Diehard Gamefan Review: Disney Planes (Wii)

Well tickle me surprised; I did not expect Disney Planes to actually be a good game. I have seen the movie with my son recently, and I walked away with the impression that it was an okay underdog family movie. Definitely not one of Disney’s best efforts, honestly, because they were trying to cash in on the overwhelming success of the Cars franchise with this spinoff. Now, as most cash-in game properties go with Disney these days, they tend to range from below average to horrible. So you can imagine my surprise when I popped in Disney Planes for the Nintendo Wii and found an experience that I think would be worthwhile for the entire family to play.

Diehard Gamefan Review: Disney Planes

Game Rants: JRPG battle systems

The JRPG genre is one of my favorite genres. Well written stories and/or characters (Yes, it is possible to have a bad plot but good characters.), strategic battle systems, and great music all are huge draws for me to the genre. While a good writing can make me want to get to the end of a game, the battle system is what dictates whether it is actually fun to get from one piece of story to another. Unfortunately, some games have absolutely abysmal battle systems which detract from the experience.

GVN Review: Shadowrun Returns (PC)

Shadowrun Returns (PC)
Genre - Tactical RPG
Developer - Harebrained Schemes
Publisher - Harebrained Schemes
Release - July 25th, 2013

After a very successful kickstarter campaign the wait was finally over for a new shadowrun game from the creative mind of franchise creator Jordan Weisman.  I am filled with excitement and delight to finally have a new Shadowrun game from what feels like eons of waiting since the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis versions.  There was a Shadowrun game that came out a few years ago, but I pretend that abomination doesn't exist.

GVN Quick Review: The Last Of Us (Playstation 3)

The Last Of Us
Publisher: Sony
Developer: Naughty Dog
Released: June 14th, 2013

The Last Of Us is clearly one of the most ambitious and daring games to have come out this year.  The whole element of the game centered completely on the relationship of our two antagonists Joel and Ellie, and how the bond between the two would grow as the game progresses.  The Last Of Us' story covers the span of a little over a year and in that time we see Joel and Ellie's bond and it manages to make us connect with these characters in a way that would make major motion picture studios jealous.  As you progress you see the issue of morality and what you feel you need to do in order to survive as it weighs heavily on Joel and especially Ellie.

Diehard Gamefan Review: Company Of Heroes 2

Here's my latest review over at Diehard Gamefan. Company of Heroes 2 for the pc.

DHGF Review: Company Of Heroes 2

"After I finally played the original StarCraft to death, I finally went out of my way to play many other types of RTS games. Some of the games I went through included Command And Conquer Generals, WarCraft 3, Rise Of Nations: Rise of Legends, and the first Company of Heroes. The first Company Of Heroes came out way back in 2005 and at the time, was a breathe of fresh air from the huge amount of RTS that were being released. It mostly focused more on commanding platoons of troops of using cover based tactics for the majority of the game along with use of infantry weapons, vehicles and the like. It was a fun and different experience from all the sci-fi and fantasy strategy games that were everywhere in the mid 2000′s."

Thursday Nite Flashback Super Maro Bros. 1 & 2

I had a mission. I was dead set on beating Super Mario Bros. 1 and 2 having never done it since I owned the NES.  So here's video evidence of my refusal to give up.

Super Mario Bros.




Super Mario Bros. 2 USA


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GVN Radio Episode 40

In the latest episode of GVN Radio, Hubbs, Mark and Andrew talk about the change of DRM policies from Microsoft, Andrew brings up a topic regarding augmented reality, and we talk about underrated or unknown FPS games that helped grow the genre.

Download Episode 40

GVN Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers

Potential Spoilers, you have been warned.

Soul Hackers is an interesting take on the SMT series. It truly felt like a totally different game from most of the rest of SMT. However, it has a lot of unfinished ideas.

GVN Review: Remember Me

 

Developer: Dontnod Entertainment

Publisher: Capcom

Released: June 4th, 2013

 

Remember Me is quite possibly one of the most stylish and unique game that I have experienced in quite some time.  Remember me finally caught my attention when I saw gameplay footage that was released by Dontnod, the game's developer.  What they created was a game that involved a good balance of combat mixed in with platforming in a game with a setting similar to a cyber punk, Bladerunner setting.  Remember Me has amazing graphics, excellent voice acting, a beautiful world, and a good combat system all rolled up together.  However it is marred by some small hindrances like questionable controls, limited immersive experience, an inconsistent character driven plot, game length and little replay value.

Diehard Gamefan Review: Sanctum 2(XBLA)

A new review is up from me over at Diehard Gamefan.

"I never played or read up much on the first Sanctum when it released back in 2011.  I have never been a big fan of the tower defense genre of games.  For whatever reason the concept, though novel, just never clicked with me.  So when Sanctum 2 was released I decided to look into it.  The idea of creating a hybrid genre by mixing it with a first person shooter setting merited me to play it.  To my amazement I was surprised by how well the two genres can work together.  Does Sanctum 2 offer me enough variety to keep me hooked and playing?"

Follow the link to read my Diehard Gamefan Review: Sanctum 2