Category Archive

Opinions/Editorials

The Game Awards Have Always Been Trash

Posted on December 8, 2023 by Rae Michelle Richards

As someone who has covered videogames as an industry since 2002 off and on for the past two decades –  big corporate events and spectacles are something I’ve seen morph from being laser focused on single titles accessible to a select few to livestreamed “events” that draw millions of eyeballs waiting for the next big trailer or reveal. With E3 dead and over The Game Awards have since taken the place as the premiere space for “world reveals” and preplanned P.R campaigns. It is no secret that the The Game Awards are primarily a platform for upcoming games and surprise

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SEGA Does What Nintenwon’t With SEGA Genesis Classics

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

The rivalry between Nintendo and SEGA that was forged in the crucible of 90s  video game marketing has been so exhaustively covered that there are multiple books about the subject (personally I’m partial to “How Nintendo Conquered America” and “Service Games” myself). Twenty plus years onward game companies are still trying just as hard to sell us their products, yes the whole Sonic Vs. Mario thing was entirely corporate marketing to sell a product, “system wars” at its’ core is absolute nonsense. Nintendo’s own Switch Console reveals two very different strategies when it comes to releasing classic titles and in

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Five More Final Fantasy Games We’d Like To See On Switch

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

With Final Fantasy is making the jump to Nintendo Switch throughout the next year there are still many more tales that would be an absolute delight to have on the go on Nintendo Switch. The lack of Final Fantasy 8 in the release schedule has been covered to death – and apparently there’s no modern port for S.E to easily convert to switch – so baring that entry here are six more Final Fantasy titles that should grace our favorite console.  In no particular order….  Final Fantasy Explorers   Monster Hunter World showed that Capcom’s long niche boss gauntlet game can

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Paladins Impressions (Nintendo Switch)

Posted on July 25, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

At first blush Hi-Rez Studios Paladins is easily compared to Blizzard’s Overwatch – both games are bright and colorful, both games feature a large roster of heroes with different play styles and both games are all about co-operative teamplay. In the two years since launch Hi-Rez has worked hard to distance their game from Blizzard’s offerings so much so that they’ve revamped player progression twice and even cancelled entire game modes – Siege and Survival (that latter being spun off as Realm Royale).  Hi-Rez’s PR department sent me a Founders Pack code for Paladins on Nintendo Switch ahead of today’s

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Hands-On Preview: The Elder Scrolls Online – Summerset Isles Expansion

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

The total playable area of Tamriel grows larger with the early access release of the Summer Set Isle expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online. Bethesda provided me with a closed beta code which allowed me to venture onto the once closed island belonging to the High Elves. Join me for tales of adventuring and exploration through my first couple hours within this seemingly tranquil island paradise. As my adventures in Summerset were taking place on a closed testing server I wasn’t able to bring my existing level 45 Nightblade over from the North American region. No access to all of my gold? I can’t use my awesome wolf mount? – these are

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider Preview: Redefining Gameplay

Posted on April 27, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

This preview focusing on Shadow of the Tomb Raider’s gameplay systems and their evolution between games is part one of a two part hands-on preview. A second part focusing on the plat revealed thus far, trailer and hands-on demo gameplay will be posted later on today. Square Enix covered accommodations and travel for me to attend the Shadow of the Tomb Raider reveal event. For the past half decade the Tomb Raider franchise has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity and fan interest since Crystal Dynamics / Edios Montreal successfully revitalized the series with their 2013’s origin story. With two

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Hands-On Preview: Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Written By: Jeb Wrench “Problematic Punch Man” If ever the phrase “Problematic Fave” was to mean something, it would be to describe Sega’s Yakuza series. The acclaimed series of intense action, crimes, and large men being lumpy and glowering at each other is riddled with tropes that can range from irritating to uncomfortable, yet the care and thought that went into its writing can generally shine through. Yakuza 6, due out worldwide later this month, continues this tradition by quickly fridging Haruka Sawamura to motivate the long-running protagonist Kazuma Kiryu back into the world of large angry men being large

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With The Next Destiny 2 Expansion Bungie Must Win Back Player Trust

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

We’re now six months post launch for Destiny 2 and it is quite clear that the game doesn’t have the same staying power that the original possessed. With Curse of Osiris firmly in the rearview mirror and the next expansion, Warmind, on the horizon – Bungie has to make good on their previous promises of listening to player feedback if they hope to keep guardians engaged beyond the initial content offering. Destiny 2’s “Go Fast” update is also now behind us and while player feedback on the crucible changes -specifically the 6 Vs. 6 rumble mode in crucible has been

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Here’s A Look At All of The Elaborate Booths of GDC 2018

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

The 2018 edition of the Games Developer Conference has come to a close but there is still a lot more for us to show including gameplay videos, developer interviews and exclusive hands-on with several AAA and indie titles. In this post I’d like to take a quick jaunt through some of the cooler booths on display at this year’s show. By “cooler” I don’t necessarily mean “elaborate” or “expensive” but visually impressive or booths that offered attendees a unique experience. Epic Games Booth A booth with a ride-able Fortnite llama in place of the traditional riding bull is a win

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GDC 2018: ID @ Xbox Showcase Report

Posted on March 26, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Written By: Victoria Rose Microsoft’s ID@Xbox team returned to GDC for another year and brought with them some of the most promising new games coming to their console. Last year, I bemoaned the lack of effort towards securing exclusive titles for the Xbox One, as evidenced by their indie showing at GDC. But now Microsoft appears to be on the road to recovery, starting to cherry-pick several PC darlings as console exclusives. Cuphead, Ooblets, and the Ori series were the big Microsoft-allied indies of past years, so let’s take a look and see what software they have brought to the

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Final Fantasy XIV’s Eureka Is A Fun Grind The Mixes Up Existing Mechanics In A Fresh Way

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

The latest patch for Final Fantasy XIV Online: Stormblood has arrived and with it a brand new land for level 70 adventurers to explore. The lost island of Eureka awaits players brave enough to explore a large open world map filled with challenging monsters as well as the return of a mechanics from both the 1.0 days of FFXIV and systems from Squeenix’s sibling MMO Final Fantasy XI! What Is Eureka Before discussing how Eureka’s new systems work and what it feels like to play for an extended period of time, there’s some background information that I need to get

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Final Fantasy XIV Patch 4.2 Impressions: Sigmascape

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Phantom Train XIV
Raids in Stormblood – Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion – have been split among the wings of Omega and an on going plotline involving the Garlean Empire, the land of Ivalice and a theatre troupe. Patch 4.2 “A New Son Rises” once again sees the Warrior of Light (player character), Cid Nan Garland, Nero Tols Scaeva and Alpha the Chocobo face off against the artificial creations of the fearsome Omega. Raids are released with each patch – odd numbered patches bringing a new Ivalice raid and even numbered patches bringing a new section of Omega. Spoiller Warning: Mechanics for 2

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Best Games We Played 2017 Runner-Up: Destiny 2

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Destiny 2 was one of the most hyped games of this past fall, and with the amount of online advertisements and cross promotion it was must have been hard to not get caught up in the waves of hype (I got so excited for D2 I ended up playing it on both PlayStation 4 and PC). Now that the dust has settled and the hype surrounding Bungie’s follow-up online FPS effort has disapated – it is time to have a discussion about why Destiny 2 didn’t make it among our “Best Games We Played” finalists. The experience of levelling a

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Best Games We Played Runner-Up: Persona 5

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Broken Joysticks

Article By: Victoria Rose This past year saw a lot of major releases in quick succession. From the scary corridors of Resident Evil 7 this past February, or the whirlwind of the Nintendo Switch launch in March or the constant hype rush of new trailers and news that is E3 – there was a lot to be excited about. Wedged in-between all of this was Atlus’ long awaited JRPG sequel, Persona 5, debuting nearly 3 years after its initial Winter 2014 target date. Tori Rose takes a look back at one of Atlus’ big releases and recounts what worked and

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The Best Games We Played 2017: Snipperclips

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Kirk Williford

To say Nintendo had a strong year in 2017 would be an understatement. The launch of their new handheld-meets-home-console-hybrid not only brought newfound success for a company whos previous foray into the living room underperformed, but it brought arguably one of the strongest launch year lineups for a game console — ever. But when I look back at the Switch’s legendary 2017, it’s not Splatoon 2, ARMS, Super Mario Odyssey or even The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that I was most impressed with – not to take anything away from those titles, which are all incredible in

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