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 17 2013
Papo & Yo
Papo & Yo is an exorcism of sorts, a way for a survivor of childhood abuse to deal with his demons. This is a game as therapy.
Wednesday, May 15 2013
Eador: Masters of the Broken World
Eador's design is functional, but flawed, and the troubling subtext can feel alienating. However, there aren’t many games that fill its niche, so it’s worth a look at the very least.
Monday, May 13 2013
Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall
Daud's change of heart is disingenuous and a tool used to force the moral system into the downloadable content. Daud is an assassin and an agent of extreme chaos in the world of Dunwall. Players shouldn't feel guilty or be punished for acting as such.
Friday, May 10 2013
Tuesday, May 7 2013
‘The Room’ Is a Shining Example of Player/Avatar Resonance
The game drove me to complete it. Rest up and play a little more. Crack the safe, open the box, solve the… thing.
Monday, May 6 2013
Friday, May 3 2013
The Showdown Effect
These characters are nothing but an assemblage of a ludicrous number of action movie clichés and references, creating an iconographic superimposition of a character that comes from no narrative or definable place but that could fit into any of them.
Wednesday, May 1 2013
Darkstalkers Resurrection
The Darkstalkers series allowed Capcom to experiment without the risk of sullying its flagship fighting franchise.
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 24 2013
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory
There's an uncomfortable dissonance between the way the developers seem to want us to feel about the game and what we're actually feeling as we play through it.
Monday, April 22 2013
Hitman HD Collection
Few franchises have done as well as the Hitman series at getting better as they've gone along, and the history lesson alone may be worth the price of admission.
Friday, April 19 2013
Capcom Arcade Cabinet: 1985-1 and 1986 Packs
These were games designed to punish you, games that didn't care how many quarters you put in.
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.
Monday, April 15 2013
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
At its best, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 reminds you how skilled professional golfers are. At it's worst, however, the latest Tiger Woods title is the glitchiest iteration of a long-running, stagnant EA Sports property.
Monday, April 1 2013
Arlo’s Adventure
This doesn’t have to be a game for children of the 1980s, but they will probably have the most appreciation for what Cinopt Studios has accomplished.
Friday, March 29 2013
SimCity
While it's easy to look at and lament the limitations placed on your cities, the actual creation of your city is a very living and involving process.
Monday, March 25 2013
‘Tomb Raider’: Lara Croft is Reborn… Again
This story is largely told through Lara's body in the game, as we watch her initially stumble and fall a lot, scream in terror at what confronts her, limp wounded away from a fight, and hesitate to climb heights that the older version of Lara would not have even blinked at.
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.
Monday, March 18 2013
Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
In Runner 2 the story acts as a way to add comedy to the game's otherwise impeccable and impeccably frustrating gameplay.
