Author: James Mahoney

It’s that time of year again, folks.  Every “Soulsborne” game is awesome in its own right, but most players would agree that the DLC for these games is the real highlight.  Dark Souls introduced the most interesting plotline of the game, along with (in this player’s opinion) two of the Top 3 hardest bosses in that game.  Dark Souls II took a game that moved away from its predecessor in a number of (most would say disappointing) ways, and brought it back to its roots in a refreshingly challenging manner.  Bloodborne followed suit, adding awesome weapons and bosses like one would expect.  As of this…

What’s better than a cheap game?  How about 7+ cheap games?  The Humble Indie Bundle 17 was just revealed, and it is indie-licious! (I’m so sorry you had to read that, I truly am.) If you’re a PC gamer and somehow don’t know about Humble Bundles, they are a cheap way to do get awesome games on Steam (or DRM-free versions to share with friends!) and do some good for the world while you’re at it.  You pay what you want, choosing how much of your payment is divided between Humble Bundle, the developers, and your choice of one of…

Metroid: Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission are some of the fondest memories of my childhood, with not being able to play any other Metroid games one of the worst memories.  I would have loved to get my shot at the Prime trilogy, and of course the classics that came before my time.  With monster hits such as the original Metroid and the ever-lauded Super Metroid, some might forget the sequel that came between the two, Metroid 2: The Return of Samus.  I’m included in that, as I frequently forget that it even exists, and it certainly did not have a high place on my “plan-to-play” list. It didn’t, that is, until I…

Sometimes, you’ve just had enough.  You’ve died to the same boss over and over, you’ve repeated that fetch quest too many times, or you’ve encountered a glitch that prevents further progress and completing the game.  Whatever the reason, sometimes you just need to take a break.  I’ve noticed in my time a certain sort of guilt that comes with abandoning games, both from myself and others.  I’m going to recount a few experiences that have led me to decide that it is wrong to feel bad for leaving a game unfinished.   The first example from my life is…

In the advent of  the Mini NES announcement and the worrying trend of remakes, reboots and re-releases ever increasing, one thinks back to the games that made them who they are today.  The games that define them, that brought them to the series that they love today.  Every gamer has a story, rife with static-filled MIDI music and low-poly textures.  By today’s standards, the games that defined us back then are highly flawed.  You could never get away with such simple soundtracks and environments that require better imagination than eyesight to appreciate.  Nostalgia is the main selling point for our…

The following article contains spoilers for the film Citizen Kane, the novel A Tale of Two Cities, and these games, in order of appearance: Undertale, Life Is Strange: Episode One, Dark Souls, and Fallout 4. If you read the Wikipedia summary for Citizen Kane, you understand the plot, you know that “Rosebud” symbolizes Charles Foster Kane’s lost childhood and the corruption that led him to his lonely demise, and you’re aware that it’s widely considered to be the greatest film of all time.  If you read the Wikipedia summary for A Tale of Two Cities, you understand the plot,…

This article contains spoilers for the following visual novels: Clannad, Little Busters, Grisaia no Kajitsu, ef – a fairy tale of the two and Katawa Shoujo. I love me a good visual novel.  Pleasing backgrounds and sprites, writing that ranges from light hearted comedy to heart breaking tragedy, and satisfying endings that wrap up both the emotional investment and plot arc.  Those first two elements can be problematic enough on their own (and you aren’t here just for me to complain about poor visual novel writing), but the third one is what I want to focus on today.  Obviously ending a…

I’ve only ever 100%’d one video game in my life.  Maybe you’ll call me a casual or be shocked that it even happened once, but no matter your opinion on the subject, any modern-day gamer knows all about 100% completion of a game.  Normally associated with meta-game achievements or hidden collectables (usually both), 100%ing is the act of doing everything one can possibly do in a video game.  Or, at least, that is what the name implies.  When one really thinks about the concept, however, a few issues with 100% completion arise.   My personal story with 100% completion begins…