Pinball fans finally have a great game to play regardless of console. Pinball FX 2 and Zen Pinball are available on a wide array of devices, and it is clear that the folks over at Zen are fans of the game. The difference in quality between something like Pinball Heroes on the PSP and Pinball FX 2 is astounding. READ MORE
Shank was greeted with mixed reviews when it came out in 2010, but it sold well enough to warrant a sequel from Klei Entertainment. In Shank 2, you’ll find a shining example for other small studios of how to respond to criticism and improve on an idea. READ MORE
Square Enix took a risk creating a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, possibly the most polarizing game in the long-running series. Many felt that Square simply needed to pretend XIII never existed and go back to a more traditional style in XV. I feel like Square Enix made the right decision with XIII-2, as it corrects virtually every complaint leveled against XIII, successfully adds new mechanics and continues the intriguing story of Cocoon and Pulse. READ MORE
Konami’s series of licensed beat-’em-ups in the late ’80s and early ’90s were a huge success at the time, and those who played them then have desired to experience them again on modern consoles. Konami and Ubisoft were happy to oblige, bringing TMNT and X-Men games to downloadable services. Now we have The Simpsons Arcade, and if there’s anything we’ve learned at this point, it’s that only some of these hold up as well as we thought they would. READ MORE
What began as a simple school project has come further than any of its creators ever expected when Puddle was released on XBLA. It is the first game from new developers Neko Entertainment and, while it succeeds in many respects, it’s a frustrating in many others. READ MORE
Soul Calibur has had it rough lately. After a lackluster effort with the third game and odd showing with the fourth game, it seems like the series had fallen far from the graces that the first two games had given us. This series has received a lot of love from me over the years in the form of a lot of arcade time spent with II and III, but I was skeptical about how Soul Calibur V would play out.
Does the soul still burn strong for this series? Strongly enough for hope. READ MORE
Disney Universe is a quirky multiplayer game that places you in the role of a guest to a new attraction, featuring fully-recreated worlds based on Disney movies (including Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King and Aladdin). While on the introductory tour, VIC the tour guide is infected by an evil virus named Hex. Hex quickly takes control of all of the worlds and makes them evil, and even traps other guests in each of the worlds. It’s up to you and your friends to save the trapped guests and escape. READ MORE
I was surprised when I loved Flight Control HD on Steam. It’s an up-port of an iOS game, and I didn’t expect it to hold my attention very long on the PC. iOS games are designed to be played for 10 minutes while you’re waiting for the train or when you’re stranded at a family function miles and miles away from your PC and/or consoles. It didn’t matter. I’ve played over 200 games of it, and it’s still in my regular Steam rotation.
Quarrel is shaping up much the same way. It’s an up-port of an iOS game that showed up on XBLA this week (though this version was made first), and I can’t stop playing it. Scrabble and Risk are two of my favorite board games. Combining them and throwing them on XBLA is a match made in heaven, and I can only hope that the multiplayer base remains strong on this one. READ MORE
Every now and again, a little indie game comes along that grabs everyone’s attention thanks to unique design choices and brilliant immersive gameplay. Games like Braid, Limbo, and Super Meat Boy, just to name a select few, are all fantastic examples of this. These are the games that define gaming today, and we continue to see more of them as time goes on. Sadly, Scarygirl is not one of those games, despite how much it might want to be. It certainly has a lot going for it, but actually playing it is not one of those things. READ MORE
The King of Fighters franchise has had a hard time finding a comfortable spot since making the transition to the current generation. Street Fighter managed to reimagine itself a fourth time. Mortal Kombat, after a slew of average PS2 games, was able to revive itself and shine. Even Tekken managed to polish itself further and refine its gameplay, as well as bring even more beautiful visuals to the table. READ MORE
