Borderlands is a synthesis of first person shooting action and RPG-style level grinding and looting. Playing as one of four survivors in a post-apocalyptic landscape, you search for what is called “The Vault”. According to legend, the Vault contains vast amounts of treasure. Since no one has ever made it there, you’re going to trek through miles of desert, battling enemies, and collecting weapons. You’ll complete several quests and meet several NPCs. The guns are a huge part of the experience. You’ll collect certain guns, fall in love with them, using them every chance you get, only to discard them when you find something even cooler and you’re nowhere near a shop where you can sell it. Each of their four characters have their own upgradable abilities, and you can team up with another player for online co-op. The sequel is on its way, so now is a good time to check out the original. If you got a little extra, you can buy the complete edition which contains all the downloadable content released for the game.

Earth 2140 is an old-school RTS in the vein of Command and Conquer. Strangely, it had more of a following in Turkey than in American and Europe. It told the story of two warring factions: The Eurasian Dynasty and the United Civilized States. This is your typical dystopian future, where Earth has been bombed into a nuclear wasteland and rival factions are at war for the world’s remaining resources. This is pure 4X strategy gameplay (expand, exploit, explore, and exterminate). Gather resources, build bases, and construct units. The soundtrack is a strange blend of jazz and adult contemporary, and the plot is light compared to the sequels. However, this is still a fun classic RTS. You can buy it from GOG.com for $5.99, and teh game includes the DOS version, and both expansion packs.

Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond

I know that when I write these articles that they tend to get on pretty niche topics. This time around I think I have outdone myself on niche-ness. If you were born any time after 1975, you should know of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their wonderful initial toy line from Playmates in the early 90’s. If you collect toys, you should absolutely know of the Four Horsemen. You should also have heard of the Four Horsemen’s FANtastic Exclusive endeavor and the property it spawned, The Seventh Kingdom. In today’s article, we are going to draw some parallels between the properties. Read on after the jump to learn more!

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Developed by Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya over a period of 5 years, Cave Story is a throwback to classic 8-bit platformers like Metroid and Castlevania. Taking control of your typical silent hero, you explore a cave. By collecting weapons and powerups, you become stronger. The game’s storyline centers around a race of creatures that are apparently being subjugated. Although the game has been available as freeware since 2004, there are WiiWare and Steam versions of the game that add new gameplay features. A 3DS version is also available, but its $40 price tag is hard to justify with cheaper versions of the game available. However you get to play this game, please do so, as it is an excellent reminder of gaming’s glory age.

So this is one of those rare non-gaming Lost Classics, but it’s justified since there are plenty of games based on the WWF (or WWE as it’s called now), and there are plenty of games featuring hip hop music.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

I have been attending Transformers conventions for over a decade now. I not only own all of the convention exclusive sets offered over that time, I have experienced the convention and its prevailing atmosphere each year. I wanted to make a list of the five best Botcon exclusive sets, not just based on the toys, but on much more than that. Innovation. Character Selection. Overall theme. Fan Demand. I made this list with all of these things in mind to bring forth the most cohesive and synergistic sets to date. Have a look through each of my selections and let us know what you think in the comments.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

In what should have been a forgotten series, Brad Bird and J.J. Abrams breathe new life and maybe too many laughs in the languishing franchise. To be fair the current trend in action films is lean more towards the comic relief, but there are series that are entrenched in a legacy that transcends current fads. Consider for a moment, if you remember a lot of knee-slappers in the Bourne legacy or if indeed James Bond left you in stitches with his drink order. The Mission Impossible franchise, the films at least, were following this very paradigm; but to a detriment. By the time the third film came out the word of mouth informed many a casual fan that if you barely followed the plot of the sequel don’t bother to finish out the third installment. In a rare feat of cinematic resuscitation the brains behind the latest iteration of the Mission Impossible franchise has moved the series in the right direction.

To say the film moves at a break-neck speed is a disservice to the thought and careful plotting behind all of the action and exposition. Basically it looks great with smart gadgets and a plot that is within the viewers grasp. The first twenty minutes of the film are tightly plotted and paced to really reach in and grab the viewer. The best part of the opening of the film is that it has struck the correct balance of showcasing the beloved parts of the series as well as showcasing the stylistic and comedic flares that Bird and Abrams bring to the series.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Anyone who has visited this site within the past few months knows that I am a huge proponent of the Independent Gaming scene. Heck, I listed it as one of the 5 reasons that it’s cool to be a gamer this past weekend, and four out of my last five $20 GOTWS have centered around independent games. This week’s $20 GOTW isn’t a game per se, but it’s a downloading client. Tiggit can best be described as Steam, but exclusively for freeware independent games. Installing games is as easy as a click, and you can try out demos of games that are available as retail such as Crayon Physics Deluxe and Darwinia. Currently there are close to 300 games including favorites such as Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden and Cave Story, and the database is updated frequently. Download it from tiggit.net.