Monthly Roundup: June 2009

It’s been just under a month since we launched and it’s time to look back at everything we’ve done – and make sure you haven’t missed anything important in the process! This will be a monthly feature.

6/11/09: (launch day)

Impressions: The Legendary Starfy on Nintendo DS. In brief, I wanted to love it and really didn’t; it’s far too simple and easy, with too many cutscenes.

Gameplay footage and lyrics: Super Turrican stage 1-3 on SNES/Virtual Console. To be honest, I didn’t come up with this feature; it came up with me. I turned into my pillow one night while trying to sleep and this Turrican piece just popped into my mind along with its own lyrics. Yeah, I can be insomniac at times.

Editorial and gameplay footage: In Pursuit of Good Video Game Stories, Part 1. In a broad sense, narrative is a only sequence of events and accomplishments, and so every game tells a story: the player’s story. Gameplay footage comes from Super Star Soldier on TG16/Virtual Console – and if you’re curious about how video of a 2D space shooter can be involved with an editorial about narrative in any relevant way, I guess you’d better click through!

Coverage and screenshots: Indie-Pendence Day: La-Mulana on PC. I’m not sure if Canadian intended so, but with nearly 1000 words of coverage, this article is in-depth enough to suffice for a review – minus the omission of a score.

Review and fanart: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride on Nintendo DS. In brief, I loved everything in every way except the first few hours’ pacing – but who wants brevity? Click over and see pretty fanart accompanied by over 1300 words of detail.

6/12/09:
Review: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 on Xbox 360. More arcade shooting action, but does it stand up with the first XBLA game or its full-fledged retail relative on Wii?

6/15/09:
Coverage: Flash in the Pan: Pandemic II. If you’re good enough to play this not-terrifically-accurate real-time sim, humanity ends not by war but by virii!

6/17/09:
Insanity: Canadian explains the mad decision to play through Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 on Xbox 360. I’m not sure whether I’m more glad or disappointed that I could never even get into Genesis-era Sonic, seeing how many people love those games so much that they continue to stick with this series while admitting they loathe everything about its modern incarnations.

6/18/09:
Coverage: Missing in Action: EarthBound. Simply put, Missing in Action is all about great games we’ll never see again, why we won’t, and why it’s a shame. Canadian’s favorite game was a natural launching point.

6/19/09:

Editorial: The meaninglessness of the word “hardcore” and a couple other gaming terms.

Gameplay footage: Mega Man 9: Dance with the Twin Devils on WiiWare, for my first round of user-requested videos. Flippant material here, but maybe that makes for my best footage? I like doing offbeat things and wish I could think of more.

6/23/09:
Editorial and fanart: In Pursuit of Good Video Game Stories, Part 2. When gameplay and story disagree about a game world’s canonical elements, we’ll have problems every time. Part 1 was mostly theoretical, but I have several concrete examples on tap this time around. Prax’s art comes from Pokemon Platinum on Nintendo DS and Super Metroid on SNES/Virtual Console.

6/25/09:
Quasi-review, fanart, and YouTube-ified music: My World, My Way on Nintendo DS. In brief, I love the music and adore the concept, but can’t stand the execution. This article is even longer than my Dragon Quest V review – over 1500 words even if you exclude my introductory explanation of quasi-reviews and my entire Haruhi analogy – but I’m not surprised. Describing something like DQV in mostly positive terms almost necessarily fills up less space than the compare-and-contrast format of describing what should work and doesn’t.

6/28/09:
Mid-year awards, fanart, and gameplay footage: Annual Gaming Review: Mid-Year 2009. Categories: Best remake, best port, waiting on a price drop, least epic stories, and looking ahead for 2009 and beyond. Prax’s art is from Star Ocean: Second Evolution on PSP, and my gameplay footage is from Raiden Fighters Aces on Xbox 360.

6/29/09:

Impressions and gameplay footage: Just Another VC Monday: Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa. Warps and a fixed shop location tweak this game experience slightly compared to both predecessor and successor.

Insanity: Part 1 of Canadian’s mystical journey through the self-defeating, incomprehensible universe of Sonic 2006. May madness’ new leader be crowned.