Tag: Arcade

Is Visiting Glitch Victoria Worth It? When Videogames Doesn’t Smell Like Geek Spirit.

Glitch Victoria is set to open on Yates Street, and while the neon looks inviting, the setup tells a familiar story. This mix of two types of operations isn’t necessarily promising a nerd sanctuary. Instead, it’s really a sports bar with arcade controllers.

Glitch VictoriaGlitch Victoria is about to open up shop. Sadly, it will not be what I think it is, an arcade parlour for the video game enthusiast. These days, these operations are few and far between. When you visit places like Akihabara, Japan or Seoul, South Korea, the palaces there span floors, offering the latest games to cater to the video-game enthusiast. That’s because they are major metropolises where such an operation can persist.

In North America, the best city to visit is sweet home Chicago. Industry giants like Midway, Williams, and Bally were headquartered there before they folded. Next on the list is allegedly Portland, Oregon because of the wealth of bars with an arcade there, and that is the model this garden city operation is using. Their marketing already tells you who they’re after. And for those gamer types working in offices, waiting for 5pm to hit, they got the choice of heading here or going home to their PS5 or decked out PC to play online games.

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Gaming Gauntlet: GRETA Bar’s YVR Identity Crisis

GRETA Bar in Vancouver offers arcade games but feels more like a sports bar than a dedicated nerd hangout, raising questions about its target audience.

Greta Bar YVR LogoTo find places to enjoy the latest arcade games has become increasingly tough with what home consoles and computers can do, but for that hangout experience, GRETA Bar delivers in that front. I would not have known about them unless they have an impressive marketing team to draw in the tourists. And when Fan Expo Vancouver helped bring awareness to this island nerd, I had to check it out! I returned recently to see how different it is when they are not hosting an event with this convention, and it has the feel of a sports bar more so than a true nerd’s hangout.

And when this franchise type operation includes Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto, I’m sure catering to a specific type of geek is easier than figuring out who to cater to in Vancouver’s Gastown. When this city’s version of Fan Expo thought this place is appropriate for an after-party of sorts, the success may well be mixed. I have yet to see this convention settle upon a dedicated operation to run an event. When a few previous businesses they have worked with closed their doors years later, I hope that’s not a sign.

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Star Wars Day in 2025 And Why It Remains Special To Me

On Star Wars Day, each fan will enjoy May The Fourth in their own way. It doesn’t have to be a commercialised affair.

Star Wars Day LOGOThis year, what I offer is a retrospective on what I enjoyed about Star Wars rather than look at the commercialization of the date. I have no interest in picking up new merchandise because I have everything I want. With four lightsabers in my man cave, I think that should be enough.

Every time this annual event comes up, I’ll look and to be honest, the discounts are not very good. Also, the products produced are more focussed on recent releases rather than old. I want more recognition for Episodes IV to VI.

The best spinoffs and expanded content from the Star Wars universe will always be with the original releases. Whether that’s with the early Marvel Comics series or Dark Horse, the comic book medium embraced giving fans what they enjoyed faster than any other platform. No one wants to admit a certain holiday special remains partially canon. While Life Day is more prominent in the Disney-ification of the Lucasfilm content, none of the original considered this holiday as essential material.

For me, my enjoyment started with:

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Neverjam’s Spiderheck is All Out Crazy Fun!

Neverjam’s Spiderheck lets you become a wall-crawler to bash other ones to death! 

SpiderheckAvailable on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Steam beginning Oct 22, 2022

Just how often do players get to play a spider in a video game? It’s like what the Spiderheck! All I remember are those retro games of yore–Black Widow and Spiders. As for the newer products, players are out to squash the eight-legged terrors than be one. Thankfully, Neverjam’s game lets you become a wall-crawler to bash other ones with random sci-fi tech! It’s fast paced and crazy fun.

A bit of ambidextrous skill is required because the left stick moves your digital avatar and the right to swing the baton (or aim). I got the Nintendo Switch version to enjoy. Unfortunately, it took an hour for me to get used to the interface, and I didn’t realise the X button was the shoot button. But, in order to play (even locally), gamers have to be a member of PlayStation Network, Xbox Live or Nintendo Network so those services can sync battles across the ‘net.

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Just How Intense is It? Climbing Tokoyo: The Tower of Perpetuity

After a few hours of play, I’ve made it as far as the third boss fight, but who really knows how much further I’ll have to go to reach the top of The Tower of Perpetuity.

TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity PosterNow Available on Steam
Disclaimer: A review copy was supplied.

“Just one more run” 

Surprisingly addictive, Tokoyo: The Tower of Perpetuity is a new action platformer from Playism, the publishers of Tasomachi: behind the Twilight (which I’ve reviewed previously), the La-Mulana series, and the recent Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth.

A simple-looking pixel-art platforming game, Tokoyo has you frantically collecting upgrades and managing your skills to climb floor-by-floor up a mysterious tower. The story is simple and doesn’t get in the way of the action. Each of the playable characters has a different reason for being trapped in a mysterious tower full of traps and monsters, but the only way to get out is to reach the top.

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Shoot ’em Up Again with Espgaluda II!

Espgaluda II offers a tutorial and novice mode for those new to this franchise.

ogo_espgaluda2.pngBack in 2003, Espgaluda was released to arcades and it quickly gained a fan following. This vertical scroller was considered one of the best shoot ‘em ups and was ported to the PlayStation 2 in the same year. Even tougher levels were introduced in the console versions.

This game even saw a port to iOS, which received mixed reviews. Key to these games success is to have real buttons to push than a touch screen. Coming soon is a version to the Nintendo Switch!

Anyone new to this game may think of it as angels versus demi-gods; with boss levels taking its influence from Greco-Roman lore like the Moirai, Siren, Heracles and the brothers who founded Rome (Romulus and Remus). They’re the names of spaceships, and just why they’re battling the world of Shinra is explained as players delve into those tougher levels where the narrative unfolds. From the Shmups Wiki:

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