LESS WAS MORE

May 15, 2013

Does Last Light feel less inspired by virtue of breaking from the comfortable shores of its origin in the novel, or does its sheer sequel-ness drag it down?    Did it all used to be fresh and shiny? In a well-established world where the punishing actuality of a post-apocalypse provides little room for changes in scenery, the atmosphere is bound to lose a bit...

A MODEL CITZEN

May 3, 2013

Imagine an action movie series long past its due – think 15th iteration.  That’s Blood Dragon.  The harried protagonist is now more machine than man, his effects are neon embodiments of instant death, his lame sentimentality for the main friend-turned-villain forever survives even the silliest encounters.   Ubisoft Montreal was told they have 6...

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Mar 28, 2013

In a hat down eyes forward passing, both Starcraft 2 and the NFL “instituted” “rule changes” in the same week earlier in March.  The NFL held their owners meeting, where rich dudes from around the country vote on new regulations that will help them retain their cash cow players.  Meanwhile in the digital realm, millions threw themselves at the...

THE WELL HAS RUN DRY

Mar 19, 2013

  More of the same is a good thing right?  If it ain’t broke don’t fix it?  Let well enough alone?     God of War: Ascension makes a compelling argument otherwise.  The combat formula, already simplistic by modern standards, stubbornly refuses to evolve or take any risks whatsoever.  Quicktime events are simply not fun anymore, nor are...

BUSINESS AS USUAL

Feb 18, 2013

Colonial Marines is so straightforwardly bad that really everything negative that could be said has already been volleyed at the poor horse.  This candid lack of quality also makes it hopelessly difficult to construe anything but the most utilitarian compliments – ‘It is possible to interact with this game’ / ‘It successfully connects to the...

WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT YOUR HAIRCUT, THAT HASN'T ALREADY BEEN SAID ABOUT SNUFFLEUPAGUS?

Feb 1, 2013

The outlash of hate directed towards the still fresh DmC: Devil May Cry wasn’t unexpected.  People have been bitching for years, literally.  When concept art for Dante first surfaced as a young, punk-infused rebel no one could handle that his hair was a color other than white.  Far be it from us to expect the scathing idiocy to have resided after such...

Aug 28, 2012

Build Details User-Friendliness: SS Witch Doctors rejoice. With the dawn of patch 1.0.4 pets are suddenly viable in Inferno and a whole slew of build opportunities have opened up. The class we were promised at release has finally become a reality, so let’s celebrate by examining a truly bread and butter, Inferno viable, pet-doctor build. Each skill in this...

Aug 25, 2012

In the final week leading up to the annual release of a Madden title, a few familiar story lines are predictably rising to the surface.  No, Madden will not shock anyone with its tried and true gameplay staples.  Yes, there will be neato modifications that create cool bullet points and a furthered commitment to realism.  No, the Madden elite will not...

Jul 30, 2012

Build Details User-Friendliness: D There are three terrifying things in this world: Bears, Zombies, and the stampede scene from The Lion King. Somehow, Blizzard managed to fuse equal parts of all three into one of the most devastating moves in the game: the Witch Doctor’s Zombie Bears. Although this build has some of the highest damage output in the game,...

Jul 7, 2012

Could Nintendo have again sparked another sort of homerun omen with the Wii U? The Wii ushered in a shortsighted, unscrupulous emphasis on motion controls – could the Wii U really pull off the same kind of full on zeitgeist shift? No, not in the active sense at least.  Nintendo’s motion innovation was the unmoved mover for this current generation in its...