S&S Thoughts On: Wii U (Console)

Title: Wii U
Release Date: November 18, 2012
Developer: Nintendo
Manufacturers: Foxconn, Mitsumi and Nintendo
Price: $299.99 (Basic) / $399.99 (Deluxe)

Being the first of three major developers to release a new console is surely no easy task, yet Nintendo has managed to do just that rather successfully. Despite some minor system flaws, the Wii U is a spectacular piece of hardware and a great successor to the Wii.

S&S Perspective: Top 5 Indie Games of 2012

My Top 5's are coming to a close now, and I had to include  of my favorite indie games of 2012.  It seems that with every year, indie games continue to improve.  In a congested category, it was easy to pick my favorites from 2012.

S&S Perspective: Top 5 Action/Adventure Games of 2012

Hope you guys and gals have had a happy holiday and have opened a lot of presents, hopefully a lot of those gifts have been featured on any of my Top 5's.  I have finally rated my favorite action/adventure games of 2012, it was pretty tough, but it was clear what my favorite was gonna be.  

S&S Indie Review: Street Fighter X Megaman

Title: Street Fighter X Megaman
Format: PC
Release Date: December 17, 2012
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Independent
Price: Free
ESRB Rating: E

Street Fighter X Megaman is a new fan made homage to a couple of Capcom's biggest franchises.  Any fan of the old school Megaman games will feel right at home with this new downloadable title.  

S&S Mobile Review: Pocket Planes

Title: PocketPlanes
Format: iOS, Android
Release Date: June 14th(iOS)/ September 22nd(Android)
Publisher: NimbleBit (iOS), Mobage (Android)
Developer: NimbleBit LLC
Price: Free
ESRB Rating: 4+

S&S Indie Review: Thomas Was Alone

Title: Thomas Was Alone
Format: PC (reviewed), Mac
Release Date:12th Nov
Publisher:Mike Bithell
Developer: Mike Bithell
Price: $9.99
ESRB Rating: E

Thomas Was Alone, then he wasn't. Seems like a simple enough premise, but this puzzle platformer is more than meets the eye, despite it's block colours and square characters. However, what is it about the game that makes it so good?

S&S Mobile Review: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy

Format: iOS
Release Date: December 11, 2012
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: indieszero
Price: Free
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone (10+)

After its rather successful debut on the 3DS, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy has now found a new home on iOS devices and maintains its core gameplay very nicely. This is a simple yet fun action rhythm game that — despite a few issues — may be worth checking out.

S&S Perspective: Top 5 Video Game Soundtracks of 2012

I've done two Top 5's this week, and I thought I would mix it up a little.  I've discussed my favorite shooters and RPGs for 2012, now I wanted to cover some of the music featured in these games.  I've always been a big fan of video game soundtracks, so this was an easy category for me.  

S&S Perspective: Top 5 RPGs of 2012

If you've had the time to spare, the time consuming RPGs we've had this year have been great.  From Bioware's ending of their epic trilogy, to a couple of Wii exclusives that never ceased to impressed.  I'm sure 2012 gained a number of new fans to genre, whether its a JRPG or a western RPG, this year has been littered with terrific games.  It was a herculean task to try and pick 5 RPGs as the best of the year, but I did.  I'm sure a lot will disagree, just go in with an open mind.  

S&S Perspective: Top 5 Shooters of 2012

2012 has been a big year congested with some of the best shooters we've had to date.  It was hard to stand out in a genre where you received a new game every month, but these five are my favorites from this crazy year.  

S&S Review: Persona 4 Golden

Title: Persona 4 Golden
Format: PS Vita
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Price: $39.99
ESRB Rating: M

With each new release, I continue to gain enthusiasm for the Persona series.  It's one franchise that continues to impress me, and Persona 4 Golden keeps up with that tradition.

S&S Mobile Review: Modern Combat 4

Title: Modern Combat 4
Format: iOS
Release Date: December 6, 2012
Publisher: Gameloft
Developer: Gameloft
Price: $6.99
ESRB Rating: M

Modern Combat has been frequently compared to the Call of Duty franchise, just for the mobile player.  After a number of hours with the game, those comparisons are starting to make perfect sense.  

S&S Indie Review: Robot Legions

Title: Robot Legions
Format: Xbox Live Indie Game
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: November 28, 2012
Developer: Sentry Games
Price: 80 MSP
Rating: Violence = 1/3, Sex = 0/3, Mature Content = 0/3

Robot Legions is a retro styled twin-stick shooter by Sentry Games. At its core it’s a very basic game, but there are some nice features that help it stand out from the crowd. In each of the 18 levels there is a progress bar that shows how many enemy hordes are left before you can clear the stage. The less hits you take and the more efficient your kills are, the more bonuses you earn like cash multipliers. The cash you collect can be used towards new items like armor upgrades, speed, or multishot, among others.

S&S Perspective: Are New IP's Necessary?

Over the past couple years or so we've been given a ton of new games, and a lot of them being sequels.  We've also been given a lot of brand new IP's as well.  While these new games like, Playstation All Stars Battle Royale, Sleeping Dogs, and Dragons Dogma didn't particularly sell the best, you have a lot of new sequels that are whisking off the shelves.  Call of Duty Black Ops II being the most obvious example.  The question is, do gamers care about getting fresh new IP's, or are we satisfied with getting 2 to 3 sequels of franchises that has been around since the previous generation?

S&S Review: Planetside 2

Title: Planetside 2
Format: PC
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment
Developer: Sony Online Entertainment
Price: Free to Play
ESRB Rating: T

The recently released PC exclusive from Sony Online Entertainment brings us an all new MMO FPS unlike anything we've ever played before. An unprecedented amount of players at any given time, and some great visuals make this Free to Play game a no brainer.

S&S Mobile Review: The Walking Dead: Assault

Title: The Walking Dead: Assault
Format: iPhone, iPad
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Publisher: Gamagio
Developer: Gamagio
Price: $1.99
ESRB Rating: M

I'm always looking for new ways to experience the Walking Dead, whether its books, shows, or games.  The Walking Dead: Assault is a new mobile game from Gamagio, and it gives fans another way to play as the survivors and try and survive the zombie apocalypse.

S&S Review: Skyrim Dragonborn DLC

Title: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dragonborn DLC
Format: Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: December 4, 2012
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Price: $20
ESRB Rating: M

The next massive expansion for Skyrim is finally here, and it brings you back to Raven Rock.  For $20 bucks, it looks to be not only the most expensive, but best expansion yet.  

S&S Indie Review: Miasmata

Title: Miasmata
Format: PC
Release Date: November 28, 2012
Publisher: IonFx
Developer: IonFx Studios
Price: $14.99
ESRB Rating: T

Miasmata is an indie survival game from IonFx Studios, and it proves to be unique, in a genre that has been littered with first person indie games.  I didn't really expect much going in, but I was pleasantly surprised when I finished the game.  

S&S Review: Far Cry 3

Title: Far Cry 3
Format: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: December 4th, 2012
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M

Far Cry 3 is the last major release of 2012, and it looks to end the year on a high.  I wasn't the biggest fan of Far Cry 2, but luckily, the sequel is better in every way.  

S&S Mobile Review: Tiny Troopers

Title: Tiny Troopers 
Format: iOS (Reviewed), Android, PC, Mac
Release Date: August 22, 2012
Publisher: Chillingo
Developer: Kukouri
Price: Free
ESRB Rating: 12+
      Do you like real-time strategy games? What about action games? If you said yes to the last two questions than Tiny Troopers is a game for you!

S&S Thought on Skyrim...

Title: Skyrim
Format: PS3, Xbox , PC
Release Date: November 11, 2011
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Price:$59.99
ESRB Rating:M

As an avid PS3 gamer and general person who enjoys video games, I have come to covet Bethesda as a GOTY studio. Pumping out amazing games, my love of Bethesda started with Oblivion (Elder Scrolls), and I soon found Skyrim most pleasing to my adventurer bone that is till took an arrow to the knee… I know a well used and non-gamer puzzling joke but there it is.

S&S Indie Review: Sine Mora

Title: Sine Mora
Format: PC(reviewed), PS3, Vita
Release Date: November 9, 2012
Publisher: Kalypso Media
Developer: Digital Reality
Price: $9.99
ESRB Rating: M 

Sine Mora is a new indie shooter that blends old school side scrolling shoot 'em ups mechanics with some cool time manipulation innovations.   With the recent PC release, it was the perfect time to get my hands on it.  

S&S Indie Review: Cargo Commander

Title:Cargo Commander
Format:PC
Release Date:Nov 1st
Publisher: Digital Tribe Games 
Developer:Serious Brew
Price: $9.99
ESRB Rating: E

In a market which seems to be absolutely over-saturated with platformers, I went into this game with a slight air of cynicism, but I'm extremely happy to say that Cargo Commander surpassed my expectations without any trouble. It was described to me as "a glorified Minesweeper", but is this a fair assessment?