gameranks

Introduction "And we're back with another blog of First Impressions and Gameplay Review  ! That's the show where we give you some straight-up gameplay and our first impressions of the latest games released. As usual, it's me, Jake Baldino, and today we're talking about Rise of the Ronin.  This  is the newest game from Team Ninja, the folks behind so many games, more recently Neo1 and  2,  and Wulong Fallen Dynasty. They've  kind of  taken things they've learned from those games and set their ambitions on an open-world adventure in a cool  historic  setting. And while Rise of the Ronin is almost clearly flawed,  so  far  I've been having a lot of fun with this one. There's a lot to it, a lot to explain and break down, so before we do get into it, just the usual disclaimers: We've been playing a review copy on PS5,  that's  where this footage  is captured , and it's running in performance mode. And this blog is spo...

  Analysis of Microsoft's Decisions "So, Microsoft has done something quite rash back in 2021. Microsoft bought Zamax Media, which means they bought Bethesda, which means they bought a bunch of studios that Bethesda owns. And Microsoft decided to close a bunch of them. Among those are Arcane Austin, the division of Arcane Studios that was in charge of Prey, and   Tango Gameworks, who brought us the widely different titles Evil Within and High Rush, both wonderful games for very different reasons. And they're also closing Alpha Dog Games, the makers of Mighty Doom, a mobile game, and Roundhouse Studios." Critique of Microsoft's Management "Hi folks, it's Zaid Ikram, and today on Speed Tool, we asked the question: What the hell is going on at Xbox? So, from a business perspective, let's say you buy a bunch of things that make money, and then you take a hammer  and   you  destroy those things. Are you good? No, you're not. And that's what happene...

  Introduction Game companies are constantly trying to bilk the customer out of more money. It's easy to think, "Wow, they hate us," but there's one thing that game companies hate more than the consumer, and it's other game companies. Hi folks, it's Zaid Ikram, and today  on  Speed Tool, we're discussing  10  game companies who hate each other. Sony vs. Nintendo: The Vintage Hatred Getting started  with number 10, it's the classic vintage hatred: Sony and Nintendo. The original modern video game rivalry was Nintendo versus Sega, but after a string of bad decisions on the part of Sega, Nintendo won that one ...  well, I guess kind of.  They defeated their enemy, sure , but in the process, they managed to create their worst rival  yet .  Yes, that is a little dramatic, but there is truth  to it .  Back in  the early '90s, Nintendo  did partner  with Sony to create a CD-based console, but in a public act of betrayal...

  Introduction Finishing the game is its reward, but sometimes it's nice to get something afterward. However, those things aren't always sane. Hi folks, it's Zaid Ikram, and today on Speed Tool, we're diving into  10  crazy things you unlock only after finishing the game, part three.  Number 10 Starting with number 10, it's Spider-Man 2's action figure mode. Why is this here? Why does this exist? Who asked for it? I don't know, but sure, why not throw in an option to make Spider-Man action figure-sized? It's utterly pointless, but it lets you take  some  pretty amusingly weird photos. You can ride a pigeon, chill out with your rat buddies, do whatever. You've got to respect devs for sneaking dumb stuff in like this; it lets us have a little fun. Not everything needs to have a sound reason to be in the game. This one might be  kind of  a cheat because I don't even know if you need to beat the game to unlock this feature.  It may have just been...