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WRUP: 2025 Edition

Another year, another WRUP. How's 2025 treating you thus far, Twinstiquers? I'm going to go ahead and refrain from touching on any recent political stuff, even though there is more than enough to write about for days, because frankly, that's not what we come here for. But please feel free to share any thoughts and/or feelings in the comments. We won't judge. So what's the latest in the gaming world?

Well, let's see. There were three words in that last sentence, and this WRUP post is purporting to contain some sort of gaming intel, so...Half-Life 3 confirmed? Well, maybe not quite, but rumors are starting to swirl once again. Who knows? We may actually be closer than ever before to an honest to goodness Half-Life sequel with the number 3 in it! Here's an article from Ars Technica with more speculation and/or details about that.

Also, the Switch 2 has finally been officially revealed by Nintendo after years of being incredibly tight-lipped about it. But, true to form, Nintendo has even somehow managed to keep pretty tight-lipped with the reveal itself, forcing fans to wait yet another several months for additional information. Maybe they just like torturing us?

What's everybody planning on playing this weekend?

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Save the WRUP for me, Clark.

Happy December, Twinstiq troop! It's AJ, back with another WRUP because it's long overdue. Hopefully everybody is still doing well and getting into the festive holiday spirit, assuming that's your kind of thing.

I don't have much in the way of news to share, except that it is starting to appear that stores in the US may be scaling back on physical Xbox games. I happened into a local Target store recently and they didn't have a single physical Xbox game to be found. That entire section had simply been removed by the store. They still had plenty of Switch and PlayStation 5 titles, however.

While this doesn't appear to be the case with every Target location in my area (although the ones that do still carry them definitely seem to have scaled back the selection), and this reporting is purely anecdotal, similar reports have already came out of Europe earlier this year. If major US retailers are indeed in the process of 86ing Xbox options in the near future, that would signal a very interesting shift in this generation's console battle. Here's hoping the Xbox brand itself won't be disappearing anytime soon.

But enough about that, what is that we are playing this weekend?

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Notable New Gaming Releases: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, and More…

One might be forgiven for having thought that by the end of September, most of the year's big releases had already been released. Apparently this was not the case, however, as the last several weeks have seen the arrival of a number of high profile titles. This past week alone gave us the Octopath Traveler-inspired HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest III, a game that has been hotly-anticipated by many a fan of the beloved Dragon Quest series and/or high quality RPGs in general.

Also out in the last 7 weeks, the latest installment in the Mario & Luigi RPG series, a sweet-looking turn-based tactical spin on the action-packed Metal Slug series, and a remaster of the PSP port of the PS2 classic tactical RPG, Phantom Brave. A beloved masterpiece, reimagined. Jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 49 days.

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WRUP On Fire

It's hot. Today is going to busy, of course and our first one over 100 degrees. I feel like I don't actually have more than a few minutes of free time any  longer and not for any good reason. Yesterday was a good slow day though so I took advantage. Anyway here's a WRUP. Read more

Notable New Gaming Releases: Batsugun, Tekken 8, and More…

Welcome to the first notable new releases post of 2024. Since the last post wasn't since late October, I've made sure to round up some of the more prominent releases from the end of 2023, as well as the beginning of this year. This last week saw a very notable release with a GOG version of Toaplan's final shmup, the legendary arcade classic, Batsugun. Aside from arguably being their all-time best shooter, Batsugun is also famous for being the very first manic (aka bullet hell) shoot 'em up game. It may be great, but it's definitely not easy!

Also out in the last 16 weeks, the 8th installment to the long-running and incredibly popular Tekken series; the next entry in the also long-running and popular Yakuza/Like a Dragon series; and the first official sequel to the excellent 2012 Arcade fighter (and it's multiple updated ports), Under Night In-Birth. Take on the final chapter in Toaplan's Shmup saga, then jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 112 days.

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AJ’s Picks: The 12 Best Games of 2022 (In Just Under the Wire Edition)

Well, 2023 is drawing to a close and I haven't even released a best games of 2022 list yet. (And you thought last year's was late!) Well, consider that box now officially checked off. It took a long time to get it right. Way longer than it probably should have. It's pretty likely that many out there will still take issue with these choices but, whatever, I'm pretty proud of these picks. All I can do at this point is apologize for the extreme tardiness of this article and promise to do my best to at least release a 2023 list in the first half of next year. But in the meantime, please read on for my selections for the 12 best titles that 2022 had to offer:

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Notable New Gaming Releases: Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, Pikmin 4, and More…

Well, the year is more than halfway over and we're beginning to witness the release of some pretty interesting titles. This past week saw the return of the Lee brothers in a brand new entry in the legendary Double Dragon series. Double Dragon Gaiden looks to be largely inspired by last year's outstanding arcade-esque TMNT beat 'em up, Shredder's Revenge. Assuming the developer nailed more than just the art style, this too may be one that's well worth checking out.

Also out in the last 5 weeks, the 4th numeric installment to Nintendo's charming Pikmin series; a pretty fun-looking family-friendly 4-player platformer starring Mickey Mouse & friends; and GOG ports of Sega's Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Double Fine's The Cave. Double Dragon Returns with tag team action. Jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 35 days.

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Notable New Gaming Releases: Final Fantasy XVI, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and More…

It's a good thing that Square Enix doesn't seem to understand what the word "final" means. Otherwise, their legendary Final Fantasy series might have ended before the '80s did. Thankfully here we are, over 30 years and countless fantastic installments and spin-offs later, with their newest entry, Final Fantasy XVI; and by all indications, it's yet another worthy addition to their long-running franchise.

Also out in the last 8 weeks, the next fantastic installment to Nintendo's legendary Zelda series; a port of one of the greatest arcade horror titles of all time; and a brand new strategy game set in the Alien(s) universe. Fate is written in fire. Jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 56 days.

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WRUP Friday Deals

Happy Weekend everyone. It's WRUP time and I'm struggling to find anything of note that isn't black Friday deal oriented. I suppose that's fine though seeing as how it seems like no matter satisfied I am with the current state of my PC there is always some deal on some part I don't have or is normally out of a reasonable price range that catches my eye. So with that in mind here are a few that did in fact catch my eye. My right eye. And my left. And the one by my third nipple. It's only weird if you make it weird. Read more