Posts By Jon Lewis
At this year’s New York Comic Con, Namco Bandai brought a variety of games for con-goers to experience. Here are some of the highlights from their roster.
...play with me!
This week, on a very special Nerds Without Pants: JD joins the crew and puts Julian on the therapist’s couch to try to get to the bottom of his deep-rooted issues with multiplayer. Spoiler alert: there’s more going on here than not wanting to be called names by a 14 year old.
Crazy Nintendo.
Right now in Japan, monsters are battling robots. Medieval dudes with long hair are fighting fitness trainers; people are running, panicked. Super Smash Bros. 3DS has made landfall.
The staff of PixlBit commemorates five years of the site.
It’s absolutely dumbfounding to think that PixlBit has existed in this world for five years now. I can’t even begin to tell you all how many times Chessa and I considered hanging it up and just moving on with life. But we never did and I’m not sure why that is. The early days were grim at times; visitation was extremely low, the hours invested were high, and my day job was absolutely soul crushing. I guess we always felt there was a light at the end of the tunnel – a point at which it would all pay off. And boy has it.
Upgraded to death.
Not two weeks ago, Nintendo announced a new 3DS cleverly called the New 3DS. It has several extra features, including Micro SD card support and a faster CPU, which means its games won't be compatible with previous 3DS versions. Here's what we think of it:
Tales from Old Russia, and Beyond.
Upon landing in the baron, vast and alien infested land of Old Russia, I realized that though I had an objective before me, there was a lot more in store for me than a linear story mission. I walked over a cliff, and a batch of enemies spawned. Using familiar shooting controls, I was able to dispense of them rather quickly. Not too soon after, I turned around only to see another adventurer, who happened to be a friend of mine. Destiny began to click with me at this point, as I realized just how seamless the matchmaking process was. I called my friend over, and we created a fireteam - or a party - and continued to explore the land. As we did, we witnessed another group, fighting off their own group of enemies. One of them fell in battle, and I asked my friend, “Should we go and help them out?” These are the kinds of scenarios that make Destiny one of the more interesting games coming out this year. However, this aspect is only one of many different reasons why I was hooked during the E3 weekend Alpha.
Why a gaming dry spell isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Usually when there’s a lack of huge releases, there tends to be a sense of dismay among gamers. We begin to worry about the state of the industry and we wonder why these machines that we’ve spent huge amounts of money on continue to sit idle. As a relatively new and proud owner of a PlayStation 4, it does bother me that I don’t really have many reasons to use it. The big, highly anticipated releases have been few and far between this year, and people are noticing. The games that I’ve personally been looking forward to are still months away, like Destiny and Super Smash Brothers for Wii U. However, after a brief period of boredom I’ve come to find this dry spell somewhat refreshing. After giving it some thought I’ve come up with a few reasons why this current gaming dry spell isn’t so dry after all.
Yeah, Zelda's cool and all, but dat Splatoon, tho!
Hello again! It's the second Nerds Without Pants E3 special, and we're joined by our resident Rockstar (tm), JD to talk about...well, pretty much just Nintendo.
Defining the weak and the strong.
*This review contains minor spoilers*
It took about twenty five minutes into my play through of “In Harm’s Way” to realize that I hadn’t encountered any zombies yet. For that period of time, I was too caught up in the perilous situation that Clementine and the rest of the group found themselves in. This isn't a mark against it though; for me, it was a testament to its engrossing narrative. As each progressive event occurred, I became more and more engaged before being rewarded with a gruesome and gory finale. Episode 3 was another great chapter in Telltale’s Walking Dead series.
Red's Allure
Following Supergiant’s critically acclaimed game Bastion, Transistor comes off as a very similar game, initially at least. Transistor quickly forms an identity of its own, boasting a unique battle system and an intriguing story. I found myself getting wrapped into Transistor’s many layers, whether it was exploring the city of Cloudbank, discovering the motives behind the mysterious Camerata, or strategically managing my abilities to give me that extra edge in combat. Transistor is a riveting and memorable experience from beginning to end.
