Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP) Review

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While I always liked the idea of these games, my past with them have been a bit tumultuous. I bought this and First Voyage for the PSP at close to the same time and I played the original long ago. Simply put I loved it, even with the incredibly stupid/cheesy reason for the last boss. So when I bought a PS3, I already wanted Star Ocean: The Last Hope for it (Star Ocean 3 was going to be next to impossible to find, so I took what I could get). And when I played it, well… I was far from impressed with. But when the dice selected this as a possible game, it had my curiosity. After all, with the steep difference between what I played in the portable game vs it’s sever-iteration later sequel, I could only wonder if the game’s were good until then, or if it was a slope of sequels that got worse as they went on. After finishing this game, I believe it could well have been just Last Hope that was just that bad.

Also, please note, that by the time I played this game, my PSP had basically died. While it was in the process, but I could at least get the disc drive to work some of the time, so I hacked it and fought to get my small library to file. As such, I played this game via emulator with a 360 controller, so your experiences may vary some from my own.

Deponia (PC) Review

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Since switching to the new dice system to pick my next game, this was the first time it wasn’t especially kind to me. I didn’t find anything I was especially excited to play and it probably didn’t help I was picking a game about 2 hours before the end of the Extra Life 24 hour gaming marathon. Still, this game stood out from the list. I had picked it up during one of gog’s larger sales out of curiosity, and where the marathon had me finishing Corpse Party, I decided I wanted something funny. I did enjoy this one, but it has some tendencies that are just a complete let down.

DmC: Devil May Cry (PC) Review

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EDIT: With Capcom's move to add DRM to their old games, they have proven a will to ruin their old stuff, which I can not support. When the DRM (Enigma Protector) is triggering antiviruss all over the place because of it's relation to straight up MALWARE, I am calling it. Consider this game and any other Capcom game broken (0/10) until further notice.

I’m going to have to be honest here. I’m not showing up as a fan of the franchise. Yes, I was aware of it, but I did honestly didn’t care a hell of a lot about it when it originally launched on the PS2. This was at that time when I had migrated away from consoles entirely in favor of games my PC had to offer. The game just didn’t draw my attention.

So when this version came out, I didn’t have any expectations of it aside from what the trailers showed me. I knew it would be an action game and it would be a combat heavy title, but what really drew me in was the world. Watching the demonic influence mutate the land in real-time while fighting enemies, I was interested… and when I got a good deal, I picked the game up. Having finished it just about at the end of my Extra Life marathon, I was not disappointed.

Corpse Party (PC) Review

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Here it is, the grand-daddy of indie horror games itself. If you enjoy this genre of games, this cult-hit is one of the first to make a real splash when it arrived. As such it is now a game that is available on just about every modern portable platform and the PC. When I found this one on sale, I knew I was picking it up to see what the fuss was about. And in the spooky month of October, it was a no-brainer when random chance called it to one of the 10 games I could play after the last spooky game: Close Your Eyes. But where that one left me disappointed, this game lived up to the hype. Come on inside.

Close Your Eyes (PC) Review

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There are times curiosity and a cool theme gets the best of you. This would be one of those times for me. When I saw the first trailer, I saw the potential for something interesting to be hiding behind the artwork it showed off, which wasn’t that bad, if done in what looked like crayons. And with it being a free game, there was no reason I should not add it to my list of games. And now for Halloween, the random selection brought it to the forefront. How could I refuse?

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army (PS3) Review

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When I discovered Persona 3 years ago, I discovered Atlus for the first time. And I absolutely loved their creation. To this day it’s still one of my favorite RPGs, so… not a bad first impression. By the time I played Persona 4, I understood the games were a spin-off of another franchise called Shin Megami Tensei which we never got the first entries of because SNES games in the day when Nintendo of America REALLY hated bringing over anything with a base in religion, but I was interested in trying a game or two we could get… and the sequel to this very title just launched, so of course I had to have it. (Raidou-Jack still sits on my desk at work.)

Fast forward a few years and several games from this franchise in my library later, however, I still only had part 2… that is until I found this title on PSN dirt cheap. How could I resist?

Metroid 2: Return of Samus (3DS) Review

Overall, I have always loved this series. Yes, it has had some SERIOUSLY major problems as of late (like Metroid Other M), but ever since I was a little kid, this was the series I wanted to play on my NES. I borrowed the original from my childhood friends so often I think they got through my entire collection and when this game came out, I seriously wanted to trade in the NES to get a gameboy… just for this game.

But since that never happened, I didn’t get to try this game till years later when with a complete boxed copy on my shelf sat along side a ROM on my PC, but I was trying to play on a Gravis Pro, and if anyone here remembers just how loose and god-awful that controller’s rocker switch was, you already know how bad I was going to find it. But recently, I decided with the official remake coming out soon, and having adored AM2R (seriously this is my current favorite 2D game in the series and second only to Prime 2 Echoes for the entire franchise), I wanted to give it a shot. So, I downloaded the game to my DS and began to play at the gym. As I finish I’m glad I took the time to play this.

Extra Life Update

As September comes to a close we get ever closer to that November 4th game-date, and things are starting to pick up! Unfortunately totals we are at right now are not really available, but with over 25 thousand people signed up, we are definitely off to a good start. And that goes for us as well. As I type this, we have brought $450 to the table for the kids and are starting to get close to the range we hit last year!

But we still have a ways to go to meet and beat that goal, which we obviously want to do. And we will certainly need your help to do so! So what can you do? Well if you see that thermometer to the side of this post, that is a link to our team’s extra-life page, where you can pick a player to donate to or even to the team directly. I will be honest, I do not know how that works as I only realized it was possible this morning, but anything you want to do to help us help the kids is more then appreciated.

INSIDE (PC) Review

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I have looked forward to playing this game for a while. Back when PlayDead burst on the scene with Limbo as an Xbox 360 exclusive, I will admit I was a little jealous. And when the game hit PC after their exclusivity deal with Microsoft expired, I couldn’t wait to play it myself. Suffice it to say, I loved it. I thought it’s only real major issue was that it was too short and I wanted more when it was over. So when I found out this studio was releasing a new game, I was excited. But, by the time the game came out, I had reached the point where my backlog is actually big enough that unless I need the game in physical form on my shelf, I just don’t need to get the game at launch anymore… ever.

But that does not mean those games leave my radar, and this game joined my library earlier this year, and when I finished up with the absolutely terrible Serious Sam 2, I needed something that promised to be amazing to wash that taste away… yeah, I chose VERY well.

Serious Sam II (PC) Review

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Oh boy… where do I even start this game? This game is known to be the black sheep of the Serious Sam titles. But the first two games were so good, I could easily see an “ok” game take this title. In fact, my favorite series only enforced this with the much maligned Deus Ex: Invisible War. So, when I found this game on sale for literally a dollar and a half, I figured “what the hell” and added it to my collection. And in the name of the 100 Days of Gaming for Extra Life, I picked it up to play for anyone who cared to watch. I’m sorry… I mean, I hope you enjoyed it, but…. I was horribly wrong about this abysmal title and I am so sorry.

The Talos Principle (PC) Review

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This was a long time coming. When I first saw this game, I knew it was going to make it’s way into my collection and playtime eventually. The broken world with a promise of finding out what happened and a mysterious tower the trailers already forbid you from looking into had me hooked immediately. At this time I didn’t know or care what you played as… these mysteries had my attention. Add to this curiosity about how well the makers of Serious Sam could do with a puzzle game, and I wanted in. I'm not disappointed.

Xenogears (PS3) Review

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When I first heard of this game, I was in college and some buddies were finishing it up. At the time, it looked cool, but I made note of it for later, as I had much more on my PC I wanted to get to. But I never forgot the game, so when I found out the prequel games were coming out for PS2, I decided to start there, but that proved an utter mistake as I found the game used the strategy guide as an extra-expensive manual. Still, that did not mean I didn't want to play this one, so when I could get it on PSN, I jumped. Now, as I’ve finally played through the whole 90 hour adventure, I have to say… I’m glad I did, but I’m not to sure everyone should.

Afterfall Insanity (PC) Review

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This one has been waiting a long time. When I first saw the trailers, I was enthralled. After all, I have always enjoyed creepy games and at the time, they were fairly few and far between. Still it wasn’t exactly rave review material when it came out and it was at a time when I still felt I could trust the reviewers, so I held back till it was on sale and when I did get my hands on it, I put it into my steam collection where it would reside till I felt ready to play.

Now when I pick my next game I generally do so by process of elimination via dice till I have reduced my choices to 10, but two weeks ago, those dice were not so kind to me. Still, this little title was among those games and promised to be something interesting… well, it at least lived up to that for a while, but this is not a game anyone really needs to play.

Tales from the Borderlands (PC) Review

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This is a game that has been “requested” by bot Max and friends of the site. And yes, requested does need the quotes. When I finished Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, I began to look over my list of games and warm up my dice to pick the next one, but this plan of action was not meant to be, as (admittedly playful) death threats began to appear in my personal facebook page from pretty much everyone involved. The motivation was simple… they wanted me to be ready for an eventual Borderlands 3. I still am not sure this preparation warranted such drastic actions, but the game was known to be fairly short, so I indulged them. Was it a good idea? Come on inside.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PC) Review

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Tonight we have a look at the latest entry in a series I have been a fan of for a very long time. Unfortunately, we are also looking at perhaps the last game in the franchise for a good long while. And while I can point directly at Square and their behavior as to why this game failed, we are here to check out the game itself. And… well, it’s a tough one to call. I’m really not sure if I want to call this a swan-song or a train-wreck, as it seems to be equal parts of both.

Extra Life Raffle is Dead.

Well, it was fun while it lasted, and we did plan to do it again, but…. that can not happen anymore. Changes Valve has made to the Steam Gift system have just rendered our yearly raffle impossible.

Knights of Pen and Paper (PC) Review

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Almost anybody who grew up as a gaming nerd knows the story. You and a bunch of friends find a good day to gather together, be it in one of your basements, dorm rooms, or even first apartment, depending on how old you were at the time. There might be snacks. There might be a stereo playing background music. There might even be pre-set recordings based around the event to set the mood. But what would be there no matter what was always the same: a rulebook, a lot of character sheets, some dice, and a great time collectively telling a tale where each member of the group would take a hero through an adventure as told by the dungeon master (DM) who ran the game session everyone was excited to get started with.

That is the story of this game.

Gaming Myths: NO GAMES (for the WiiU)!

We’ve all heard this myth before, regardless of what platform we choose to play. It seems no matter what you play, someone will try to tell you there are no games to play on it. But, is this true? For any given platform? I want to look at each current platform to see if there are any this really applies to. Let’s start with the one about to lose this status: the WiiU

Gaming Myths: Price of PC

It’s been a long time since I’ve written an article on this page that is not either a game review or an update for Extra Life, but seeing as I am currently in the middle of multiple games (reviews could be a while), I’ve been itching to change that. And to be honest, this has probably been a long time coming. If you spend any amount of time on gaming sites or in hobbyist youtube channels and the like, you will see some serious ignorance. I think it’s time to do our best to debunk some of the myths we are aware of. Today, I want to start with PC prices.

With a New Year, Extra Life ALSO Begins Anew

Happy New Year everyone! I can only hope everyone had a fun time this weekend celebrating the end of 2016. I know I did as me and the crew for this site got together for drinks, gaming, and way too much Rick & Morty. But we did so celebrating two points.

On a personal note, we here smashed our own personal record as we managed to bring in $670 on our own, but while this was a nice personal achievement for the year, it was nothing compared to what Extra Life in total managed in this 2016 run. I am pleased to announce to anyone who has not yet heard that 2 days before the end of the year, we as a total gaming community managed to bring $9,000,000 to help sick children in our local hospitals.

But on such a note, the even has drawn to a close… and 2017’s run has begun with the new year and we, of course are eager to be a part of it. More announcements will come, but as of now, I wanted to share our team page. So please, if you wish to donate and help us begin again, you can choose a player to donate under here or find them under the roster tab when you click the new thermometer!

Obviously, more news will follow, but for now I am just glad for those who had a great holiday and honored to have been a part of such a magnificent event… and knowing we can make this year even more so.