08
Dec
What do we have in store for you today? Best XBLA/PSN title, best music game, and best multiplayer game. Bet you’ll be surprised who wins that one!
Archive for the ‘Features’ Category
06
Dec
Welcome to Leveling Down’s 3rd Annual Gaming Awards/Holiday Shopping Guide! For those of you that are first time readers of our awards/holiday shopping guide, cmfl3x and I have basically compiled a list of various games released this year into different categories. We choose a “winner” of each category, but at the same time, all games mentioned as nominees in each category are worth considering – hence, the shopping guide aspect of it. If you can only pick one game from the category, go with the winner. If you enjoy that category a lot, consider checking out all of the nominees on that list!
As cmfl3x and I discussed the various categories and selected winners for each one, some categories we did not always agree on the same winner. This year, instead of forcing one another to see agree on the same game, we have instead allowed for ties – so there is a potential of two winners for each category. Our gaming tastes are not exactly the same and I didn’t think any of you would gain much from us forcing only one winner.
Our 2010 Gaming/Awards/Holiday Shopping Guide will span across all gaming platforms, and will run over the next two weeks on our normal Monday, Wednesday, and Friday posting schedule. Next Friday’s entry will conclude this year’s feature with our 2010 Game of the Year.
Without further ado, hit the jump for today’s categories: Best Action/Adventure Game and Best Role Playing Game.
08
Nov
Are these four games enough to hold against this holiday season’s sequels?
Going into this year’s holiday gaming season, I am lacking enthusiasm. I don’t know if it’s because I’m busier now or if the current games this holiday season are just not as exciting as in the last couple of years. To be honest, most of the games I am about to call out I haven’t played yet, but based on buzz I am reading and demos I’ve played today’s entry will sort of be my knee-jerk reaction as to why I am not excited about what’s in store for the 2010 holiday season.
The problem is, we have so many sequels that are worse than their predecessors or sequels that don’t exactly blow their predecessors out of the water. This leads me to find practically all of them lacking in the excitement category that I have had in past holiday seasons. How many sequels are being released this holiday season? Let’s see!
15
Oct
Being able to play Final Fantasy VII on my PSP for $10? Sign me up!
I’ve been traveling a lot for both personal and business reasons for this past week or so, and the PSP has been my only source of gaming on my trips. One of the things that I think is really cool about owning a PS3 and a PSP is the PS One Classics line. These are PS1 games that are sold through PSN between $6-$10 in price, and are digital downloads that can be played on both the PS3 and the PSP. Considering the PS1 graphics aren’t too great on our HD TV sets these days, I’m not a big fan of playing the games on the PS3, but on the go with my PSP? Perfect! Hit the jump for a list of PS One Classics currently available that I will probably purchase at some point and a list of remaining PS1 games that I hope come out for download in the future for us here in the States.
08
Oct
Is PC Gaming really dead with such strong titles like these?
cmfl3x’s article this week had me thinking more about computer gaming lately. Not so long ago, I felt that a lot of game companies decided that they wanted to move towards the console market due to the inherent piracy involved with computer gaming. Yet today, computer gaming is stronger than ever. I’d love to use the term PC gaming instead of computer gaming, but the truth of the matter is, companies like Valve and Blizzard have really been supporting Mac gaming.
The current gaming landscape on the computer is strong enough that I could take a vacation from both my 360 and PS3 and still be quite entertained. Hit the jump for what I consider the games that are keeping computer gaming still relevant in this supposed “console age”.
29
Sep
Who would you rather play as in a video game?
The fall TV season is upon us, which leads to this equation: New TV Shows + Old TV Shows + Starcraft II + Halo: Reach + Fallout: New Vegas in 3 weeks = Mrs. cmfl3x is not a happy camper. One day, when I figure out how to maintain a better balance, I will write an article about that. Today is not that day.
Instead, what with all the rectangular screens I’m staring at these days, I started wondering what TV shows would work well as a video game. Really, there is only ONE game that I’d really want to see, but I added a few more for good measure. Check it out!
14
Jul
Everyone knows Rock Band is a huge hit, but what else appeals to non-gamers?
Last week I started the conversation about the types of games non-gamers (specifically, wives and girlfriends) could enjoy or at least tolerate. After laying out some general principles and looking at some broad areas of gaming, this week I’ll be narrowing my focus and talking about some specific genres that might appeal to non-gamers. I’ve organized the games from most appealing to least, in general. As always, your mileage may vary, and I’d love to hear others’ ideas as well!
07
Jul
Is the Wii the only answer to getting non-gamers interested in games?
Any gamer who lives with a non-gamer (generally, the Mrs., but I don’t want to assume) knows the inherent tensions that can arise in the household. “Do the dishes!” (Five more minutes…) “It’s time for bed!” (Let me finish this level.) “We’re going to be late!” (I’m fighting a boss.) “I’m going into labor!” (Let me get to a save point!) These tensions exist in my marriage as much as they might in any other and are compounded by the fact that my wife dislikes glowing rectangles in general. Thus any game that Mrs. cmfl3x and I can find a common interest in is like pure gold.
In this two part feature, I’ll be looking for some of the general principles that a gamer can use to try to find a game that can be enjoyed with a non-gamer. Obviously, your mileage may vary, and each individual user knows their significant other the best, but since I have a particularly difficult to please spouse, I figure I’d share some of my experiences. In Part 1, I’ll be looking at some general guiding principles and some general types of games, while in Part 2 I’ll discuss some specific genres that might house these diamonds in the rough. With examples!
14
Jun
Some of the already announced E3 2010 titles I’m looking forward to – can you guess what they are before the jump?
E3 2010 takes place this week starting tomorrow from June 15 through Thursday June 17, so there should be a lot of notable gaming news and announcements that we’ll be very excited to talk about. While most of the good stuff is probably under lockdown until E3 when they are announced, some publishers have already revealed their (partial) E3 2010 lineups. I’ve gone through and pulled out a few titles that I am definitely looking forward to hearing more info about in addition to any other crazy potential surprises!
More »
07
Jun
Seeing the Peace Walker bundle everywhere in Tokyo definitely didn’t make things any easier.
This past weekend, my wife gave me the permission to buy the PSP Big Boss Bundle! Good thing too, since I had already secretly pre-ordered it last weekend (was worried they would stop the pre-orders too close to release date). Originally I thought I would hide it from her, but that’s no fun – I don’t want to play my PSP in secret…so I made some strong arguments: told her that my commute to and from work every day is basically an hour long on the subway, and I’ll probably be on this commute for the the rest of my working career and I need as much stuff as I can do on the train. Plus, Gamestop is having various trade-in deals (50% bonus trade-in credit on anything through the end of this week) so I was able to trade in some older 360 games I’m no longer playing to minimize the cost of my new PSP. That and she got a new job, so I was able to ride off her happiness by sneaking in a request for this purchase.
Now that I’m going to be a PSP owner tomorrow, I’ve sat down and put together a list of games I plan to pick up for it. And like the DS and its classic franchises: Advance Wars, Phoenix Wright, and Professor Layton, the PSP also some excellent titles. Read on to see what titles I am finding noteworthy enough to start tracking down…
