10 Characters I'd Like to See in Smash Bros U

One of the great joys of waiting on a new Smash Brothers is the rampant speculation and wishing for new characters to join the series. I fall prey to this desire just like any other fan of the game, and have come up with 10 characters I’d love to see in the newest iteration of Smash. Without further ado, let’s get right to it.

The Truth About Game Reviews

Reviewing a game seems like a relatively cut and dry affair right? Play a video game, tell people how you felt about the video game, and give it a score based on your experience. These reviews give consumers a chance to read another person’s perspective on a game before it comes out, letting them know whether or not they should spend their hard earned money on the title. On its face that seems like a spectacularly simply idea that seems to be prone to people endlessly trying to further complicate it. While I’m no veteran on the topic, I’ve only been doing this for a site for around 2 years, I felt the need to speak up and tell you exactly what goes in to throwing that score up there from a reviewer's perspective. 

PlayStation Vita Vs. Nintendo 3DS: Which Handheld Should You Buy?

Which portable is right for you? Well it certainly all depends on what you want to do with your device, and more importantly, what kind of games you want to experience. The article won’t be discussing tablets or smart phones, though they are a viable alternative of sorts to these systems. If you want to browse the net, read books, watch movies, listen to music or have access to a myriad of apps and bite size gaming than perhaps those options are best for you. Here though we will cover the more core systems that have some of those features, but their main focus is on gaming.

Logan's Poem

Logan finally got to be Zebra of the Week, which he has been eagerly awaiting all year. This is a special week that focuses completely on Logan. He gets to show his favorite books, toys, tell stories and his friends make him a special book. On Wednesday we had to write a poem or letter about Logan for his school and send it to be read aloud. Here it is, be easy on me it was late when I wrote it.

Rant: Violence and Video Games - The Eternal Debate

The whole “video games cause violence” discussion at this point is just exhausting to me.

Rant: Fathers In Media

Pardon me while I climb on to my soapbox for a while. Well, my figurative soapbox as I don't have a physical one to do so with. In fact, those are really hard to come by anymore; seriously when's the last time you've seen a wooden soap box? I digress though.

A Gamers Twas The Night Before Christmas

Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through the house

Were the sounds of gaming consoles, and the clicking of  mouse

Lets Discuss: Assassin's Creed 3 Ending and Future of Series (MASSIVE SPOILERS)

Even though it’s up there in massive capital letters in the title, I feel inclined to warn you again that we will be discussing massive spoilers that will include the ending of Assassin’s Creed 3 (and possibly other games within the series). If you haven’t finished the game yet I highly suggest you do so before reading any further. 

My Fondest Gaming Memories: Final Fantasy 6

There is so much negative nowadays about the game industry that is printed and shared. With unscrupulous game practices like on disc DLC and companies suing beloved gaming advertisement icons, sometimes it's easy to focus on all the bad and become cynical and jaded, forgetting why we love this great  hobby in the first place.  Hopefully this article is a small reminder for you as it is for me.

The Wii U Will Be Just Fine

There are many out there that have anticipated and heralded the doom of Nintendo on a seemingly endless number of occasions (you know who you are). Those individuals would say the venerable company has been on a continuous decline, and then completely abandoned the hardcore fanbase with Wii, and many believe that the Wii U will be Nintendo’s death rattle. Not only do I believe the doomsayers are wrong, but I believe that the Wii U will have good sales, and indeed given the right circumstances could be a smashing success.

Interview: Spicy Horse Games

I recently had a chance to interview the fine folks over at Spicy Horse. First up is a well known developer, American McGee, and the creative director: Benjamin Kerslake. In addition, I got a great chance to get some new information about Spicy Horse's newest game Akaneiro Demon Hunters.

Interview with James Schannep Writer of INFECTED

I was fortunate enough to have a chance to sit down (digitally anyway) with James Schannep, the writer of INFECTED.

The Next Xbox: How Microsoft Can Stay Ahead

When Microsoft released the original Xbox gaming console it was an uphill battle from day one against Sony’s prolific PlayStation brand.  The console was releasing later than the PS2, and though it had more horsepower, third party developers were firmly in bed with Sony and their seemingly unbeatable black box. However, when the newest generation of gaming consoles were introduced, Microsoft hit stores earlier than everyone and released the Xbox 360 as the follow up to their original massive machine. Though the 360 wasn’t the highest selling game console of this generation (that honor goes specifically to Nintendo’s Wii), it is certainly many gamer’s favorite, and early in the generation sold like gangbusters. It was the newest and hottest machine out and it seemed everyone wanted one and all the third party developers wanted to have their games on it.

Interview: Twisted Pixel Games

When one amateur video game article writer has a chance to interview one of his favorite developers he does not say no. We sat down with Jay Stuckwisch, Marketing Director and 2D Artist for Twisted Pixel to find out who that guy is on the spokes of I.R.I.S spokes, the protagonist from the newly shown game LocoCycle, and questions about the mighty beard of Frank Wilson. If you have no idea who Twisted Pixel is shame on you; luckily you can brush up on their awesomeness here at my developer spotlight.

Developer Spotlight: Twisted Pixel Games

Join me as we take a look at one of the best developers for XBLA (or 360 for that matter), and with good reason. Their blend of quarky humor and rock solid gameplay is a complete win in every regard and their purchase is probably the best move Microsoft has made in a long time.

Developer Spotlight: Mistwalker

Hironobu Sakaguchi; if you're a fan of RPG's chances are you'll know this name. The creator of a series that was to be his last foray into video games if it didn't succeed which also shared the gambits name: Final Fantasy. Arguably some of the greatest RPG's of a span of console generations sprung from this man's creative mind as he worked at the venerable Square Enix.

The Problem With Fanboys

Fanboys, by definition in the video game industry, are the raving and rampant champions of their preferred system. Usually fanboys take up allegiance to a certain console and will not only buy pretty much anything that comes out for the system, but champion it across the battlefield of every major forum on the video game website front. They are the first line of defense against any game exclusively coming to one system or the other, and will usually show up in news posts to deride or defend the game; most of the time one that the world hasn’t even played yet. Logic is usually their worst enemy and they will attack you simply for owning a different system, not only insulting your system, but indeed your very way of life. Fanboys are a mean and nasty virus of contempt for anything they don’t own that are holding back the gaming community.

Interview: I Fight Dragons

Recently I did a spotlight on one of my favorite bands. Shortly after I had a chance to sit down with Brian Mazzaferri of I Fight Dragons. As a huge fan of the band I had a hard time not doing a little dance and nerd squee, but I managed to ask him a few questions.

Artist Spotlight: I Fight Dragons

I Fight Dragons is a rock band from good old Chicago IL, but they are so much more than that. The band infuses itself with rock alongside original electric sounds, some pulled directly from old video games. Coming together in 2008, the band has since released 2 EP’s and not too long ago released KABOOM!, their first full length album. What is a cd product spotlight doing on a video game website you might ask? Watch this and you might not have that question anymore.

Product Spotlight: Club Nintendo Hanafuda Cards

Everyone knows Nintendo is the creator of Mario, one of the most beloved video game characters of all time, but not as many know that Nintendo started out as a Hanafuda card manufacturer.