Games

I love backing new games on Kickstarter, especially ones from new designers, first time publishers, or with a favorite theme. When I saw the KS page for Churrascaria, I was very intrigued. It seemed like it would be a huge hit in my home. The quick game play, wonderful theme, colorful art, and cutthroat element were all very compelling to me. Of all the games I backed, this one had great potential to be a part of every board game night.

When it arrived, I could not wait to begin learning how to play. Unfortunately, I struggled through the copious rules, rich with examples rather than instructions. The wording was not consistent, the paragraphs were too long, and relevance of the examples were not made for someone with a cognitive need for simplification. Even the setup instructions were slightly puzzling. I did find the simple setup illustration to be of great use.

Press Release

Redmond, WA – January 10, 2019: Calliope Games is celebrating its 10th anniversary by launching Tsuro: Phoenix Rising.

This brand new tile-laying game, the third in the classic Tsuro series, puts each player in control of a magical phoenix, cleverly swooping around the board to reach floating lanterns and turn them into new stars in the night sky. During the game, players will flip and rotate the double-sided tiles to create clever paths to the lanterns. The revolutionary patented board allows one tile to be manipulated without disturbing surrounding tiles. Tsuro: Phoenix Rising can be enjoyed by 2-8 players ages 8 and up, and plays in less than an hour.

THE BOYS ARE BACK! SEASON THREE OF GAME JAB 2019 WILL BE COMING TO YOUTUBE AND CRITICAL BLAST SOON!

Celebrated by many fans and critics as perhaps the best video game to come out in 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 has quickly won over the gaming community. A prequel to the 2010 original Red Dead Redemption, RDR2 takes us through the Wild West, as we walk in the shoes – or rather, cowboy boots – of Arthur Morgan, a member of the infamous van der Linde gang we met in the first installment. But don't worry: John Marston is still here as the original outlaw-turned-hired-gun, as are several elements from the original game that was celebrated as Game of the Year by many critics. One of the most interesting features that made a return, much to the fans’ rejoice, is the poker minigame – could this signal that poker minigames are increasing in popularity among gamers?

Retro games have been out on the market for some time now. You can find them in any store's toy aisle, with classic titles like Pac-Man, Asteroids, and others. The catch: they're almost all Plug-and-Play. Which is fine if you don't mind sitting within four feet of the screen.

Enter AtGames and their new line of Flashback Blast!

To illustrate what makes these games different, we ran one of the units through an experienced video game tester.

For those two or three of you who haven’t seen the trailer yet for the live-action Detective Pikachu film, may we present to you:

So yeah, not only did they actually go through with it but what has already been shown in this one trailer has already blown away people's expectations entirely. This does make us wonder though, what other difficult to adapt games and anime might be suited to live-action film or television to be released somewhere down the line?

The popularity of anime cannot and should not be underestimated. Over the years it has become hugely popular and inclusive in the sense that there’s anime that will suit everyone’s taste. The genre has provided the inspiration for a number of gaming developers, including leading casino and bingo brand mFortune, who actually create their very own games. There are many anime-based games on the market, which have been a hit with players, but what about anime games which have gone on to be successful movies too? Well, we’ve devised a list of some of the best below.

Pokemon

It was my very first convention. I do not do well around crowds, nor am I a people person. Much like James Halliday, I prefer the solitude of a book, video game, movie, or SyFy television show. The convention center seemed to be a fictional reality like the Oasis. I saw all sorts of things that sparked the imagination; my boyhood dreams came to life. What Easter Eggs could I find in a center filled with tens of thousands of eager game enthusiasts? Would I likely find love, like Wade Watts? Absolutely -- in fellow game designers sharing the same passion: creating games for the children.

Remember that feeling you had when you walked out of the theater after BACK TO THE FUTURE? I don't mean watching it at home on DVD (or VHS), I mean in the theater, because it means you were there, in that moment, in that era, when the 80s were in full swing and pop culture was expanding into new, uncharted waters. It was the time of the arcade games, parachute pants, and a rich variety of music that launched a renaissance.

When I sat down to watch READY PLAYER ONE, I had not seen the theatrical version. I had not read the book. And when I saw the opening scene, with its cinematically ominous Blade Hunter date and the post-apocalyptic landscape, I groaned. I didn't want another one of these.

That lasted for all of about three seconds, after which I was in sheer fanboy ecstasy for over two hours.

It's difficult to translate a videogame into a film. It's tempting, sure, and the good games provide a lot of inspiration. But ultimately, what happens in the game is brief, and hard to extrapolate into a 2-hour film without throwing in a lot of supposition and side plots.

So that's what directors do. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

And sometimes even if it doesn't "work" it's still a whole lot of fun!

RAMPAGE is the latest collaboration between Director BRAD PEYTON and actor DWAYNE JOHNSON. The two have worked together on JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND and, more recently, SAN ANDREAS. Johnson portrays Davis Okoye, a primatologist at the San Diego Zoo with a military background. His pet project is George, an albino gorilla whom he saved from poachers and taught to sign.

Back in 1998 gamers were being introduced to the true power of graphical technology. Dedicated graphics cards were the talk of the industry, and their ability to massively improve graphics the stuff of legend. A race arose among video game developers to create the best looking games, and PC gamers scrambled to afford a graphics card.

Many games at the time made use of accelerated graphics, but one game stood apart for delivering a next level gaming experience. Unreal. Created by Epic Games and released in 1998 the game made use of the most advanced graphics technology available, blowing minds with coloured and volumetric lighting. It was an incredible sight in 1998, so much so that many could scarcely believe their eyes.

Atari has been through many ups and downs. The company will hopefully be able to pull itself up and join the ranks of popular console video gaming.

From Marvel:

Nexon, a worldwide leader in online and mobile games, in collaboration with Marvel Entertainment has announced MARVEL Battle Lines, a new strategic card battle game featuring hundreds of iconic Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains. In MARVEL Battle Lines, players collect and build the ultimate deck of Super Heroes and Super Villains to take into battle across an expansive single-player campaign with an original story written by Marvel writer Alex Irvine and a real-time turn-based competitive player vs. player (PvP) mode. MARVEL Battle Lines will be released in 2018 as a free-to-download experience on the App Store® for iPhone and iPad and on Google Play for Android devices.

From Entertainment Weekly:

The Mad Titan is coming for Fortnite.

This isn’t one of those fun fan-made mashups for the YouTube crowd. Epic Games and Marvel have an unprecedented crossover event in the works, and EW can exclusively give away the deets! Thanos, the villain of Avengers: Infinity War, will drop into Fortnite‘s Battle Royale mode for a limited time starting Tuesday, May 8

...

The “Infinity Gauntlet Limited Time Mashup” mode for Battle Royale will feel just like a standard slugfest — with one major difference: One hundred players will descend upon the map and fight until one player is left standing, as usual, but this time you’ll do so with the Infinity Gauntlet in play.

DC and WB Games take a classic RPG style game and give it a makeover to appeal to its fans.

In the landscape of mobile gaming, much like in cinema, Marvel is pumping out games left and right while DC seems to have no real vision. If you do a search for Marvel in Google Play or iTunes you may find yourself with several options:

Marvel Puzzle Quest
Marvel Contest of Champions
Marvel Future Fight
Marvel Avengers Academy...

...and yes, you'll even find Marvel Pinball. There was even a time when a Marvel branded Tsum Tsum game was available but at the time of this article it appears to have disappeared from the Google Play Store.

photo by Flickr, Peter Pham

From music to film to TV to literature, poker is not just defined by the table, it resonates throughout popular culture. As fans of poker, we are always pleased to see our favorite strategic game referenced so often. Here we explore the many defining moments in pop culture where poker has been showcased.

The Critical Blast Best of 2017 Awards are almost in the rear view mirror, as we announce the Best Game of 2017! All the usual suspects were at play, and a couple of dark horse entries, and with everything being determined by the votes of the readers, it was truly anybody's game.

Ultimately, however, it came down to a fight between the top four games: SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY and LEGEND OF ZELDA, both from Nintendo, CUPHEAD from StudioMDHR, and the DC Comics superhero fighting game, INJUSTICE 2 from NetherRealm Studios.