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3DS, Wii U, or Vita: Which System Has the Most Ports?

Handhelds Featured

If you’ve participated in any conversations about the latest consoles and handhelds, then you’ve likely run into people suggesting that one system has “no games”. If nothing else, these systems in question are nothing but bringing out port after port instead of new titles. But all of these assumptions are reliant upon personal observation. If you don’t really care for the Vita, for example, then you’ll only notice things which agree with your previously held ideas.

But what if someone were to actually look at three of the latest systems right now in a means to either validate or invalidate these common complaints? Well, of course, that’s just what I did. Some may not consider the 3DS, Wii U, or Vita as “next gen” devices, but they will likely be classified as part of that generation broadly alongside PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It’s not about power, but the time frame in which they launch.

With that said, my goal was to create lists of all North American retail game releases between the devices. Then, I went through and looked up each title to determine whether or not it was a port or enhanced port or a brand new game developed for that system. The term “port” is not best used for handheld consoles sometimes when a portable version is a completely different game, but we seem to mostly be beyond that point technologically for it not to be a massive consideration. Basically, by “port” I am suggesting that the game in question is available on multiple systems. I was looking to see how many titles are not exclusive to their systems!

Finally, I decided to also check out Metacritic scores (where available) to see if any system is batting out continuous amounts of excellent titles, shovelware, or are basically average. As it turns out, it seems that most consoles probably fall somewhere in the 60s for scores, but we’ll get to that later.

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Latest Obsession: Salty Bet

Salty Bet Featured

This has actually been an obsession of mine for a few weeks now. Unfortunately, those who aren’t entirely aware of it are super confused by the concept. So what exactly is Salty Bet?

It’s the name that was given to a continuous livestream of MUGEN fighting game coverage. MUGEN itself is a program where players can bring in their own characters, levels, and basically design everything as they see fit. For the most part, people just rip sprites (sometimes polygons) to inject favorite characters from other games into massive series-spanning battles.

By itself, playing (or just watching) a MUGEN match is a lot of fun. However, Salty Bet isn’t just a stream. They have also fashioned a way to allow viewers to “bet” on each match. Do you think Cloud is better than Terry? Bet away! If you know to always/never vote on DBZ, then make your choice that way. On the official page all that’s required is to log in before betting Salty Bucks.

Here’s where the confusing bit comes in: No real money is ever being transferred by betting. You can run out of your initial Salty Bucks or become a billionaire but it’s purely fictional currency. The main point of betting is just to have fun and make the stream slightly more interactive. I’ve had fun watching copious amounts of ridiculous match-ups and frittering away my fake money.

Ten Games Worth Buying on Steam’s Greenlight Anniversary Sale

Greenlight Anniversary Sale

Steam Greenlight is an initiative by Valve to try to get more independently produced games through to the official marketplace. It’s such a big deal because, while indie developers can sell games themselves, it is on Steam where they will tend to make the most money (except in very rare circumstances). Although Greenlight is far from perfect, it has gotten a handful of really cool games well-deserved attention.

Greenlight’s first anniversary has come and now Valve has selected fifty Greenlight successes for a sale. But what games should you actually check out? If you’re unsure, take a look at the list of our recommendations below!

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Killer is Dead Review

Killer Is Dead Cover

Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher: XSEED Games
Platform: 360, PS3

Oh, Killer is Dead, you showed so much promise. It seems with every new Goichi Suda (Suda 51) game I am left wanting more than I get. Or maybe, my expectations are far too high. Perhaps I’m inadvertently a part of the “everything new sucks” club. It’s hard to know why games helmed with his name continue to disappoint me but they do. So let’s talk about why!

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4 Upcoming Otome Games to Look Forward To

Hakuoki Featured

What is an “otome game”? Basically, it is a specific style of visual novel games where you play as a woman and have the opportunity to pursue relationships with other characters. Generally, the other characters will be guys, but not always! In any case, the genre has existed for a long time in Japan but has always been fairly rare in America. All the same, we have seen some publishers brave enough to bring their otome titles to the West (to great response)!

We’ve decided to put together a list of upcoming otome games that we’re personally looking forward to. Some are titles you’ll be able to get on a console, while others are independent PC titles. Regardless of where you get them though otome games are worth supporting. So let’s take a look at four upcoming titles!

Leah’s Picks

Hakuoki Screenshot

Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi

Thanks to Aksys bringing over Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, it has been proven that there is indeed a market for otome games in the West. Now, 3DS gamers will be able to have some fun with the handsome men of the Shinsengumi as well! Memories of the Shinsengumi not only includes the original story of Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, but also expands upon it with six new side-stories. Along with a 3D-viewing mode and a photobooth mode, this makes Memories of the Shinsengumi a must-have if you’re a fan of otome games and visual novels.

sweetfuse

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side

Aksys strikes again! Like the Hakuoki series, Sweet Fuse: At Your Side seems to be very fast-paced and action-packed (it also reminds me a lot of 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward). Its premise is a tad siller, though. Basically, you are Keiji Inafune’s neice, Saki, and you’re visiting your uncle’s brand new theme park. Unfortunately, the evil Count Hogstein takes the famous game developer hostage and incites a “deadly series of games.”  It’s up to Saki and a group of good-looking men to save the day. Sweet Fuse boasts fourteen different endings, puzzles, and a chance at love with the aforementioned guys.

Marcus’s Picks

Backstage Pass Screenshot

Backstage Pass

Developer Sakevisual have been around for a while and already produced a handful of games. With titles like Jisei, RE: Alistair++, and Ripples, you can already get a taste of what they bring to the visual novel scene. Backstage Pass is itself a semi-sequel to RE:A++ and focuses on college student Sian who is trying to balance her job and school life. Thanks to her makeup artist job, she comes into contact with a handful of Hollywood-type hunks. There are four dateable men and sixteen different endings.

jacobs

Jacob’s Island

Jacob’s Island is a different sort of game, where the main focus is not on dating, but experiencing the story of Kenna, who is one of the last humans among fantastical beings. As she learns more about herself, players may choose to date one of the multiple characters along the way. This game is being funded through Kickstarter and still requires a few thousand dollars to be a success. If you’d really like to play it then check out the demo and consider helping them out.

Latest Obsession: Cookie Clicker

Cookie Clicker Featured

What is Cookie Clicker? It is a browser-based game created by Orteil about cooking a cookie a lot. Of course, there’s more to it then that. Initially, the game was just a quickly hashed out experiment which drew in a surprising amount of users. The ugly original version featured a big cookie and the ability to trade clicks (which result in more cookies) for various buildings. The simple concept had no end goal beyond “create more cookies”, but that compelled players all the same.

The new version of Cookie Clicker is much fancier. Still, it is mostly unnecessary frivolity all things considered. All you really need for the game is the ability to quickly click (initially) and then be patient enough to expand your cookie empire. Just like the experimental release, you can expend cookies for more efficient means of production, from enlisting baking grandmas to sending out cookie spaceships.

It may sound incredibly silly and that’s because it is. There is still no point to the game in this version, although more users may be compelled thanks to the additions. Now there are upgrades (41 so far). Upgrades enhance the production of cookies in one way or another. Because the number of upgrades is currently not too big it also could serve as a sort of achievement marker for some. Unfortunately, it appears they are being rolled out over days, meaning you cannot gain them all today.

Achievements have not been implemented but they are apparently going to be included soon. These will again lure in players who care for those things. Despite my general lack of interest in them, I have already invested enough time into Cookie Clicker to try to get them once they’re online.

There is no reason that Cookie Clicker should be a game I’ve spent so much time with and yet here I am obsessing over it. All you have to do is place it in a tab and pay attention every so often to buy a new item or click on a random cookie on the screen. And yet, here I am, with an empire currently amassing 46 million cookies per second. Give it a shot if you’re curious but hopefully you also don’t end up with it stuck permanently in your tabs.

See No Evil Review

Capture

Developer: Bigfingers
Publisher: Bigfingers
Platform: PC
Received review code

See No Evil is the newest niche adventure game on the market by developer Bigfingers. Of course, even most adventure game fans will probably be unaware of its arrival. Why is that? It seems most likely due to the fact that this is a bara game. With that said, it manages to push past whatever notions people might have in their heads about what a bara game must be. As it turns out, See No Evil is a lovely title that deserves a much larger audience.

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You Need to Play Gone Home

Gone Home featured

Gone Home is the first full game provided by developer The Fullbright Company. Having never before played their Bioshock 2 DLC “Minerva’s Den”, I was unaware of their style or skill. It’s obvious that the team is incredible though as they have created a truly intriguing new game.

Playing Gone Home is so easy that it is likely fans of all genres (and non-gamers to some degree) would be able to play and understand it. This openness is important because the story included is one which many people will understand and empathize with.

Although it probably sounds sappy, I felt certain story segments paralleled my own life so closely that it was hard to continue playing for fear of what was to follow. It was just astonishing how normal – and therefore real – these depictions seemed. It was an experience far different from what the majority of games provide. Even if you don’t love it yourself, you’ll hopefully agree that Gone Home is a novel, worthwhile title.

Cloning Clyde Review

Cloning Clyde Boxart

Developer: NinjaBee in Association with J. Kenworthy Games
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Platform: Xbox 360 – XBLA

The puzzle platformer genre is completely stuffed with awesome, decent, and poor titles. At least, it definitely seems to be that way now. How were things back in 2006? Although it wasn’t very long ago at all I feel like there were certainly less… Or at least it was around then that the so-called “indie game” saw itself rise from the corners of the internet. In any case, maybe when Cloning Clyde came out it was still something fairly unique.

All things considered, it does have some neat tricks. Cloning Clyde’s main feature is, well, cloning! You traverse around 2D levels and often need to reach new, higher areas, press buttons, or do various other tasks along the way. Some of these can be accomplished alone but others require you to clone yourself once or multiple times over. Cloning is accomplished at special machines so you can’t abuse it on the fly.

Cloning Clyde Featured

Levels aren’t tremendously long but they can become quite puzzling. Mainly you just need to get the Clyde you control through a level but there are more points awarded if you accomplish extra tasks. Each level has enemies to defeat, figures to collect, and you also get a bonus for saving the extraneous Clydes. There is also a feature to combine DNA between Clyde and animals/objects which yields pretty humorous results at times (as well as giving him new powers).

Cloning Clyde sure doesn’t look very good anymore, though. It’s quite a shock to find that it was actually published by Microsoft Studios considering the incredibly rough visuals. In any case, the gameplay still stands up as fairly fun – if simple. Finally, if you don’t like seeing Clyde’s bare butt in his hospital gown then you can turn on family friendly mode which gives him underwear.


Score: 2.5

2 1/2 out of 5 alpacas


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Experiment 12 Review

Experiment 12 Boxart

Developer: 12 different developers
Publisher: Self-published
Platform: PC

If you’ve been searching for something very unusual to play then Experiment 12 is something that needs to be on your radar. It is a collection of 12 games from different independent developers. For the most part, those involved are also well known within the community such as Jasper Byrne (Lone Survivor), Richard Perrin (Kairo), and Zaratustra (Eversion).  The multitude of developers decided to each create their own game in the span of 72 hours.

The main experimentation of Experiment 12 was not simply to make a game in a short period of time since that’s what game jams do regularly. Instead, each member of the team had to craft their chapter, pass it on, and the next person would continue the story from what was currently available. Therefore, the story was being generated bit by bit by each member on the team as they finally got their shot at making a chapter.

Experiment 12 Featured

Some of the chapters are longer than others but most take 5 to 20 minutes to complete. Things start out creepy and end creepy but there are definitely changes in between. For example, Ben Powell’s segment gives you gameplay like Missile Command in reverse. A few other sections completely change the “feel” of the narrative, but it’s not a flaw.

Only a few of the chapters are difficult making it a good entry point to indie games for many if they are interested. Experiment 12 is free and worth plunking an hour or two into just to see a creatively designed game. I would be interested in seeing more multi-developer work like this come out from far less ‘recognizable’ names.


Score 3:5

3 1/2 out of 5 alpacas


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