Office Dog, I Choose You!
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Posted on August 26th, 2019 by
I got another batch of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo figures recently. This time it’s a couple of Pokémon characters and an Animal Crossing star. Let’s take a look at them!
Three Cheers for the 3DS! Part 1: Downloadable Games
Posted on August 23rd, 2019 by
Can you believe the Nintendo 3DS was released 8 years ago in 2011? I don’t like calling a game system ‘dead,’ because I feel a game console in only dead if you don’t play it. But the 3DS is certainly at the end of its retail life cycle, as Nintendo isn’t making any more games for it, focusing solely on the Switch now. So when a game console or handheld reaches that point in its life, I like to write a blog or two highlighting the best games for it (or at least the ones I really liked). So here are some blogs about the best games on the 3DS! There were SO many that I had to split it into two parts. The first part we’re going to go over my favorite downloadable games, along with some other features of the 3DS I really liked.
Classic Game Design: From Pong to Pac-Man With Unity, Second Edition
Posted on July 29th, 2019 by
Earlier this year when I went to PAX South, one of the booths I set up a meeting with was Mercury Learning Books. They publish all sorts of educational reading material about how to make games and other electronics. I reviewed a few of those books a while back, which you can read about here. I think my favorite of the books I reviewed was Classic Game Design: From Pong to Pac-Man With Unity. It was written by the same guy who made the Atari arcade classic Crystal Castles, and it was written so well that I bet I’d be able to make classic arcade styled games if I followed the steps in the book. One of the things I was worried about is if the information would become outdated in the books, but I guess I don’t have to worry about it anymore because they made a second edition of it! The Mercury Learning folks sent me that book, too, so I think I’ll do a quick review of it as well.
Cary’s Best Games of 2019 SO FAR Awards Show!
Posted on July 22nd, 2019 by
The year is already half over, so it’s that time for me to do my Best Games of the Year SO FAR Awards Show! Most of the big name games come out in the later half of the year during the holiday season, so sometimes the games that come out in the first six months tend to be forgotten. Well this is where those games get their due! Keep in mind that no outside opinions went into making this list, and since it’s my list, if a game didn’t appear on here, I either haven’t played it yet or it just didn’t appeal to me as much. OK with that out of the way, let’s begin!
Role-Playing Accessories (RPG)
Posted on July 13th, 2019 by
So, you were intrigued by the recent reviews of Starfinder and the D&D Essentials kit and want to know what else you can spend your hard earned cash on. Look no further! Here’s a brief roundup of various other bits and pieces one can purchase to add a bit of zing to a night of RPG gaming.
Dungeons and Dragons Essentials Kit (RPG)
Posted on July 11th, 2019 by
The newest edition of Dungeons and Dragons (known as D&D) burst on the scene in 2014 and this “5th Edition” released by the Wizards of the Coast has never looked back. Thanks to the rise of a large streaming culture, where gamers broadcast their games on Twitch or other streaming media, play of D&D has grown nearly 50% in each of the past two years. A recent announcement states that over 40 million people now play the game, with 9 million of those also watching streamers play their games. While the initial release of 5th Edition included a Starter Set, Wizards of the Coast has gone back to the drawing board and created a new entry-level experience to provide a better on-ramp to the world of Dungeons and Dragons role-playing.
Starfinder Beginner Box (RPG)
Posted on July 9th, 2019 by
Role-playing games are experiencing a huge renaissance, with gamers not only playing but watching other people play on Twitch and other streaming sites. The most popular genre remains high fantasy (think Tolkien or Harry Potter) while other genres, such as space or superheroes, tend to fade into the background. Starfinder is Paizo’s newest RPG, a conglomeration of their popular Pathfinder fantasy game with common tropes found in space operas. As with any complex game, the challenge lies in getting past the initial learning curve. The Starfinder Beginner Box is Paizo’s answer to easing gamers into the setting and rules. Containing everything a group of players need to get started, the Beginner Box is a great way to jump into the Starfinder game at a pretty good value.
Am I Just Too Weird for E3?
Posted on June 14th, 2019 by
So another E3 has come and gone, and it’s another year where I was denied a press pass. Ever since 1996, I was going to E3 pretty regularly, but for some reason a few years ago, they stopped letting me in. And yet somehow I was able to get a press pass last year. But not this time! They may say it’s because the numbers of the site I write for are too low, but I’m beginning to wonder if it’s really because I’m just too weird for E3. And if that statement has you intrigued, then please read on for my unique reactions and commentary on things I read and watched about this year’s show.
Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia
Posted on May 29th, 2019 by
When I was a kid, I read a lot of Nintendo Power. It was Nintendo’s own self-published magazine. But they did more than just magazines, they did strategy guides, too. In fact, I think they helped popularize strategy guides, and theirs were very well written, too. One of their guides was Mario Mania. It was a cleverly disguised guide to Super Mario World, but it also had a large section at the front about the history of Mario up to that point. As a kid, I poured over that guide. And now, nearly 30 years later, there’s another Mario history book making the rounds with the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia. I got it for Christmas, so let’s take a quick look at it!
Unplugged: The Pokémon Card Game Featuring Detective Pikachu
Posted on May 17th, 2019 by
When I was in college and writing game reviews for The Dallas Morning News, the first E3 I went to was when Nintendo was going to release Pokémon in the US for the first time. I knew it would be a big hit, so I requested to my editor that I be in charge of covering everything Pokémon related for the newspaper. He was like, “yeah sure, whatever,” but he did keep his promise for at least a couple of years. I even learned how to play the Pokémon card game so I could cover events and competitions revolved around it. I like to say that Pokémon helped pay my way through college as I was writing tons of Pokémon articles then! It’s amazing to me that Pokémon is still super popular after all this time, even the card game. And now there is a new live action movie out in theaters called Detective Pikachu. To celebrate, the makers of the card game have released a wide selection of Detective Pikachu cards and packages, so today we’re going to look at all of them!
