Frosty Faustings Highlights!

Check out these awesome highlights from Frosty Faustings 2017, featuring an angry Chun Li and robot-on-robot violence!

Street Fighter V Season 2 High Level Akuma vs. Cammy

We're back with more Street Fighter V matches! This time it's Akuma vs. Cammy!

Street Fighter V Season 2 High Level Akuma vs. Zangief

Check out this confrontational matchup between Akuma and the most amazing Zangief you've ever seen!

Street Fighter V Season 2 High Level Vega vs. Laura

Check out some more high level matches we found! This Laura has to be seen to be believed!

Street Fighter V Season 2 High Level Zangief vs. Karin, Best of 3

Check out some more exciting high level matches while I get my car fixed!

Street Fighter V High Level Alex Matches

Just checking in with some good fights and good music! Check out some high level Street Fighter V matches, featuring my favorite character, Alex!

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Receiving Digital and Disc Re-release

According to Capcom, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will be re-released in disc form on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and the game will be available for download on Xbox One and Steam. The download will be available on March 7th, while the disc will be available later in the month for 
$29.99.

The re-release of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will also include exclusive art along with a comic and is available for pre-order at GameStop and EB Games!

Nintendo Switch Firsthand Coverage

Hey, all! John De Large here with some pictures of the recent Nintendo Switch event in NYC, taken by our own Erik Haile and our good buddy Steve Mrozik! Mind the funky layout, we're having some problems with the blog at the moment, but hopefully everything rights itself soon

All righty then here come some pretty pictures of some new games coming your way

Critical Critique with David Walton (Episode 1 + 2)

Hey folks, check out David Walton's review.... of me!

In his new series, Critical Critique, David takes a look at how I handle other opponents in Street Fighter V online matches (spoiler alert: lots of royal blue Timbs and lots of jumping ahead).





So my problems are:
-Jumping too much
-Being not aggressive at all
-Not using normals as much as I should

In next week's post, I'll identify how I correct these problems and a few others. Did I miss something that I should or shouldn't be doing? Let me know in the comments section!

The Dwarves (XB1) Review

An RPG is like a nice steak: easy to make, but hard to make just right. Done just right, a steak will be hearty yet juicy, and leave you wanting seconds, much like Final Fantasy Tactics (which is probably my favorite RPG of all time for those keeping score). If a chef makes a steak wrong, it'll still be enjoyable, just tough to get through, and hard to actually enjoy, kind of like the new downloadable tactical RPG from King Art Games and THQ Nordic: The Dwarves.

One area that "The Dwarves" isn't lacking is in the graphics department. Before players are thrust into the middle of an in-game battle, they will be treated to a gorgeous opening cutscene, beautifully animated and expertly narrated. In-game graphics are just as over the top and excellent too. Characters sport muscles, physiques, proportions, and features with Street Fighter IV and V like proportions, right down to the gigantic hands. Stages are just as gorgeous too, each of them looking like something from a Dreamworks or Pixar movie, but on steroids. Even the menus and maps look like they've been given the same kind of care that AAA game would receive. Recent games and even upcoming releases will have a hard time matching this kind quality visuals gamers will experience playing "The Dwarves."

Another great thing about "The Dwarves," is the seemingly overwhelming odds player will face against foes. Battles are nothing short of epic from the 10 to 1 odds to the nigh-never-ending boss fights, however, the game is fair enough that smart players will have just enough to squeak by and still be ready for the next battle. If all of this sounds like too much handle, don't worry! The Dwarves is 10 to 12 hours, maybe 15 max of playtime! It's an epic adventure that fits into an itty bitty downloadable space.

So it seems like The Dwarves isn't that bad of a game or at least it's a gorgeous enough game that everything else shouldn't matter so much, right? Well, there are a few glaring problems. First is the game's ever-frustrating camera, which is most of the time, static. The camera tends to focus on one character at a time, usually the last targeted character, leaving players blind to other enemies closing in, potential hazards or even other objectives that need completing.

The controls proved to be the most frustrating thing about The Dwarves, however. While the aforementioned odds are an incredible experience and make for a great visual, there's a lot that can happen to undermine the epic moments. Characters don't attack after repeated inputs, other characters sit there and soak up damage, characters attempt to attack enemies and go careening off a cliff (in the first level!). I mean, how can I fully enjoy a game that I can't play without stopping and consulting Google every 5 seconds? A game this complicated should've come with just a little more handholding. I think of it like this: if a game as basic and fundamental as Street Fighter V can have an excruciatingly thorough and consequence free tutorial before even starting the game properly, why not something way more intricate like The Dwarves?

I usually complain about intelligence insulting tutorials, but this is a game that really could've used one. In fact, the gameplay and the conveyance could've used a little more of the same kind of love that went into the graphics and visuals. You know the same kind of love and attention that has to go into making a good steak.

Rating: 2/5

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, With Justice and Mutants For All

Another rumor to take with a grain of salt, but it looks like Wolverine and the gang will be making it into MvC: Infinite after all....as DLC!

According to forum member Ryce at NeoGAF, the same person who told everyone MvC: Infinite was even coming in the first place, X-Men and Fantastic Four characters are coming and "it's a done deal."

                                                   (click to enlarge)

I wonder if this means there'll be Capcom characters available as DLC too?

Holiday Gift Guide! Nerf Edition!

Check out this great gift guide by YouTuber Coop772!

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, The Story So Far

Hey, fit-fam! It's John De Large and I'm back with some a bunch of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite news! Here's everything we know, a long story made short!

What we know:
Instead of being called Marvel vs. Capcom 4, the next Marvel vs. Capcom game will be called Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. The game is expected to be out sometime next year for PS4, Xbox One, and Steam, presumably after March 2017 (which is the release date for the Xbox One and PC port for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3). MvC: Infinite will feature an offline Story Mode and features the return of the Infinity Stones as an in-game mechanic after a staggering 22 years! Much like the last fighting game they appeared in (1995's Marvel Super Heroes), the Infinity Stones can be used to buff a fighter's strength, speed and other important parameters.

The game is also implementing the use of a 2v2 system with a dedicated assist character for each team, instead of Marvel vs. Capcom 3's 3v3 system.


Playable characters (so far) include Ryu, Morrigan and Mega Man X for the Capcom side, while Captain Marvel, Captain America and Iron Man will be representing the Marvel side. Sigma and Ultron will also likely appear.

What we've heard (followed by how likely we think the rumor is to be true or will come to pass)
-No X-Men and no mutants will show up at all, the game is going to focus on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Sadly, this is going to be a reality due to who owns what rights. I'm sorry too. If you missed it, Doctor Doom, Super Skrull, Storm, and most of the X-Men won't be showing up. However....
-Despite the above rumor Wolverine, Cyclops, Magneto, Deadpool, Cable, Apocalypse will all appear, either due to popularity or being part of upcoming Marvel movies.
Nah, I could actually see all of those characters not appearing and everyone remaining calm, with the exception of Cable and Deadpool. I think folks wouldn't actually miss Wolverine's at this point but that the same can't be said about Wade and Nate.
-Ant-Man, Groot and Doctor Strange will appear.
The source that mentioned this has disappeared, but this seems incredibly likely with another Guardians of the Galaxy movie coming out soon and Doctor Strange still in theaters. Hopefully, Ant-Man will still be Hawkeye's assist character that drops a big foot on the opponent. Groot could be a great new playable character movie coming out soon and Doctor Strange still in theaters. Hopefully, Ant-Man will still be Hawkeye's assist character that drops a big foot on the opponent. Groot could be a great new playable character or an assist character.
-Howard The Duck will appear in some fashion or another.
As an assist character maybe? As an assist character maybe? I'm not really sure that Howard the Duck has enough about him that translates to gameplay.
-Based on a tweet from Lupinko, a Sentinel (Mango or otherwise) will appear.
Since the MvC Sentinel isn't REALLY a Sentinel (it's a smaller robot very loosely based on the comics' Sentinels), I have a great deal of hope the Sentinel will show up.
-Despite who owns what rights, Marvel will do whatever it takes to include/re-include certain characters based on sales and fan reaction/fan rage.
That could happen. Capcom struck some kind of deal with the guy who owns Strider Hiryu to get him included in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. However, if the game performs well and is as popular as everyone is counting on, I don't see Capcom scrambling to fix something that isn't broken.

What we expect
-20 to 24 playable characters at launch. With up to 30 to 36 playable characters if there are DLC characters included!
-The following playable characters based on upcoming releases on both sides (takes deep breath in): Albert Wesker (who isn't dead!), Ant-Man, Black Panther, Captain Commando, Daredevil, Frank West, HUNK, Iron Fist, Iron Patriot, Lilith, Luke Cage, Nemesis, Phoenix Wright, Rocket Raccoon, Ruby Heart, Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen, Taskmaster, Thanos (as the final boss), Thor, Vile, Venom, Wasp, Whiplash, Zero, at least one or two fan favorite characters, and at least one or two characters that will cater to notable professional players.
-A release date for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite that coincides with the theatrical release of an upcoming Marvel movie. Since the game is due out in 2017, that means the game could be released around the same time as Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 (May '17), Spider Man: Homecoming (July '17) or Thor: Ragnarok (November '17). Our money is on November '17.
-Fully choose-able/selectable assist characters. 
-Fun alternate costumes! If Deadpool makes it into the game, we'd love to see him rocking Wade Wilson's plaid jacket!

And lastly, what we want despite it being impossible
-The following playable characters: Colossus.
-C'mon, no one else played X-Men: Children of the Atom and picked Colossus so they could kill the opponent in one combo? Just me, eh?

Well, Colossus or not, we're confident that Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is going to be a big step in a good direction! Stay tuned to DLC as we keep bringing you MvC: Infinite news!

MVC4 Rumor: No X-Men or Mutants in MVC4?

Earlier this week, a Marvel vs. Capcom 4 teaser image popped up and everyone went and lost their minds. Despite no official confirmation yet (and with no "de-confirmation," from any game makers or developers so far), everyone has gone ahead and assumed that Marvel vs. Capcom 4 will definitely be happening in 2017. However, there is one slight issue that might bring everyone's excitement to a grinding halt.

Due to Fox still owning the rights to the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, while Disney owns the rights to the rest of the Marvel superhero cast (as well as another rumor going around that if the game is coming, the Marvel side is only going to feature characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe), there is a high chance that there won't be any X-Men or mutants available in Marvel vs. Capcom 4. That means fan favorites such as Wolverine, Storm, Phoenix, Doctor Doom, Magneto and X-23 won't be returning. However, with the upcoming Logan movie that revolves around Wolverine and "a young girl named Laura," who may or may not be X-23, those two characters might be safe.

Also, given their status as an original character based loosely on something from the X-Men comics, we'd also bet that Sentinel is safe. You can relax.

If you prefer to watch coverage instead of reading it, Maximillian Dood explains the situation:

Marvel vs. Capcom 4 Announcement Coming This Week?

Maybe we're getting worked up over nothing, there've been a lot of rumors regarding Marvel vs. Capcom 4 floating around lately. With a lot of figures in the fighting game community speaking up to confirm the rumors as being true, as well as confirming the authenticity of MVC4's supposed logo, there may another Marvel vs. Capcom game on the way.

On the other hand, Ryota Niitsuma, the producer of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, said he'd "love to make #MVC4," but also that "nothing was happening on that front." Keeping in mind that Capcom has stated that their focus is on producing Street Fighter V content until at least 2020 (and maybe beyond) and Marvel vs. Capcom 4 seems not as likely.

Right now, all eyes and ears are on PlayStation Experience 2016 and the Capcom Cup for an official announcement.

Last Minute Black Friday Cheat Sheet and Survival Guide!

Check out some links to some of the best deals out there on games, toys, electronics, and more! Also, JDL talks about how to get what you need and get the hell out of the store alive!

OUR TOP TIER BLACK FRIDAY LIST
Walmart (featuring $15 Battlefront and Street Fighter V)
Target (featuring a 500GB Xbox One S Battlefield 1 bundle with a $40 Target gift card for $250)
Best Buy (featuring 4K TVs for as little as $200)
GameStop (featuring Fallout 4 for just $20 as well as Overwatch for $35)
Dell (featuring a 500GB Xbox One S with Battlefield 1, Gears of War and an extra controller for $250)

TOP 5 SURVIVAL TIPS WITH JDL (ULTIMATE BLACK FRIDAY VETERAN)
1. Stay hydrated, but not too hydrated. Don't drink too much water that you need constant bathroom breaks, but don't drink so little that you get dehydrated!
2. Hands on your purchases and intended purchases at all times. Folks tend to get all kinds of grabby with stuff you might be holding onto that you haven't yet paid for.
3. Prioritize purchases. Make a list of the most important things you want/need and try to stick to picking up essential items while picking a few you don't mind missing out on.
4. Keep your trip short and sweet. Combined with tip #3, if you can get all the essential things you need in a hurry, call it a day, quit while you're ahead and get out of there!
5. Be nice, especially to retail staff. Everyone else out there on the same mission to save money as you are. The clerks, cashiers, and stock people are just that -- people, ya know, JUST LIKE YOU. Don't be a dick if you can help it, have fun, and remember that the folks buying stuff and the folks ringing you up are just trying to get out alive, ALSO LIKE YOU, so be nice!

Third Version of Pokemon Sun and Moon For Switch?

According to a report from last week, there will be another sister version of Pokémon Sun and Moon (working title: Pokémon Stars), coming to the Nintendo Switch late next year. Eurogamer, who already have a great track record when it came to the Nintendo Switch, has already made the analogy that this third game will be to Sun and Moon what Pokémon Yellow was to Red and Blue.

This may mean that Stars will also be available to play in high resolution, since the Nintendo Switch can output at a high rate.

Source: Kotaku

Top 5 Nintendo Switch Strategies with Derek Robbins

God, I want the Nintendo Switch to succeed something fierce.

The Wii U was a complete blunder from a popularity standpoint. I think some of my favorite games from this current console generation were found there, but it just did not catch on. As a complete Nintendrone, I would love it if this new console was able to break through unlike the Wii U, but I have my doubts. Nintendo is a company that is very set in its ways, and in order for it to succeed in a console market already littered with Playstation 4s and Xbox Ones, some things need to happen. Here are five of those.

1-) The digital library needs to be across all platforms

I remember when the Playstation Vita first offered the ability to play Playstation 1 games. All of my PS1 games that I had bought on the PS3 carried over to the Vita and I could just play them again, without purchase. If you own a Wii U and a 3DS, you know what I’m getting at already. Why do I have to buy SNES or other virtual console titles more than once to play them on different platforms? When you buy an app on the iTunes store, you don’t have to pay extra in order to play it on your iPad also.

2-) The virtual console library on the Wii U and 3DS needs to be available Day One on the Switch

Making the Switch completely backwards compatible with the Wii U is not possible since the proprietary format is different. So immediately, Wii U owners are going to be let down. So on top of just letting them own all the stuff they already bought digitally for other consoles, why not just have that available right out of the gate? Then the Switch will already have a library of very great games and folks can feel confident just putting aside their Wii U and 3DS and embracing the new mack daddy. I should be able to buy a Switch in March, download the copy of Earthbound I’ve already bought twice digitally, and play it on my TV.

3-) It should be fully backwards compatible with the 3DS

Nintendo is out there saying that it will not stop supporting the 3DS after the Switch launches. This reminds me of when the DS came out and Nintendo tried to spin it as another brand that would live parallel to the Gameboy brand. Since we’re not playing on Gameboy SUPER advances in 2016, you saw how well that went. Since Nintendo wants the Switch to be this all-in-one console that can be played at home and on the road, why not allow the Switch to play 3DS cards? Every Nintendo portable has been backwards compatible with the portable that came before it, so since this IS the new portable it should be able to play 3DS games.

Its implementation could be tricky. But what if there were latches on the vertical sides of the console in portable mode for you to place your controller? We already know it works horizontally. Then half the screen could be the original 3DS touch screen and the other half could be the top screen, Obviously, this is not a perfect solution, but this also - with the suggested day one virtual console line-up - gives the Switch a huge Day One library.

4-) There should be a Pokemon game at launch

Obviously, the seventh generation of Pokemon launches later this week, but that does not mean something should not be in the works for the Switch. Pokemon is Nintendo’s most popular franchise and is the king of handheld gaming. Since the Switch is Nintendo’s handheld and console hybrid, Pokemon should be there right out the gate for two reasons. One, it would sell a crap load of copies and two, it shows that this is where you need to go if you want to enjoy the franchise for the foreseeable future. If I was in charge of Nintendo, Sun and Moon would not be 3DS games at all. They would have launched on the Switch. So instead, the Switch should either launch with the ‘third’ game in the Sun and Moon generation (think Pokemon Yellow, Crystal, Emerald, etc) or should launch with a remake of a previous Pokemon.

Red and Blue have already been remade once, but I honestly think those get made again before Diamond and Pearl get their chance to shine. Imagine how insane a Switch launch would look with a redone Red and Blue standing right alongside it? I’m always in favor of new content instead of repackaging old content, but that’d have the Switch selling like gangbusters right out of the gate.

5-) The price can be no more than $250

Nobody is going to invest in this system if it’s out there looking the way it does and selling for as much as a PS4 or Xbox One. If it comes in and undercuts the other systems while offering the hybrid portable and console nature, I think that would be enough to see it emerge as a viable third option. I think because of how well the Wii sold and how underpowered it was compared to the 360 and PS3, it is well known by not just hardcores but everybody that the Nintendo console is underpowered compared to the others. The Switch is going to be less powerful than, at the very least, the PS4 Pro and Scorpio. The casual gamer knows this, even without seeing specs. So if it launches at like $300 and then right beside it the casual gamer sees a PS4 for $300, why would they choose the underpowered console? I think slotting it at the Wii’s $250 is perfect and should go a long way into making it competitive.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Review with Derek Robbins

For a long time Dragon Ball game fanatic, the original Dragon Ball Xenoverse felt like a breath of fresh air. Yes, fighting the Saiyans, Frieza, Cell and Buu were still the main course but there were other trappings around it. You were your own character! Unlike Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi from 2011, it was actually really well done! You could be a Buu, or a Namekian or even a member of Frieza’s race if you wanted to be! While there was still work to be done, the original Xenoverse was the first Dragon Ball game in a long time that didn’t simply feel like it was going through the motions.

Unfortunately, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 isn’t quite the same breath of fresh air. I mean, how could it be? It has the number 2 in the title, which typically means ‘more of the same’. At times, this game doesn’t even feel like a sequel. It feels more like what the ideal version of the original Xenoverse should have been. There’s nothing wrong with that, the original Xenoverse was a fun game, but not reaching out even farther prevents Xenoverse 2 from being the first great Dragon Ball video game.

The game is played very much like the original. Combos are basic one-or-two button affairs and super moves are just pressing a combination of two buttons. If the player is looking for a fighting game with the mechanics of Street Fighter, they should look elsewhere. This title, like the Tenkaichi games back on the Playstation 2, is something I’d consider a Dragon Ball simulator as opposed to an actual fighting game. The player flies around, hits some stuff, throws some beams, teleports behind folks (like all other things, with the press of a button) and transforms. It’s simple, not very complex fun.

That same simplicity also holds it back a little bit. I spent over 20 hours with the game and towards the end, it was getting too formulaic for me. There’s only so many times that I can jam on square and triangle, knock somebody away and throw a beam at them before I’ve had enough. I wasn’t looking at this game for its depth of mechanics, so it’s not really a big deal.

If you’re going into Xenoverse 2 hoping to see more diverse alternate histories to the original Dragon Ball Z storyline, save your money. It’s generally more of the same from the previous game. The villains from the original game - Towa and Mira - are still going through time and creating disturbances to the original Dragon Ball story. This mostly results in foes being powered up - like suddenly Cell is purple and way stronger than he is supposed to be.

The main gimmick Towa and Mira go to now is bringing in movie villains - being billed at as from parallel universes since these characters are not canon. So instead of just Super Saiyan Goku fighting Frieza, you also get his brother Cooler by his side. There are some neat tie-ins to the original Xenoverse if you happen to have your old save lying around, but about 90% of the game’s main story feels like more of the same from the last title. Really, to pull a phrase from Kingdom Hearts, it feels like it could be called Xenoverse: Final Mix.

The main story might be lacking, but the trappings around it are not. Xenoverse 2 retains the hybrid MMO and Fighting game style from the original title and expands on it a bit. In the new hub Conton City, which is much bigger than the original’s Toki-Toki city, there is much to do and see. For starters, there are two options. You can play in an online version of the city to make it more MMO like - other created characters are running around and you can use basic quick typing phrases in public chat to try to get a team together - or you can play in an offline version. This has no impact on the number of quests that are available and outside of being able to recruit a party among strangers, there are no differences. While the gimmick of being able to see other player characters run around in a game I mostly played solo is neat, I generally stuck to the offline mode because it felt like while in online mode certain NPCs took forever to pop in.

Speaking of, load time the loading times are pretty poor. While the game runs very smoothly, 60 FPS I believe, the time between the missions you go on lasts forever as a long, white LOADING screen pops up. It’s not enough to make you want to drop the game in favor of something a little snappier, but it is definitely noticeable.

Everything non-story in the game can be done with actual humans if the player so desires, even in the offline lobby. I prefer to play solo in this sort of game, but from what I did play with others online the game did seem competent. I had some issues finding players to fight against at times, but when I did play it seemed to go totally fine. Only for some strategies on expert missions - more on those later - did I really feel there was a need for humans over AI partners.

Back on Conton City though, the main new gimmick of this game to separate it from the original would have to be the race factions. In an MMO, the player’s avatar frequently does quests for different factions in order to unlock new items and stuff specific to that group of people. While there is no reputation to grind in Xenoverse 2, the idea is much the same. This is being done for the perks.If you do everything to completion, you can unlock the hidden ending to the game, but that isn’t made apparent until you complete at least one. The missions that the character goes through for these factions range in quality, but I actually spent the majority of my time with Xenoverse messing with the different faction options.

The human faction is the one to go to if you want an excuse to do the game’s many different parallel quests. The faction leader, Hercule or Mr. Satan if you’re feeling nasty, gives tutorial-like quests. Land a combo of 35 or more hits, do x number of parallel quests - parallel quests are a returning feature from the original game, think of it as random battles among the game’s cast. The Saiyan faction is just training with Vegeta. It’s pretty basic. When you’re a Saiyan, you turn Super Saiyan through this training route, but the Saiyan faction is definitely the least exciting of the main lot. My personal favorite of the factions, the Frieza race, has more of a narrative to it than the others. You work your way up through Frieza’s ranks - starting with either Zarbon or Dodoria - and eventually become Frieza’s right-hand man. The next event in the Frieza campaign unlocks seemingly randomly, but it never seemed to be a chore.

The other two factions are where the dip in quality comes from. The Namekians are the most annoying faction in the game by a fair amount. I would even put the annoyance they generate up there with infamously annoying video game personalities like Navi from Ocarina of Time. Every three or so missions you do in the game world - whether they be parallel quests, story missions or other faction quests - the player gets a notification saying that Guru’s house is under attack. The player then rushes over to Guru’s house, does a mission - collect the dragon balls - and protects the place for a short amount of time. You rinse and repeat until Nail lets you see Guru. Then you get to do those quests again until you see Guru again. The rewards for seeing Guru are worth it, definitely, but the constant notification of “GURU’S HOUSE IS UNDER ATTACK” is awful. Once all the rewards were earned from the Namekians, I simply let Guru’s house fall to attacks. After every mission I was still warned that his house was being attacked (or sometimes that it was more dangerous now)...so I generally assume the planet Namek in my game looks like an Animal Crossing village that was abandoned for years at a time right now.

The final faction, the Buu faction, is the most passive of the lot. The player feeds Buu food and then he reproduces. The little Buus go out and gives the player items if they are fed. Rinse and repeat until you have six (nine if the player is a Buu) little Majins running around causing havoc. Food is not purchasable - it’s gathered from running around the overworld, talking to NPCs and doing little quests. After beating the game normally - no hidden ending of course since the Buu faction was not done - I had maybe one or two Buus birthed. So more food had to be hunted down. Truthfully, it did not take more than a couple of hours to grab the food needed to fill out Buu, but that couple of hours was spent flying around the same parts of the world looking for the same bits of food. It felt like wasted play time.

Overall, the factions are a solid addition to the game. It helps the world feel more alive and definitely contributes to the value of the product given how short the main story is. It makes race choice seem even more relevant than in the original title and you’re never really wanting for more things to do.

Adding to the game’s MMO-like nature is the inclusion of expert level quests. Think of these like raids or dungeons from your typical MMO. One big, strong enemy challenges your group of six players to a fight. These fights often have more complicated mechanics to them - players have to stop each other from being mind controlled, players have to kill lesser bad guys in order to give everybody more time to kill the big bad guy - and are a great addition to the fairly standard ‘beat up these guys’ quests you typically go on. Really, I’d love to see all the various side missions and online mechanics of this title implemented into a more mechanically intense fighting game to see how they’d hang.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is a very enjoyable game. It takes what the original did and expands upon it. Notice the key word. "Expands." If it were billed as an expansion - Burning Crusade to Xenoverse’s vanilla - I would say that this is about as great a value package as one can expect. As a stand alone game, even with all the fun side content added, this does not feel like a $60 sequel. It’s a decent step-up from the original and should a third Xenoverse title be made and they actually try something a little different with the story, it should be the best Dragon Ball game ever made.

For now, this title is a very good anime-licensed video game.

3.5 out of 5.

Telltale Working on Guardians of the Galaxy Game?

The voice actor and motion-capture performer strike against several top-tier game companies continues. After negotiations for better working conditions have fallen through, SAG-AFTRA released a list of approved games that there would not be protests over.

On the list were a few games that've yet to be released such as Madden 18, Mass Effect: Andromeda and a game known as Guardians of the Galaxy: The Video Game (AKA Blue Harvest). Notably, Guardians was placed above another Telltale Games title on the aforementioned list, The Walking Dead: Season 3.

Telltale has already commented that they're working on a new Marvel-related game, but haven't said much else beyond that. Stay tuned to DLC as more details become available!

Source: WWG.com