You’ve no doubt played shitloads of games involving war. Maybe they were strategy games where you commanded an army and gathered resources to fund said army until you can smash your opponent into oblivion. Maybe you played a role playing game where you and your party were involved in a plot which had the war as its backdrop. Maybe you played games such as Dynasty Warriors, Age of Empires, or Total that let players battle through historical (if not totally accurate) portrayals of war. Maybe you played FPS games that made you a one-man army as you gunned down untold amounts of faceless enemies. War in a video game always helps enhance the gameplay or the plot is is typically an awesome affair. As anyone knows however, war in real life is nothing like in a video game, and in real life, not everyone involved in a war is a soldier. I’m not talking about the politicians and corporate execs who profit and benefit from war either, but the innocent civilians caught up in the war. This War of Mine, from 11-bit, helps capture the experience in what can be considered the darkest version of the Sims ever.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

When Firaxis announced that they were getting ready to do a remake of the classic strategy title X-Com, it came at a rather peculiar time, as 2k Marin was working on its own reboot of the series, X-Com Declassified. Declassified was going to be a re-imagining of the game as a third-person squad based shooter set in the 1950s. Naturally this didn’t sit well with longtime fans of the franchise. They hit a snag in the project, and it was unknown if the project would be released at all. All of a sudden, Firaxis (Civilization, Alpha Centurai) announced that they would be doing a turn-based strategy-style reboot, and X-Com fans the world over rejoiced. Even after Declassified was released (to mediocre ratings), Enemy Unknown became a classic title in its own right, worthy of the X-Com name. Now that the sequel is here, now is a good time to look at this masterpiece.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Persona is a spinoff of the Shin Megami Tensei RPG franchise. Well, to call it a spinoff would do it a disservice, as it manages to stand out in its own right, almost becoming more popular than the SMT series itself. Taking place in modern day Japan, the Persona series eschews old school fantasy-style conventions in favor of Japanese high school life, and Persona 4 is no different. Playing as a transfer student, you and your friends must get to the bottom of a series of murders involving the Midnight Channel, a mysterious tv station that is said to show viewers the image of their true love. Players must venture inside the world of the tv, doing battle with demons. Fortunately, like in all SMT games, they can summon demons that they can power up. During the day, players must socialize with friends, attend classes, and participate in other extracurricular activities. The PS Vita port includes loads of new content, including personas, cinematic, and side quests. Persona 4 is one of the more popular RPGs of the past few generations, and its one of the more popular installments in the series. In fact the game had an animated adaptation, two fighting games, a rhythm game, and even a porn parody based on it. If you have yet to experience Persona 4, now is a great time to check it out.ir-leasing.ru

Created and narrated by David Werden, who also created The Stanley Parable, The Beginner’s Guide is yet another entry whose unique form of storytelling takes precedence over any gameplay. However, the game takes a different approach to storytelling than the Stanley Parable did, and it also takes a different tone to boot. The Beginner’s Guide clearly isn’t meant for everyone, but those who approach it with an open mind will find a whole new experience. Narrated by Dave, The Beginner’s Guide is a collection of games created by a friend of his named Coda. Many of the games are seemingly incomplete and broken, and it was clear that they were never meant to be released to the public. So why did Dave release these games? Is he trying to learn more about his friend, or is there a deeper meaning to them? You’ll have to play it and see. While many will dismiss this as yet another ‘Walking Simulator’, those that play it will experience more of Werden’s unique style of storytelling, complete with a twist people won’t see coming.

I just knew you were looking forward to this!

This Friday is of course Black Friday, the official kick off to holiday shopping season, complete with insane deals that equally insane people will do equally insane shit to get their hands on. Now I know a lot of you poweteers wanna cash in on those insane deals, but you’re not looking to get trampled, let alone camp outside of Best Buy for the 5pm Thursday night doorbuster deals. So for the interest of all poweteers, might I present Green Everyday, Powet’s 24/7/365 special. This is a collection of video games that are available for $20 or less year round, and they may even cost less due to various Black Friday deals. All of these titles are also downloadable via online digital distribution so you don’t even gotta leave the house to cash in on these deals. Some of these games you’ve seen before, and some of these games you haven’t. Click after the jump and read on!
[Read the rest of this entry…]

For the past few years, there has been a trend in gaming. More and more newer games have been taking a classic retro approach to the point where you’d swear the newest release was an NES game rather than something you see on Xbox One, Steam, or PS4. Games such as Shovel Knight, Hotline Miami, and Retro City Rampage have relied on a minimalist retro design rather than utilizing the latest graphical engines. You know what? I’m cool with it. Guys like me grew up playing games like these, and it’s always nice to see a throwback to gaming’s classic era. Odallus – The Dark Call is the latest entry to utilize this style of game design, and fans of classic gaming will love it.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Created by designer Sam Barlowe (Silent Hill Origins, Silent Hill Shattered Memories), indie game Her Story is a throwback to Sega CD FMV games of the 90s. However, it has more in common with games like Gone Home and Hate Plus in the way that you are given the narrative in pieces and have to rely on your critical thinking skills to put together the details. You are given the task to revisit a 1994 murder case, and you have to piece together the details by examining a database of videos stored on an old computer. The videos are consist of a series of interviews with a woman suspected of killing her husband. You have to dig through the database by using keywords. When you find results, you will only be able to access 5 at a time even though the results might have bought back more. Therein you have to examine the videos in order to find additional keywords in order to filter through the videos. As you keep looking at the video footage, it becomes clear that there is more going on with this woman than just the murder. While there is a completion message and a credit sequence at some point, there is no real ending to this game (even if you unlock all the videos), and the plot is open to your interpretation. Like other games of its type, it obviously isn’t going to appeal to everyone. However, if you love a good story, Her Story is a good way to spend $4.99.

Karate Champ is a different kind of fighting game. A spiritual successor of sorts to old school karate games like Karate Champ, Battle K-Road, and Best of the Best Championship Karate, Karate Master 2: Knockdown Blow puts emphasis on realism rather than fantasy bullshit like fireballs, high jumps, and spinning kicks. Unlike those old school games, this game actually looks and plays well. The game’s graphics area throw back to SNES and Neo-Geo fighters, and the controls are responsive. You are in control of a young martial artist who has a dream of opening his own dojo. You have to master several different styles of combat, increase your fame by competing in tournaments, and earn money by working the forklift. The game tends to get repetitive, but you’ll get into grinding, training, and enhancing your skills. There are several training exercises to unlock, one of them even involves a bull for those of you who played Karate Champ back in the days. The matches themselves utilize real life karate rulesets, and they get brutal. You and your opponents can suffer torn muscles, concussions, broken bones, and other gruesome injuries. While the game could benefit from some customization options, a multiplayer mode, and a bit more variety, the game is still fun, and if you are a martial arts aficionado, you’ll be into its realism. Oh, and it’s on sale for $5.99 on Steam until next Monday.