The pitch is an enticing one: how about a deep, downloadable RPG from the creators of Mutant Mudds and Bomb Monkey, with an Animal Crossing-like aesthetic and Paper Mario-inspired active turn-based combat? It seems like those ingredients would come together to make Planet Crashers an attractive package. That may have been the problem, though; with such a strong premise, it seems like there just wasn’t enough thought put into making everything work like it should, and the result is a game with too many rough spots and no clear audience. READ MORE
The Dreamcast is a system with a sizeable fan base, even to this day. There’s a reason for that, beyond it containing Sega’s last system-scale software push and being the first polygonal system to care about long-term visual fidelity. Why? It’s because it was, for all intents and purposes, an arcade system, and like the Neo Geo before it, it enjoyed the pick-up-and-play, attention-grabbing fare that framework brings. Unlike the Neo Geo, though, the Dreamcast had a four-player party play focus. READ MORE
Graham, Henry, Chris and Chris discuss the ups and downs of the Ouya phenomenon in the new episode. Ingersoll tells us about Medici and Ra, Dominowski waits for PSN downloads and hangs out in a parking lot, Graham details the ups and downs of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD and Henry is playing Infinite Undiscovery for some reason. Also: Battlefield 4, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure HD, Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault and general Steam sale woes!
Fans of classic Tony Hawk gameplay put in their order, and Robomodo has cooked and served it up. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD isn’t some design epiphany or revolutionary new concept. You said no pickles so they didn’t include pickles, you know? It makes for a recipe that doesn’t quite have that soul that comes from an original idea, but it replicates the feel of the first two games. It comes in with a few difficulties, but it brings the taste that people were wanting.
The Best to Own Forever series isn’t about what’s great right now. It’s about what will be great in 10 years, even though there will be better-looking games and later sequels, and what will keep you pulling that dusty old console out of the closet every once in a while. This time, we focus on the original Xbox which, while mostly home to ports and iterative series, has a few gems to go back to.
Jade Empire was BioWare’s first attempt at making an unlicensed RPG, as well as one that is almost entirely action-based, so hopes were high, but some people (including myself) had doubts. Thankfully, they managed to pull it off better than anyone could have expected, creating an experience that is unlike anything BioWare has done before and since. It contains all of the same BioWare tropes, including dialogue choices and a quest system that was reminiscent of their previous effort, Knights of the Old Republic. It all came together wonderfully and managed to set itself apart from most of the RPGs from the time (and the many Western RPGs to follow). – Andrew Passafiume
