October 2014

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I’ve written a lot about horror games, specifically regarding how the genre has gone through a bit of a renaissance in recent years. There have been a surprising number of quality horror games, and with the recent announcement of a new Silent Hill title, plus Capcom’s supposed effort to bring Resident Evil back to its roots, it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing plenty more.

This brings me to this month’s newest horror releases: Alien: Isolation and The Evil Within. Both are modern horror games, yet they both approach the genre from entirely different perspectives. Best of all, you can look at both games as example of how to do modern horror right and how to do it, well, not so right.

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In this episode, Andrew, Graham and Henry are joined by Chris Ingersoll as they explore the world of Insomniac’s latest, Sunset Overdrive. This episode’s topics: the cool action of Bayonetta 2, the surprisingly-solid Samurai Warriors 4, Firaxis taking Civ to space, the Xbox One price drop, all the Smash Bros. announcements and the preposterous fact that Animal Crossing: New Leaf‘s Pascal is still saying new things.

(Editor’s note: technical difficulties caused audio issues during the first part of the show. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

To watch the show and chat with us live, check out this page every other Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern and follow us on Twitter for special streams.

samuraiwarriors4c

Another Musou game? Yes, Omega Force and Koei Tecmo America have been quite prolific as of late, pumping out releases in the Warriors series faster than most can keep track of them. Even those who love the franchise may be feeling some fatigue, and thinking that Samurai Warriors 4, the latest release, is a good one to skip and take a break. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your wallet), the game justifies itself with refined combat, interesting battlefield strategy and a level of care and polish that has been absent in most Omega Force releases. READ MORE

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After the spin-off Resident Evil Revelations franchise made its debut on 3DS, it was ported to home consoles, and with its upcoming sequel, Capcom is tailoring the game specifically for the big-screen experience. Considering the 3DS version used the touch screen to its advantage for several of the original game’s puzzles, what changes this time now that the focus has changed?

What is it?: Capcom’s second entry in the Revelations series takes place between Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6. The game stars Claire Redfield, heroine of Resident Evil 2 and Code Veronica, and Moira Burton, daughter of the first Resident Evil’s Barry Burton. The portion we played starts off with both Claire and Moira waking up and finding themselves in a run-down jail. Following a fairly linear path, you try to make your way out of the jail by figuring out some simple puzzles and defeating a taste of the game’s new enemies.  READ MORE

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Whether you’re enticed by the idea of getting a New 3DS before the North American launch or you want to use the transition to snag an older model for cheap, it’s an intriguing time to jump into the world of 3DS imports. Sadly, it’s not region-free, but if you take the plunge on the hardware, there are a lot of compelling Japan-only experiences to try, even if you don’t know the language! READ MORE