Fantasy Life Unboxing October 27, 2014

LEVEL-5’s latest 3DS title, Fantasy Life, hit retail shelves on Friday and we shot an unboxing for all of you to enjoy.

First shown at E3 2014, Fantasy Life has a unique and quirky story. The gameplay revolves around a diverse jobs system (similar to titles like Final Fantasy III) where you’ll be able to choose a life for yourself, and each life offers a unique strategy for how to play.

Fantasy Life is out now exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS.

Problems With Nintendo’s Virtual Console Service October 13, 2014

Nintendo’s Virtual Console service was one of the reasons Maniac purchased a Wii back in 2008.  If you’re not familiar with the Virtual Console, its a service where players can purchase and download classic Nintendo titles from their earlier consoles onto their newest ones.  This gave players the chance to finally experience rare older games which have not been manufactured in the past twenty years.  Since it’s successful Wii launch, Virtual Console titles have come to the 3DS/2DS and Wii U.  Nearly two years after the launch of the Wii U, the Virtual Console service is good, but it could be a lot better.

In this unscripted video, Maniac talks about a lot of the problems with Nintendo’s Virtual Console service, and how the service can be improved.

What Happened to Half-Life 2 Episode 3? October 12, 2014

Half-Life 2‘s cliffhanger ending was followed up by two expansion episodes.  Seven years after the last Half-Life 2 episode was released, the third episode has still not been released.  In this new video, Maniac talks about the history of Valve’s episodic gaming plans, analyzes how well they worked out, and brings up serious concerns why that episode may never come.

THEATRHYTHM Final Fantasy Curtain Call Unboxing September 16, 2014

The fall gaming season is upon us, and we’ll be expecting new game releases on a regular basis.  Today, we’re unboxing THEATRHYTHM Final Fantasy Curtain Call Limited Edition, the second game in the THEATRHYTHM series for the Nintendo 3DS.  Unlike the first game, which included tracks from the thirteen main Final Fantasy titles, Curtain Call includes music from not only the main Final Fantasy titles, but also from the long list of Final Fantasy spin offs, like Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy Type-O and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.  Today we’ll be unboxing the game’s Limited Edition, which includes a special music CD bundled with the game at no extra charge.  Is it worth the day one purchase?  Lets take a look inside.

THEATRHYTHM Final Fantasy Curtain Call is out now exclusively on the 3DS.

Issues With EA’s Origin Service September 6, 2014

Maniac has become interested in EA’s Origin service since they started offering games for free through their On the House Promotion.  However, when it came time for him to register the CD Keys for several of his EA games, he found they were rejected, even though they were for games offered on the digital platform.  Here’s Maniac’s take on the issue.

Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines Memories August 8, 2014

Its been ten years since a little known PC Action-RPG called Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines was released.  Based on White Wolf’s Vampire: The Masquerade franchise, the game was created using Valve’s Source Engine and was released on the exact same day as Half-Life 2.

Despite the use of a (then) top of the line graphics engine and the World of Darkness license, the game saw lukewarm reviews by major PC critics and didn’t sell very well.  Sadly, like Anachronox before it, the development studio closed up shortly after completing the game and no sequel was ever made.  In fact, plans to revive the license with the launch of a very long in development MMO were terminated earlier this year.

So why does this mostly forgotten game mean so much to Maniac?  Let’s find out.

If you’re interested in learning more about the modern World of Darkness, I recommend checking out Iron Liz’s review.  She does reviews of Pen and Paper RPGs over on her site, The Foundry.