Nuclear Throne
Nuclear Throne was a nice little surprise from Sony at PSX. Getting my hands on it, having heard nothing but good things, I’m happy to say that Nuclear Throne is pretty much exactly the kind of “Rogue-Like” I need in my life. It’s got randomly generated levels, different characters with different skills, tons of different abilities to pick up as you go, plenty of weapons to toy around with, and just a crushing difficulty.
Seriously. Take no prisoners here. Reaching the “nuclear throne” is by no means a simple task. There is something to the give and take of aiming, shooting, dropping weapons and repeating it all again. It’s like The Binding of Isaac but much more focused, and kind of on steroids. The speed here is breakneck and the difficulty window is much more punishing. Sure, Spelunky and Isaac don’t forgive either, but your window to mess around was at least a little wider. That makes the runs here brief and heart-throbbing, every time.
It’s a fun little rogue like that I wish I could play on my Vita. God willing I get a new second along stick for that thing soon.
~~~~Alex
Final Fantasy VII
Listen, I understand. I really do. I was in the room when they showed that Final Fantasy VII remake gameplay. I know, probably better than most, how the stoked is turned up to 11 at this point. I’m excited, you’re probably excited, hell even Nabeshin is excited (because it plays more like Kingdom Hearts). But let me tell you a little bit about a game called Final Fantasy VII [not remake].
I know FF7 gets a lot of hate. I get it. It’s kind of a fad to hate on the game with terrible, terrible pop-eye arms (I’m looking at you Nabeshin). What I love about the game is more of the format. It’s kind of an early adaptation of that LOST format in video games. Before I lose any of you, hear me out. It’s one of those titles that focuses on each character, one by one. It’s a really common format for just about any kind of media now, including video games, but it FF7 definitely doesn’t get enough credit for trending it. You see Barrett’s story, Yuffie’s story, Tifa’s, Vincent’s, Cait Sith’s, and then finally, Cloud’s.
Say what you will about liking the crazy complicate plot or the mooding and brooding characters, you can’t knock the combat in this. The materia system just worked, while maintaining the fine balance of complex but not impossible to understand. Limit breaks were just as awesome as they sound, and the satisfaction of pulling off omnislash is still one that holds today. If you can get past the blocky graphics, Final Fantasy VII is a fantastic RPG and one worth playing to this day.
~~~~Alex
Batman Arkham Knight: Season of Infamy
After what I felt was a profoundly disappointing content of single player DLC from Batman Arkham Knight where it felt soulless, short, and almost completely unnecessary, Season of Infamy has redeemed what I liked from not only the initial› game but the series in general. Batman going against near impossible odds with unique level design and detective puzzles to solve. Going to the heart of certain characters like Mr. Freeze and Ra’s al Ghul dealing with the decisions of who they are was fascinating and fighting Killer Croc and The Mad Hatter was just plain fun.
90% of Batman Arkham Knight’s Season Pass may be unfulfilling, but Season of Infamy and A Matter of Family separately serve to prove why Rocksteady is one of the best video game studios in the business.
~~~~Nabeshin
