds.

The question is, which of the two most prominent platforms is most worth your cash? The Nintendo 3DS, or the Playstation Vita? Each has been out for at least a year by now, after all. Well, as an owner of both, I hope I can help you decide today.

I’ve broken the comparison down into five segments:

Continue reading →

17 Apr

Loads and LOADS of Characters

Posted by vagrantesque in Games. Tagged: , , .

The final post of Vagrant Rant’s guest week comes from a tall man who will play just about any game you put in front of him. As long as it fulfils this criteria…

—Written by DeathOnStilts—

—Edited/formatted by Vagrantesque—

It’s no secret that the characters of a game either make or break it. Having lots of them makes a game better. Having LOADS of them makes a game glorious. The variety of personalities and play styles they bring enriches the life of the gamer and fills them with an incomprehensible joy. Well, that joy can be explained:

All gamers, in their heart of hearts, longs for games to have loads and loads of characters.

The discovery of a game that DOES have loads and loads of characters fills all gamers (without exception – don’t lie to yourself) with the happiness that comes from fulfilling the soul’s desire.

LoL

Jubilatory.

The characters pictured above are just 60 of 112 “champions” in the ever-growing, ever-popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena known as League of Legends. The game’s developers at Riot Games bring out a new character or “champion” every month (or so they say), each with vastly different play styles. Due to the glorious plethora of characters, no two matches are the same. In addition to this is the likelihood that you probably have a champion that not many people have. This obviously makes you “sah indie” and “alternative”. If you’re actually good with a champion nobody uses due to them “sucking”, then you get to rub that in their face and insult them by simply being a presence on the battlefield.

Continue reading →

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