Up late talking games & writing? You're...

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Family: If you follow me on Twitter you probably already know this, but my 4yo son broke his leg yesterday.

Ironically, it should've been nothing more than a bump or a bruise, but apparently young bones can snap when they twist just so, and he was unlucky while running around.

  

I feel absolutely terrible for him, and I hope that all of the milk and cheese he eats will pay off with rapid bone recovery. I can already tell it's going to be a long 4-6 weeks…

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Games: Currently, I'm playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 on PS3.

I actually had no intention of playing it, but we had a hard time generating interest for it in the review crew, so I figured I’d take one for the team and knock it out before Dark Souls II. Shockingly, it turned out to be pretty awesome, and I've been enjoying the hell out of it.

Essentially, it's like God of War mixed with Metroidvania elements, and flavored with a radical re-imagining of the Castlevania mythos.

The reviews for this game have been absolutely terrible, and a quick glance at Metacritic would lead one to believe that it was a stinker to be avoided, but that's absolutely not the case. I really don't understand what's driving this wave of hate for the title, and every normal person I've talked with has had as much affection for as I do.

The combat could use a little work, but it flows nicely and has plenty of exciting moments. The graphics are absolutely fantastic, and quite amazing for the hardware it's running on, and the world is quite large, detailed, and offers plenty of nooks and crannies to explore.

I'm not done with it yet, but I've been loving every minute of it, and would absolutely recommend it so far. Maybe something terrible happens later on to ruin it, but from what I've seen this is definitely one to check out.

(And all the reviews moaning about the stealth elements? Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill…)

I’m also playing Inazuma Eleven, which is (for serious) a JRPG involving characters trying to rebuild their second-rate school soccer team, so all of the random battles and bosses are about actually playing soccer.

This may seem like a really bizarre pick for someone with my tastes (I’m sick of traditional JRPGs and I’m no sports fan) but it’s so interesting and different that I couldn't help but check it out.

Despite having poor tutorials and some nonessential systems which should probably be cut, the core is great. The story is surprisingly good, playing soccer is easy yet interesting, and the best thing is that there’s a heavy dose of fantasy injected by way of the special kicks.

Rather than being too serious or sim-like, the characters can kick a ball and turn it into flames, kick goals with the power of dragons,  split themselves into decoys, summon whirlwinds, and more. It's too bad that the game wasn’t optimized to run on the 3DS (it was originally for the standard DS) but it's definitely worth a look for players interested in something off the beaten path. A definite winner here.

While I'm on the topic of monster hunting, it's time for a quick update into Freedom Unite.

The wife has been making steady progress, and is up to three-star quests in solo mode. I’m quite proud of her ability, but when I'm not proud of is my series of fails today… She's after Blangonga fangs to improve one of her longswords, and I thought it would be no problem to quest up with her and grab a couple.

How wrong I was.

In true Monster Hunter fashion, the game denies the player anything that they want badly, and we kept killing the damned snow apes before the fangs would break. We went through two or three quests where the monster died with its teeth intact, and after that, I downgraded to weaker weapons and even changed weapons, but to no avail. No matter what we did, we were not able to break the teeth before killing the thing, and I was utterly embarrassed. Argh!

Anyway, are you going to celebrate MonMonth, or are you playing along in Freedom Unite right now? Post a message and let me know!

********************PR/NEWS/INFO********************

NIS America is thrilled to announce that KADOKAWA GAMES and Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. have collaborated to offer Disgaea DLC for Demon Gaze at launch in North America and Europe. For the first month upon release on PSN, players can download a number of Disgaea characters for free that will allow them to add fan-favorite Disgaea characters to their list of party member appearance choices. Characters being offered are Etna, Flonne, Sicily, Asagi, and Prinny.

For more information, please visit NISAmerica.com/games/demongaze

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Deconstructeam and Devolver Digital are super pumped to announce that upcoming indie thriller Gods Will Be Watching will arrive on PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam, Humble, and GOG this June. Starting as a standout entry in Ludum Dare 26 competition, Gods Will Be Watching, developer Deconstructeam has greatly expanded the original story of a space exploration team stranded on an unfamiliar world faced with ethical conundrums and moral dilemmas.

The updated and expanded Gods Will Be Watching is a minimalistic "point and click thriller" centered on despair, commitment, and sacrifice as players face intriguing puzzles and tough decisions that will affect their entire crew's wellbeing. Set against the backdrop of an interstellar struggle, Gods Will Be Watching follows Sgt. Burden and his crew in six tense chapters from hostage situations and wilderness survival to biological weapon prevention and agonizing torture scenarios. Each decision is crucial and players will need to choose between the lives of their team and the saving the world from genocide.

Deconstructeam and Devolver Digital will have different playable scenarios available to demo at SXSW Gaming in Austin, Rezzed in Birmingham, and PAX East in Boston through the spring leading up to the launch in June. Fans unable to visit these shows can try the original game jam at godswillbewatching.com. and follow development via Twitter @Deconstructeam. 

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Resident Evil 4 is availablefor PC digital download on Steam® globally and across European retail for $19.99 / €19.99. PC gamers can enjoy the ground-breaking survival horror masterpiece in the highest visual fidelity ever with stunning HD graphics running at a smooth 60 frames per second for the very first time.

Resident Evil 4 received numerous “Game of the Year” awards when it debuted and currently stands as one of the best reviewed games of all time with an incredible 96 ranking on Metacritic, the critics review consensus site. This latest edition boasts a complete visual overhaul with sharpened texts and textures on characters, backgrounds and in-game objects. Fully optimized for the wide screen, the title features Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud, Steam Trading Cards, global leaderboards, and full game controller support.  Subtitle support in English, French, Italian and Spanish as well as previously released bonus content such as the Separate Ways epilogue is also included.

In Resident Evil 4, special agent Leon S. Kennedy is sent on a mission to rescue the U.S. President’s daughter who has been kidnapped. Finding his way to a rural village in Europe, he faces new threats that are a departure from the traditional lumbering zombie enemies of the earlier installments in the series. Leon battles horrific new creatures infested by a new threat called Las Plagas and faces off against an aggressive group of enemies including mind-controlled villagers that are tied to Los Illuminados, the mysterious cult which is behind the abduction.

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Ubisoft® has announced that Trials Fusion™, the highly anticipated sequel to the massively popular platform racer Trials Evolution®, will be available for download on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Steam® for Windows PC and the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system on April 16 in North America.

Trials Fusion will be available digitally for $19.99 on Xbox One and Xbox 360 from the Xbox Live Games Store, on PlayStation®4 system and on Steam® for Windows PC. A physical retail version including a Season Pass will also be made available for $39.99 SRP on Xbox One and PlayStation®4 systems.

In addition, the first gameplay trailer for Trials Fusion is now available. Developed by RedLynx in collaboration with Ubisoft Shanghai and Ubisoft Kiev, and designed specifically for the next generation of hardware, Trials Fusion offers players an unlimited array of obstacles and challenges as they race against the clock – with players from around the globe – to set track records.

Trials Fusion builds off the same maddeningly addictive physics-based gameplay of its predecessors while incorporating brand-new features, including the FMX tricks system.

Create tracks that stretch your imagination and skill, and put your friends to the test by sharing online with the bustling Trials Fusion community, made possible by the fan-favorite Editor mode.

Whether players choose to race alone, against friends or in a worldwide tournament, the competition is endless… Just one run is never enough.

For the latest information on Trials Fusion, please visit: www.trialsgame.com

For the latest on all of Ubisoft’s games, please visit: ubiblog.com

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