Blog Herding – The Best Blogs Of The Community (June 4, 2015)

by Game Informer Editorial on Jun 04, 2015 at 06:00 AM

This week is packed full of some great blogging! A big thanks to everyone who writes and makes the community so fun to be a part of. Now then – get those glasses on and get reading!

Community Blogs For May 28 – June 3:

Guess That Game (June 2015)...
Another week, another iteration of the ever-fun Guess that Game by firedude3663! I...didn't do so hot on this one, but give it a go and leave your score in the comments!

What You May Have Missed: Gyakuten Kenji 2
Will Watson makes a great point: The Ace Attorney series is fantastic. Unfortunately, not every game has been localized for North America – but that didn't stop him from importing Gyakuten Kenji 2. It doesn't end up being his favorite game in the series, but it's definitely worth a look for super fans.

Splatoon: Online Issues Make Me A Sad Squid
Katzenbalger is currently diving into the ink of Splatoon – but it hasn't been a perfect experience. Online play hasn't quite worked, and many matches just won't connect or are dropped. It's a shame, because the game is super creative and fun – when it works.

Gaming Dreams
Rebekah has had quite a few dreams inspired by gaming in her time. Bizarre ones. But I can't judge; I've been there. I once dreamt of my brother and I in Spartan armor, fighting hordes of bugs like we were in an Earth Defense Force scenario – and we were overtaken by spiders.

Nintendo Screen Shot Scrap Book #4
Happydude633 brings us his Scrap Book feature yet again, this time featuring classics like Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland and the fantastic Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Nostalgia overload.

Why Regional-Exclusivity And Region-Locking Are Unfair
Jon-G doesn't like region-locked games and consoles. Neither do I. I've imported many DS games, and bought some when in Japan, just so I could experience what we'd never get. Heck, I even imported Yakuza's Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! for the PS4 and play it using my limited Japanese skills and video translations of cutscenes. I'd gladly buy a North American release.

JRPGs MIA
I'd be a liar if I told you TonberryKing128's list of JRPGs he misses didn't make me feel deeply saddened and long for an older, better time. He mentions series like Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts (Shadow Hearts is my favorite RPG series), giving background into what each game is all about and what happened to the developers behind them.

GIO Smash Bros 3DS/Wii U Tournament Round 3 (WE HAVE A WINNER) + Round 4 Details
Tstitan has the lowdown on all things Smash, giving us an exclusive interview with the tournament's first winner, and what comes next for warriors seeking eternal accolades as the Game Informer online community's greatest fighter.

The Game Informer Online Summer Game Challenge – A Call to Arms
What are you doing this summer, dear readers? Because this community event set up by TheDarkestLink wants you to play games in your backlog for a shot at winning prizes. Sound cool, yeah? Too bad I'll be working long hours this summer, and will be lucky to beat one game.

Writing Challenge Responses:

Community Writing Challenge: Games That Bridge The Gap
Rebekah Lang writes about thatgamecompany's Journey and Flower, noting that both are perfect for beginning gamers. Not only are they accessible, but they don't contain the violence that some non-gamers associate with the medium.

Community Writing Challenge: Best Games for Newcomers
Jon_G chose to sweep through a bunch of genres and choose games that are perfect for newcomers. Games like Kirby's Epic Yarn, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and even Paper Mario make the list.

Community Writing Challenge: Games for Newcomers
GerardoExber surprises with Tekken 5, but balances out the list of games with Nintendo stalwarts like Mario Kart for Wii and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The Wii iteration of Mario Kart is still played by some of my family members thanks to its unique control scheme.

Community Reviews:

52/52 Week 22 – Radiant Historia Review – A Timeless Classic
TheDarkestLink just recently dove into Radiant Historia on the recommendation of a Game Informer feature listing the Top 25 DS Games. It took him over a year to complete (he wasn't too into it at first) but now considers it to be one of the best DS games ever made.

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt Critique
General Mills44 thinks The Witcher III is quite ambitious and has amazing moments, but it also has a host of issues with it. That includes a drab open-world environment and a slow start.

Community Writing Challenge:

Plato once said "The measure of a man is what he does with power." With that in mind, I want you all to write a blog about what you've done as powerful game characters. Some games like Mass Effect give you a clear way to be good or evil, but perhaps you have taken it further; maybe you like to crush NPCs over and over again to see how they cry out in fear. Maybe you use your power to crush pesky monsters for villagers in side quests. Or maybe you love using an overpowered character in PvP battles. Let me know what you like to do with powerful characters!

Community Playdate:

This Sunday at 7:00PM CST we will be playing FIFA 15 on the PlayStation 4. I haven't gotten too many requests, and I've heard the GI community isn't too sports-focused, but we'll give Messi and company a go and see what happens. Please add me, Louiskensei, and leave a comment here if you're playing. I will also make a post in our community playdate group and via the user blogs.

I hope you enjoy the blogs! Please contact me via my Game Informer page or on Twitter at @LouisGarcia12 with any blog news or playdate suggestions.