Author: D.J. Ross

Play More Games: Theatrhyththrymthrhynmythm

Published July 3, 2012

omg look at their adorable stupid faces

Each week in Play More Games, members of the VGH team will chime in on the new video game releases that have piqued their interest.

Hey, a new 3DS game! It’s a sure sign that a console has finally gained a foothold when it gets its very own, awkwardly titled Final Fantasy spinoff. For the 3DS, that’s Final Fantasy Theatrhythm. (Or Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, if you prefer.) I need only the slightest excuse to pick up a new music game, so fill one full of classic Final Fantasy songs and it’s a no-brainer. The gameplay looks similar to Ouendan or DJMAX Technika, which have you tapping on-screen targets or sliding the stylus along a track in time with the music. But, drawing from its namesake’s RPG roots, you’ll be doing all this while guiding a party across a Final Fantasy overworld, or tapping notes to help your party battle monsters. That’s cool, I guess, although it’s really going beyond the call–all they had to do was give me some stuff to tap while ~~male cheerleaders~~ chocobos and moogles dance in the background and I’d be set.

Look for my impressions in next week’s episode!

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Summer Backlog Attack 2012, Week 1

Published July 2, 2012

Summer Backlog Attack 2012, Week 1

As you already know if you’ve checked out Episode 59, we’re launching an all-out attack on our backlogs as we get into the middle of summer. We even came up with a ridiculous name for it, and I figured, while we’re at it, let’s have a huge leaderboard graphic, too. So now, here we are.

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VGHomework: Backloggery

Published June 29, 2012

Typical gamer's backlog

This week on the show, we’re talking about gaming backlogs and what we can do to eliminate (or at least reduce) our piles of shame. How did it get to this point??

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VGHomework: The Next Generation

Published June 22, 2012

PS9 has the mind control system

We’re looking forward to the next generation on this week’s show–actually, we’re compiling our list of demands. What do we think about the inevitable next wave of consoles in general, and what will the big three have to do to pry us away from our beloved PS3s, Xboxes, and–yes–even Wiis?

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VGHomework: Senseless violence edition

Published June 16, 2012

We’re not extra surly this weekend; we’re just continuing the violence discussion from this week’s show! (At least, that’s our story.)

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VGHomework: E3 hangover

Published June 8, 2012

Iwata with bananas

Another E3 has come and gone. Were you left feeling underwhelmed, as seems to be the concensus this year, or were there enough announcements to keep you excited for the next year’s worth of games? We’ve collected some of our thoughts below.

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VGHomework: DRM from the depths of Hell!

Published May 25, 2012

This week on the show, we discussed Blizzard’s always-online requirement for Diablo III and measures other publishers are taking to ostensibly protect their games from…

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VGHomework: Ready for Call of Duty: Black Ops II?

Published May 18, 2012

Welcome to your first VGHomework assignment! VGHomework is your chance to get in on the discussion from the latest episode of VGHangover. We’ll be adding…

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Contest: Win Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition!

Published May 18, 2012

Win Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

Earlier this month, the infamous Minecraft finally arrived on the Xbox 360. In case you’re not one of the millions of people who have experienced it on the PC (or one of the million who helped it shatter sales records on Xbox Live), we want to let you have the chance by giving you a download code for the brand new Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. We’ve only got one copy to give away, though, so pay attention if you want to be punching trees and interfering with sheep from the comfort of your sofa.

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Play More Games: Cartoon Girls and Funny Hats

Published April 10, 2012

Fez

Fez is out this week! For reals! First announced all the way back in July of 2007 (the PS3 and Wii weren’t even a year old), you’ve probably heard of it since then if you follow the indie scene, or at least seen screenshots of its distinctive pixel graphics. I got to play it for a while at PAX last August, and it felt like a solid platformer. The Escher-like core mechanic—rotating the 2D world 90 degrees at a time to reveal new paths—took some time to get used to, but it was a nice twist (excuse me) on the genre.

What stuck out the most in my mind, though, is how one of the PAX presenters mentioned that part of the game’s ambition is to be something you can sit back and take your time with, which the player character’s leisurely movement encourages‐he’s definitely no Mario. That’s really cool, I thought, instantly imagining myself lazily rotating Fez‘s world around as I searched for the key to the next area. Will that fly with gamers accustomed to slurping up the newest releases and plowing through them so they can trade them in towards whatever’s out the next week? I’m a little skeptical, but considering how long the game has been in development, hopefully people can come to terms. I’d hate for everyone to rush through it too quickly.

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Play More Games: Eggplants vs. Zombies

Published March 20, 2012

Kid Icarus: Uprising

This might go without saying at this point, but if you stop by your local games retailer this week to check out the new releases, expect to see familiar franchises from wall to wall. I know that the games industry loves to stick to their tried and true series—this generation more than ever—but even I’m a little surprised at the extent to which they’ve done it this week.

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Play More Games: Super Über

Published February 28, 2012

SSX

Shhh… Is everyone who picked up a Vita happily distracted playing their shiny, new handheld? Good, let’s talk about some of the non-Vita games coming out this week, including something that could shake up the whole industry.

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D.J.’s Top PSP Games*

Published February 20, 2012

Fig. A: PlayStation Portable

*which are not named Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

The fancy, new PlayStation Vita might be launching this week, but we’re still looking back at a few of our favorite PlayStation Portable games, as we got into in Episode 41. Here’s my list!

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BGM Mode: The Soul Still Burns

Published February 10, 2012

Soulcalibur

With Soulcalibur V now unleashed upon the fighting game community, it’s time for BGM Mode to take a look back at the series’s epic soundtracks. And that’s not “epic” in the Internet forum sense–the Soul series has always done things on a grand scale, whether it’s the flashy action, the panoramic stage vistas, or even the ultra corny announcer. It follows that the music would be appropriately grandiose, usually sticking to a rich, orchestral sound but occasionally throwing in the odd electric guitar just because.

Let’s start off with Soulcalibur II‘s opening movie for good measure:

“Under the Star of Destiny” – Junichi Nakatsuru

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn9PTh_HA7s

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Play More Games: Welcome Back to the Stage of History Thirteen-Two

Published January 31, 2012

Let's just pretend this never happened.

It’s the end of January and that refreshing winter lull is finally coming to an end—hope you carved a decent chunk out of your backlog! Triple-A titles are officially back in season with this week’s two big releases, and boy, are they big.

Despite the generally disappointed reactions to its predecessor, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 remains the most anticipated game out this week. Following the precedent they set nearly a decade ago with Final Fantasy X-2, Yoshinori Kitase and his team have dreamed up another direct Final Fantasy sequel, which is unusual for a series known for introducing a completely new setting and storyline with each game. You’ll play as Serah, sister of XIII‘s heroine, and encounter familiar faces and locations along your adventure, which is shorter than a typical Final Fantasy but does attempt to address some of people’s complaints about the original, like its infamous linearity.

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Play More Games: Triple Teamed

Published January 17, 2012

triple threat

We’re in a bit of a winter release lull, but that’s OK with all of us at VGH since it gives us time to catch up on all those amazing games from 2011. (Or, more realistically, we’re doing a few more tours of duty in Battlefield 3.) With that said, there are some new games out this week, so we’re teaming up here to give you the lowdown.

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D.J.’s Top Games in 2011

Published January 9, 2012

9 Persons, 9 Hours, 9 Doors

#5: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors

Although this actually came out towards the end of 2010, 999 struck such a chord with me that I’m happy to feature it alongside the best games I played this year. I haven’t played many visual novels (the closest maybe being Hotel Dusk: Room 215), but I loved that the game took its time building up an elaborate mystery which, despite the many unexpected twists, all seemed to make sense in the end. The ways the creator managed to incorporate genre tropes and even the DS format into the story and gameplay were nothing short of genius and had me scrambling to play the game over so I could experience it again from a new perspective. It’s like The Prestige of video games—the deception is right under your nose the entire time, but you’d never in a million years suspect it.

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BGM Mode: A Very Square-Enix Christmas

Published December 24, 2011

A Very Final Fantasy Christmas

Did you know Square Enix actually put out a Christmas album last year? It’s mostly (actually, entirely) the Square side of S-E (no holiday Dragon Quest arrangements in sight), but it’s still worth a listen just to experience some unusual and very jingly versions of a few classic Square tunes. Here are some of the more notable ones in case you’re tired of playing the same old Christmas Eve background music.

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All I Want for Xmas: D.J. recommends…

Published December 16, 2011

HO HO HO, I’m here to “WRAP UP” our gamer gift lists for this year. Some of these are things I mentioned when we all discussed our lists in Episode 33, but there’s some new stuff as well, so read on!

Games for Non-Gamers

Trying to get someone into gaming? Valve’s Portal 2 might be the key. It introduces a lengthy co-op mode with hours of the series’s trademark puzzles and wry humor. For new gamers, the first-person controls might be a bit of a shock, but reassure your non-gamer recipient that they can ease into them at their own pace, since there won’t be mobs of angry teenage boys shooting at them over Xbox Live.

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PixelJunk SideScroller review: Shoot the core?

Published December 14, 2011

PixelJunk SideScroller

When Q-Games announced in 2009 that their new PixelJunk title would be called PixelJunk Shooter, despite it playing more like Solar Jetman than Gradius, the 2D shooter fan in me cringed a little. Fast forward a couple years and Q-Games has spun elements from that game into a new title that plays more like a traditional shooter but, in a small twist of irony, is called PixelJunk SideScroller to set it apart from its less shootery siblings.

(Don’t worry. There will be time for questions at the end.)

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