Bob Mackey

Article

Of Metroid and Mastery

How Dark Souls echoes the sophisticated design of classics like Super Metroid.

Jan. 13, 2020 Bob Mackey

Review

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ? Spirit of Justice 3DS Review: Big Trouble in Fake China

After nearly a decade of trying to find itself, Ace Attorney makes a great return to form with this newest sequel.

Jan. 24, 2019 Bob Mackey

Review

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate Review

Capcom sends off the previous era of their hit series with simply the most Monster Hunter stuff ever in one package.

Aug. 28, 2018 Bob Mackey

Article

Day of the Tentacle: The Oral History

The making of one of the greatest adventure games ever.

June 25, 2018 Bob Mackey

Article

Nick Arcade Let Kids Watch Other Kids Play Video Games, and That's All That Mattered

20 years ago, this goofy little Nickelodeon game show predicted the rise of YouTube.

April 13, 2018 Bob Mackey

Article

Goodbye, USgamer Readers! (And You Can Thank Me for Not Writing "Thanks for All the Fish")

I have to go now. My planet needs me.

Oct. 20, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Interview: ZUN on 20 Years of Touhou Project

The legendary one man band of Japanese game development looks back on the last two decades.

Oct. 18, 2016 Bob Mackey

Review

Chase: Cold Case Investigations ~ Distant Memories ~ 3DS Review: Short Story

The successor to defunct developer Cing's emotional adventure games can't help but feel like a pretender to the throne.

Oct. 17, 2016 Bob Mackey

News

Final Fantasy XIV 4.0 Expansion Stormblood Arriving Summer 2017

New jobs, a revamped battle system, and countless quality of life features inbound as well.

Oct. 14, 2016 Jeremy Parish

Article

USstreamer: Enter Cyberspace with PlayStation VR Today at 1:00pm PT/4:00pm ET

Tune in and check out a tour of titles from Sony's new virtual reality platform.

Oct. 6, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Retronauts' 8-Bit Superhero Sampler Returns with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Batman

This week on USgamer's classic gaming podcast, we look into two of the more memorable comic book games on the NES.

Oct. 3, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

NES Classic Edition Hands-On Impression: Big on Fun, Light on Features

Nintendo's mini console certainly does what it's supposed to, but not much else.

Sept. 30, 2016 Bob Mackey

Review

Yo-kai Watch 2 3DS Review: Deja Boo

Level-5's charming Pokemon-like still shows promise, but refuses to budge from its more irritating design decisions.

Sept. 28, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Retronauts Rumbles with the History of Punch-Out!!

This week on USgamer's classic gaming podcast, we dig into the surprisingly deep history of Nintendo's gloriously cartoony take on pugilism.

Sept. 26, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Persona 5 Debuts at Number One in Japan

That's what happens when you make people wait eight years for a sequel.

Sept. 23, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Watch Dogs 2 Could Fill the Gap GTA Left Behind

With its impressive amount of ways to disrupt a highly interactive world, Watch Dogs 2 looks to be picking up exactly where Grand Theft Auto left off.

Sept. 23, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Birthdays the Beginning Brings Harvest Moon's Creator to a New Frontier

Yasuhiro Wada's upcoming sim fully embraces the "god game" genre.

Sept. 20, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

From Us to You! Explores The Last Guardian, Rediscovers the Legacy of Dead Rising, and Has No Objections to Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice

Bob, Mike, and special guest Chris Doucette assemble to discuss Bob's recent hands-on session with The Last Guardian, the unique charms of the original Dead Rising, and the finer points of Phoenix Wright's latest adventure.

Sept. 16, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

10 Questions with Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair's Killer Localization Team

Spike Chunsoft's intriguing mix of Battle Royale and Ace Attorney debuted in America with one of the best English language adaptations in years. We talked to NIS America's crack team of localizers to find out how they pulled off this nearly impossible task.

Sept. 13, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

10 Years Ago, Dead Rising Kicked off a Generation that Ended Up Choosing a Much Different Path

Capcom's take on Dawn of the Dead showed what the future would hold for last generation's consoles, even if few others would borrow its hardcore approach.

Sept. 12, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Retronauts Micro Presents an 8-Bit Superhero Sampler

This week on USgamer's classic gaming podcast, we dissect two of the earliest (and worst) superhero games the NES has to offer: Superman and The Uncanny X-Men.

Sept. 5, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

God Eater 2: Rage Burst Gets the Monster Hunter Basics, but None of the Nuance

While this might be the closest you'll come to playing Capcom's hit RPG on the PC, you may be better off just buying a 3DS.

Aug. 30, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Retronauts Celebrates a Quarter-Century of the Super Nintendo

This week on USgamer's classic gaming podcast, we salute the SNES.

Aug. 29, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Five Ways Monster Hunter Could Change for the Better

Now that Capcom's hit RPG series has finally found an audience in America, here are some ways it could improve.

Aug. 24, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

OverClocked ReMix Releases Chronology: A Jazz Tribute to Chrono Trigger

Relax to some smooth JRPG jams with OC Remix's 60th free community arrangement album.

Aug. 23, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Join the Retronauts Micro Team for a Classic Gaming Quizdown

On this episode of USgamer's classic gaming podcast, listen to the Retronauts put their retro game audio knowledge to the test.

Aug. 8, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

True Tales from Localization Hell

COVER STORY: Three veterans of video game translation recount their most harrowing projects.

Aug. 2, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Retronauts Delves Into SimCity's History

On this week's episode of USgamer's classic gaming podcast, learn about the urban planning series that made us all mayor for a day.

Aug. 1, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Our Favorite (and Least Favorite) Mario Kart Tracks of All Time

USgamer rings in the release of Mario Kart 8 with a discussion of the highlights and lowlights of racing, Nintendo-style.

July 31, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Bob & Kat on Living Their Lives a Quarter Mile at a Time through Mario Kart 8

Two of USgamer's Mario Kart veterans take on Nintendo's newest installment to see how it stacks up against its predecessors.

July 31, 2016 Bob Mackey

Review

Resident Evil Revelations 2 Xbox One Review: When Paint-by-Numbers Isn't so Bad

It might not be all that ambitious, but this RE spin-off sequel definitely hits the spot.

July 25, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

10 Years Ago, Resident Evil 4 Saved a Series from Itself

With this polarizing sequel, director Shinji Mikami brought newfound relevance to the property that made him a star—and paved the way for the future of action games.

July 25, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster Reveals a Series Struggling to Reinvent Itself

While not completely deserving of its bad reputation, this prequel can't help but feel like treading water.

July 25, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Retronauts Creeps Through Resident Evil's Roots

To ring in the series' 20th anniversary, USgamer's masters of podcasting explore the Capcom series that coined the term "survival horror."

July 25, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

USgamer's RPG Podcast Looks at this Fall's Upcoming Releases

AXE OF THE BLOOD GOD: On this week's Kat-less episode, we dive into the many RPG releases of the next few months while lamenting our lack of free time.

July 23, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

From Us to You! Explores the Twisted Stories of Rimworld, Overwatch's Ana, and I Am Setsuna

Bob, Nadia and Mike assemble to discuss the interesting indie mix of Firefly and Dwarf Fortress, Blizzard's matriarchal sniper, and Square's attempt to capture Chrono Trigger nostalgia.

July 21, 2016 Bob Mackey

Review

Monster Hunter Generations 3DS Review: All the Hits

Capcom assembles the best Monster Hunter content, new and old, for the most refined and accessible take on the formula to date.

July 11, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Retronauts Micro Samples the Catchiest Shop Themes

This week, USgamer's classic gaming podcast presents a collection of songs to get you in the spending mood.

July 11, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

USstreamer: Give Kaiser Bill What-for with Battlefield 1 [Now Archived on YouTube!]

Tune in and check out the closed alpha of EA DICE's upcoming competitive FPS.

July 9, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Three Little Changes that Make a Big Difference in Monster Hunter Generations

With the core Monster Hunter experience remaining the same, it's the small stuff that matters.

July 8, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

I'm Running as Fast as I Can: Inside Summer Games Done Quick

Every year, the world's best speedrunners gather to play games in ways you've never seen before. It's not just a great time—it's also for a great cause.

July 7, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

From Us to You! Digs Into Counter-Strike Skin Scams, Summer Steam Sales, and Games Done Quick

Bob, Nadia and Mike assemble to discuss the skin scandal rocking the CS:GO world, highlights from this summer's recent Steam sale, and the pure joy that is Games Done Quick.

July 7, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

USstreamer: Get Your War on with Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII [Now Archived on YouTube!]

Tune in to watch the highlights of the Han Dynasty with the help of Koei's long-running simulation series.

July 6, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

The Waiting Game: Just How Dead IS Umbrella Corps?

Check out how Umbrella Corps' empty lobbies stack up against other multiplayer games, new and old.

July 5, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Retronauts Joins the Cult of EarthBound

This week, USgamer's classic gaming podcast explores the 1995 Super Nintendo RPG that went from critical flop to Internet sensation.

July 4, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

USstreamer: Escape to the City with Sonic Adventure 2 [Now Archived on YouTube!]

On this week's retro stream, Bob celebrates the 15th anniversary of Sonic Adventure 2 with a solid hour of going fast.

June 30, 2016 Bob Mackey

Review

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness PlayStation 4 Review: A Familiar Frontier [Update: Final Thoughts and Score!]

tri-Ace brings some important innovations with this fifth installment of their RPG series, but still rolls with an entirely safe approach.

June 29, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

How Mother 3 Escaped Development Hell to Become a Modern Classic

While this EarthBound sequel may never see an official English release, it still stands as one of Nintendo's greatest achievements.

June 21, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

The Legend of Zelda's Only Cartoon Aspired to Competence in a Landscape of Trash

It might not have been the most faithful adaptation, but Link's animated adventures stood slightly above typical kids' TV dreck.

June 20, 2016 Bob Mackey

Article

Now on Virtual Console, Drill Dozer Proves Game Freak Can do More than Pokemon

While you were distracted by E3, one of the last great GBA games released on Wii U.

June 17, 2016 Bob Mackey