The Best Games We Played 2017: Snipperclips

Posted on January 1, 2018 by Kirk Williford

To say Nintendo had a strong year in 2017 would be an understatement. The launch of their new handheld-meets-home-console-hybrid not only brought newfound success for a company whos previous foray into the living room underperformed, but it brought arguably one of the strongest launch year lineups for a game console — ever. But when I look back at the Switch’s legendary 2017, it’s not Splatoon 2, ARMS, Super Mario Odyssey or even The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that I was most impressed with – not to take anything away from those titles, which are all incredible in their own way.

It was the charm of a small puzzle game called Snipperclips that left the largest impression on me. It’s one that might have fallen to the side in terms of coverage due to it launching the same day as the Hylian goliath, but Snipperclips is the first game I always find myself recommending to anyone who picks up a Switch for the first time.

The basic concept in Snipperclips is simple – you have to cut shapes of 2-4 characters in order to accomplish your goal, whether that be matching a shape or getting an object from one side of the stage to another (to name a few). The entertainment comes in the communication it encourages when you play through with friends – and the hilarious scenarios that result from miscommunication. It’s a ton of fun and extremely satisfying when you manage to finally accomplish your goal as a team.

One of the main things that makes Snipperclips one of the best games I played in 2017, however, was simply how approachable it is for gamers both old and young, experienced and new. The game is playable with the Joy Cons that come with the Switch console and the controls are so simple that just about anyone can pick the game up and have fun with it. As games become more and more complicated with layers-upon-layers of different systems in them, it’s quite nice to find a game that manages to entertain as well as Snipperclips does with an easy learning curve.

Snipperclips provides enough entertainment to easily justify it’s small cost. Levels can get quite challenging later on, but those who spend time working together with the game are sure to enjoy figuring them out. Those looking to extend the fun for even longer can check out the PLUS DLC for even more stages to tackle.

The Switch has blown away all expectations I had when it comes to its appeal to gamers of any age and experience level. When you find yourself needing a break from an epic journey through Hyrule, or an intense match in Splatoon 2, do yourself a favor and give Snipperclips a shot – especially if you are interested in playing with friends and family. There’s even a demo available!

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Why I Love Fallout 4’s Trans Character

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Kirk Williford

This guest editorial was written by Zoey Wolfe, whom you can find on Twitter @CustomRetrofit 

“I’m a woman, baby, can’t you tell?” The first time I heard Fallout 4’s native Robot to Female transsexual, KLE0, speak those words, I was stunned. My jaw, as cliche as this is, actually dropped. Was this going to be a very unfunny joke? Had I paid 60 dollars for the privilege of being insulted by Bethesda’s mediocre writing team? Or was it possible that against all odds, and previous experiences, a miracle would occur and a Real Live Trans Robot could be my friend? I was curious where they were taking it.

When you first enter Goodneighbor, Fallout 4’s hamlet of misfits and rogues, you are greeted with a minor cutscene where the mayor stabs a man in the town square over a mere trifle and then welcomes you to town with a smile and handshake. Goodneighbor is just that kind of place, one that grants freedom with one hand and proffers a knife with the other.

Sellsguns

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DICE Teases Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst News This Week

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Kirk Williford

Fresh off of teasing (and delivering) Star Wars Battlefront news last week, DICE is at it yet again — this time, for the upcoming long-awaited sequel to Mirror’s Edge.

This morning, the official Mirror’s Edge Twitter account tweeted a picture from Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst along with a simple proclamation: “Faith is returning. Stay alert this week.”

It’s been awhile since we last heard from the Catalyst team. The game was playable at GamesCom and PAX last Fall, but was then abruptly delayed from it’s original February launch to a new date of May 24th, 2016. Whatever is coming, it can’t come soon enough!

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EA Teases Battlefront Announcement For Tomorrow

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Kirk Williford

It looks like Star Wars: Battlefront fans will be receiving some much-welcomed news tomorrow, if a post on the official Battlefront Twitter account is to be believed.

Although not much detail was given aside from a mysterious tweet that read “Prepare for a cold front coming through #StarWarsBattlefront tomorrow… “, a recent community event held by DICE challenged players to play over 500,000 hours as both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. The community shattered that goal, and with that accomplishment came the suggestion to “look to Hoth to show the fruits of your labor once the January update has been released.”

Given the hint of a cold front in the Tweet, it’s likely that the news coming tomorrow could be directly related to the reward for the community event. DICE has promised more free content in addition to the Force Awakens tie-in Battle of Jakku as well as content coming in the paid Season Pass. Whatever is announced tomorrow, we’re excited to get back into Battlefront with some new toys.

Source: Official EA Star Wars Twitter Account

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Persona 4: Golden | Review

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Kirk Williford

Golden.

That’s perhaps the easiest and most accurate way to describe Atlus’ remake of one of the best RPGs on the PS2. Persona 4: Golden isn’t your average HD remake, though – not only does it have enough additional story-based content packed into it to make the game feel brand new, but updated visuals, new music, online connectivity and special features like the ability to watch recorded live concerts featuring in game music make this one of the best HD remakes on the market – and it’s only available on the Playstation Vita.Read More

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Sony Buys Cloud Service Gaikai

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Kirk Williford

Sony has announced that they completed a deal last Friday to acquire gaming cloud service Gaikai. The service, similar to OnLive, cost Sony $380 million. The deal was originally rumored to be announced at E3 last month.

“By combining Gaikai’s resources including its technological strength and engineering talent with SCE’s extensive game platform knowledge and experience, SCE will provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences,” said Sony Computer Entertainment President and Group CEO Andrew House.

Cloud gaming allows gamers to play a game without having to run it on the local hardware, enabling high-quality games to be played on consoles, phones and apps with less than high quality hardware — all though streaming. This acquisition could be a major player for the next generation of consoles — perhaps Sony will use Gaikai’s services as an incentive for a cheaper SKU that is still capable of playing all PS4 titles. Or perhaps we won’t even need a new console at all, streaming all next gen titles directly to the PS3? Only time will tell!

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Guild Wars 2 Launches August 28th

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Kirk Williford

After spending over 5 years in development, ArenaNet announced today what fans have been waiting for: Guild Wars 2 will be on shelves August 28th, 2012. The MMORPG takes place 250 years after the original Guild Wars and integrates traditional pay-to-play elements with unique combat systems and world events, all for the low monthly price of $0.

Those who preorder the game will have full access to the world starting Saturday, August 25th. Check out the new teaser, and Get Ready:

[youtube id=”t-CB0hheQRg” width=”600″ height=”350″]

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At Long Last, Meet Team Fortress 2’s Pyro

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Kirk Williford

After Team Fortress 2 was released back in 2007, Valve has steadily released “Meet The” videos for all of the games classes. There was a huge gap since the last video was released, leaving fans wondering when we’d finally get to “Meet the Pyro”. Today, that wait came to an end, as Valve finally released the video — and it’s quite possibly the best one yet. In addition to the video, you’re able to purchase an inflatable Balloonicorn, the Mayor of Valve’s “Pyroland,” for $29.99 on ThinkGeek.

Oh, and no, we still don’t know if the Pyro is male, female, or human at all. I, for one, hope we never find out. Check out the video!

[youtube id=”GZ4-obTw0VY” width=”600″ height=”350″]

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Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II | Review

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Kirk Williford

Sega has been trying for a long, long time to mimic the success of the Sonic games from the Genesis era on the current generation of consoles. Their most recent attempt comes with the Sonic 4 episodes – but that in itself brings up the question of why Sega thinks breaking up a series known for it’s fast pace and progression is a good idea. Is Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 worth it? Simply put: not really.

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Assassins Creed 3 Delayed on PC?

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Kirk Williford

It’s become almost tradition for the PC releases of Assassin’s Creed titles to arrive a bit later than their console counterparts, although Ubisoft has always insisted this is never their goal. Last year’s Assassin’s Creed: Revelations saw the closest release between PC and consoles for the series yet, although PC gamers still had to wait two weeks longer to experience the conclusion to Ezio’s story.

According to Eurogamer, the PC version of Assassin’s Creed 3 has been delayed. Citing promotion materials obtained by Eurogamer.cz, it appears that PC gamers will have to wait a little over 3 weeks longer than console gamers to play the next game in the AC franchise. The console version is scheduled to ship on October 31st — the new date for the PC version appears to be November 23rd.

Ubisoft refused to comment on the release date for the PC version of the game. It’s been long speculated that the delays have been out of concern of piracy, in order to assure more sales on consoles.

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Say Hello To The Nintendo 3DS LL

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Kirk Williford

In one of the more surprising post-E3 twists, Nintendo announced today via their “Nintendo Direct” conference that a version of the Nintendo 3DS with a 90%-larger screen will be released next month in Japan.

Dubbed the Nintendo 3DS LL, the system, the top screen measures in 4.88 inches — A full 90 percent larger than it’s regular 3DS counterpart. The bottom screen is 4.18 inches, also 90% larger. The battery life is measured between 3.5 and 6.5 hours for 3DS games, compared to the regular 3DS’s 3 to 5 hours. Normal DS game battery life is between 6 to 10 hours.

Nintendo announced that in an attempt to cut production costs, they will sell the AC adapter separately; however, the regular 3DS AC adapter will work fine.

The 3DS LL arrives in Japan on July 28th and will come in three colors — White, Red X Black, and Silver X Black. It’ll retail for 18,900 yen — which is only about $40 more than a regular 3DS.

In America, the 3DS LL arrives on August 19th and will retail for $199.99. At only a $30 increase from the normal 3DS, is there really an excuse to not pick up this version of the hardware?

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Is This Halo 4’s Viral Marketing Campaign?

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Kirk Williford

From “I Love Bees” to “Iris”, the Halo franchise and Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) seem to go hand-in-hand these days — a trend that appears to be continuing with Halo 4, if a recent ad on ESPN.com is to be believed.

Last Friday, a flash ad for Halo 4 begun appearing on the top of ESPN.com’s front page. The ad played a Halo 4 trailer, as one might expect, but here’s where it starts to get strange: after awhile, the ad appears to take over the entire screen, blasting tons of strange information ranging from hexagon symbols to raw code, all in an orange color.

The ad, which can be viewed directly from ESPN’s servers here, already has fans of the Halo franchise and ARGs as a whole talking and working together to try and learn more. As of now, however, nothing significant has been discovered — although that surely will change in the near future.

Halo’s previous ARGs have involved plenty of community interaction and relished rewards for some lucky fans. We’ll have to wait and see what’s ahead for Master Chief, but when more is discovered surrounding this ad, we’ll be sure to let you know. Since the actual ad doesn’t show up on ESPN.com as of now, we’ve included a video of it “taking over” the main page of ESPN.com, which you can view after the break.Read More

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Broken Joysticks E3 Reactions #1

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Kirk Williford

E3 is over and now it’s time for our staff to share their thoughts on the show. First up executive editor Kirk Wiliford:

Mark down E3 2012 as being one of the most boring, uninteresting and flat-out underwhelming E3s of all time. You know it’s bad when I can only recall one major new IP being announced, and although Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs looks absolutely fantastic, it wasn’t enough to save the show. From Usher concerts to TechDemoLand, there were lots of things to be concerned about going into the future of the E3 expo. Here’s just a snippet of what I thought about E3 2012, condensed into my three biggest questions:Read More

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Zombi U Detailed At E3

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Kirk Williford

Ubisoft revealed more details for Zombi U, their Wii U-exclusive zombie title aimed at the hardcore audience.

According to Ubisoft, “One bite and you’re dead”. The game features elements that employ use of the Wii U Gamepad, such as unique HUDs, hacking of doors, and aiming into the sights and scopes of various weapons.

No release date was given.

 

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