Couch Lounger

Another year brings another broken gaming model. This time it takes the form of a beloved franchise in Star Wars: Battlefront 2.

These days we’re use to games that break out of the box and companies that release tons of garbage that could have been programmers’ weekend projects.

When you pay $60 for a new game from a top company you expect a full gaming experience. You don’t expect Farmville-style up-selling spam. So gamers were rightfully angry when they found out Battlefront 2 would ship with a pay-to-win storefront (game companies are calling this a “mechanic” now).

Paradox Studios has had a busy period, releasing Hearts of Iron IV in June and Stellaris just the month before.  They are both fantastic achievements – two high quality products in close succession.  Stellaris, specifically, represents a new direction for Paradox, which is known for its historically grounded games such as Crusader Kings, Victoria, and Europa Universalis.  This time someone in Paradox must have decided, “let’s make some stuff up and put it in space” – and it’s a good thing they did.

Assassin’s Creed is a franchise that has been struggling to justify its own existence of late.  Despite its plethora of available material covering the entire breadth of human history – we have seen the Crusades, the Renaissance, the Golden Age of Piracy, and now, the height of Pax Britannica – the franchise seems at times to be stagnant and lacking originality.  Why is that?

It is no secret that Fallout 3 was one of my favourites.  Fallout: New Vegas appealed to many, and although I enjoyed it, it never quite struct the same resonant chord with me that Fallout 3 did.  However, the success of both made a sequel inevitable…

What does the future of Capcom look like?

HD Remakes and Digital Downloads, according to its financial briefing.

Before the Internet came along, if you wanted to know how to get past tricky obstacles in your games you had to read Nintendo Power.

In a recent post by Gamasutra, Nintendo Power founding editors Gail Tilden and Howard Phillips spill the beans on the magazine’s early inspiration and challenges on the way to the first issues.

Do you have what it takes to maintain an empire spanning an entire galaxy? Can you keep track of all the supply lines, fleets of warships, and whimsical populations across hundreds of planets?

Not just for fans of the amazing Galactic Civilizations series, the newest title is for anyone who enjoys epic scale sweeping strategy games.

Amazingly after 30 years Super Mario Bros is still surprising us with new gameplay secrets. The latest treat is an unlimited 1UP trick caused by a glitch in the way beanstalks are generated.

Speed demons rejoice! 200cc mode is coming with downloadable content on April 23.

As if the 50cc, 100cc, 150cc and mirrored 150cc speed levels weren’t slapstick enough, the new 200cc class promises to push your kart speeds to the extreme (extreme, at least, for go-karting).

Great news for Star Wars game fans. DICE Studios showed off a trailer for the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront at the Star Wars celebration in Annaheim today, and it looks great.