Video Games
Review: Mark of the Ninja (XBLA)
Stealth titles are not, nor have they ever really been, the kind of games that gripped my interest in any meaningful way. I have dabbled, and have tasted of their fruits, but I have never found myself enthralled. I dislike being forced into a particular play style by having a weakened player character, and I tend to enjoy the action and thrill of direct confrontation over the slower, more meticulo...[Read More]
Review: Legasista (PSN)
No company fills a niche market like NIS. Every esoteric taste is catered to and satisfied, and the PSN release of Legasista is no different. From the art style, to the over-wrought and cliché-filled dialogue, to the wonderfully androgynous characters, Legasista is not a game with broad appeal, but for those that crave it, celebration is in order.
Review: Dust: An Elysian Tail (XBLA)
Every year Microsoft runs the Dream Build Play contest, where game developers create or submit indie games they’ve been working on. What do they usually win? Money, and of course a contract to create an Xbox Live Arcade title. Maybe you remember a game called The Dishwasher: DeadSamurai, which was a previous winner of the contest. Many of the games that are listed within the indie section of...[Read More]
Review: The Expendables 2 (PSN)
Expendables 2, the game, approaches its existence the same way as its big screen namesake; loud, bloody, over the top, and with tongue firmly implanted in cheek. The formula is tried and true, and for films that manage to walk that line with the sheer confidence and joy of The Expendables, it can be great fun. Sadly, Ubisoft managed to only get part of the formula right, adding up to a game that t...[Read More]
Review: Hybrid (XBLA)
I have a varied history with shooters. I absolutely adored Rise of the Triad and Counter-Strike, and spent my fair share of time playing some of the other standards of the genre, but even so, I never once considered myself a real fan of the genre as a whole. Over the past few years, this has shifted somewhat, and I now find a shooter as one of my favorite games of this generation, much to my surpr...[Read More]
Review: Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack (PC)
Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack still holds the #2 spot on MetaCritic’s list of PS Vita game scores, and it’s a position it wholeheartedly deserves. Five and a half months after its Vita launch, Drinkbox Studios’ Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack is making its way to the PC, via Steam. I haven’t had the chance to play the Vita original, but from everything I had s...[Read More]
Preview: LittleBigPlanet (Vita)
Prior to this past weekend, I had never really played any of the LittleBigPlanet titles. I was always curious, of course, but for one reason or another, I never acted on that curiosity. I have now spent the last five days playing, re-playing, and creating my way through a preview version of LittleBigPlanet on my PS Vita, and I find myself eagerly anticipating its full release next month. The PlayS...[Read More]
Review: Rock Band 3 (360)
Strange as it may sound, my last real Rock Band experience was Rock Band 2 on my PlayStation 2 back in 2008. I enjoyed it immensely (I even lost my voice once doing Filter’s Hey Man, Nice Shot; I was committed to the song), but because of my wife’s susceptibility to Simulation Sickness (a kind of motion sickness brought on by certain video games), we ended up selling it due to disuse, ...[Read More]
Review: Dawnguard DLC (XBLA)
Show of hands: who hasn’t had the opportunity to play Skyrim yet? If you’re one of the unlucky ones who aren’t able to raise your hand to this question, then you don’t know what you’re missing…or you know exactly what you’re missing, but you just don’t have the money available to not miss it. Either way, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an absolutely f...[Read More]
Review: Inversion (360)
Gimmick game mechanics can be hit or miss. NeverDead received mixed reactions for its gameplay, and MindJack was destroyed by criticism. Inversion attempts to set itself apart with the use of gravity as a gameplay mechanic. Developed by Saber Interactive (known for TimeShift, Battle: Los Angeles, and for assisting with Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition) and published by Namco, Inversion is ...[Read More]
Review: Deadlight (XBLA)
For the past few days, I’ve been playing nothing but Deadlight, and I’ve definitely been enjoying myself a lot. Developed by Tequila Works and published by Microsoft Studios, Deadlight is the third title in this year’s XBLA Summer of Arcade promotion. There has been a major oversaturation of the zombie market over the past few years, but when a game does it right, the oversaturat...[Read More]
Review: Mad Catz Wireless PRO-Drum and PRO-Cymbals (360)
Drummers absolutely need one skill to be successful: rhythm. It’s a funny thing, rhythm; you either have it, or you don’t. If you have it, you know you have it. If you don’t have it, you either know you don’t have it, or you know you have it and the people who tell you otherwise are just JEALOUS. I know I have it. It’s what makes me a great drummer, an absolutely phen...[Read More]