Joystiq Staff
Articles by Joystiq Staff
Joystiq Presents: That's a wrap
Our final Joystiq Presents podcast gives members of the staff a moment to thank the Joystiq community and say a final farewell. Listen to the MP3 Listen to other Joystiq Presents episodes.
Design ideas we love and want more of in 2015
When dissected, our favorite games are usually composed of many ideas and designs that make the entire package worthy of our time. In 2014, there were countless game ideas and design choices that we were enamored with: from the educational value of Never Alone to the co-op found within the crazy world of Bayonetta 2. In this feature, Team Joystiq recalls a handful of ideas that made 2014 a great year for gaming. Here are designs we hope to see more of in 2015.
Joystiq Streams: Resident Evil HD bites back plus free PS4/PC copies!
A whole lot of superstars in this game here tonight, but I want you all to know one thing: This is Resident Evil in high definition. Whose blood? Chris' blood. I said whose blood? Chris' blood! Y'all know what time it is! While the impossible dream of a Resident Evil soundtracked entirely by classic Run DMC cuts remains elusive, the HD remaster of Capcom's Gamecube classic is a sweet, sweet reality this week. After 13 years restricted to Nintendo's SD consoles, the hardest, prettiest version of the survival horror game is finally playable on more modern machines. How does it stack up? Do the new controls make it too easy? Is this indeed Chris' blood and will we ever discover the ingredients in a Jill sandwich? Join us and find out. We're streaming Resident Evil on PC starting at 4:00PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch. This will be a New Game+ run so some fresh costumes will be on display as well. Plus: we're giving away a few copies of the game on PC and PS4. Join us! Joystiq.com/Twitch broadcasts every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00PM EST. It's Wednesday, you say? That's right! We stream all the time at random times so follow us on Twitch to never miss a show.
Joystiq Streams: Sex, lies, You Don't Know Jack, and free PS4/XB1 games
Something happens to people when they play anything made by Jackbox Games. You Don't Know Jack, Fibbage, Lie Swatter; these games bring out a cackling darkness that is both frightening and impossible to resist. Do friendships end because of the vicious yelling at the end of a round of You Don't Know Jack? Certainly, but just as many new alliances and unbreakable bonds are formed thanks to suppository jokes, deceit, and wordplay. If you've ever wanted to see the Joystiq staff destroy each other with language while also winning some free PlayStation 4 and Xbox One games, here's your chance. Starting at 4:00PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch, we'll be streaming select games from the Jackbox Party Pack. A murder of Joystiq editors will play alongside Jackbox's own Steve Heinrich, one of the creators and head writers on You Don't Know Jack. We'll also be doling out download codes for the Jackbox Party Pack on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Joystiq.com/Twitch broadcasts every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00PM EST, but we stream other times as well so make sure to follow us on Twitch. [Images: Jackbox Games]
Joystiq Streams: Evolve rematch pits Joystiq against Team Eggs
The last time Joystiq played Evolve, it didn't go very well. We had plenty of fun hunting each other down, leveling up the respective hunter classes, and trying to be a good and proper monster. It's just that we weren't very good. Eggs defeated us. Eggs! Defeat at the hands of a gradually growing beast is one thing, but crumbling in the face of unborn beasts is too ignoble a fate for Joystiq. So we're getting back in there. Those eggs won't even know what hit them. Starting at 4:00PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch, we'll be streaming Evolve. Anyone curious to see how the multiple character classes change as you level up early in the game should swing by for a detailed look. Anyone that rooted for the eggs last time: Place your bets. Joystiq.com/Twitch broadcasts every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00PM EST, but we stream on the regular at other times so make sure to follow us on Twitch. [Images: 2K Games]
Console Madness 2015: 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4 + Logitech gear
With the holiday season well and truly behind us, we bet you thought we were done giving away the goods. No more free consoles from Joystiq, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. Indeed we've been holding a truly potent prize in reserve to kick off our first major giveaway of the year. What is it? None other than the limited edition 20th anniversary PlayStation 4. In fact, it's #8406 of just 12,300 ever made. And we're giving it to you. That's just the beginning of the sweet goods. With only one PS4 to dole out, we don't want to leave others hanging. Logitech has provided us with three gorgeous gaming mice to give away as well, including one G302 Daedalus Prime MOBA Gaming Mouse, one G402 Hyperion Fury Ultra-Fast FPS Gaming Mouse, and one G502 Proteus Core Tunable Gaming Mouse. Here's how to get the prizes: Just use the Rafflecopter widget below between January 9 and January 16. Winners will be selected at random and contacted via email (so make double sure you use an email we can actually contact you at!) Full rules and details after the break. 20th Anniversary PS4 and Logitech giveaway
Joystiq's favorite races in games
It was revealed this week that the Heavensward expansion for Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn would introduce not only new jobs, but a new race for players to enjoy: the Au Ra. Featuring tails, scales and horns, the Au Ra blend humanoid features with those of dragons, and who doesn't want to be a dragon-person? The news also gave us a chance to reflect on our own favorite races in gaming, which we've collected here for your viewing/judging pleasure. Of course, not everyone will have the same taste in fictional species (though one does make an encore appearance on our list) so tell us: what's your favorite race in games? >>Joystiq's Favorite Races In Games<<
Joystiq's favorite new characters of 2014
It takes all sorts to make up the video game worlds we explore, and sometimes a few characters stand out as our favorites. From the buffoonery of Ratbag to the big splash made by the Troupple King, this year featured a host of unique new faces. As we close out another year of gaming, we look back at some of our favorites. Of course we couldn't highlight them all, so we ask: What are your favorite characters of 2014? >>Joystiq's Favorite New Characters of 2014<<
2014's Box Art: The Year in Review
Gaming is as deeply entrenched in the online age as it's ever been, with more downloadable games hitting storefronts than ever before. So there's no better time than now, while we still can, to commemorate the year through the lens of box art. So many hours and so much thought goes into creating box art, with designers working their utmost to grab consumer attention at ground level. That makes for a curious mix of designs, turning the average store shelf into a kaleidoscope of logos, familiar faces, and occasionally glittering artwork. That very much remains the case this year. We've taken 50 of 2014's retail releases - we've restricted it to games that hit physical store shelves (sorry, Shovel Knight) - and compiled them into a gallery to chronicle the year. As for which box art stood out from the rest, we welcome you to illuminate us in the comments. What was your favorite video game box art of 2014? Which of the covers we didn't include were ones you really liked? And what about the coulda-shoulda-done-betters? Let us know! >>The Year in Box Art<<
Joystiq appreciates a good pun
The team here at Joystiq enjoys a good pun – though it's unclear sometimes if everyone else appreciates them quite as much as we do. Still, video games aren't beyond playing with words either and 2014 was a good year for particularly punny games. As we wind down 2014, Team Joystiq takes a look at some of our favorite wordplay moments in games for the year. It may be a low form of humor, but that doesn't mean it can't make us chuckle. >>A Good Year for Puns in Games<<
PlayStation 20th Anniversary: Reader's Choice PS1 Favorites
Last week, Team Joystiq took a look back at some of its most beloved PlayStation titles in celebration of the console's 20th Anniversary. Today, we reminisce again, this time with a collection of your favorites from the console's library. From Metal Gear Solid to PaRappa the Rapper, the Reader's Choice list features a wide variety of amazing titles that – coupled with our list - prove just how powerful Sony's original console was. >>Joystiq Presents: Reader's Choice PS1 Favorites<<
PlayStation 20th Anniversary: Our Most Beloved PS1 Games
Twenty years ago this week in Japan, Sony cemented its name in the annals of video game legend with the launch of the original PlayStation. The little gray box would help usher in a new era of gaming, and bring players to worlds that could only be discovered in our wildest dreams. Though there are countless classic games in the PlayStation's library, the Joystiq team reminisces about a handful of favorites. Which games on the PS1 were significant to our growth as lifelong admirers of gaming culture? >>Joystiq Presents: Our Most Beloved PS1 Games<<
Hit List Q&A: Treyarch head Mark Lamia
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Mark Lamia, head of Treyarch. At Treyarch, Mark Lamia leads a studio with more than 250 world-class developers who have created some of the biggest hits in gaming, including Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which continue to rank as two of the best-selling and most-played console games in history. Lamia is a 20-year veteran in the industry who worked his way up from the ground floor in both the development and studio-side publishing organizations within Activision. Prior to Treyarch, he worked with numerous development teams to create and oversee some of Activision's most successful games and franchises, including Call of Duty since its inception. At the 2015 D.I.C.E. Summit Lamia will be speaking on "Treyarch's Zombies: Following the Fun to Win Hearts ... and Brains." Treyarch broke the mold with their inclusion of Zombies in Call of Duty: World at War, creating a wholly new co-op experience for the Call of Duty franchise. Join Lamia as he explores the highly unorthodox development process behind Zombies, as well as the incredibly unique creative dialogue that the studio has with its global audience of Zombies fans.
Happy birthday, Nintendo DS
Double digits, Nintendo DS! Little two-screened wonder, the machine that rose Nintendo to the heavens rather than the depths of hell, you turned 10-years-old earlier this month. How far you've taken us, Nintendo DS! As the GameCube floundered back in 2004 and Game Boy Advance was staying afloat thanks to Pokemon, the world scoffed at your weird design. A microphone? A touch screen? Madness! Now there's scarcely a device out there that doesn't sport both features. You sit along the original Nintendo Entertainment System as one of the most successful and influential gaming machines ever. Now that you're ten, Nintendo DS, it's time to grow up! No more dillydallying with soft batch games like Spectrobes! With a decade under your belt, its time for games that will make you the womanliest woman and manliest man you can be, Nintendo DS. Here are ten games that will make you a grown up. They will teach you things about life, love, triumph and heartbreak. Here, dear DS, are ten games to play on your road to adulthood. >>Ten Games Bringing the DS into Adulthood<<
All of the Lights: Many curious uses for the PS4 light bar
Sony is no stranger to idiosyncratic hardware design. Nintendo and Sega put analog sticks on their controllers in the '90s? Sony adds on an extra stick and redefines console controllers. Touch screens are de rigueur? Sony slaps a touch surface on the front and back of PS Vita. The PlayStation 4 is a sleek piece of modern consumer tech design, but even it's got its quirks. Case in point: the Dualshock 4 light bar. Every PS4 controller looks like KITT from Knight Rider, with a giant oblate spheroid of light pulsing on the front. Not just good for running down the battery, the light bar actually performs some unusual functions in a variety of games. Below the break is a taster's choice selection of memorable light bar uses from the PlayStation 4's first year of games. After browsing that, take our poll and discuss the light bar's career in the comments. What do you think of the Dualshock 4 light bar? [Images: Sony]
Games we love and hate
It's always a drag when you're in love with a game and your friend doesn't see how wonderful it is. Alternatively, it's maddening when you're sure something is terrible and your pals think it's fantastic. But that's how opinions work in our crazy world! To warm us up for the "Best of 2014" voting process, which is sure to come to blows (or, at the very least, harsh name-calling), the Joystiq staff has engaged in a debate. One game, two editors, and an argument for why that game should be loved or hated. You decide who makes the stronger point in the comments below. >>Joystiq's Presents: Games we love and hate<<
Hit List Q&A: Nathan Vella, co-founder of Capy
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: Nathan Vella, co-founder of Capybara Games. Nathan Vella is co-founder and president of Toronto-based independent game developer Capy (short for Capybara Games). Perhaps best known for collaborating on Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, Capy also recently developed Super Time Force and has created many other games for consoles, handhelds, PC and mobile. Vella is presently working on Below, Capy's upcoming game about exploration, survival and discovery. At the upcoming D.I.C.E. 2015 Summit in February, Vella's will explore the rewards of collaboration, and he'll share key lessons on why and how it works best.
Spooking Joystiq: Our scariest gaming memories
Around this time of year there are a deluge of horror game suggestions from all corners of the gaming world. Which game is the scariest? Which game is sure to make you jump out of your seat? We all have our favorites, but we've all come to remember specific moments those games delivered. To celebrate the great candy exchange of 2014, the team at Joystiq looks back at a few of its favorite and scariest gaming memories. The games themselves may not be horror-themed, but they each included moments that left us feeling uneasy, sent our heart rate soaring and left a permanent (yet welcome) scar on our psyche. Tell us your scariest gaming memories and you may find them haunting our gallery, too. For more Halloween treats, make sure to watch our continuing Horror Game Streaming Event. >>Joystiq's Scariest Gaming Memories<<
Happy 18th birthday, N64!
Nintendo 64! Gaming machine that birthed the modern Nintendo, maker of consoles with libraries both peculiar and specific! Like the Wii U, Wii, and Gamecube that followed, the Nintendo 64 played host to a handful of revolutionary games, some real garbage, and some stuff that was frankly just bizarre. This week, the Nintendo 64 turns 18 years old, an auspicious year. That's when people start to branch out, to experiment beyond the social mores of youth and high school. Learning new things, meeting unusual people, and creating your adult self from the ground up. You know, when you take a comp lit class, get an industrial piercing, and start wearing garish, insane clothing. To salute the N64's passage into this period, we celebrate games that reflect that weird, weird, weird stage of life. Occasionally brilliant, sometimes embarrassing, these are 18 games for the 18-year-old N64. >>Nintendo 64's Weirdest Bunch<< [Images: Nintendo]
Happy 15th birthday, Sega Dreamcast
Fifteen years ago today, Sega launched its final video game console. Arriving in stores on September 9, 1999, the Dreamcast stole our hearts with a plethora of amazing games. There are plenty of essential classics from the Dreamcast era – Power Stone, SoulCalibur and Phantasy Star Online, to name a few – but what are some of the lesser-known favorites? To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the machine that refused to stop thinking, the Joystiq staff presents a short list of obscure treasures. The system may be gone, but our love is eternal. What are some of your favorite, lesser-known Dreamcast titles? Tell us your picks and why and we'll add it to our gallery as a community choice! >>Obscure Dreamcast Gems<<