God of Thor (Rumor)

In the gaming community rumors spread spread faster than at a sorority house during rush. But hey, that’s where the views are. And this rumor is coming from the lore of one of my favorite series. 

That’s right. Neogaf grabbed art concept photos after they were removed from the now defunct site Nerd Leaks, earlier this week. 

Kratos the Optometrist

The concept art is limited,and there has been no official statements made by Sony Santa Monica (assuming they will develop this new saga), but I prey to Odan that the Norse pantheon will be the new family of victims for Kratos’ unabated rage. 
What are your thoughts on this leak? What do you think of leaks in general? Also would Hindu mythology be a good alternative setting? Potentially thousands of bosses. 

-Nick

What Makes a Great Game Intro?

My pupils dilate. My palms sweat, my fingers twitch. I’m literally gripped.

You all know how that feels. That game feel. That deep sense of immersion and character intimacy that only the novel rivals. I think of this as I step back into the gore drenched sandals of Kratos, Ghost of Sparta.

God of War Ascension is a polarizing title in the God of War series. Lots of fans hated it for its lack of innovation and total absence of quick time sex games. (You mean I have to use both my hands for this whole game?) And I have to agree, it’s not my favorite in the series either, that goes to God of War II, David Jaffe’s pinnacle masterpiece.  Yet as an intro to a game, it’s exhilarating, and has never left my mind.

It was the catharsis of removing Kratos’ blades of chaos from their imprisoned walls. It was the seduction of voluptuous greek women. It was the primal screams of terror and victory clashing into each other like so much steel and bone.

In essence I think a great game intro just makes you want to BE that character. You forget the difference. I am them. They are me. Simple. Genius usually is simple though. 

What are some of your favorite game intros?

-Nick

Omega Ruby: The Childhood is TOO Real.

Well guys I’m back. After 8 months. 8 months of job searches, car crashes, broken hands and of course gaming tell my retinas suffer severe damage. (Where are my cyclops shades?).

But this is the internet, we don’t waste time around here. You’re probably thinking, Nick, fuck off and review games and news. Ok then.

So I’ve been on a Pokemon kick the last few months after I grabbed myself a 3ds and Pokemon Y. Fairies are lame brah. I have barely been able to discuss anything else with my loved ones and they’re tired of it, so here internet, you can listen to me now.

Before I talk about how Omega Ruby has become my new handheld crown jewel, let me take you back in time a spell. Some of the best times of my childhood were loading up the family car and going to visit my grandparents at their retirement condo in Florida, or as granny says, Flaaaaaarida. Yeah yeah, the weather was great and the nature was gorgeous…. when I lifted my naive eyeballs up for a few seconds between battle turns. A lot of my memories of that place are squeezed into a gameboy advance SP screen playing Pokemon Ruby and Emerald.

The dimensions were micro, the adventures infinite. A friendly but daring world literally at my finger tips. Now, as I live in the adult world taking care of business, the stresses of life have pulled me back to an old friend. That’s right ladies and gentleman, Omega Ruby is what real next gen remastering should be about.

It does so much more than reprint the world in HD on a larger screen size, this game really goes full blown kids cartoon. Utilizing the new Pokemon gen engine and game mechanics but hanging on to the story and characters that I believe made third gen a far better story than Pokemon X and Y.

Seeing a world of my youth fully realized in a ground breaking new way nearly brought a tear to your dude’s eye. No joke. Everybody deserves a nostalgia like this, it’s a shame that most “next gen” reboots do the bare minimum audio visual upgrades. Sorry San Andreas fans, my self included.

-Nick

Creator Of Android OS To Get Into VR Industry

The original founder of Dagner and Android Inc, Andy Rubin, has begun a new pet project, a $15 million pet project at that. With the attention being brewed up around virtual reality gaming, Rubin is jumping into the cutting edge media industry.

A new start up in VR CastAR, has a big player on their side in Rubin, which is something they need with the giants of Google and Facebook as their chief competition. With his decades of experience in the tech world, Rubin can bring his myriad connections and technical know how to the team.

The CastAR group, hailing originally from the Seattle area, started their capital with a successful $1 million kickstarter campaign and moved on to silicon valley for further funding. Their technology revolves around overlaying virtual images on top of the real world to various degrees of intensity. This gives them an edge in my opinion, as they can work within the complete immersive gaming market, or they can delve into the niche table top gaming market, allowing strategy games like Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons to take on futuristic visuals.