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With the recent announcement of Mega Man 11, I’ve been thinking about side scrolling games and how despite the simplicity of their design they have stood the test of time. How is it possible that the simple gameplay of moving in a 2D space from point A to point B could possible tell an engaging story let alone provide for hours of single player gameplay that have fans begging for more? Being a fan of Super Mario Bros. as a kid I decided to rekindle that childhood gaming fire of mine by downloading every side-scrolling Mega Man, Mario, Metroid and whatever else that I could find (onto my jail broken PSP of course), and see what people think is so great about them. The conclusion that I have come to is that these games are all pretty much the same. Timing your jumps right to make it across platforms, while also dodging enemies and whatever projectiles they throw at you, while occasionally taking a detour to try and snag a golden coin (or whatever collectible the game has to off...

Micro transactions have been a huge topic in gaming lately. Whether you are paying for the best weapons and armor in the game, cosmetic items, loot boxes, double xp, and more, if something can be downloaded too a game the developers are selling it. A lot of gamers are furious at this new standard in the gaming industry, but do they have any right to be angry?  I mean these are gamers that have been paying $60 for a game since the PS3 and Xbox 360 days, and back in those days items were unlocked rather than bought. At least that is what other gamers are saying that don’t quite understand the situation. The fact is that video games are getting better and better each year. Graphics are more detailed, open world maps are expanding, and online multiplayer content is improving, but one thing about new games hasn’t changed, and that is the price. It has been over 10 years since the release of last generations consoles yet despite games improving in every way the price remains constant. ...