Category: Features

  • 2014 Independent Games Festival Announces Main Competition Finalists

    The Independent Games Festival (IGF) juries have announced the Main Competition finalists for its prestigious 16th annual awards, honoring the most influential and outstanding development in independent video games. The IGF has nominated over 30 extraordinary game titles released in the past year. Candidates for the 2014 IGF Awards were distributed to nearly 375 elite judges for evaluation. Expert juries specializing…

  • Shining Force Online Developer Takes Project to Kickstarter

    Sega has issued the all powerful cease and desist on Arcade County’s Shining Force Online. Created as a free fan made game,  studio lead Robby Mulvany says he was surprised at the quick shutdown by Sega’s law team. “We had just really started the beta but Sega was quick!” says Mulvany. “Fan made games are…

  • Preview: Dungeon of the Endless (PC)

    Endless Space history expands and lets you go Dungeon-delving.

  • Preview: Disney The Little Mermaid: Undersea Treasures (PC)

    Disney The Little Mermaid: Undersea Treasures Publisher: Microsoft Studios Developer: HitPoint Studios Genre: Hidden Object Release Date: 12/20/2013 In December, Microsoft released a preview for The Little Mermaid: Undersea Treasures, stating on their website, “Explore the site of an old shipwreck at the bottom of the sea in this exciting preview of The Little Mermaid:…

  • Diehard GameFAN’s 2013 Video Game Awards

    So here we are, at the beginning of 2014, looking back on the accomplishments, good and bad, in gaming for the year 2013. The year saw the much awaited and discussed debuts of two new consoles, in Sony’s Playstation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One, both of which launched with a handful of upscaled ports and…

  • Tabletop Preview: Horror on the Orient Express, Book I: Campaign Book (Call of Cthulhu)

    Tabletop Preview: Horror on the Orient Express, Book I: Campaign Book (Call of Cthulhu) Publisher: Chaosium Cost: Free to Kickstarter backers ($1,199.50 to everyone else. YES, THAT MUCH) Page Count: 76 Release Date 12/23/2013 Get it Here: Chaosium.com As a Christmas present to the 1,374 Kickstarter backers who supported the Horror on the Orient Express…

  • Diehard GameFAN 2013 Year in Review Staff Commentaries

    So here we are, a few days before the end of 2013. As usual, several of the Diehard GameFAN staff have sat down and written up their own personal “Top Ten Games of the Year” list. This gives you, the reader, a chance to see each of our own specific tastes and preferences. It also…

  • Book Review: W20 Cookbook (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)

    W20 Cookbook (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition) Publisher: Onyx Path Press/White Wolf Cost: Free (to Kickstarter Backers)/TBD (everyone else) Page Count: 78 Release Date: 12/23/2013 Get it Here: DriveThruRPG.com (Eventually) Yes, you read the name of this review right. They’ve actually released a Werewolf: The Apocalypse Cookbook. I know when I told Mark (the…

  • Interview: John James, Lead Artist and Designer of MidBoss Games

    Recently, I posted about a Kickstarter campaign for Read-Only Memories, a new cyberpunk adventure game recently successfully funded on Kickstarter. In the game, players will become a young journalist trying to make it in Neo-San Francisco. One day, a package arrives in the mail from a close friend, who has since had to leave the country. This…

  • Book Review: Lost Planet: First Colony

    “They made a Lost Planet comic?” They sure did.

  • Tales of Zestiria Announced for Worldwide Release

    A new Tales game was announced earlier this morning on a Niconico stream. Basically, it was announced that the game would be called Tales of Zestiria (named for the word “passion” moreso than zesty fruit) and would be released on the Playstation 3. The main hero’s names are Slei/Slay and Alicia (spelling of these names are not…

  • Hard Times for a PS3 Hard Drive (Sony PlayStation 3)

    I became a PS Plus member around the time I picked up my PS Vita over a year ago. They had some good games out there in the instant game collection and I figured I’d rotate through them fast enough on my handheld to keep things going. I ended up getting a second 8GB stick…

  • Kickstart This: Read-Only Memories

    Read Only Memories is a new cyberpunk adventure game available for funding on Kickstarter. Its goal is $62,064 to cover its development and testing phase of the game, which will be matched by Ouya’s Free the Games Fund if met. The creators state that the game will be available for Mac, PC, iOS, Android, and Ouya. You might…

  • Book Review: Pokémon Visual Companion

    Pokémon Visual Companion Publisher: DK Books/Prima Games Cost: $16.99 ($10.36 at Amazon.com) Page Count: 207 Release Date: 12/02/2013 Get it Here: Amazon.com Has it really been fifteen years since the Pokémon anime first debuted on WB Kids here in the States? My god, I’m old. I remember being in college, turning on the TV after…

  • Book Review: The Art of Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag

    The Art of Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag Publisher:: Titan Books Release Date: Page Count: 189 Cost: 34.95 I wasn’t sure what to expect with the art book for Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, I still haven’t actually played the game as I felt kind of burnt out on the series. I like pirates though…

  • Diehard GameFAN Presents: Unboxing the Microsoft Xbox One

    As I stated last week, with the launch of the new consoles upon us, it seemed fair to take a look at the consoles for those who were on the fence or weren’t able to acquire one immediately to give people an idea of what they could expect when/if they chose to acquire one. As…

  • Book Review: The Adversary: The Sundering Book III (Dungeons & Dragons)

    The Adversary: The Sundering Book III (Dungeons & Dragons) Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Page Count: 432 Cost: $27.95 (Physical)/15.37 (Kindle)/$14.99 (Audio) Release Date: 12/2/2013 (Hardcover/Kindle)/5/6/2014 (Paperback) Get it Here: Amazon.com The Adversary is the third in the six book series known as The Sundering, which phases Dungeons & Dragons from the “love it or…

  • Atlus Announcement Stream Recap – 11/24/13

    Let’s be honest, you’re here for one reason only. Let’s get to it.

  • Book Review: The Paradox Room (The Strange)

    The Paradox Room (The Strange) Publisher: Monte Cook Games Cost: $2.99/Free (See below) Page Count: 55 Release Date: 11/19/2013 Get it Here: DriveThruRPG.com By the time this review goes live, there will be less than twenty-four hours until the Kickstarter for Monte Cook’s newest RPG, The Strange ends. At the time of writing, the Kickstarter…

  • Book Review: Assassin’s Creed: Book Four: Hawk

    Assassin’s Creed: Book Four: Hawk Publisher: Titan Books Cost: $9.99 (MSRP)/$5.99 (Amazon.com) Page Count: 48 Pages Release Date: 11/12/13 Get it Here: Amazon.com So, now that the Assassin’s Creed comic series has cast off the shackles of the video game continuity, it’s time to see what the creators of the comic series can do. While…