PlayStation not living up to its past

(Originally published on www.dailycollegian.com on Nov. 1, 2011)

I’ll never forget the day I picked up my first PlayStation 2.

Courtesy wlodi/Flickr

Having saved up money for a long time, the payoff was more than I could have expected. Armed only with Soul Calibur 2 and one controller, there were many sleepless nights when I would push through fatigue to get one step closer to completion.

Flash forward a decade later and not much has changed about that habit. The system though, is an entirely different story. I don’t play as much PlayStation as I used to. My time is devoted to other consoles — and it’s a shame — as the PS2 was a pinnacle of gaming. I’m not too fond of Sony’s approach with the development of their product.

Recent SquareEnix quality disappoints some gamers

(Originally published on www.dailycollegian.com on Nov. 9, 2011.)

Lately, I have something of a love/hate relationship with SquareEnix.

Courtesy JoshMcConnell/Flickr

I wish I didn’t hate it at times. After all, I’ve invested hundreds of hours into its games, and its held an important place in my life since childhood.

I spent endless hours grinding for experience points and immersing myself in its high-fantasy settings well into the wee hours of the morning. But, naturally, the company has changed – as nearly all good things must over time – but its direction leaves me desiring something more.

Downloadable content a double-edged sword

(Originally published on www.dailycollegian.com on Nov. 16, 2011)

Back in my day, there was no such thing as downloadable content. People were restricted to whatever data was written on the game disk. Unless a sequel came out or an additional disk was released as an expansion, there was no hope for seeing any extra content for a game. Kids these days have it lucky. Now they have this fancy online component that adds supplemental material to a game simply through a connection to the Internet. Downloadable content, or DLC for short, is likely to overtake the production of disks overall, though probably not for some time. However, with as fast as it has evolved and risen through the sales charts, it’s a contender that’s bound to stay, and with it, make or break the market.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 review

(Originally published on www.dailycollegian.com on Nov. 29, 2011.)

Watching Dead Rising’s Frank West throw a Servbot head onto Spider-Man, then slam him into the ground moments later is a moment of unquestionable glee. It’s the type of scenario seen often within Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the follow up to the original, released in February this year.