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RPGs can learn a lot from competitive multiplayer games — and they should

Editorials
3330372 best rpgs of 2017 by score promo 1 2 thumb

There is nothing quite like a good RPG. The open world, expansive quest lines and in-depth levels of customization and choice are each endearing to the genre. That being said, there is a problem within the RPG world that is not being addressed. Well, now it is time to take a gander at that bloated elephant trouncing around the room. RPG games are about as poorly balanced as it gets. RPG is a pretty expansive genre. Everything from Assassin’s Creed to Tomb Raider could fit under the modern definition, making the term nearly meaningless. It has become more of a marketing term to excite casual fans into a frenzy. Simply placing the term “RPG” on a game box seemingly adds the belief that the game will now offer a deeper and more expansive experience. With that in mind, it’s somewhat understandable that marketers want to see it on every game…

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Why so many Features of Kingdom Hearts 3 seem Familiar

Editorials
KH3 Little Chef

Everyone and their mom is playing and loving Kingdom Hearts 3, and as an avid KH fan, I personally love not only the hype but also the game itself! Sadly though this isn’t just another review of the game, it’s more of a deconstruction of the new parts than of the game as a whole. A look into what bits and pieces of other Square Enix titles made it into the new smash hit. Easily the biggest, most noticeable, and at the very least to me, most surprising is the cooking. Fairly early on in the story you make a stop at Twilight Town, a classic location that since its introduction in the second game has become a staple, appearing in almost every game after the fact. Long time fans fist noted two things, first all the people, a welcome introduction in many locations in the third game that makes…

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Piranha Plant and Laying the Seeds for the Future of Super Smash Bros.

Opinionated News
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Indeed: as of this week, the game’s first DLC fighter, Piranha Plant, has gone live. Since its inception in 1996 on the Nintendo 64, the Super Smash Bros. series’ biggest draw — its hook that no other games can swing — is that it is the ultimate crossover (sorry, Marvel) of Nintendo characters. In no other game can stealth operative Solid Snake be slapped around by a sentient pink puffball. That description could even be referring to multiple characters, which shows how diverse the Smash fighter roster really is. Now, we’ve gone into ultra instinct diverse with the addition of Piranha Plant as the first of the DLC characters. Nobody expected this. Piranha Plant didn’t even expect to be included — it always shrubbed it off as some warped kind of pipe dream. But here we are, as its vines are being unleashed in Smash the world over. There is…

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The Lost Art of Arcade Games

Editorials
Video game Ms Pacman and Galaga

I have one goal in my lifetime, and that is to own a Ms. Pac-Man arcade machine (with Galaga of course) at some point. With today’s technology, arcade games can appear to be obsolete. We have televisions and consoles that produce lifelike graphics, and video games are going places they have never been before, especially once VR becomes commonplace. But we shouldn’t forget arcade games of the past, the roots of modern-day gaming as we know it. Walking into an arcade is a lost art. Today, kids can pull up a game on their phone and play anywhere at any time they want, usually during school or times when their focus should be elsewhere. I was never an arcade child myself, but I have heard the war stories that have been passed down to me. People would flock to the arcades after school with quarters they saved up, taking turns…

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Mattel Classic Football

Editorials
Madden19 push the pile md

Sometimes, it’s the simple things that mean the most to us. The same can be said for video games. Some of the best, most addicting games can be such a basic concept, like Flappy Bird or Candy Crush. One of my better gaming memories is retro. It is the Mattel Classic Football handheld electronic game. The game is quite simple. You are on offense and there are three controls. You can either move up or down and move forward. That’s it. You move all the while the defenders are creeping towards you. You must weave your way in and out of the defense until you either get a touchdown or fail to after four downs. There was a time limit, and as you progress, the defense starts to move faster and it is tougher to move the ball. This game is so simple, and not difficult to pick up. In fact, I…

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Prediction: VR is a Hop, Skip, and a Killer App Away From Changing the Game

Uncategorized
Simspon VR cover

Throughout the history of gaming, there have been a select few technological turning points that changed the direction of video games forever. You could say they include: the introduction of arcades, the arrival of home consoles (and subsequently, the death of arcades), and the leap from 2D to 3D graphics. These advances changed the landscape of games and decided the next playing field that they would exist on. After 3D graphics, though, what is leap is left? Have they all been leapt over, or is there yet another one that will change the direction of gaming like its predecessors before? Well, to better understand the scope of things thus far, we can divide advances in gaming technology into two categories: revolutionary and refining. “Revolutionary” includes the aforementioned leaps that we just talked about; the ones that introduce a whole new level of play. “Refining” refers to the steps taken along…

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What Happened to ‘Guitar Hero’?

Editorials
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Okay, I admit it. I am not musically talented in the least bit. I would give anything to be able to sing like Hugh Jackman (he’s more than just Wolverine you know) or shred the guitar like Jimi Hendrix, but I physically cannot. I wasn’t fortunate enough to be born with that talent. But with Guitar Hero, anyone can be a rockstar. It was the only place on this earth where I could play the guitar and play it well. And now it is a distant memory. I know people who learned guitar after playing Guitar Hero. Some of them are even pretty good. It’s strange how a video game can do that, and it’s cool to think that a simple game has the potential to inspire people into learning the actual craft and potentially even become artists themselves. I am not one of those people. I don’t have the patience…

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How Resident Evil is a Franchise That’s All About How to Think Inside the Box

Editorials
RE2Remake Gun Shop

This month is huge for the video game industry, with the release of two games that fans have been waiting over a decade for (and they’re both actually really good) some things have gotten lost in the excitement of the gaming community. Playing the remake of the classic Resident Evil 2 made me look back on the entirety of the franchise and really appreciate the roots of this pioneering horror franchise. Where the RE franchise really struck a chord with the gaming community though was its settings, for the originals creepy yet hauntingly beautiful mansions, to the daunting but endlessly fascinating museum turned police station from the sequel and even the rich and varied Spanish countryside in four, the series as a whole has been made or broken on where the story is told and it is my theory as to why not only does the most recent remake shine…

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Can Video Games be Used as a Training Tool?

Editorials
Gran Turismo sim

Recently I heard of a story about Formula 1 Racing. There was some race between an accomplished F1 racer and an Esports racer on a real-life track. If I’m betting money on this race, I’m throwing it all on the tried and true driver, the one who has raced in the physical world. I would have lost all of my money. The Esports driver won, beating the actual driver with years of experience by 0.6 seconds – unbelievable. The training from his video game sim was so realistic; he was able to drive a real F1 car better than a serious competitor in the racing realm. How else can video games be used as training? This may sound like something from a sci-fi movie, but video games may be the key to the future. Think about how advanced video games have become. They may be able to help us in all sorts…

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‘Madden’ Predicts the Rams Will Beat the Pats

News
Madden19 one cut md

As has been done in the past, Electronic Arts did their yearly Super Bowl simulation, trying to predict this year’s winner. This Madden NFL 19 sim had the Rams beating the Patriots by a score of 30 – 27. Historically, the Madden Super Bowl sim has been pretty accurate. Since 2004, the simulation has been correct 10 out of 15 times, not bad for a video game. While Madden has shown to be accurate in past predictions, I am here to tell you Madden is wrong this year. As much as I would love to see my UGA boy Todd Gurley tear it up this Sunday and hoist that Lombardi trophy, I don’t see it happening. There is one thing that video games cannot replicate – determination and spirit. Tom Brady and the Patriots are determined and motivated like never before. They feel like they are underdogs and that everyone doubts them, and that terrifies me. The…

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