Tag: geek

Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark Review (Switch) – hunting truth and justice

By Angie | Backlog Crusader on August 18, 2019August 18, 2019

Launching a strategy square tactics Switch game hot on the heels of the newest Fire Emblem release is a bold move, but Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark holds its own quite well! It is important to remember that this is not a triple A studio title, so I won’t evaluate it as such. Fell Seal is a solid entry in the genre, presenting an interesting story, a generous amount of customizable features, a memorable soundtrack, and a unique, beautiful, art style that appears as if hand drawn.

Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark is a great game that will appeal most of all to nostalgic Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre fans and may be the successor they have been waiting on. Having not playing either of the games that seem to have inspired it, I enjoyed Fell Seal very much and would wholeheartedly recommend it to any lover of strategy-tactics games.

Posted in: electronics, entertainment, fell seal, final fantasy tactics, gamer, gaming, geek, nerd, Nintendo Switch, Review, srpg, video games, videogames

impressions Nintendo Switch Video Game Article

My Time at Portia (Switch) Impressions – two patches post launch

By Angie | Backlog Crusader on August 15, 2019August 19, 2019

Released on April 16th, the Switch version of My Time at Portia was originally met with heavy criticism for its poorly optimized, well, everything. Compared to the PC version, there were widespread reports of texture pop-in, cut features, missing quests and items, input lag, frame rate skips and stuttering, and overall game slowdown. The game looks lovely and I wanted to try it so I was saddened to hear of these issues. After two patches have been released for the Switch port, one in May and one in June, let’s check out how things are going at Portia on the Switch.

Posted in: console, electronics, entertainment, gamer, gaming, geek, my time at portia, nerd, Nintendo Switch, patch, port

Field Report Other Game Stuff

Field Report – Super Smash Con 2019!

By Angie | Backlog Crusader on August 12, 2019August 12, 2019

Super Smash Con is widely considered to be of one the definitive Super Smash Bros. events in the global competitive scene. With over 2,700 tournament entrants for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate singles tournament alone and hundreds more spread across the 9 other major SSB tournament categories, Super Smash Con is one of the largest Smash Bros. events and tournament series in the world. If you have ever thought about making the trip to attend Super Smash Con in Chantilly, VA, I would highly recommend adding it to your 2020 convention schedule!

Note: Above billboard art in front of the Dulles Expo Center is by @TheFunkyEngineThatCould.

Posted in: convention, event, fighting game, gamer, gaming, geek, nerd, Nintendo Switch, super smash brothers, super smash con

PC Review

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom Review (PC) – the secret of his power

By Bohdan on August 9, 2019August 10, 2019

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is a game that I paid little to no attention during its initial release. Partially due to its back-then console exclusivity, partially because the game’s whimsical art direction made me think that I would not enjoy it, either mechanically or conceptually. While its story is nothing to write home about, the game’s feature on the latest SGDQ made me reconsider my interest in Monster Boy. The marvelous speedrun by tinahacks made me eager to play it. Thankfully, PC release was just around the corner. So, here I am after one week of playing the game to tell you what I think about it and whether you should play it yourself (yes, you absolutely should).

Posted in: entertainment, gamer, gaming, geek, monster boy, nerd, pc gaming, Review, videogames

Other Nerd Stuff

HUGE Blog Update – 300 followers, 10 patrons, press passes, new writer, and web design revamp

By Angie | Backlog Crusader on August 8, 2019August 12, 2019

I have a number of exciting updates to share with everyone about the state of Backlog Crusader today! This is a little long, but please bear with me.

Traffic and Followers

Backlog Crusader is three and a half months old and I am happy to report it has just passed the 300 WordPress and email follower milestone! On average the site is getting over 100 views a day, with spikes up to several hundred to over 1,000 depending on how well my post sharing strategy goes on social media.

Totals since day one on April 25th: 70 posts, 18,127 views, 9,678 unique visitors, 1,321 post likes, and 535 comments.

Posted in: community, discord, entertainment, gamer, gaming, geek, nerd, patreon, pax, Review, super smash brothers, videogames

impressions Nintendo Switch

Dead in Vinland (Switch) Impressions

By Angie | Backlog Crusader on August 7, 2019August 20, 2019

Dead in Vinland’s True Viking Edition released on the Nintendo Switch about a month ago, which includes both DLC updates since its original launch on PC. In an intriguing mixed-genre cocktail, Dead in Vinland will have you diving into a survival, strategy, roguelite, choose-your-own-adventure, management sim experience with a side of enjoyable, turn based combat. Whew! Those are a lot of elements to fit in one game. How does this highly stylized, artistic title handle the intersection of so many genre inspirations?

Posted in: console, dead in vinland, entertainment, gaming, geek, nerd, Nintendo Switch

PC Review

Horace Review (PC) – a story of a real boy

By Bohdan on August 1, 2019

Note from Angie: Today I’m pleased to introduce Bohdan, who is going to be helping the blog out with PC game reviews and other articles of interest on a regular basis. Here’s his first review!

Hello, everyone! My name is Bohdan and I’ll be joining this wonderful establishment as a regular writer. There’s not much I can say about myself that you would find interesting, so I’ll just note that I’m a big fan of niche, low profile games of video kind. So you can expect me to write aplenty about those and if you’d like, you can let me (or Angie) know if there’s anything in particular that you would like to hear about. Cheers!

To describe Horace in its entirety would be a disservice to anyone who wants to play it. It is the same conundrum I have had a few years ago with Undertale. I wanted my friends to check it out, but if I were to say why I was so excited, it would ruin all the fun. Horace is that kind of game. If I were to describe Horace with a single sentence I would say that it is one of the best games I have played, period. And let me try to explain why you should play it too.

Posted in: entertainment, gamer, gaming, geek, horace, nerd, PC, Review, videogames

Nintendo Switch Review

Fire Emblem Three Houses Review (Switch) – a shining, new standard

By Angie | Backlog Crusader on July 30, 2019August 9, 2019

Fire Emblem Three Houses is massive and ambitious, seamlessly joining fresh gameplay elements inspired by other genres with the beloved, traditional Fire Emblem square tactics formula in a manner that feels natural and immersive. In the following review I will avoid talking about the story because no one likes spoilers this soon after release and each House has a different cast and plot-line. All of them are excellent and will command your attention for dozens of hours!

Three Houses puts the player in charge of one of three Houses of academy students, each respectively representing the three major nations surrounding the Officer’s Academy, a school run within a monastery by the Church for the purpose of encouraging peace between countries. Each of the upcoming rulers of those nations is the head of their respective House: the Blue Lions, the Golden Deer, and the Black Eagles. Will you stand with fierce, chivalrous Dimitri, charming, cavalier Claude, or confident, stubborn Edelgard? It is entirely up to you to get to know the students and decide which House you will lead into the future as their Professor, battle comrade, and dear companion.

Posted in: entertainment, fire emblem, gamer, gaming, geek, nerd, Nintendo Switch, Review, three houses

Gamer Culture Stories

Tales From Video Game Retail – The Creepy Grandpa

By Angie | Backlog Crusader on July 28, 2019July 28, 2019

Okay, this one is a doozy and was the first and worst thing I ever experienced in video game retail.

It was my second week on the sales floor. I was innocent and hopeful, not yet jaded by years of entitled customers demanding discounts for no reason and being generally clueless or rude about everything. I had not yet been snapped at like a dog or had anyone yell in my face, so that was nice. Such a sweet summer child…

Posted in: entertainment, gamer girl, games, gaming, geek, nerd, retail, video games, videogames

Nintendo Switch Review

Songbird Symphony (Switch) Review – happy tweets

By Angie | Backlog Crusader on July 24, 2019July 24, 2019

Songbird Symphony is akin to an animated Disney film in that it is family-friendly, obviously lovable by a young audience, but still very approachable by adults thanks to its art, wit, and personality. The humor and emotional story elements found within will be as appealing to adult players as they are to younger players. Don’t let the cutesy graphics fool you though – Songbird Symphony presents some gruelingly difficult rhythm challenges that will keep you on your toes. This colorful title releases PC and consoles tomorrow, July 25^th.

Posted in: birds, entertainment, gamer, gaming, geek, nerd, Nintendo Switch, Review, rhythm, songbird symphony, video games