Strong choices for weak bank accounts As June fades away and we enter July, I’m reminded that we’ve passed the halfway point for the year. But the first half of the year has been absolutely bonkers for good games. Throw a rock in any random direction and you hit a highly acclaimed game, in addition to probably earning a ticket for public nuisance. In fact, asking about it now is probably perfect while all these great games are still recent, because I struggle to think of what else is on the horizon for us in the second half of the year....

Just in time for me to spend my holiday break doing nothing but farming NewHarvest Moon? You bet I’m all over this. Seems like Natsume is looking to celebrate its 20th anniversary with anewHarvest Moongame on Steam. Is this related to the success ofStardew Valley? Who can say. All I know is that that kind of rivalry is really great for us fans. Here’s an excerpt from ‘About the Game’:...

Atlus have announced a temporary price reduction of many of their PSP titles on the PlayStation Network. This is perfect timing for you new Vita owners that have been bitching about the high price of thePersonaPSP releases on PSN. Or, if you’re like me and have a bunch of UMD discs hogging up space, you can dump them all and get digital versions with that trade-in money. These discounts numb a bit of the sting....

Some minions inFinal Fantasy XIVare more elusive than others. WithDawntrail, one of these minions has been the Wind-up Mamool Ja. It’s taken almost two weeks to figure out where this little cutie comes from, but it’s finally been tracked down. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to get. You’ll need to put in some effort, albeit passively, to get your hands on this minion. How to get the Baby Mamool Ja minion in Final Fantasy XIV Getting a Wind-up Mamool Ja minion inFFXIVmeans relying on yourRetainers, and possibly changing their Job, to bring one home for you....

Yeah, work that camera Shadow I just playedSonic Dreams Collection. I’m not sure if my life will ever be the same again after today. I’m so sorry for everyone already affected. Sonic Dreams Collectionis presented to the world as a series of forgotten DreamcastSonicgames that never made it to the public eye, but have since been leaked and ported to PC. It’s fairly obvious off the bat that this is not what this actually is....

An early access advantage When I think ofMarvel vs. Capcom, I think of Justin Wong. While there are plenty of other big names in the community like ChrisG or Filipino Champ, some of my favorite FGC matches of all time are from Wong’s work in theMarvel vs. Capcom 2scene. We’ll have to wait a little bit, it seems, to see him inInfinite. Announced via Twitter, Wong will not be competing formally in the game until October, despite the game’s September 19 release....

So long and thanks for all the memes Kazuo Hirai, informally known as “Kaz”, has announced that he intends to retire from the Sony corporation as chairman this Summer. This move follows Hirai’s initialstep down from the President and CEO position last month, a position he had held for over five years. The 58-year-old originally joined Sony Japan’s music arm in 1984, eventually transitioning to Sony Computer Entertainment in 1995. Having overseen the incredibly successful PlayStation brand, Hirai would move on to Sony Corporation in 2011, before becoming President and CEO in 2012, a role he recently bequeathed to Kenichiro Yoshida....

Returning to Rapture on the eve of its downfall Irrational Games, and Ken Levine in particular, have been known for creating games with innovative narratives and unique gameplay.BioShock Infiniteis no different, and we expect the same for the remaining downloadable content we’ve been promised, includingBurial at Sea, announced earlier today. The team at Irrational started working on theBurial at SeaDLC almost immediately afterBioShock Infinitereleased, but the idea took some time to form....

The adorable yet comical rom-com seriesKomi Can’t Communicatetook the anime world by a silent storm when its anime adaptation aired in 2021. But even before its anime success, the manga already built a loyal fanbase. And now, after nine years of serialization, the manga officially comes to an end. Komi Can’t Communicate, penned by Tomohito Oda, debuted on Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine in May 2016. The manga ended with Chapter 499, which is availablein English on VIZ Media....

Of all of the games that were delayed last year, I was surprised how much I was upset by Activision pushingBlurinto 2010. Having played some four player split-screen, I’ve been sold on the game’s high intensity,Mario KartmeetsProject Gothamaction for awhile. This latest trailer — which focuses on the game’s “unique racing culture” and story progression — seems to do the game justice as well. Slick visuals, fast cars, and stuff blowing up....

Haha In a recent three hour stream ofMetal Gear Solid V, there was one particular tidbit that might have passed some people over — the Chicken Hat. Apparently whenPhantom Paindrops there will be a special hat that allows people to essentially “Super Guide” themselves after dying a bunch. Enemies will be slower in general and the game will be easier while wearing it. This will no doubt help newcomers acclimate, as the franchise has always been a source of frustration for some folks....

They already announced Xbox to PC In an interview with The Verge, Xbox head Phil Spencer spoke to the possibility of streaming games from your PC to your Xbox One. The just-launched Windows 10 comes packaged withXbox One to PC streamingfunctionality, an inverse of the potential feature. “It’s actually a little more challenging doing the encoding on the PC side to the Xbox, but challenge is good,” Spencer said. “[Gamers] want to play games on the device that they want to play on....

Ohhh, sweet child o’ light Child of Lightwas a really cool one-off indie-like project from Ubisoft that paid off both critically and commerially, according to the publisher. Naturally that means that it’s now a brand™, so more stuff is on the way. According to developer Patrick Plourde of Ubisoft, “there are very cool projects in the process set in theChild of Lightuniverse. More news soon. Stay tuned!” It wasn’t made clear if the “projects” were game or animation related but they are apparently happening....