Best of 2012: A year in Review

We are all looking forward to some of the great titles we have on the horizon for 2013, some of which can be found in the blog here. But we can't forget some of the greatness that was brought to us on our Vita's and PS3's this year.

Here are our top 5 games

5. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Taking place in the year 2025, CODBO2 improved on all of the greatness from the original Black Ops while adding new features like choose your own adventure type sequences where the outcome of your choices will determine not only the game course itself but also the endings. Zombies returned to Black Ops 2 with their own storyline mode as opposed to a survival mode found in the previous game. The online functionality was greatly improved and added new features that make the replay value of the game even better. Chances are people will be even more excited about prestiging in this game than ever before.

4. Tekken Tag Tournament
Tekken Tag, which you can read our blog about here, brought back our favorite characters and put them together in a new fangled way with new game modes and revamped move lists. The added online feature allowed gamers to practice their skils in the lobby while waiting for an opponent as opposed to siting staring at the screen like most fighting games. Tekken brought the heat with this game and left us waiting patitently for the next installment. Until then, gamers can also enjoy Street Fighter X Tekken which you can read about over here.

3. Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition
After being purchased by Warner Brothers, the fate of the franchise was up in the air and classic fans worried about how the game would stack up against the rest. Gamers were pleasantly surprised with the initial release and those that waited were happy with the Komplete Edition while some of the gamers who purchased the original release were annoyed with the fact they had to purchase the game again. On the bright side, whichever version you had, you could trust on the goriest fatalities and funniest babalities this side of the equator. Mortal Kombat brought back a big chunk of the story's favorites and pitted them in a battle against the all powerful Shao Khan. It was seen as a remake to the original and changed some of the storylines which had some faithfuls up in arms but for the most part, Mortal Kombat was seen as one of the greatest fighters to date.

2. Final Fantasy XIII-2
While the game does not compare on the storyline level that other FF's do, the actual gameplay blows games away.
With action-cutscenes and choose your own adventure style questions, the game felt more complete than ever before and also gives users the chance to see what happened to some of our favorites after the previous battle seen in FFXIII. For more information on the game and other Final Fantasies, head over here.

1. Resident Evil 6

You could have guessed it, Resident Evil 6 brought much light to this gamers life and many other seen around the world. The game was a fast paced action game pitting Resident Evil 6 was an amazing game that made gamers think, fight and run throughout the stages. A definate 10 on the gaming scale and looking forward to the next game ASAP. For a more in depth look at the game, click here.

Thats it for 2012, with only a few weeks left, we aren't hopeful for anything big. 2013
will hopefully bring us more joy with Tomb Raider, the Last of Us and Metal Gear among others.


Until next time, keep gaming guys!

Playstation All Star Battle Royal: It's a family affair!

Whether you are a fan of Drake and his quips, Kratos and his swords or that adorable little sock puppet and his.... sock puppetness, Playstation All-Star Battle Royal has you covered.

Gamers squealed with excitement when they first encountered Super Smash Brothers for the Nintendo because it gave users the chance to use all their favorite Nintendo characters to wipe the floor with their friends. PASBR gives characters the same opportunities with Playstation's characters.

The game is similar to SSB in that you can battle with up to 4 characters in a last man standing brawl. It differs in that players damage their opponents for orbs which can be stored in a super move meter which can then be used as finishing moves against opponents. The game, like most fighting games, includes single player modes with storyline, and multiplayer modes like time attack, and most kills. As expected their is an online mode, so you can compete with people anywhere in the world.

The game has included functionality so Vita players can play against PS3 users and vice versa so gamers can continue battling on the go. The Vita version includes everything the PS3 version does as welll so gamers don't need to feel like they are missing out on any content as it does usually happen when porting home console to portable console games.

The game features many Playstation staples like Drake from Uncharted, Kratos from God of War, Sack Boy from Little Big Planet and Cole MacGrath from Infamous in his evil form. It also has multi-platform characters like Heihachi from Tekken, Raiden from Metal Gear and Big Daddy from Bioshock. The game also stated there will be downloadable characters as soon as early 2013 which will all be treated the same as the original characters with full storylines and minions.

Overall the game is a great way to pass the time and really takes advantage of the Vita/PS3 cross functionality which we have all been waiting for.

Graphics 9/10
Gameplay 8/10
Fun Factor 7.5/10
Replay Value 8/10
Overall 8/10
So if you are feeling the need to beat up some of your friends on your screen, pick up the title to enjoy the sweet sweet fighting goodness only Playstation All Star Battle Royal can offer. Until next, keep wiping the floor with your friends!

2013: What do we have waiting for us?

2012 was a great year for video games including a new Assassin's Creed, Halo, Final Fantasy and of course Resident Evil. But with such a good year, what do we have to look forward to next year. Today, lets talk a little bit about our most anticipated games coming up next year.

Years ago, Sony introduced us to Lara Croft, a sexy young woman who went on multiple adventures saving the world from certain demise each time. In nothing but her sports bra shirt and booty shorts, Lara braved all weathers and competitors and somehow always walked away unscathed.
Recently, SquareEnix purchased the rights to Tomb Raider and have decided to compeltely revamp the character, going back to the start and redoing the story. The preview for the new Tomb Raider is a much more adult look at her with the few short minutes being enough to make you sick with worry for our heroine. Recently people saw Lara as more of a joke character with less emphasis on the story getting better and more emphasis on how round (and big) they could make her boobs. Now the game focuses more on her story and making her look like a real person as opposed to a glorified blowup doll.
2013 looks like it will be a good year for Lara, reinventing her as an adventurer and not just another pretty face. The new Tomb Raider ranks high up on our most anticipated list.

Solid Snake has always kept us on our toes with his crazy antics and amazing gameplay. But the end of MGS 4 left us believing that Solid may not be able to be running out on many more missions. One of the few games that really did a great job on getting the player to feel for the characters, MGS 4 left more than a few players in tears with everything that happened. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance stars returning character, Raiden, as a cyborg ninja. It takes place 4 years after the previous Metal Gear title and has Raiden showing off some new tech after being left for dead by an opponent.
The game changes the from classic Metal Gear to a strictly action game. New features enable users to use Raiden's sword like never before, cutting through virtually anything with stunning precision.
Although we will all be missing Snake, Raider looks to be up to the challenge of fitting in his shoes for one game which leaves at least this guy anticipating this game for next year.

Uncharted has been one of Sony's most popular ventures. Naughty dog struck gold after Drakes first mission and every mission after that. Now, they are taking a break away to introduce us to Joel and Ellie, two survivors of a post apocolyptic world where the majority of the human race has been infected by a Fungus that causes them to be hostile towards other people. Don't go thinking zombie just yet, the concept from the game was actually adapted from Planet Earth, where a fungus had the power to infect and even control the mind of an ant.
Joel and Ellie have survived the initial outbreak but are now trying to find their way to safety. the game shows a bond created through neccessity and how two strangers from different ages and backgrounds can learn to help themselves and each other.
Probably my most anticipated game of 2013, The Last of Us is slated to hit shelves at some point in 2013 with no solid date granted but with multiple awards before the game has even been completed, it looks like we are in for quite the treat.

While I'm sure there are tons of other games that will leave all of us salivating next year, these three are what I'm hoping Santa will leave a pre-order copy of in my stocking this year. Have a good one guys and until next time, keep the anticipation alive!

Final Fantasy: Faith, Materia and Crystariums

Final Fantasy has been around for years. When SquareEnix (previously Squaresoft) created the first one, there was no way that they could have anticipated the success of the franchise. With over 13 original titles along with sequels and branch offs, Final Fantasy is one of the best known game franchises

All of the original titles have their own original story that do no connect with any of the previous games. They do have certain similarities, like the monsters that can be found, the animals as allys, the weapons and the name Cid, which is a name in every game for a character.

Final Fantasy VII is arguably the most well known game in the series. Focusing around Cloud, a mercenary for hire, he rejoins his childhood friend Tifa in order to revolt against Shinra who are using the life planet for use as an energy source. Cloud falls in love with Aerith, a flower girl who is also a master of white magic. In one of the most shocking turn of events in video game history, Aerith is murdered by Cloud's nemesis Sephiroth at the end of the first disc which set players into a frenzy who has spent time working up Aerith as a character and fallen in love with the sweet flower girl who stole the heart of our hero.
Final Fantasy VII revolutionized the RPG genre for video games and set the bar extremely high for any company that wanted release a RPG going forward.

Final Fantasy X was the tenth original installment and was my favorite of the game series. Focusing around Tidus, a man from the past who has come to the future to help defeat Sin; a monster that comes around every few years and destroys towns and cities. Yuna, a summoner, who calls on magical creatures to aid her in her battles, take Tidus as part of her team and together with a few more friends, they search for Sin. Along the way, Tidus learns the only way to defeat Sin is for the summoner to sacrifice her life in order to become Sin and eventually the evil presence will be reborn again only giving the people of the world a short reprieve from the horror that is Sin.
The game was in my opinion one of the best in the series combining both great graphics with amazing storylines. The game did a great job engulfing the users in the story, growing feelings for the characters and having actual emotional reactions to the things that happened to these characters. It was also the first game that had a part 2 to it as players were so emotional about the ending, they made a new one to amend it.


FF XIII and XIII-2 are the most recent games released from the franchise. The game revolves around Lightning, a girl who is searching for a way to save her sister who has been encased in ice. They are controlled by the fal'cie, beings with god-like powers who have branded Lightning and her friends as L'cie, people who are soley left alive to sacrifice themselves in order to save the planet (sound familiar?) Lightning and her other friends search for a way to not only save themselves but also their loved ones in a battle against time.

The game was also met with mostly positive reviews citing it's great graphics, in depth storyline and revamped battle system as the main reasons for the game success. XIII-2 hoped to gain off the success of the previous title by improving many of the things people disliked about the first game and adding new things like cinematic battles where you can control the cut scenes and what happens in them.

Although we only have time to talk about three FF games, I think it is known by most the Final Fantasy is a solid franchsie with an great new things ready to come. FF XIV is supposed to be an online game where people from all around the world can continuously play with each other.

If you haven't played an FF before, they are a must have and most can be downloaded for super cheap in the PS store for both PS3 and Vita. Until next time guys, keep faith alive

Resident Evil 6: The Mercenaries

With the release of Assassin's Creed, WWE 13 and Halo for in the past few weeks, gamers are probably not sure where to devote their time. Capcom played it smart waiting until now to lock back in faithful dead with the release of new maps for The Mercenaries.

Depening on where you pre ordered your game, you may have gotten 1 of the 3 new maps along with the title. For those of you who waited until on or after release date, you probably didn't get any. Now, all 6 maps are available for any user straight from the new and improved PSN store.

The Mercenaries is a time attack game that has been around for a few of the past Resident Evil titles that can be played solo, split screen or online. The game starts off players with 2 minutes and the goal is to kill as many bad guys as possible in the time. Throughout each level you grab extra time bonuses to increase the amount of seconds you have to slaughter your enemies.

The game starts with one map and two others can be unlocked by completing Chris and Jake's campaign. As stated before, the other 3 are available for download from the store but were also giveaways depending if and where you preordered your copy from.

The Mercenaries allows you to use 8 characters, 3 by default and 5 others are unlockable through the campaign and through your performance in The Mercenaries itself.

Urban Chaos is the first level and arguably the easiest to progress through. Smaller than the rest, the time extensions are easy to find and finding a place to back yourself against a wall and let the undead come to you is fairly easy. Herbs are also easy to find which makes staying healthy pretty easy. Zombies are the main bad guy of this stage and also roam in the Catacombs and Mining Depths while the J'avo are all over the Rail Yard, Steel Beast and High Sea Fortress.

Because I personally enjoy zombies more, the Catacombs and Urban Chaos are easily my favorite stages.

The time increase are gold bars that you can break while you may come across some green ones too. They allow you to have a small window where all the amount of points for each kill in the duration is multiplied by 1000, so wait to break these until you are sure that you have a slew of targets you can easily pick off.

Each character comes equipped with different weapons and aids. While Chris is still my favorite with a machine gun, magnum and knife with no health, I also enjoy Sherry who has a triple shot handgun, magnum and stun rod with two red herbs waiting to be mixed.

The ranking system is based on the amount of points your character gets during the time. Points are collected by killing the evil beings and is greatly increased when a combo is created (Personal Best: 93). To create a combo kill a bad guy and within 15 seconds kill another. May sound easy but when the clock is draining and the bad guys are hiding, it becomes a little more difficult!

The Mercenaries also allows players to pick up more skill points which can be redeemed for things within The Mercenaries like item drop increases or extra time and can also be used for things related to the campaign.

The Mercenaries gives Resident Evil 6 even more replay value. Once I finished everything solo, I went online and it was like starting all over again. Worthy of being a game on its own (and I think it already was) The Mercenaries mini-game is enough to keep you glued to your seat for weeks after you finish the campaign.

Until next time, keep killing those zombies!