Hasbro Finally Puts the D&D License in Good Hands
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/23/19 at 04:15 PM CT
The Dungeons & Dragons videogame license has long been a coveted property for the creators of computerized role-playing games on any platform capable of playing videogames. Back in the halcyon days of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, the D&D license was firmly in the hands of SSI – Strategic Simulations, Inc. – under the auspices of Gary Gygax’s original company, TSR. During this time, SSI churned out dozens of AD&D-based titles, primarily for PC, but occasionally dabbled in failed experiments with adapting their take on the CRPG to consoles, with “Order of the Griffon” on the TurboGrafx-16, a port of “Eye of the Beholder” for the SNES (with the help of Capcom), and two misbegotten titles on the ill-fated 3DO: “Deathkeep” and “Slayer” (the latter of which was just a re-titled port of “Dungeon Hack”).
After SSI was gobbled up by Mindscape in the mid-‘90s – which, itself, went defunct at the end of the 7th Generation after …
E3 Impressions 2019
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/16/19 at 12:21 PM CT
Going into E3 this year, my hopes were higher than at any point in recent memory, thanks in large part to the pre-E3 reveals of a number of exciting titles that I actually care about. These games, which I wanted to see more of at E3, include, but are not limited to, “Baldur’s Gate 3” and “Borderlands 3,” as well as a number of older announcements like “The Outer Worlds” and “Cyberpunk 2077.” It’s a good thing those games made appearances at the show, as, without them, the amount of intriguing content was dismally low, with only a handful of pleasant surprises.
Microsoft:
Want: “The Outer Worlds,” “Wasteland 3,” “Psychonauts 2,” Xbox Elite Controller Series 2
Not Sure if Want: “Ori and the Will of the Wisps” (still!), “Minecraft Dungeons,” “Spiritfarer,” “Battletoads” (still!), “Rightime!,” Gamepass Ultimate, Project Xcloud
Do Not Want: “Bleeding Edge,” “Phantasy Star Online 2,” “Elden Ring,” PvP, Zombies, ‘Star …
Review Round-Up: Spring 2019
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/09/19 at 01:53 PM CT
Welcome back to another installment of the MeltedJoystick Review Round-Up. Here’s what our staff has reviewed since last time:
Nelson’s Reviews:
The MJ Crew had a pretty good coop quarter for the first time in a while. We managed to get through 2 local coop games during our Friday gatherings, and I – personally – sank many pleasurable hours into “Destiny 2,” which we all finished, yet only I reviewed. I also made good progress on my New Year’s Backlog Ablution vow to clear “Shadowrun Returns” out of my backlog, and even went so far as to clear out all of the ‘Shadowrun’ games based on that engine in one fell swoop.
“Shadowrun: Hong Kong” – 4/5
“Destiny 2: Forsaken” – 4/5
“Shadowrun: Dragonfall” – 4/5
“Shadowrun Returns” – 3/5
“Kirby: Star Allies” – 3.5/5
“Dark Quest 2” – 3.5/5
Chris’ Reviews:
Holy crap! Famewhoring as THE Disgruntled Dwarf on Twitch is working so well for Chris that he beat me for total …
Backlog: The Embiggening – June, 2019
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 06/02/19 at 01:52 PM CT
Welcome back to another look into the near future! June is here, and the dreaded Summer Game Drought is at our doorstep. Will entire crops of gamers wither in the fields beneath the blistering Summer heat? Or will game publishers and Indies finally get their doo-doo together and space out their releases more? Only one way to find out!
Devourers of shovel-ready excrement may find themselves disappointed in June, as there are only 3 pieces of licensed schlock coming, and all of them belong to the same genre: Driving. There’s “Monster Jam Steel Titans” accompanied by two annual releases in annual Racing titles: “F1” and “MotoGP.”
There are many fewer ports, remasters, remakes, reboots, and rehashes coming in June than there have been for a loooong time. Even better, I get to take a break from calling out the Nintendo Switch as the literal port toilet it has become, as it’s not really getting any more ports in June than anyone else. The Switch is getting a port of …
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