Video Games

Ten Anticipated Games of 2017

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

I’m just gonna get this out of the way – 2016 sucked. I don’t specifically mean in terms of videogames either – it just sucked, both in general and on a personal level. It’s easy to take one look at the state of the world and think that there’s no point anymore; it’s easy to just give up and lock ourselves away and wallow in our own misery.

But while it is important to be aware and not be ignorant to what’s going on outside, it’s also important to still enjoy yourselves; it’s important to make yourself happy. There’s no shame in allowing yourself to feel joy, whether you get that feeling from family, friends, music, films and, of course, videogames. Continue reading →

Random Rankings – The Ace Attorney Series

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the Ace Attorney series

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I’m just gonna get to the point immediately here – I frigging love the Ace Attorney series. It’s hands down one of my favourite videogame franchises because of its writing, its characters, its mysteries, its style and the fact that it makes the courtroom seem awesome. I’ve watched legal dramas before on TV that make the whole “lawyer” thing seem cooler than it really is but Ace Attorney has the added bonus of making you, the player, feel awesome too.

So, since this month marks the series’ 15th anniversary, I figured now would be the time to see how each game stacks up against each other. Which one do I love the most, which one do I love the least and which ones go in between? Continue reading →

Five Disappointing Videogame Crossovers

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

There’s something about crossovers that’s just inherently exciting. The idea of taking two or more different franchises or characters and having them interact is something that’s been capable of generating headlines and making fans wet themselves in delight for years, whether it be in comic books, films or videogames. Which is why it’s so irritating when a crossover ends up not delivering.

Whether it be due to a poor story, lack of imagination, the franchises in question not gelling together very well or those involved having no proper understanding of how to make it work, some crossovers fail to be the spectacular clash of titans they were meant to be and are instead bland, unassuming and, overall, disappointing. And here are five examples I’ve personally seen within the world of videogames; ones that contain a plethora of mistakes that, hopefully, future videogame crossovers won’t make. Continue reading →

Kirby: Planet Robobot – Get in the Robot, Kirby!

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

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It’s weird how quickly fans of the Kirby series were willing to accept the idea of the pink puffball piloting a robot. Normally, a deviation from the norm is a sure-fire way to incite unwarranted anger in people. I mean, look at some other franchises.

When The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was announced with its cel-shaded graphics and kid-friendly appearance, it was immediately deemed by some fans as the worst game ever. When Banjo & Kazooie made their triumphant return with some weird racing-but-not-really-racing game, gamers everywhere vomited profusely at the mere sight of it. And do I even need to mention how nearly every Sonic the Hedgehog game since the early 2000s splits the fanbase in half?

Yet with this title, Kirby: Planet Robobot, nobody seemed to have a bad thing to say about the idea. I’m sure there’s at least one person who saw the inclusion of a robot as some kind of assault on their childhood but I personally never saw any criticism regarding the concept. But was all this acceptance well placed? Were we right to be so confident in this new idea? Well, that’s what this review’s all about. Continue reading →

Five Videogames That Should Get Rhythm-Action Spin-Offs

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

As I mentioned in the Dancing All Night review, I’ve developed a fondness for rhythm-action games over the last few years. I can’t quite pinpoint where it started nor can I say why I enjoy playing them. Maybe it’s because I feel like I’m contributing to the music itself despite not being musically inclined at all.

Regardless of the reason, games like Dancing All Night make me yearn for other videogames to get a similar treatment – their own rhythm-action spin-offs that celebrate their glorious soundtracks. So, here’s a short dream list of the five games that deserve priority. Continue reading →

Ten Favourite Tracks from Persona 4: Dancing All Night

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the following:

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Persona 4: Dancing All Night

Last week, I wrote a review on the rhythm-action game spin-off Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and while I did touch on the music itself, I kind of wanted to go a bit deeper into it. Like I said in the review, one of my favourite aspects was the dances themselves. Getting to see these characters busting a groove really brings a smile to my face. Combine that with the music itself and you’ve got something that helps give Dancing All Night its own uniqueness and makes it an even more enjoyable game.

So, just because I want to, here’s a quick list of my ten favourite tracks from the game, complete with the dances themselves. Continue reading →

Persona 4: Dancing All Night – Pointless Party or One Last Hurrah?

/ Michael Beckwith / 3 Comments

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Persona 4 is, without a doubt, one of the best JRPGs ever made. Anybody who’s played it will tell you that, which is probably why some people got a bit mad when Atlus started milking the crap out of it. Two fighting games, two different anime series, a crossover with Persona 3 and, today’s subject, a rhythm-action game.

Personally, while I understand some people’s frustration, I had no issues with these because 1. any opportunity to spend more time with these characters was a welcome one for me, 2. the money made from these would help fund other projects (coughPersona5cough) and 3. they were fun to play anyway. And for me, it was, bizarrely, the rhythm-action game that had me most excited.

At the time, I had only recently found myself becoming a fan of the genre thanks to the likes of Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy and the Project Diva games, so having a game like that but with Persona 4 music was a welcome one. But did the game live up to my admittedly lofty expectations? Can someone who isn’t a fan of the series enjoy it? Or does it alienate even the Persona 4 fans? Well, that’s what this review is all about. Continue reading →

Ten Pokémon That Should Be in Pokkén Tournament – Part 2

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

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About a couple of years ago, I wrote an article about some of the Pokémon I would personally love to see in the then upcoming fighting game Pokkén Tournament. Now the game is out on the Wii U for everyone to enjoy and, I have to say, I quite liked the roster it has. Some people have complained that it’s too small and some of the character choices don’t make sense (i.e. two Pikachus and two Mewtwos) but I felt it was decent enough, with a good balance of the popular and the unexpected.

That’s not to say, though, that I wouldn’t want to see more playable Pokémon appear either as DLC or in a potential sequel. And now that I’ve actually played the game, I’ve got a better understanding of how the developers ultimately chose which Pokémon to put in. There’s a lot more potential here than you might think. So, here’s a sequel to that aforementioned article with ten more ideas for playable characters. Continue reading →

The Ten Best Videogames Ever Made (April Fools)

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

It’s been over two years since I started writing these articles, and I think it’s about time I did something I’ve wanted to do for ages – write a list about the best videogames ever made.

Now, this isn’t an opinion piece or anything. This is 100% factual. The raw truth. Because, let’s be honest, all those other “Top Whatever Videogames Ever Made” are all bullshit and built on lies and biased views. This list is completely unbiased and is actually written by somebody who truly understands videogames. I mean, have you seen all those other lists? They just put the same games on them over and over again; games that were never that good to begin with and are only considered good because they got a billion good reviews that were probably bought anyway.

But enough ranting. Let’s actually get to what matters – the ten best videogames to have ever been made, in order of their release. Continue reading →

Steins;Gate – Or Why Time Travel is a Bad Idea

/ Michael Beckwith / 2 Comments

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Opinions are a funny thing, aren’t they? We all have them, we love to share them and, for some reason, we can’t fathom the idea of somebody else having one different to ours. But possibly the most bizarre thing about them is how they can change. We can go from liking something to hating it and vice versa. It’s all very weird. Why am I bringing this up? Because of my experience with today’s subject, Steins;Gate.

Now, Steins;Gate isn’t an old game that I played as a child and am now looking at to see if it holds up or anything. It only came out in Europe last summer (though it originally came out in Japan in 2009), but it sticks out as possibly being the only game I’ve played where my opinion of it radically changed whilst I was playing it. Such an oddity deserves to be documented and shared with others. I guess you could say this is the will of Steins Gate itself. Let’s get started, shall we? Continue reading →