General Archives - The Inner Gamer

A Bigger Story from a Smaller Company

March 23, 2018 By Devan Duree No Comments

A great story sticks with you long after you’ve finished it; a good book, an exciting TV series, a captivating video game. This past year I played my Nintendo Switch a TON and had the pleasure of being a part of all kinds of stories. But these stories are nothing without the right characters. Not the ones that you see upfront, but the ones who you actually feel for as you being to learn more about them. As I’ve played more and more titles on my Switch, though, I’ve begun noticing that Indie games are creating significantly more compelling stories than most AAA companies. Perhaps most importantly, though, they’re doing it with half the resources and triple the heart. Continue reading

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My Tiger Electronics

March 2, 2018 By Luis Gonzalez No Comments

When most people think about video games, they think about Nintendo, Sega, Microsoft and Sony. They think about controllers and consoles, computers and keyboards, but video games haven’t always been played like that. Remember Tiger Electronics? Yeah, so do I. I grew up watching my oldest brother play Street Fighter and Sonic on those sturdy plastic bad boys. But me? I never had one of my own. In fact, I hardly ever played them. By the time I was old enough to understand what the hell was going on around me, physical electronic video game systems like these took a very different turn. What did I play with? I played with Scannerz, Digivices, and Tamagotchi.

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Not Just Playing Head Games

February 23, 2018 By Devan Duree No Comments

When someone looks back on their favorite video game characters, they tend to look toward the the way that character looked. The way they talked. They way they interacted with the world they were in. What people don’t think about, though, is what’s going on inside a character’s head; their mental stability. Within the last year I played two games that made me realize that developers are exploring protagonists with troubled lives that challenge the form of standard video game hero/heroine tropes. And I couldn’t be more pleased. Continue reading

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A Newcomer in Monster Hunter: World

February 9, 2018 By Brett Yanoski No Comments

When I play games, I don’t often do it for the challenge. I’m the guy that picks Easy in the difficulty settings. In my mind, games are meant to be enjoyed, not studied. I want to play to take a break from a long day of work and multitasking to do something rewarding. When Monster Hunter: World arrived I was intrigued by the open world and cooperative focus. What I discovered was much deeper. What have I gotten myself into? When I began my first hunt, I realized there is more than meets the eye in Monster Hunter.

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My First Year as a PC Gamer

February 2, 2018 By Luis Gonzalez No Comments

I caved and bought a PC just under a year ago… and, to tell you the truth, I can’t even remember why I did it. There was probably a pros and cons list involved, though. “Oh yeah, I need it for work” was most likely at the top of that list. To be fair, I’ve been very productive with it since I’ve had it. I’m writing this from it right now, actually. So maybe that “pro” was more justified than I thought. But the real reason I bought a PC was to take my gaming to the next level. I’d spent years looking on as PC gamers played games I’d never get to and I’d been keeping tabs on them ever since. My first few months as a PC gamer were spent exploring this enormous backlog.

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Does Electronic Arts Even Care Anymore?

January 26, 2018 By Devan Duree No Comments

For better or for worse, EA stayed well in the limelight this past year. Star Wars Battlefront II was a major controversy even before it was officially released. Between microtransactions, an abysmal AMA on Reddit, and drastically changing the games core progression due to customer feedback, the company took a major hit to their public image. With 2018 now here, the gaming community patiently waits to see if EA has learned their lesson with their newest line-up of games.

Chloe in Life is Strange by DONTNOD Entertainment

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When Does a Game Make You Care?

January 18, 2018 By Brett Yanoski No Comments

How do you feel when you play a game? Happy? Sad? Angry? Games have the ability to make us feel these things, and often times these feelings are as real as they come. Games that make you truly feel something for another character are the ones that stick with us forever; they have a lasting impact on us as players and as people. For me, the feelings of empathy, admiration and love have been the most impactful.

Project Octopath Traveler by Square Enix

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Switching to a New Adventure

October 6, 2017 By Devan Duree No Comments

The first Final Fantasy I ever played was Final Fantasy 2 (or for those die-hard fans, Final Fantasy 4). I was 6 years old and I had absolutely no idea how to play it, who was who and what was going on. But that did not stop me from sinking many, and I mean MANY, hours into Final Fantasy. I loved the colors, I loved the names of the characters, I loved the random encounters and sense of adventure. Since then, not many games have been able to replicate that feeling for me…until now. Square Enix’s Project Octopath Traveler didn’t just replicate that feeling, though. It exceeded it.
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When Is the Perfect Time to Reveal a Game?

September 20, 2017 By Brett Yanoski No Comments

Have you ever walked in on a surprise birthday just for you? What about an unexpected raise at work? These are the kinds of surprises that make us feel amazing. With video game releases, these surprises can be few and far between. For years, gamers have lived with the expectation that after a game has been announced, it won’t release for another one, two or even three years. Our initial excitement quickly fades, and what first brought us to the edge of our seats turns into a singular source of frustration. But things don’t have to be that way. How special would it be to see release windows within a few months of a game’s reveal? Well, we’re in luck; gamers may start seeing that more often.
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Can You Remaster a Memory?

September 6, 2017 By Devan Duree No Comments

I look back on my memories of the original Crash Bandicoot with a fond smile. The pits I jumped over, the crates I smashed, the times I almost snapped my controller in half because of that damn rolling boulder; I remember all of it. The Crash Bandicoot remaster was a selfless gift, a gift I didn’t realize I wanted until I had it. That being said, and wonderful as this was, I worry that the success of this remaster will cause developers to capitalize on our nostalgia instead of exploring new and interesting areas of gaming. I mean, I don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything, but did we REALLY need to have a remastered Modern Warfare? Continue reading

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Category: General