Life Through the Pixel Glass-12/12/2012

o for those of you who follow the site regularly, you may already be familiar with Life Through the Pixel Glass. This feature belongs to Catie (and it still does, so no worries needed) that focused on the art and culturist aspect of the video game community, and it still does for the most part. We’re currently experimenting with the feature and adding more, like links for other things involving independent studio spotlights or Kickstarter endorsements. We’ll be doing a little bit of both and try balancing the feature to basically be something fun that we can do with the site in order to interact with the listeners and readers of Press Pause Radio.

Life Through the Pixel Glass will be authored by either yours truly or Catie, as we take turns in order to work with each other’s schedule. The goal is to post one every Wednesday since it’s just that awkward day in the week where nothing really happens. Throw in some feedback if you guys have any. We’re totally open to some crowd sourcing for future content. Enjoy!

Capcom has surprised all with their announcement to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of their supposedly forgotten blue-bombing mascot, and he's getting the crossover treatment in one of the most unique ways yet. Street Fighter X Megaman pits the heroic robot against the famous Street Fighter roster in a traditional stage format. From Blanka to Zangief, there will be several fighters debuting in the adventure with their own full-fledged stages and individual weapon powers from defeated fighters, and with yet another 8-bit aesthetic bringing together some familiar elements. You might even exploit Zangief’s clichéd Hadoken weakness. We’ll have more to talk about in our upcoming review of this anticipated free PC download when it drops Dec. 17.

Maybe Street Fighter characters aren’t your thing? Team Reaverbot has you taken care of then since they’re also developing a tribute game for the PC titled Megaman 25^th Anniversary. This title features the Bonne Family from Legends series of Megaman cannon attacking the cast of the classic Megaman backdrop, with the ability to switch between Megaman and Protoman as you, again, travel through different stages and fight against Robot masters.

Funny enough, of the two revealed Robot Masters, Kendo Man already appeared in a previous Megaman title, Rockman and Forte on the Wonderswan. It was a terrible game…hopefully Kendo Man doesn’t jinx MM 25^th Aniversary in the same manner.

The title has no current release announcement, but you can check the team’s YouTube page for any future updates on the development status.

With the recycled pattern that Pokemon releases have seen, the series hasn’t deviated very far from its roots, and the franchise becomes more irrelevant with each passing year. However, one dedicated fan stepped up and decided to develop a fighting game based around the Pokemon universe, and it’s a damn good one too. The roster choices may seem out of place (Swalot being a flagrant example of a weird choice), but the developer has managed to achieve a Roster balance of abilities and styles that make sense of the license it uses, stages and assist included.

You can download it right here. Checking it out would be in your best interest considering it’s completely free. And fret not -- it’s compatible with Xpadder, so you’re totally set to use a controller if you so desire.

The post-apocalyptic survival story is overdone to the point of annoyance, but there’s always room for one more if there are any new elements to be added, right? Photon Productions seems to think so, which is what’s promised in the upcoming survival RPG, Forsaken Fortress. Among advanced resource collection and management, the top-down RPG involves character development that affects gameplay dynamics in their support towards base building and stat building. Just imagine the concept of Borderlands meets an action RPG with RTS elements that also include relationship building.

JRPG releases from full-fledged studios with the support and resources of a major publisher aren't what they used to be, but all the more reason to see the genre live on within the throes of crowd funding in order to progress. Kai Nesbit leads the charge for Anima – Gate of Memories, an action RPG focusing on the manner of exploration in a world that isn’t held back by linear progression. With over 30 days away from reaching its funding goal, Kai Nesbit and his team have their work cut out for them. A third-person RPG that promotes the world spanning exploration of Final Fantasy XI with the character relation mechanics of Mass Effect, give Anima a look, if that sort of things appeals to you.

Do you guys remember King of the Monsters? How about Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee, does anyone recall that game? Sunstone Games did, and they want to bring back the experience of giant monsters fighting each other in metropolitan areas with Kaiju Combat, an online take at the premise. Kaiju Combat is unique in the fact that efforts have been made to secure the rights to Godzilla and Ultraman to use familiar monsters from those franchises, but to also pit them against original monsters and continue to increase the roster over time with free content. Roughly Forty-Thousand dollars is still needed in order to fund this project and with eight days to go, a light-hearted, yet novel approach to Giant Monster fighting that sounds like it will cater everyone whether you’re a fan of the theme or not.

The indie developer famous for Johann Sebastian Joust recently garnered enough support to fund a collaborative project titled Sportsfriends. The title takes cues from the philosophy of folk gaming, and focuses on local multiplayer games including the titles BariBari Ball, Pole Riders, and Hokra. The project will be available for the PS3, PC, Mac, and even Linux, be sure to stay on top of their progress and BUY SPORTSFRIENDS WHEN IT COMES OUT. Definitely grab Where is my Heart? while you’re at it and check out why Die Gute Fabrik is one of the most important developers of our time.

It's tricky justifying remakes when we find ourselves surrounded with the saturation of sequels and recycled ideas in video games today. But there are still some games out there that could use a fresh kick-in-the-ass and take another shot towards getting some play time from the masses.

That’s what Golgoth Studio is all about. They’re working toward reimagining some forgotten Arcade classics for the digital space like PSN, XBLA, and Steam. Toki is currently processing for release and is among the nominations for vote on Steam’s Greenlight, but the development team is already hard at work to reimagine Joe & Mac. Be on the lookout for the status on Toki’s release and Joe & Mac’s development right here at their website.

A blog in every sense of the word that follows the life and opinions of a Video game enthusiast named Nathan White. This stellar dude updates his blog whenever he finds the time, and has been fairly consistent since 2008. Nathan’s current project revolves around a fan-zine titled HOLD RESET, an editorial centered around retro gaming, and mostly and tries to recapture a lot of the charm and aesthetics of 90s gaming magazines.

There’s a real sense of gratification when you stumble upon a blog that becomes self-explanatory the moment you gaze upon the URL. Stu Brett, the Super Famicom Guy, spends his time updating the blog with finds, articles, and reviews on Super Famicom games that didn’t make it over to North America. Varied pieces bring attention to a slew of Super Famicom games that most people (even dedicated collectors) have never heard of, and delivers all these details in a very poignant and entertaining fashion that’s worth notice.

If you’re feeling juiced over Super Famicom games you didn’t get a chance to play from Stu’s blog then head over to Timewalk Games, a reproduction game manufacturer and reseller that sells carts for unreleased retro games that never made it to the states. Starfox 2, Megaman, and Bass, Treasure of the Rudras -- the selection is huge, and makes for a perfect outlet for anyone who doesn’t want to go through the process of importing.