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I’ve been playing the 360 multiplayer demo of Bad Company 2 the past couple nights, and for me it falls into the category of being stupidly fun. Not stupid in a simpleminded way (strategy plays more of a role in BC2 than most FPSes I’ve played) but rather so fun that my enjoyment of it just plain stupid – how else can I explain spending countless hours on a one level, one mode demo, when I have so many other amazing games to play? More
I’ve been playing the 360 multiplayer demo of Bad Company 2 the past couple nights, and for me it falls into the category of being stupidly fun. Not stupid in a simpleminded way (strategy plays more of a role in BC2 than most FPSes I’ve played) but rather so fun that my enjoyment of it just plain stupid – how else can I explain spending countless hours on a one level, one mode demo, when I have so many other amazing games to play?
As I posted a couple of days ago, I have a lot of games on my plate right now. Make no mistake, all of them are in my lineup because they’re fun – I’m past the point in my life of playing games I don’t enjoy just because someone else says I should be playing them (the exception is when I’m ordered to by my boss, but at least I’m getting paid for that). But even the best games can have annoying elements, things we forgive because the experience as a whole more than makes up for it. What’s harder to forgive is when those same elements keep showing up again and again in future sequels and copycat franchises. Some elements even become cemented into the genre. Like auto cover. More
Even the best games can have annoying elements, things we forgive because the experience as a whole more than makes up for it. What’s harder to forgive is when those same elements keep showing up again and again in future sequels and copycat franchises. Some elements even become cemented into the genre. Like auto cover.
Playing video games is fun. And when you are having fun, according to an old adage, time flies. That’s really awesome when you play video games at work, but I also play video games at home. And like every gamer out there knows, playing games on your free time can result in not having a lot of time for other things. Things like spending time with your family. Or eating and sleeping. More
Playing video games is fun. And when you are having fun, according to an old adage, time flies.
Today during a random email chain discussing our game of the year candidates, I brought up a funny Flash game entitled Don’t Sh*t Your Pants…as a joke. It was only about twenty minutes later when I went out to the bullpen to ask a proofing question that I realized I may have single-handedly delayed our next issue from shipping on time. More
Today during a random email chain discussing game of the year candidates, I brought up a funny Flash game entitled Don’t Sh*t Your Pants…as a joke.
Authors go to great lengths to flesh out the worlds they create for their readers. For sci-fi stories, this often means creating terms for things that don’t exist in real life. Depending on the complexity of the tale, the amount of made up vocabulary can be enough to fill an encyclopedia. It makes a guy wonder where the writers get their ideas. More
Authors go to great lengths to flesh out the worlds they create for their readers. For sci-fi stories, this often means creating terms for things that don’t exist in real life. Depending on the complexity of the tale, the amount of made up vocabulary can be enough to fill an encyclopedia. It makes a guy wonder where the writers get their ideas.
I'll be honest: Before I wrote this issue's preview for Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow, I didn't know anything about the series. And after reading up on its history and some of the new additions to the gameplay, I’m still awfully confused. Rather than dig any deeper into Blue Dragon’s lore however, I figured I’d just take a gander at some of the character art for the game, and add some good old Andy Rooney-esque commentary for each one. Let’s begin! More
I'll be honest: before I wrote this issue's preview for Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow, I didn't know anything about the series. And after reading up on the history of the series and some of the new additions to the gameplay, I’m still awfully confused. Rather than dig any deeper into Blue Dragon’s lore however, I figured I’d just take a gander at some of the character art for the game, and add some good old Andy Rooney-esque commentary for it. Let’s begin!
Coming up with the list of the top 200 games of all time wasn't easy. Sure, there were no-brainers like Super Mario Bros. and Metroid that no one disagreed on. But other games didn’t fare as well. More
Coming up with the list of the top 200 games of all time wasn't easy. Sure, there were no-brainers like Super Mario Bros. and Metroid that no one disagreed on. But other games didn’t fare as well.
A week ago I posted a story to my blog recounting the trials and tribulations I went through to decode an Easter egg in Borderlands. It involved a QR code, a crappy cell phone, and some mad MS Paint skills. The reward for my hard work – the name of Gearbox artist Nick Wilson, followed by a cryptic “HO OH” – ultimately failed to justify the hours of sleep I had lost decoding the message.The story ended up garnering some attention on various forums, and the response I’ve received from readers has been a mix of praise for my dedication, and the unabashed mocking of that dedication in light of the underwhelming payoff. In essence, I set myself up to be laughed at, and some readers were more than happy to oblige. But after a few email exchanges and a covert, in-game meeting with Nick Wilson himself, it is I who shall have the last laugh – a laugh as maniacal and vengeful as one of Pandora’s deranged Midget Psychos. More
A week ago I posted a story to my blog recounting the trials and tribulations I went through to decode an Easter egg in Borderlands. It involved a QR code, a crappy cell phone, and some mad MS Paint skills.
So, I’ve been playing Borderlands a lot recently. I mean an utterly stupid amount of Borderlands. More
So, I’ve been playing Borderlands a lot recently. I mean an utterly stupid amount of Borderlands.
One of the most exciting modes in ODST is the new Firefight mode. It pits you and up to three friends against endless waves of Covenant infantrymen. If that sounds a lot like Gear of War 2’s Horde mode, it is – except Halo’s killer enemy A.I. makes it a much more challenging affair.
Like similar modes, the key to Firefight is teamwork, and although you know that every battle will ultimately end in bloody defeat, you don’t want to be the one who delivers your squad to death’s door that much quicker. Here are a few tips to help you do your part – they won’t make you the Master Chief, but they should give your score a healthy boost. More
These tips for Halo 3: ODST's Firefight mode won't transform you into the Master Chief, but they'll definitely make you appear less pathetic when playing with your friends.
For this month’s issue I did a one page article discussing the games of Facebook. It was the first feature I wrote for Connect, and in that sense, I enjoyed it. What I didn’t enjoy as much though, was the never-ending string of crappy games I had to play. It was like living in a bargain bin for DS shovelware for a week, while my co-workers played Dragon Age and Uncharted 2. More
After the inexplicable rage surfaced over the announcement that Valve was – gasp – making another Left 4 Dead video game, VP of Marketing, Doug Lombardi was quick to announce that the DLC promised for the original Left 4 Dead was still on the way. It wasn’t enough to quash the L4D boycott hosted on their own forums, but for those who never understood the controversy in the first place, it was icing on the cake. More