It’s a-wafting….It’s called HYPE. Have you ever bought a game just because IGN said it was 9.8 “Best Game Ever?”

Ever notice those games usually run full price and almost never hit the “Greatest Hits” section of your retailer?

I’m sick of it. I’m looking to tell you, fair reader, that you don’t have to be a millionare to play good games.

I’m also saying that you don’t have to delve into ebay, craigslist, or shady yard sales with questionable goods (sorry, not all yard sales are bad.) to have a good multimedia experience.

My column, starting today, will be based on the fact that not everybody has the cash to keep up with the new and shiny games of last week. You still deserve to have fun, o ye of light wallet!

Also, I don’t give number ratings, thumbs, little happy faces, or anything else superficial like that. It degrades what a game really has to offer and makes people look at it rather than the game for what they should spend their hard earned money on. It also forces people to READ A REVIEW. THE HORROR, THE HORROR.

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Today, I start with a series that has been overlooked, surpassed, and left to the ages. It’s a series with top-notch CG animation, great action, customization, and thoughtful puzzles. Heath Ledger was also set to play a role in the live action movie, which has sadly stopped production because of his unfortunate death. The entire series of PS2 games (all 4) can be picked up at Gamestop for about 40 bucks.

This series is Capcom’s Onimusha.

Onimusha: Warlords was the first game in the series, released on the PS2 in 2001 and later ported to the XBOX in 2002. It features a samurai warrior named Samanosuke Akechi vs. an army of demons (oni / ogres depending on the region…) headed by Nobunaga Oda.

(continue reading…)