The Technomancer is a Fine Blueprint for Focus Entertainment Games.

Even more weird is that this seems to be an issue with other Focus action RPG titles where you really have to learn the combat mechanics. With that said, if it becomes familiar in The Technomancer, you’ll take to other titles smoothly. This could be the source of my frustration with Vampyr early on. While I’ve played TT in the past, I didn’t connect that they were similar in some ways down to the combat.

Let’s Check Out for Pirate Game Pioneers.

The perfect pirate game belongs to Pirates! Gold. I’m certain I touched on this game before in passing but it’s definitely the greatest pioneer on this micro genre. You start as a citizen of France, England, the Netherlands, or Spain but as in all mentioned games—besides Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag—you can turn against your country, align with another, and either get a letter of marque to operate as a privateer or go full pirate.

You’re also able to assault town and forts, claim them for a country, attack treasure ships and big merchant hauls, and improve your ships—or get new ones. Of course, you’ve got to split the loot after lengthy voyages and you’re able to move up in society in the colonies.

There was a lot going on in a game made in 1987. I play the 1993 remake on the Sega Genesis as I was really into games like this and Aerobiz early on. They were just different from the more action-oriented titles I normally played.

If You’re Unfamiliar with Roleplay: It’s Basically Pro Wrestling.

I’d been roleplaying in some sense since 1996. I started in play-by-email, message boards, and on wrestling e-federations. All had an application process and actually, the early days of text roleplay encouraged my love of writing and creativity. Whether it was making a vampire, a ninja, or a psychopathic wrestler, it was fun to sit, come up with a backstory to fit into this new setting and do the sample roleplay.

Battletoads/Double Dragon is a Classic Beat ‘Em Up Worth Diving Into.

Also of note is that the game’s multiplayer mode makes the game less miserable at times when dealing with the difficulty. I tend to play solo in most games and Battletoads difficulty can be bother at times since these were the days when saves weren’t a standard feature like today. Multiplayer’s difficulty isn’t easy but it makes things tolerable—especially if you have a teammate who knows what they’re doing.

Vampyr is the Spiritual Successor to Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.

I’d say that the biggest pro for this game is the setting. It’s not late 19th century and early 20th century England are uncharted territory in gaming but for a tale with vampires and hunters, kicking it Victorian or turn-of-the-century is a good starting point. Especially if there are plans for sequels—yes, that was a bit of shade at Sony and The Order 1886.

Mad Max Is an Underrated Game and Worthy of a Sequel.

Besides the smidgen of story and repetitive missions, Mad Max was a fine game that could’ve built up to a good series. Hell, keeping with Avalanche Studios, the first Just Cause didn’t take off but they kept with it and the series popped with the sequel. MM performed well in sales and should’ve seen a second game at least. It was the barebones of something that could’ve been more involved.

Do You Remember When Video Games Came with Manuals and Short Tutorials?

Looking at it now, game manuals have been replaced by the tutorial and let me tell you: they’re too damn long. Tutorials on mobile, console, and PC can run for a bit before you can actually play the game. It actually makes me miss the old manuals since it wasn’t a mix of “learn this mechanic” and story cut scenes which can also be pretty lengthy.

Why Kairosoft Works as a Mobile Developer.

Now, further down on the downside of Kairosoft’s monetization is the pricing on console. I’ve seen the prices on PSN for the digital console ports of its library and they’re priced at $13.99. I love the Kairosoft games but that’s a bit much for these games. Sure, they have extreme replay value but to get to that extreme amount of replay you have to really no-life them over and over. These are your main games.

Have you played any of the Kairosoft games? What did you think of them and what were your favorites? Also, if you’ve played them on console, how do you feel they crossover? Are they natural for console?

What Made the Saints Row Series a Blast.

The combat got better in the series as the world and possibilities opened up. Driving remained the same throughout. It was never great but it didn’t suck either—it’s open-world driving. The lore also improved but as the games went on there just seemed to be less to do in the game world. With that said, the fact that Saints Row didn’t have mandatory racing missions was always a big plus for me.

GoldenEye 007 is Amazing but Don’t Sleep on Duke Nukem 64.

Of course, it was the 1990s and very little was actually explained in detail when it came to video games. A lot of this stuff was left to our imaginations even with the game art featuring a brief introduction. With that said, there was still more effort put into the creative side of Duke than GoldenEye although GoldenEye didn’t need to do anything extra.

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