Opinion: No Virtual Console For The Switch Is A Bad Move

By Alex Lehew  3 years ago | Comments Off on Opinion: No Virtual Console For The Switch Is A Bad Move

I’m a gamer. Specifically, I’m a massive retro gamer.  In between playing newer games like Dragonball Fighter Z or Far Cry 5, I like to take a quick run through games like Streets of Rage 2 or Super Mario 64. I love playing retro games to remind myself of why I got into gaming in the first place. One of the big reasons I was able to play a lot of older games as a teenager was the Wii Virtual Console.

This week, Nintendo announced that it has no plans to bring the Virtual Console to the Switch any time soon. I think that’s a huge mistake. Continue reading →

EA Says It Learned From Battlefront 2: Prove It

By Alex Lehew  3 years ago | Comments Off on EA Says It Learned From Battlefront 2: Prove It

Before we begin, I would like to prefix that a lot of this article is opinionated and does not reflect the thoughts of the companies mentions or The Tanooki as a whole. The letters “E” and “A” elicit a lot of emotions from the gaming community: there’s anger, frustration, and disappointment, just to name a few. Last year, it was pure agony. After mucking up their first attempt at reviving the Star Wars Battlefront series by releasing half a game, fans were hoping that EA would learn from their mistakes and get it right with Star Wars Battlefront II.

It turned into one of the biggest disasters in recent gaming history as EA tried to lock pivotal content behind the newest money making craze in the gaming community: loot boxes. EA worked to explain itself and the practices on Reddit only to have its response become the most downvoted post in Reddit history. The game sold well below expectations, and you can now find it relatively cheap just five months after its release so EA can try to boast good sales numbers.

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Far Cry 5 Has An Ending Problem

By Alex Lehew  3 years ago | Comments Off on Far Cry 5 Has An Ending Problem

To say I was disappointed with Far Cry 5 is an understatement: It’s the most I’ve been let down by a game in years. If you want my full thoughts you can find it here. That’s not what I’m here to write about today, though. I want to take today to focus on the endings of Far Cry 5 and how it speaks to a more significant issue in gaming today, because I couldn’t dive into that sufficiently in my audio review. Games can’t seem to figure out how to properly end their stories in a satisfactory way.

Before we go further, SPOILER WARNING FOR ANY GAME MENTIONED! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED. IF YOU KEEP READING, IT IS NOT MY FAULT THESE ENDINGS GET SPOILED FOR YOU.

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Level Up! A new gaming and eSports podcast!

By Alex Lehew  4 years ago | Comments Off on Level Up! A new gaming and eSports podcast!

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been cooking up a weekly podcast about gaming and eSports due to the growing scene. Now, that podcast is real, and it’s called Level Up! Every week, I’ll break down the news going around the gaming community. I’ll also try to host guests from around the gaming scene whenever I can.

Currently there are four episodes that you can find at the link below or on Apple Podcasts by searching ESPN Pittsburgh Specialty Shows, though this will change soon. Please let us know what you think, and thank you for tuning in!

Of course, we’ll still be streaming at TanookiTV on Twitch at some point, and we’ll try to do that more on a regular basis once we iron out some of the logistics. We’ll be back with a vengeance very soon!

iHeartRADIO: Level Up!

E3 2017 Predictions & Preview: Nintendo Spotlight

By Alex Lehew  4 years ago | Comments Off on E3 2017 Predictions & Preview: Nintendo Spotlight

It’s the final one, gamers! We’ve previewed EA, Ubisoft, Xbox, and PlayStation. That only leaves Nintendo left to discuss. What’s in store for the Nintendo Switch? Does the Nintendo 3DS have any big games left on the horizon? Will we finally see Metroid Prime 4? Will the video presentation be more than ten minutes? Let’s dive in!

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Microsoft unveils Xbox One X (formerly Project Scorpio), coming November 7th for $499

By Christian Ponte  4 years ago | Comments Off on Microsoft unveils Xbox One X (formerly Project Scorpio), coming November 7th for $499

At this afternoon’s Xbox E3 Media Briefing, Microsoft finally pulled the curtain off their highly anticipated Xbox One X platform, touting it as the world’s most powerful console ever, inside the smallest Xbox ever.

One X boasts a 6 Teraflop GPU clocked at 1.172 Ghz, 12GB of GDDR5 memory, 326GB/s of memory bandwidth, and a liquid-cooled vapor chamber. The 4K output will feature 8+ million pixels, HDR, and a wide color gamut, and will support 4K UHD Blu-ray playback. Xbox One X will support Dolby Atmos surround sound, and the console will be compatible with all Xbox One accessories and games.

The Xbox One X will be available worldwide on November 7th for $499 and will soon be available for pre-order via Amazon and other retailers.

E3 2017 Predictions & Preview: PlayStation Press Conference

By Alex Lehew  4 years ago | Comments Off on E3 2017 Predictions & Preview: PlayStation Press Conference

We’re down to the final stretch here folks! E3 is just days away and now these previews become a little more fun since we now get to talk about the two major wild cards of E3 2017, Sony and Nintendo. Sony has taken home the opinionated golden crown over the last couple years at E3, from digging the Xbox One’s grave in 2013 with their wonderful reveal of the PlayStation 4 to the best showcase of upcoming games in last year’s show. Sony has learned how to do E3 correctly over the last couple of years. The big question for this year is if they can keep it up.

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E3 2017 Predictions & Preview: Xbox Media Briefing

By Alex Lehew  4 years ago | Comments Off on E3 2017 Predictions & Preview: Xbox Media Briefing

One week closer to E3 gamers! Another week, another preview to knock out before the big showcase. This week we have Microsoft. If you haven’t watched an Xbox E3 Briefing at some point over the last couple of years, to say they haven’t gone well is a bit of an understatement. The woes of the Xbox One all started at a disastrous reveal and presentation at E3 2013. Since then, the Xbox One has never been able to recover from the sales gap between it and the PlayStation 4. Is this the year they turn it around with the reveal of Project Scorpio?

Probably not. Let’s start with that, shall we?

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E3 2017 Predictions & Preview: EA, Bethesda, & Ubisoft

By Alex Lehew  4 years ago | Comments Off on E3 2017 Predictions & Preview: EA, Bethesda, & Ubisoft

That’s right gamers! E3 is mere weeks away and the leaks are probably going to start rolling out any day now. I’m going to do my best to start predictions before the sleuths of the internet prove me either right or wrong. Let’s get things started the wrong way with Electronic Arts!

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What happens if Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia sells well?

By Alex Lehew  4 years ago | Comments Off on What happens if Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia sells well?

I’m a huge Fire Emblem fan. I’ve made that no secret since I started work part time for this site. To see how the series has evolved over the last five years has been absolutely fascinating.  Like it or not, Fire Emblem: Awakening changed things to save the franchise.

I started playing the series with Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.  I’m in the camp of old-school fans of the franchise and loved Awakening for bringing in new fans and making subtle changes to put a bigger emphasis on pairing up units. I know a lot of fans though were disheartened by the stronger focus on character relations, marriages, and simpler gameplay modes (such as casual mode with no perma-death) to bring in new fans, which brings us to a very interesting discussion point about the next installment in the franchise.

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