Sunday Roundup: 1/29/12

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!

 

Video Review: Incredible Crisis

What the HELL am I playing? I’m not sure if I’m playing a game or if I’m watching a Japanese TV drama gone horribly, horribly wrong. Welcome to Incredible Crisis, a wacky PS1 title that is anything but ordinary. With no shortage of ridiculous, even for Japanese standards, Incredible Crisis is a gameplay experience that is unlike any I’ve ever had before.

 

 

Now Playing: Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns

Crops, livestock, watering cans, and rival villages have been captivating my free time the past week, and it’s all thanks to Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns for the 3DS. The newest entry in the Harvest Moon series of farming simulators, The Tale of Two Towns features the same tried-and-true formula the series has become famous for along with the new concept of two villages that are polar opposites. Having some experience in the series (I played through several years in Harvest Moon 64) I can say that this one has been shaping up to be a very different adventure in farming, but still charming and unique.

 

A World of Games: Arcade Tokens and Tickets

It has been a hobby of mine for the last several years to collect arcade tokens and tickets. When ever I am out and happen to see an arcade, I try to stop in to first see what they have to offer, and second to see if they have any tickets or tokens to add to my collection. After more than 10 years of doing this, I was surprised both by the variety in coins/tickets I’ve found, and also the rise of the game card as arcade currency. I finally got around to photographing my collection and even created a Tumblr account to house all my pics. But I wanted to share with you all what I’ve got so far, and to open up your eyes to the strangely beautiful world of video arcade memorabilia.

 

Gameplay Vault: Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure

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…

 

Video Review: Tetris the Card Game

I recently got my hands on Tetris; The Card Game and was able to get a few good games in over the past two weeks. Though it’s not entirely like it’s video game counter-part, the card game is a fun spin-off of the main franchise. I’ve put together a short video going over the basics and what makes the game fun and cool. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Review: All Zombies Must Die!

There’s something about blowing a hole in the back of a zombie’s cranium with a 12-gauge that keeps me coming back again and again. The living dead have been the antagonist of many a videogame, and the new downloadable title All Zombies Must Die! is here to show us how much fun mankind’s doom can be: four-player co-op, a deep weapon crafting system, and a story that doesn’t take itself seriously. The zombie killing quickly turns rotten however, with repetitive gameplay, heavy backtracking, and missed opportunities.

 

 

Review: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

I’m going to make a bold claim here:

Layton and Luke are among the greatest duos in gaming history.

I’m serious, they’re up there with the likes of Mario & Luigi, Link & Zelda, Jak & Daxter, the list goes on. The third in the series, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future gives us the first hefty amount of back story. What it also gives us is the most action filled adventure yet, some of the trickiest and most clever puzzles the series has seen, and the same caliber of excellence seen in the two previous entries.

 

 

Sunday Roundup: 1/15/12

A nice variety of games this week, thanks to a visit to a Disc Replay store I don’t often get to venture out to. Granted, it’s not the best DR store I’ve seen, but sometimes they’ve got some good deals (like this past week!). On top of that I was happy to find that the new local used game store in my hometown must have received some business, because there were plenty of new titles to choose from. I only grabbed one this time, but I can easily see myself blowing a great deal of cash there soon (and I’ll be extremely happy to do so). This brings my total game count to well over 900, and I expect to hit 1000 by years end for sure. Oh god I feel horrible… so much money!

 

Now Playing: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

The third outing for the crime solving quizzical sleuths with British accents is just as grand as the first two adventures. Luke and Hershel (That’s Professor Layton’s first name, BTW) are mysteriously transported 10 years into the future, where a corrupted Professor Layton has thrown the city into ruin, a future Luke is trying to save it, and puzzle are coming out of every nook and cranny imaginable. It’s classic Professor Layton writing and puzzle solving at its best, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve been devoting a lot of time to All Zombies Must Die! as of late, but the professor and Luke keep budding their way into my time, and for good reason!