Games for the Modern Gamer: Ratchet and Clank
Ratchet & Clank (PS4)
Ratchet & Clank is the remake to the PlayStation 2 game of the same name. Developed by Insomniac Games, Ratchet & Clank stars Ratchet, a Lombax mechanic and Clank- a robot originally designed for combat, on a quest to save the galaxy from evil.
Ratchet & Clank (PS4) was released April 12, so it's in stores now.
There's also a Ratchet & Clank movie coming out April 29, rated PG.
Posted on April 12th, 2016
Games for the Modern Gamer: Overwatch
Please note any PC games (Windows/Mac/Linux/etc) may require gaming PCs, which are not recommended for those on tight budgets. If you already have a gaming PC, you may want to look at a game's requirements. System Requirements Lab is a site where you can check if your current PC build can run a certain PC game.
The story goes as follows:
“Welcome to Overwatch™
Soldiers. Scientists. Adventurers. Oddities.
In a time of global crisis, an international task force of heroes banded together to restore peace to a war-torn world:
It ended the crisis and helped to maintain peace in the decades that followed, inspiring an era of exploration, innovation, and discovery. But after many years, Overwatch's influence waned, and it was eventually disbanded.
Overwatch is gone… but the world still needs heroes.”
Overwatch is currently in development by Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind Heroes of the Storm, Starcraft II, and Diablo III. You can pre-order the game at us.battle.net or sign up or the beta here.
Overwatch will officially release May 24, 2016.
Posted on April 11th, 2016
Check out my Wordpress!
A friendly reminder to my classmates that the "Pintrest, Instagram, and Similar Sites" assignment is due Thursday, April 14.
Check out my Wordpress blog, bellasaria.wordpress.com .
There's nothing but an introductory post, but check it out anyways.
Posted on April 10th, 2016
20 Video Game Soundtracks
Each game's soundtrack has a link to its playlist or the full soundtrack in one video.
This list is not in order from best to worst.
- ****Castlevania: Symphony of the Night| Composer: Michiru Yamane
- Super Hang-On| Composers: Katsuhiro Hayashi, Koichi Mamiki, Sachio Ogawa, Hiroshi Kawaguchi
- Guilty Gear XX| Composers: Daisuke Ishiwatari, Koichi Seiyama
- Sonic Riders| Composers: Tomonori Sawada, Fumie Kumatani, Kenichi Tokoi
- Super Metroid| Composers: Minako Hamano, Kenji Yamamoto, Hirozaku Tanaka
- Final Fantasy VII| Composer: Nobuo Uematsu
- Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City| Composer: Yuzo Koshiro
- Persona 4| Composers: Shoji Meguro, Atsushi Kitajoh
- Vectorman| Composer: Jon Holland
- Shinobi III: Revenge of the Ninja Master| Composers: Masayuki Nagao, Hirofumi Murasaki, Morihiko Akiyama
- Einhänder| Composer: Kenichiro Fukui
- Ikaruga| Composer: Hiroshi Iuchi
- Melty Blood: Actress Again| Composer: Raito Kate
- Armored Core| Composer: Kota Hoshino
- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time| Composer: Koji Kondo
- Radiant Silvergun| Composer: Hitoshi Sakimoto
- Street Fighter III: Third Strike| Composer: Hideki Okugawa
- Sonic Rush| Composer: Hideki Naganuma
- OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood| Various artists
- Ristar| Composer: Tomoko Sasaki, Naofumi Hataya, Masafumi Ogata
**** UPDATE: The previous video is region-blocked for North Americans. The link is replaced with a different video.
Honorable Mentions
Castlevania: Bloodlines/ the New Generation| Michiru Yamane
Streets of Rage| Yuzo Koshiro
Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3| Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection| Namco Sounds
Shadow of the Colossus| Kow Otani
Posted on April 8th, 2016
Five Rare Games I Want to Play (5/5)
5. God Hand (PS2)
God Hand's American Cover
(Excuse the large photo)
The final game in this list is God Hand, a PlayStation 2 game released in 2006 by Clover Studios (now Platinum Games) and Capcom (in North America). God Hand is a beat 'em up where you play as Gene, a nomad who loses his arm in a brawl. He's given the God Hand, arms that once belonged to a warrior centuries ago.
Clover Studios/ Platinum Games is known for developing brawlers and hack and slash games. Outside of game play, the games have different styles. God Hand has a Western setting with wacky characters such as a gorilla in a mask, a flamboyant male dance duo, and mini-Power Rangers rejects. Clover Studios/ Platinum Games is famous for developing critically acclaimed PS2 titles such as the Devil May Cry series and Okami.
God Hand gameplay
Youtuber Total Biscuit's review of God Hand
Many video games are made, both good and bad. Many games are overlooked because they aren't AAA titles-games released by a major company, i.e. Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft- or they didn't sell well at the time of their release. Einhänder, Burning Rangers, and God Hand are examples of hidden gems that weren't appreciated by their publishers, but ActRaiser and Valkyrie Profile were games that were popular for their time.
As a gamer, it's important to appreciate games for what they are and the developers who put many hours into creating them.
Posted on March 27th, 2016
Good News, Everyone!
Blogging for Writers cover
Last week, I ordered from Alibris called Blogging for Writers: How Authors and Writers Build Successful Blogs by Robin Houghton; Alibris is a bookstore site that's an alternative to Amazon.
It came in the mail yesterday and I can't wait to read it so I can get an idea of how to build a successful blog as a writer *cough* though I haven't published anything yet *cough*.
I know there's so many resources on how to build a (professional) writing blog, but I saw more personal accounts and stuff I already knew about maintaining a blog than information that might be useful to me.
The next book I plan on ordering is Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer.
Wonderbook cover
Posted on March 8th, 2016
Pretty fitting for International Women's Day, right?
I don't agree with the message, but I found the story funny. Modesty is a personal preference. There's stories like this all over the Internet. Bodies are more precious than any form of technology. The dress is pretty, though.
Happy Tuesday!
Posted on March 8th, 2016
Five Rare Games I Want to Play (4/5)
4. Valkryie Profile (PS, PSP)
Valkyrie Profile's North American cover | Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth's North American cover
Valkyrie Profile is a Role Playing Game released for the PlayStation in 1999 in Japan and 2000 in North America.
Its PSP re-release, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, came out in 2006 in Japan and North America,
and 2007 in Europe in Australia.
It was developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix for the PlayStation, while the PSP (PlayStation Portable) was published by Square Enix.
In Valkyrie Profile, you play as Lenneth, a young girl reborn as a Valkyrie recruiting fallen warriors to join her in the Sacred War.
Acclaimed for its story, graphics, soundtrack, and unique game mechanics-non-linear game-play, strong combat system,
and a turn-based combat system where you attack in real time- Valkyrie Profile is a must-play.
This game is known as "The original Brave Frontier", a mobile RPG game for iOS and Android.
In Brave Frontier, you summon legendary warriors to defeat powerful enemies.
Valkyrie Profile's mechanics are similar to the mechanics of Indivisible-an action RPG in development by Lab Zero, the company behind the fighting game SkullGirls. Indivisible is planned to release in 2017.
IGN's Valkyrie Profile Review
Valkyrie Profile Gameplay
Posted on March 4th, 2016
Five Rare Games I Want To Play (3/5)
3. ActRaiser (SNES, mobile, Virtual Console)
ActRaiser's SNES North American cover
ActRaiser is an platforming/city-building simulation game released in Japan in 1990,
North America in 1991, and Europe in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES); it was released for mobile phones only in Europe in 2004, and in 2007 it was released for the Wii Virtual Console.
This game was developed by Quintet and published by Enix, which merged with Square in 2003 to become Square Enix.
You play the role of God (The Master in the North American version), who reclaims six civilizations taken
by Satan (Tanzra in the North American version).
ActRaiser is a mix of Castlevania and Farmville, though I'm not sure if you can control the weather in Farmville;
you clear the lands of monsters, making it hospitable for your followers.
Yuzo Koshiro composed the soundtrack. He's known for the music in The Super Shinobi, Streets of Rage trilogy, and Super Adventure Island.
I want to play ActRaiser because the game-play is simple, so it can appeal to many gamers.
For more information on ActRaiser: checkout these links and videos:
ActRaiser Review:
ActRaiser long-play:
Article on ActRaiser:
Posted on February 29th, 2016
Five Rare Games I Want to Play (2/5)
2. Burning Rangers (Sega Saturn)
Burning Rangers' Japanese Cover
Burning Rangers is a third-person shooter released for the Sega Saturn in Japan in February 1998,
North America in May 1998 and Europe in June 1998.
The game was developed by Sonic Team, the studio behind the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
The game follows two recruits, Shou and Tillis, in an elite squad of firefighters.
Shou and Tillis go on rescue missions and put out fires in futuristic suits.
This game is action packed but its game-play is straightforward and linear, but I still want to play it.
Burning Rangers was released late in the Sega Saturn's lifespan, so it didn't get a lot of popularity.
Maybe Sega/Sonic Team will remake it someday.
For more information on Burning Rangers, checkout:
Burning Rangers Long-play
Posted on February 27th, 2016