GamingShogunBlade Symphony Preview (PC)
One of my newest addictions has been Kickstarter. I love seeing great ideas being pitched and developed by way of crowd funding. The feeling that I get when I pitch in on a great idea, see it being developed, then finally receive the final product when it is ready – amazing. Within the last year, I have backed projects such as Kingdom Death, Hexx, and Zombicide. One such project was Blade Symphony, created and developed by Puny Human and funded through Kickstarter. Funding was successful for Blade Symphony back in August of 2011, and we have finally gotten our hands…
Bad Bots Preview (PC)
I’ve played console games since there were consoles to play them on. Over the years, certain fond memories stick out in my mind. Memories like all-night gaming sessions on the weekend with a stack of rented games, a 12 pack of highly caffeinated and sugary soda, and a few good friends that you felt you could spend 24 hours straight with. One of these weekends that particularly stands out was playing the original Contra, and a couple other titles, until our eyes were bleary and bloodshot. When it came to “buddy games”, few stood out like Contr: Simple, 2D side-scrolling action that…
DARK Preview
Since Kalypso Media and RealmForge got our blood pumping to get our hands on Dark this June, we figured it was a good time to revisit this exciting new title to keep our appetites whet. If somehow you have been in the dark for the last several months, here is one of the new exciting titles we are looking forward to this year. Storyline: In the world of DARK, you play as Eric Bane, a newly “born” vampire, must uncover the secrets of this world, and the mysterious GeoForge Corporation by stealthily exploring a variety of modern environments, while using…
StarForge Preview (PC)
First thing I always have to say is when previewing a game still in its alpha form is that this game is nowhere near what it will finally look like and could drastically change – for better or worse. Luckily, StarForge is definitely making a good start of things, which really is the key to a good game. If you start off wrong, you will wind up spending most of your time fixing core issues rather than adding solid features and content. The solid foundation has enabled them to make one of the strangest building games that, at a glance,…
Anomaly 2 Preview (PC/Beta)
While the game is currently in beta and still needs to get lots of work done to polish the mechs and oil the scales, 11 bit Studios has given us a taste of what’s to come with their Anomaly 2. I pride myself on playing real time strategy games – every one I can get my hands on and, for the most part, the differences between them tend not to be the game mechanics but, simply, the story that unfolds or, in some cases, the player create throughout the game. The games basically follow a formula as straight forward as a tower…
Dragon Commander Preview (PC)
Earlier this week, I trekked out to a very rainy and cool Santa Monica, CA to checkout Larian Studios upcoming Dragon Commander, a strategy title rife with political dilemmas and troop management. Of course, you also get to transform into a flying dragon on the battlefield to rain down fire on your enemies, but I digress… During our preview of Dragon Commander, most of the presentation was spent aboard the protagonist’s airship, the Raven. You play a bastard prince, who’s father’s death has left the empire split into rival factions helmed by his sons. The world is based in a traditional fantasy…
Insurgency Early Access Preview (PC)
Insurgency is technically the sequel to Half-Life 2 mod, Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat, an online shooter where team work and good tactics are what makes winners. New World Interactive has released an “early access” build of the sequel to gamers willing to make a $19.99 pre-order purchase of the game, and we got the chance to check it out. The Early Access build of Insurgency is somewhere between an Alpha and Beta build, but you would rarely notice in actual gameplay. Even in its current, “rough” state, the game plays very smoothly. Opening the server browser in the game’s main…
GRID 2 Preview
On February 4th, 2013, I got the chance to head up to the offices of 47 Communications in Los Angeles and preview Codemasters upcoming GRID 2. The preview was basically showing us some of the game’s single player component – an area which many racing titles skimp on in favor of multiplayer race modes. In a surprising turn of events, it appears as though GRID 2′s single player campaign is expansive, and revolves around a “dual journey” concept. The first of these journeys is the evolution of the W.S.R. (World Series Racing) race league. The idea behind the league is…
The Showdown Effect Beta Preview (PC)
There are some games that are serious. Super serious. In such games, an epic war of Good versus Evil plays out before your eyes, deciding the fate of all mankind… This is not one of those games. This is like the opposite of one of those games. Trust me. Seriously, this game is not to be taken seriously. Description: The Showdown Effect is a 2.5D multiplayer action game inspired by 80’s and 90’s action movies. Champions from throughout time fight to death for fun, for glory and for awesome. The Showdown Effect recreates the outrageous combat found in classic action…
Heroes Of Newerth Preview (PC)
During CES, I got a chance to meet up with a contributing writer and good friend of the site, and he wanted me to meet a few people. In the veritable sea of cellular phone cases in the convention center’s North Hall sat a little space with a couch and a couple of chairs. Resting comfortably there were a few folks dressed in black shirts, crowd watching – not a hobby that ever seems to get old at the Consumer Electronics Show. I grabbed a seat and our friend headed back to his insanely busy booth to allow S2 Games…
We Preview Age of Wushu (PC)
Chinese game developer, Snail Games, let us in on the closed beta for their upcoming, free to play MMORPG, Age of Wushu. Age of Wushu is set during the time of the Ming Dynasty in fifteenth century China at the height of the feudal empire. The Age of Wushu borrows heavily from the Wuxia genre of literature, which follows a hero of low birth that sets out onto an adventure, with superhuman martial arts capabilities. Movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Kung Fu Panda are excellent examples of the art of Wuxia in film form. Kung…
Omerta: City Of Gangsters Preview (XBLA/PC/Steam)
Growing up I wasn’t a huge Cowboys and Indians kind of kid. I was a fan of the gangster era, whether it be the crooks or the G-men who chased them I always wanted to be playing Cops and Robbers with every toy gun becoming a Tommy Chicago Typewriter and every bank job becoming a blood bath. I grew up, and when it came time to put down children’s toys another man with the same passion did something from which I think I have never recovered from. Brian De Palma made The Untouchables and I realized my love of the…
Ravaged – Preview (Steam/PC)
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ravaged hadn’t showed up on some of your radars, but the gaming hardcore probably know it from it’s early days on Kickstarter where the gaming community reached out and TRIPLED the target donation amount. Early days might be simplifying it since the team that put it together have been working on it for three years, the kind of work that involves a day job, coming home and walking the dog, grabbing a bite to eat then working on the game until exhaustion kicks in and you pass out. New day, restart rotation. It was a…