The word ‘ Tetris ‘ instantly throws that iconic jingle into our heads, but it doesn’t just take the top spot on our list because of its music — although it did have some great tunes. Stacking blocks and filling out rows turned out to be an absolutely intoxicating affair on the Game Boy, which is what lead it to be the system’s most popular game of all-t

Shovel Knight was released back in 2014 but it just wasn’t enough. Luckily, Yacht Club Games came out with a whole new storyline and adventure centered around Plague Knight with Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows. In it we’re playing as one of the bad guys as we go off to do bad guy things, but is Plague Knight really all that bad? He’s definitely one of the most interesting characters in the game and ditching the shovel in favor of potions and explosives is a great change of pace. Altering the story to fit Plague Knight is a great addition to the classic NES-style platformer. Playing through all the same levels we’re used to but as a different character bring a new perspective to the world. We can only hope every knight will get their chance in the spotlight.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft continues to have great success in the eSports scene, with tournaments for top players getting held just about every weekend and some streamers on Twitch regularly bringing in tens of thousands of viewers. Blizzard is currently handing out qualifying points for this year’s Hearthstone World Championship at special events and through the monthly seasonal results. While last year did have a Hearthstone World Championship, 2015 is the first time Blizzard has created a year-long path to Blizzcon. It’s created opportunity for a lot new players to try and get in on the action, but it now seems that at least a few gamers got a little too overzeal

Duking it out with gigantic creatures is great in any video game. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate came out last February and brought its massive monsters to the U.S. One of the game’s biggest strengths is its diverse weaponry and armor you wear to hunt down big trophies. Customizing yourself to fit the action is necessary in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and luckily there’s enough to wear. Even though your goal is to track down and kill the monsters, it is amazing seeing how different they all are. All the sizes, colors and abilities make for a wild adventure.

Combining characters across all of Blizzard’s properties made Storm of Heroes feel like the Smash Bros. of MMO games. It’s a clever move on their part and one that I felt drew fans of yesteryear back to the good fight. Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo and more combine heroes and villains to bring a full-on war between factions. The amazing promotional trailers made wanting to play Storm of Heroes even more enticing. Even if you’re terrible at MMO games, you can still enjoy the sights and sounds of nostalgia in a new world.

More revenue. Another, less benign, reason for this shift to online multiplayer is money. Many distributors cite piracy as a major cause of declining profits , and increased DRM restrictions make sharing games with friends much more difficult. Decreasing the amount of local multiplayer means that friends who want to play together need their own copies of the game, their own system, and their own subscription. The result is increased costs for gamers and increased revenue for distribut

On an Earth with fewer and fewer old school role-playing games, Citizens of Earth brought back the genre, at least for me. Comparing many of these games to Earthbound is pretty standard and Citizens of Earth compares pretty well. The storyline, cast of characters and writing are all hilarious. Every situation you find yourself in is not only fun but the companions you encounter add to the game’s whacky antics. Attacks and art style also come with a cheesy nature. It’s an all-around fun game to play and enjoyable just to watch.

When games made the leap from public arcades to private homes, multiplayer continued to be a prominent feature. In 1987, MIDI Maze for the Atari ST allowed players to play together with up to 16 people. Many NES games also incorporated multiplayer—the original Super Mario Bros . allowed players to swap between Mario and Luigi, and Ice Climber allowed simultaneous co-op.Technology advancements allowed the inclusion of split-screen modes for racing games and shooters. It didn’t stop there. As games got more complex and began incorporating online play, LAN parties and internet cafes enabled gamers to play locally with friends, minus the risks of lag and other side effe

Mario is not only a staple in video game history; he is THE pinnacle of the industry. His games have defined what it means to be a video game. But guess what? I can make a video game too! Super Mario Maker is a phenomenal concept that allows fans to bring to life their very own versions of the plumber’s classic adventures. I’ve had tons of fun just imagining my own Mario levels and feeling like a real developer at Nintendo. If only they could see my creations…sigh. Whatever, Super Mario Maker is in fact a fantastic game despite all the extremely hard user-created levels that I’ve skipped reviews over at www.Mobanewshub.com.