Toomanywires

The Best & Worst of 2021 /  2020  /  2019  /   2018  /  2017  /  2016  /  2015  /  2014  /  2013  /  2012  /  2011  /  2010 I've been struggling to come up with the defining feature of my relationship with games in 2022. Something succinct and consistent that runs through my recent gaming habits, one that I can reference in this introduction. A reflection of another twelve months in video games. After significant pondering, I landed on continuation. For the most part, things have stayed the same from 2021 to 2022, for better and for worse. Yes, that's it. Continuation. Many of the trends from recent years continued in 2022, including my gradual and unplanned drifting away from the PlayStation brand, and a near-total preference for digital over physical, both of which would've been unthinkable just a few years ago. The "next-gen", a misnomer that I still favour for an era that is now over two years old, continues to lag, though I must say that 2023 is looking v

I was going to ask for a Sega Mega CD for Christmas 1996. A terrible idea given that it was a failed add-on to a last-gen machine, but I'd become accustomed to being a generation behind. I'd received a Master System II for Christmas in the early 90s, at a time when the Mega Drive was readily available and some of my cooler friends already had one. Didn't matter, as I loved my Master System and didn't pay much attention to the cutting-edge. On December 25th 1994, I got a Mega Drive II. I was finally joining the 16-bit era, just as the 32-bit gen was getting started. Again, didn't care; loved it. It made sense that I'd remain behind in my console ownership. I'd seen the Mega CD talked up in my Sega magazines, and although I don't recall being greatly fussed about any one game, I do remember being impressed by the mature artwork for Snatcher that I'd seen plastered on a full-page ad in one of my well-read mags. Ultimately, I was talked out of it by frie

Sara, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I had committed to a strategy that would bring my enemy, Xaebos, to his knees, one that left Sara, my lone ninja, exposed on the right wing, dealing with rogue mages and healers. That would be her unraveling. She fell on the battlefield, out of reach of my healers and out of luck. Usually I wouldn't accept the loss of a main unit, and would restart to avoid that outcome. However, she was lost at the very end of a battle that I had already restarted several times, one that was driving me mad, and therefore I couldn't stomach a do-over. The skirmish had progressed too far to rewind and undo her fate. When a non-core character falls in Tactics Ogre: Reborn, a remaster of the SRPG classic, you have three rounds in which to revive them. There are a couple of items that'll do the trick, which can only be used by a friendly unit stood right next to their downed ally, or by a costly spell wielded by a healer. Once those three rounds have

When I close my eyes I see gems. Blue, green and red, burnt into my retinas like a Pac-Man maze on an old CRT. I played far too much Vampire Survivors over the last few weeks. As have you, most likely. From my very first session, underpowered and overwhelmed, I understood the concept of Vampire Survivors. I immediately got how it would develop; what would be expected of me was made abundantly clear from how that first run unfolded, without the need for tutorials. It teased the potential of boosts and bonuses, and threw waves of enemies at me that I couldn't yet endure. Over time, and dozens of runs, the struggle for pure survival would be replaced by more nuanced concerns like builds, and how quickly I can stack bibles, garlic, and wonderfully destructive doves. It transforms from a desperate, often doomed attempt to last the full thirty minutes, to an exercise in how you choose to outlast it. Struggle gives way to style, and VS evolves into a different type of game. I never tired

The PlayStation 3 is my favourite console. There, I said it.  It arrived at the perfect time, when my long-held interest in games was kicking up a gear. I had started writing about them, and hanging out with like-minded people. I had both the time and the disposable income to enjoy that moment to the fullest - I had every major console of that generation, and I made the most of them. But most importantly, there was a plentiful supply of games that I loved, games that I still return to now. Sure, the PS3 was flawed, and Sony spent the first half of that gen shooting itself in the foot over and over, but the body of work is undeniable. If you need a reminder, see my Best of the Seventh Gen series or my one sentence write-ups for 180 PS3 games . Nostalgia has already well and truly kicked in for the seventh generation, but the used-game market has yet to fully catch on. PS3 is junk-retro, not proper retro, and this is reflected in the basement prices you can pick up most games for today.

It's been nine years since I last wrote a straight-forward review. The subject of that last write-up was Persona 4 Golden, a game deserving of a thousand write-ups. Triangle Strategy isn't P4G, but it has inspired me to write a review. This is that review. Triangle Strategy is an SRPG cut from the same cloth as personal-favourites Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics. We follow Seranoa Wolffort, the son of a lord and the loyal vassal of the king of Glenbrook. Glenbrook is one of three domains that coexist in a state of hard-won but paper-thin peace. An opportunity to strengthen the bonds between their kingdom (muscle), Aesfrost (iron and industry), and Hyzante (salt and religion) goes awry and the land is soon consumed by war. Young Searanoa has to grow up fast, as difficult decisions must be made about where to go and who to ally with. The choices you make are interesting ones, and the outcomes are rarely obvious. Most interestingly, there are few clear distinctions between

Tokyo Game Show 2022 is now but a distant memory. I played games, I wrote words: Day One Round-up Day Two Round-up Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Reunion Hands-on Resident Evil Village VR and PSVR 2 Hands-on Exoprimal Hands-on Street Fighter 6 Hands-on All things considered, it seems to have been a successful return for TGS. Of course attendance was down, but that's to be expected given that we're still mid-pandemic and the current gen continues to stall. Anyway, it's time to wrap up coverage with the last of my hands-on impressions, this time for Sonic Frontiers, Like a Dragon: Ishin, and Forspoken. Sonic Frontiers perhaps had the biggest presence of any game at TGS. Or at the very least, the most visible. Sega's was the first major booth we saw as we descended the stairs into the belly of the show, and smack bang in the middle of that booth was a fifteen-foot high inflatable Sonic. Is this 2022 or 1992, you might have asked. Sonic Frontiers received its fair share of fla

You can find all my Tokyo Game Show coverage  here The latest build of Street Fighter 6 was available at TGS, and of course I partook.  I enjoyed it so much that I tried it twice. On day one, I fought against another TGS attendee, and we had our pick of Guile, Juri, Ryu, Chun-Li and Luke, as well as brand new brawlers Jamie and Kimberly.  On day two, when I played on my lonesome, I also had the option of selecting Ken, who may or may not be homeless, but is definitely getting divorced. Disclaimer: I don't really follow Street Fighter. I don't tune in to EVO or have any great interest in getting good. Regardless, I really enjoy the series, and have for years. I've been playing (badly) since SF2 Championship Edition on the Mega Drive, which I played with my 3-button controller. That should tell you a lot about my approach to the series! Some people play Street Fighter for the mechanics. They want to master them, to learn every nuance and intricacy. I'm not those people. W

You can find all my Tokyo Game Show coverage  here Most show-floor demos last 15-30 minutes. Enough time to gather the important details and get a feel for what the game is or isn't. Enough to whet your appetite without eating up too much of your time.  With Exoprimal, Capcom were having none of that. I joined the line and the staff immediately came over to explain that the demo would be sixty minutes and that I would need to stay for the duration. I paused, as that's time I could spend trying other demos, before confirming that I would stick around. While an hour is a big ask at TGS, I'm glad I made the commitment. Exoprimal is a multiplayer, third-person shooter. Hordes of dinosaurs have been pouring through portals and causing mayhem all over the world. As an exofighter, you have been selected and trained by an AI named Leviathan to push back against the reptilian tide. Perfectly nonsensical. Our demo was on PC, and most of it pitted two teams of five against each other,

You can find all my Tokyo Game Show coverage  here I don’t have my VR legs.  I've only experienced a few hours of PlayStation VR over the years. While I've certainly enjoyed what I have played, I've never been close to buying one. I can't accurately compare and contrast headsets, speak authoritatively on specs, or spend much more than fifteen minutes in VR before I need to take a break. However, I do have lots to say about my hands-on with Resident Evil Village VR and the recently-announced PlayStation VR 2! It was the hardest demo to gain access to on both TGS press days. Event staff were pleading with sprinting journalists to slow the fuck down, as they legged it to the Capcom booth as soon as the main doors opened. Those losers should've just woken up fifteen minutes earlier and gotten a spot near the front of the general-entry line, like I did. Doors opened, I walked briskly over to Capcom, got my ticket and was wearing a PSVR 2 an hour later. The PSVR 2 instant