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.
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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.

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.
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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.

Next Tuesday, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions’ swan song, hits both current and last gen systems. As of right now, you’ve got 4 more days to experience, or revisit, this prologue. And experience it you should too, because it will introduce players to the new direction that the series is going in, or at least would have gone in had not Konami axed Hideo Kojima.
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10 years ago, I introduced powet staple $20 Game of the Week with a look at this game. After doing this column almost every week for 10 straight years, maybe now is a good time to revisit it. This is one of the few games that I still have in my collection, and it’s one of the few original Xbox games that are backwardly compatible on the Xbox 360. I remembering purchasing this game like it was yesterday. I had just paid off my tuition for fall of 2005, and I was looking for a game to keep myself occupied until school started. A trip to gamestop saw this title available for only $20. On a whim, I picked it up, and enjoyed it enough to use it as a stepping stone to start a weekly column. While it hasn’t aged well since then, Outlaw Tennis still retains its own unique charm.
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If you had a Super Nintendo, you might vaguely remember Konami’s sleeper hit, Cybernator. In that game, players took control of a mech as they bought untold amounts of destruction upon the enemy. Gigantic Army, developed by Astro Port, seems to be a spiritual successor to Konami’s classic. Once again, players take control of a mech as they bring untold amounts of destitution upon an enemy. Before you begin the game, you select a basic loadout for your mech. You also have a shield, jetpack, and a melee weapon. While most of the game’s enemies are pushovers, the real challenge comes in conserving HP as you battle the game’s larger-than-life bosses. Also, a timer constantly counts down, forcing players to always be on the move. This insures that the action is chaotic and frantic at all times. The story (not that there is much of one) is told through diary entries in between levels. If you’re a fan of 16-bit gaming, you’ll want to check this game out. It’s on sale on steam for only $2.99, so check it out.