TSG – Resident Evil Revelations Demo Impressions

Nintendo of America has finally started pushing demos on Nintendo 3DS. And, well, they launched with a bit of doozy — Capcom’s Resident Evil Revelations.

You can check out my impressions over on TheSpeedGamers!

Katawa Shoujo Review

My history with visual novels has been a bit of short and incomplete one. I’ve been sampling software for a little over a year, but I never really could confidently speak on the subject for a number of reasons. Finally, one of the biggest reasons can now be thrown out the window. I’ve finally played my first full-fledged visual novel! Although it is a freeware release, Katawa Shoujo has a full retail product vibe behind it. And while my ability to review such a title still may remain questionable, I feel confident enough in my knowledge of the genre, as well as anime and manga in general, to properly assess it.

Music Catch Review

When applying for a job position awhile back ago I had to review a free flash game called Music Catch. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the position. I just found the review hidden in some files, so… here you go! If I recall correctly, it had to be under 300 words.

If you ever wondered what it would be like to play a game using your media player’s song visualization, the flash game Music Catch will probably satisfy that curiosity. Music Catch has players collecting different colored shapes in tune to music. Green shapes score points, yellow shapes increase the player’s cursor circumference to better collect points, red shapes reduce the player’s cursor circumference and purple shapes are basically a massive vacuum that suck in any and all positive effect shapes for a short period of time. The title has a heavy focus on risk vs. reward, requiring the player to take chances by risking their high multiplier while collecting every green and yellow shape possible. Taking a dive for extra points feels great, until that one red shape flies right into your cursor’s field, leaving you devastated. It’s one of those titles that makes you say ‘one more time’ at the end of each game, as you know you can do better.

The free online version of Music Catch features only one song, “Before Dawn”, which is original to the title. For $6.99 you can purchase a downloadable version which allows you to import your own MP3s, essentially adding limitless value. Unfortunately, this feature is absent from the iPhone version, which will run you $.99. This version includes four songs, including “Before Dawn.” Considering Music Catch is perfect for the pick up and play style of phones, it’s a shame that you are unable to access your iTunes list for content in the iPhone version. Either way, it’s a fun time killer and is worth playing online for free or even paying $.99 to take on the go. $6.99 for the full package might be a little hard to justify, but if you are looking for more it sounds like the full version would do you well.

TSG – Swapnote Has Changed 3DS

If there’s one thing I absolutely love about Nintendo it is that they can take an average idea and create something seemingly fresh with just a bit of Nintendo magic. The  problem is that it doesn’t always work out just as keikaku (translator’s note: keikaku means plan.) Swapnote is one of the exceptions though.

You can check out the article on TheSpeedGamers!

One Controller Port Podcast: Episode 5

After a long delay and a never published episode, One Controller Port returns! Without much going on in the industry as of right now, there wasn’t all that much to talk about. Instead I take this week to focus on what stuff I’ve got coming up as well as well as what I’ve been playing.

Dat Visual Novel Feel

I often ask myself, “exactly what makes visual novels so enjoyable?” To be honest, it’s a question I’m probably not fit to answer for others, as I still haven’t played anything beyond demos (although, as of posting, I’m knee deep in Katawa Shoujo). And no, a travel guide with two chicks placed in front of all the pictures doesn’t count (Go! Go! Nippon!). What I can say is why I continue to return to the genre. I think most people would partially point to one of the the more obvious answers – DEM BEWBIES. In my case, that’s not why I’m here at all. That’s either unfortunate or fortunate, depending on how you look at it. For me, I play almost entirely for the relationship between the player and the in-game characters.

DEARDROPS Impressions

If there’s one thing I’ve learned jumping from visual novel trial to visual novel trial, it’s that I’m not particularly fond of OVERDRIVE’s works, at least from what I’ve seen with the trials. Kira Kira’s and Edelweiss’ demos stand out as some of my least favorite moments in my short visual novel career. I’ve found both of them to be extremely generic and uninteresting. Edelweiss, in particular, just got on my bad side, but I already wrote an entire article about that. So going into DEARDROPS’ trial, I wasn’t expecting much. While I didn’t exactly find an entirely new experience in the trial, DEARDROPS already proved to be a huge improvement over both releases.

TSG Staff Picks of Last Generation: Multi-Platform

Exclusives are fine and dandy, but there are just as many great multi-platform releases between the three consoles. With this entry the TSG Staff looked at titles that were multi-platform at or near their initial release dates. While probably not my favorite multi-platform release, I figured I’d shake things up a bit by adding a more unique release with my entry.

You can check out all of the staff’s entries on TheSpeedGamers!

TSG Staff Picks of Last Generation: Xbox

Microsoft’s original Xbox wasn’t exactly very popular, with the exception of its extremely successful online service. Software-wise,  Microsoft’s Xbox is known best for the Halo franchise, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any other titles worth playing on this coffee table of a console.  While I haven’t put much time into the platform myself, there seems to be quite a few hidden gems out there on the platform for bargain prices.

You can check out my picks and the rest of the staff’s picks over on TheSpeedGamers!

VGChartz gamrFeed – Interview with Tripwire Interactive’s Alan Wilson

About a month ago I met up with Alan Wilson of Tripwire Interactive to talk about their company, franchises and some upcoming software releases.  It was my first interview, but overall I think it actually turned out pretty well.  I might post the audio recording later. Although It was just through a hand recorder, so the quality wasn’t very good.

You can check out the transcribed version on VGChartz gamrFeed!