Overview forgames

Soldiers Without Boarders

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

After mix-felt opinions of what Metal Gear Solid 4 delivered as its conclusion for the multi-decades long series, some faithful fans of the franchise were disappointed by it; mostly with its story, the gameplay, or both. So when Konami began showing off the latest installment, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP, you bet there was nerd hate skepticism towards it. But when the naysayers actually played it, their feelings of resentment evaporated for this post MGS4 title as it’s probably the most technical MGS game there is, with a great story to boot. You might call it a peace offering to all the fans.

Welcome to Fight Club

Pit-Fighter

It’s been over 20 years since I last played this game and I’m happy to say nostalgia’s rose tinted glasses weren’t covering my eyes because this game is still as good as I remember it. Few know about this game, so click the link above to get the deets on it. But don’t tell anyone because that’s the first and second rule of our little club.

Got you in my crosshairs

Trap Gunner

It’s an unknown game to most, but Trap Gunner has to be one of my favorite games of all-time -- top 5, in fact. That’s a bold statement to make, I know, but ever since I played its demo shortly before its release, I knew I had to snag a copy of it before it disappeared from store shelves because of its obscurity from being mentioned by the gaming press. Boy, this is sounding very hipster-ish for liking something that’s obscure, but if liking Trap Gunner sounds that way, then you can call me the biggest hipster doofus of them all.

The work of the Conclave?

I noticed a few weeks back there was a spike in activity from Europe where all of my Guilty Gear related pages were hit. What news came from the series that caused that spike in activity? Did a popular gaming podcast give a heads-up on some important GG info? I checked around and didn’t see anything to cause this surge in page hits, but it’s cool regardless of the reason, but I am curious to know the source of it, though.

Trimming the bucket list

Took me long enough, but I’m finally making my way through Shenmue. So far I’m really enjoying it and love exploring every bit the town has to offer. In game time I’m only about a week and a half into the story, but I’ve already done so much in terms of a variety of things to do. Sometimes I follow clues to progress the story, but other times I may just screw around and play some games at the arcade, buy capsule toys from a variety of machines, or gamble a bit with slot machines. Other times I may help an orphan kitten get better or help a stranger out. And finally I may just kill a few hours and practice my fighting moves to improve on their impact. This game’s got it all!

I’m doing this to get myself ready for Shenmue 3 that’s slated to come out for the PS4 and PC sometime in the next year or so. I’m playing it on the Dreamcast and I already have Shenmue 2 for the original Xbox, so I’ll be playing that at some point after completing the original. Regarding the story, I really like the protagonist Ryo Hazuki. From what I’ve seen so far, he seems like the perfect hero where on one side is a courteous person, helping people out and speaking politely, while on the other side he’s a total badass by flexing his muscles, but does it with the upmost control with thanks to his years in learning martial arts.

If you’re a Sega fan then this game has to be on the top of the list as it’s covered with so many references to the company and its franchises. I’d love to do a write-up on it, but I’m wondering if I should do one on Yu Suzuki in general as he is the head credit for the game. In addition, I love Suzuki’s games and some of his greatest hits are in the game too. It’s like a chocolate, on chocolate, on chocolate cake!

ooh-eh-p

Shredding, Shooting, and Slicing with UEP Systems

Yeah, the late 1990s saw a ton of snowboarding games with most of them being mediocre at best. But one company almost exclusively made nothing but them, and over the course of a few years ironed out the wrinkles to make some of the best boarding games to date. This feature will follow the development studio UEP Systems and all of its games in abundant details. So you better buckle up, pork chop as this is going to be a long read.