Netflix Addiction: VGHS season 1

By Mick Neeky

Based on an idea by Will Campos and Chris Pappavaselio, Video Game High School is a clever and quirky series based in a world where video games are the ultimate sport. The story follows Brain D (Josh Bloylock) as he is accepted into the prestigious VGHS by chance due to his pwning of The Law (Brian Firenzi) on national TV. Having beaten the best gamer in the known world, Brian is given a full scholarship into VGHS. Following the typical high school agenda, VGHS touches up on everything from crushes to bullying. It explores what life could be like if video games where taken seriously. And let me just say, it has a flawless execution.

Without spoiling anything, I’d like to point out one of VGHS season 1’s triumphs: its clever twist on cliché and cheesy moments. Where most series fail miserably, VGHS hits the mark. The viewer is always enthralled and kept guessing. Sometimes it does go over the top—Ted Wong (Jimmy Wong) I’m looking at you—but it pulls through.

VGHS nailed its cast perfectly: everything from hardened youtubers like Freddie Wong to move stars like Zachary Levi. But beyond the enchilada of love (Ki Swan played by Ellary Porterfield and Ted Wong), there’s the truth heart of VGHS: Brian D’s spat with The Law. The show revolves a great deal around them; their hatred on screen is perfect and gives games someone to love and hate. It’s up to you who you pick. Yet each character gets a chance to be in the spotlight. They don’t feel bland and pointless; they’re alive! At the end of the day Brian D doesn’t go to school with a bunch of bots.

All the drama, jokes and awesome rivalry aside, there’s still one aspect of that outshines them all, VGHS’s execution on video games. Heralded by Freddie Wong, special effects master on Youtube, VGHS centers on a virtual reality feel, yet it’s not. I know it’s confusing. Truth be told that as your watch Brian D gun his way through a battlefield he’s not really inside the game. It’s just a clever way to add the video games into the mix. After all, it is called VGHS, or would you rather see him tap keys and click his mouse? In my opinion, VGHS nailed its first season. The only beef I got with it, and it’s not a big one, it’s its lack of other gaming types. They only manage to cover a handful in season one like rhythm, racing, fighting, and FPS.

All in all, VGHS deserves your free time. Give it a shout and maybe you’ll get a scholarship.

                         Keep it Neeky.

Throwback Thursday: Grandia Review

By Silent J

  In the late 90’s I was lucky enough to play Grandia, developed by Game Arts for the Sega Saturn. It was known as the Final Fantasy killer. It didn’t quite live up to that name, but it was a refreshing take on something old in a desert riddled with the same dark RPG’s. To me, Grandia is the best RPG ever made (yes, even better than FF7).

  When other RPG’s were about complicated themes like the meaning of life or does god exist, Grandia kept it simple: a story about a kid going on an adventure. At first glance, it doesn’t look like much, but it’s so well written that you will be surprised at how something so simple turns out to be grandiose.

 Grandia’s graphics aren’t impressive: 2D sprites in a 3D environment. But after a while you realize that the style is what makes Grandia feel big and epic.

 Out of every RPG I’ve ever played, Grandia has the best battle system. First, there’s no such thing as random battles: you see every enemy on the map. It is up to you if you want to fight them or flee. But if you choose to run and they catch you, they will have the element of surprise on their side. While in the middle of a battle, you’ll see a bar that not only indicates each character’s turn, but also that of your enemy. This helps you decide the best strategy.

 Grandia’s magic system is one of my favorite things in the game. Throughout the game you’ll acquire mana eggs (source of magic) based on the four elements: fire, water, earth and wind. The more you use them, the stronger said spells become and they’ll be cast faster; also, the more you level up your magic, the more techniques you’ll obtain. Leveling up basic magic elements will combine them and make new elemental magic (for example water + wind = blizzard, wind + fire = thunder, water + earth = forest, etc.).

 There’s still one aspect I haven’t covered: the special attacks. Every character uses more than one type of weapon, for instance Justin uses swords, axes and mazes. Just like magic, the more you use one specific type of weapon the stronger it gets. Leveling up different weapons will give you new special attacks that combine with your magic.

 On another more artistic note, Grandia’s soundtrack is beautiful. One of the best I have ever heard in a video game. Do yourself a favor and search for it. You won’t be disappointed.

 If this throwback has enticed you enough to buy Grandia, you can get hardcopies on Ebay from $20 - $50; or you can buy it through the PlayStation store for around $10. If you have the time and money, I suggest you go buy it already! I assure you, you won’t regret it.

Microsoft Recap

By UnderBreex

Once again, it's that time of the year, when wake up really early, rush to the living room, and take a look at our favorite things while celebrating with our closest family and friends. No, it's not Christmas! It’s the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014! Once again, bringing exciting new video game titles and updates from our favorite companies in the industry. Let's recap!

Starting with Microsoft, the company needed to deliver something genuine for both hardcore and casual gamers, and exciting too, for the love of Lord Whaley! They needed to deliver convincing titles with mind-blowing content, not another cable box. Thankfully, Microsoft learned from their mistakes (asides not hiring a host like Ubisoft), and presented amazing possibilities that had me questioning the safety of my bank savings.

Some of the new announcements included exclusive and third party games, gameplay demos, and new trailers for games such as:

* - Multi-Consoles   ** - Exclusives

-Forza Horizon 2**

-Evolve*

-Crackdown 3**

-Dragon Age: Inquisition*

-Sunset Overdrive**

-Project Spark**

-Ori and the Blind Forest**

-Halo 5: Guardians**

-Scalebound**

-New character for Killer Instinct: Season 2**

-Phantom Dust reboot**

-Dance Central Spotlight**

-The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt*

-Halo: The Master Chief Collection**

These strong titles may be the key for the Xbox One to dethrone the PlayStation 4 in sales, and finally prove its potential, or at least it will by next year.

Starting with Forza Horizon 2, this title gives you the competitive driving thrill of your life. Not only does it have beautiful graphics, it also has a new driving mechanism which no other driving game dominates until now. The Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a big deal, including Halo 1, 2, 3 and 4 remastered for the Xbox One for only $60. It's well-suited for new Xbox owners looking to have one of the best gaming titles in the history. We also got some footage from Halo 5: Guardians, and it was amazing. We expect nothing less from a classic title going into the next generation. One of the biggest surprises was Crackdown 3. Even though extensive gameplay was previewed, they didn’t reveal many details. Finally, Sunset Overdrive has had me craving an Xbox One since last year and it’s not because it reminds me of InFamous a little bit. Sunset Overdrive looks insane as a Creepachu (look it up, thank me later), it's colorful, versatile, and overall very entertaining. More importantly, it’s also a much needed new franchise for this console. Who would’ve guessed that we could launch a teddy bear strapped with a stick of dynamite to destroy enemies?

Microsoft is playing it safe for now by finally showing up some promising titles and engaging what we all love, while also lowering the console’s price tag a $100 by removing the Kinect. The Xbox One is finally heading down a brighter path.

The Rise of MOBA’s and the Growth of Competitive PC Gaming

By. BZork

 Every few years, a video game genre takes over the scene and inspires many similar titles to come around and dominate, producing lookalike after lookalike; we saw it with World of Warcraft, and the rise of MMO’s, and as of the 2010s, it seems like MOBAs (Multiplayer-Online-Battle-Arena) have fit the bill as the flavor genre of PC gaming, much to the pleasure of some, and annoyance of others.

With spiritual roots linked to Blizzard RTS Warcraft III's custom game modes, such as Defense of the Ancients (DotA) and Aeon of Strife (AoS), the concept behind the MOBA is a quick-paced, highly competitive team-based strategy game. You assume the role of one of several heroes/champions, and team up with other champions/heroes controlled by four other players. The goal is simple, or appears to be: breach the enemy team’s towers across three lanes, and destroy their Nexus/Ancient/Throne. What makes the genre so enthralling and fun, is the sheer amount of combinations one can make, according to hero choice, form of leveling, items to be purchased and out-of-game options, such as League of Legends’ runes and masteries system. The possibilities run into the thousands when it comes to all possible combinations, and when you add up how certain characters play, you have a recipe for a game that is constantly changing and evolving.

Due to the rise of MOBAs, in particular the genre’s biggest two titles: DoTA 2, produced by Valve, and League of Legends produced by Riot Games, the competitive PC gaming scene has grown significantly in the past three years. What was often thought to be the pointless dream for gaming’s many enthusiasts has become a reality, culminating in the possibility for gamers around the world to live off of earnings from tournaments and often-times live streaming their games for viewers on Twitch.tv, earning six-figures or more. Last year, Valve’s “The International 3” for DoTA 2 became the tournament with the largest prize pool ever, topping off at around $2.8 million dollars, of which it gave $1.4 million to the 1^st place winners, Alliance, a Swedish team of pro-gamers. Whereas the League of Legends Championship sold out the Staples Center in LA.

This is not to say that MOBAs are the solution to gaming’s gripes, seeing as many enthusiasts have several reactions of the genre, ranging from sheer hatred to obsessive fans that literally live-stream for the majority of their day in hopes of making enough money to get by. However, no one can ignore that they have brought a lot of interest, sponsors and a breath of fresh air into the competitive gaming scene, even more still driven by the fact that one need not spend any money at all to get into MOBA’s. Most are free-to-play, with usually low-hardware requirements for computers to run them, as seen in League of Legends’ case. Whether you love ‘em, or hate ‘em, they’ll probably be around for a while (Seeing as World of Warcraft is still going strong after 10 years in the MMO genre. . .), so give them a shot! Puerto Rico has vibrant communities for both of the genre’s mainstays, so it’s worth looking into. Who knows... You might find yourself enthralled by the genre’s charm, or turned away entirely by the skill-curve and the community, there’s only one way to find out!