Brie was a huge fan of Shelter 2 and its expansion, so I suspect she will be the first in line when this title releases in the coming months.
Might and Delight announces Paws
Brie was a huge fan of Shelter 2 and its expansion, so I suspect she will be the first in line when this title releases in the coming months.
Month in Review - January
Looks like it’s that time of the month again! See everything that we’ve been up to and catch up on anything you may have missed.
The holidays have come and gone and CGR has gotten presents in the form of two new members! We would like to welcome both Blaney and Richard to the team!
Now to the games!
Anime and Movies
Hardware
Microsoft Xbox 360
Microsoft Xbox One
Nintendo WiiU
Nintendo 3DS
Mobile
PC
- Anno 2205
- AX:EL - Air XenoDawn
- Echoes Of Aetheria
- Forsaken Fortress Strategy (Preview)
- InfiniTrap: Ohio Jack and The Cup Of Eternity
- Moonshot (Preview)
- Pro Basketball Manager 2016
- Stone Tales
- The Book of Legends
- Vertigo Void
Retro Reflections
- Arc: Twilight of the Spirits
- Mark of the Kri
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
- Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
Sony PlayStation 4
- Stardust Vanguards
- Bloodborne: The Old Hunters
- Gems of War
- Inside My Radio
- King's Quest - Chapter 2: Rubble Without A Cause
- LEGO Dimensions
- The Banner Saga
Sony PlayStation Vita
Article by Pierre-Yves
Stardust Vanguards - PS4 Review
Stardust Vanguards pits you against your friends in some local competitive gameplay that is a great deal of fun, though there are some cooperative and even limited single player options as well. The package has a minimalist vibe throughout and the game is well served by it, though perhaps a bit more effort in adding depth, story or online multiplayer would have served Stardust Vanguards best.
Koei Tecmo America reveals pre-order bonus and further details for Samurai Warriors 4 Empires
Echoes Of Aetheria - PC Review
For the sake of the upcoming argument there are two types of people in this world. The first are the lovers of the Indie RPGs and those made with an RPG Maker. Secondly there are the rest. For the first group, go over to your Steam clients, find Echoes of Aetheria by Dancing Dragon Games, acquire said title and then return for the rest of the article. For said rest, this is an Indie RPG that truly sets the bar as to what can be done with custom implementations both inside and out of exploration and battle which should not be passed up on.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Retro Reflections
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is like “X-Men Legends” with Avengers. You select a team of up to four heroes and begin a quest to stop Doctor Doom and his Masters of Evil from completing a sinister plan that threatens the entire Earth.
Street Fighter V Story Details and New Post Launch Plans Revealed
As Street Fighter V creeps steadily towards us, we look forward to more and more information about the game until it arrives.
ORICO 10 Outlet Powerbar / Surge Protector - Hardware Review
Is the PlayStation plugged in? Check. The Xbox? Check. The Wii U? Check. The handhelds… Check. The PC and all the other stuff that need to go in depending where this is set up? How many powerbars are you honestly up to on your setup? Generally a good powerbar goes between six to eight slots while remaining affordable. More than that and things start to get really expensive fast which is where the Orico comes in.
Yo-Kai Watch - 3DS Review
Yo-Kai Watch is a JRPG from Level 5 (Dark Cloud, Rogue Galaxy, Ni No Kuni) that places players into a world unseen by normal eyes through the use of a special Watch. Embark on the adventure of either a young boy named Nate or a young lady named Katie dependent upon which is chosen as the protagonist by the player with a Yo-Kai named Whisper who will show them the ropes in some rather crazy adventures.
New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game officially confirmed
There have been rumors for weeks now about the upcoming TMNT game by PlatinumGames, but the official announcement comes with some cool assets to boot. Considering just how much I enjoyed Transformers, I can't wait to see what they do with this title.
Stone Tales - PC Review
Stone Tales is one of those titles that shows how an indie developer or team can do some really cool things because they have the freedom to experiment. However, at the end of the day, this is one of those titles that comes up lacking due to a handful of issues that are impossible to completely ignore. The end result is a game that I found myself feeling decidedly neutral about when it concluded.
Rygar: The Legendary Adventure - Retro Reflections
Some readers probably know that “Rygar” started as a hack & slash arcade game during the eighties and was converted to various machines, including the NES. “Rygar: the legendary adventure” is a version for the PS2, with 3D graphics.
Infinium Strike gets new assets and information
Infinium Strike will be coming to Xbox One in Q2 of this year, on top of the previously announced PC, Linus and Mac versions.
Pro Basketball Manager 2016 - PC Review
Pro Basketball Manager 2016 will never be confused with a title like the NBA 2k series, nor is it trying to. That being said, I feel compelled to mention that this is a menu heavy where preparation is as key as anything done on the actual court. This is a slower paced version of basketball, and it has quite the learning curve, but it is worth learning if you like simulation sports titles.
Dragon Quest III - Mobile Review
Dragon Quest III is the final portion of the original trilogy that started off the series. Going back in time compared to the other two which followed the descendants of Erdrick, players take on the role the Hero Erdrick themselves before they were a Hero as he or she sets out upon their sixteenth birthday in order to travel the land and save it from an oncoming evil.
A recent trailer for the upcoming The Division
This is a title we have been following pretty closely (Robert and Chris in particular), so any news is good news as far as we are concerns.
Memorable Music in Gaming #18
In this installment, we have quite the range of songs, ranging from as recent as this latest generation to a title hearkening from the old NES days. Hamza even tells us briefly why he favored the Sega consoles over the Nintendo ones in one of the selections.
Dragon Quest II - Mobile Review
One-Hundred years have passed since our Hero, the descendant of Erdrick, defeated the Evil Dragonlord as his predecessor once did. Following in the footsteps of Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest II follows another in the line of Erdrick who must set out to find the Prince and Princess of the two sister kingdoms as they all descend from the same line in order to fight off a Priest gone mad with power. Working off the premise of more, Dragon Quest II finds more enemies to fight, more party members to tackle the adventure with, more locations to visit, more spells to cast, and finally more bosses to fight. While this works in several cases, sometimes the idea of more is not a good thing.
Upcoming Curse of Strahd is exciting news for Ravenloft fans
I got my start with Dungeons & Dragons when a buddy introduced me to the Dragonlance campaign. Over the years our core group played a lot of different campaigns from a variety of different settings, but perhaps none of them stuck with me nearly as effectively as the Gothic horror of Ravenloft.
Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series - Xbox 360 Review
Game of Thrones and Telltale Games seem like a match made in heaven. The world of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire has plenty of sword fighting and fantasy elements, but the real star has always been the fantastic characters and interplay between them. Telltale Games specializes in dialogue-driven adventure games with a large cast of characters. I loved what they did with The Walking Dead license; could they pull off the same magic again? It is a tall order, but one that the team was generally up to.
Dragon Quest - Mobile Review
Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel has a release date
Inside My Radio - PS4 Review
Run. Jump, Dash. All common themes in platforming games, but Inside My Radio does a nice job of throwing something very new and fresh into the genre. That is not to say that the title does not have a handful of small issues, but by and large it rises above those concerns with its challenging, addictive gameplay.
Atelier Escha & Logy Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky - PS Vita Review
Atelier Escha & Logy Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky brings the 2013 RPG title to the PlayStation Vita, as has been the habit of the series for some time. It is essentially the same game, just with additional downloadable content that brings the popular series to a portable platform where it performs wonderfully. We have long been fans of this game series, and while those who played it on the PlayStation 3 might not have enough reason to come back to it, it is absolutely worth your time if you missed it initially.
Space sim platformer ‘Amazing Discoveries In Outer Space’ for PS4 will launch February 2016
Swedish independent studio Cosmic Picnic, staffed with senior DICE and Ghost Games employees, proudly presents the release of ‘Amazing Discoveries In Outer Space’ (ADIOS) for PlayStation 4.
Forsaken Fortress Strategy - PC Preview
As the name indicates, strategy is involved here, but really at its core, Forsaken Fortress Strategy is a resource management and survival game. There are some big ideas bubbling just beneath the surface, though the indie nature of the development team does force them to scale it back a bit.
Mark of the Kri - Retro Reflections
Mark of Kri is about a barbarian warrior in a land that could be Polynesia, who must stop an evil wizard from collecting all the pieces of a powerful, destructive spell. At first, Rau has to stop some bandits to prove himself, but later he undertakes more crucial missions.
Unravel: An Origin Story about Yarny
Unravel has been one of those games that just caught my eye and so far, I've been looking forward to any bits of news coming out about it.
Slice It! - 3DS Review
The game's name tells us a great deal about what we will be doing: Slick It! This was clearly a mobile game at one point, not unlike other titles that have you swiping your finger across the screen with your phone - or in this case using a stylus with your 3DS. The basic premise works, and it gnawed at the puzzle-solving corner of my mind, encouraging me to just do one more - until I had finished it in just a few lengthy sittings.
Arc: Twilight of the Spirits - Retro Reflections
I hadn’t played Japanese role playing games for years until I decided to try Arc: Twilight of the Spirits. Though it is not a well-known title it certainly has its merits.
Megadimension Neptunia VII has a release date
The Big Short - Movie Review
The Big Short attempts to explain the huge economic crisis of 2008, which started in the United States and struck many countries worldwide. The main characters talk to other people and through their conversations the viewer is supposed to realize what went wrong. The movie underlines that the crisis was caused by banks operating uncontrolled by the political system and individuals being motivated by greed and arrogance.
Stella Glow - 3DS Review
Stella Glow is Atlus’ most recent title in their list of grid-based strategy games. Those of you who’ve played Luminous Arc for the Nintendo DS may notice some similarities between the two games right off the bat, such as the main character archetype and battle style. Those who haven’t played luminous arc may find a better comparison to the fire emblem or Disgaea series. Stella Glow blends a mix of storytelling, music and gameplay to produce a setting that’s sure to draw you in.
InfiniTrap: Ohio Jack and The Cup Of Eternity - PC Review
InfiniTrap is an incredibly difficult game to review. On the one hand, it is a short and sweet throwback to some older games that I enjoyed in my childhood on the MS-DOS. On the other hand, the game is a SHORT and sweet throwback. In total, it took me approximately 25 minutes to: drink a cup of tea, answer a phone call, and start and finish InfiniTrap and complete all the bonus levels. That being said, the developer is basically a single person and this is his debut work. Additionally, he has stated that he will be adding/revising levels and implementing new features as he codes/fixes them. Which is good considering the game would not be worth the blunt 6.49 Canadian I would have to pay for it otherwise. Price/content grumbling aside, the game certainly does have the potential to be something quite enjoyable to a wide variety of audiences as they join Ohio Jack on his journey to find the “not-quite-holy-grail” Cup of Eternity.
New Video Details Demons Age Background Story
We have taken a look at this title a couple of times already, but this new video sheds a bit more light on the backstory for the game.
Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wii U Review
Xenoblade Chronicle X is the latest title from developer Monolith Soft, who brought us such wonderful titles as: the Xenosaga trilogy, Xenoblade Chronicles, Soma Bringer, Xenogears (before they left Square), and Baten Kaitos. Having played only around ten minutes of the first Xenoblade Chronicles, I walked into Chronicles X rather fresh to the new presentation being built, and I can honestly say that I was not disappointed, especially considering the 100+ hours I’ve already put into the game.
The Banner Saga - PS4 Review
Challenging, bleak, beautiful - The Banner Saga is a tough game to describe, because it is many different things. It is hard to believe that it has been two years since this title released on PC, but it is just as riveting as ever on the PlayStation 4 today as it was then.
Megadimension Neptunia VII screens
We follow the Neptunia games around here quite a bit, so you can imagine we were excited to see some new screens and information about the upcoming Megadimension Neptunia VII.
Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 4: A Block and a Hard Place - Xbox One Review
Admittedly, I was down on this series when it started, but Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 4: A Block and a Hard Place shows that the episodic releases leave room for growth. That is exactly what this series has done, becoming more interesting and offering more engaging gameplay as it continues towards a conclusion that I am actually looking forward to seeing now.
Radiohammer - 3DS Review
I always thought the idea of being a DJ was interesting. Loving music is only half the battle however as music contains a wide range of genres that will not appeal to everyone. Getting the chance to work for Radiohammer however wasn’t quite what I expected in a gig of this sort as much more time was spent laying the smackdown on weirdos and alien invaders than playing groovy and funky music on the air waves. For anyone just tuning in, this radio station prides itself on the protection of its people even if that means taking to the streets with a ridiculously huge hammer.
SteelSeries Announces Rival 700 Smart Gaming Mouse With OLED Display
We have had a lot of really good luck with SteelSeries gear so far, so any time they announce something new coming up - we tend to take notice.
Anno 2205 - PC Review
Ever wonder what it would be like to be the CEO of a mega corporation? We’ve all had those dreams of wearing the $9000 suit with your Italian leather shod feet resting comfortably on your custom mahogany desk you flew in from some jungle, a snifter of rare whiskey resting next to them as you sit back contemplating how awesome you are. It’s the American dream (and to a degree the Canadian dream as well) to be so rich that you only have to worry about building another garage for your high powered sports car collection. Now imagine you could take that company almost global, heck, you could take it the moon, literally! Anno 2205 lets you live that solidly corporatist, material dream of owning a chunk of the planet with more money than you know what to do with, while competing with other mega corporations to be top dog and helping poor people when it suits you.
LEGO Dimensions - PS4 Review
Ninja Division and Mage Company have new games to announce
We have had a chance to review several games by Ninja Division in the past, and their board and card games have been among our favorites. So this announcement by their team and Mage Company is an interesting one to our team.
Gems of War - PS4 Review
Gems of War is a free-to-play game that I managed to spend dozens of hours on and never felt as though I was held in place and never spent a dime on. The question then becomes, is it worth spending that time with? By and large yes, though it has enough bugs to at least give me pause.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege - Xbox One Review
After having spent considerable time with this game on the PC during its beta, I had high hopes for
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege when it finally released. Tense, tactical and in many ways unique, this title quickly became a case of like at first sight. Why not love? Too may small flaws take the luster off of what is otherwise a fun game.
Echoes of Aetheria Launches Jan 15
Dancing Dragon Games has had their hands on more than a few smaller scale yet popular indie RPGs, and their upcoming title looks like it could be interesting as well.
In the Heart of the Sea - Movie Review
I didn’t have high expectations from “In the Heart of the Sea” although it is inspired by a famous book and I am a fan of Chris Hemsworth. This proved to be a good thing, because I enjoyed the film.
Moonshot - PC Preview
With multiple modes and an addicting competitive gameplay, Moonshot is an addicting physics-based game that is still a little rough around the edges, but provides plenty of promise.
Memorable Music in Gaming #17
We are back from the holidays, and while our last edition of Memorable Music in Gaming had a decidedly winter theme, we are back to just good old music from a variety of different inspirations. Most interesting about them? each one comes from a different platform.
2016 Independant Games Festival announces finalists
It's kind of amazing really, to think how much more of a voice indie game developers have now compared to years ago.
