Review: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (360)

One of the hardest feats to pull off is switching a video game franchise from one genre to another, either as a companion title or a whole new direction.

Halo did rather well as a real-time strategy in Halo Wars after beginning as a killer first-person shooter. WarCraft took a wildly successful real-time strategy and turned it into the biggest massively multiplayer online role-playing game ever. For the Persona franchise, the leap was role-playing game to fighter, in Persona 4 Arena, released in 2012. Following that success, 2014 brought a refined sequel, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.

Review: Citizens of Earth (PC)

When I first saw Citizens of Earth pop up on Kickstarter, I was cautious, but optimistic. It appeared that the title was aimed to draw from the classic SNES title EarthBound not only in writing, but in gameplay as well. While the game succeeds in parts, others either left me frustrated, or left me wanting more.

The big appeal of Citizens of Earth is that you can recruit almost every NPC to your cause, and boy, did Eden Industries accomplish that! Your party is incredibly fluid, and will see School Mascots, Conspiracy Theorists, hobos, and even your own mother joining the ranks. Each party member also grows in effectiveness the more you use them, which encourages experimentation. They also have talents that apply to overworld exploration, and these range from purchasing items, to fast travelling, or even re-battling old enemies.

Review: Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure (PC)

It's 2014 and there's a new Tex Murphy game.

This is the thought that continued to tumble through my brain while playing Tesla Effect.

A new Tex Murphy game. In 2014. If you're a fan of the series, that's about all you need to know and by now you've probably already played it, for everyone else keep reading. There's a barrel of monkeys in it for you.

Review: Dragon's Crown (PS3)

Dragon's Crown is a throw-back game that borrows heavily from side scrolling beat-'em-ups. The end result is a modernized interpretation of a classic genre.

Side-scrolling fighting games were a dime-a-dozen back in the stand-up arcade era and Dragon's Crown takes queues from the best of them. Beautifully rendered fantasy theme akin to Golden Axe, growth and development through looting and buying of upgrades (River City Ransom), elegant yet simple combat system (Final Fight), and most importantly the use of multiple players on screen (Double Dragon, Captain Commando).

Random Game Talk: Dungeon Explorer (TG-16)

Mr. Nash takes a look back at one of Atlus' earliest releases to come to the West.  Dungeon Explorer is an action RPG that came to the TurboGrafx-16 in 1989.