Diehard GameFAN

Author: Alex Lucard

  • Nyogtha MAILBAG 04.04.05

    Nyogtha MAILBAG Tagline: I’ve got emails in the triple digits from last weeks column, so this week has to be a mailbag. Man, what a crazy roller coaster of a ride last week was. The article on corruption in the video game industry got linked by so many places and my inbox filled to the…

  • Review: Shining Tears (PS2)

    Shining Tears Developer: Amusement Vision Publisher: Sega Genre: Action RPG Release Date: 03/23/05 It’s hard to believe that two years ago I was lamenting how there were no new Shining Games. And now, in a span of 2 years, we have 4 games with that title. First there was Shining Soul, which was a good…

  • Preview: Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana (PS2)

    Publisher: Nippon Ichi / Developer: Gust / Genre: Turn-Based RPG / Release Date: 5-24-05 Since the success of Disgaea and La Pucelle, Nippon Ichi has decided to come to the states and release their games themselves. Atelier Iris marks the first game by Nippon Ichi America that they will distribute directly (Phantom Brave carried the…

  • Nyogtha Volume I, Issue XVIII

    This should make you all very happy. I mean, it’s like combining RETROGRADING and Nyogtha into one column. Anyway, this is something that not only I, but the entire GAMES staff here at Inside Pulse felt needed to be written. You see, so often there is talk and rumors about video game companies and their…

  • Review: Super Monkey Ball Deluxe (XB, PS2)

    Super Monkey Ball Deluxe Platforms: XBox (Also On: PS2) Developer: Amusement Vision Publisher: Sega Genre: Puzzle Release Date: 03/16/05 My first game for the Game Cube was Super Monkey Ball. No, let me correct that. Super Monkey Ball was one of my first games for the Game Cube. But really, the only one I kept…

  • Review: Phantom Dust (XB)

    Phantom Dust Developer: Majesco/Microsoft Japan Publisher: Microsoft Genre: Action RPG Release Date: 03/16/05 I’ll admit, I tend to find a lot of games that develop a cult following to be shallow, insipid and boring. Beyond Good and Evil, the Final Fantasy series, and Advance Guardian Heroes are just some examples. To me the stories in…

  • Nyogtha Volume I, Issue XVII

    Lots of feedback from last week’s issues, mainly from people in the bands mentioned in last week’s article (Four of the ten bands contacted me and thanked me for sending traffic their way, which I replied that is was Mick, not I that named them) and a lot of people who found the column through…

  • Preview: Still Life (XB) Hands-On

    Publisher: The Adventure Co. / Developer: Microids / Genre: Point&Click / Release Date: 4-14-05 You know, point and click puzzle/adventure games are a dying breed. But the Adventure Company has really strived to keep this genre alive, and has done a great job of it so far, with games like Atlantis Evolution, Jack the Ripper,…

  • Preview: Digimon World 4 (XB) Hands-On

    Publisher: Bandai / Developer: Bandai / Genre: Role-Playing / Release: 04-01-05 I have played some horrible games in my time. ET for the Atari 2600, Nightmare of Druaga, Chicago Enforcer, Beyond Good and Evil, Final Fantasy VIII, but man, I have to say that Digimon World 4 could quite possibly be flat out THE worst…

  • Nyogtha Volume I, Issue XVI

    Bit of a different format this week gang. Every few months you’re going to see a version of Nyogtha where I sit down with a fellow writer of things that are dark and spooky and do a column with them. This week it’s Mick Mercer. Now I realize that since the average Inside Pulse reader…

  • Preview: Obscure (XB) Hands-On

    Publisher: DreamCatcher / Developer: Hydravision / Genre: Survival Horror / Release: 03-29-05 After playing through the Test build of this game, it amazes me in retrospect that no one has ever made a Teen Slasher Survival Horror video game in a very long time. There was Friday the 13th for the venerable NES, but that…

  • Review: Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (XB)

    Street Fighter Anniversary Collection Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Genre: Fighting Release Date: 2/22/2005 I’m a recovering Street Fighter junkie. I admit this freely. I used to spend countless hours in the arcades playing as each character figuring out who had double re-dizzy combos and what the frame rate for invincibility during certain moves were and…

  • Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2)

    <img src=”http://media.insidepulse.com/old/columnImages/image7934.jpg” align=”right”Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga Developer: Atlus Publisher: Atlus Genre: Turn Based RPG Release Date: 3/22/05 Megaten. Short for Megami Tensei, which then became SHIN Megami Tensei. It’s just finally starting to get noticed by American gamers thanks to Atlus’ recently bringing over Nocturne Maniacs, and word of mouth in regards to…

  • Retrograding MAILBAG 03.07.05

    Well this is pretty much going to be a mailbag issue as I have a lot of emails built up that aren’t actually questions about folklore or mythology. In fact a lot of them are video game questions, hence the name change for today. Hi, I’ve just gone through and read your review of Shining…

  • Review: Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (PS2)

    Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim Developer: Falcom Publisher: Konami Genre: Action RPG Release Date 2/23/05 Ah Ys, one of the oldest and most revered RPG series of all time. At least it was until the US had a decade long drought without the Ys (Prounced YEES) series making it over from Japanese shores. Believe…

  • Nyogtha Volume I, Issue XV

    As always, we’re going to start off with reader mail. Hello Alex, How about a sea faring theme. What was the first supernatural story to appear to have happened on board a ship ? Michael C Well, when I first got this question the story that popped into my med is that of Homer’s Odyssey.…

  • Review: The King of Fighters 2002 & 2003 (PS2)

    The King of Fighters 2002 & 2003 System: PlayStation 2 Publisher: SNK Developer: SNK Genre: 2D Fighting Release Date: 02/08/05 Ah yes, it’s time for another wonderful release from SNK. After the amazing success Metal Slug 3 had on the Xbox after Sony felt it wasn’t “good enough” (Including winning the Inside Pulse fan award…

  • Preview: Area 51 (XB) Updated Hands-On

    Publisher: Midway / Developer: Mesa Logic / Genre: FPS / Release Date: 04-25-05 Midway’s been doing pretty good with games lately. In the past year we’ve seen Second Sight, The Suffering, and Mortal Kombat: Deception. Area 51 however didn’t seem like a title that would interest me at all. First, it’s a remake of a…

  • Review: Chicago Enforcer (XB)

    Chicago Enforcer Publisher: Kemco Developer: Touchdown Genre: FPS Release Date: 02/22/05 Ah budget titles. The price is right, but often times the game is lousy. Sure there are exceptions. Oh GOTY, Katamari Damacy is one such game that proves you can be cheap and yet an amazing wonderful game. Arx fatalis is another, but on…

  • Nyogtha, Volume I, Issue XIV

    Alright, let’s get down to it. Will Cooling, from The Nexus wrote in with this: Hey Lucard, Its Will Cooling of The Nexus, just writing to say I love the column and also just to suggest a couple of comics you may want to try. I guess techincally all of these would be down as…