Call for Papers: Director Spotlight: Orson Welles

Nick Dinicola

Nick Dinicola made it through college with a degree in English, and now applies all his critical thinking skills to video games instead of literature. He reviews games and writes a weekly post for the Moving Pixels blog at PopMatters, and can be heard on the weekly Moving Pixels podcast. More of his reviews, previews, and general thoughts on gaming can be found at www.gamehounds.net.


Columns

Tuesday, April 2 2013

We're More Than Our Job: The Characters of 'Little Inferno'

Even voiceless and often invisible, the characters of Little Inferno manage to ooze more personality than most video game characters.


Tuesday, February 12 2013

The Assassins' Failure

The last four games in the series have criticized totalitarianism by showing us what would happen if the “select few” in charge didn’t care about the people, but Assassin’s Creed III argues that if the “select few” in charge really do care about those beneath them, then society might flourish.


Monday, November 26 2012

Of Assholes and Antiheroes: Morality in 'Borderlands 2'

Modern video games feature a plethora of antiheroes. But there are times when this archetype is taken too far, when the antihero becomes just an asshole.


Friday, September 28 2012

God Is My Employee: The Theology of 'Asura’s Wrath'

When members of humankind pray, they pray not out of worship, but because they understand that their help is needed to protect the world.


Wednesday, July 18 2012

'Fez' Argues for the Artistry of Play

Fez may argue that games are just meant to be played, but it makes that argument with such impressive thematic consistency that it also makes an argument for the artistry of play.


Reviews

Monday, May 20 2013

Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine

Monaco is a stylish heist game that’ll make you wonder why there are so few heist games.


Friday, May 10 2013

Dead Island: Riptide

Riptide is good in spite of itself, but it could be so much better.


Friday, April 26 2013

Don't Starve

Even when it’s approachable and tempting, it’s still frustrating. However, its frustrations are born out of a consistent design philosophy, and its world is filled with such unexpected interactive depth and variety that I can’t help but respect it.


Wednesday, April 17 2013

Guacamelee

Charm is the first thing to go once a game gets frustrating. After a particularly grueling battle, you’ll be in such a foul mood that the jokes won’t be funny, the memes and references will seem dumb instead of clever, and the charm of the game will just seem forced.


Wednesday, March 20 2013

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3

The relentless pace is effective at heightening the drama while lessening our critical thinking. It’s dumb, it’s clichéd, it’s cheesy, but... but Sakura just said she loves Naruto and I know that can’t be true, what is she playing at? It’s all so addictive.


Crysis 3 [8.Mar.13]
Dead Space 3 [22.Feb.13]
Grimind [16.Jan.13]
Fable: The Journey [25.Oct.12]
Resident Evil 6 [8.Oct.12]
Rock of Ages [15.Jun.12]
Game of Thrones [6.Jun.12]
Battlefield 3 [28.Nov.11]
Orcs Must Die! [24.Oct.11]
Dead Island [16.Sep.11]
The Baconing [9.Sep.11]
Brink [27.May.11]
Crysis 2 [8.Apr.11]
Bulletstorm [7.Mar.11]
Dead Space 2 [4.Feb.11]
Quantum Theory [1.Nov.10]
Arc Rise Fantasia [23.Aug.10]
Red Steel 2 [16.Apr.10]
Toy Soldiers [26.Mar.10]
Heavy Rain [19.Mar.10]
Dark Void [25.Jan.10]
Puzzlegeddon [6.Jan.10]
Madden NFL Arcade [14.Dec.09]
Mini Ninjas [16.Nov.09]
'Splosion Man [14.Aug.09]

Blogs

Friday, May 17 2013

Rectangles Are People Too in 'Thomas Was Alone'

Thomas Was Alone turns a simple rectangle into a tragic hero.


Friday, May 10 2013

Evoking Horror Through Contrast in 'Dead Island'

The first half of Dead Island contains an interesting subtext concerning class warfare that’s only apparent now after playing the subtext-fee Riptide.


Friday, May 3 2013

Predictable Difficulty is Fun Difficulty

A level doesn’t change. It's predictable, so it's easier to gauge how my skills and knowledge have grown.


Friday, April 26 2013

The Failed Character Arc of Booker DeWitt in 'Bioshock Infinite'

Booker gets the narrative short shrift compared to the city, and as a result, the game’s final moments suffer.


Friday, April 19 2013

'Bioshock Infinite' Needs to Be More Violent

Bioshock Infinite should actually be more violent, or at the very least, its violence should be treated with more gravitas. Either way, there shouldn’t be less violence, but there should be less combat.


The Horror of 'Tomb Raider' (Moving Pixels) [12.Apr.13]
Bringing "It" Out in Lara Croft (Moving Pixels) [29.Mar.13]
'Crysis 3' Is a Stealth Game (Moving Pixels) [22.Mar.13]
The Mythic Horror of 'Dead Space 3' (Moving Pixels) [15.Mar.13]
The Doors of 'Dead Space 3' (Moving Pixels) [1.Mar.13]
'Binary Domain' and the Joys of Cut Scenes (Moving Pixels) [15.Feb.13]
My Mechanical Journey With 'Journey' (Moving Pixels) [8.Feb.13]
Style is Substance in 'Ni no Kuni' (Moving Pixels) [1.Feb.13]
Why Do Alternate Endings Matter in Gaming? (Moving Pixels) [25.Jan.13]
Open Worlds Aren’t Meant for Driving (Moving Pixels) [11.Jan.13]
A New Appreciation for Simple Movement (Moving Pixels) [7.Dec.12]
Why I Played 'Borderlands 2' By Myself (Moving Pixels) [16.Nov.12]
Indie Horror Month: 'Lone Survivor' (Moving Pixels) [26.Oct.12]
Indie Horror Month: 'Home' (Moving Pixels) [19.Oct.12]
Indie Horror Month: 'Paranormal' (Moving Pixels) [12.Oct.12]
Indie Horror Month: 'The 4th Wall' (Moving Pixels) [5.Oct.12]
How to End a Game With a Bang (Moving Pixels) [28.Sep.12]
Xbox LIVE Indie Game Round Up -- Part 3 (Moving Pixels) [7.Sep.12]
First-Person Memories (Moving Pixels) [3.Aug.12]
‘Syndicate’ Wastes a Great World (Moving Pixels) [20.Jul.12]
'Slender' is a Superb Slice of Horror (Moving Pixels) [13.Jul.12]
The Excellent Dialogue of 'Max Payne 3' (Moving Pixels) [8.Jun.12]
The Evolution of Alan Wake (Moving Pixels) [18.May.12]
‘Fez’ is a Very Personal Puzzle Game (Moving Pixels) [4.May.12]
'Anomaly', the Simple Start of a New Genre (Moving Pixels) [20.Apr.12]
The Fallible Morality of 'Mass Effect 3' (Moving Pixels) [30.Mar.12]
Evil Can Be Cute: The Morality of 'Warp' (Moving Pixels) [2.Mar.12]
The Helpless Protector in ‘AMY’ (Moving Pixels) [24.Feb.12]
Get Rid of the Mini-map (Moving Pixels) [20.Jan.12]
Joining the Cult of Abstergo (Moving Pixels) [16.Dec.11]
A Good Menu Sets the Mood: Part 3 (Moving Pixels) [2.Dec.11]
The Strength of Dialogue in ‘Enslaved’ (Moving Pixels) [18.Nov.11]
Creatively Derivative (Moving Pixels) [11.Nov.11]
Unwanted Empathy in ‘Rage’ (Moving Pixels) [4.Nov.11]
The Dangers of the Beta-Demo (Moving Pixels) [28.Oct.11]
Big Names Should Work On Small Games (Moving Pixels) [7.Oct.11]
Cyclical Stories in Video Games (Moving Pixels) [9.Sep.11]
Xbox LIVE Indie Game Round Up -- Part 2 (Moving Pixels) [26.Aug.11]
Pixel Hunting Is Fun in 'L.A. Noire' (Moving Pixels) [19.Aug.11]
The Most Loving Suicide Mission Ever (Moving Pixels) [29.Jul.11]
"Child of Eden’s" Identity Crisis (Moving Pixels) [22.Jul.11]
Collaborative Conflict in 'Mass Effect' (Moving Pixels) [15.Jul.11]
Creation and Destruction in 'Solar 2' (Moving Pixels) [8.Jul.11]
The Many Genres of ‘Nier’ (Moving Pixels) [1.Jul.11]
Playing the Persona in ‘L.A. Noire’ (Moving Pixels) [10.Jun.11]
Xbox LIVE Indie Game Round Up (Moving Pixels) [13.May.11]
The Perfect FPS Protagonist (Moving Pixels) [6.May.11]
‘The Conduit’: A Gateway Game (Moving Pixels) [22.Apr.11]
How Not to Make a Multiplayer Game (Moving Pixels) [4.Mar.11]
A Slice of Wartime Life (Moving Pixels) [25.Feb.11]
The Paradox of Modern Horror: Running Away (Moving Pixels) [18.Feb.11]
Killing Kids Is Scary (Moving Pixels) [4.Feb.11]
Fun Times With Ratchet and Clank (Moving Pixels) [28.Jan.11]
The Two Faces of 'Dead Rising 2' (Moving Pixels) [21.Jan.11]
Pigsy's Perfect 10 (Moving Pixels) [7.Jan.11]
Gaming and Politics in 2010 (Moving Pixels) [24.Dec.10]
'Burnout' Ruined Racing Games For Me (Moving Pixels) [3.Dec.10]
Mass Effect 2 (Consuming Consumables) [22.Nov.10]
Forced Politics in 'Fable 3' (Moving Pixels) [19.Nov.10]
Forced Alliances in ‘Fable 3’ (Moving Pixels) [12.Nov.10]
Epic vs. Episodic Adventure Games (Moving Pixels) [5.Nov.10]
'Project Legacy': My First Facebook Game (Moving Pixels) [15.Oct.10]
The Least Suicidal Suicide Mission Ever (Moving Pixels) [8.Oct.10]
'Dead Rising' Does Zombies Right (Moving Pixels) [24.Sep.10]
An Obsession with Progression (Moving Pixels) [20.Aug.10]
The Lasting Accomplishment of 'Max Payne' (Moving Pixels) [13.Aug.10]
Dreaming in 'Limbo' (Moving Pixels) [6.Aug.10]
Why Do I Cheer For War? (Moving Pixels) [9.Jul.10]
My Ending Is My Canon (Moving Pixels) [2.Jul.10]
How Open Is Your Open World? (Moving Pixels) [18.Jun.10]
Red Dead Redemption: A Linear Open World (Moving Pixels) [11.Jun.10]
A Good Menu Sets the Mood (Moving Pixels) [4.Jun.10]
Five Movie and Game Pairings (Moving Pixels) [14.May.10]
Achievements Change The Way That I Play (Moving Pixels) [7.May.10]
Are Wii Shooters Better Than The Rest? (Moving Pixels) [23.Apr.10]
Rubi vs. Bayonetta (Moving Pixels) [16.Apr.10]
I'd Rather Be Stealing Gold (Moving Pixels) [9.Apr.10]
Our Role as Actor in 'Heavy Rain' (Moving Pixels) [5.Mar.10]
DiRT 2: A Racing Sim for the Arcade Fan (Moving Pixels) [22.Jan.10]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Consuming Consumables) [17.Dec.09]
Dead Space: Extraction (Consuming Consumables) [11.Dec.09]
The Mystery of Assassin's Creed (Moving Pixels) [4.Dec.09]
Modern War in Modern Warfare 2 (Moving Pixels) [20.Nov.09]
It's A Mad Mad Mad MadWorld (Moving Pixels) [13.Nov.09]
Cut Scenes Can Work in Games (Moving Pixels) [6.Nov.09]
That Good Ol' Ultraviolence (Moving Pixels) [30.Oct.09]
Does This Hurt? A Look at Torture in Games (Moving Pixels) [23.Oct.09]
The Next Visual Leap in Gaming (Moving Pixels) [16.Oct.09]
Lost in the Past (Moving Pixels) [2.Oct.09]
War is (Fun As) Hell (Moving Pixels) [25.Sep.09]
Punishing in All the Right Ways (Moving Pixels) [18.Sep.09]
The State of Social Commentary in Gaming (Moving Pixels) [4.Sep.09]
The Boycott of Shadow Complex (Moving Pixels) [28.Aug.09]
Your Virtual Physical Self (Moving Pixels) [7.Aug.09]
Homelessness in The Sims 3 (Moving Pixels) [31.Jul.09]
Permanent Death in Far Cry 2 (Moving Pixels) [24.Jul.09]
The Future of Gaming is...Adventure Games? (Moving Pixels) [17.Jul.09]
Going HUDless for Immersion (Moving Pixels) [10.Jul.09]
Consequence Without Morality (Moving Pixels) [26.Jun.09]
Looking Ahead (Moving Pixels) [5.Jun.09]
Why You Should Care About Dom's Wife (Moving Pixels) [22.May.09]
A Case for Regenerating Health (Moving Pixels) [14.May.09]
Morality and Karma Systems (Moving Pixels) [8.May.09]
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