It’s not every day fans of Japanese entertainment get a treat like this. Though the idea of animated, interactive books somewhat caught on in the west in the ’80s and ’90s, for the most part the visual novel trend that’s so popular in Japan never took off, stateside. As a result, only a handful of the terrific stories waiting to be ‘read’ have ever reached an English-speaking audience, at least in any official capacity. With time the internet has given rise to more and more translations made by ...

Steins;Gate Visual Novel Localization Hits March 31

Well, it’s official: Microsoft has pushed out the door what is likely the last build for Windows 8.1 Update 1, set to hit the public on April 8 (whatever could have made them choose that day?). The name may imply that not much has changed—and truly that is the case on the system level—but Update 1 actually brings a fair amount of UI tweaks particularly targeted at keyboard and mouse users. Yes, Microsoft is still designing Windows 8 for you. But is Update 1 the patch that will finally let desktop ...

Windows 8.1 Update 1 – 1 Step Forward, 1 Step Back

They say the third time’s the charm, and the adage has an uncanny way of ringing true. While Crysis has been a staple of the gaming industry since the first series title hit back in 2007, most of its popularity has stemmed from being famously taxing for gaming machines to run due to its intense, realistic visuals, not for actually being remarkably fun to play. Though the main draw of Crysis 3 is still to prove the worth of your gaming hardware, this time around Crytek has made a game actually worth ...

Crysis 3 – What Crysis was Meant to Be (Review)

If you are a PC user armed with Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, then you already know that you’ve got the web at your fingertips. What you may or may not realize, however, is just how deep your prying little hands can go. These days it seems we are less content with just browsing the web than ever. We want it customized to suit our tastes and needs. And when it comes to major social services, well, the devs can’t get by with changing anything without enduring the wrath of the world (until everyone ...

3 Addons to Improve Your YouTube Experience

Piracy. If you’ve been around the internet very long, you’ve certainly heard this word plenty of times. There’s even a good chance you’ve heard a variety of perspectives on the issue, ranging from diametrically opposing it to considering it free advertising. And in truth, piracy is stupid: you’ll likely be locked out from certain features, get lower quality content than the real thing, and constantly have to battle countermeasures. But worst of all, the content creators are stripped of the ...

How to Purchase Japanese iTunes Music/Apps in the USA

Well, it took 30 years, but it finally happened: Final Fantasy got a trilogy. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is out now in the states and on its way to Europe over the next few days. Should you care? Probably not. While Square Enix made a lot of changes mid-development to try and make the game more appealing, in the end we’re still left with a bizarre-o storyline and a glorified dressup figure. Not everything Lightning Returns does is bad, but its legacy will not be the few things it does right. ...

The Final Days of Final Fantasy?