QCF: Legasista

Dungeon crawlers have been touch-and-go as of late. Sure, they’re addictive and they’ll quench the thirst of anyone who’s looking for a hearty challenge, but boy, they can be a burn. Where the genre became insipid, however, was the frequency of these all too similar experiences, and their releases lumped in so closely with one another. Refreshment is in the air for this once ambitious genre, and its name is Legasista.

From NIS America, Legasista tells of a tower covered in an ivy growth that climbs to the heavens; in it is an ancient weapon capable of granting miracles and unleashing utter destruction. Grounding the conventions of the dungeon formula, Legasista outlines its intentions pretty clearly to bridge the gap of accessibility for the obtuse crawler types. The story of one boy and his task to undertake the ultimate sacrifice hits most targets and marks a stimulating sign of the dungeon crawler heading in the right direction.

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QCF: Way Of The Samurai 4

As the ferryman paddles the boat to dock, a ronin departs the floating vessel, setting foot into the villiage of Amihama, a town rife with tense conflict. The violent dispute is a direct response to Japan’s transition of isolationism to active foreign diplomacy, and the warriors to lead the challenge are a group of Radical nationalists, the “Disciples of Prajna,” the Shogunate government, and British diplomats. Each of the groups being at odds with one another, The ronin plays a deciding factor towards the destiny of Japan, and his actions will forever alter the fate of Japan.

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Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 56 - Kyuiin

Space fighters and heavily-armed mecha are overrated, especially when you have the utter destructive power of a.... vacuum cleaner??

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QCF: Rainbow Moon

Rainbow Moon is a strategy RPG exclusive to Sony’s Playstation Network. The game was developed by SideQuest Studios and published through EastAsiaSoft in July, 2012 for both European and North American territories. Boasting forty hours of content for $15, Rainbow Moon almost seemed too good to be true.  After spending the better part of two weeks with it, I’m happy to report that Rainbow Moon delivers.

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Sonic Wings Special REVIEW (PSN) - Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 54

Sonic Wings (AKA Aero Fighters) has been a fan favorite for almost 20 years. Monkey Paw Games brings us the enhanced 32-Bit version of Sonic Wings Limited as Arcade Hits: Sonic Wings Special. But in today's advanced shooting game batt;efield full of Akai Katanas and Eschatoses, does this PSOne (and Sega Saturn) Import entry in the series hold up, or will you need those rose-tinted glasses after all? 

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QCF: Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown

Swift smash cuts electrify the screen as Virtua Fighter’s darling poster child, Akira Yuki, performs his signature Hakkyoku-ken attacks to demonstrate a raw display of strength in Sega-AM2’s latest production, Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown. It’s been four years since we’ve seen Virtua Fighter hit the scene. And even though it’s been quiet on the western fighting front, the land of the rising sun has been treated to additional content and refinements that we’ve been missing out on up until Final Showdown. However, with the act of annual fighting game re-releases becoming a trend this generation, is Final showdown is worth your hard-earned space bucks?

The simple answer is a yes -- a hard hitting, mind-blowing yes.

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QCF: Awesomenauts

What the heck is a MOBA? Well, apparently it stands for "Multiplayer Online Battle Arena". I learned something today, because it just so happens to be exactly what Awesomenauts is.

Developed by Romino Games and published by DTP on XBLA and PSN, Awesomenauts is basically an 80's-Cartoon-themed, side-scrolling, run-and-gun-styled online demolition match. Sounds... well, awesome, right? Woah there, just settle in for a bit. We'll get to how awesome this game is in a second. As for anyone looking for an in-depth single player campaign with an involved story? You need not apply. The extent of your single player experience will literally be practice stages versus bots in preparation for actual online play and for the most part, the experience is identical.

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tagged Awesomenauts, MOBA, Online, PS3, PSN, Side Scrolling, XBLA, Xbox Live | in QCF Reviews

QCF: Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II

 

Just shy of two years and having some releases in between, Sonic Team and Dimps join up again to release the next installment of their episodic series, Sonic The Hedgehog 4. Touted as the spiritual successor to Sonic CD, Episode II promises an experience catering to both new and old fans (the way Episode I intended to). But after two years, is it really worth the same excitement we wasted the first time around? Yeah, actually -- it’s worth that and a bit more.

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