Author: Vincent Mahoney

Vincent is a game reviewer, graphic designer, illustrator and insurance agent: He wears many hats, but none of them properly cover his bald spot. His long-term goal is to publish a comic of the story he and his wife created together. He grew up playing action-platform games such as Super Mario, Metroid, Mega Man, Contra and Castlevania, but discovered his love for RPGs through Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy VI, then embarking upon a quest to play every RPG he possibly can. At over 200 RPGs and counting the quest is not going so well, and there are buster swords, giant cats, eight virtues and personae appearing to him in his sleep. Please send help.

Save State Talks About Turnip Boy and Taxes

This week our Save State columnist Vincent Mahoney decides to tackle one of the most bizarre titles that he has looked at in a long time. Get those vegetables ready to rumble this week as he goes farming with Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion.

It’s Toga Time for Save State With the Isometric Roguelite Hades This Week

A terrible dental crisis has had our Save State columnist, Vincent Mahoney, having a hell of a week, so he decided to lean into that theme and play Hades to take his mind off things. What he finds there is a beautiful platformer that not only plays well on his PC, but also works perfectly on the Steam Deck for those who may or may not be temporarily bedridden.

There’s Nothing Soft About Supernatural Western Hard West II

Hard West II is a turn-based strategy game where your band of western heroes and outlaws are almost always outnumbered by bad guys, undead, demons, and everything else. And yet, Hard West II rewards those who forgo cover for run and gun battling.

Three Perspectives on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Beta

Over the past two weekends, Activision opened up a Call of Duty Modern Warfare II beta to the press and other invited guests. GiN had a handful of reviewers, columnists, and podcasters in the thick of the action. This is what three of them found in this thoroughly modern take on shooters.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon Breathed New Fire into the Series

Our Save State Columnist Vincent Mahoney has been a fan of the Yakuza series for a while, but last played the series back in the Yakuza 3 days. He picks it up again with Like a Dragon and finds that the series evolved into a true RPG while keeping a high level of its delightful absurdity solidly intact.

RPG Eastern Exorcist Offers a Striking Adventure Filled with Lore and Challenges

Our intrepid Save State columnist Vincent Mahoney had been lost in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 for a while, but he came up for air and needed a fast-paced, stylish adventure to play in order to clear his palate. The beautiful, indie Eastern Exorcist title answered that call in a big way and earns his highest recommendations.

Digimon Survive Helps Make for an Amazing August

There are so many new releases this month that our Save State Columnist Vincent Mahoney was having trouble deciding what to play first. He finally landed on Digimon Survive, an anime title that has a lot of great things going for it.