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0  Why Japanese Developers Need New IPs Part 2 Thu, Sep 2nd, 2010, 9:54 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Last time we covered what exactly is wrong in the mainstream Japanese gaming industry. The oversaturation of RPGs, longstanding titles that change very little, and of course the terrible attempts at reaching Western consumers certainly don't help much. There's really no reason for these developers (or publishers) to be so afraid of moving their products overseas, in fact there are a lot of great reasons to do so. The market is not only ready for Japan to take the lead again, they're almost begging for it. How do I figure? Allow me to explain. More »

0  Things Older Gamers Like To Moan About Thu, Sep 2nd, 2010, 7:32 pm (EST) BY BEN GRIFFIN The gaming world has changed: videogames come on small, shiny things called CD's. A small child thousands of miles away in Korea can whip your ass at Starcraft II. Resident Evil is now considered to have bad voice acting. HD graphics have rendered the outside world obsolete. Hardcore gamers love EA and hate Activision. Yes, sir, the world has changed, and you can either nobly roll with the punches and embrace the future or sit in your favourite comfy, moth-bitten chair and bitch, bitch, bitch. These are some of the topics in gaming today that make old people feel cold and frightened. More »

6  Top Ten RPGs Of This Generation... So Far Sat, Aug 28th, 2010, 12:46 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS This console generation has seen a remarkable shift in what it means to be a role-playing game. Elements that have traditionally been exclusive to RPGs - such as leveling/upgrading characters and equipment, branching, non-linear plots, and collectible items - have begun to be incorporated in numerous other genres, blurring the lines between them. However, the core RPG genre remains intact, featuring a wide variety of the best Western and Eastern game designers have to offer. This is Gaming Union's top ten RPGs of this console generation (roughly 2005 to present), in alphabetical order. More »

4  Top Ten Development Studios Right Now Thu, Aug 19th, 2010, 10:43 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS Games have always been behind other creative mediums - such as film, music, and literature - when it comes to making consumption choices based on the team behind a product, as opposed to its franchise tag or brand. That being said, the "hardcore", enthusiast crowd has always had a deep appreciation and sense of loyalty toward the select group of studios that continually produce quality. Thankfully, that trend is slowly beginning to penetrate mainstream gaming. With that in mind, we decided to compile a list of the top development studios at the present moment - studios that generate a great deal of anticipation behind their endeavors, and are an influential force in the industry. This list is specifically directed towards individual teams, not publishers (i.e. Nintendo) or multiple teams that produce games under a common label (i.e. Ubisoft Montreal). More »

0  Madden 11 Pre-Launch: Top Five Series Milestones Mon, Aug 9th, 2010, 9:35 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS In gaming, August goes hand-in-hand with the arrival of a new Madden game. It's the time of year that signals the upcoming end of a typically long summer drought in major retail releases. Madden 11 is upon us. To mark the occasion, we decided to chronicle some of the biggest milestones throughout Madden's storied past. A lot has come and gone since 1988's John Madden Football (EA's football debut) on the Apple II - competitors, consoles and misguided additions alike. EA has had its share of successes, as well as some failures over the years - such as the quarterback vision mechanic, Madden IQ test and player weapons. We'll focus on what truly advanced the franchise and has stood the test of time. More »

3  The Best Games Of 2010... So Far Fri, Jul 9th, 2010, 9:14 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA I'll cut straight to the chase on this one, 2010 has had some phenomenal games. Most years start out a little slow and then wind up into a big bang, but honestly it's hard to imagine anything better around the corner aside from a few releases here or there. So before we get all wrapped up in Halo: Reach, or severely addicted to the latest MMO, let's take this time to reflect upon the phenomenal games that the first half of 2010 have brought to us. More »

0  Reviews Round-Up (Nier, SSFIV, Monster Hunter Tri and More) Sun, May 2nd, 2010, 7:40 pm (EST) BY DARRYL It appears as though we skipped a week, but never fear, as the Reviews Round-Up is back, ready to summarise an action packed week, which saw some top quality releases across numerous platforms. More »

0  Game Tester On Pranks, Horror Stories, And Stereotypes Mon, Apr 12th, 2010, 4:24 pm (EST) BY KYLE WYNEN Working as a game tester in the minds of many gamers is a sweet gig; playing games all day, how can you go wrong? We sat down with Quality Assurance company, The Ant Firm, to talk about the various aspects of being a video game tester, last time covering the topic of why hardcore gamers don't necessarily make good testers. For the second half of our sit-down with The Ant Firm team, we talked about horror stories and pranks from the Quality Assurance Department (also know as home for game testers), and what it means to be a games tester as a career. Composed of Haley Patterson, Tonya Constant, Melanie Lagrou, and Denise Matis, The Ant Firm has seen all kinds of goofs and pranks in their years of game testing before forming their own Quality Assurance company in London, Ontario. Understandably they couldn't name the people involved in their stories, the studios they took place at, or what video games were involved, but those details aren't important. So when we asked for one of their best horror stories, it only took the team about three seconds to think of the same incident, and grin and shack their heads in remembrance. More »

0  Reviews Round-Up (Mass Effect, Cho Aniki, Relativity) Sun, Apr 11th, 2010, 9:48 pm (EST) BY COLIN The past week has been a relatively mundane one regarding game releases since most of the big boys are expected in the coming week or by the end of the month. Splinter Cell: Conviction, Super Street Fighter IV and Monster Hunter Tri, anyone? More »

4  Game Testers On Why Hardcore Gamers Don't Make Good Testers Wed, Apr 7th, 2010, 2:36 pm (EST) BY KYLE WYNEN Bugs, glitches and crashes in retail and downloadable games have made headlines more and more in recent months, in large part thanks to huge titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and a number of others that have been plagued with bugs. This has left many wondering where the Quality Assurance teams, better known as game testers, have been. Are they asleep at the wheel? In fact, many gamers bet they could make better testers than those employeed by the bug-ridden AAA titles. Pondering this, we sat down with third-party Quality Assurance company, The Ant Firm, and ask them if the regular gamer could really make the grade and prevent the next Modern Warfare 2 fiasco. The Ant Firm is a fairly new London, Ontario based Quality Assurance company, lead by Haley Patterson, Tonya Constant, Melanie Lagrou, and Denise Matis (fun fact: Bioshock for PS3, and half of Bioshock 2 were made in London, Ontario). Before forming The Ant Firm, the four worked for Beanbag Studios, a Nintendo DS and PC developer, where they worked in the Quality Assurance and Writing departments, before the studio closed. Being gamers themselves, they understand the feelings of gamers angry with game bugs, glitches, and crashes, but they don't think the average gamer, or even hardcore gamer, would make a good games tester. More »

1  5 Franchises Where You Wonder 'What Happened'? Mon, Apr 5th, 2010, 7:25 pm (EST) BY NELSON Gaming has become an increasingly important section of entertainment over the last few decades and as such there have been a vast amount of franchises that have flourished over time. Many of these have retained the elements that made them special to gamers while continuing to push forward and it's for this reason that they've stayed at the top of gamer wish lists. This isn't the case for all franchises though. No, while some franchises have continued their legacy, others have seen their legacy disappear into thin air and some have even suffered desperate attempts to rekindle a once vividly burning flame. Below are five franchises which have suffered such a fate - going from hero to zero for some reason and causing gamers to wonder "What Happened?" More »

7  Sony Must Learn From The iPhone, DS With PSP2 Sun, Apr 4th, 2010, 8:44 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS On March 24th 2010 the PSP celebrated its fifth birthday, and to mark the occasion we decided to look ahead to the next generation of PSP and outline what direction the handheld should take. The current PSP suffers from a lack of identity; much of its functionality is underused because of poor marketing and an unintuitive design. It has been overshadowed and out performed by innovations on the Nintendo DS, and has come under increasing pressure from new competitors - namely Apple's iPhone. The new PSP must learn from past mistakes and take notes from the competition if Sony wants to stay relevant in handheld gaming. That being said, since launching in 2005, the PSP has had its share of success: it has sold over 60 million units worldwide, plays over 500 retail titles, 20,000 movies and much more. In Japan, the PSP has been a phenomenal success consistently reaching the top of the hardware charts thanks to killer software such as Monster Hunter. Other notable titles include God of War: Chains of Olympus, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo, Gran Turismo and Resistance: Retribution. However, these triumphs have not hidden flat North American sales, rampant piracy and a lack of focus. What follows is a list of features that should be included in the PSP 2, in no particular order. More »

0  Why It's Safe To Have Faith In Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Thu, Apr 1st, 2010, 6:14 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Most long standing FPS titles are forced to go through a reinvention stage at some point. Like when the competition invents some new mechanic that must be copied, or when players are simply too tired of doing the same thing over and over again. Modern Warfare has changed the way the Call of Duty franchise looks and feels, the same way that Medal of Honor, Splinter Cell, and Halo have all been trying to revitalize themselves. But Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series has been reinventing itself for years now, unlike the competition, and Future Soldier may be the fruit of all Ubisoft's labour. More »

3  How Voice Acting Has Changed The Video Games Industry Sat, Mar 13th, 2010, 3:58 pm (EST) BY FOZZIE Voice acting, as defined by Wikipedia, is the act of "providing one's voice to an animated character." Though its origin is unknown it's been safely lodged in the acting world for quite some time now. Disney, as many of you are well aware, has been well known for its animated movies and, more impressively, as a voice acting pioneer. Snow White (1937) was the company's first full-length animated feature film made and Adriana Caselotti voiced the movie's title character. More »

0  Hidden Gems: Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony Sat, Feb 20th, 2010, 12:47 pm (EST) BY COLIN Gaming Union's very on conscripted and self-proclaimed art director - that's me - is back with yet another hidden gem. Previously, I rambled on about a fun and addictive rhythm game for the PlayStation Portable known as DJ Max Portable. Now, from underneath the dusty rug, I bring to your attention Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony. More »

	0  Persona 3 Portable To Redefine PSP Ports Sat, Jan 23rd, 2010, 10:56 pm (EST) BY SHAWN Anyone that has played Persona 3 can attest to the sheer length of the game, it's certainly not something that can be faulted as there is plenty of action, which is complimented by numerous cutscenes that come in both an animated and in-game format. More »

0  Hidden Gems: DJ Max Portable 2 Thu, Jan 21st, 2010, 12:46 pm (EST) BY COLIN One of the wonderful things about being isolated in a military camp in the middle of nowhere is that I get a lot of free time to just, well, do absolutely nothing. Of course that's just being inefficient, which is why I always keep my PSP close at hand. Doing so allows me to enjoy a myriad of portable wonders five days a week and one of those wonders includes a humble rhythm game known as DJ Max Portable 2. More »

	0  Can Knights In The Nightmare Really Work On PSP? Wed, Jan 13th, 2010, 7:07 pm (EST) BY SHAWN In the latest issue of Famitsu, it was revealed that Sting would be releasing a PlayStation Portable port of Knights in the Nightmare, which was released in North America by Atlus last June on the Nintendo DS. More »

2  Assassin's Creed 2 Can Stand Against Modern Warfare 2 Posted on 2009/10/16 BY DARRYL When Assassin's Creed was released in 2007 it instantly smashed records. After gaining the title of 'fastest selling new franchise ever to be released in North America' it then went on to sell around 8 million units worldwide on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It'd certainly be an understatement to say this surprised people, especially because of its love-hate relationship with the gaming media. For all those that loved the game, there were also those who honestly couldn't understand why it was receiving any praise. Time has passed since then, and although the original still continues to sell, its successor is just around the corner in the form of Assassin's Creed II (More »

3  TGS 2009 Awards: Best PSP Game Posted on 2009/10/07 BY DARRYL Continuing on with Gaming Union's TGS 2009 Awards, next it's the turn of Sony's hand-held device, the PlayStation Portable. Sony were at this year's Tokyo Game Show with a plethora of PlayStation Portable titles on show from a range of different publishers. Many of the titles were also platform exclusive, which is rather impressive More »