Our Digital Magazine & Blog Features:

Our Blog is becoming a completely original and unique digital magazine and blog. Our daily features are as follows

1. Monday: Game Reviews


2. Top 5 Tuesdays


3. Wednesday: Lite Gaming Fare


4. Thinking Cap Thursdays


5. Friday Showcase

Please Click any of the following Links above to Read a Description about each of our Features.

Friday Showcases

This will be the most subjective and diverse feature. Friday Showcases may feature everything from a phenomenal indie game, an old retro classic, a great game trailer, a notable game story, developer interview, indie company, etc. The possibilities are endless, but the feature is planned to be on the shorter side. The Showcase will be cut and dry and to the point. It will highlight my particular tastes, favorite games, great art direction, etc. The Showcase will recommend second looks into old games and hopefully dig up some great gaming gems along the way for readers as well.

Thinking Cap Thursdays

Going from lite and cheery on Wednesday to Academic on Thursday. Thinking Cap Thursdays will feature in depth looks and essays into the deeper elements of gaming. Some of the planned series include looks into great game stories, video games as art, symbology in games, mythology in games, etc. Thinking Cap Thursdays will break up a discussion/analysis into a series of posts and hopefully be interesting, insightful, or at the very least spur discussion or thought. This feature will definitely be the most academic, and will look at games from a scholarship point of view instead of from a gameplay/fun factor point of view.

Wednesday: Lite Gaming Fare

Lite Gaming Fare will probably end up being the shortest post of the week. This feature will look at the lighter side of gaming and typically revolve around gaming trivia, video game jokes, gaming quips, quotes, etc. Expect Short and Sweet Posts with a sense of humor and wit.

Top 5 Tuesdays

This is an easy feature to describe. Basically, Tuesdays will feature Top Worst/Best 5 lists. All of the Top 5 Lists will of course focus on gaming and range from the Top 5 Best games of 2007 to the Top 5 Most Annoying Gaming Mascots of all time. I will do my best to try and describe/defend each decision, but ultimately there may be some purely top 5 list posts.

Monday: Game Reviews

Every Monday will feature a new Game review. These reviews will range from console games, retro/classic games, handheld games, indie games, and even some mini reviews or demo reviews. Reviews may not be limited to only Mondays, and some games/reviews I will post as soon as they are written, but in general new reviews will be featured on Monday. You can find more information about our reviews here.

Feel free to submit the games you would like to have reviewed by clicking the links in the upper right column of the blog.

The new Blog/Digital Magazine Launch this week

This week we will be revealing the regular features that will be released every day of the work week for our revised blog & Digital Magazine. We are still open to suggestions or revisions, but think that most features give us enough flexibility to cover nearly any gaming relating thing that we find interesting. Hope everyone enjoys Halo 3 tonight.

NEW WEB ADDRESS

Not really that big of a deal but you will notice that gnadegames.blogspot.com now reroutes to http://blog.graduategames.com. I just thought it was appropriate to have everything on the one domain.

The Blog has been Overhauled!

Our Blog has been reworked a lot the past couple hours. With the release of Storked quickly approaching (hopefully before Halo 3), changes were needed and the blog needed to be restructured. Here are some of the changes:

• Less ads/junk all around the posts and content- now there is a more focused effort to feature sponsored links and reduce all other ads
• New Sidebars/content/blog look
• Free Indie PC Game Reviews are coming back VERY SOON!
• ALL original content - no more reiteration/news posts from other sites
• Themed Articles and Series - Haven't quite figured out which day will be what, but we will have 5 posts a week falling into particular categories such as: Top 5 Lists, Best Games you've never played (Retro Gaming), Console Game Reviews, Indie Game Reviews, Game Demo Impressions/Mini Reviews, etc. (Please feel free to comment or suggest other article ideas)
• A shift in focus from current/next-gen gaming to gaming as a whole and througout all the eras (8-bit through next gen)
• Articles broken up into a series of posts

I hope the structure of the blog will help people find certain articles, reviews, areas of gaming that they find interesting and to associate those type of articles on particular days of the week. There will of course still be sporatic posts/updates on my games, their development, and graduate games, but hopefully the changes will be beneficial. More to come...

Submit your Game for Review

Our Blog features several different ways to submit your game for review or a blog feature. They include the following options:

• Free Reviews for Independent Games and Fellow Developers
• Guaranteed Paid Review (you decide the price) through Paypal Donation (with a Friday Showcase possibility)
• Guaranteed "Showcase" Post with Demo Download and Buy Game Now links by approving a Plimus Affiliate Request

If you are looking for a timely, guaranteed and official review for your title, please use Paypal to Donate whatever you feel is fair to reserve your review. In addition to a professional review, you will receive a "Showcase" post which will reiterate the best things about your game and offer download & buy now links if desired.

After donating, we will email you an expected post date for your game review (typically less than 2 weeks).

If your are an Independent developer who would like a glowing, positive & Free Game Review, please comment to this post or contact me. I will certainly check out your game and/or demo and if it grabs my interest, I would certainly love to give your game or demo a critical review of what makes it so innovative and enjoyable. Unfortunately, I can no longer guarantee free reviews to everyone due to time constraints. I will also no longer be posting reviews trashing poorly made games, because even poorly executed games require a lot of time and effort to make. I understand the time and effort it takes to program, compile and test games and do not have the heart to trash someone's efforts. In this way, our indie game reviews will feature only the best Independent, innovative, quirky, and excellent games out there.

The Easiest way to Submit your game for a review is to comment to this post with a link to your company website and the name of your game.

Comments will be moderated/updated and your game will be officially added to the queue once a full review copy has been received.

If you have your own website and want a free copy of one of our games to review, you are in the wrong place and should refer to our press and publicity page

Submit your game by email or comment below

Geon: Emoticons Released on Live this Wed 9/19

Geon: Emoticons is described as a fast paced abstract sports game. I thought after reading the description that I would be able to piece together the gameplay after seeing the screenshots...well I still can't. The game relies heavily on emotions such as fear, melancholy, rage, envy, etc. Couldn't really tell you how it plays though. It's coming out tonight at 12:01AM on Xbox Live Arcade.

Storked Trailer is also up on Gamevideos

I actually think the Gamevideos Trailer turned out better. It seems to have better resolution- which becomes very apparent in full screen mode. Anyway, the storked trailer is up here as well and now the Storked Video Page has officially started and is up on our website (I went with the Gamevideos trailer...it's just clearer, though still choppy). Enjoy!

Panzer Dragoon Retrospective---awesome article

I have just read one of the best retrospectives about a video game series ever. It is all about Panzer Dragoon..one of the most underappreciated, undersold, and overachieving franchises of all time. While it is heartbreaking (Panzer Dragoon Saga Code is lost...meaning a port will probably never ever happen), it is very interesting and engaging story. You can read it over on 1up here:
http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3162472

I only hope that we will get a Panzer Dragoon Saga Emulation or true sequel. Panzer Dragoon really has wings and would prosper if given the chance. Saga on Xbox Live would be a dream, even if very unlikely.

Check out our look back on Saga a few months ago here.

Storked Video Game Trailer is up on You Tube

I've finally slapped together a trailer of Storked! I think it turned out pretty good. I didn't include everything, but I have a pretty good variety in there. Hopefully, it gets across the basic gameplay despite the video being somewhat choppy. I guess it's a lot for my computer to run the game and record video. Anyway, the Youtube link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0ykPIkKqX4 in case anyone wants to help out the marketing effort.

Sonic 2 Coming to Live Arcade 9/12

Right on the heels of Sonic comes the superior Sonic 2. This title saw the debut of Tails, 2 player modes, and more of the same sonic Action. Sonic 2 will be a whole 400 pts i.e. $5 come Wednesday.

Get a Storked Discount!

For all those people signed up to receive Blog Updates, you'll be getting a discount coupon for Storked when it is released. If you're not a subscriber yet, simply use the subscription field in the left column of the blog.

Puzzle Fighter II HD Remix Review

This is a VERY addictive game. If you even remotely liked Tetris, or Dr. Mario, you should download this game. I should also mention that Y and Z modes are for wusses.


Graphics: 9/10
Pros: The gems and puzzle pieces look stunning in this HD version. Nearly perfect 2D graphics for a puzzle game- pieces are easy to see and effects are entrancing.

Cons: Puzzle Fighters could've used some redrawing instead of simply smoothing.

Gameplay: 10/10

Pros: Slap Tetris and Dr. Mario Together with some Capcom characters and you have one addictive game. The X modes are MUCH better than Y/Z and have a great risk/reward mentality....do I explode this large gem now that's filling up most of my screen...or do I wait and make it even bigger...only to lose because my screen has been attacked and filled with gems. This game takes the addictive play of tetris and adds in an amazing competitive edge. One of the best puzzlers ever.

Sound/Music: 8/10

Pros: Music is catchy and addictive and sound effects are visceral and fit the game.

Cons: Sakura's stage music is so annoying! I hate it. The music/sfx seem to be set especially high and are significantly louder than any other game, dvd, or tv show on my tv. I always have to turn down the volume.

Lasting Appeal: 9.5/10

Pros: Great Local competitive play, great online play, and addictive gameplay will keep you coming back for more and losing yourself in hours of matches. The achievements are pretty challenging too and keep you working towards something.

Cons: There could be some more characters (8 and 3 secret) and while it's nice having the Y/Z modes...they lack the balance of X' mode.

Average: 91.25%
Tilt: +0.75%

It's nice that they updated the graphics and really revitalized this game. It's a real gem from a previous era of gaming. Nothing beats sitting next to someone on the same couch and exploding a huge power gem for the win. For $10, this game is one of the best Live Arcade Offerings yet.

Verdict: 92%

Say Bye Bye to the Storked Beta

Now that it is September, the Storked Beta is no longer available for download...and everyone's exisiting downloads will lockout in the coming weeks. Everyone who emailed me comments and feedback...Thanks! The game has vastly improved as a result. I am about halfway through creating all the puzzles and levels and hope to have the game ready for release by the end of September. Cheers