Month: August 2013

GamerSushi at PAX Prime 2013

Yes you read that right, GamerSushi will have a small, one-man presence at PAX Prime down in the Emerald City this year. It’s rather a last minute thing, but I do have to give a shout-out to a couple people for making this happen; they know who they are (no Anthony, it’s not you).

I’m going to be on the show floor and attending panels and definitely trying to get my maple syrup-covered mitts on some next gen hardware. Both the PS4 and Xbox One (so hard not to just type Xbone) will be on the show floor showing off a plethora of games. I’m most interested in InFamous: Second Son and Dead Rising 3, but I’d be happy to get my hands on whatever.

Is anyone else going to PAX this year? If you are, what are you hoping to see? If you see me on the floor, come say hi! I’ll try not to be super socially awkward (no promises). Follow GamerSushi on Twitter for updates when I can spare them.

Roll Call: Saint’s Row IV

Saint's Row 4

This last week saw the release of Saint’s Row IV, the sequel to the irreverent, goofy, completely ridiculous sandbox crime series that lets you blow up just about anything in just about anyway possible. As if the games weren’t already insane enough, this version of the series has added in superpowers with which to visit havoc upon the citizens of Steelport, in addition to its new alien overlords.

While the first few missions of SR4 took me a bit of getting used to (the game makes you waddle through quite a bit of set-up in order to get to the first open world gameplay), once it unleashes you in the digital, Matrix-style Steelport, where you’re constantly testing the world’s parameters— things kick up quite a few notches. I’m already in love with the power glitches, a gameplay element quite similar to Crackdown’s agility orbs, which beckon you to jump to new heights to get stronger and faster. We’ll see how the rest of the game unfolds.

So what about the rest of you? Who else picked up Saint’s Row IV this last week? What are your thoughts on the game so far? What’s your character like? And did you choose the Nolan North voice? Sound off, Sushians!

GamerSushi User Accounts

alert

Due to some recent security issues we’ve experienced with the site, I’ve deleted all existing GamerSushi “subscriber” user accounts and have turned off the registration option.

Don’t worry, though – all of your comments are still in our system, and you can enter new comments by logging in with Twitter, Facebook or a wordpress.com user account (or without logging in at all if that’s what you prefer). I haven’t found any evidence that your login information was taken, but if you were using the same ID and password on another site, it can’t hurt to change your password. Sorry for any confusion!

Back to your regularly scheduled programming…

The Loquaciousness of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

mario and luigi dream team

The Mario & Luigi series has long been heralded by the gaming world at large. Different from the brother’s other outings, the series is always praised for its humorous writing and interesting use of the established characters.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is the fourth installment of the series and the first on the 3DS. Boasting gorgeous artwork, a new location and the ability to explore Luigi’s dreams, will Dream Team keep you up all night playing or will it make you fall asleep? Continue reading The Loquaciousness of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Rockstar Reveals GTA Online

Damn you, Rockstar.

My hatred of Grand Theft Auto IV has not been exaggerated or underreported in the slightest over the last few years. While Liberty City was gorgeous to look at through Niko’s eyes, I found it to be a dull, tedious place that I hardly cared about, or cared to be a part of.

But dang, does Grand Theft Auto V look different. In addition to a campaign that looks to mix up the formula with three protagonists, Rockstar’s newest iteration of the popular series is taking the multiplayer in a different direction than ever before by way of Grand Theft Auto Online, a persistent world where you and up to 15 others can heist, race, deathmatch, build and generally unleash havoc together. I’ll let the video do the rest of the gushing.

Grand Theft Auto Online releases on October 1, and is free with every retail version of GTA V. What do you guys think? Am I jumping too far into the hype train? Have I been burned too many times to take another chance?

The Confusing Heists of Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine

monaco coop

There’s something sad about looking forward to playing a game with friends only to have that hope crushed in front of your very eyes. Such was the case last Friday when four of the GamerSushi crew sat down in front of our PCs to play Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine, the recently-released top-down heist game by Pocketwatch Games.

After navigating through the game’s menu, which included having to disable Big Picture so Jeff could actually invite us to the game, we attempted to play Monaco for about a half an hour before giving it up. Between the small levels that aren’t really built for more than one person, the vague goals and the confusing visuals, we were rather disappointed with our experience.

I suppose that it can be said that we didn’t give the game a fair shake, but to be honest I have no interest in going back to it. I’m sure Monaco appeals to a certain person, but that just isn’t me.

Has anyone else played Monaco? What did you think of it?

Practice and Patience in Civilization V

Civilization V

There are just a handful of places in my life where I’m willing to invest actual, valuable man-hours in order to return some kind of benefit. Writing, for one, is a hobby that I’ve managed to turn into a career of some sorts, and I hope to take it even further than I have in the future, through continual practice and repetition. Parenting, for obvious reasons, is another area in which I gladly invest my time. But there are plenty of other “grown up” things that I can’t seem to give the time of day — learning to be handy, taking care of my yard, dressing better.

Videogames have always been different. Every now and then a certain game will come along that captivates me to the point where I want to plumb its depths and learn everything I can about it. Of course, this comes with mixed results (such as StarCraft II), but every now and then, the process of practicing skills and memorizing stats and build orders actually increases my enjoyment of a game.

Enter Sid Meier’s Civilization V. Continue reading Practice and Patience in Civilization V

Pixel Count: Most Anticipated August Release

The Steam Summer Sale has come and gone, leaving only empty wallets and frantic gamers in its wake. We all know summer is the best time for working on the old backlog and I hope you’ve made some progress on yours because the summer drought is about to end in a big way. August is actually home to one of the most talked about games of the year, Saint’s Row IV. In case you didn’t know, it’s going to be my choice for the poll below. So let’s take a look at the poll first and then talk about what other games are coming out after the break:

Most Anticipated August Release

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
Continue reading Pixel Count: Most Anticipated August Release

The GamerSushi Power Rankings: August 2013

Dark Souls

Another month, another update to the rankings. This time, we’re seeing not only movement in our backlogs, but movement in a few games that we managed to stick with from one month to the next. Imagine that! Continue reading The GamerSushi Power Rankings: August 2013

Phil Fish Cancels Fez 2 After Twitter Argument

fez 2 cancelled

Indie game maker, head of Polytron and creator of the charming platformer Fez Phil Fish is known around the Internets as kind of a hot head, and there’s no better way to get juicy quotes out of these kinds of folks than poking them with a proverbial stick.

Unfortunately for gamers, this latest attempt at provoking Phil Fish backfired, leading to the abrupt cancellation of Fez 2. Marcus Beer, also known as “Annoyed Gamer”, during a section of Game Trailer’s Invisible Walls went on a rant about Phil Fish and fellow indie game developer Johnathan Blow, calling them several rude things and basically trashing their reputation as independent developers. This resulted in Beer and Fish having a nasty back and forth on Twitter with the end result of Fish announcing the sudden cancellation of Fez 2 and his departure from the games industry. Continue reading Phil Fish Cancels Fez 2 After Twitter Argument