QCF: Windjammers

hile Nintendo is a brand that will forever be synonymous with video games, there are a few other Japanese names that have attracted a dedicated following, particularly one best known for delivering intense arcade action—SNK and their platform, Neo Geo.

Most may only know them as the house that built King of Fighters these days, but the passionate affection that the brand can still command even after all these years is still palpable, especially for one particular title that has managed to obtain a cult-classic status with those in the competitive gaming scene.

Spinning a casual beach sport into high-powered contest, Flying Disc Game-Windjammers was a gem that managed to spawn its own culture of versus action. The eccentric Frisbee-tosser was not only novel, but addictive, and frenetic, allowing it to endure on in an environment that was dominated by the fighting game genre for years on end, only to slowly drift into obscurity as the day of the arcade slowly came to an end.

That is until now; Dot-Emu has managed to secure the rights to publishing a remastered version of it for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on PSN, and thankfully, the experience is just as incredible, if not more so than it was twenty years ago in that dingy pizza parlor that your family used to drag you to during the weekend.

Click to read more ...

QCF: Ray Gigant Review

he Dungeon RPG has been around for a very long time. Games like Might and Magic on yesterday's Personal Computer might have cemented the sub-genre long before today's gaming environment but these days, the PlayStation Vita is where it's at from some dungeon-crawling goodness. Games such as Operation Abyss, Demon Gaze and many more have given players a lot of choice for their Dungeon-crawling needs, with mixed results. Acctil's Ray Gigant aims to take a heavy stab at the genre, but is it worth a second glance?

Well, that's very hard to say—Ray Gigant charges out of the gate with a huge number of anime and RPG tropes practically oozing all over the place. Giant catastrophe in Tokyo and abroad at the hands of giant monsters, check, central character that gets caught up but survives said catastrophe, check; how about some Living jewelry that prevented his certain demise? Check. Cast of by-the-book characters and archtypes, we’ll throw on another check. Or what about being saved by a post-apocalyptic organization looking to eradicate an enemy menace, that’s a big check right there.

And it happens to be a high school even, Double-check—it goes on and on and on.

I'm sure if layers haven’t experienced much in the line of Japanese RPGs or anime in the last, oh, 20 years, seeing all of these typical elements with fresh eyes and no previous experience might enthrall them. For the rest of us, reactions could range from single eyebrow lifting to optical nerve injuring eye rolls, and the story notwithstanding, what can we expect from the actual gameplay?

Click to read more ...

Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 143 - DARIUSBURST CS

In episode 31 of Bullet Heaven, we took a look at Darius Twin, a ho-hum console-exclusive side-scroller in the long-running Taito shooting series. With another three games under Taito's belt how does the latest entry in the series, DARIUSBURST CS, hold up? And, by the way... how does one get through over 3000 stages?!

** BECOME A PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/Serraxor **

Click to read more ...

QCF: Killzone Mercenary

ince the release of the Playstation Vita in February of 2012, the system has had a tough time of attracting gamers to their portable experiences. A few attempts at first person shooters proved to be critical failures, unable to capture the fast paced action on a much smaller screen. When Killzone Mercenary was announced, many thought that the Vita could finally have a competent shooter on the go. Thankfully after playing through the campaign as well as dying more than several times in multiplayer, I can say that the Vita finally has its shooter.

The player assumes the role of Arran Danner who is, as the game’s title suggests a mercenary. If you happen to forget about what your job description is do not fret; the mention of money and doing a job for the quick paycheck will be mentioned several times. The plot of the game is very thin, and features the same beats from most action movies that tell the tale of one man who battles not only an endless army, but his morality as well. The story is easy to disregard, since the main campaign will take most players to about the five hour mark to complete. However the action held within these few hours will be worth the price of admission for any Vita owner.

Click to read more ...

Press Pause Radio presents: Playstation Event 2013 Live Blog

Why Physical Media Continues to Linger

There’s no denying it – with services like Steam and Xbox Games on Demand, video games head closer to an all-digital market each day.

Take Sony’s last portable failure as an example. The PSP Go was a sign of gamers waking up and realizing how they’re paying full price for less than half of an object. With most digital copies, you own nothing, and the publisher maintains the right to pull the plug whenever they see fit. Most gamers aren’t ready to completely let go of physical media… at least not on dedicated systems from companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. Sure, the iPhone is an all-digital handheld, but remember – everyone owns an iPhone, and most of the games are dirt cheap.

Click to read more ...