For years, Omega Force’s output was the punching bag on the industry, disparaged for having simplistic and derivative gameplay. But gradually, the Ashikaga-based studio molded their musou franchises into respectable hack-and-slash games that managed to ...
Read More »Podcast 15-2: Invisible Cowboys
For episode 15-2 of the Tech-Gaming Podcast, we assemble into Indie Outlook form to tackle a quartet of tower defense, speedrun, run-and-gun, and brawling gems. Besides giving away three copies of Poncho for the PlayStation ...
Read More »Shooting Stars review
Shooting Stars makes me feel like a 90 year-old who has ventured onto the internet for the first time. The game’s pixelated visuals do a convincing job of mimicking the decline of visual acuity. The ...
Read More »New Game Releases: February 4th-10th, 2016
While it’s refreshing to see franchise like Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm and Warriors variants shirk the confines of consoles, PC ports of high-profile games aren’t a guaranteed slam dunk. Both publishers have struggled to ...
Read More »Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel review
Back in 2006, Nintendo and Tommo teamed up to create Jump Ultimate Stars, a DS-based title which assembled dozens of beloved manga protagonists for a behemoth-sized battle royal. Understandably, obtaining licenses for Naruto, Bleach, Death ...
Read More »Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak review
For years the Homeworld franchise laid dormant, its engaging gameplay, beautifully immersive visuals and intriguing lore abandoned after just two games and one spin-off. For nearly a decade diehard fans clung to hope that a ...
Read More »Megadimension Neptunia VII review
Not long ago, message boards were proclaiming that the death of the Japanese role-playing game was imminent. Stagnancy seemed to be the genre’s unassailable final boss, and developers had run out of creativity-restoring potions. But ...
Read More »Q&A With Neptunia’s Naoko Mizuno
Sporadically, role-playing games make fleeting, fourth-wall breaking references to the game industry. But 2010’s Hyperdimension Neptunia was the first franchise to construct an elaborate allegory for our precious pastime, imagining a realm where four goddess ...
Read More »New Game Releases: Jan. 28th-Feb 3rd, 2016
Just a few weeks ago, the quality of quantity of new game releases was discouraging. But coinciding with February’s arrival, a number of notable titles are due to hit digital storefronts and store shelves. From ...
Read More »Strawberry Vinegar review
Like many situation comedies, Strawberry Vinegar’s tranquil suburban setting offers a context for the peculiar. The tale’s opening moments introduces readers to Sakuraba Rie, an articulate school girl with little interest in maintaining a social ...
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