What’s this, a Positive Gamers that’s on time? That’s madness! This one’s on the topic of worrying too much about where others are in life compared to where you are. When you’re playing a game with a friend (the good old fashioned way), you’re not constantly peeking at their screen (unless you’re an awful cheater) because you need to focus on where your character is going. So treat life the same way, kind of. Don’t judge where your placement on the map called life is in comparison to where you see others. It’s not a race, it’s not a competition, it’s just life. Stay positive, gamers!

The post Positive Gamers Episode 4: Watch Your Own Screen appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

Not that there isn’t any merit in getting help from others (In fact, I think you need to be open to that, but that’s another video entirely), but relying on anything else too much isn’t the way to go. You have to be able to fix yourself up when life gets tough, we’re not always in raids, we don’t always have a team of healers to fall back on. In life, we have to play a plethora of roles, and one of the biggest is healer. Catch other Positive Gamers episodes over here and stay positive, gamers!

The post Positive Gamers Episode 3: Healing Yourself appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

Whereas the premise sounds incredible, Dead Island: Riptide falls short of being a stellar example of how open-world zombie games should be. Its redeeming qualities, however, reserve me from warning all ye who enter to turn back from the island. It may not be incredible, but it’s certainly something that will provide you and a friend fun for a playthrough. I repeat – you and a friend. Alone, I fear, Dead Island: Riptide is simply too taxing to endure with its constant fetch quests.

There is an element of difficulty with Riptide as Andy and I found ourselves dying constantly. However, it is so inconsequential, that there is very little illusion of difficulty. Which can be a good thing (taxing fetch quests reminder). Money gets taken away with each death, but after an early point in the game, money really becomes no object as you’ll find that mo’ money actually equals less problems. But as a player, one wishes that it actually did stick to the Notorious B.I.G. song. I wish that it wasn’t easy to become incredibly OP quickly, as leveling up the skill trees, weapon skills, and upgrading your weapons all proved simple very early on. In a game like this where you’re mowing down zombie hordes on an island, it’s good to feel like a badass, but not like a God.

Guns seemed scarce in the majority of my playthrough, and even when I did find them the melee ones proved not only more effective, but more fun as well. Shooting the zombies should have felt more powerful than slicing them, but it felt the same or even less so. It’s a bit pointless for that.

The number of bugs in the game is also alarming. Many times I would die and checkpoint very far away from Andy, while on other occasions I would actually be completely stuck in an area that shouldn’t have been accessible in the first place. Again, this is all far better with a friend. Not only will you laugh at the ridiculous glitches, but you’ll also be able to drop out of the game to then join in again next to where you wanted to be (next to your partner). It’s annoying, it’s laughable, and it’s disappointing. I was also turned off by the graphics and art direction.

Why does Xian dangle like a paraplegic as she climbs vines? Why do the cutscenes look very grainy? When jumping, there’s a Morrowind/Oblivion type of statue effect. It’s all ugly and could have used more effort into it. Especially considering that it takes itself to be a serious game with goals for what it wants players to experience. I think, and this is something Andy and I realized during our playthrough, that this game would be excellent if it didn’t take itself seriously. (And if it doesn’t take itself seriously, it should be clearer of that.) There is a shark mod for a weapon, right? Make the weapon shoot sharks at the zombies. Enhancements like that can really turn this game around.

As much good as I think an open world zombie apocalypse game can do, Dead Island: Riptide tries to be a serious example when it lacks the fear that comes with the situation. I didn’t feel like I was hopeless on the island; I didn’t feel like every corner posed a real threat. What it was, was a fun (albeit forgettable) experience. Not worth full price, but not worth passing on completely, neither.

I had never gotten around to playing Dead Island the first time around, so I was pretty much going into Dead Island: Riptide blind. The premise always sounded awesome: a zombie action role-playing game. However, the little that I heard about the first game worried me. It seemed to just vanish once it was released and I was never sure why, nor did I really care with the influx of zombie games already pervading the market. Thus, Riptide was my first foray into tropical undead misadventures, but how was my trip?

Among the cast of characters, each with their own combat specialty, Yamilia and I had an affinity for Xian, the Chinese airline stewardess, proficient in the art of the blade. I was sold once she said she was doing this for honor. I was basically Mulan.

I was glad I chose the petite swordswoman because the game’s best assets worked well for her character anyway. A variety of weapon modifications allowed me to make a colorful little arsenal of machetes, katanas, knives, and the like. I found myself going through a ton of different weapons by the time the game was over. It offered a pleasant amount of experimentation. Your arsenal will grow quickly, but unfortunately, the game’s difficulty may not catch up.

Any difficulty in Riptide is rendered inconsequential, because there are no consequences for dying. As you pick up too much money throughout the game, the minuscule fee you pay for dying hardly hurts your wallet. This wound up sacrificing a lot of the tension and strategy in staying alive that you would feel in a zombie apocalypse. Its RPG elements ultimately fail when you make too much money and upgrade everything you need too quickly. Riptide seems to play it way too safe for what it is. It’s great and all to have awesome weapons early on, but you lose the satisfaction in progressing through the game.

“Let’s go in here, I guess.” “Sure, why not.”

The atmosphere continues to suffer beyond that; Riptide is chock-full of bugs and glitches. A few of them would have broken our game if not for the checkpoint system. On one occasion, Yamilia and SamuraiLincoln (our quiet, online, stranger friend) jumped down from some branches we were traversing to end up stuck with no way out. It was designed to look like a regular piece of scenery, which made it all very confusing. Similarly, Yamilia and I once respawned in one little area of a town with a working ladder and everything, only to find ourselves completely stuck for no reason. With that on top of the magical instant sunny to stormy weather glitches, we were severely confused.

For a first impression on the series, I can see some great gameplay ideas at play here, but they don’t harmonize as well as they could have. Still, I had a pretty good time, although we might have just been making it more fun by playing co-operatively. Playing alone with have been much more boring without a friend to laugh at the game with, like laughing at how bad the character animations are in third-person or finding soap in a cash register. Yes, there was soap in a cash register. Why.

PRESS X FOR SOAP

Riptide actually does a fairly good job of adding variety to the scenery, even with the majority of the game on an island. The only problem is getting from place to place. You may notice how awful the map and compass system is once you really have to trek across an island or town with no shortcuts, especially in the water sequences. While you’ll seldom be boating through the swamp, it doesn’t make it any less of a confusing chore. With one of us at the helm and the other navigating, we could only imagine how awful it must be to go at it alone.

While it falls short of almost everything it tries to accomplish, the elements are still there for a potentially fun time. At a price of $40, Dead Island: Riptide ought to be a fairly droll time for you and a couple of friends online, provided you don’t take it as seriously as the game takes itself.

[Final Breakdown]

[+Large variety of weapons] [+Skill trees lead to extended play time] [+Plenty of collectables to find] [+Co-operative mode is engaging] [-Repetitive missions and gameplay] [-Forgettable story] [-Bugs galore] [-Lazy graphics] 

The post Dead Island: Riptide Review – If I Was A Rich Girl appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

Games that are far too serious for their own good flood a large part of the market these days. That’s why I’m eternally grateful for games like BattleBlock Theater, whose idea is to be just plain fun. This isn’t to say I’m opposed to having meaning behind a game, or playing another sequel, but sometimes I just want to put on a duck face and throw my multiplayer partner to their doom. All this is possible (and ridiculous) in The Behemoth’s newest release.

I have a distinct love for games that allow two people to work together and get to the end. It’s really random, but I just love the idea of one person needing a boost. It’s teamwork, it’s togetherness, and it’s fun to sabotage. BattleBlock Theater shines in this: its co-op. The single-player is fun, but you’ll really want to grab a friend and try to move your way through this puzzle platformer together. It’s through this that you’ll find some genuinely hilarious moments in the game as you mistakenly drown or zap each other.

That’s not to say that the game itself isn’t funny, though. The dialogue and cutscenes have been some of the funniest ones I’ve experienced in a game in years. It’s nonsense, it’s immature, it’s perfect. It’s Behemoth. You’ll know this the moment you see shit everywhere.

Even with minor hiccups here and there in the controls, it’s all responsive to get you through. There can be glitches and bugs that get you killed but the deaths are momentary as you will spawn at the nearest checkpoint in seconds. It’s a great move, as slowing down the pace of BattleBlock Theater would have hindered the enjoyment of it. Especially as the game’s difficulty rises to become mind-numbing after a certain chapter. The difficulty spike is intense and disappointing.

While there are extra multiplayer options in the arena (king of the hill-esque, capture the flag-esque, deathmatch, etc.), the reality is that they feel tacked on because the combat is not as fleshed out as it should be for something like the arena modes. I’m not saying they aren’t fun at times, as Trey and I spent a while on some of them, but again they’re not what you’ll be staying with BattleBlock Theater for. It’s the charm and the fun of the story mode with a friend that’ll keep you around.

BattleBlock Theater’s single-player campaign is rather straightforward. The goal is to platform your way around the level, fighting off evil cats, overcoming hazards and collecting enough gems to progress to the next level. Fortunately the game’s controls are pretty tight, which is good because the game becomes extremely challenging, even on the “normal” difficulty. With that said, BattleBlock Theater does something that I appreciate: it teaches you how to play without holding your hand. You learn how to deal with different hazards and you feel good when you get past a rough spot.

The point of collecting gems and balls of yarn are the unlockables. Only a few gems are required to proceed, but collecting all of the available gems in a level means you have more currency to rescue friends with. Spending gems at the store to rescue friends gives you new characters to play with; part of the appeal is seeing what goofy face you will unlock next. I think half of the time Yami and I were playing this we were just laughing at her character’s stupid duck face. The balls of yarn are spent on unlocking weapons and tools that help you deal with the evil cats.

The single-player campaign is alright, but I definitely feel the campaign truly shines once you have a friend. The levels are redesigned and introduce new mechanics for co-op. You can throw your partner across gaps, and in turn your partner can now lean over the edge of the platform and pull you up since you can’t make the gap on your own. You can also bounce your partner upwards so they can reach new areas.

In addition to multiplayer co-op campaign, there are several competitive multiplayer game types in the Arena. There are a lot of easily recognizable game types, such as king of the hill, capture the flag and even a deathmatch mode called “Muckle”. Unfortunately I don’t feel that these game modes have much staying power. The combat in this game is hectic, so “King of the Hill” and “Capture the Horse” modes were fun, but I didn’t feel that any of the other game modes offered anything special and became boring quickly.

A lot of what I like about Battleblock Theater stems from its personality. The game plays fine, but what kept me playing was just how flipping great the writing is. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this hard while playing a video game before. Between the chapters in the campaign there are animated story segments that consistently had me in stitches. We’re talking sore stomach and full-on tears of joy. The main voice actor did one hell of a job telling the story. The narrator’s little quips throughout the game in different spots were great, though they repeat often and wear out quick. Behemoth’s cutesy art style combined with some of the death animations leads to some hilariously disturbing imagery. It’s so cute and so horribly violent at the same time!

[Final Breakdown]

[+ Absolutely Hysterical][+Tons of Personality][+Solid Puzzle-Platforming/Tight Controls][+Co-op Campaign is a Blast][-Competitive Multiplayer Options Lacking][-Challenge Becomes Overwhelming]

The post BattleBlock Theater Review – Cats Suck appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

You may have noticed things have changed around here. With a new site comes new responsibility: The responsibility to keep our Twinfiknights nice and warm with the Game Forever shirt. We have a store! Look at us now, mom!

No longer will you have to explain what the hell Twinfinite is. Now you can wear the official t-shirt and have to explain what the hell Twinfinite is. We’ve partnered with the fine folks over at Mercury Labs to sell some swag to Twinfiknights twerking everywhere. Join the Twinfinite legion and stay fierce.

The post We Now Have a Store! Get Crazy! appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

As is tradition, here is the roundup of all the pictures we took at PAX East this year. We had a fantastic time seeing our peers as well as Twinfiknights all over the convention center. The best part? BeatBuddy dancing around the entire hall. Hands down. We’re exhausted and ready to call it a wrap with our coverage, so let’s grab the popcorn and take a look at the last weekend together. Hit the jump for the full gallery.

The post PAX East Pictures And Showfloor Walkthrough! appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

During a GDC panel, Hideo Kojima revealed that The Phantom Pain and Metal Gear Solid V were indeed the same game. Ending months of speculation from fans as the initial reveal trailer for The Phantom Pain was made at the Video Game Awards last year. No one saw this coming. Holy shit, guys.

Jokes about how we all guessed it months ago aside, the entire campaign from Konami was fun and different. We should be glad we have developers that try something new to bring out excitement from gamers. Even if the internet will pounce immediately and guess it all. More details on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will arise as the panel is going on right now. All I know is that I’m excited as hell and the game is going to be absolutely gorgeous thanks to The Fox Engine.

The post [News] Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Revealed appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

Twinfinite has been at this for a year and five months now, and no matter how much experience we get going to conventions together (PAX East 2013 was our third, big team, convention to cover so far), I always feel like we messed up immensely and that I’m the worst and that we’re completely unprofessional and oh my God.

Sit down, let’s have a chat. I want to use my knowledge of how not to be in hopes of showing start-up independent game sites how they should be. No one told me about these skills that I’d need when covering a convention — seriously, like, no one. Maybe they thought it’d be funny.

Look, I’m not stupid. I was aware there’d be a lot of walking when covering massive conventions in big cities. But no one told me I needed to actually run. I think I’ve run more in the past year and five months than I have in 22 years. The messed up thing is that I’m not even kidding. If you’re as terrible at time as I am, you’ll find yourself running to appointments. Hell, even if you’re not late you’ll still be sprinting like a tiny ant in a crowd. There’s just something in the air that causes anxiety and incites a sense of urgency. Maybe it stems from a desire to escape the smell.

Odds are you’ll have a lot of appointments and guess what? They’re all at opposite ends of each other. It seems physically impossible but they somehow manage to be. It’s commendable, if anything.

It’s with a fine combination of not caring about looking like a fool and maintaining eye contact that I’ve been able to fool all of my friends in the industry that I’m actually a charismatic person and that they should talk to me. If you’re not good at talking to people, you better start getting good; you’ll be doing a lot of it. No, it’s not all about playing video games. It’s like, 1% about playing video games. *Note: That’s actually wrong. But it’s not all about it, I swear!

You have to be able to talk to people and make friends and “network” (man, I hate that term) with other industry folks (and you have to be able to not say the word folks). These will be your peers! These will (hopefully) be your friends! They’re a constant source of support, fun, advice, and (let’s face it) competition. Don’t even get me started on how much you’ll need to communicate with publishers and developers to even get access to their games.

Turns out having a media badge doesn’t make you royalty. I asked around for my tiara and La-Z Boy recliner to play some games, but was instead treated to long lines. PAX East didn’t always mean press priority to play the games or see the panels. You had to be able to wait in line to play some of them. It’s a consumer centered show so that’s totally understandable. Just give the person telling you where the line is a smile, say thank you, go to the back of the line, and proceed to grumble under your breath.

Oh this doesn’t apply if you have other stuff to do. Remember to prioritize; if a game is going to take you an hour to get to play, get to your next appointment (see the first skill).

I mean being able to quickly take out your business card in a calm, cool, fashion. Don’t throw your business card at a person’s face. That’d be hilarious, though. I’m the worst at taking things out of my pockets and handing them to people. Whenever I pay for something in cash, I look like the person behind the counter is robbing me. I apologize in advance if you receive my business card and feel shame as though you just forcefully took it from me.

For that matter, have nice business cards. Get a business card holder. Make everything about you fancy; like Don Draper except for video games and instead of a suit, you’re wearing a sweater that says N7.

Get confidence. If you can’t find any within you, fake it and it’ll eventually come around. Any person that’s met me has been fooled by that. You got a press pass, you have the shot to be on the same level as the other journalists you love and follow. Talk to the people who make the games you’re absolutely passionate about with confidence that you have the ability to do just as good of a job. If you believe in yourself, others will too. Show it off with all you do, even in the way you hand them your contact information.

There’s not much to say about this except when you ask something and someone says no, you have to ask someone else. Or ask them again — make them crack. But not too much. Like an egg. But no, wait, they’re people. Look, just don’t give up.

The post [PAX] Skills No One Told Me I Needed to Cover a Convention appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

I’m convinced there is positivity all around the video game industry and community. So, in an effort to show that I’m not full of it, I took to the halls of the convention center in Boston for PAX East to ask attendees if they would name one positive experience they’ve had within the gaming community. What came out of this was a very positive experience for me (hopefully it was for the interviewees, too). I heard so many cute stories about how great and important the community can be to someone. GLaDOS almost made me friggin’ cry. It’s nice to hear I’m not alone in thinking that this is a fantastic industry/community/hobby/passion and to see these Positive Gamers in person.

The post [PAX] Positive Gamers: PAX East Edition appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

I didn’t want to play Guncraft because of its name. I’m glad I did, but I want to start with a mini rant of sorts because I feel like jumping on bandwagons when you have a legitimately good idea is a bad way to go about developing a game. Yes, Guncraft has the same graphics as Minecraft. Yes, it has building gameplay like Minecraft. No, it’s not made by Mojang, rather, it’s made by Exato Game Studios Why then, hop on the boat of popularity that is Minecraft, and risk being called a rip-off? It lowers the quality of your game when a person sees or hears the name.

Hell, even the graphics make me wonder why you would go that route. It’s exactly Minecraft’s blocky, voxel engine graphics. Mojang owns it, okay, they own it. You want to break out of the mold and be different and not scare people away from your game? Change it up. Almost any art direction could have worked; any other one. You take the building and destructible abilities of Minecraft: Fine. You take the graphics of Minecraft, too. Um, okay. Finally you name it Guncraft: I don’t know, man. I don’t know.

End rant. If you’re able to overcome that all, though, you may find a nice little gem of a game.

Guncraft is fun, it’s fast paced, it’s well-polished, and it allows you to go completely batshit on the environment. With Guncraft, you’re in for a FPS with a twist; you can build things. For example, you can build a watchtower either on the fly (which is a terrible idea as you’re left vulnerable) or with an interesting mechanic that has you erecting pre-built designs at the click of a mouse.

There are the standard FPS style matches; Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture The Flag are all modes you can play against others. The representative I spoke to informed me that there would also be other unique modes available, such as one that has lava being raised throughout the level and players having to fight each other while also managing to stay out of the lava’s way. I can see some really interesting game modes coming out of the building possibilities within the game. Hopefully Exato takes advantage.

I’m happy of how fast the gameplay is. When you die, you see the kill screen and clicking the left mouse button respawns you. Often, I wouldn’t even notice I died because I’d be in mid-click and suddenly be killed to just appear instantly. It’s an awkward occurrence, but that’s forgivable as it just means you’ll get back to playing quickly.

You also get choices between classes. I found there was a large variety of them as well as a great, big, selection of weapons to choose from. It’s great that it’ll welcome any person’s play style; I used the mobile sniper to get a shot of someone across the map and watch as their block of a head exploded like a Gallagher watermelon. The level I played in is a nod to geekdom as it’s based off of Hoth. I’m sure there will be even more little nods like those.

The vehicle I rode had bad firing accuracy when I was trying to get rid of a sniper on a roof, but thanks to the fully destructible environment, I was able to mess up his vantage point and force him to move. It just goes to show how much strategy the destruction brings. You can even build a tunnel if you manage to use the right tool (there will be axes, picks, and more that will work better than guns to destroy certain blocks of the environment).

I think it’s a fantastic gem of an indie FPS and that’s why I’m disappointed in it possibly being seen as a clone. It doesn’t even have to; standing on its own, it’s very fun. I know it’s silly to hope for a revamp before it releases (which right now is set for Spring of this year) but at least I’ll hope that people can not judge before playing like I did. Who knows, maybe it’ll work for them.

The post [PAX] Hands-On Preview: Guncraft – Build It Up, Shoot It Down appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

One of the few releases I was looking forward to most this year was Dontnod’s Remember Me. I knew very little about it so I was pleasantly surprised to see it before me at PAX East this weekend. But what I found was that there are even fewer releases that I’m excited for this year now.

In a Neo-Paris in 2084, you play a woman named Nilin who is a “memory hunter” and can enter people’s memories to rearrange them in an act of manipulation. The demo I played through had me following orders from a man on a radio frequency claiming to know her. Nilin, however, forgot who this man is. This is absolutely no problem to her as she blindly follows the directions he’s giving her to get through the city. Maybe she’s never heard of not talking to strangers?

The story has Nilin trying to get back the memories that her former employer erased from her. You get a sense that society has deteriorated and there’s a heavy dystopian vibe from this Neo-Paris. The entire part of the city I played through looked like a crack den, so its citizens fit right in.

Let me start by saying the controls felt off, as though the game had not been polished over to make the motions meet the commands. Nilin felt heavy even though she’s supposed to be a nimble parkour expert. She can climb over things with ease, however it’s not nearly as fluid as when you do it in games like Assassin’s Creed or Mirror’s Edge. Which is a problem because it just so happens it’s a large part of the game. The demo was very linear and the only way to get to point B from A was by pressing the A button to climb and jump over obstacles. Thanks to unclear distinctions between where you’re supposed to jump to and where you’ll fall, there are plenty of easy ways to die. This would be fine if the load times weren’t atrocious and frequent; every death equals a loading screen.

It’s not all jumping over stuff, though; Remember Me has a currency that will allow you to buy things at shops. I was also treated to a little minigame-esque feature where I’m assigned to look at a photo and find out where a package within that area is leading to a reward of money; think of those missions in inFAMOUS.

The combat found within Remember Me can also fall victim to the clunky controls. I didn’t feel that it was fluid at all, and became repetitive very quickly. It looks like it could really benefit from taking on the control schemes, combo opportunities, and fluidity of games like the Arkham series or Sleeping Dogs.

All in all, I’d say Remember Me is my biggest disappointment of PAX East. It’s a shame to see a game that doesn’t try something new, but it’s even more of a shame when it doesn’t even take what works and does it the same to ensure it’ll be good. I would like to have more time playing through the parts that have you changing a person’s memories, but only if I don’t have to sit through arduous load times. Hopefully it gets polished up by the time it releases on June 4th.

The post [PAX] Hands-On Preview: Remember Me – Trying to Forget appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

The Sims 3: University Life, as I said before, adds the ability to send your sims (young adult through elder) to a new university town. There, they’ll have the opportunity to earn a degree in six different areas. Each allows your sims to start at a highler level within the specific careers they affect as well as earn an increased salary. That’s really the main reason you’d want to send your sims over to the college town because really, anything else you’d do over there can be done in the regular towns. In fact, 50,000 lifetime points nets you an honorary degree of your choice, so really, it’s not that fascinating of a town to send your sims to for a term or two. That is, unless you’re that into role playing or want some of the major-specific items for free. Or you like doing odd jobs for minimal cash.

The Sims 3: University Life also brings three new skill sets: social networking, street art, and science. Each bringing new items that help increase the skill level. It’s a little weird that they’ve suddenly decided that logic shouldn’t cover science, also. Makes me wonder why they didn’t have the science skill before, given that they had a scientist career track since the beginning of the game’s release. A word of advice with the street art skill: don’t go around spray painting every wall you see. Apparently that’s illegal.

Along with the university lifestyle comes the university social group system. The more activities you do and people you befriend that pertain to either the nerds, jocks, or rebels, the more influence you’ll get. What does this give you? Seemingly nothing. Some new social interactions here and there. The notable reward for maxing out the influences is that you get new fancy career possibilities. These include Sports Agent, Art Appraiser, and my favorite, Video Game Developer. Speaking of which, it’s hilarious that you can only “complain about video games” and not praise or celebrate them. Accurate as hell. This expansion pack also brings forth some new personality traits to help (or hinder) your quest to be the coolest (or suckiest) student in town. Avant Garde, Irresistible, and Socially Awkward are all new. I question whether Avant Garde is necessary as the Artistic trait already existed. I went with Irresistible because I like to keep my sim counterpart very accurate and true to life.

As with other expansions, new hairstyles and clothing options are added on. So is it all worth $39.99? Despite the fact that the university town is utterly useless unless you don’t feel like spending the 50,000 points for an honorary degree, I’d say The Sims 3: University Life is totally worth it for The Sims 3 fans that want a lot of new content added to their game. It’s definitely up there in the list of most significant expansions to The Sims 3.

[Final Breakdown]

[+New skills] [+New traits] [+New clothes, hairstyles, and items] [+New careers] [+Llama swag] [-New town is pointless]

The post [Review] The Sims 3: University Life – Juice Kegger At My House appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

It’s no surprise that they’d come out with a Pokemon themed 3DS, as Nintendo has practically made versions for all of their major franchises. But what is surprising, after the disappointing news that the awesome Fire Emblem design was going to be on the original 3DS only, is that they chose the 3DS XL to premiere this one on. Also, that Pikachu is so free with itself.

The new 3DS XL will be on retail shelves on March 24th, along with a 4 GB memory card and a $199.99 price tag. If you register both a 3DS XL and either Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon or Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity with Club Nintendo between March 21st and April 30th, you get to download one of five games for free: Super Mario 3D Land, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone!, Star Fox 64 3D, or Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive. 

Pretty sweet deal, provided you’re planning on getting a new 3DS XL and one of those two games.

Oh but be sure to get this Pikachu one from Target, they’ll have it on sale for $159.99.

The post [News] Pikachu 3DS XL Has Nipples appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

In a reign of fire and dragons, Capcom announces its new IP with the working title of Deep Down. If it could be compared, I’d say it looks a lot like Dragon’s Dogma. There wasn’t any gameplay footage shown, but we do know it’s going to run on the Panta Rhei engine for the PS4 and feature dragon fighting.

The post [News] Capcom Announces New IP appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

During the Playstation meeting today, Sucker Punch’s next game set for the PS4 was announced: inFAMOUS Second Son. The trailer showed off pre-rendered cutscenes showing off what looks to be a military hideout’s security room. Evidently this one will deal with a government that has taken away the freedom of its inhabitants and the people (with superpowers) that are fighting for it back. In the trailer, we were able to see one of said rebels fighting against hordes of police. He managed to bust out a super tornado move as well as teleport past his enemies. My guess is he’s the “second son.” Really excited to see the usual inFAMOUS style morality system applied to this one.

The post [News] inFAMOUS Second Son Announced appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

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Happy Singles Awareness Day, Twinfiknights! This episode’s really quick and was originally going to be last week’s but it would have really missed its opportunity of being topical today! My main point is that the saying “there are more fish in the sea” rings true. I’m not well-versed in this topic, but I wanted to offer this video just in case I could possibly pass on some positive thinking. Let’s face it, I just really liked the Mass Effect analogy. Stay positive, gamers!

The post [Positive Gamers] Episode 2: Less Than Three appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

I love The Harlem Shake viral videos. I don’t care if it’s going to be reeeeeeeally annoying in a week, I love it right now. That’s why I forced the staff to stop working so we could create our own. Also, Sly Cooper Thieves in Time released! Did anyone realize that? Expect my review soon, I can’t stop singing Pitbull’s Back In Time while playing it because I’m a Miami douche bag  Let’s see what else happened around the site with the weekly roundup!

Features

Does Warren Spector Have A Point?

Do The Harlem Shake

Wormlight: Bastion’s Amir Rao Talkes About Why Lazy Ports Suck

Twinfinite Sexy Fun Time Episode 54: On the topic of violence

Twinfinite Talks: What Do You Look For in Video Game Criticism?

Let’s Save the Industry: Violence Edition

A new take on an old trick – Hitman Trilogy HD Collection/Absolution Unboxing

Reviews

Croixleur

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes – Best. Superman game. Ever.

Super Street Fighter Volume 1: New Generation

Proteus — Postcards From Chill Island

News

Prey 2 Coming? 

Commander Keen Kickstarter Begins

The Witcher 3 Information Released

TERA Goes Free To Play

Rayman Legends Delayed, Coming To Xbox 360 And PS3

Gabe Newell Discusses Steam Bottlenecks in Candid Interview

Twinfinite’s Justin Robert LIVE on Truthloader Today

All the XSEED Games Now Up for Pre-Order, Prepare Cash

Ouya will be sold at major retailers this June

Disney Mobile releases new free game: Where’s My Valentine?

Rovio dropped the prices on their HD games for iPad

I Ask of You…Are You My Fate/Zero English Dub?

The Playfire & GMG Giveaway — Because Free Stuff Rules

Sky Pirates Racing now available for free worldwide

Fire Emblem: Awakening Delayed Several Days, Millions Weep

The post [Twinfinite Insider] Con Los Twinfiknights appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

Watch several Twinfiknights pull a long-distance harlem shake. How does this tie into video games? Honestly, we just find any excuse to twerk it.

The post [Community] Do The Harlem Shake appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

I let out an audible “YES!” when I found this out today. Rayman Legends, originally set to release sometime this spring for the Wii U, has now been delayed to “early September” and is coming out to Xbox 360 and PS3. People that didn’t think buying a system entirely for just one amazing game can rejoice that it’s now multi-platform. This is a huge sigh of relief for me, I was a big time Rayman Origins fan and was heartbroken that Rayman Legends was only set to be a Wii U game. Here’s to smart decisions from Ubisoft!

The post [News] Rayman Legends Delayed, Coming To Xbox 360 And PS3 appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

Mark your calendars for February 20th 2013 at 6:00 PM, Twinfiknights! Shit’s going down. Sony revealed on their PlayStation Facebook and Twitter accounts a link to this site telling us to “see the future.” Within the site a video can be found and it’s pretty clear what it’s advertising, right? PSPGo 2, am I right? No?

Seriously, if it’s anything less than an announcement for the announcement (of the announcement announcement announcement announcement) of the PS4 or whatever they want to call it…. Well that would actually be hilarious. Here’s looking forward to finding out what will happen at that “2013 meeting.”

The post [News] Sony Teases Feb 20th, Community Goes Insane appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

Being an avid DBZ fan, I always wanted a good Dragon Ball Z game as a kid. Sure, there were all those Japanese only releases, but nothing that would work on my unmodded consoles. Fun side story: when I was little, I bought a Japanese copy of DragonBall GT Final Bout thinking my Playstation could play it because I’m an idiot. Probably better that I never played it, anyway. Finally in 2002 though, Budokai arrived (with Budokai 3 releasing in 2004) and I was hooked on the series. But is Namco Bandai’s fighters collection worth it after 9 years?

I’ll start off by discussion whether Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection is worth it for someone who already owns them on PS2: No. The collection includes the original Budokai and Budokai 3. I can’t fathom why 2 isn’t included, it just seems odd to leave it out. There isn’t anything added in but the trophy support, and the HD graphics aren’t exactly an overhaul when they already looked great in that art style. There isn’t online support, which would seem like a no brainer considering the times we’re living in. Plus it leaves out 2. What the hell? When did we start calling two games a “collection”?

I like to think of the Budokai series as fighters with training wheels. The special moves are easy to pull off and it’s not all about getting the highest combo. This really depends on whether you’re into fighters or not, but I think they’re incredibly welcoming games to all kinds of players. Which is perfect for non-traditional fans of fighting games like me.

Both games feature a lot of similarities with 3 being leaps and bounds ahead of the original. If the “collection” only included Budokai, this review would be incredibly negative, let me tell you. It’s not that it’s an awful game by any means, but it’s definitely not at its full potential. The fighting can be clunky at times, the enemies are incredibly easy, and the entire game can be completed to 100% in 7 hours. There’s something interesting Budokai does at a certain point, and it’s that it asks you to rotate the analog sticks to keep Goku (who’s holding Raditz) in line with Piccolo’s special beam canon. So it’s a terrible mini game, but it’s something different and interesting. Had it been executed a little better and had a mini game like that happened more than twice, it’d be a good mechanic. As it is, it’s completely out of place. So much so I felt compelled to mention how weird I thought it was on here.

There’s not a lot in Budokai that gives you the full experience of fighting like a Z Warrior. In fact I wonder if maybe my immense love for the original stemmed from not having anything else related to DBZ at the time. In any case, the tournament, money, and skill capsule systems are incredibly interesting concepts for the fighting game. They manage to add a lot more hours to the game as you’re trying to unlock everyone’s skills by buying capsules in the shop using the money earned during tournaments. The added customization of it all really adds a new depth to the fighter.

If anything, Budokai is to be thanked for leading the way to Budokai 3, the better Dragon Ball Z experience. 3 includes everything that Budokai brought to the table but enhances it. The story mode is opened up to 11 characters, there are 42 playable characters (as opposed to Budokai’s 23), and many different collectibles for players to go after. The combat is also improved as everything is more fast-paced to coincide with true DBZ nature. At a tap of the X button, if you have enough Ki, instead of simply blocking a strong attack, you’ll actually teleport behind the opponent. It’s small things like that, that add all the DBZ flavor to the battles.

Another awesome change is there’s a world map where you can search for dragon balls, fight random encounters, find new capsules, and generally just fly around visiting locales as your favorite DBZ character. It’s really great fan service in a way that made me totally giddy. I will say though that 3 shouldn’t have done away with the cutscenes that Budokai had, instead trading them for visual novel-esque ones. Also, some of the more powerful skills, while being easy to initiate, are hard to actually land and rely on a lot of luck. I think Budokai 3 is good, but I don’t think it’s good enough to save the collection for anyone that’s not a big DBZ fan.

All in all, I’d say this collection is perfect for anyone that doesn’t already own them on the PS2, because they are fun games. They’re just not anything “must-have” or otherworldly. The trophies alone aren’t worth full price and you’ll spend a lot of time wondering where the online (And 2, where is 2?!) play is. Honestly, it’s one that we could have done without until they added more to it. You may even feel a hint of sadness as you realize that maybe all those fond memories you had playing them are just due to poor video game critique as a child. Stupid little Yami.

[+Great graphics] [+Fun gameplay with one of the games] [+Interesting customization options] [-Easy difficulty] [-More powerful skills have an annoying mechanic] [-Clunky controls for one of the games] [-Budokai 2 left out] [-No online play]

The post [LTTP Review] Budokai HD Collection: Don’t Rock The Dragon, Baby appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

The objectify day is a complex topic and I won’t even try to address here, but I think we can all agree that Mike Eaton’s Objectify Twinfinite video is perfection to its core. What else happened this week? Seriously, I don’t know, I was too busy playing Ni No Kuni and the SimCity beta this entire time.

[Features]

Twinfinite Sexy Fun Time Episode 52 – Arguing for “NFS: The Run”

Five Steps to Help Overcome Video Game Addiction

Let’s Play Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Weekly Roundup

Positive Gamers 1: The Cumbersome Negatives

Objectify Twinfinite: Beefcake Edition

[News]

Project X Zone To Be Localized 

Portal 2 is 75% off today on Steam

PSN’s 13 for ’13 Sale Starts Today

Mass Effect Voice Actor Wins City Award

Oh Man, Nintendo Delivers – Wind Waker HD, Yoshi, and So Much More

Chivalry Free-to-Play Weekend!

GTA: Vice City and Bayonetta both headed to PSN

Hotline Miami is 50% off this weekend on Steam

Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm Intro Cinematic Released! And it’s incredible.

Warlords RTS: Clash of Thrones – Public BETA starting soon

[Previews]

Metal Gear Rising – Revengeance Demo Impressions

[Reviews]

Elgato Game Capture HD

Late to the Party: Far Cry – If You Like Piña Coladas (and Getting Shot in the Face)

The Cave: Gilbert’s Grotto

Late to the Party: Far Cry 2 – Jumble Fever

The post [Twinfinite Insider] The Hunks Of Twinfinite Issue appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

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Twitter is a fun place for me because it allows me to be so happy it annoys the shit out of all the people that follow me. As 99% of my followers/following consist of gamers, I’ve started to see a trend: Gamers are negative. And no, I don’t just mean in the gaming community, I mean in general. I’ve seen so many tweets about how full days have gone bad and never do I see a really big reason for it.

In my time spent accounting my day to day musings in 140 characters or less, I’ve gotten a lot of responses about how positive I can be. In recent weeks I’ve actually caught word that I’ve cheered some people up occasionally; you have no idea how happy that makes me. I’m not a professional motivator, and I’m a firm believer that to feel better you have to want to, but I’m going to have to try and spread some of my way of thinking. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”? I don’t want to join in on the pessimism in the gaming community, but I want to stay in it without feeling like an alien… So… Looks like I’ll have to beat it, huh?

I’ll be bringing this new series that uses gaming metaphors to explain how easy it is to overcome real life obstacles with the knowledge we inherently have from playing so many games. I know, it’s lame to use gaming like as if that’s all you care about, but if I didn’t I wouldn’t be able to publish this on Twinfinite. So shut up about that. Another thing, note that these videos are seriously not for those that don’t care at all for my advice and don’t want to better themselves. I’m not making these for our entire demographic, I’m making these in the off chance that someone may be having a bad day and needs a pick-me-up. I’m making them to form up a new army of positive gamers. Enjoy!

The post [Featurama] Positive Gamers 1: The Cumbersome Negatives appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

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Looks like the awesome crossover, Project X Zone, is going to be coming out in North America, Australia, Europe, and Latin America thanks to Namco Bandai. We’ll take full credit for that, though. Yep. All us. Seriously, it’s always great to see good looking games from Japan getting localization in English. Although apparently, Project X Zone won’t have its voice acting dubbed over, only the text will be in English. In a sense it’s good, there won’t be any ridiculous dubbing. Expect it this Summer for the 3DS. Looks like the 3DS is coming alive this year!

The post [News] Project X Zone To Be Localized appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..

What a week! We gave the PS2 a proper bon voyage with our [RIP PS2] articles, the game industry got a stern wag of the finger, and it was an extravaganza of the “release date news” sorts. Also, did you know there’s an entire site dedicated to drawing Hawkeye in sexy female superhero poses? You’re welcome.

Stay fierce, Twinfiknights, keep your eyes on the action and your ears on the heartbeat of the industry!

[Features]

RIP PS2: Welcome To The New Generation – Grand Theft Auto III

RIP PS2: Why The PS2 Was So Successful

An Interview With Skullkickers Creator Jim Zub

Twinfinite’s First Gaming Loves

RIP PS2: The 10 PS2 Games You Definitely Need

RIP PS2: In Simpler Days: Kingdom Hearts

We Get the Games Industry We Deserve

RIP PS2: The PS2 is Faster than a Car

Twinfinite Sexy Fun Time Episode 51: Our Gaming Agenda – The Bioware Edition! (And others too!)

RIP PS2: Through the Meat Grinder – Silent Hill 2

RIP PS2: Final Fantasy X – Blitzing Towards Oblivion

RIP PS2: Sony Made Art Out of Ads

RIP PS2: Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward

RIP PS2: Best Worst Games!

Let’s Play: Revenge of the Titans Weekly Roundup

RIP PS2: Our Favorite PS2 Games

Chipfinite Weekly: NES Jamming

[Reviews]

Late to the Party: Farming Simulator 2013

Late to the Party: Dead Space 2 – The Minding of Isaac

Late to the Party: Imscared – No seriously, I’m scared

[News]

Gamer Charities: Press Paws Show in February and Other Recent Events

Official Release Dates for The Cave

Injustice: Gods Among Us Gets A Release Date And Editions Announced

Croixleur Gets a Release Date

Disney Infinity looks awesome, is slated for release in June

Tecmo Koei Bringing Atelier Ayesha this March

Fire Emblem: Awakening Will Have Both English and Japanese Audio

Splinter Cell: Blacklist Release Date Announced

Suda 51 Brings Back Assassins in Killer is Dead

XSEED Games Announces Pandora’s Tower for Spring 2013

PC Exclusive Characters for Sonic Kart Racer

Killer is Dead Debut Trailer is Classy as Hell

Unofficial WarCraft III sequel is in the pipeline

Cast your vote for MMO of the year 2013

Super Hexagon Spins Onto Android

Steam Guides are here to help you out

The post [Twinfinite Insider] RIP PS2 Edition! appeared first on Twinfinite: Video game news, reviews, opinions, and community..