Classic Game Fest returns this summer for their biggest event yet at
the Palmer Event Center in Austin, Texas on July 30-31, 2016. CGF will feature more
than 45,000 square feet of vendors, special guests, free play arcade/console
games, musical acts, tournaments, and so much more. This family-friendly event
is open to all ages, and kids under 12 are free.
I’m flattered to be depicted on the advertising poster with the other
guests, such as best-selling author Ernie Cline and Intellivision king Keith Robinson, and I totally dig being
depicted as a 16-bit video game character!
I've been reading and writing for for years, but they've never done a article before. Until now. They've been on a robot kick lately, so I thought I would take a chance and pitch my article on robots in video games, and they took the bait. Click on the images if you want to take a closer look and read the article. Or, you can pick up the issue at Barnes & Noble. The editor botched some of the photo captions ( is an arcade game, for example), and color would've been nice, but I'm pleased overall with the presentation.
Join outlawcurtis and myself for the latest HoldSquare Videogame Podcast as we discuss the Chewbacca mom, Gran Turismo, racing games, Flash Gordon, Ghostbusters and more.
Click HERE to watch our videos in full screen. Thanks for watching, subscribing and liking our videos!
My Encyclopedia of KISS has finally been published. It is a labor of love as I've been a huge fan of the band since the mid-1970s. I worked on the book on and off for two-and-a-half years, and I'm proud of the finished product. The book distills the massive scope of KISS--the albums, band members, magazines, books, toys, girlfriends, wives, tours, movie and TV appearances, and much more--into a fun, well-researched, 227-page encyclopedia. Everything is listed in alphabetical order for your convenience, and the book includes photos, a preface discussing my interest in the band, a history of KISS, and a thorough index. By clicking on the cover on Amazon, you can read the first few pages for free. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
fan with a sense of humor. Not only do I enjoy the films, I like the parodies of and comedies about the franchise as well, including the first and best, Hardware Wars. I also like Spaceballs, Fanboys, The Family Guy Trilogy and others. However, I didn't laugh once or even smile during the latest YouTube video to go viral, the laughing Chewbacca lady. I found it annoying, shrill, and obvious. Maybe my soul is dead, but I didn't get the appeal. Your mileage may differ. Did you find it funny or not? Please leave a message in the comments on your opinions of this popular video. Thanks!
There’s
rarely a dull moment in the video game industry, and now is certainly no
exception.
Nintendo
has announced that they are launching their next console, the Nintendo NX, in
March of 2017. Techies eagerly await Sony’s groundbreaking virtual reality system,
the PlayStation VR, heading to stores this October.
And
rumors abound regarding possible upgrades to the and the (you may have heard mention of the “PlayStation 4.5”), consoles that are only
about two-and-a-half years old.
Meanwhile,
gamers are having a blast with such recently released blockbusters as Doom - PlayStation 4(PS4, Xbox One), Star Fox Zero(Wii U) and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End(PS4), the
latter of which many are already calling one of the greatest video games of all
time.
Here
are nine more tantalizing titles you might enjoy. Two you can pop in and play
right now; the rest you can enjoy over the next couple of months to escape the
summer heat.
As
always, release dates are subject to change.
Battleborn
PlayStation
4, Xbox One
Publisher:
2K Games. Developer: Gearbox Software.
ESRB
Rating: Teen
$59.99
Available
Now
Many
gamers are currently knee-deep in Battleborn,
a frenetic first-person hero shooter with elements of a MOBA, which, for you
noobs, stands for multiplayer online battle arena. If you have yet to take the
plunge, know this: the game features a robust lineup of 25 playable,
upgradeable characters, each of which has a storyline and distinctive
abilities, weapons and techniques. Five of the characters are immediately
available. To unlock the others, you must finish story missions, achieve new
player ranks or complete an assortment of tasks.
Developed
by Frisco-based Gearbox Software, creators of the hugely popular “Borderlands”
series, Battlebornreleased to mixed
reviews, but I like its visual panache and plethora of playable characters.
Disney Art Academy
Nintendo
3DS
Publisher:
Nintendo. Developer: Headstrong Games.
ESRB
Rating: Everyone
$29.99
Available
Now
Disney Art Academylets budding Botticellis
and those of us who can barely draw figures put stylus to screen and illustrate
more than 80 Disney and Pixar characters, from Mickey Mouse to Donald Duck to Snow
White to Elsa from Frozen.
Step-by-step lessons with tutorials make illustrating easy, and you can select
from nine different art tools, including pens, markers and spray cans. New to
the “Art Academy” series is a magic brush that lets you add such flourishes as
clouds, stars and glitter.
Once
you’ve created your 2D masterpiece (there is no 3D option), you can post it
directly to the Miiverse or on social media via the 3DS Image Share tool.
Dangerous Golf
PlayStation
4, Xbox One
Publisher:
Three Fields Entertainment. Developer: Three Fields Entertainment.
ESRB
Rating: TBA
$ TBA
(digital download only)
Release
date: June 3
Golf
is the most genteel of sports. Players wear slacks and collared shirts while
viewers speak in hushed tones, clapping politely when their favorite golfer
sinks a long putt. Scratch all of that with Dangerous
Golf, a game of destruction the programmers refer to as a cross between Burnout, Black and NBA Jam.
Up
to eight players take turns “golfing” in such indoor locations as a kitchen, a
bathroom, a castle and a palace. Instead of just hitting the ball into a flagged
hole, gamers also splat food on walls, spill paint on works of art, set fire to
gas pumps and smash everything from dishes to microwave ovens to grand pianos
and grandfather clocks. Sounds like my kind of golf.
Kirby: Planet Robobot
Nintendo
3DS
Publisher:
Nintendo. Developer: HAL Laboratory.
ESRB
Rating: Everyone
$39.99
Release
date: June 10
Everyone’s
favorite pink puffball returns for another side-scrolling platform adventure in Kirby: Planet Robobot. Invaders have
mechanized Dreamland. To battle the baddies, Kirby, who can maneuver in the
foreground and background, uses more than 25 copy abilities, including three
new ones: Doctor, Poison, and ESP. Better yet, Kirby can now walk, slide,
shoot, fly, smash through obstacles and lift heavy objects while wearing
Robobot armor, which makes him more powerful than ever.
The
game also includes a mode called Team Kirby Clash, which lets up to four
players level up their characters (in RPG-like fashion) and cooperate to battle
bosses.
Grand Kingdom
PlayStation
4, PlayStation Vita
Publisher:
NIS America. Developer: Monochrome.
ESRB
Rating: Teen
$49.99
Release
date: June 21
Fans
of JRPGs (Japanese role-playing games) should be excited for the U.S. release
of Grand Kingdom, a tactical,
squad-based game that launched to largely positive reviews in the Land of the
Rising Sun last November. Players lead a team of mercenaries through the
fantasy world of Resonail, using bows, swords and magical attacks in turn-based
battles against such enemies as dragons, harpies and giant wolves.
The
single-player campaign has you trying to unravel the mystery of the collapse of
the Uldein Empire while online play lets you participate in continental warfare
between the Four Great Nations.
No Man’s Sky
PlayStation
4
Publisher:
Hello Games. Developer: Hello Games.
ESRB
Rating: Teen
$59.99
Release
date: June 21
An
immersive adventure set in a vast universe, No Man's Sky looks to be one of the most open-ended electronic experiences
we’ve ever seen. Exploration and survival take center stage as youtraverse
uncharted solar systems, travel to distant planets and suns, catalogue new life
forms, search for ancient artifacts, dogfight in outer space, engage in
first-person combat and collect resources to trade for ships, space suits and
other equipment.
You
can play solo or hop online and share your discoveries with other players, “naming
them and adding them to the Galactic Map, forever associated with your PSN ID.”
This game could literally keep you busy for years.
Umbrella Corps
PlayStation
4
Publisher:
Capcom. Developer: Capcom.
ESRB
Rating: Mature 17+
$29.99
(digital download only)
Release
date: June 21
An
offshoot of the popular “Resident Evil” series, which began on the original
PlayStation 20 years ago, Umbrella Corps
takes place in 2015, two years after the storyline from Resident Evil 6. The game side-steps the survivor horror genre the
series popularized in favor of third-person shooter action, not unlike the
non-canonical Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.
As
a mercenary with a mission, you, cooperating with fellow mercenaries, compete
online to eliminate zombies while battling rival teams. Defeating enemies
grants points for use in customizing your mask, helmet, armor and Zombie
Jammer, the latter of which helps keep the baddies at bay. You can also unlock
and customize weaponry, such as the new, super powerful Doberman Pincer
shotgun.
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Nintendo
3DS, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U
Publisher:
Warner Bros. Developer: Traveller's Tales.
ESRB
Rating: Everyone 10+
$29.99
(3DS, Vita), $49.99 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U), $59.99 (PS4, Xbox One)
Release
date: June 28
If
you’re a diehard “Star Wars” fan, but you’ve dismissed the “LEGO” series as mere
kiddie fare, you might want to think twice about skipping this game, which
includes playable (not to mention canonical) story content bridging the gap
between Return of the Jedi and .
Gameplay
is similar to previous “LEGO” titles, with one or two players walking, jumping,
solving puzzles, piecing together items and engaging in comical, lighthearted
battles. New to the series are Multi-Builds, which let you use LEGO bricks to
open up new paths and then break them apart to open more paths, and Blaster
Battles, which let you use your surroundings as cover while facing the First
Order.
Star Ocean 5: Integrity and
Faithlessness
PlayStation
4
Publisher:
Square Enix. Developer: tri-Ace.
ESRB
Rating: Teen
$59.99
Release
date: June 28
Set
between Star Ocean: The Second Story
and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time,
this is one of those epic, cinematic, all-consuming role-playing games that
just may absorb your life, making you forget to shower, shave or interact with
actual human beings. It’s action-oriented at its core, however, with players,
as swordsman Fidel Camuze, engaging in real-time battles with beasts, bandits
and other enemies on the planet of Faykreed, which is 6,000 miles from Earth.
The
basic fighting system consists of simple three-button combat (light attack, heavy
attack, and guard), but gamers can create weapons and other items and switch
between seven controllable characters on the fly, each of whom has a different
fighting style. Japanese through-and-through, the anime-style characters were
designed by “Street Fighter” veteran Akira Yasuda.
Remember
the 1975 Roger Corman-produced cult classic, Death Race 2000? It’s the one where “Machine Gun” Joe Viterbo
(Sylvester Stallone) and other racers run over pedestrians for points. With Carmageddon: Max Damage, the latest
title in a series that began in 1997, you can cause similar mayhem while
driving down grannies, nuns and cheerleaders, along with pedestrians on
bicycles, wheelchairs and mobility scooters. You can even hit such targets as aliens,
bears and penguins.
There
are more than 30 drivable vehicles to select from in this politically incorrect
game, and you can grab more than different 90 power-ups for increased carnage.
The action takes place in small battle arenas and across such large open
environments as city streets, arid deserts, country trails and icy wastelands,
“all packed with juicy meatbags for your killing pleasure.”
. I also like 
, 
, 
and others. However, I didn't laugh once or even smile during the latest YouTube video to go viral, the laughing Chewbacca lady. I found it annoying, shrill, and obvious. Maybe my soul is dead, but I didn't get the appeal. Your mileage may differ. Did you find it funny or not? Please leave a message in the comments on your opinions of this popular video. Thanks! 
(PS4, Xbox One), 
(PS4), the
latter of which many are already calling one of the greatest video games of all
time.
lets budding Botticellis
and those of us who can barely draw figures put stylus to screen and illustrate
more than 80 Disney and Pixar characters, from Mickey Mouse to Donald Duck to Snow
White to Elsa from 
.
Step-by-step lessons with tutorials make illustrating easy, and you can select
from nine different art tools, including pens, markers and spray cans. New to
the “Art Academy” series is a magic brush that lets you add such flourishes as
clouds, stars and glitter.
, 
. Invaders have
mechanized Dreamland. To battle the baddies, Kirby, who can maneuver in the
foreground and background, uses more than 25 copy abilities, including three
new ones: Doctor, Poison, and ESP. Better yet, Kirby can now walk, slide,
shoot, fly, smash through obstacles and lift heavy objects while wearing
Robobot armor, which makes him more powerful than ever.
, a tactical,
squad-based game that launched to largely positive reviews in the Land of the
Rising Sun last November. Players lead a team of mercenaries through the
fantasy world of Resonail, using bows, swords and magical attacks in turn-based
battles against such enemies as dragons, harpies and giant wolves.
looks to be one of the most open-ended electronic experiences
we’ve ever seen. Exploration and survival take center stage as you
. The game side-steps the survivor horror genre the
series popularized in favor of third-person shooter action, not unlike the
non-canonical 
.
, the latest
title in a series that began in 1997, you can cause similar mayhem while
driving down grannies, nuns and cheerleaders, along with pedestrians on
bicycles, wheelchairs and mobility scooters. You can even hit such targets as aliens,
bears and penguins.