Why Ninja Theory’s Independent AAA Could Save Gaming's Middle Ground

Ninja Theory is a developer that always seems on the verge of mainstream success. They landed a PS3 exclusive deal early on with Heavenly Sword; they wowed critics with Enslaved: Odyssey to the West; and they made serious waves with Dante’s redesign in DmC. However, it’s their newest effort Hellblade that just may be their most important work to date. The game is shaping up to be what fans would expect from the studio: a third person action title in the vein of Devil May Cry or God of War. Though, it isn’t so much the game’s content that’s been turning heads in the industry; it’s the way the game is being produced. It’s a process they’re calling “Independent AAA”.

Top 5 MMO No Brainers

Tons of people have fallen in love with the worlds presented by MMOs, and while MMOs have typically only been successful in the fantasy genre, there are tons of potentially amazing MMOs that could come from licensing major properties. Here are five of the most obvious choices for the next big MMO.

Audio Log: Sonic Colors/Sonic Unleashed

Sonic gets a deservedly bad rap for his recent outings on just about every platform. It's unlikely he'll ever regain his status as an attitude driven alternative to Mario. However, no matter how poor so many latter day Sonic titles have proven to be, the music in just about every Sonic game remains some of the best game music that still feels like game music rather than a film score. Two of the best representations of this are the Chun-Nan day stage from Sonic Unleashed and Aquarium Park from Sonic Colors. So, feast your ears on these toe tappin' tunes.

Top 5 Medieval Fantasy Games that aren’t RPGs

Picture Credit: Zoppy

Whether it’s battling dragons, discovering magical amulets, or defending castles from hordes of orcs, just about everyone this side of the Lord of the Rings films has wanted to dive headlong into the medieval fantasy setting at one time or another. Fortunately, games have been all too willing to oblige via deep role playing games that scratch that particular itch. However, sometimes we want to save the kingdom without having to level up for 14 hours to do it. We don’t always want to fight rats in the town sewer before getting to fight Evil King What’s-His-Name or do a fetch quest before we can fight the troll in the Dwarven Halls of Something-or-Another! Sometimes we just want to get to the good stuff quick, so here are 5 of the best fantasy games that ditch the RPG elements and let us do just that.

Weird Entries: God of War: Betrayal

Any series has characteristics and features that make it immediately recognizable. Shinobi is distinguished by being about an awesome ninja; Uncharted is distinguished by its everyman, light hearted protagonist. However, every once in a while, when a series has been around for a while, the developers and publishers will want to shake things up. Sometimes this works wonderfully (Resident Evil 4), but other times it doesn’t work out too well. In these latter times we get sequels/reboots/off shoots that are remembered only by their weirdness. Perhaps not as bad of a game as last time's entry but no less weird is God of War Betrayal.

Audio Log: Medievil

Medievil (yes that is the correct spelling) was a pretty awesome platformer for the original Playstation. It was heavily inspired by both Zelda and Tomb Raider, and unlike so many games from the PS1 era, Medievil is still fun to go back and enjoy today. The game also had an impressive soundtrack at a time when composers were trying to decide if they wanted to keep the synthesized sounds from previous generations or go with the orchestral scores found in film. As an early effort in the latter style, the Medievil soundtrack is impressive, with its Gothic horror vibe and macabre sense of humor, so have a listen...if you dare.

The Most Grumble-Worthy Things about the New Generation (so far)

The new generation of consoles has brought a lot of excitement from the gaming audience. Gamers were ready for the successors to the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360, so, naturally, everyone flocked to get their new consoles upon release. As with any new generation of consoles, however, there have been a fair amount of growing pains that came with the transition. Here are 5 of the most annoying aspects of the new generation so far.