Console

Over the past thirteen years, the Yakuza franchise has produced seven main entries, an equal number of spin-offs, and a trio of re-releases. Such an abundant output would have sapped the creative energy from most ...

In the grand pantheon of arcade shooters, few are more prestigious than 1981’s Defender. While the William Electronics-developed coin-op wasn’t an immediate success (creator Eugene Jarvis has blamed the groundbreaking five-button control method), the game proved ...

To combat stagnancy in the crime, thriller, and romance genres, the directors of Pulp Fiction, Memento, and (500) Days of Summer shirked chronology. Each film ditched the traditional, linear approach to storytelling, inviting innovation by ...

While Yokohama-based Arc System Works dabbles in other genres, and is behind efforts like Xblaze: Lost Memories and Inferno Climber, the company is undoubtedly best known for their fighting game franchises. Series like Guilty Gear, ...

Rudyard Kipling once wrote that a person can’t have enough “red wine, books, or ammunition”. Although the adage was conceived long before gaming was envisioned, the third element accurately encapultes the thrill of a twin-stick ...

With Mercenary Kings, looks are deceiving. Glimpse a few screenshots and you’ll likely assume that the Tribute Games’ title honors classic run ‘n guns like Bionic Commando and Contra. Certainly, Paul Robertson’s (Scott Pilgrim vs. ...

In an era when Pac-Man fever had yet to infect stateside gamers, Commodore PET users might be found playing MINER!, an excavation simulation that was published in Cursor magazine. Echoing games of the epoch, the purpose of Rod Longfellow’s title ...

The old adage of tongue being mightier than swords is rarely true for video games. With interactive entertainment, blades, bullets, and bare hands routinely get the emphasis, while words are habitually reserved for expositional purposes. ...

Occasionally, game designer can mimic bartenders, blending a few fundamental ingredients, and creating something quite exhilarating and exotic in the process. That’s certainly the case with Gunhouse, a quirky title that began as a PS ...

The methodical, multistep jailbreak might seem like an unlikely subject for a video game. After all, electronic amusements habitually indulge audiences with doses of carefree escapism rather than depict the myriad of meticulous steps leading ...