I've slowly been accumulating Top 10 lists for the Mass Effect series, and I figured I'd just plop all of them into one big blog post, though I changed the list count from 10 to 5, just to make this blog a bit more manageable. Enjoy!

*The only DLC I have yet to play is The Citadel for Mass Effect 3, so any content found exclusively in that DLC isn't included here*

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5. I Was Lost Without You, Sam Hulick (Mass Effect 3)

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4. An End, Once and for All, Clint Mansell & Sam Hulick (Mass Effect 3)

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3. Reflections, Jack Wall (Mass Effect 2)

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2. Love Theme, Jack Wall (Mass Effect 1)

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1. Suicide Mission, Jack Wall (Mass Effect 2)

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The Mass Effect franchise has more than 100 songs, composed by many different composers. When figuring out which song to put as the best in the whole franchise, I had to get down to the basics. Out of them all, which song had me the most engrossed? Could I listen to it, not knowing it was from Mass Effect, and still enjoy it? Even more demanding, could I understand what kind of genre it was from? No other song hits all of those targets than Suicide Mission, by Jack Wall, from Mass Effect 2. This is the song that sends the player off into Mass Effect 3, a song of victory, and I couldn't get it out of my head until Mass Effect 3 came around. I even wrote a Mass Effect 3 ending to the tune way back in the day. Its heavy drum beat and blaring horn made my nerdy imagination soar with images of great space battles, and it encapsulates, for me, what Mass Effect does best: tackling an enemy against all odds, with everything to lose, as the biggest bad-ass the galaxy will ever see.

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5. Geth Plasma Shotgun

4. M-98 Widow

3. M-7 Lancer

2. Reaper Blackstar

1. M-920 Cain

The Geth Plasma Shotgun is ridiculously accurate and powerful at long range. Plus, it just looks cool. The Widow is a sniper rifle known for dislocating the shoulders of organics smaller than Krogan when fired, and can function as a one-hit-kill death-dealer from multiple ranges. The Lancer's on this list because it's an Avenger assault rifle on steroids: all of its attributes have been substantially increased. The best part? It doesn't run out of ammo. The Blackstar, like the Geth Shotgun, is on this list partly for its looks. What it does, however, is much more intriguing: scientists admit they have no idea how it works, but anyone who uses it essentially can shoot baby singularities at enemies. So, how does the Cain beat out the most powerful sniper rifle and shotgun in the galaxy, an assault rifle with an unlimited ammo supply, and a weapon so complex that its inner workings are a mystery to the greatest minds the galaxy has to offer? Simple: the M-920 Cain fires nukes. And it doesn't matter what century you're in, what planet you're on, or what you're trying to kill with it; fire the Cain, and something will die in a glorious, bright, radioactive explosion. Mechs? No problem. Gigantic synthetic robot monstrosity hell-bent on killing you so that it can absorb your genetic essence for kicks? Piece of cake.

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5. "I am a biotic god!" - Niftu Cal

4."Can it wait for a bit?I'm in the middle of some calibrations." - Garrus Vakarian

3."I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel."- Commander Shepard

2. "Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."- Sovereign

1. “Ah, yes, ‘Reapers’. The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed this claim.”- Councilor Sparatus

The Mass Effect series is known for its witty dialogues between characters, and as I was compiling this small list, I realized that memorable quotes, that could stand on their own without context from other characters in a conversation, were surprisingly hard to find. While the other quotes in this list were a mixture of hilarious, ominous, and/or ridiculous, the #1 spot is reserved for the quote that made me furious. By the time you speak to the Council for the first time in Mass Effect 2, you've saved the galaxy once before, sacrificed the lives of many good humans to save the alien Council, and have come back from the dead at the hands of the Collectors. The least the Council could do is act on your good name and at minimum check for signs of an impending Reaper invasion. Instead, you're still laughed at, and defeated by politics once again, the player is forced to save the galaxy alone...again. Though why Shepard doesn't think to tape proof of the Reapers' existence from his various shenanigans is beyond me.

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5. Geth Hunter

4. Brute

3. Geth Prime

2. Ravager

1. Banshee

Mass Effect has never been pegged a horror game by any means, but the Banshee goes above and beyond the other four enemies on this list as the most frightening. She's a cybernetics-corrupted Ardat Yakshi with a penchant for causing mayhem. On the hardest difficulty, every attack the Banshee lands on a player puts them in the red, frantically trying to back away: she can cast seeking balls of energy, emit fields that'll blow anything near her away, and will teleport right in front of you if you're not careful. Once she's close enough, she'll grab the victim, then shove the talons on her hand through the solar plexus. She can take plenty of damage too, leading her fellow Reaper units from the front. Her shrieks are made more disturbing by her looks. Unpredictable, extremely dangerous, and hard to kill, Banshees mean Commander Shepard, or anyone else unfortunate to face one, is in for a long fight unless they use some heavy weapons.

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5. Find Liara T'Soni (Mass Effect)

4. Stop the Collectors - Use the Omega 4 Relay (Mass Effect 2)

3. Priority: Palaven (Mass Effect 3)

2. Priority: Tuchanka (Mass Effect 3)

1. Priority: Earth (Mass Effect 3)

Therum was the first planet I ever explored, the Collector Base was the testing of Shepard's ragtag crew, Palaven gave the me the first glimpse of the scale of the Reaper war, and Tuchanka gave me the most amount of hope that I could prevail. By the final mission of Mass Effect 3, you've saved the galaxy twice. You've met plenty of characters you validly care about, and you've assembled a fleet of ships the likes of which the galaxy has never seen, all for one last-ditch effort to stop the Reaper invasion once and for all. And as Javik says before the final push, "Every soul that has ever existed is watching this moment." There is so much hinging on this final mission, so much tension and hope. What starts as a massive space battle that would make Star Wars jealous ends up as a frantic ground assault against a superior foe. Endings aside, this mission is where you say your goodbyes to the crew one last time before heading into the abyss.

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5. EDI

4. Urdnot Wrex

3. Legion

2. Jeff "Joker" Moreau

1. Garrus Vakarian

If there's one thing Bioware's the best in the business at, it's creating enthralling, captivating, complex characters, who've spoiled my expectations so much that most others I've met after playing the Mass Effect series seem drab and dull in comparison. Narrowing this list to just five characters was extremely difficult, since each and every crew member holds a special place in this pixelated heart of mine. EDI's on the list because of her discoveries and exploration towards what defines "being alive." Urdnot Wrex is on here because, well, he's bad-ass. Legion, while similar to EDI because of its explorations of what "alive" means, edges out both Wrex and EDI for his fierce (and semi-stalker-ish) loyalty to Shepard and the Geth. Joker nabs #2 because of his wit, humor, loyalty, and determination as the pilot of the Normandy. But Garrus is undoubtedly #1: he's got the bad-ass-ness of Wrex, the humor of Joker, the loyalty of Legion, and a backstory that's more interesting than Shepard's. Since I met him on the Citadel in Mass Effect 1, he's always been at my right through thick and thin. And that's why he's number 1 in my book.

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And that's my list. Hope you enjoyed it, and as always,

Happy Gaming!

Since my 30/30 has been moving along pretty swiftly, or at least at a pretty rapid pace, I figured the best thing I could do for a blog each week, as a kind of in-between, would be to recap the previous week. You can thank me later, if you've missed the other blogs. But really- please give them a whirl if you're interested in seeing some of my opinions on certain matters, gaming related or not-so. Here's what I've set up for today's agenda, although I do apologize for getting it out so late- I've been quite busy lately...

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Day 1/30: Pitching an Idea for Life

This blog talked about something quite peculiar, and was- in my mind anyway, and excellent stepping-on moment for my 30/30 journey for the month of September. If you'd like to figure out what exactly this particularly strange idea was, then by all means, read the blog by clicking on the above link. I'll be a little mystical and mysterious with this one only, don't worry.

Day 2/30: So Easy a Caveman Can do It

This blog is pretty simple to explain in concept actually. It basically talked about the benefits of having an easy or easier mode in games, and described why people shouldn't be so quick to trash these modes- for a variety of reasons.

Day 3/30: When Duty Calls, Do We Answer?

First of all, the answer is generally, yes. But anyway, I am getting ahead of myself there. This particular blog concerned the evolution of first person shooters from once simple-minded games with clear instructions, to sometimes overly complicated missions and stretched parameters that have messed with our minds and guns today. Basically, change in a nutshell.

Day 4/30: Breaking the Cycle

This blog was slightly different from the last, mainly because it focused on another genre of games, and one series in particular- Assassin's Creed. I mused somewhat about the upcoming release in October, talked a bit about previous launches, and brainstormed three major ideas that could truly change things for the series in terms of gameplay and story- all the while proving their benefits and merits, and showing how easily and successfully they could be implemented. Ubisoft developers please take note.

Day 5/30: Talking the Talk

This blog was actually somewhat split into two parts for lack of time that day, this "half"- half being the nonoperative word, being much shorter than the second. Basically, this blog talks about the efforts behind design and even dreaming up video games, and earnestly appeals to your wiser side- warning against the game industry for those not truly invested. In a nutshell, again.

Day 6/30: Walking the Walk

As I said, this is the second portion of the game developing blog- a genre of blogging which I've written about before, but not so much in as much detail, and with much more personal anecdote thrown in it would seem. This particular blog talks about the merits, once more, to designing and thinking creatively, while also picking up more on the days leading up to game launches- showing off GTA V as a fast approaching example.

Day 7/30: Breaking the Addiction

This blog talks about what makes many first person shooters- the Call of Duty series specifically, so appealing and enthralling to fans, and why they often keep coming back for more and more, despite their reservations and better judgment. There is a thing called conscience, but we obviously ignore it when it comes to women, beer, and cold, refreshing, CoD. Jokes aside, this is an eye opening look at what seems blatantly clear to me. So check it out.

Day 8/30: Entering the Heart of Darkness

One of my longest blogs of all time possibly, this lengthy piece draws many connotations and parallels between the film Apocalypse Now, the short story Heart of Darkness, and the game Spec Ops: The Line. It is a very graphic piece mainly due to the violence and images pictured and discussed, and a conversation not for the faint of heart- nor for those who would rather avoid spoiling the vast majority of the game in question. This is my most recent 30/30 blog before today's recap piece, so be sure to head on over and look through it...if you dare.

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Well, I know it's been pretty short, but I've got a lot of other things to do tonight, before it gets much later, and I'd like to make it to bed at a semi-decent hour of the morning, so... You'll have to excuse me while I slink off to ponder what evil topics I can discuss with you guys via blog format for my second week of this September 30/30 challenge. Good night and good luck with your own blogs and other works. See you all in the morning, possibly.

So Japan is the new Detroit. People are dying, and its usually your fault you monster. The gunplay is practically nonexistent which makes me wonder what the developer was thinking when they made it. The only gameplay is wining and dining pokemon with attitudes that generally steal everything from you and then kill you. The rest is basically a text adventure.

Prognosis: buy it guys

The final couple of months are here and some of the most anticipated games are here for us to enjoy. But like most people us gamers have to pay bills and need food (or snacks) to survive. We can't buy everything at once unless your still a kid or born into a rich family (lucky ***). I know some us pre-order most of our game choices already and are set but this is a what-if that I'm interested in hearing. So if you only had enough money to buy just 5 console games and 1 portable from this list what would your choices be?

Fish. Who knew? After the recent Madden sales I'm not gonna be surprised if people buy this game, but it seems to get the job done in being a fun FPS despite viewing things differently. When ever I'm talking to my 11, 9, and 14 year old cousins they say it's the best FPS ever with every release and when I see them play it man It's  like someone just took steroids. I don't know what people see in this series but I know Cod fans will buy it.

I dropped the pokemon series after R/S/E and ignored black and white 1 & 2. Now X and Y are on the way and Gamefreak has pulled me back in. I'm hot for this game and with the new features like Fairies and mega evolutions this is gonna make the 3ds even better then ever. You have to be dead not to buy this.

Ok maybe it wasn't the 3d DK I wanted or the Metriod game everybody else wanted, but after DK returns I wanted more DK and this will have to do for now. I'm glad they saw the untapped potential  in DKR by bring back water levels which I missed and Dixie my 2nd favorite character. A must buy for WiiU owners.

I've never played wind waker before So this is my chance to engage in the the only Zelda game I've never played but in beautiful HD. Nintendo does remakes right from Resident evil Remake to Metal Gear on the gamecube.So I'm not gonna blow my chance to play this good looking game the minute it's released.

Fps's aren't really my thing, but games like Goldeneye, MoH, Killzone and the recent BF games got me into it. MP is the big story here and it's looking like a beast. This is MP done right. With the Ps4 on the way. Hardcore and skilled FPS gamers are not gonna pass this game up.

The 3ds is getting zelda on it and it's a sequel to my 2nd favorite SNES game ALTTP.  Zelda a link between Worlds brings back the SNES Hyrule in all of its glory with the dark world making its grand return and Links new ability to turns into a painting makes this probably the best game on the 3ds release besides Pokemon.

Now this is a game I like Ubisoft working on instead of AC. Watchdogs took the stage and wowed me with it's new approach. Think about having that Cell phone. How would you abuse that power? With each trailer released and more gameplay footage being shown I'm more then ready for this title.

Peach in a cat suit is gonna make rule 34 so happy. When Nintendo announced they were working on a 3d Mario game. Everybody want a new Galaxy or Sunshine. I wanted to see more of 3d lands style and sure enough I got my wish. 4 player co-op with players like Luigi, Peach and Toad (red toad) getting their play styles from Super Mario bros 2 USA. This Mario game looks so much fun and should be a console seller in Nov.

I just can't get Sleepwalking out of my head right now. Saving the best for last with my 2nd most anticipated game after the Last of Us. Grand Theft Auto V is looking so promising. With 4 being a disappointment to me I'm hoping 5 doesn't make the same mistake. but this is Rockstar we're talking about. Millions of people are getting this game without a doubt.

All these games So little money. I'm getting all of these titles (expect Cod Ghosts) because I thought ahead but if I only had enough for 5 plus a 3ds game.

My choices would be GTA 5, Mario 3d World, Watchdogs, Batman AO, Zelda WWHD, and Pokemon X.

Share your thoughts what would you get?

We probably owe much of who we are to our parents, but what about our parents’ parents? Whether it was those weekend visits to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for Christmas or finding that extra dollar hidden in our pocket, grandparents are the veteran parental love behind parental love. Such senior affection can’t come without proper representation in the video-game world, however. Take a look at some of the best of them this Grandparents’ Day.

10. Sir Francis Drake (Uncharted) 

Family leaves its mark on all of us, centuries even in the case of the Drake family. Sea Captain, explorer, navigator, slaver, politician, and privateer to Queen Elizabeth herself, Sir Francis certainly led the most riveting and controversial lives of the Elizabethan era, and that legacy seemingly have rubbed off on his descendant, Nathan Drake. Aside from having been great-great-great-great (*etc., etc.*) grand-father to such a dashing/crazy adventurer, Sir Drake was as instrumental in aiding the defeat of the Spanish Armada as he was in birthing one of the greatest video-game adventurers of all time. Too bad he wasn’t the greatest of guys when it came to, ya know, abolitionism. If you believe those touted “historians” over at Naughty Dog, perhaps Drake still has some mysteries for us along the way. . . (Uncharted 4 *cough*)

9. Altair Ibn-La’Ahad (Assassin’s Creed)

Altair may have been many things to many players in his debut to series lore. Brash, arrogant, reckless, rebellious: these were the words that usually followed the lectures he received from Al Mualim. Nevertheless, he still grew into a proven family man, having two sons by his beloved wife Maria Thorpe and even living to see grandchildren from his son, Sef. Alas, like all things in Assassin’s Creed, that joy could not go untouched by tragedy. The Templars, and even his own complicated ambitions, would rob him of two of the people precious to him. Such sorrow led Altair to grow more into the wise, learned mentor he became for the sake of the Assassin Order. His family and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations was all the better for it as his guiding presence and touching final end proved to be what held either of the two together. 

8. Ishaku (Okami)

Family can indeed be a hard thing to live up to, and Okami’s Ishaku proves that. A demanding little bug of a man (literally) he stands as a 2 inch tall slave-driver, constantly lecturing his grandson, Issun, on the proper conduct of the family-line. He’s also this “celestial envoy of the gods” *yawn* and believes himself to be a very strict, important person. With his cute little red, button nose and samurai-like brown shell, he may be the kind of imposing person to enforce such manners to the pea-sized crowd. Not to Amaterasu, however. Maybe it’s the wolf-goddess that brings out the best in both the stubborn little Poncles. Maybe Ishaku really does just want to be the best grandpa ever and make his grandson into the celestial envoy that he never was. In any case, he’s probably the kind of loving grandparent that everyone wants to have deep down: someone to look out for you but call you out on your crap. 

7. James McCloud (Star Fox)

The legendary founding member of the Star Fox crew, the apparently Scottish fox James McCloud never lived to see the grandson apparently born to his son by Star Fox Command’s alternate ending. That didn’t stop him from being one of the best posthumous grandparents in the galaxy, though. He was one of the only brave anthropomorphic critters in pants to take on Andross when no one else would mozy out of their kennels and if not for the cheating *** pig in his team, he’d have made it out one heck of a space-capable mammal (with some sporty shades). Forgive his child-naming skills or child-abandonment issues. (a.k.a naming your son after your species.) Lucky for him that he could live on in spirit through good ‘ole Peppy Hare’s  memories of him, for Star Fox would be nothing without having had him. And who knows? When there’s no body-bag, maybe there is no “long-lost father” after all. . . 

6. Quan (Final Fantasy IX) 

If video-games have taught us anything outside of mute multiplayer sessions and remembering if you’ve put that roast in the oven, then it’s that families hardly need be biological. That’s too true for Final Fantasy IX’s fan-favorite of Vivi, the adorable little scarecrow of a Black Mage. While few in Gaia would have welcomed a strange blue dude with Jawa eyes, but appropriately the only other more bizarre creature in the game: Quan. Dressed like a Chinese scholar, looking like a blobbier, whiter version of Ghost Buster’s Stay Puft MarshMellow Man, and having the creepiest tongue ever, Quan’s an oddball. Granted, he’s *ahem* “it’s” not even the kind of thing you’d let out at a petting zoo. Still, the Qu chief has a big heart. For a creature that eats anything and everything, it might’ve been unnervingly close to actually eating Vivi, but it didn’t. Rather, it became the best thing that Vivi had to a parent, eventually becoming the tiny guy’s “grandpa.” Isn’t that adorably? *awww*

Kranky Kong (Donkey Kong Country)

At times it seems like the only thing the older-generation has left is to complain about “The Good Old Days.” Donkey Kong’s grandpa Kranky Kong seems to live in a place as nostalgic and fuzzy as his true relation to Donkey Kong. Sitting on his porch in his rocking chair, he can’t help but complain about “This story’e even worse than Donkey Kong Country’s!” and “They can’t keep this level of graphics up for much longer!” and “Waste of frames in my opinion!” No matter how far games advance, they’re never good enough for ‘ole Kranky, as his name implies. Still, he’s a veteran of his platforming world and no doubt seen some terrible stuff in his day. Some even believe him to be the original arcade Donkey Kong. Whatever he is, he seems to be filling the grandparent role perfectly: keep the young’ins disciplined, curious, and haul’in in dem bananas for grandpa to get his potassium from. Who’d not want that kind of role-model? 

Grandma and Grandpa Ulrira (Link’s Awakening)

The Legend of Zelda is often an experience of confusion and frustration as it is a series of legendary marvels, so it’s only right to have the right people to guide you along the way. Take the elderly Ulriras from Mabe village on Koholint Island. They're somebody's grandparents, right?! Living in a cozy little cottage in what’s no doubt the perfect retirement getaway, the two enjoy their sunset years helping children going to fight off monsters. While Grandma Ulrira ultimately enjoys the role of the clean-freak grandmother forever sweeping up. . . something. . . Grandpa Ulrira calmly sits back in his chair, just chill’in wit ya and swapping hints with you on what to do just to see the smile on your face. Or at least, that’s probably what they’re there to do. There’s not an alternate ending where they hit up Link to wash their car for them and mow the lawn, right?

10. Duke Anthony Herzen (Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box)

Nearly every grandparent that comes to mind would suggest silvery grey hair, less of it, and a few wrinkles around the eyes, but not Duke Herzen. He mysteriously still has a spring in his step, his youthful vigor, and equally devilish good-looks. He’s one bad-ass sword-fighter to boot. The mystery behind his actual grand-parentage is the heart of the Diabolical Box’s great twist, and though few could see it (or, really, ever) see it coming, it certainly makes everything you’ve done up to then seem worth it to see his story play out. Besides, who wouldn’t want this grandpa playing ball with you in the park? Or a deadly sparring match? Or playing pretentious Victorian dress-up with you? 

2. Bugenhagen (Final Fantasy VII) 

Red XIII is probably one of the strongest, most dependable members of your party (and one of the people I foolishly left out of my Top Ten Cats list) and such a great cat-thing could have been raised by a great parent, or surrogate grandparent, that is.   When Cloud and his gang are lost and without a candle in the world to show them the way, trusty Bugenhagen is there to the rescue to show them through the darkness. As the elder of Cosmo Canyon, he’s the only one to tell you the truth behind the Sephiroth’s true plan for the Planet. He’s also coincidentally named after a major leader in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Smart, sophisticated, knowledgeable, and oh so dear to the adoptive “grandson” that loved him enough to call him “grandfather,” Bugenhagen is truly the ultimate endearing grandpa you can get. Unfortunate for him that his odd, green, spherical bottom can masquerade as one of the planets he’s trying to show you in his Solar System model generator. “Ho Ho Hooo!” 

1. Link’s Grandma (The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker)

Link has always been an eternal fountain of youth throughout his child-like debuts, but rarely with as great a figure of elderly parentage as the lovely grandmum he and his sister find themselves with in The Windwaker. She’s a charming, sweet old lady who’d do nothing but cook, clean, and tuck her two beloved grandchildren to bed every night. Your acrobatics and peculiar obsession with pots probably worry her, but you care about her all the same. It’s especially heartbreaking to see the wreck that she becomes after returning home from your sea-journey for half the game and even more when you eventually part. Still, you always remember the people who brung you, mute cell-shaded characters and others alike. It’s hopeful that the kingdom that Link and Tetra’s descendants founded paid tribute to this beloved grandma in some small way, maybe even naming a train station after her. But then, “Link’s Grandma’s Station” would sound pretty odd. . . It’s the thought that counts I guess. 

Finally, give yourself a chance to thank your own grandparents with a thoughtful call, letter, or simple bit of appreciation this Grandparents’ Day. Like the grandparents you see here, or have some grandparental memories of your own? Put ‘em down below and thanks for reading another commemorative blog!

Top Ten Tuesday 35

My Top Ten Video Game Developers of the 90s

Disclaimer: There are many top ten lists but this one is mine, if you think a game is missing here, I either didn't play it, didn't have any interest in it, or I just hate you.

Pre-List Notes

Step right in to my time machine and journey to a bygone era when gaming grew away from arcade cabinets and into full-blown home entertainment centers, CD-ROMs gave way to voice acting and full motion video cutscenes, and video games took their first tentative steps into the rough but magical world of polygons and three dimensions. It was the world of grunge rock, ridiculously crazy action movies, and America Online. It was the radical 1990s, and I present you with my favorite game development companies based on their library of games and contribution to the industry throughout the decade.

--Read my similar but far more objective top ten list on Leviathyn!--

--Check out my other articles on my author page!--

My Top Ten Video Game Developers of the 90s

10) New World Computing

Founded: 1984

Notable Games: Might & Magic series, Heroes of Might & Magic series

In the early 90's New World Computing was already up to the third sequel in their first person, grid based role playing series Might & Magic. MM3 utilized amazing 8-bit VGA graphics that carried over to the next two sequels, allowing intrepid fantasy gamers to explore their cool worlds outside of the typical D&D setting. The Might & Magic series would remain a mainstay of PC RPGs as it made the successful transition to early 3D graphics in the latter half of the decade, but New World Computing's legacy would brighten the most under its hugely successful turn based strategy spinoff series Heroes of Might & Magic. Based on their own tactical strategy game King's Bounty, released in 1990, Heroes put players in the familiar worlds of Enroth and Axeoth but in a zoomed out strategical map complete with turn based, tactical battles. It was a dream come true for this gamer and Heroes of Might and Magic III (1999) is still considered the pinnacle of the series and one of the greatest strategy games ever made.

9) LucasArts Entertainment Company

Founded: 1982 (as LucasFilm Games Group)

Notable Games:  The Secret of Monkey Island (1990), Day of the Tentacle (1993), X-Wing (1993), Jedi Knight (1997)

Aside from creating an amazing science fiction universe that would help shape our entire culture forever, George Lucas also had the foresight to realize that video games were kind of a big deal and founded a video game development company in the early 80s to produce games for the Atari 5200 and personal computer. In 1990 the company reorganized (perfect timing for this top ten list) and became known as LucasArts after finding success with their own adventure game engine named after their first successful title - the Script Creation Utility for Manic Mansion, creating the delightful acronym SCUMM. SCUMM was instantly recognizable for its interface that consisted of several verbs the player used to interact with the game scene, and the familiar engine, along with brilliant writing and fun cartoony graphics helped create many of the most beloved adventure games to grace our PC monitors such as Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and The Secret of Monkey Island. As I've lamented before I've actually played very few of these classic adventure games (thus its relatively low ranking on my list), hitching my adventuring horse instead to Sierra's fantasy series and settings, but you can read my retrospective Final Thoughts on Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis.

Of course LucasArts would also take full advantage of the Star Wars license during the 90s as well, creating the revolutionary flight simulator-in-space game X-Wing (as well as incredibly popular and console-friendly spinoff series Rebel Assault), and noticing the popularity of first person shooters created Star Wars: Dark Forces, along with its even more popular sequel Jedi Knight in 1997. Jedi Knight was famous for being one of the earliest games to utilize a separate 3D graphics card to aid in hardware acceleration, which would forever change the face of gaming and prove that LucasArts was a forward-thinking developer.

8) Konami

Founded: 1969

Notable Games: Castlevania series, Metal Gear Solid (1998), Dance Dance Revolution (1999)

Tracing its roots back to a jukebox repair company,Konami began manufacturing arcade machines in the late 70s and early 80s before finding success developing and publishing video games. By the mid 80s the company had successfully transitioned to creating games for the Nintendo Famicom (NES) and became particularly known for its awesome platformers and beat 'em ups using major cartoon licenses like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons. More importantly in the gaming sphere, however, were Konami's original creations; titles like Castlevania, Contra, Silent Hill, and Metal Gear became huge successes and spawned major franchises (Metal Gear Solid in particular pioneered the concept of a stealth game), while the popularity of the entire rhythm genre can be attributed to the absolute craziness surrounding Dance Dance Revolution both in arcades and at home on the Sony Playstation. Not to mention that Konami also gave us one of the greatest RPG series ever in Suikoden, in this humble gamer's opinion! Konami's prominence may have faded in recent years but its popularity and string of hits in the 90s make it one of the best developers of the decade.

7) MicroProse

Founded: 1982

Notable Games: Sid Meier's Civilization (1991), Master of Orion II (1996), X-Com: UFO Defense (1994)

Co-founded by legendary game designer Sid Meier (see my Top Ten Game Designers list),MicroProse found niche success developing numerous vehicle simulation and strategy games for the PC before hitting it big with Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon and Sid Meier's Civilization. Civilization in particular spawned several sequels and expansion packs, making Sid Meier a household name amongst computer gamers and strategy gaming enthusiasts, and Civilization still enjoys the elite status of being the premiere turn based strategy game series to this day. MicoProse also created some of the most beloved strategy games of its day, including Colonization, Master of Orion, and X-Com: UFO Defense. Despite its successes, MicoProse went through numerous acquisitions and layoffs in the 90s, and Sid Meier, along with key members of his team, left MicroProse in 1996 to form Firaxis Games. MicroProse's legacy remains alive and well in Firaxis as the team has continued building amazing Civilization titles as well as the recent well-received revival of XCOM.

6) Sega Corporation

Founded: 1940 (as SErvice GAmes)

Notable Games: Sonic the Hedghog series,Streets of Rage series, Golden Axe series

Any child of the late 80s/early 90s will recall the genesis (get it!?) of the console wars and the edgy slogan that Sega of America screamed at us when the Sega Genesis was launched in North America: "Genesis does what Nintedon't." The Genesis, launched in 1989 in North America, was far superior to the NES, but in '91 Nintendo bounced right back with the Super Nintendo and the console wars were on. Sega, in the hopes to compete with Nintendo's incredibly popular Mario mascot branded their own unique gaming hero in Sonic the Hedgehog, a gaming character that would legitimately rival Mario throughout the early 90s, and dare I say had a much better run in animated form on television with two decently entertaining cartoon shows.

Although most consider the SNES to be one of the greatest consoles of all time (see my top ten list), the Genesis was still near and dear to many gamers' hearts, had an amazing library (see my top ten list), and credit must be given to Sega for attempting to try new things in its pursuit of dethroning Nintendo, from the SEGA CD add-on that gave us an interesting blend of 16-bit games with full voice acting and FMV scenes to the ill-fated 32x add-on that attempted to upgrade the Genesis to keep up with the next generation of consoles. Ultimately Sega would see a sharp decline in the mid 90s with a poor showing of the Sega Saturn as newcomer Sony entered the market with its highly successful Playstation. The Dreamcast, launched in '98, was technically superior to the Nintendo 64 and Playstation but without any notable games failed to catch on, and ultimately lead to Sega bowing out of the console market all together in 2001. Still we must never forget the contributions and awesome competition that Sega gave us throughout the 90s.

5) Sierra On-Line

Founded: 1979

Notable Games: King's Quest series, Space Quest series, Quest for Glory series, Gabriel Knight

Sierra rose to prominence in the 1980s through their revolutionary computer games that used a graphical interface instead of the previous text-only adventures that existed at the time. By the time 1990 rolled around, Sierra was already on their fifth iteration in their highly successful King's Quest series of graphical adventure games, and King's Quest V was the first to utilize the additional storage space of CD-ROMs by providing full voice acting and an enhanced engine that utilized the new Video Graphics Array of modern hardware. King's Quest VI is considered to be one of the greatest adventure games ever created, and was one of the first games I ever played, sealing in my love for gaming at an early age. Sierra would continue their line of successful adventure game franchises throughout the early and mid 90s, and along with LucasArts were the premiere adventure game company, and one of the most recognizable computer gaming developers of the time.

4) Interplay Entertainment and Black Isle Studios

Founded (Interplay Entertainment): 1983

Founded (Black Isle Studios): 1996

Notable Games: Fallout (1997), Planescape: Torment (1999)

Technically two entries in one, but as Black Isle was an internal developer under Interplay, I'll allow it.Interplay Entertainment was founded in the early 80s by video game visionary Brian Fargo, and by the time the 90s rolled around, Interplay was already a well established video game developer with RPG hits such as Wasteland and The Bard's Tale trilogy. In the 90s Interplay's success lead them to becoming more of a video game publisher and supporting the fledgling PC gaming industry through backing other developers, most notably giving Silicon & Synapse (Blizzard Entertainment) their first big contract. Interplay published several Star Trek titles, numerous successful PC titles like Carmageddon and Descent, and finally developed another big RPG in Stonekeep, a critically acclaimed first person dungeon crawler. Interplay's legacy in the 90s however would ultimately come down to two important developments - Fallout and Black Isle Studios.

Fallout (read my Final Thoughts here) was a turn based post apocalyptic RPG created as a spiritual successor to Wasteland and the franchise went on to become one of the most beloved Western RPG series ever created (and enjoy massive mainstream success when the series' reigns were handed to Bethesda). At the same time Interplay created a new in-house development team to specifically tackle similar big computer RPGs called Black Isle Studios, staffing the team with computer gaming aficionados like Feargus Urquhart, Chris Avellone, and Chris Taylor. Black Isle would develop several big hits in the late 90s such as Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, and produce a little game called Baldur's Gate in conjunction with another recent Western CRPG developer - Bioware. Black Isle Studios' lifespan was ultimately short lived, as Interplay ran into financial woes into the next century, but many key members of the team can be found in successful RPG company Obsidian Entertainment, and Interplay's contributions to the industry throughout the 90s should never be underrated.

3) Square (Squaresoft in USA)

Founded: 1983 (Squaresoft in 1989)

Notable Games: Final Fantasy VI (1994), Chrono Trigger (1995), Final Fantasy VII (1997)

In 1987 Japanese developer Square had been somewhat successfully developing titles for the Nintendo Famicom (NES) and Hironobu Sakaguchi finally got his wish to create a role playing game inspired by games like Ultima and role playing systems like Dungeons & Dragons. Under threat of bankruptcy and believing his job to be in jeopardy, Sakaguchi named the title Final Fantasy, believing that it would be the last game he would ever make. History proved otherwise as it became a huge hit, and in 1989 Square added an American branch, called Squaresoft, to localize many of their bigger titles for English audiences, something that I and gamers everywhere are eternally grateful for. Throughout the decade American audiences were introduced to numerous Final Fantasy sequels that ranged from awesome to Best Game Ever as well as other great titles rounding out the 16-bit golden era of SNES RPGs like Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, and an incredibly amazing collaboration with Square and Nintendo in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Despite the ties to Nintendo, Square moved to the Sony Playstation in the mid to late 90s for the increased disc space of the CD-ROM, and in 1997 released the biggest RPG anyone had ever seen - Final Fantasy VII.

FF7 was the first of the popular series to be released in Europe and the first to feature 3D graphics, and its release was surrounded by a massive marketing campaign the likes of which had rarely been seen in a video game. The marketing and hype paid off as FF7 was a critical and commercial success, catapulting the already storied franchise into gaming hall of fame status, and is often regarded as rejuvenating the entire RPG genre in the West (personally I prefer FF6 but to each his or her own). Even as the 90s came to close, Square's legacy was well respected and adored, and the company already began releasing remastered editions and video game box sets of their classic titles from the early and mid 90s, cementing their legacy as the premiere RPG developer.

2) Blizzard Entertainment (formerly Silicon & Synapse)

Founded: 1991 (as Silicon & Synapse)

Notable Games: Warcraft II (1995), Diablo (1997), Starcraft (1998)

Well before they hit it big in the world of PC Gaming with seminal real time strategy franchise Warcraft, fledgling developer Silicon & Synapse were creating beloved 16-bit consoles games like Rock 'N Roll Racing, The Lost Vikings, and Blackthorne, all of which I adored. While briefly flirting with the name Chaos Studios, they would ultimately settle on Blizzard Entertainment and change the face of gaming forever with the release of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans in 1994. While not the first real time strategy game, it was the first to incorporate varying mission objectives and most importantly focus on multiplayer as a large component to the overall gaming experience. The game's massive success spawned an immediate well-received sequel in the following year, and that along with the Command & Conquer series by Westwood began a gigantic RTS boom in the gaming industry that would last a better part of a decade.

Not content to expand and perfect just one genre, Blizzard took the formula of classic random dungeon crawling games and combined it with a new revolutionary free multiplayer matchmaking service called Battle.net to create Diablo in 1997, another explosive shockwave in the industry that inspired endless clones capturing the same addictive and fun hack and slash formula, or commonly referred to now as Action-RPG. Blizzard would conintue to utilize and expand their Battle.net service in the hotly anticipated sci-fi version of Warcraft, Starcraft, which ended up being a brilliant franchise in its own right. Over the years Blizzard has expanded its three primary intellectual properties into some of the biggest blockbuster franchises in the entire industry and Battle.net continues to be one of the premiere PC multiplayer gaming services (though only for Blizzard games). By the end of the decade Blizzard had risen to become the paradigm of a AAA gaming studio and one of the most famous developers in the industry.

1) Nintendo Entertainment

Founded: 1889

Notable Games: Super Mario series, The Legend of Zelda series

Nintendo had single-handedly saved the entire video game industry in the mid 80s with the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Mario Bros, but the venerable company wasn't about to stop there. Founded in 1889 (that's EIGHTEEN eighty nine), this Japanese electronics and gaming company can easily be credited with turning video gaming into the juggernaut industry it is today through its massively successful consoles (SNES, N64), creating and exploding the hand held gaming market with the Gameboy, and of course their many popular first party franchises - Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and the many spin-offs and sequels. Only time will tell whether the 90s will represent Nintendo's golden age in the gaming industry, or merely one chapter of their incredible history.

For more nostalgic Nintendo love see my Top Ten NES Games, Top Ten Gameboy Games, Top Ten SNES Games, and Top Ten Nintendo 64 Games lists!

Honorable Mentions: Maxis, Capcom, Origin Systems, Westwood Studios, id software

Wrap Up

There were many widely recognized and successful developers during the decade which saw explosive growth in the video gaming industry, though still experienced its share of massive layoffs, corporate acquisitions, and studio shutdowns that sadly continue to plague the volatile industry today. I based this list mostly on my own personal experiences with games in the 90s both on consoles and PC, and still couldn't quite find room for the likes of Maxis, Westwood, and Bullfrog. For a more objective list, where I step back from my personal feelings and rank the companies according to their contributions to the industry, check out the article on Leviathyn, linked below.

With a billion dollar industry that releases blockbuster games every year rivaling the biggest Hollywood hits, it's easy to forget how incredibly young the video game industry is. The 90s were a time of both innovation and rampant stagnation as new genres burst onto the scene and were quickly capitalized into an endless stream of clones with varying degrees of success. The decade proved that video games were not just a fad or gimmick, but a legitimate means of entertainment that steadily grew in popularity from niche kid toys into a cultural phenomenon. You may have been fortunate enough to grow up alongside the fledgling industry but even if your first gaming console was a Playstation 2, it's still important to look back and appreciate everything these companies did for the industry and how the decade shaped the current atmosphere of the industry today.

--Read my similar but far more objective top ten list on Leviathyn!--

--Check out my other articles on my author page!--

Brought to you by:

"Make your halftime classy with a Hassy."

It's probably been a couple weeks since some of you were last aware of it, but there are two GIO fantasy football leagues going on.  I'm taking part in one of them, and decided it would be nice to provide a weekly scoreboard for all the league's games for those who are interested (and it also gives me something to do).  So without further stalling, here it is, the...

Game Informer Online 2014 Fantasy Football League Week One Scoreboard

The God of Wine (Hmm, what other user goes by this name?) 112
Favorite Team on The Citadel (Chris Mrkvicka) 118

It was a close game between thegodofwine7 and the commish, with the former's team getting quite a bit of help from Michael Vick's 25 points, Anquan Boldin's 26, and the Kansas City Chiefs defense 23 points.  But Eli Manning (28 pts), LeSean McCoy (24 pts), Larry Fitzgerald (20 pts), and Jason Witten (19pts), proved to be too much, and helped secure a win for Favorite Team on the Citadel.

The God of Wine faces LetMeGetToA Checkpoint next week, while Citadel faces my Taxmen.


Blue Stingers (Saturday Morning Replay) 73
Team Vaas (Vaas)  120

It was SMR versus Vaas in Week 1, and while Replay's Blue Stingers never quit, Team Vaas had this game won all the way back on Thursday, when the season kicked off.  Peyton Manning's ridiculous seven touchdown secured Vaas 46 points, while Wes Welker's two touchdown receptions from the older Manning brother got him 16 points.  Good enough performances from Steven Jackson, Marques Colston, David Akers, and the Seahawks defense only helped this pain train pad Vaas' score.  Jordy Nelson's 19 points helped make this less of an embarassment than it was, but negative performances by Detroit's Brandon Pettigrew and the Packers defense only helped sting the Blue Stingers further.

The Blue Stingers go up against Real Radioactive next week, while Team Vaas takes on The Orange Box.


Real Radioactive (Radioactive Deathbat) 120
Hand of Thrawn 129

Much like Wine vs. Citadel, this was a close game.  Close but no cigar is the case here, as Hand of Thrawn edged out Real Radioactive by nine points.  Strong performances by Colin Kaepernick (30 pts), Adrian Peterson (28 pts), and Demaryius Thomas (also with 28 pts) helped to keep Radioactive Deathbat in the thick of things.  However, Thrawn having six starters score double digits got the team the win.

Hand of Thrawn throws down with the Hocotate Cobras in Week 2.


Cerpin Taxmen (Guess who?) 94
Bourbon St. Skankzillas (TOGNick) 74

If you read this, then you'll know that this song has to be played.  It was a close match for the most part between TOGNick and I, the closest score being 76 for me and 74 for him during the first Monday night game.  Drew Brees (20 pts) and Vernon Davis (21 pts) gave me gray hairs keeping track of the match, but DeSean Jackson's (16 pts) inactive second half wound up being a curse for the Bourbon St. Skankzillas, as it essentially cost them the game.  Meanwhile, Victor Cruz's three touchdown performance in my Giants loss got me 29 points, with help from Tom Brady's 15, and Owen Daniels officially game securing 18 points helped my Taxmen to a win.

The Skankzillas take on the Golden Chocobos next week.


LetMeGetToA Checkpoint (Shouldn't have to tell you who this is.) 68
Cobra Unit 80

Relatively low scoring, but close game between Checkpoint and Cobra Unit, the latter having been a recurring theme in our league's first week of play.  As is always the case though, close is not good enough, and Cobra Unit walked away with the W.  Robert Griffin III (19 pts), Julio Jones (11 pts), and Stephen Gostkowski (12 pts) helped keep Checkpoint in the match, but Tony Romo (19 pts), Reggie Wayne (15 pts), Brent Celek (11 pts), Steve Smith (11 pts), and Garrett Heartley (12 pts) pretty much secured the win for Cobra Unit.

CU faces Ponder This in the second week.


The Orange Box 92
Golden Chocobos (GCsoxfan08) 85

Another close game, with The Orange just edging out the Chocobos by seven points.  Aaron Rodgers 24 points, Reggie Bush's 25, and Andre Johnson's 14 proved to be too much, although GCsoxfan's team had a pretty good game, with six starters (again) scoring either ten or over ten points.


Hocotate Cobras (attackcobra) 82
Ponder This (Watchman xXxSKOLxXx) 68

Good performances were handed like candy in Cobras versus Ponder This.  For attackcobra Matt Ryan scored 19 pts, Matt Forte 15, Darren McFadden 11, and Brandon Myers had 12.  For Ponder This, Matt Stafford scored 20, Darren Sproles 10, Ryan Mathews  11, and Brandon Marshall had 16.  Could've been closer for Ponder This had the Ravens defense not performed abysmally in the season opener at Denver.  Unfortunately, they sucked and the win goes to the Hocotate Cobras.

(Apologies for not knowing who the owner of every team is.)

And now for the standings after week 1:

Standings

GIO FF East:

1. Team Vaas 1-0
2. Favorite Team on the Citadel 1-0
3. Cerpin Taxmen 1-0
4. The Orange Box 1-0
5. Golden Chocobos 0-1
6. Bourbon St. Skankzillas 0-1
7. Blue Stingers 0-1


GIO FF West:

1. Hand of Thrawn 1-0
2.Hocotate Cobras 1-0
3. Cobra Unit 1-0
4. Real Radioactive 0-1
5. The God of Wine 0-1
6. Ponder This 0-1
7 LetMeGetToA Checkpoint 0-1

Hopefully a few of you enjoyed this little fantasy football recap. See you next week!

I was gonna write a blog on this about Sony and MS,but thanks to The Bowel of Trogdor I don't don't have to as you can just read his. IGN, Gameinformer, Gamespot and Trolls need to read this and stop being so damn bias against Nintendo. *I take no credit for this*

In the deep jungles of the internet, you will find many individuals who claim that this will be the last console generation for Nintendo (Hell, you might even be one of them). Whatever the reason they feel this way, it is irrelevant.  What matters is that people are expecting Nintendo to go third party or bankrupt this generation.  But if we're talking about losing money, then why does nobody discuss the possibility of Sony dropping out of the hardware market?

The reason I ask is because while the mainstream press would have you believe that Sony has the road paved for them, Sony themselves are telling a different tale: one that will most likely not have a happy ending.

When I first read that Sony was going to have to sell their New York and Tokyo headquarters, I was a little concerned about how they were doing financially.  Then I came across this article, and I was flabbergasted.

To make it easier for you guys, I will summarize the article for you:  Sony lost around six billion dollars this generation.

SIX.  BILLION.

To put it in perspective, Sony banked hard off the Playstation and Playstation 2.  But in one fell swoop, with the Playstation Portable and Playstation 3 (though mainly the latter), they lost every single cent they made off their game division throughout the ten years prior... and then some.

That alone should tell you that things are not going smoothly for Sony.  If the 3DS and the Wii U not selling well at first is considered enough justification for Satoru Iwata to be replaced, then Kaz Hirai should have been burned at the stake years ago.

Now they did tell Eurogamer that they are not planning as big a loss on the Playstation 4 as they did with the Playstation 3.

Well, I certainly hope so!  But I'm not sure if Sony can afford a loss on the Playstation 4 period.  Especially when you take into account their other source of loss at the moment:

The Playstation Vita.

I honestly have no idea what Sony is trying to do with this thing.  Because it clearly isn't 'Make it a Success.'  It's doing bad right now, and Sony knows it.

About a month ago, the internet was pretty much set on fire when it was revealed that Nintendo sold only 160,000 Wii U's throughout the first quarter of this year.  Every gaming website and their mother immediately made articles and about how the Wii U is a lost cause and there is no hope for Nintendo.

Well not too long afterward, Sony released its Q1 financial report.

They didn't even show the sales numbers of the Vita.

Don't believe me?  Check out the report for yourself.  If you look at the top slide on page 8, you'll notice that they combine the sales numbers of the Vita and the PSP.

At least Nintendo has the balls to show the world how bad their product is selling.

And before you say "But look!  They also combine the PS3 and PS2 sales!"  Look at the bottom of the slide.  The third footnote states that the PS2 is not actually included in the report, so there you go.  And even then, the combined sales of the PSP and Vita chart at 0.6 million, so you can only imagine how bad the Vita is really doing.

And not a single major gaming website reported on this.  It just flew right under the radar.

Now let's talk about an apparently integral part of Sony's next-gen plan:  The indie developers.

Not long after Nintendo established a partnership with Unity, Sony did the exact same thing.  At first, I thought this was yet another instance of Sony copying whatever Nintendo was doing while completely missing the point of why Nintendo was doing it in the first place.  But then I saw their E3 presentation.  And after watching that, along with reading a ton of articles about Sony's approach to indies, I was amazed. I said to myself, "Wow.  Sony actually notices the potential in these guys. They're not shamelessly copying Nintendo.  They're thinking just like them.  I love it!"

Then Gamescom happened.

If you watch Sony's Gamescom presentation, you see a lot of indie games coming to the Vita, but there's next to nothing coming from Sony themselves that make you go "Wow, I should really consider getting a Vita."  I didn't think too much of it at first, but then I came across an article that put it all together.

About two weeks ago, IGN did an interview with Sony's president, Shuhei Yoshida, and he said that bringing Gran Turismo 6 to the Vita would be really hard.

Really hard, he says.

The gap in hardware capability between the Playstation Vita and the Playstation 3 is much smaller than that of the 3DS and the Wii U.  Yet Masahiro Sakurai is crafting Super Smash Bros. for both the 3DS and the Wii U at the same time...

AND HE ONLY HAS ONE FREAKING HAND!!!

But the Worldwide President of Sony is telling us that bringing the newest entry to their biggest selling IP to their own handheld device, which has not seen a big-selling first party release in its entire year and a half of existence... would be really hard.

Sony is not supporting indies out of the goodness of their heart.  They are doing so because they cannot afford to support both the Playstation 4 and the Playstation Vita by themselves.  And rather than just give up on the Vita, they... Actually, let me tell you what I mean by, "Give up on the Vita."

In spirit, Sony has already given up on the Vita.  Yoshida pretty much solidified that assertion. But the Vita is being sold at a loss, and with the recent price drop, that only means they are going to lose even more money with each unit sold. And rather than just stop manufacturing the thing and simply kill it off to slow down the money-bleeding, they are just going to leave it to the indies and hope that they will bring in the cheddar.

And they won't.  Why?  Well let's take a look at the 3DS, the system that the Vita is competing against.  The top ten best selling games for the 3DS are ALL developed and/or published by Nintendo, with the exception of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, which sits at number 8. Why is this? Well, it's because it's Nintendo.  They made the system. They know how to make quality games for it.  That's why the 3DS is selling very well.  

As a lot of people say, especially when it comes to Nintendo:  First party games sell systems.  The Vita is no exception.  It's not special. And if Sony, the guys who made the damn thing, can't even get it off the ground, what makes you think anyone else can?  You can't just make a product and expect someone else who wasn't involved in its development to make it a success.  It doesn't work that way.

And you may say, "Well, when the Playstation 4 launches, Remote Play is going to turn the Vita into a massive success !"

No it's not.  Why?  Well, it's for the exact same reason why the PSP failed to beat the DS, and why the 3DS is trampling over the Vita as if it doesn't even know it's there. The purpose of Remote Play is for people to able to play their Playstation 4 games on the go. That right there is the reason why it's not going to be a success.  If consumers wanted to play a console game (or console 'experience,' as Sony likes to call their portable games), they would do so on a console. The only people who will take advantage of Remote Play are the hardcore Playstation gamers who either already have a Vita, or will get one just so they can get their Playstation 4 fix wherever they are.  

General consumers, however, do not buy handheld devices to play console games, and they especially do not buy them as companion devices for their home consoles.  They buy handheld devices to play handheld games.  And next month, when the 2DS launches, Nintendo is going to prove this... for the third time in a row.

So given everything we know so far, what does it all mean for the Playstation 4?

Well, simply put, if Sony wants to live to see another generation, they need the Playstation 4 to dominate.  And I don't just mean that it needs to outsell the Xbox One and the Wii U.  I mean it needs to be a multi-million unit selling success, right out the gate, every month, with no sales slumps whatsoever.  

In addition, they need a high software attach rate (a good guess would be two digital first party games per unit) and a high PS+ attach rate (there's a reason Sony is charging for online multiplayer now). Otherwise, they will just continue to bleed money with every console sold.

And you may say, "Well don't worry!  Since it has over a million preorders, the Playstation 4 is bound to dominate!"

History disagrees.

The Playstation 3 had a million preorders as well. The Wii U's preorders were sold out in its first week, and its launch sales outpaced those of the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360.  The Gamecube's launch sales outpaced those of the Playstation 2 and the Xbox.  The Dreamcast had the most successful USA launch at the time.  The 3DS was Amazon UK's most preordered console ever, and in the United States, its preorder numbers doubled the Wii's.  In Japan, the PSP's launch sales outpaced those of the DS.

Preorder numbers and launch sales mean nothing.  They are not indicators of long-term success.  Never were, never will be.  Plus, I think it's a bit much to expect the Playstation 4 to sell millions this holiday season, especially considering that the Wii was cheap to manufacture (and therefore, purchase), the economy wasn't the complete shithole it is now, and it only sold 3 million units from launch in November '06 to the end of that year.

If you still need convincing, here's another thing that is overlooked by many:

No home console in history has ever been able gain adequate market share post-launch while maintaining a price point above $300. The NES, SNES, and Genesis were all priced no higher than $200. The Playstation struck it rich from the start at $300. The Nintendo 64, despite being greatly outsold by the Playstation, was a success thanks in part to its $200 price point. The Saturn, on the other hand, was a complete failure, thanks in part to having a $400 price point before the Playstation's launch. The Playstation 2 dominated, but mostly because, at $300, it was the cheapest DVD player you could get at the time. The Wii pretty much took over the world at $250. The Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 didn't become hits of their own until they got into the $200-$300 range. 

As I said before, in order for Sony to succeed this generation, they need to settle for nothing less than total domination.  And the way I see it, in order for that to happen, they need nothing less than a miracle.

To tie back to the story analogy I used earlier in this blog, if this tale is to have a happy ending, then there needs to be some sort of deus ex machina implemented into the story.

And I don't think the author has enough ink for that.

Welcome to the second installment of Video Game Poetic. My first poem had some of y’all guessing until the end. I can promise you this time around it would be as easy. I am not a poet, but I do consider myself very creative. So again you might love it, you might hate it, or you might be indifferent. Either way leave a comment and speak your mind. See if you can guess the theme before you get to the end.  

Letting Go

Looking deep in my eyes you dare ask me why?

You could NEVER understand me no matter how hard you try.

I’m laying here beaten, broken, and bruised. 

You should be able to understand that, you win and I lose.

I wish I could hate you as you stand above me,

You honestly think I just wanted someone to love me?

Look inside me boy and dig a little deeper. 

Keeper of the worlds, you look more like their reaper. 

What drives you, is it your emotions or your enemies?

All I can think about as I lay here are my memories. 

Those eyes always trying to sympathize.

I see now you still haven’t realized. 

Looking at you reminds me of a bad anime.

So here is my story, not that it matters anyway. 

Back in the day I didn’t frolic or play.

To go without trouble was my ideal day. 

There was a man who people would love and respect.

To me he was just the source of all pain and regret.

Just when I thought I stood my ground and it was time to part.

He became a great man with power and stole my heart!

Without my past I’m truly a nobody. 

For my goals I’d sacrificed anybody.

Keyblade keeper you asked why I’m with the organization,

To get back my old life, I joined without hesitation. 

I’ll tell you why before I dissolve,

I would rather feel pain than nothing at all.

O’Dell is a former Game Informer editorial intern and is doing what it takes to make it in life. Part-time bar tender and full time Pokémon Master from Houston, TX with a degree from Texas A&M.
Follow him on Twitter. He is a beast.

You know- because I am feeling quite lazy and semi-morose as of late, and because I haven't stretched my metaphorical creative legs much in terms of poetry lately, I think I'll take a page from O'Dell's book (er...blog). Yes, I think I'm going to opt out of truly writing something long and painful, and instead paint on the canvas of memory and reverie, and make up some other awesome (or overly creme) reservations of such things. Here goes nothing- mind you, it's been a long while since I've produced...

♦♦♦

Untitled

And yes, this piece is literally known as 'Untitled',

Relevant or not, you shall not know,

For forced am I to write it,

With crappy literary elements and grammatically spatial prose,

Although, Although, Although...

E.E Cummings would be proud,

To see   me   type   things   like  this   aloud.

To forgo commonplace poetic laws and rules,

To forget what it means to be cool-

(And to rhyme every time)

To dawdle to dwindle to bottle to read Frindle

(Haven't read that since 4th grade!)

To even sometimes forget to add syntactical proverbs,

To fling out the diction

To stop using commas

To laugh as this causes the derailing run-on sentence friction!

To boast,

To toast,

To change scenes rapidly,

From coast,

To coast,

(How'd we end up in Italy?)

To make up flagspaciouslytryiste words,

To rhyme beans and cheese with curds,

To write about orange and silver,

And to not even try to rhyme anymore.

(Because you can't.)

To create an argumentative and unreliable narrator,

(You can't do that!)

And gain multiple personality disorder in the process,

To threaten to roast,

To return to line 21 to finish that previous rhyming line.

(To coast?)

Yes,

To coast.

Okay...

To insert video game references,

Because what's better?

(No, because this is Game Informer!)

Okay-

Because this is Game Informer.

To switch to free verse,

And then break out into...

I-Ambic Pentamet-errrrrrrrrr.

To sing a ling ling,

A song a long long,

To bust at the seams,

Whilst avoiding GLaDOS' lasers and light beams.

(Told you.)

To keep this thing a-going,

This party pooping truck a-rolling,

Everyone's a-trolling.

(Well, I am anyway)

So-

please don't hate

ee cummings

would   not   relate

.

With a sudden shift,

A sudden change,

A sudden stanza-y-stanza,

Was sustained.

And now we're back, we're on to the next thing,

Suddenly a couplet, to which we can cling.

That was A-A format,

Really top of the line,

Quite steely and awesome,

It's a quatrain this time.

The lines continue on,

And on,

And on,

It's definitely not a limerick this time,

It's a Journey song.

Sorry about that not so (punny) joke,

I thought it would be (funny) with which to prod,

And poke.

Did you see what I did there?

(You did)

Didn't you?

(I rhymed on separate lines)

A big no-no,

If there ever was something to-

Wait, but you can't do that,

E.E my friend

(Multiple personalities again?)

ohbutican

         icandothat

          ijustdid

 whatare         you

goingtodo?

And now it's time,

I think I should just end

(el finalmente)

This trainwreck of a thing,

Should have never began,

Should've never been thought up,

But alas it was,

Twas,

Quite a travesty,

I aplogize,

But it's about time,

I switch languages,

For the final line(s).

Entonces, que voy a hacer?

Mis Maletas?

Vete tambien?

Solo podemos comenzar a esperar...

El fin.

♦♦♦

I apologize. I felt quite creative and dastardly. I won't subject you to this again (maybe). But we'll see. (Oh no, I cannot stop rhyming now.) Oh, thank goodness- it stopped. Anyway, it'll be back to serious writing for tomorrow's blog, I promise. Seriously serious. Possibly. But anyway, it's time for my customary salud. So... Adios.

 When I say video game adaption, I want to be clear that if any licenses have had games in the past I'm mostly ignoring them. I don't watch much anime which is why these are all American shows. Here are the five:

5. Adventure Time:

Ya, I know, this one already has the 3DS game that is said to be quite good.                                      (Here's a link to IGN's review of it:  http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/22/adventure-time-hey-ice-king-whyd-you-steal-our-garbage-review). Which is why I'm setting it as #5. Adventure Time is a show about Finn the Human and his magical dog Jake that makes Mr. Fantastic a wannabe. I'm putting it on here simply because of how perfect it is for gaming adaptions. From the great characters and hilarious writing, to the utterly bizarre world and crazy creatures and strange magic that inhabit it. The Land of Ooo is ripe for exploration, not counting the entirety of the multiverse. Making it perfect for expansion. You can pretty much name the genre, and there's some part of this world that would fit perfectly into it. Heck you could even make a point n' click adventure game based on BMO's made up noir stories.

4. My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic

 Yep I can here the haters typing from here. But here me out. For those who haven't (or refuse to) watched the show it's basically about six pastel colored equines learning lessons of friendship and battling evil in a Greek-mythos inspired, Tolkien-esque, utopian femtocracy. The Iphone game was pretty much a Farmville clone (sidenote: I don't like Farmville). For any Doctor Who fan can probably tell what they're referencing here in this cover of one of the comics. The character above is known as Dr. Whooves (no joke). He's actually an alternate version of the Doctor that accidentally ended up in this universe that is separate, singular (there aren't any alternate pony worlds) and regenerated into a pony in order to survive (Note: this all fan fiction I'm telling you, the actual show itself never confirms it beyond a subtle and brief reference). For the main show there already was an amazing fighting game known as Fighting is Magic that Hasbro screwed over. Best I say would be a JRPG-esque or point n' click adventure as it would work well with six protagonists.

3. Bravest Warriors

 If you couldn't tell, this show was created by Pendleton Ward, the same creator of Adventure Time. He seems to have a knack for creating shows that are perfect for this medium, likely on purpose. The show is about a team of outer space adventurers who took up there lost parent's mantel who ended up in another dimension. They go on bizarre missions for ever so more bizarre creatures. All on board their parent's old starship shaped like a killer whale. The world and humor would be perfect for the brawler genre, or maybe something along the lines of Ratchet & Clank, with an open world and upgradable ship. Not to mention the fact that the series at one point took the amnesia cliche' and made it fresh and hilarious.

2. The Power Puff Girls

Anyone who's watched it can take a wild guess at how this show is perfect for video games. The basic premise of the show is about three kindergarteners with the superpower equivalent to Superman, who they often make reference too along with other members of the DC gallery throughout the show. It would lend itself to the brawler or perhaps a Galaga esque experience. Each of the girls all have their own special talent that would also lend well to gameplay. For example; Buttercup (right) has (and often does) go into a rage of insanity, in which she pretty much will just murder everything bad guy in sight, Blossom (center) has freeze breath which is pretty self-explanatory, and Bubbles (Left) can speak to squirrels... and Spanish... and Japanese and I suppose pretty much every other language on the planet. Suppose this would be better for comedy moments than gameplay. Nonetheless, it made for great jokes back in the day so I don't see why it should be ignored if said game was made.

1. Samurai Jack

 I recently just went back and started watching this show and have fallen in love with it. It is about, you guessed it, Samurai Jack, a samurai warrior who spent his entire childhood and young adult life training to be able confront Aku, a shape-shifting wizard who imprisoned his homeland and tortured his father. At the final confrontation between the two, Jack wins the battle and is just about to destroy Aku when the wizard hurdles him into the distant future, were Aku rules and sci-fi technology reigns supreme alongside the ancient magics. The very concept screams for exploration, weather it be a Ninja Gaiden style 2D action platformer, to say a bigger budget game along the lines perhaps of Assassin's Creed with more of a focus on sword fighting action and brawling than stealth. It's in my opinion one of the biggest missed opportunities Warner Bros has ever had. From the setting, to the inspiration from Star Wars, the old Japanese action movies, anime, and spaghetti western atmosphere it conveys at time, the license is just begging for a proper video game outing.

So were they any I missed? I'm mostly focusing on American shows, but if there are anymore you'd like to mention or anything concerning the ones that I did, please note them in the comments bellow. Thank you for reading.

There are literally hundreds of management simulators on the market for PC but only a few about managing a video game development studio. So if that's the kind of thing that tickles your fancy, your options are very limited. The question is if one such entry, Game Dev Tycoon, is worth your time and money. Please watch my Video Review of Game Dev Tycoon to find out. 

(Please visit the site to view this media)

I know that I promised not to do poetry for awhile more, but I actually wrote this one last night in memory of the victims of the September 11th tragedies. I normally do things the opposite way, but I am transcribing a piece from my blog site this time around, because it is quite appropriate. I was going to create a long, drawn out piece about video game deaths of importance, but decided to go for simplicity's sake instead. So here we are, with my shortest blog of all time- a poem to commemorate the events so long ago, yet so fresh and vivid in memory.

♣♣♣

Towers, stifling as they fell,

Those flames a licking heels,

Licking as the two-headed dog from Hell.

♦♦♦

Licking the jagged wreckage,

The remains timidly crossed,

Licking the holes, the wounds, and the lives eagerly lost.

♦♦♦

For such an atrocity, we ask not that bygones be bygone,

Rather that truths be made evident, made fair,

Most fair’r than Saigon.

♦♦♦

Let it be known what transpired, in that silver morning glint,

The lives lost at the flip of a switch,

As the building- the tinder, a-lit like common lint.

♦♦♦

How’ver, mistaken would you be,

To assume such a thing,

That the event was to be common, commonplace,

And not in memory reign…

♣♣♣

Goodnight and good luck my friends. Let us never forget what so many people lost, not just us Americans, but the security lost by men and women all around the world, when they realized just what had happened on those flights.

A week or two ago me and RezidentHazard agreed to do a blog listing rare, under the radar, and non-obvious Wii games. So no Mario, Zelda, or Metroid will be on the list, although Battalion Wars, Sin and Punishment, and Fire Emblem will be. To see his blog, go click this link. To be honest, he did a better job at this than I did, I'm not good at working with a schedule. After all, I have the tendency to have writers block or I'll get distracted and- what was I talking about? Right, the blog.

The Last Story: A JRPG from Hironobu Sakaguchi and composed by Nobuo Uematsu, two of the people behind games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy. It's got great combat (real time as well, for those who hate turn based RPGs), but it's often criticized for its cliched, albeit well told story. For those interested in a more in depth explanation, you can read my review here.

Red Steel: One of the criteria for making it into this blog was that the game should have greater than a 60 on Metacritic, and I'm as surprised as you likely are that Red Steel passed it. Although it's not good, the controls aren't as bad as many reviews would have you think. It's playable, but the turning speed was too slow and the deadzone was giant. The sword combat was all pretty poor too. Well, RezidentHazard suggested choosing at least one bad game to be on the lookout for "just because," so consider this it. I think I got a laugh out of the horrible soundtrack. Maybe that was a cringe, I can't remember.

Red Steel 2:The First One Never Happened (my personal subtitle for it): One of the games I recommend most strongly to anyone with a Wii or who is going to get a Wii. It does motion controls better than any other game I know of, and the pointer controls are good too. It captures the essence of being an unstoppable badass excellently, due in part to the 1:1 swordplay. Again, go read my review for a more in depth look at this game.

Pandora's Tower: An Action RPG that made it stateside as part of the Operation Rainfall trio. It came over last and seems to be the most overlooked, and while I share the opinion it's the weakest of the games it's still worth buying. It makes excellent use of a time limit, has some great boss battles, and the towers the game takes place in are well designed. Here's a link to my review of it.

The Conduit: The Conduit had many criticisms, both fair and unfair upon release. The AI was poor, the levels were incredibly linear, the story was cliched, and the tech the developer touted so much was wasted on bland and often repeated environments. The multiplayer was crippled by a couple major design flaws and the ease with which someone could hack or glitch, but those weren't problems if you weren't playing with people who's heads had caved in (That reminds me, I should see about starting those GIO games of The Conduit again, they were fun, especially since I always came out at #1). However, the controls were probably the most customizable of any console shooter, there was an interesting story to be found if you looked for it, the weapons were awesome and competently balanced for the most part, and fans of old school sci-fi shooters will likely to be able to look past the flaws and enjoy it. My review of The Conduit (my first review, for the record) can be found here.

Conduit 2: A very different game from the original. The most obvious change is the shift in tone; The game goes from being all about unsolved mysteries government conspiracies bright lights in the sky alien technology and and aliens to being intentionally poor and silly. The B-Movie vibe could've been executed better though, sometimes it's 'so bad it's good' but other times it's just bad. They also actually use the color pallete, and levels are more open. The new weapons are quite a bit more creative and well balanced, but they kind of went overboard with balance because few of the guns are as versatile as the ones in The Conduit, although they all have a use, even the bad but still underrated Aegis Device. It also has very few hackers and glitchers, as in two of the former in 400 hours or so. People glitching out of the walls is more common, and when someone does they can be dealt with using the Phase Rifle, the gun that shoots through walls. AI is improved, but still unimpressive. Self promotion ftw

Monster Hunter Tri: A niche Action-RPG that's very popular in Japan. There are two kinds of people when it comes to Monster Hunter; People who don't like it, and people who are addicted to it. I bought it and played 50 hours in a week. The beginning is slow, but after that the game is pretty much all about boss battles. You kill increasingly difficult monsters to make better weapons and armor to more effectively kill monsters that you use to make better weapons and armor... If you want to get technical it's just a huge grind, but there's something oddly addicting about it, and bringing down those giant monsters never stops being satisfying. It was re-released in a greatly improved version on the Wii U and 3DS, and the servers for the Wii version were shut down, so if you can get one of those it'd be the better option - but even without online co-op, MH3 is still a great game.

BlastWorks: A 2D sidescrolling shooter with a unique mechanic where destroyed enemies can be grabbed by your ship and used as armor and weapons. While the gameplay is fun, the best part is the deep level designer I still haven't figured out entirely. You could remake the main game in it, which is a first for any game with a level editor I've played. Unfortunately, with WiiConnect24 being taken down by Nintendo, you can't download maps others have created any more, and the game ships with a rather small number of levels. However, bang for your buck shouldn't be too much of a problem, the game is about $5 used.

Metroid Prime Trilogy: A collection of three great games from Retro Studios. It's very rare and expensive, so if you're a collector or Metroid fanatic you should buy it. Aside from the great controls from Metroid Prime 3 being added to one and two, there's not really anything too significant and the three games can individually be bought cheaper.

Sky Crawlers:Innocent Aces: The best flight sim on the Wii, That may not carry much weight considering the limited number of them, but the point still stands. It was made by Project Aces, the team who makes the Ace Combat games, and it shows in the quality. The review

Goldeneye 007: Just to be clear, it's not a remake of GE64. It's a different game based on the same movie, a clever trick on the part of Activision. It's a good game on it's own, with solid level design and a good combination of stealth and action. I could never get the Wii Remote controls to work as good as the other Wii FPS here (except Red Steel, it beats that), or well at all, but there are people who swear by them. The online multiplayer was ok, but there were a couple instances of awful map design and balance is pretty poor. The splitscreen gives you a lot of options, and has over 200 possible combinations of matches. You also never have to worry about host quitting.

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon: The general consensus is that Fragile Dreams has a good story marred by bad gameplay, and although I've yet to complete it that seems accurate so far. The combat is dull, there's plenty of point A to point B then back to point A backtracking, and the only unusual level was a tedious game of hide and go seek with a ghost. However, the story seems promising and it's got good atmosphere, and the flashlight controls work well enough. 

Cursed Mountain: An old school horror game set in the Himalayas, where you play as a mountain climber looking for his lost brother. It doesn't use jump scares and tricks like that nearly as much as most games in the genre, opting for a constant sense of unease that permeates the believable and unusual backdrop.

Battalion Wars 2: A hybrid of TPS and RTS, it's very unique. Aside from gameplay, the lighthearted tone sets it apart from other war games as well. The campaign gameplay was solid, but the game really shines in the multiplayer - which, surprisingly, is still active. The game didn't sell much and released years ago, so I was pleasantly surprised when I started playing again last summer. For information, you can read my review here. Btw, if you do buy it, tell me and you'll always have someone to play against online, I'll even give you a head start. 

Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2/3: These may be ports, but the Wii versions are rather rare so they make it on here. They both have the same Metacritic score, but the third seems to generally be seen as the superior one, because of a larger roster, online play, and improved controls for the Wii Remote/Nunchuk. It also supports the Classic Controller. The Tenkaichi games are different from your normal fighting game, because of things like the camera being placed behind your character and the ability to move freely around the environment, but the fighting gameplay consists mainly of button mashing and charging up your energy to use spectacular special attacks repeatedly.

Sin and Punishment:Star Successor: A great railshooter developed by the aptly named developer Treasure. The original never released on N64's in the states, but it was imported via the Virtual Console some time before the release of the sequel. People who complain about the Wii being too 'casual' should pick this up and play on hard. It demands fast reflexes, precise aiming and timing, and patience for the numerous times you'll die. Because you will die, over and over again. The game is never unfair about it though, you get frequent check points and there are no cheap deaths.

No More Heroes/No More Heroes 2: Both are just the kind of game you'd expect from Suda51. They're about a nerd who just happens to be worlds greatest assassin, and fights outlandish assassins in battles to the death as part of a ranked association of assassins, using his light saber that he presumably bought on the internet. In the first you fought ten and had to earn money doing odd jobs to fight them, but NMH2 increased the number of bosses by 50% and allowed you to go straight from one level to the next.

Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn: One of the two console Fire Emblem games, both of which are very rare, and the series is lesser known, so being made by Nintendo doesn't disqualify it from the list. The series seems to have experienced a surge in popularity since Awakening, and Radiant Dawn is worth a purchase from anyone who enjoyed it, although it won't have all the things that Awakening has added to the series. Fire Emblem is without a doubt a series for people who are either skilled at turn based strategy or persistent, and people always complained that the Wii lacked 'hardcore' games. But Radiant Dawn is very rare, so be prepared to pay a small fortune.

Outlast startled me no less than sixteen times during its four-hour length. Broken down, that equates to four scares per hour, or a fright every fifteen minutes. Though that number seems low compared to the constant harassment of horror entities like the Slender Man, Outlast is more meticulous with its pacing and AAA game ambitions. Developer Red Barrels maintains the minimal interface and relative helplessness of the player character central to other found footage releases, while empowering investigators with all the tools necessary to document and escape their waking nightmares.

Miles Upshur, the game’s adamant journalist, has received the news tip of his career. When Mount Massive Asylum reopened its doors after decades of inactivity, rumors started circulating that its benefactors may not be so selfless and charitable. Why would someone finance an institute that drives more of its staff insane than cures patients? Armed with a notebook and camcorder (and valuing a front page newspaper article over his life), Miles is determined to shut the madhouse down, but his revolting introduction to the massacre inside contains enough gore to make cannibals drool. Nearly every wall is caked in some form of entrails or bodily fluids, and with expert lighting effects and ghastly details, you will not see more disturbing depictions of a mental ward gone awry.

Mass murder? Or a cannibal's buffet?

Bloodshed notwithstanding, the penitentiary's grisly imagery conceals a morbid backstory worth checking into. Nazi mysticism and other occult rituals remain prevalent among the setting and its occupants. Not every patient wishes to harm you, but one look at these individuals is ample reason to give them a wide berth. Some subjects behave abnormal, banging their heads against pillars or whispering incoherently in jail cells, while many more display deep cuts carved into their emaciated bodies. Other torture victims have more stitches/scar tissue than skin, lacking noses, eyes, teeth, or appendages altogether. Perhaps unintentionally, the developers evoke sympathy for the asylum’s inmates through these cruel portrayals, spurring anxious players onwards lest Miles share their depraved fates.

For the maniacs that would feast on your flesh, the game’s four-hour runtime covers many minutes spent hiding/running from the unpredictable lunatics let out of their cage. Miles cannot fight back. Against Outlast’s unsightly antagonists, his only defense is retreating into the shadows, breaking line of sight. (Funny how the dark is less terrifying than a psychopath hunting you.) Miles can glance over his shoulder while sprinting as well, and seeing pursuers gaining ground deserves no greater reward than soiled pants. At least then you know when to stow away in that locker, under that bed, in that drainage tunnel. Still, Outlast seldom ends your misery if caught. In most instances, Miles may sustain several attacks before a monster tears his head from its shoulders.

The Doctor is the least mangled of the asylum's inhabitants.

Outlast occasionally caves to its video game nature, however, giving players sneak peeks of the machine behind the magic if they strain their eyes. Enemies cannot cross invisible lines separating one floor from the next, so as Miles flees back to an area's entrance after fulfilling some fetch quest, predators call off their pursuit. I quickly grew bored of the methodical scavenger hunts, too – turn valve, hide in locker, start generator, hide behind box, hit power switch, move to new setting.

The game also abandons horror for action suspense in its final hour, with chase after chase. Provided your stalker does not see you, he will check other lockers, other beds, other desks – never yours. Initially, Mile’s beating heart became indistinguishable from my own. His sigh, my sigh. His shudder, my shudder. His exhale, my exhale. Except, the bond soon broke. I hung my head as the same freak examined the same closet after following me into the same room for a fifth time. The AI does vary its patrol patterns based on opened doors, but the predictable encounters upset a carefully structured experience. Patients seal doors behind you, audio cues change with enemies' proximity, and the reflection of hostiles' eyes means you see them before they see you.

I didn't want to go down that tunnel anyway. 

AI aside, Outlast shares more than defenseless protagonists with Slender: The Arrival. Miles’ video camera lends believability to his journalistic lifestyle, where Slender’s camera was little more than a HUD toggle for personal effect. In Outlast, your camcorder is a weapon, though not in the traditional sense, obviously. The camera's infrared display illuminates dark passages, your sole advantage over imposing mutants. 

Night vision comes at a price (batteries), even if less petrified players reach their carrying capacity early. Is an extra battery worth braving that dim hallway with enemies about? Given how fast night vision drains the camera’s power, I should think so. For more hesitant adventurers, each AA will be a godsend, though you do not lose sight entirely when batteries expire. The distance you are able to see decreases, from several dozen feet in front of you to an arm’s length. Few situations are more foreboding than wading around in an underground pool, hearing the rattling of chains as you hug the nearest wall in panic. Should Miles die, however, the developers restart players with two fully charged batteries, if they've run out.

Supernatural phenomena distort the camera's display.  

The camera does more than aid Miles’ escape. It documents his slow mental decline. With the camcorder equipped, glossing over certain horrendous sights fills Miles’ notebook with his disgust, doubts, and fears, giving the man a voice without ever uttering a word. Furthermore, private files detail doctors’ sinister experiments, fleshing out Mount Massive Asylum as a mere witness to the hideous events occurring beneath its roof.

Slender: The Arrival was the scariest release I played during 2013 – the operative word being “was.” Its characters unsettling, its imagery distressing, and its scares alarming, Red Barrels’ debut title will leave you looking over your own shoulder at the slightest disturbance. If horror fans can swallow the bile rising in their throats, Outlast is one nightmare every enthusiast should share.

Originally written for WikiGameGuides.com

Over the past couple of years horror games have been becoming less and less. It really is the most difficult genre to tackle, their is so much that has to go into a horror game for the player to actually get scared. In this post i am listing games that i thought developers did amazing jobs on when taking on a strenuous category. 


5.)Silent Hill: Downpour- This may get a bit of controversy but Silent Hill Downpour isn't that bad of a game. It isn't necessarily the best Silent Hill but developers, Vatra games, did an awesome attempt to bring back the atmosphere that Silent Hill is known for. Aside from clunky combat and uninspired monster designs that the series became famous for, their is a compelling story and a fantastic eerie setting to keep you going. 


4.)The Last of Us- Now this may not be considered a "horror" game (i'm writing something about that) but it certainly deals with a lot of controversial material. It also can be eldritch sneaking through darkness trying to avoid the to-far-gone clickers. Other then trying to sustain from the blight monstrosities, you have to dole out with other survivors, who are just trying to get by and survive in the disorganized world. The Last of Us is an extremely somber world, it makes you hope something so abhorrent will ever happen. 

3.)Condemned 2: Bloodshot-  At the time, Condemned 2 did first-person melee right (now the controls feel a little unwieldy) but it wasn't just the combat that made the game shine, it was its memorable horror elements that stood out. You go deep into a mind of a has been washed up drunk detective. You fight doped up crackheads, lubber meth rats and creepy walking dolls! The most famous part is when you're in a cabin and....well, i wont spoil it but remember to just RUN!


2.) Dead Space- This new IP was ready to tackle the horror genre, it was going up against a famous "horror" series with the much anticipated, Resident Evil 5, just around the corner. The developers for Dead Space brought one of the most frightening and intense experiences that i ever had since playing Silent Hill 2. The atmosphere is astonishing, it really gives off a vibe of isolation and dread, the USG Ishimura felt condemned with ambient noises flooding through air vents. You feel uneasy walking through the bloody corridors, anticipating to get attacked by barbarous abominations. 

1.)Amnesia: The Dark Descent- I am going to be honest, i have not beat this game, for two reasons. The first reason, which makes up about 95% of my logic, is that this game truly is terrifying! I've played some scary games but have always pulled through to complete them. This diversion was different, the pacing of the game is done satisfactorily. You travel the moody halls of a castle so high-strung you start demanding to finally see a monster, but it doesn't happen, not until 45 minutes to an hour do you actually see your first sighting of the infamous and repulsive, Slack-Jaw. The second reason is, i am not good at PC games, the combination of me sucking at keyboard and mouse to playing this insanely creepy game did not work well. Seeing a monster and having me go into a panic caused a lot of deaths. Having said that, I hope to some day go back to the game and attempt to trounce my fears and finally complete the anxiety journey.  

Today's blog might be a little bit on the short side, as the previous few days' have been, and that is mainly because I'm still a little burnt out from work and other life things happening currently- and, probably because I spent so much time and effort working on Day 8's blog. I jest, I jest. In reality, this blog doesn't honestly need to be that long, as it is merely talks about some of the extra little details I deigned to leave out of my actual game review, or accidentally did so anyways. I've done a blog similar to this before, although that was for my followup to the review I created for The Last of Us. I'd include a link, but I don't feel like doing so currently- don't worry though, I'll add in that link at a later date...possibly. If not, feel free to look on my last few pages of blogs, as it wasn't too terribly long ago... Anyway, let's get down to this, shall we?

1.0

There is one aspect of the game that just screams "double edged sword!" at me every time I play it, and considering that it is literally the major facet of the medium-sized game, it is a very important thing to correctly produce, in my opinion. That aspect would be the creative choice not to allow Miles the use of any sort of defensible components or weapons. I mean, heck, they don't even give him a flashlight! Although they do throw us a found-footage bone in the guise of giving us a camera, which we then cling lovingly to for the remainder of the game, seeing as it is our only tool from the onset. We run for our lives, cradling the thing, we peer into the gloomy depths with its night vision, and we hide, breathing heavily in lockers. Kodak would truly be proud or what we do and where we go with this essential, battery-eating tool. And that's another slightly annoying aspect of the camera- the battery collection, which can be very time-consuming, and I can't help but think was thrown in both to add in that classic survival horror flair, and to lengthen the game's short experience a bit, by tedious bit. Oh well, just my two cents worth there.

2.0

Another thing I've been thinking about, which is also a creative "double edged sword" in a way, is the exposition of the game itself. Now, I know many games explain things via text at their onset, such as many Zelda games and literally every Star Wars game, but come on! Three lines? That's basically it?! With an intriguing survival plot and the secular and poetic beliefs thrown inhere and there that the less investigative gamers around could easily miss, you're not even going to give us at least some sort of cutscene or swell narration? That just kind of comes off as a sleight. I (think) I probably know why Red Barrel did things this way, but it still leaves me slightly inconvenienced and annoyed personally. But again, oh well, nothing major, major.

3.0

And now for my final point of today's little ditty. Let's talk a bit about the character animations and models. For the most part, having the same bald-headed, bland models doing the same deadly and scary as hell movements and ripping works perfectly fine in a game where you spend more time in the dark, hiding, or running than you do much else, much less paying attention to details. However, at the times when things are as slowly paced as they often are at the "peaceful" times in the game, you can't help but to start noticing the little details that don't add up. For example, as other gamers have made note of in their own reviews, sometimes, when you leave a particular area, your foes will incredibly (lucky for you) lose interest in you and continue their searches elsewhere. While this is a godsend and a cruel joke at times, it is also quite unusual, odd, and otherwise disheartening to see the break in the otherwise pretty realistic experience. I know this seems like I'm looking the gift horse in the mouth, but it just gets better. Occasionally, you will stumble back into the enemy's patrol area, and voila!- its right back to being ripped apart, as if the valkyrie has descended from nowhere to wreak havoc upon your day. Even better, sometimes enemies will stumble into odd portions of floors and snap a bit into the texture, therefore essentially breaking the game's experience. These are little things that often accompany many PC games, but that doesn't make them any less disheartening to encounter.

♦

My User Review of Outlast

My TLoU "A Second Thought" Blog

The battle between two consoles have been fierce. Sony started out real strong and MS slowly caught up but I think Sony still maintains the lead. That being said, I know this topic has been done, but up till now I was largely unimpressed and didn't really know why. I am a Sony fan and naturally I will get a PS4 but right now i don't see very many reasons to get it. Indie is big but thats hardly any attraction for me to drop down 400 dollars for. Hell I would go get the ouya (oh no) or games stick since they are both cheaper options.

No, sony hasn't impressed me, its cool, the features are nice but they are gimmicks in my hands, the hardware is great but that's par for the course. The main games are just terrible selection. Killzone seems to be looking graphically better but gameplay wise seems to get worse and worse. I never had much faith in Sucker Punch after they sucker punched me with the lackluster Infamous 2 and I think they are blowing smoke up our butts with Second Son. I like the hardware a lot more than the software right now and seeing as how gaming is the biggest concern for any console (PS2 and 360's weaker power didn't do much to hamper sales) than the hardware, this is troubling. 

Now there has been an article about it already but I feel it didn't cover everything that a gamer would expect (want) in a next gen system. This is just my gripes, feel free to add (or disagree) to the list. Before I do sound too anti Sony, I am a Sony fan, there is no doubt I will get a PS4 at some point when I am done enjoying my ps3 and while I am more attracted to MS's games, I know sony will come through, they have this generation and they will the next but right now they are relying on the Indie market too much. 

Soooo what I want or expect from the next generation of gaming? 

1) 60fps for all games (no way this should be an issue if you can squash in Rage into this gens consoles.)

2) Getting rid of the annoying Dynamic Texture Loading trick. IT SUCKS!!! If the next gen can't get rid of texture pop in, in games (Rage is probably the worst offender). 

3) Naughty Dog! (I don't care if its the same engine, I could go for another Uncharted)

4) Santa Monica Studios getting off their lazy asses and being creative with a new IP instead of bastardising GOW. 

5) Game and rating system and a filter to sort out crap Indie titles than rare gems. If you are going to mess with the Indie crowd please at least make sure they are worth calling a game. 

6) Transitioning PSN+ account over to the new PSN. 

7) Ensuring online play is as reliable as MS if you are putting it behind the paywall. 

8) Indie and AAA cross dev (imagine an indie game with high production)

9) Can shoot lasers and or cook food (optional) 

10) Dualshock 4 has PC support without some dumb peripheral (incase you don't know you can use your PS3 controller on PC as a mouse or emulate as 360 controller for games that do support controllers look up motioninjoy, its free) 

11) Telling Gurella games to stop wasting all PS4 resources in looking pretty and tweak the game to make it more responsive if you really want to hold a candle to online warfare staples like COD or BF. 

12) One final price cut/slim model with options to purchase HD instead of a whole new system. (optional)

13) WIFI media streaming capability from PC (PS3 can do it but you have to use a 3rd party soffware that can be problematic from time to time) 

14) Total customization of dash board AKA ability to get rid of commercials cluttering up free space.

15) Less dependant on F2P model games. 

I am as big an Xbox 360 fan as you will find.  Part of me really wants an Xbox One.  While I have certainly stared longingly over at some of the PlayStation exclusives, and I inevitably wish I had a PS3 when the new PlayStation Plus free games get announced every month, I still feel like I made the right choice for me.  I think the 360 controller is the best one ever made (I know the d-pad sucks to many, but I find it functional for my needs), most of my friends also play an Xbox 360 and Xbox Live is an excellent, perhaps the best, console online infrastructure.  I enjoy my 360, and I imagine that, given Microsoft's pledge of continuing support, I will continue to play it even after the next-gen consoles hit.

None of this is going to stop me from picking up a PS4 come launch day, though.

It wasn't an easy decision.  Of course it all started with the Xbox One reveal, which didn't exactly go as planned for Microsoft.  Personally, I wasn't as against their policies as some people were, but clearly consumer feedback was overwhelmingly negative.  I don't think I need to rehash why here, that discussion has been had, I think, and Microsoft has taken a lot of steps to attempt to rectify that.    After the disastrous (for Microsoft) E3 and Sony's stellar conference, it was easy to jump on the bandwagon, even while it became clear that, despite a very vocal sect and some cleverly-placed shots on Sony's part, the Xbox One still had a lot of fans.  And as far as that goes, I'm not not a fan of Microsoft's new system.  Right now, I'm just more a fan of the PS4.

To me, it's more a case of what Sony did right than what Microsoft did wrong.  I understand the reasons behind the backlash of the always online, although I'm not sure I agreed with Microsoft's decision to reverse it.  Yes, always online has a number of issues, but the main problem was with the idea itself.  If the biggest problem with always online is that you have to be online, then why was Microsoft surprised at the response?  There were a number of cool features announced, and many more possible, that could only be utilized with an always online connection.  I'm not going to deny the fact that some of their policies were needlessly restrictive, but clearly Microsoft had a vision.  The fact that they didn't stick to that vision worries me.

Sony, on the other hand, knew exactly what they wanted to do, and did it.  The fact that the Xbox One had such a negative reaction was just the icing on the cake for them.  Sony focused on a few key things that really resonated with me:  a dedication to indie developers and self-publishing, a commitment to providing PlayStation Plus members the highest value for their money and a willingness  to give gamers exactly what they want.  I don't mean to imply that Microsoft isn't doing or is actively against these things, but right now I believe it Sony's vision for the PS4 more than Microsoft's vision for the Xbox One....because I'm not sure they have one.

Changing your policies because they are unpopular may or may not be the way to go.  The truth is, we may never know if the Xbox One would have been better off had Microsoft said "Look, we know you don't like it now, but give it a chance."  Instead, they have basically reneged on almost everything that defined the Xbox One in the first place.  And again, if you want to pick up an Xbox One, I don't think you are making a mistake.  I'm already jealous that I won't be able to play Deadrising 3 at launch (although I have a sneaking suspicion that PS4 owners will eventually get a chance to play it).  Titanfall obviously looks incredible, and I don't think Knack will quite make up that gap.  But I do get The Witness, so that's not a bad consolation prize.  The $100 I'll besaving by picking it over the Xbox One doesn't hurt either.

These are just my reasons, both short and long term, for picking up a PS4 on launch day.  If I could afford both, I would get both, but I can't.  I've already had to write a gut-wrenching goodbye letter to my Gamerscore, so now all that's left is to buy my PS4, and start working on my trophies.

Do you share any of these concerns?  Is your mind made up one way or the other already?  I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter, so drop a line and let me know what you think.

{Leviathyn}