Laos and Nicaragua.
What do these two small nations have in common? Is it pirates? Is it that I had to check the spelling of them twice just to write the opening line to this article?
Or is it the fact that they all have a military budget smaller than what has been raised on Kickstarter for a single game? Read more …
It is that wonderful time of year again. That time when we open up our wallets as offerings to the great Steam gods, throwing money at them as they churn out some of the best deals going for PC games and software. With the beginning of the sale a closely guarded secret until just a day or two before, it is was a pleasant surprise for most gamers to find out that it was happening in June rather than the traditional July, as we’re a notoriously impatient lot and hate waiting for our new toys (hence all the outrage as numerous big budget titles have been pushed back to 2015 over the last few months).
I’m a big fan of conventions. Getting to hang out and meet people with similar interests to you. Getting to see some of the famous people from your current obsession. Browsing the wares of the venders in the market room.
But the best thing about conventions? Its always the costumes. Geeks will put a huge amount of effort into recreating even the smallest details of their favourite character. Whether its getting just the right necklace to making their own badges to even crafting their own shields and swords, there are few costumes that geeks won’t find a way to put together.
I have always really enjoyed the Civilization series, dating back to my first encounter with it in Civ 3 and straight through to today. It is the series that has eaten up the most hours of my life as I take my humble nation and gather my resources slowly but surely until I can poke Ghandi with a stick to the point where he declares war on me and I am able to wipe him and his people off the face of the Earth.
This year is a big one for game developer Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series. The long awaited fifth entry will see its Japanese release later this year with a North American release following sometime in 2015. Along with this highly anticipated sequel, the forth entry will get its second fighting spin-off as well as a… rhythm-dancing game? Sure. Whatever. The point is that it is a game series that is very much coming into its own and is fast becoming one of the most popular in the JRPG genre. Read more …
I’ll get something out there right now before I get too into this article: I’m not a huge fan of casual games. It’s not an elitist thing, as I am generally in favour of anything that gets people playing video games. Anything to take away the stigma that has haunted gamers from the first time I picked up a NES controller in the 80’s, really. And it’s not that I don’t see the appeal of them. I understand that sometimes you just want something to waste a little time when you’re on the train or to obsess over for a few minutes each day before you go to work. Read more …