‘News’

Pixel Pacas on Polykill Podcast!

 

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Here’s some unusual (but awesome) news. Marcus of Pixel Pacas just guested on a podcast – and it’s now available for listening. The podcast in question is Collect Call, a series devised by the team at Polykill to interview game collectors.

Maybe it’s already obvious, but Pixel Pacas is a site run by die-hard game collectors. As such, this was a tremendously enjoyable opportunity to chat a bit about collecting. In particular, Marcus gushed about his love of PS2 games as well as visual novels.

Give the podcast a listen if you like, and don’t forget to check out Polykill’s other episodes!

E3 2015 Coverage Links

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E3 2015 has come and gone, and we at Pixel Pacas were in attendance! As both myself and Leah went via other websites, we were unable to provide exclusive coverage here. With that said, we’ve been writing frantically since the convention and would love to share that work with you regardless. Below you’ll find links to each and every E3 preview we put together. We wanted to share the content with all you fine folk who check out our site!

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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!

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

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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.

Happy Second Birthday, Pixel Pacas!

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PixelPacas.com was born of an affection for alpacas and visual novels a little over two years ago. However, it was exactly two years ago today that the site officially went live for the world to view!

Since then we’ve posted over 200 reviews and generally tried to keep things positive! Many things have turned out differently than they were initially anticipated, and they likely will again as we continue into our third year.

Thank you to all those folks out there who have ever stopped by the site! It means a ton to see that anyone ever clicks on over. No matter what happens in the future we hope to continue providing you with coverage of unique video games on a regular basis.

Happy 15th Anniversary to the PlayStation 2!

My favorite photo of the PS2. Taken by Evan Amos.

My favorite photo of the PS2. Taken by Evan Amos.

This week Sony’s PlayStation 2 celebrated its fifteenth birthday. March 4, 2000 marked the Japanese launch of the system which went on to be the best-selling home console ever – and my personal favorite system.

Despite an October 2000 launch it was only in 2004 that I was finally able to get my hands on the system. Some of my first games were DDR Max 2, Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, and Grand Theft Auto 3. Shortly after that came Silent Hill 2, a game which will likely always stand tall atop my top 10 list.

As of today I have 4 PS2s (3 original sized and 1 Slim), a big handful of controllers and peripherals, at least 6 dance pads, and 538 games across NTSC-US, NTSC-J, and PAL regions. My goal is to eventually have a complete set of US releases but this will likely take a very long time. Even so, it’s a very fun and challenging (but attainable) goal!

Without the PS2 I’m not sure my love of gaming would have ever grown so strong. Heck, my interest in game reviewing may have never even happened if the console and I didn’t cross paths. Happy birthday PS2!

What are your favorite PS2 games?

Updates to Pixel Pacas

Hey there folks! Whether you first visited the site this week or over a year ago, thank you for taking the time to visit Pixel Pacas!

There have been a handful of changes behind the scenes which you, the readers, should be made aware of. We are utilizing affiliate links now. In this post we will provide a brief explanation of what they are as well as their current implementation on our website.

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Aliens vs Predator Classic 2000 is Currently Free on GOG

Aliens vs Predator Classic 2000

If you’re like me, you would really love to play the recently-released Alien: Isolation… but don’t have the funds to actually purchase it! While that purchase may have to wait months (or years), GOG is giving away one of the better Alien games of yesteryear.

Aliens vs Predator Classic 2000 is free via GOG right now. The promotion lasts 48 hours so basically interested parties should head over right after reading this post. To receive your own copy you must sign up for the upcoming GOG Galaxy beta with your e-mail (which means if you’re not a registered GOG member, well, you should do that first). Of course, signing up for the beta doesn’t mean you’ll actually be required to use it down the road.

In any case, after signing up you just have to wait a bit. It seems codes will be sent in batches over the coming days. The Aliens vs Predator Classic 2000 giveaway ends on Friday, October 17, at 9:59AM GMT.

Horror Game Month Has Begun!

Horror Game Month

Ever since my childhood I’ve cultivated a love of horror media. Whether it be movies, books, or games, I just can never get enough! Despite a ravenous focus on the genre, a great deal of titles always slip through my grasp. That’s where the Horror Community Game-Along comes in!

This is the latest in month-long themed gaming events hosted by Anne Lee over at Chic Pixel! If you’ve not caught any of her themed game months before, well, it’s really very simple. All you have to do is play a game or two within the respective genre and enjoy.

You can post reviews, Tweets, videos, stream gameplay, take photos, or basically do anything to share said gameplay with others. She’s even devised the hashtag #horrorgemonth for use so we can all see what other scary games players have chosen. We at Pixel Pacas will definitely be celebrating Horror Month so look forward to some upcoming reviews of great (or awful) horror games!

The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection is Free on Origin!

The Sims 2 Ultimate Edition is Free

Okay, so, Origin is not my favorite digital distributor. In fact, it probably isn’t even on my top five list! I know this is the case for many people out there thanks to EA’s image problem as well as simply not wanting another Steam-like program on their computer. All the same, they’ve been trying hard to push Origin as a viable platform…

Case in point, The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection is currently a free download for anyone with an Origin account. Users who already had any version of The Sims 2 associated to their accounts will have already received the upgrade. However, all of us can benefit from the deal. Simply follow these rules if you’re running the Origin client or head to this link in your browser and use the code I-LOVE-THE-SIMS. Just note that this promotion ends on July 31st at 10AM PST.

Why is this a big deal when The Sims 2 is a ten-year old game? Well, The Sims has always had a special place in my heart since the original game launched. It quickly became my most-played PC game. Of course, this became an issue once I discovered mods and tied up the phone line continuously when browsing mod sites!

Although my favorite game of the series is The Sims, The Sims 2 is a pretty excellent game as well. In fact, I prefer it in almost every way to The Sims 3 (although 3 has nicer-looking mods). 2 brought in some new systems while still retaining the classic formula which helped the game become even easier to play daily. By 3’s release, it felt to me that there was too much going on.

If you have never played a Sims game then 2 is a great place to start. Considering there are zillions of Expansion and Stuff packs for The Sims 2 (all included in the Ultimate Collection) this is an incredible deal – even though you have to suffer downloading Origin to use it.