four-in-february

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  • Four in February challenges you to finish the fight

    by 
    Mike Suszek
    Mike Suszek
    01.31.2015

    The shortest, yet greatest month of the year is upon us, February. If you followed along with us last year, you know what that means: Four in February is back! The month-long initiative starts tomorrow, challenging you (yes, you) to pick four games to finish in one month. The rules: There are no rules. Seriously, there are no rules. You can pick new games, old games or even titles that you stopped playing that one time during finals week in college because your academic life depended on it (it's cool, we've all been there). The only requirement is that you pick four games. Start at the beginning of a game, or start where your old save file left off, it doesn't matter! We can't drive over to your house to force you to start a game over; we don't know where you live, after all. By joining in the fun on Four in February's Facebook page or using the cute little hashtag #4iF on Twitter, you can update us on your progress, like that friend that uploads their daily jogging times to your news feed, except way more fun. Joystiq may be closing its doors, but we refuse to shut our consoles down. Join us in finishing the fight against our backlogs. Head past the break to see Four in February father Mike Suszek's lineup, then share yours in the comments!

  • Four in February: Readers triumph over the Joystiq crew

    by 
    Anthony John Agnello
    Anthony John Agnello
    02.28.2014

    Put down your buzzers, turn off your engines, sheathe your swords: Four in February has come to a close. The great 4iF challenge brought the Joystiq crew to their knees over the past four weeks. Joystiq Community members, on the other hand, rose to the occasion. Our heroes over on the 4iF Facebook page played through literally hundreds of games, and while not all of them went the distance, they played well. While a few members of the staff managed to dig into their lists, finishing off entries here and there, not one of us managed to complete all four selections. Richard Mitchell, Joystiq Reviews Content Director, toppled two big ones including Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and Risk of Rain on the maddening Monsoon difficulty. Danny Cowan completed Virtual Hydlide on Sega Saturn while 4iF founder Mike Suszek conquered Tearaway and Toukiden: Age of Demons (though Toukiden wasn't on his original list.) Xav de Matos, Jess Conditt, Anthony John Agnello, and others? Couldn't beat nary a one. That's okay, though! In fact, failure is just another form of success in Four in February. The point isn't to beat all four, but to encourage diversity in your game playing palette. We all love video games. That's why we're here. Four in February is an event that reminds us of the vast creative richness waiting in the folds of gaming. It's easy to get caught up in the rush of all that's new. 4iF is a conscious effort to slow down and take in our surroundings, to explore what's out there we may have missed. Just playing the game means you've won, even if you didn't see four sets of credits roll. Still, special honors go to these players. They came, they saw, they kicked four games in the butt. Then "Like" our Facebook page to get in on the next community event, when you can trounce us all over again.

  • Joystiq Weekly: News, reviews and original content from January 27 - February 2

    by 
    Thomas Schulenberg
    Thomas Schulenberg
    02.02.2014

    Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" recap of the week's most happening ... happenings. Yes. We'll summarize the biggest news, freshest reviews and original content from each week every Sunday, just in case you missed it while tending to your weekday grind. We'll also segue into each section with a reaction gif to the top story, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Now that we've reached life's designated "timeout" known as the weekend, let's dive in to this week's biggest moments:

  • Joystiq's Four in February is upon us, behold our staff picks

    by 
    Anthony John Agnello
    Anthony John Agnello
    01.30.2014

    February is a forbidding land, full of winter darkness and noisome Valentine's Day traditions that are only slightly balanced out by a steady trickle of new games. That's why Joystiq's very own Mike Suszek created Four in February, a gaming event to unify the world against the month's doldrums. Here's how it works: Pick four games to finish in February and then try to finish them. That's it. No crazy rules, no limits on what you play. Just choose four games and take them on with gusto. That's the 4iF way. The best part of 4iF is how we all get to share the struggle, though. We want you to go to the 4iF Facebook community page and tell us everything. Show us pics of what games you're playing, tell us why you're playing them, let us know when you're streaming them, and most importantly, proclaim your victories or failures. Meanwhile, over on Joystiq's Facebook page, we'll be running 4iF giveaways every four days throughout the month starting Tuesday, Feb. 4. On Twitter, we'll be tracking the action to those who shout @joystiq using the hashtag #4iF. This is war on our gaming libraries, and this is our solid battle plan. ​ What's the staff playing? Read on.