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Friday, June 26 2009

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2

Through its gameplay, Devil Summoner 2 seems to represent a strange drama about the relationship between religion and the political world, exposing gaps that may exist between ethical systems and the political causes that they intend to inform.

Wednesday, June 24 2009

Ninja Blade

The merits of cutscenes aside, games that do have them traditionally employ them to further the plot of the game. A game that requires the player to focus their attention on consequential, reflex-oriented tasks does so at the disservice of a title's narrative.

Monday, June 22 2009

Wallace & Gromit in Fright of the Bumblebees

The only thing missing from the game is that strange sense of doll house spectacle that the original productions could create.

Friday, June 19 2009

Klonoa

When children accept that a "win" doesn't always mean happily ever after, their acceptance of gaming as a true storytelling medium is increased exponentially.

Wednesday, June 17 2009

The Sims 3

My virtual son has a logical mind and a natural talent for music, but he prefers to be alone and tends to act and speak inappropriately. In other words, to mirror my real-life family, I created a little kid with high-functioning autism.

Monday, June 15 2009

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

A distrust of the institutions of science and learning are present even in the gameplay.

Friday, June 12 2009

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings

He’s already found two Biblical artifacts, so a third seems far more fitting than, say, an alien’s skull.

Wednesday, June 10 2009

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel

Perhaps there’s just something hardwired in our brains that the hack and slash action-RPG insidiously massages that makes them so damn addictive.

Monday, June 8 2009

Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection

The Sword of the Stars Ultimate Collection demonstrates the inevitable progression of a PC strategy game from welcoming to unwieldy in the space of only two expansions.

Friday, June 5 2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

This is more a blood bubble bath, a playfully enjoyable celebration of dismemberment.

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Thursday, June 18 2009

The New Games Journalism

The most useful moments for New Games Journalists are ones that occur in multiplayer, describing experiences that could never occur during just a general session of play.

Wednesday, May 27 2009

Remembering the Orphan: Final Fantasy VIII

Warts and all, the ambitious push to expand video game storytelling found in Final Fantasy VIII deserves a closer look at this too-often neglected franchise entry.

Friday, April 24 2009

Reinventing the Music Box (Again)

FM3 updated its minimalist masterpiece to include new loops and a fun new pitch controller. But where does this progression stop, and what does it mean to the Buddha Machine's reputation as an instrument of simplicity?

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Thursday, May 28 2009

King’s Quest VI

Sixteen years after its release, King's Quest VI it is still one of the high water marks of the adventure game genre.

Friday, May 1 2009

Like Movies—with Buttons

Like Edwin S. Porter realizing that a series of shots was how you structured a film, games have to abandon the presumption that they need to obey a linear narrative or controlled message and just let the player loose.

Thursday, April 2 2009

Far Cry 2: The Heart of Darkness Game

This is a game that is incessantly hostile. It is constantly pushing the player to become more efficient at destruction.

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Wednesday, July 1 2009

Tuesday, June 30 2009

Moving Pixels: ZA Critique: The Path

Friday, June 26 2009

Wednesday, June 24 2009

Tuesday, June 23 2009

Moving Pixels: Why the Angry Face?

Friday, June 19 2009

Wednesday, June 17 2009

Tuesday, June 16 2009