It’s been far too long since we’ve seen a proper entry in the Castlevania series. After Igarashi was unceremoniously removed from working on the franchise, it basically went stagnant. MercurySteam worked on the three Lords of Shadows games, but even the last of that subseries was released twelve years ago. Enter Belmont’s Curse, the newest entry in the series, which now rests in the hands of Evil Empire, best known for their work on Dead Cells.
I'm not really playing any 80s games this month (I'm still trying to weed my collection) but I am doing the 80s in other media this month, so I thought I'd at least write something about the games I played from this decade.
I started with just arcades but then got carried away with other interesting releases and facts of the later half of the 70s. This is the time I became more interested in games.
I’ve got another batch of GamerDad reviews I’ve recently written, including a trio of amiibo figures! Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
The Nintendo Direct has concluded and Ocarina of Time was demonstrated for us by Aonuma-san, showcasing all of the new features and the slick new graphics. While I detailed my hopes in yesterday's editorial, unsurprisingly, the remake essentially amounts to a nice new coat of paint and a variety of quality-of-life upgrades. Of course, each area, NPC, and more, have been fully rethought and brought up to modern standards, providing lots of visual flourishes to feast your eyes upon.
Tomorrow, we're due to finally find out what Nintendo has been cooking up next for the Zelda franchise. There's no question that there are few games as beloved as the Ocarina of the Time, which puts Nintendo in an interesting position for this remake. As we all know, the Zelda formula has been totally shaken up with the latest entries, prioritizing emergent gameplay and sandboxes that allow players to explore and create, a total departure from the Ocarina-style that previously defined 3D Zelda.
I can’t believe I’m turning 50 later this month. In a way I’m a little sad about it because my life is definitely not what I’d imagined it would be by now. I’m still single and living in a one bedroom apartment barely making ends meet with a job I don’t like that much. But at least there are some fun things we’ll be doing this month. My dad’s birthday is a couple of weeks before mine so I’m taking him to see the Coyote vs. Acme movie. And then for my birthday we’re going to see the Rifftrax Mystery Science Theater 3000 movie. And then at the end of this month some of my other family and I are going to Austin, TX to see my old college campus after 30 years, and to also see my best friend who has lived in El Salvador for a long time, but recently moved back here. At any rate, even though it’s my birthday, I’ve got some presents for you! Reviews I’ve recently written over at GamerDad. Please read as many as you can and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two! I’d appreciate it. And in the comments section, feel free to give me a pretend birthday present, too! OK let’s begin!
It's taking me a long time getting through Xbox 360, and probably a while to get through PS3. I may be starting Wii next year at this rate, but I think I'll just keep on going until I get to the present and then start from the beginning again sometime next year. I really want to get through everything I have and weed out the stuff I don't like.
OK students, class is back in session! Your assignment today is to read as many GamerDad reviews I’ve recently written and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. You’ll get an A+ if you do. OK, let’s begin!
It was the summer of '97 - we were on a family vacation in Montreal and went to La Ronde Amusement Park for the day. I couldn't believe what I was seeing when I was there; a Nintendo Megadome, right inside the park. It was like a dream come true. Even better, it was right before the release of GoldenEye 007, so I got my first look at what would soon become one of my favorite games ever. We played everything we could and left, VHS in hand, promoting some of the upcoming releases, including GoldenEye. There were some other promotional materials too, a dossier that would be thumbed through hundreds of times before we were graced with a copy of the game that Christmas.
In console gaming, there is a legend known as the Third Console Curse. Most consoles are not successful enough to receive a follow-up. If they are, then a third console is still not guaranteed. It is a hard industry not only to break into, but sustain a market share in. Yet something happens with the third console every time. It fails to meet the company's initial goals. Maybe it still sells fine, maybe the console has a wonderful library of games. Even if that is the case, the company loses market share and is in a worse spot at the end of the console's life than they were going into it. It could be arrogance from success. It could be a lack of perspective from being too used to success. Maybe it's just rotten luck. But it's consistent.
Got another batch of game reviews I’ve recently written over at GamerDad.com. Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
I had a really good time with Xbox 360, or 3tricksy as I like to call it, this week. This is what I got to in my journey through all my 360 games.
Around this time of year, I like to make a list of my best games SO FAR, because usually the AAA titles are released later in the year during the holiday season, and the titles that came out earlier tend to be forgotten. So here’s when those games get their due. Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed. And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!
For years Microsoft hoovered up more and more of the games industry. It was shocking when they purchased Bethesda - a huge third party publisher and development house. By the time they secured the deal to buy Activision-Blizzard, it was much less so, and it was clear that Microsoft believed they could buy all the properties they needed to make GamePass a success. It didn't take long to see that their strategy wasn't working.
Happy 250th birthday, America! To celebrate, here are some reviews I’ve recently written over at GamerDad.com. Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. I’d appreciate it. OK let’s begin!
Yesterday, Sony dropped a few bombs on the gaming world - first, they are discontinuing support of the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita stores by next year, at the latest, with support ending immediately in some areas. Second, they will cease production of physical games by January 2028 for all releases on PlayStation consoles, leaving only another year and half before you'll no longer be able to grab the latest games pressed to a disc.
Here's my "waiting for a car repair" blog about the 2011 games that I played relatively close to release date in order of Metacritic rating for that year. Also, I'm just noting the system I played the game on, not all available systems.
When a game console is considered “dead,” I like to write a tribute blog about that console and its games. While most people would probably consider the PS4 ‘dead’ for a while now, I’m still reviewing games for it. I guess a game console is really only considered ‘dead’ once you stop playing it. But since recently I wasn’t able to get simple games like LEGO Batman and Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection on the PS4, I figured it was about time. I’ll probably do a similar blog with the original Switch later towards the end of this year. Most of the games on this list you can play on other consoles as well, I mostly used the PS4 as a third party machine if I couldn’t play or review it on the Switch, or if I’d rather play it on the PS4. Anyway, there are so many games I’m going to split this up into two parts. And the first part is going to be all about classic game collections, and remakes of classics and styled games.
Going down the top ranked on Metacritic for that year, these are what I played a lot within console generation 7,
What it is: Stuff I played close to the year of release or at least during console generation 7, listed in order of Metacritic ranking for 2008.
One of my brothers got married a couple of weeks ago, hence the title of this blog. So congrats to him! And I also got married as well. Sort of. You’ll just have to read on to find out! Yeah, sorry to use clickbait on you all, but it’s fun when it’s fun. Anyway after all this wedding stuff are more reviews I’ve recently written over at GamerDad.com. Please click on the links and read as many as you can and maybe post a ‘like’ or comment or two. OK let’s begin!
The first thing that comes to mind is changing my Xbox gamertag. I got one in 2004 when Xbox Live Arcade dropped but a mini-game on an Official Xbox Magazine demo disc was giving me trouble in '07, and I thought a new gamertag would solve it. Well, it did solve it, but I lost touch with my old gamertag over time, and now it's probably been deactivated along with the few games I bought under it. It'll be 20 years on my current gamertag next year. It could've been 23 years if I'd stuck with my original one.