Normally I don’t do fan-developed games in this column, but this was too cool to ignore. Created by Cutmanmike, Mega Man 8-bit deathmatch is a modification of the Doom Skulltag source port which gives Doom an 8-bit makeover. Taking control of either Mega Man or one of several robot masters, players will battle each other using several familiar Mega Man weapons. Players can either play in Multiplayer, or a single player story mode which spans 60 levels. As the game is based upon a Doom engine, players can mod the game, creating new maps and skins. Check it out here. Between this and Mega Man vs Street Fighter, Mega Man fans are doing more to keep the franchise alive than Capcom has done as of late!

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was the first Castlavania game for the Game Boy Advance. On a personal note, when I got my Game Boy Advance, COTM was the first game I picked up. The game adopts the exploration heavy formula of Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Despite a few nagging problems, and the fact that its storyline is considered non-canon, COTM is a classic entry in the long standing franchise.
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The Gears of War franchise was this console generation’s surprise hit. While everyone was busy waiting for Halo 3, Gear of War’s cover-focused gameplay, fun multiplayer, and beautiful Unreal Engine powered 3 graphics took gamers by surprise and made its way into many an Xbox 360 owner’s console. A fourth entry in the series, Judgement was released a few months ago, but many fans still prefer the classic third installment, and for good reason. It wraps up the trilogy in style.
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As with any great franchise, there is the potential for spinoffs. As with any spinoff, there is also a chance for it to get out of hand. This is one of those times it got out of hand.
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Announced on April fool’s day, and too awesome to be fake, Blood Dragon is a standalone expansion to Far Cry 3 that’s a homage to 80s sci-fi. Completely and utterly batshit insane, Blood Dragon does not require the base game of Far Cry 3 nor do you have to have played it in order to enjoy this expansion (of course the FC3 base game isn’t a bad either).
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Before being outsourced to other developers and turned into a first person shooter, Metroid was one of Nintendo’s most celebrated franchises of both the 8 and 16-bit era. Come to think about it, it’s still one of Nintendo’s most celebrated franchises even after being outsourced to other developers. Its exploration heavy gameplay has made it a hit among gamers, and its heroine Samus Aran is one of the most recognizable female protagonists in gaming. Super Metroid represented the series at its best.
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This past weekend I was lucky enough to participate in the open beta for Gazillion Entertainment’s free-to-play MMORPG Marvel Heroes. I got an invite for the closed beta a few weeks back, but didn’t have the chance to play for very long. I took more time with the Beta this past weekend, and was impressed by it. Since progress in the beta won’t carry over to the game’s launch, I avoided making too much progress in the game. At the same time, I got a good sampling of what the game had to offer. Marvel Heroes will feature over 2 dozen playable characters (including Rocket Raccon and Squirrel Girl), each with their own upgradable skill tree, Unreal Engine 3 powered graphics, randomly generated environments, and a script by Brian Michael Bendis (Avengers, Uncanny X-Men, Ultimate Spider-man).
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10000000 is a mash up of match-3 puzzle gameplay and dungeon crawling. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s very addictive and it’s a perfect time killer for mobile devices. Your goal is to escape from a dungeon by scoring 10000000 points – however it all has to be done in one session. Each time you are defeated, you are sent back to your room. However, you can use the wood, gold, and stone gathered during each run to upgrade shops, unlock new features, and gain new abilities which will make it easier and easier to make it through the game. Although there isn’t much to do after gaining the 10000000, it’s still a fun and simple game that’s best suited for mobile devices.