The Statesman

Press Start to Continue: mobile gaming

Dylan Palazzo • April 30, 2014

There is a long, diverse list of games offered for every mobile device, and these following titles are great for quick bursts of personal playtime or partying with friends.

Read Story

Press start to continue: the wild world of indie games

Dylan Palazzo • April 18, 2014

Every gamer has dreamt of creating their own game at least once. The thrill of creating a whole world from nothing or building dynamic characters and unique types of gameplay is endlessly appealing. Apart from those who went to school to achieve that goal, the rest of us became consumers of the games released by titanic companies and studios, such as Blizzard and Valve. But these businesses are not the sole proprietor of unique gaming experiences. The dreamers who decided to act on that desire to create band together and build inconceivable video games under the title of “indie games.”

Read Story

Press Start to Continue: Reaper of Souls, a gamer’s dream

Dylan Palazzo • March 31, 2014

Blizzard delivered the finale to "Diablo III" on March 25. The expansion, "Reaper of Souls" (RoS), closes out every bit of story that began in "Diablo III." Players return to the Pandemonium Fortress of "Diablo II" to fight the Angel of Death, Malthael, in order to bring an end to the rampant slaughter of man by the newly corrupt archangels. With fantastic storytelling and new skills, equipment, environments, enemies, game modes and playable classes, RoS succeeds in every facet required of a great expansion.

Read Story

Press Start To Continue: Diablo III expansion aims to bring players back

Dylan Palazzo • March 6, 2014

In May of 2012, Blizzard Entertainment released the third installment to the Diablo series. The hype for this game from both players and advertisers was overwhelming; finally gamers could revisit the dungeon crawling gear grinding experience that Diablo II so masterfully presented, but now with superior graphics and a better game engine. Blizzard even went so far as to innovate the classic auction house system to include real money, enabling players to turn their play time into dollars. Unfortunately, to the surprise of the majority of the fan and player base, the initial release of Diablo III was an epic failure.

Read Story

Press Start to Continue: “Strife” is bound to become big

Dylan Palazzo • February 24, 2014

Currently in closed beta (meaning apart from the rare open player weekends, an access key must be provided to you by the company in order to play), “Strife” already appears to have all the cornerstones that make a MOBA game popular, as well as its own unique game mechanics and features to set it apart from other titles in the genre.

Read Story

Press Start to Continue: 2014’s upcoming releases

Dylan Palazzo • February 4, 2014

Just before the end of 2013, Sony’s PlayStation 4, Microsoft’s Xbox One and Nintendo’s Wii U hit stores loaded with the newest technology and hardware to carry the future of gaming throughout the coming years. Those of us who were fortunate enough to grab one of these new consoles over winter break may be starting to feel apathetic towards these new systems due to a low number of popular franchise games. While it is to be expected that the most desired games do not release alongside their consoles, the wait between now and the big releases of this year will be well worth it. Here is the shortlist of what games to get excited about for this year.

Read Story

Press Start to Continue: Games you want

Dylan Palazzo • December 2, 2013

With the holiday season upon us, it is time to take a step back and look at the broad selection of games to gift, get and sink time into over the winter break. There have been hundreds of releases this year, not including the various bits of downloadable content (DLC) that have expanded popular titles.

Read Story

Press Start to Continue: The newest generation of consoles

Dylan Palazzo • November 17, 2013

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, it is important for video game consumers to know the key differences between this generation’s new consoles. On Nov. 15, Sony released the PlayStation 4 in America, and by Nov. 29, it will be available worldwide. On this coming Friday, Nov. 22, Microsoft will release the Xbox One globally.

Read Story

Nintendo outdoes many previous generations with Pokemon X and Y

The Statesman • October 21, 2013

If you’re like me, having grown up with the initial release of the ever-popular Pokemon series, then you know firsthand how much fun the portable games are. The first installments, Red and Blue, were released back in Sept. 1998. Fifteen years have passed since then, and with the production of Pokemon X and Y, we can finally enjoy all 718 Pokemon in thrilling, high quality 3D.

Read Story

Doorways shows potential to rival popular adventure horror games

The Statesman • September 30, 2013

Thrown into a strange reality, we must track down and subdue four dangerous psychopaths. "Doorways," a Steam Greenlight indie game developed by Saibot Studios, was released on Sept. 20, 2013. It made a splash in the Steam community with visually impressive dark environments, a good immersive and chilling soundtrack and significant platforming.

Read Story

Grand Theft Auto 5 is an impressive sandbox experience

The Statesman • September 23, 2013

Released Sept. 17 for PS3 and Xbox 360, "Grand Theft Auto 5" boasts the largest assortment of activities offered of the Grand Theft Auto series. On the release day alone, "Grand Theft Auto 5" sold 13 million copies, and grossed $800 million. With a budget of $250 million, publisher Take-Two provides a good storyline, huge game depth and the awesome sandbox we have grown to love.

Read Story