The newest title in the long running Tales series releases in North America on January 24th and the EU on January 27th. Rob weighs in on how it stacks up.
– How Skyrim Sold Me On Elder Scrolls Online
When The Elder Scrolls Online came out, one of the most common critiques on social media was that it made players want to go back to Skyrim. This week, Chris discovered that the coin had finally flipped. Playing Skyrim made him want to play ESO. Has The Elder Scrolls Online finally become the living, breathing alternative RPG players hoped it would be at launch?
– Nintendo – Switching It Up
As a lifelong Nintendo customer Rob is glad to see more of the switch. As a realist he isn’t sure how well it will do. Read on for what can make the Switch a success.
– Five Great ARPGs for Busy People
I was talking to @BillMurphy earlier today about what he’s been playing lately and we got started talking about action RPGs and how great they are for busy parents, extrapolating into how fantastic they are for anyone with limited time to play. MMOs, while magnificent and are our passion, tend to demand more time to feel as if progress has been made, hence the easy joy that comes out of ARPGs.
– Mass Effect: Andromeda Should Mark the Death of Season Passes
This week, we learned that Mass Effect: Andromeda will not feature a season pass. The news made the rounds on all of the major websites. This is interesting since none of the Mass Effect games have featured season passes, the fourth game doing the same should be anything but remarkable. And yet it is, because the industry has gotten so used to double-charging its biggest supporters that simply not trying to fleece them is somehow noteworthy.
– My Vote: The Breakdown
Rob’s back this week with his final introspective piece on 2016 and thoughts on a cancelled game.
– Yakuza 0 is Like a Walk Down Memory Lane on the PS4
Yakuza 0 is the long-awaited English release of the prequel to SEGA’s venerable open world franchise. It originally launched in Japan back in 2015, and in just a couple of weeks the English-speaking world gets their hands on the title that lets them play as Kiryu before he was a bigshot, as well as the one-eyed badass Goro Majima. We’ve been dabbling in the PS4 release for a week now and have some initial thoughts to share.
– The Top 5 Ways to Drain the Game Swamp
No one likes politics these days. However, video games have a huge swamp of their own to deal with. It is the one that has been created over time by too much hype and oversold knock offs. That’s right, too many games chase the money of creative titles and try to duplicate their success. We lived through it as MMO players. You also saw that template used in MOBAs which are now coming into their twilight years. The times have changed and it is now innovation that will rule out once again.
– New Year?s Resolutions for RPG Fans
One more year has come and gone and that means it’s time to start looking forward again. Following a season of Best Ofs, where lively debate, cheers, and jeers mark the year’s end, starting over can be like a breath of fresh air. We’re free to set our eyes on all that 2017 has to bring – and as our list of upcoming RPGs proves, there’s a whole lot to look forward to. Today, let’s make some New Year’s resolutions of our own and make the most of the year that’s to be.
– Rob?s Top 3 Upcoming Games
It’s that time of the year again for everyone to make forward looking statements. Rob weighs in with the top 3 games he is looking forward to in 2017.