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June 12th, 2015 News 1 Comment »

Pixel Pacas is Going to E3!

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Well, sort of! Both I and Leah will be at E3 from June 16-18 and explore the convention floor, talk with developers, and generally have a hectic (but enjoyable) time.

Of course, if you know much about E3 then you’re well aware that not just any old blog owner can get in. Perhaps it’s too obvious to state but we’re not going thanks to PixelPacas.com. Instead, we are both fortunate to work for other websites which have a bit more clout.

It’s impossible to say yet if we’ll be able to provide much coverage of E3 exclusively for Pixel Pacas (as most of it is for the aforementioned sites) but we’ll see! This note is here just to let readers know that no posts are planned to go live next week, as all the hot new E3 news will be what everyone is focused on, after all!

June 10th, 2015 Featured, Lists 11 Comments »

Is the Vita Dead? Not As Far as I Can Tell!

So, by this point we’ve all probably heard the comment that the PlayStation Vita is a “legacy system.” Of course, there was also the update that this was just a misunderstanding and only meant to refer to the original version of the system. With that said, the reason this statement made news was because Vita fans do feel this is Sony’s true opinion on the console. It launched in 2012 (in the U.S.) and rarely sees much attention in press conferences.

Even if Sony has mostly abandoned the device with first party support, third parties are absolutely dominating the handheld. Just as they did with the PSP before, niche companies are bringing their wares to the system and finding a devoted audience. Here is a list of some of the games coming soon which make me excited to be a Vita owner.

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June 5th, 2015 News No Comments »

No, Thank You!!! Getting Physical Limited Edition!

nothankyouhardcopy

Back in April, we at Pixel Pacas reviewed MangaGamer’s first BL release, No, Thank You!!! Although it was not at all what I had expected, it still turned out to be quite the unique visual novel. For the first week of launch, and even a while after, that game sat at the top of their digital sales chart. At the time I had hoped all this interest would result in a physical release.

Tonight MangaGamer announced that No, Thank You!!! is indeed getting a physical version. The Limited Edition includes a DRM-free copy of the game, official 22 track soundtrack, 40 page mini artbook, two-sided DVD cover, and of course a special slipcase to house it all in.

Given the huge community for BL games, and their desire to support each and every English release, I have no doubt that this is a limited edition that’s set to sell out fast. Pre-orders for No, Thank You!!! Limited Edition* (NSFW link) are available now at $49.95 ahead of the July 6th release date!

Are you going to buy this new hardcopy or is the digital version good enough for you?

*This is an affiliate link for MangaGamer.

June 4th, 2015 Featured, PlayStation Vita, Reviews No Comments »

Pixel Poops Review

 

Pixel Shits Box

Developer: yyrGames
Publisher: yyrGames
Platform: PlayStation Mobile

Pixel Poops is a game I have a bit of a history with. You see, it first released under the name Pixel Shits as part of an in-joke for listeners of Orange Lounge Radio. As a long time fan, I checked the game out during its debut and found it to my tastes. After all, as someone whose first home console was an Atari 7800 there’s a bit of nostalgia for that sort of simplistic gameplay and graphics in my heart.

With that out of the way, here’s a brief overview of this goofy little title. In Pixel Poops you play as a person that poops in public. Apparently, you don’t like joggers (the green stick figures walking around) so your goal is to stop them from walking across the entire screen. Instead of real life where a jogger might just be outrageously disgusted by stepping in human feces, these poor people actually appear to get caught in giant mounds of excrement. To refill the poop meter, you stand near the Taco Bell.

Play continues until five joggers have made it through the stinky gauntlet safely. Although it starts simply, Pixel Poops ramps up in difficulty quickly by speeding up the amount of joggers on-screen at once. To score well, you’ve got to implement early game strategy such as placing small poops everywhere (to slow walking speed of enemies) before placing showstoppingly large ones. Each downed jogger is one additional point on your scoreboard. I just wish a leaderboard existed, or at least a way to save top scores.

When it all comes down to it, Pixel Poops is a super simple Atari 2600-style game with potty humor. I love that there’s a ridiculous story attached to the title and have gotten more enjoyment out of it as a sub-$1 purchase than should be possible. PlayStation Mobile shutters on September 10, 2015 so nab Pixel Poops if you want continued access to one heck of a weird game.

Score: 3

3 out of 5 alpacas

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June 2nd, 2015 Featured 3 Comments »

Complete List of Sekai Project-Published Games

grisaialogopic

If you’ve visited Pixel Pacas before then you know we have a huge love for all sorts of visual novels. From otome to horror to eroge to, well, anything else we’re happy to give them all a shot!

One of the biggest publishers in the visual novel space, Sekai Project, is the newest but has quickly risen to become a name that most visual novel fans know. This is thanks in large part to their Steam focus which allows them far more attention than JAST USA and MangaGamer. After all, both companies just recently began utilizing Steam.

Just how many games bear Sekai Project’s name on them now, though? After all, it seems like they’re constantly announcing new titles! We’ve gone through the grunt work of finding each one.

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May 28th, 2015 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Airline Tycoon Deluxe Review

Airline Tycoon Deluxe Boxart

Developer: Spellbound AG
Publisher: Black Forest Games
Platform: Mobile – Android, iOS PC – Desura, GamersGate, GOG*, Steam

Airline Tycoon originally launched in 1998, and despite my own simulator addiction at the time, I was totally unaware of its existence. Instead, my time was split between DinoPark Tycoon and Sim City 2000. Apparently, I was years delayed from the current market. In any case, the ultimate version of Airline Tycoon Deluxe landed in 2003 – again, totally missing me. It appears not having access to the game in my youth has changed perceptions quite a bit.

When looking over fan comments when this title launched on GOG you see tons of excitement over this being the best simulation game ever! I don’t think it’s the best ever, but it is definitely charming and well thought out. You begin as an owner of an airline and, despite CEO status, must basically do all the grunt work as well. Hire staff, chart flight plans, and work with or against the other airline owners are just some of the tasks you’ll need to take care of.

Airline Tycoon Deluxe Feature

And, honestly, it’s overwhelming. Time and time again I found myself wandering the terminal in confusion… but some of that was my own fault. If you do take the time to handle every mission that comes your way first, you’ll be taught some of the basics. In any case, once you do finally get a handle on Airline Tycoon Deluxe it does make more sense – even though there’s still a ton of systems to manage.

I wish I had played Airline Tycoon Deluxe (or the original version) in my youth because it looks exactly like the kind of tycoon simulation that was so awesome at the time. The graphics are wonderful, the music is midi-tastic, and there’s so much room to take on the task of airline owner exactly as you wish. Just, at this point in my life, it seems that there’s a lot of preamble and studying necessary to get to the good parts.

Score: 3

3 out of 5 alpacas

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May 26th, 2015 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Regency Solitaire Review

Regency Solitaire Logo

Developer: Grey Alien Games
Publisher: Grey Alien Games
Platform: PC – Direct, Steam

Solitaire is one of those games which I can’t help but adore. Ever since its inclusion on Windows computers I’ve played it every so often. However, my favorite renditions of solitaire are games which shake up the formula such as Faerie Solitaire and now Regency Solitaire.

In this title, we’re thrown back in time to 19th century England and placed into the shoes of Bella. Despite being part of a wealthy family, her brother has just squandered away their riches, leaving Bella to marry a despicable fellow aptly named Mr. Bleakly. Instead of sitting idly by for men to decide her fate, Bella works to reclaim the family fortune and also select her own partner.

Regency Solitaire Featured

We help her out in this quest by taking on round after round of solitaire. You don’t need to match card suits, just select cards one above or below your active card. The card layout is unique, more akin to what you see in western mahjong games where multiple cards may need to be uncovered to reveal the bottom one first. You’ve also got a selection of power ups, upgrades, and tasks to complete each chapter.

The best aspect of Regency Solitaire, aside from the lovely visual presentation, is that it doesn’t demand perfection. Fail your mission objectives? You can still continue! My biggest complaint is a current glitch which effectively freezes the game if you press space (which draws the next card) while in a combo. Beyond that, the release is quite fun and offers around 8 hours of gameplay on normal. And yes, you can bump it up to hard for a serious challenge.

Score: 4

4 out of 5 alpacas

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May 21st, 2015 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Life is Strange Episode 3 – Chaos Theory Review

Life is Strange Episode 3 - Chaos Theory Logo

Developer: DONTNOD Entertainment
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PC – Steam PSN – PS3, PS4 Xbox 360, Xbox One

I’ll admit, despite the dramatic flourishes of Life is Strange Episode 2, the episode felt pretty meandering. This phenomenon appears in many episodic properties, though. Things picked up a tad in time for Episode 3 – Chaos Theory. Throughout the approximately two-hour playtime I found myself hooked, even if it wasn’t always for the best reasons.

Information related to Kate, Rachel, and the Vortex Club was left relatively untouched, even after what just occurred in the previous episode. And for reasons unknown, these interpersonal, ham-fisted issues are still more pressing than the impending destruction of Arcadia Bay. With that said, I enjoyed getting caught up in Max and Chloe’s antics even as they increase in severity.

Life is Strange Episode 3 - Chaos Theory Featured

And (spoilers) I’ll admit to advocating very hard for a potential relationship between them. The way Episode 2 ended scared me about who Max’s potential love interest could end up being, as it seems completely wrong with the assessment I’ve made of the characters thus far (headcanon, haha). In any case, the real star of the episode is Chloe. We see more about her life and history which explains her current devil may care attitude. Then, in the final few seconds of the episode, we’re given a huge “shock” and then credits roll. Although the reveal felt like a cheap trick, it did effectively necessitate my playing of the upcoming episode.

I did not appreciate the utter game-y ness at times. Searching for a computer password and an appropriate place to hide keys had me trying every wrong option first. When the real one was revealed it was obvious, but somehow I didn’t notice (or maybe you need to perform other actions before the right one unlocks?). I’ll need to play again to see if that was the case or not, but if so, that’s truly annoying. Life is Strange is about the story, and any amount of frustration to experience more of that is a hindrance to my enjoyment.

Episode 4 looks to be when the Vortex Club party finally occurs, and as such I’m hoping it’s where everything finally amps up – so far the story is weirdly sedate. It’d be impossible to keep all that excitement for the final episode, right?

 

Score: 3

3 out of 5 alpacas

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May 19th, 2015 Featured, PC, Reviews 1 Comment »

eden* PLUS+MOSAIC Review

EdenPlusMosaicBoxart

Developer: minori
Publisher: MangaGamer
Platform: PC – MangaGamer*, Steam

Most of the time, my reasoning for selecting one version of a visual novel over the other is to get the original, authentic experience regardless of any potential negatives or positives associated with that release. eden* posed a different sort of challenge. For those who aren’t aware, the original version was actually a so-called all-ages release, with more content being added afterward for eden* PLUS+MOSAIC. This review is for that latter version, and it honestly impacted my opinion.

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May 15th, 2015 Uncategorized No Comments »

Someone Save Me from Clicker Hell

clickerheroes

This week Clicker Heroes launched on Steam. In case you haven’t heard of it, this started out as an incremental browser RPG. Basically, you click monsters to accumulate gold. You level up the party of heroes with said gold, and can do so infinitely many times. The stronger everyone is, the better your click damage, and the more efficient it becomes to kill larger foes. But at the end of the day you just click, idle, rinse and repeat.

I actually already suffered through a big obsession with the game when it was available in browser but eventually got over it. But now that the darn game has launched on Steam I’m back idling and clicking away. I have already put in 9 hours of heavy idling and slight play in one day. Why?!

Well, Clicker Heroes has Steam Achievements now. It’s hard to say if that’s the entire reason why, but there’s just something satisfying about seeing numbers go up and up. And yes, before you ask, I am still playing AdVenture Capitalist as well. That one seems to have grown less glitchy with time. At the moment Clicker Heroes faces saving issues (apparently) which makes me afraid to close the game.

Perhaps a really horrible loss of data will cause me to reevaluate my current revitalized excitement over Clicker Heroes? We shall see!