Video Games

Acronymity

3 January 2012

  Rogue websites – those singularly devoted to profiting from their blatant illegal piracy – restrict demand for legitimate video game products and services – from a statement on SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) released by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association); edited by me to include the hyperlink The most frustrating thing to come out [...]

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Catherine

22 August 2011

So, Catherine – a quirky mix of dating sim, puzzle action and horror condensed into a bright pink package – is the best-selling game from its publisher, Atlus, to date. Considering that Atlus’s wheelhouse tends to be critically acclaimed niche games that would likely never see the light of day in the USA otherwise, it’s [...]

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Jefferson Reads: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

8 August 2011

Note: A copy of Ready Player One was provided to the author for review. The past decade has been the Age of the Geek – studios pander to the Comic-Con crowd, Internet buzz can destroy a movie’s opening weekend and nostalgia drives marketing. For every dyed-in-the-wool geek creator or personality, there’s at least two or [...]

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Blue Light Special

18 May 2011

I very nearly broke up with Kmart last night, but I don’t want to talk about that. Those of you who love the ‘Things I Hate’ posts may be disappointed. I think the better story is in how and why Kmart won me back in 24 hours. I had a superlatively negative experience in a [...]

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Okay, So There Are These Pods, Right? And You Cast Them.

12 October 2010

A bunch of people told me over the weekend that I should be on a podcast. I am malleable to this sort of manipulation, especially because I’ve thought about doing it before.  But then I remember that the last time I was on a podcast, I think I said that Chromehounds (based on the review [...]

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Creator Loyalty In A Down Economy

1 September 2010

Last week (which seems like a lifetime ago online), video game publisher THQ filled gamers with delicious anger, restricting multiplayer access for some wrestling video game or another to first-run buyers only via a single-use code.* The angry gamers’ argument seems to be: “We are your customers and you can’t treat us like this!” THQ’s [...]

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You People Are Double Hypocrites

8 July 2010

I thought I’d had all of the ridiculous games on Facebook blocked from my feed. No Mafia Party, no Crochet Wars, no Farmville, no Zombie Paper Route or whatever the fuck it is that people think is fun. It was a comforting existence. I’ve lived my life without playing any of these games and I [...]

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Red Dead Redemption

1 June 2010

I’ve never been a big fan of Rockstar’s open-world video games.  Grand Theft Auto in all its forms, has never failed to leave me cold. In fact, once I crashed a helicopter into one of my friends in that game’s free-roaming lobby, I felt like I’d achieved the apex of my multiplayer experience. Despite this, [...]

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News For Nerds

26 May 2010

Matt Wilson’s blunt and excellent post at The Bureau Chiefs (the group blog of the Fake AP Stylebook creators) goes after what passes for comics and video game journalism in its present state and points out in a numbered list just why it sucks so bad.  And yes, I’m pointing that out on a blog [...]

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Roger Ebert – Wrong About Gaming?

19 April 2010

In the loud and unfortunately nonsensical (in many cases) reaction to Roger Ebert’s proclamation that video games are not and will likely never be art, it is easy to miss that Ebert is not decrying the medium or proclaiming it to be without merit.  He’s simply saying that games aren’t art. And, speaking as a [...]

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