GamerEscape

No, Really When you fire up an RPG, you typically know what kind of game you’re getting into. If it’s a JRPG, you can typically expect some kind of turn-based battle system, a melodramatic story, and spiky-haired protagonists. For Western RPGs, it’s typically a party of buff men and scantily-clad women, a more direct-action battle

[NOTE: This game is a direct sequel to Tales of Xillia, and as such, the story section of this review contains spoilers for that game.] Repaint a Black Sheep Damn, it’s been a great time to be a Tales fan lately. After over a decade of hit-or-miss Western releases of the series, games have started flowing

The 4X Experience When I mention the cost of a game, the first (and obvious) thing that pops into your head is probably money. How much does the game cost? Is the game worth it? Is it on sale? Is it Steam Summer Sale time?!?! Among mass media entertainment formats, games are some of the

It’s been over two years since the launch of the first Theatrhythm in North America. Now, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call is here and we got to take a look at how this newest title has improved the already great music rhythm game. When jumping into Curtain Call, the most notable change were the expanded control options. Where

Rebirthing the Beast I’ve mentioned in a past article that the adventure game genre is beginning to make a comeback. I usually like to open reviews with discussion about a game’s genre or history, but I’d just be repeating myself in this case. I’ll just sum it up quickly: the point-and-click adventure game is becoming popular

Weird Little Things Much like its predecessor, the Vita has become something of a haven for relatively unknown and unusual Japanese games. This past year has brought us some surprising releases, games that many would have never expected to be brought West. Danganronpa, Conception II, and the uncomfortable Monster Monpiece have satiated the Western Vita market’s apparent desire

Over a million copies of Bossa Studio’s Surgeon Simulator 2013 have been sold. If that’s not impressive enough, there are also over 2.3 million videos of it uploaded to YouTube, showing off it’s very special type of humor. This week, Surgeon Simulator Anniversary Edition was released. Now, console gamers can sit back on their couch,

Reluctant Work In past reviews, I have touched on a bit of the history of Nihon Falcom’s games. The big one, of course, is the Ys series. Out of Falcom’s repertoire, Ys is the most well known in the West. Its major boon to popularity here was its addicting easy-to-pick-up gameplay. Its ease of translation may have also helped, as more

Trying Something Different Among indie game developers recently, a fad has developed for the Roguelike genre. Procedurally-generated levels, difficult enemies, and repeated runs through a game are all staples of this kind of genre. Perhaps its due to the genre’s inherent difficulty (which seems to be all the rage among gamers right now) or the

The Hype Machine Out of the massive amount of news and announcements from this year’s E3, one of the most anticipated upcoming games comes not from a major developer or publisher, but from a small company in Poland. CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher series has become a surprise hit, based off a series of books little known outside

Weaving a Story In 1993, Nihon Falcom had hit a bit of a wall in the Ys series. After the drastically different direction they took Ys III: Wanderers from Ys, changing it from a top-down perspective to a side-scroller a la Zelda 2, the popularity of the series waned. Around the same time, a number of staff had quit

I can still remember the first time I was introduced to Final Fantasy X. I didn’t have a PlayStation 2 yet and a friend had brought his over to show me the game. Immediately I was floored by the great visuals and even more so by the voice acting. A couple years later, Final Fantasy

  It has been eight years since the world was first introduced to Lightning, a character that would lead Final Fantasy into the console generation and be the new poster child for Square Enix. Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and now Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII make up the Lightning Saga: three games revolving

Back to Basics The First Person Shooter genre is probably the most popular genre of video games in current times. Of course, you don’t need me to tell you that, as you are likely aware of that already. The FPS genre dominates sales charts and the big names (Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc) command high

Left Behind Until recently, the Tales series has had a spotty history of Western localization. On average, one in three Tales games has yet to reach American shores, and even less for European regions. Namco Bandai is starting to change this, with two Western Tales releases scheduled for 2014, and a simultaneous worldwide release for

[NOTE: It is difficult to discuss the story of Ys II without mentioning plot points of the first game. This review will have spoilers for the end of Ys I] Halves of a Whole Direct story continuation across video games sequels is relatively uncommon. After all, most game creators want to be able to attract a

The Obscure Third In the 1980s, there were three big names in the JRPG genre. Two of them are well-known to just about every gamer in the West: Square, the company that rose to prominence with the release of Final Fantasy, and Enix, whose Dragon Quest series exploded in popularity in the East. The third pillar, while

The Next Big Genre Following the release and rave reviews of Final Fantasy VII in 1997, publishers went on a race to bring over as many JRPGs as they could to the West. Just about anything with an anime aesthetic and hit points was up for grabs. After all, JRPGs were becoming the “next big

Classic games are called “classic” for a reason. The Donkey Kong Country series were some popular platformers on the Super Nintendo back in the mid to late 90s. They combined unique graphics technology with sharp platforming elements to create some seriously challenging experiences for gamers. Few players will forget the white-knuckle mine cart segments, or

The Last Action Hero What happened to the action hero? That impossibly buff, remarkably handsome, and completely badass, hardcore, ain’t-afraid-of-nothing, ice-cold mamma jamma has been curiously absent since the 80s and 90s. The new-age action hero is more concerned about his feelings and the ramifications of his actions when he really should be blowing stuff