Sunset Overdrive, an Xbox One exclusive title developed by Insomniac (Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank), is one of many new gaming franchises set to make its debut next console generation.

Like it or not, this next generation of consoles will soon be upon us. With the Wii U having been out for little over half a year, some will say it’s already here. The Wii U, Xbox One, and Playstation 4 will present players with dozens of sure to be classic titles, including several new franchises. Lets not forget however that there were several classic franchises that came from this generation. So now is a perfect time to take a look at the classic franchises that were spawned this past generation. To qualify, a franchise has to have it’s first title released on the Wii, Xbox 360, or Playstation 3, so you won’t see the Elder Scrolls or Halo in this list. Also, a game has to have more than one title in it’s series, so that’s why you won’t see Mirror’s Edge here.
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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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I know what you are thinking. Man-Thing? How on earth is he going to make this connection?

I’ll be honest. I had to do some research when I came home after seeing Iron Man 3. There was a scene that piqued my curiosity. Do you know the scene I’m talking about?

Join me after the jump as I take you on a magical origin filled journey! (spoiler free!)
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Eternal Darkness was a Gamecube classic, and a rare M-rated exclusive for a Nintendo system. It’s centuries-spanning storyline, spellcraft system, and sanity effects helped make it one of the best entries in the survival-horror genre. Ever since then, fans have been clamoring for a new entry in the series, and it looks like their prayers have been answered. IGN has just revealed the first details on Shadow of the Eternals, a spiritual successor being developed for Wii U and PC, and it’s developer, Precursor Games is seeking $1.5 million for development via crowdsourcing. Precursor is composed of developers who have worked on the 2002 classic, including Silicon Knights founder Denis Dyack. The game’s plot will be told via 12 episodes, and will span over 2,500 years of history. The crowdfunding campaign will begin on Monday May 6th. So how about it? Are you excited for what is essentially Eternal Darkness 2? I certainly am, although I’m a bit apprehensive after the performance of Silicon Knight’s last 2 titles, X-Men: Destiny and Too Human.

Note: This is the second horror-related $20 Game of the Week for this month, keeping up with our Halloween theme. Stay tuned for more interactive horror!

I found that Eternal Darkness sequel you’ve been looking for. Okay, so it may not have the same themes as the Gamecube classic, it’s theme of sanity still remains, and it’s just as disturbing and frightening. If you play, you should follow the developers advice: make sure the room is dark, wear headphones, and keep the gamma level as is. Don’t try to play this game to win so much as immerse yourself in the experience.
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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.

Thankfully, Eat, Pray, Love never received a video game adaptation (well, none that I know of anyway). If it did, I'd like to think of it as a game with a focus on stealth, cover, rpg-like stat building, and metroid style exploration. Kinda like Bioshock meets Metal Gear Solid, except Nora Roberts was writing the plot instead of Hideo Kojima. Oh, and there would be co-op and multiplayer of course.

Movie adaptations are the junk food of the gaming industry. Yeah, they taste good and kids can’t get enough of them, but they just aren’t good for you. Most gaming adaptations fall prey to the same problem: developers rush to have them out in time for the movie’s release so they can cash in, and they spend more development resources on recreating the film than implementing proper gameplay mechanics. Thus, while that video game based on this year’s summer blockbuster might move huge units within the first few months after it’s release, it’ll be regulated to bargain bin shovelware status by this time next year, and often times before the dvd hits stores. However, there are several games that have managed to not only avoid this problem, but they became classics in their own right, doing justice to the movie they were based on. Here are 5 of the best.
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Romancing Saga 3 is the sixth game in the Saga series. While the Saga series is quite popular in Japan, only a handful of games in the series have made it over to the US. The three game boy games were re-christened Final Fantasy Legend, while the Super Nintendo games (including this one) weren’t released over here at all (of course, I have it on good authority that a translation exists somewhere on the internet) outside of a poorly-received Playstation 2 remake of Romancing Saga 1. It’s a shame too, because despite its differences to Square’s flagship RPG, Final Fantasy fans in the U.S would eat this up.
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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

Aiight, gather around folks, we need to talk.

Lets be clear now. Video Games aren’t dead or dying. They aren’t on life support or in the intensive care unit either. They aren’t even out with a broken arm, pulled hamstring, or 3-day flu. Nope, video games are just fine. Yeah I know how everyone loves the classics, but now is a good time to be involved with this hobby. We got high quality games like Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed, and Deus EX being released on a regular basis, a thriving independent scene, and developers stretching the limits of what’s possible in video games. With that said, there are at least 5 big issues that video gaming could use less of. Some of these are on the part of publishers, others on the part of developers, and still others are even on the gaming community itself. Many of you will agree, many of you will not.
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