Category: Features

E3 2018 Predictions: EA Play

On By Brent JohnsonIn FeaturesLeave a comment

With less than two weeks to go, buzz is already building in the lead up to the Electronic Entertainment Expo. With high profile leaks from Walmart Canada, and countdowns counting down to more countdowns, the hype machine is hard at work competing for attention.

But where is the fun in what is already known? The real fun is in setting wildly high expectations and trying to figure out what sorts of strategies and announcements that will be seen in each show.

Electronic Arts holds its EA Play press conference every year in the weekend leading up to the Expo. Here are three predictions of what will be shown this year at the EA Play E3 press conference.

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Under the Light of the Six Moons: Remembering a Forgotten SEGA Classic

On By Frank EslingerIn FeaturesLeave a comment

The swashbuckling adventure story was a popular genre back in the day of pulp serial novels and early film. Noble adventurers facing down the nefarious wiles of a dastardly villain. Treasure filled voyages on the high seas while contending with devilish pirates and fiendish rogues.

Video games haven’t really been able to capture that kind of optimistic and chivalrous adventure, but there was at least one game that stood out from its gloomier, darker contemporaries.

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Dino-Bites: When did the Dinosaurs Live?

On By Frank EslingerIn FeaturesLeave a comment

Humanity has held dominion over the earth for a blink in the cosmic scale. Life has existed on this planet for 3.8 billion years, and we have only been here for around a 100,000 to 200,000 years. Civilization has only been a part of our history for around 5000 years.

The dinosaurs ruled the world for nearly 180 million years.

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Dino-Bites: What is a Dinosaur?

On By Frank EslingerIn FeaturesLeave a comment

Imagine the variety of life on Earth now.

Mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, and so on. They’ve all been here a long time. Through the process of time and evolution they’ve changed drastically.

Some species, like sharks, have barely changed at all in millions of years. But some, like the sparrows and robins in your backyard, and the chickens on the farm down the road, can trace their lineage back to some of the largest and most impressive creatures to ever walk the Earth. The Dinosaurs.

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Most Anticipated 2018 – ‘Code: Vein’

On By Brent JohnsonIn Features1 Comment

Easily my favorite genre of game in the modern era are the Sous-like games. Starting with the fantastic and soon to be remastered Dark Souls and spun off with fantastic takes like Salt & Sanctuary and Ni-Oh. The base formula is simple, you are dropped into a world that does not hold your hand and tasked with fighting enemies that can often kill you with relative ease.

The back and forth of fighting for your life with the constant threat of losing progression makes the player always feel like there is something on the line. That game play loop has become one of my favorite experiences in video games.

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Most Anticipated 2018 – ‘Dreams’

On By Brent JohnsonIn FeaturesLeave a comment

I’ve always wanted to make a game. There’s some solid A+ ideas rolling around in my head about a directed, highly stylized game about a mysterious female protagonist fighting against larger and larger machines in an effort to defend her homeland (This is starting to sound like NieR: Automata and Horizon: Zero Dawn).

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Most Anticipated 2018 – ’13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim’

On By Brent JohnsonIn FeaturesLeave a comment

Some of the best artistic style in games over the last 10 years came from Vanillaware. The Japanese studio uses a cel-shaded style that makes every single frame look like it was straight out of an incredibly detailed manga or comic book. Any Vanillaware game is beautiful to see in motion and is worth viewing for yourself.

Among the standouts would be Muramasa: The Demon Blade on the Playstation Vita, Dragon’s Crown (which is getting a rebuild for PS4 that looks stunning) and Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir. Continue reading “Most Anticipated 2018 – ’13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim’” →

The Japanese Gaming Renaissance

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Video games for much of their infancy were closely associated with the Japanese giants that developed incredible experiences. During much of my childhood the country of Japan and the constant stream of incredible games coming from it went hand in hand. 

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Sleeping Nightmares: Cosmic Horror in Film

On By Frank EslingerIn FeaturesLeave a comment

Imagine sitting in a glass boat floating upon an endless ocean. It’s a dark, moonless night. The light of countless stars twinkle and shine down, illuminating the limitless sea. The water is calm, almost like glass…

Above stretches the infinite void of space, filling the sky. Below the fragile glass vessel is nothing but the inky blackness of the crushing ocean depths.

Floating. Waiting. Vulnerable in the tiny glass boat.

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The Power of the Past: Nostalgia and “Coming Home”

On By Frank EslingerIn FeaturesLeave a comment

Nostalgia is a powerful connection to the things we love.

Through all of our senses, it ties us to our memories. When you smell that food that brings you back to your childhood dinner table. When you hear the song that reminds you of that friend or family-member you don’t talk to anymore. Or even that movie that you saw as a child that conjures memories of those listless summer days when you recreated the hero’s adventures.

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