Another Castle

It’s been 3 ½ years and more than 1,000,000 views since the day Another Castle launched. 3 ½ exhausting, rewarding, costly, successful, wonderful years. Unfortunately, over the course of 2015, our consistency dropped significantly month after month. Although we tried to regain momentum, we just couldn’t find our footing.

After months of debating, I’ve decided to archive Another Castle. We’ll…

THE WITNESS Review: Perplexing, Beautiful, and Not for Everyone

The Witness, from Jonathan Blow and his small team at Thekla Inc., is a game that somewhat inarguably holds the potential to be boasted as the epitome of adventure and exploration, puzzle-based-games creation, allowing player interaction and understanding to drive the experience without the typical crutches that often bog down most games.

Seldom is the risk taken to offer players complete freedom…

DEADPOOL Review: X Gon’ Give It To Ya

Superhero movies  are for families to get together, sit back, eat some popcorn, and just have a jolly good time. Deadpool, however, is not a lighthearted romp, family fun kind of superhero movie, and that’s awesome.

Yes, Deadpoolis a different kind of superhero movie and is so different that it is on a whole other league from its contemporaries. Other super hero movies offer morals to strive for…

Winter 2016 Anime Worth Watching

A plethora of new anime titles have debuted and, like every season, there’s bound to be some gems and some stinkers right out the first gate. With that said, this is going to be a bit different than the last time, as this is focused on shows they aren’t continuations or sequels; meaning second seasons of Assassination Classroom, Snow White with the Red Hair & Durarara!!x2 (on its final arc) will …

After Shock: THE WITNESS Taking Sales Hit from Piracy

Jonathan Blow’s The Witness has been the subject of much discussion over the past week. From controversy surrounding the price announcement to raving critical reviews, the message has been inconsistent, though it has followed one through-line: people are interested in The Witness, for better or worse. It appears that further events have solidified that truth, unfortunately not in the capacity…

Sticker Shock: THE WITNESS’ Price Reflects the State of Indie Development

On January 20, 2016, Jonathan Blow, the man responsible for indie hit Braid, took the final step in rolling out his next highly anticipated game, The Witness, by revealing the price tag to the public. The title, which has vastly grown in scope since its inception in 2009, contains a sprawling environment handcrafted entirely by Blow and has been the developer’s sole focus since the release of Bra…

5 Survival Horror Games Keeping the Genre Alive and Well in 2016

After a stagnant decade that left us with only a handful or so of notable survival horror games, it looked like the genre was returning in a big way in 2014, but immediately spiraled back into near non-existence in 2015. While AAA studios may have lost focus almost entirely on survival horror, indie devs are consistently showing us that it’s back and in a big way.

So while we lost Silent Hillsove…

Sony’s ‘Let’s Play’ Trademark Denied

Mid last week, it surfaced that Sony Computer Entertainment had filed for a new trademark on the phrase “Let’s Play”, the term adopted as a label for videos involving internet streamers playing games live and providing commentary for their audience. Well, it would seem that the application for trademark has been denied.

A link to the status page for the trademark, posted on Kotaku on January 12,…

Did Sony Just Trademark ‘Let’s Play’?

Tuning into video games streams through Twitch and other streaming services has become as common, for some, as tuning into cable television. In 2016, the act of filming, post production work, and sometimes hours of recording commentary has become a daily task for streamers attempting to develop content that marks them as unique among the swarms of new streaming personalities. ‘Let’s Play’ has…

In Memoriam: The Video Games We Lost in 2015

Demand, studios / developers closing, funding, or even an overly ambitious and ever-growing budget all play their role in folding a video game’s development. Unfortunately, those cancelled are generally highly anticipated and leave an all-too-familiar void in gamers, never knowing what could have been.

As every year before it, 2015 was plagued with disappointing cancellations, and we’re here…

December Video Game of the Month: FINAL FANTASY VII (PSOne Classic)

Why pick an almost twenty year old game as opposed to something like Xenoblade Chronicles? Because Final Fantasy VII is a game that made quite the impact on the gaming industry, love it or hate it. This memorable RPG by Squaresoft (now known as Square-Enix) made back in 1997 was the first in the series to have fully rendered characters and 3D computer graphics. Each entry since VII would usually…

5 Best Anime of 2015

2015 is about to come to a close and it’s time to reminisce about the highlights of 2015. It has been an especially excellent year for anime, from the surprising announcements (Hunter X Hunter [2011] being licensed by Viz Media, FUNimation Broadcast dub program expansion, Higurashi & Legend of the Galactic Heroes being rescued by Sentai Filmworks, etc.) to the great shows that came out this year…

Retro Reminiscence: PLAYSTATION 2

It’s official, we can now have backwards compatibility on PlayStation 4 — sort of. Yes, we may have to pay again to revisit our beloved games of the sixth-generation and it’s not just as simple as putting in our old PS2 discs, but it’s a step in the backwards(right) direction.

The announcement instantly induced all the fond memories had with that beautiful, black machine. All these memories…

November Video Game of the Month: RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER

This month’s choice came with ease as Crystal Dynamics delivers yet another fantastic entry in the Tomb Raider series. The Tomb Raider got rebooted back in 2013 and was very well received. This wasn’t just because of the game itself but how well Lara Croftas a character is now genuinely respected as a character in gaming, and is not just viewed as a object of sex appeal. The tradition continues…

PLAYSTATION EXPERIENCE Wrap-Up: The Good, the Bad, and the VR

Sony held their second annual PlayStation Experience on December 5-6, 2015, and featured a two-hour keynote that was sure to offer something for everyone. The conference showcases everything Sony has planned in their upcoming year of releases in a press event style setting but with doors open to the public.

Unfortunately, not everyone can afford a plane ticket to San Francisco and a weekend worth…

5 Must-See Asian Movies on Netflix Instant Queue — Winter 2015

Another season, another Netflix list.

Although we’ve had to say “goodbye” to several outstanding Asian films in the last several months, Netflix continues to replace those we’ve lost with some real gems. This Winter, Netflix’s Asian selection continues to impress with the addition of award-winning blockbusters such as Ode to My Father and Korea’s all-time box-office record holder, The Admiral, al…

October Video Game of the Month: HALO 5: Guardians (MULTIPLAYER)

This is a hard one to comment on. This seemed like the easy pick and then I experienced the campaign, which is less than desirable. However, if you want something that goes toe to toe with Call of Duty: Black Ops III and then some, Halo 5: Guardiansis for you. If you want a Halo multiplayer game that goes back to the good old days with some new tricks and a upgraded framerate, you’ve found your…