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

GVN Radio Episode 39

*Notice* I apologize for the audio quality of this episode. Mic volumes were somehow distorted and will be corrected for future episodes.*

It's all about E3. Hubbs and Andrew of GVN are joined by Diehard Gamefan Elite Mark B. And Sean Madson, and newcomer Chris Bahn of putthatback.com. We discuss The big 3 conferences, the games that stood out and what disappointed us.

Download Episode 39

GVN Review - Resident Evil: Revelations (PC)

 

Notice: This review does not discuss the multiplayer mode

This is my first Resident Evil game that I've played extensively in quite some time.  I played part 4 heavily but never beat it, Part 5 made me bitter and felt like the series was loosing it's charm, and part 6 I didn't bother to pick up.  I played the demo of Revelations when it became available on the 3DS and found it quite impressive but sadly I passed it up on release day because the reaction heavy gameplay didn't feel right on a handheld to me.

Some time later, Capcom decided to port it to consoles and PCs and I was honestly very excited.  Resident Evil Revelations received quite a graphical upgrade and had some gameplay mechanic tweaks since it was moved off the touchscreen handheld.  The scare and panic factor also makes their return, which has been missing since Code Veronica returning the franchise to it's survival horror roots.  So how well does the newest Resident Evil game compare after being released after the lukewarm reception of part 6?

GVN Radio Episode 38

Hubbs is joined by super personality, Shidosha the Fly Guy, as they catch up about what Shidosha has been up to since his last appearance on the show and a rant about the Xbox One. Hubbs and Shidosha also discuss a topic about sports games. Do we need more companies again to promote growth of the sports genre or do we need less companies to not flood the market?

Download Episode 38