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Yakuza 6
Yakuza 6, the latest entry in the long running series has officially made its way state side. For me this is very special entry in the series as it concludes Kazuma Kiryu’s story arc. Knowing this I took my time exploring the game and enjoying the story at a slow and steady pace. With heavy investment into the sub stories and mini games I managed to clear the games story in about 50 hours. How did Yakuza 6 fair? Keep reading to find out! If you are new to Yakuza, it must be said that the Yakuza series is very much a story driven franchise. Although this is Kazuma’s last main series game, Yakuza 6 can…
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BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle
When I think of fighting games, I think of semi-complex motions, perfect timing, and a strong focus on competition. It’s you vs me in a battle to the death…or knock out. It’s a battle of wits and skill. In many fighting games, a good deal of skill is dedicated to being able to perform the previously mentioned semi-complex motions with perfect timing. In BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle (BBCTB), things are slightly different. Fighting games have always struggled to hit the mainstream market in a meaningful way. Sure, most casual gamers know who Chun-Li, Kazuya, and Scorpion are, but most of you don’t really identify with Cerebella, Iori, or Sol Badguy.…
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Punch Club
perhaps a more accurate title would be, “Get Punched Club.” Sometimes it’s even just “Get Clubbed.” However you want to call it, one thing is for sure…You will take far more punishment playing this game than you will deal out. This game is just brutal, that’s all there is to it. So what exactly is Punch Club? Well, essentially it is a time/resource management game where you navigate a wannabe MMA fighter through his day to day dealings in the hopes you gain fortune and glory. What’s that now? You were expecting a game named Punch Club, featuring an aspiring MMA fighter to be an action game? Well, you’re sorely…
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Yakuza Kiwami
Yakuza Kiwami! is Sega’s grand remake of the original PS2 Yakuza released in 2005. Utilizing the previously established fighting and graphics of engine of Yakuza 0, Sega succeeds in breathing new life into a 10-year-old classic. Story and Gameplay: Yakuza Kiwami! is a story-driven, open world, action RPG, set in Kamurocho, the fictional representation of Japan’s red-light district Kabukicho. In Yakuza Kiwami! you play as Kazuma Kiryu an Ex-Yakuza on a mission to find his long-lost love interest Yumi. On his quest Kazuma encounters a lost girl named Haruka. Haruka tells Kazuma that she is looking for her mother who is revealed to have a connection to Yumi. In search…
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Disgaea 5 Complete
When I heard that Disgaea 5 was not going to come to the Playstation Vita, I knew I would probably only put in the bare minimum on the PS4 version. Sadly, I didn’t even do that. I just don’t enjoy games like this on home consoles. I’ve played all the games in this series, except La Pucelle Tactics on a portable system. I really wished they had brought that to a portable system because I never finished it. Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness was an amazing game to play on the PSP, and was the first of the series that I actually finished. Not only did I finish it, I made…
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Yakuza 0
We asked for it and now we finally have it. Yakuza 0 has been fully localized for the US and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve played the Yakuza series religiously since the original release on the PS2, and after putting over 50 hours of gameplay into Yakuza 0 I think I may have a new favorite. One of the greatest things about Yakuza 0 is its status as a prequel. If you are new to the series, there is no better place for you to start. In this review I’d like to share my thoughts on the game and why you should give it a try. At first glance Yakuza…
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King of Fighters 14
When the first trailer for KOF14 was released, there was a strong reaction in the gaming community as most people said it looked like a Playstation 2 game. SNK assured fans that it was still early on and that it would be much better looking in the final build. Trailer after trailer, the ugliness gradually faded, but it still isn’t the most gorgeous game. By switching to polygonal models, SNK left behind the absolutely gorgeous 2D graphics of the previous game. Many fans, myself included, were not expecting much from this game. We’ve seen what happened that last time they attempted to use polygonal models. KoF Maximum Impact, and it’s…
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Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
Originally released on the PS2 half a year after the PS3 came out, Odin Sphere launched with much fanfare. It’s music, art direction, and gameplay was just what everyone needed at the time. 2D beat-em-ups had all but gone the way of the dodo, but Vanillaware showed us that we needed them in our lives. With all of it’s beautiful environments and colorful characters, the game was a success with the niche market, and even got some positive mainstream press. Much of that praise came from lead designer George Kamitani’s animation decisions. I’ve always enjoyed his art style as well as his animation techniques. Using multi-sprite bosses where each body…
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Risk of Rain
A while back, I picked up Risk of Rain on Steam. I knew it was coming out for Vita and PS4, so I didn’t play too much of it on my PC as I really felt it would fit the Vita quite well. Turns out that, while it does work one the Vita, it’s much better on PC or the PS4. This is mostly because the game has a lot of buttons to assign considering how relatively simple it is. I managed to find a layout that suits my style and is interchangeable on the Vita and PS4. I like being able to use both the d-pad and analog stick…
Handheld Gaming Reviews
