Video Games
Infernax Expands Castlevania 2 and Zelda 2 Designs with Bloody Brutality
I played a ton of games at PAX West back in September. In fact, I had an appointment almost every hour and they were often spread throughout the area. Somehow, I made it every single meeting and while I wasn’t able to share about every single session, there are several that stand out that I still think about. One of those games is Infernax, a violent display of retro-inspired, heavy metal brutalit...[Read More]
Temtem (Pokemon-like MMORPG) First Impressions
There are few things that frustrate me more in gaming than the reluctance to change that’s found in the core RPG Pokemon games. Ever since Ruby and Sapphire, there has been a laundry list of either removed features like an additional region or seemingly obvious improvements like a fast-forward mechanic. I’ve played just about every core Pokemon game multiple times through on top of many rom hacks ...[Read More]
Top Games of the Decade by Year
Wow, another decade has come and gone and along with it came lots of video games! We here at Marooner’s Rock clearly love video games, but it can be incredibly difficult to narrow down the top games of a single year, let alone an entire decade. So we made it slightly easier on ourselves by making a Top Games list where we all got a pick for each year. The result, I think, is a nice collectio...[Read More]
Square Enix shows Two Radically Different Remakes at PAX West 2019
Pop-culture is currently in a state that celebrates remakes and while it can get tiresome I find myself enjoying this type of content. Risks are fewer and remakes have become more and more robust. In games, we’ve seen remakes and remasters many times over with several releases that take the original game and elevates it above and beyond with new technology and gameplay offerings. Capcom knocked it...[Read More]
Best Game Awards at PAX West 2019
There were tons of excellent games spread throughout the Washington State Convention Center during PAX West. So many that it was quite the daunting task for me to narrow down the best of the best. Just know that there are gems I missed. That aside, let’s dive into five of the best games I played at PAX West 2019, with an honorable mention for some cool swag.
Savior, Now on Kickstarter, Radiates Style and Grace
There’s a particular style being displayed in the Kickstarter trailer for Savior, a game being developed by Starsoft. Using a pixelated art direction, Savior echoes of Metroidvania classics and old-school Prince of Persia titles with a focus detailed animation and fluidity of movement. Starsoft claims on their Kickstarter page that the game is in pre-production, looking for a more direct funding s...[Read More]
Best Indie Game Awards at PAX WEST 2019
While PAX West didn’t offer too many major surprises, as many of the big moments were shared a day early or even shortly after the event, there was plenty of games to enjoy, play, and discuss. From the mass of indies at the Indie MEGABOOTH to the hidden gems sprinkled throughout the show floor independent design was fierce at PAX West. We picked six nominations for the Best Indie Game at PAX West ...[Read More]
Netflix Turned Me into a Dark Crystal Fan
Being a child during the 90s, there was a lot of cult-classic 80s films that I missed out on, though my mother owned a ton of classics on VHS that I would pour through. While I was more interested in Power Rangers, Jurassic Park, and my NES, I never was exposed to the Dark Crystal. The few ads I saw for the film at the start of a few of my tapes all kind of creeped me out as I was a sensitive kid ...[Read More]
Telltale Games Makes a Controversial “Revival”
Earlier this week, two businessmen (Jamie Ottilie and Brian Waddle) announced that they had bought Telltale Games’s company name and some of its licenses. Neither of these men had ever worked at Telltale before. Furthermore, the funds for this investment came largely from Athlon Games, a subsidiary of the Chinese game proprietor Leyou, plus from executives who had previously worked with game publi...[Read More]
Super Mario RPG – A Retrospective Video
Growing up in the 90s, I had exposure to some of gaming’s greatest titles at a very young age. This was partly due to my next-door neighbor’s Super Nintendo. With titles like Super Mario World, Mortal Kombat, and Donkey Kong Country, gaming immediately got its hooks in me! My neighbor wasn’t the type to get new games, leaving us with limited options. As a result, that left me with lots of ga...[Read More]
![Shadow of the Tomb Raider - The Grand Caiman [PEGI] 0-50 screenshot](https://b2203835.smushcdn.com/2203835/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Shadow-of-the-Tomb-Raider-The-Grand-Caiman-PEGI-0-50-screenshot-810x300.png?lossy=1&strip=0&webp=1)
![Shadow of the Tomb Raider - The Grand Caiman [PEGI] 0-50 screenshot](https://b2203835.smushcdn.com/2203835/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Shadow-of-the-Tomb-Raider-The-Grand-Caiman-PEGI-0-50-screenshot-80x80.png?lossy=1&strip=0&webp=1)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider Grand Caiman DLC Offers More Than Expected
While the core release of Shadow of the Tomb Raider has been impressive enough in its own right, there’s something remarkable about the downloadable content support that both Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics have given it. We’ve seen some fun additional levels and new ideas that bubbled to the surface, including some involving…the undead? We’ve also seen some great Challenge Tombs, giving playe...[Read More]
What Can Borderlands 3 Learn From Current Looter Shooters?
While the popularity of looter shooters has risen due to the likes of Destiny, The Division, and Anthem, many gamers will say that Gearbox’s Borderlands series is still the pinnacle of the genre. It’s not an understatement to say that Borderlands essentially built the looter shooter craze. Still, the series hasn’t gotten a full release since 2014’s The Pre-Sequel. In the five years since then, the...[Read More]