November 2018 Archives

SpiritSphere and Meme Machine | Ping-Ping Blocks Indie Hands-on

What is SpiritSphere?

Hello readers it’s been a while since I did a indie game hands on post. We will explore two games SpiritSphere and Meme Machine. These games play very causal and fans will love these titles. SpiritSphere is a ping-pong Windjammers indie game developed by Eendhoorn Games. The game draws inspiration from Legend of Zelda due to top-down camera angle. Spiritsphere plays like air-hockey with local multiplayer. I wish there was online in this game. There is different game modes such play against cpu. Earn coins to get new spheres and Squash mode. Squash mode is each player has a turn to hit the wall. Although if it’s not your turn, the other player scores. Players can choose up to 4 players for team match. If you don’t want to play with a partner. Go head to head with your friend.

The main goal of SpiritSphere is to get the sphere on the other player side. Simple enough right but wait there is more. There are different items and powerup to give player a edge. SpiritSphere features a small roster of characters but more will come. The game graphic is NES 8-bit style with eccentric soundtrack. The game is easy to pick for newcomers and veterans. Each character have unique abilities for knocking spheres. My thoughts on SpiritSphere as a whole. The game is very fun arcade-ish with retro value. NES fans will feel right at home with this. Grab a buddy and talk trash with this indie game. Make sure you get SpiritSphere on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

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Amiibos are your Friends to Play with and Unlock In-Game Content

What are Amiibos?

Introduced in 2014, Nintendo has a new way to interact in-game with toys. An Amiibo is a figure that gives you functionality in-game such as Mario Kart 8 (unlock costumes), Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (activate Kirby Star Dash’s ability) and Mario Party 10 (which there is a mode called Amiibo Party). People compared this to Skylanders and Disney Infinity then again Activision has offered Nintendo a deal but declined. Which use the same RFID (stands for Radio-frequency identification) for interacting with the game and store data in the figurines.

Amiibos are not compatible with all Nintendo I think it’s still in progress. Each figurine is specific to just one game now all, for example you are playing Mario Kart 8 and you have storage data. If you switch to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U that data will be deleted. Maybe in a future update you might use Amiibos in multiple games.

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Red Bull Conquest 2018 – Drink and Win Fighting Game Tournament Round-Up

What is Red Bull Conquest?

Red Bull Conquest 2018 is a esports event sponsor by a company wit the same name. The event is a three-day event with three fighting games Guilty Gear Xrd, Tekken 7 and Street Fighter V Arcade Edition. Red Bull is a energy drink filled with Vitamin B, extra sugar and Taurine. If you want more info on Red Bull energy drink visit the website. In Conquest 2018, players can register to complete or spectate in the crowd. If you want to compete, players must enter a pool to be in the top 8. Spectators can watch and check out booths on the floor. This is the first time I been into a real esports event in Washington DC. The venue was at Entertainment and Sports Arena in Congress Heights.

It’s been a honor to go and check it out for myself. Red Bull Conquest has been growing strong in USA. They’ve been in major cities New York. LA, Boston, Seattle and many more. Tickets was very cheap and crowd size was small. I will get to improvement towards the end. Red Bull Conquest 2018 is partnered with Hori, 7-Eleven, Honda and SteelSeries. You can get some Red Bull Conquest gear on the website. There is some notable player such as The Cool Kid, Mr. K, Malinpie, Punk and Tokido. Every player give it their all and matches was fast. Day 1 and 2 was about top 8 with three games. Final day is the Capcom Pro Tour with Street Fighter V.

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What Types of Japanese Anime and Manga Video Games Genre You Play?

Why is Japanese anime and manga video games not popular?

Japanese anime and manga video games are not mainstream like AAA titles out right now. Video gaming is apart of otaku culture in Japan. Mostly, anime and manga video games are made in Japan. These games produce sales and stocks in Japanese marketplace. For example, anime JRPGs such as Persona and Final Fantasy is highly popular in Japan. Later on, brought these franchises to stateside and doesn’t draw many sales. Phil Spencer stated “Xbox doesn’t sale well and poorly receive in Japan”. Although Microsoft Xbox is American-based company and doesn’t support Japanese Role-Playing Games. Therefor Sony PlayStation cater to JRPG companies and its Japan owned business. PlayStation video games sells miraculously in Japan and stateside. Anime games often get mediocre review and reviewers have no knowledge of the source material.

If I would put anime games in a category from A to C title. It would be C title because there is not a lot of value in them. Well known anime properties One Piece, Attack on Titan, Naruto and Dragon Ball Z sometimes get abysmal reactions or reviews. These games will not top Fortnite, God of War, Overwatch and many other AAA games. On the right side, there is some popular anime-like games like Nier Automata and Persona 5 that’s highly acclaim games. Dragon Ball Fighter Z is another game which changes anime culture. We made some progress with comes to anime and manga. Some games look like the source material with cel-shaded graphics and drastic storytelling. Nowadays, anime games uses cutscences from the animation company themselves. Manga artist also got involve in the development of the game.

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What are the best video game controllers?

Video game controllers puts player’s into the virtual reality. You can control the character based on your input. Using the keyboard is very different than a gamepad. A controller is very conformable in one’s hands. Sometimes it doesn’t and look very complicated based on design elements. I have my share of video game controllers throughout the years of gaming. Choose the right controller can revamp your playstyle. Configuration buttons is apart of mapping and choose your way to play. Video game controllers have different functions like changing colors, vibration and input audio headsets. Controllers have become apart of video game culture. Different controller designs from third-party companies. It have another term called “video game controller skins” and consoles have them too. Let’s get right to top 5 video game controllers for pc and more.

5. Afterglow Xbox One and PC controller – PDP

Afterglow Xbox one and PC controller is a great choice because it doesn’t burn out. This controller have different features such as changing colors and in-game chat option. The design is transparent with prismatic colors and same button schemes. Afterglow comes with a app by PDP available at Microsoft Store. I did a review about afterglow Xbox One and PC controller make sure to check it out. If you are a pc gamer or Xbox One user. Afterglow Xbox One and PC controller is available on Amazon. I am hoping it doesn’t burn out like other pc controller.

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