A few years ago, most gamers outside of the die-hard fans would have paid little attention to a new Mortal Kombat release, but Mortal Kombat 9 changed things. Thanks to NetherRealm Studios’ reboot/sequel, players discovered a newfound love for the franchise, due in large part to MK 9’s strong story, tight gameplay, and deep modes. It’s for that reason that Mortal Kombat X arrives with more expectations than any prior franchise entry....
While many people these days turn to gaming to escape their lives, compete with friends in a military setting, or just experience compelling narratives, sports fans hope for nothing more than a chance to step into the shoes of their most beloved athletes. The problem is that for years even the most accurate simulations have fallen short of reality, constantly reminding us that the players in the game could never think like a real person....
It’s hard to deny that now-independent studio Harmonix has had a rough year. With their impending lawsuit against Viacom on the horizon, and lackluster sales from the third installment of Rock Band, Harmonix still managed to dig deep and came out smelling like roses with Dance Central. Now with Dance Central 2 on the way to hit holiday shelves (which, judging by our preview will be just as profitable), Harmonix is looking to the future, to help redefine and reinvent the Rock Band experience....
The iconic first-person shooter, Doom, has been modified, tweaked, remixed, remade, and is still revered to this day. For a game that featured camel and baby jaguar sound effects, its enduring popularity is impressive. All of the modifications for Doom exist because the Doom engine proved to be so malleable that entirely new games could be created within it, and one of those games is receiving a remake. Solace Dreams features a school-aged girl as its protagonist, following her as she enters the dreams of friends to save them from the horrors that plague them....
SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 has been a long time coming. Maybe not Half-Life 2: Episode 3 long, but pretty long nonetheless. It’s been a year and a half since Episode 1 promised a return to the glory day’s of Sonic’s Genesis adventures. Since then, the Blue Blur has appeared in a couple of other games (Sonic Generations, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games), while SEGA spent the better part of 2011 celebrating Sonic’s 20th Anniversary....
There’s a fine line between planning ahead and getting so wrapped up in prep work that you lose sight of the present - just ask any one-hit wonder that fancied itself a franchise, before falling at the first hurdle. Yet, such is the pressure in the modern entertainment industry to churn out sequels and expansions at an ever-increasing rate, that even unreleased properties can sometimes find themselves prepping for the future....
How exactly Titanfall’s narrative is going to play out is still somewhat of a mystery. Respawn Entertainmentis is attempting to blend multiplayer and single player modes for the shooter, but the ramifications of that haven’t yet entirely been explained. Demos thus far show characters receiving plot briefings at the beginning of each match, but how the overall arch plays out and the ramifications of winning or losing a match, if any, are still unknown....
There’s no denying Tomb Raider 2013 was a top-of-the-class title. With its intuitive controls, fun puzzling and expansive setting, Lara’s rugged reboot deserved better than its struggle in the sales charts. Despite garnering plenty of critical acclaim, the game’s initial outing - for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 - managed to miss the mark at retail, an unfortunate, unexpected result that may have placed the future of the franchise in peril....
NieR: Automata released in 2017 and it was the follow-up to NieR from 2010. The game was positively received by fans and critics alike, particularly for its story and underlying themes, and NieR: Automata went on to win multiple awards. The franchise already had a firm fan-following, but this community grew exponentially after the release of Automata. Unsurprisingly, after such a successful release, PlatinumGames has decided to continue adding to the franchise and announced that NieR Replicant is in development, a remaster of the original NieR that will give western audiences the Japanese version of the game....
Few cartoons in the mid and late 1990s had the level of appeal and success that the Powerpuff Girls did. The show was a smash hit for its entire run on Cartoon Network. It did so well that it even had its own theatrically-released film in 2002. The show was loved by girls, boys, adults, and critics alike. It was the unique art style, superb voice acting, and incredible writing that made the show an endearing favorite....
Open world games are, by definition, vast. Sometimes they’re full of engaging, exciting stories to tell, and sometimes they’re just full of random tokens to collect. But no matter how they populate their maps, open world games need to be fun to traverse, since you’ll be spending a lot of time getting from point A to point B — and chasing distractions in between. Here are 10 of the best games to just run around in....
Items have always been a significant part of the Super Smash Bros. franchise. Whether relying on healing items to get you out of a pinch or waiting for that Home-Run Bat or Golden Hammer to do opponents in, the Smash experience would not be the same without the items players have grown accustomed to. But amongst the various items in Smash Ultimate are some that perhaps grant the wielders too much power, ones that are dangerous in the hands of the wrong (or right) player....
Why play several games when one can invest hundreds of hours into a quality one? It can be thrilling to endeavor to see a game through to the end, but many video games don’t have an ending, though players enjoy them for other reasons. How could someone play a game for hundreds of hours? The average triple-A video game is around twenty hours or so, yet, those in the high range are much longer....
Originating in 2001, the Devil May Cry franchise has been fundamental in bringing the popular arcade genre, hack and slash, into the realm of modern gaming. The latest entry in the series, Devil May Cry 5, has successfully recaptured the series’ magic, exemplified by its impressive Metascores that ranged between 84 and 89. Capcom’s Devil May Cry 5 has once again forced the hack and slash genre back into the forefront of the gaming industry, and many players will likely be itching for games with similar over-the-top gameplay....
Although the gaming community is all too ready to lose itself in the immersive worlds of the medium, the number of settings that are truly a comfortable place to live is surprisingly small. Even happy towns such as those found in the Animal Crossing series could prove rather claustrophobic, whilst the cheery locations of the Pokemon series bring with them some rather troubling questions. Instead, video game settings often offer up an almost dystopian feel....
It’s always a little strange to think about just how difficult the average NES game really was. Of course, we now know that the exact difficulty level of some of your favorite NES games really depended on which version of that game you actually played. Yes, at a time before the video game industry was nearly as standardized as it is now, developers would regularly release entirely different versions of the same game in various regions....
Despite some controversy, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale continues to be one of the most anticipated upcoming Sony titles - joining other fan-favorites like God of War: Ascension and Beyond: Two Souls. When the game was pushed from October 25th to November 20th, certain expectant gamers were disappointed they had to wait another entire month - while others hoped the delay would mean SuperBot Entertainment intended to dramatically overhaul certain, contentious, elements of the core gameplay - i....
It’s hard to imagine just what kind of deprived souls could craft the grueling, torturous, and for many, downright cruel game that is Dark Souls. But luckily, fans won’t have to, thanks to a new developer video going behind the scenes at From Software, the team preparing to release a second brutal dose of punishment onto their fan base in the form of Dark Souls 2. The studio provides a glimpse at the studio’s ‘Dark Intentions,’ including story design, themes, and what aspects of the previous game will be carried over....
Coming out of last weekend’s Destiny beta test many felt a renewed interest in Bungie’s online shooter. At the same time, that short sample raised a lot of questions about the game, specifically with regards to how the developer hopes to keep that initially exciting experience feeling fresh after 20 hours. Thankfully, now that Destiny is almost upon us, Bungie is finally willing to get into the finer details of their upcoming game....
In the modern age of mainstream gaming, few franchises boast that household name-status of Halo. But the team responsible for starting the story of Master Chief have moved on, setting their sights on a brand new franchise: Destiny. The game has been hard to define, but now that Bungie’s latest epic is out in the wild, the first reviews are beginning to arrive. And from early on, it seems the overwhelming hype and expectations may have been a blessing and a curse....
