The VGZ blog

Am I the only one who feels like both the summer and the summer games drought went by shockingly quickly? Whatever the case, among the PSP’s recent offerings was Ys Seven, the latest in Falcom’s infamously-hard series of action RPGs which sort of flew under my radar until I saw gameplay of Oath in Felghana.  Even though Ys 6: Ark of Napishtim and Oath in Felghana are two of the only games in the series with 3-D platforming, I was surprised to see that Ys Seven has no jumping whatsoever. It makes me wonder if they put in the spammable … Continue Reading

In some of my spare time, I write up and expand on a series of concepts for games I’ve been mulling over for quite some time. There’s about 90 of them so far, though a lot are just one line of text with the basic idea and nothing fleshed out, and a few seem like games only I would enjoy playing because nobody else has had any input on the ideas. One of the most recent ideas is one I discussed with Donut, a Megaman Battle Network MMO. I felt that the best way to go about a game like … Continue Reading

This is a subject I’ve been mulling over ever since Zed touched on it in the podcast two weeks ago.  That is, the shortcomings of game reviews as they exist today, and how they can be changed for the better.  Being one of VGZ’s loyal text monkeys I thought I’d chime in with a few thoughts I’ve had on the subject.

Not finishing the game

The main point that Zed brought up is the perception that many game reviewers will often not finish the games they … Continue Reading

Well then, it’s time to hit on one of the largest breakout cultural hits. And by that, I mean Scott Pilgrim. Now, I’m not going to discuss the comic, the movie, and how most gamers view this series, as that will be covered by my colleague Zed. However, I am going to give a review of the game that was recently released on PSN, and will soon be released on XBLA.

Now, as for a basic summary of the game, wow. That is literally what I said when I first … Continue Reading

Persona has been around a bit longer than some probably think. The original Revelations: Persona on the PSX was inspired by the story of Shin Megami Tensei If… which was a side-story of the original SMT. Persona used to be on the back end of anyone’s mind, especially regarding the SMT franchise as a whole. Especially with only half of Persona 2 being released, neither the first nor second game made a big splash outside of Japan. But, one day, Atlus released Persona 3, with a whole … Continue Reading

Alright then, it’s time for another review. This time, I’ve chosen a little known title. Well, it’s actually probably known, but not exactly a hot title. The third in the often acclaimed Way of the Samurai series, this title continues the tradition of engrossing stories and true freedom of playthroughs. Literally. After the initial tutorials of how to converse, move around, and fight, you are basically thrown into the world with no direction. At all. Sink or swim. You can fight and kill anyone, help anybody, ignore everybody, in fact, as … Continue Reading

“Are you ready for the Summer?”

“Are you ready for the sunshine?”

I’m always ready for the sunshine, but I wasn’t prepared for another insane Steam sale like we had last week.  Out of the blue, the wet steamy goodness gushed out of our computers to satisfy the hole in our consumer hearts.  I’m surprised just how many random people had heard of this sale, even those I wouldn’t normally associate with the vidya:

“Hey dude, you see that X-Com pack, it’s mad cheap, yaaa”

“‘This drunk guy … Continue Reading

Let’s face it. Summer time is a hell hole for video gamers everywhere. It’s hot out, and it’s hot inside too. So what’re you going to do? Well, for starters you could get out of the house, meet a girl, experience life, get a job, take summer classes, or do what most gamers do and work on their backlogs. But, for people like me, summer takes the fun out of, well, everything. Summer was the ultimate vacation when we were kids, where we spent most of our time doing absolutely nothing. … Continue Reading

Summer is here and once again thanks to poor (or complex enough that I don’t grasp it) planning on the part of the collective game industry, video game releases have slowed down to a trickle.  After being deluged by new games just few months ago and our senses bludgeoned into technological euphoria by E3, all of a sudden we are left with nothing but a promise of an entertainment filled future.  What the hell, man.  They train us to be the most badass electronic … Continue Reading

Another E3 has come and gone.  Like last year, I’m filled with a post-technological-lust euphoria and self loathing.  Watching these shows never fails to inspire a mixture of boredom and wonder in me.  I guess it’s important to remember that at it’s heart this thing is a trade show after all.  Reminds me of when my family used to go to the state fair and we’d stop by the trade booth tents.  Endless parades of earnest salesmen hawking their wares, from miracle mops to lower middle class affordable Jacuzzis.  Besides the occasional befuddled programmer and celebri-designer, everyone there not affiliated … Continue Reading