Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has announced that the company is creating a new next-generation hardware concept called NX. Read more …
NieR – Gestalt & Replicant Review
Enchantingly memorable, “NieR” is a game not many have heard of—let alone experienced. Brimming with magnificently composed music, captivatingly developed characters, intricate attention to detail and engaging gameplay; “NieR” stands as a treasured adventure in the hearts and minds of those that played it. Read more …
Launch with Video Games
First impressions are everything. Recent studies say that with the right kind of eyes and knowledge of tells you can figure someone out within the first few seconds of meeting them. Of course recent studies is synonymous with “this news site reported this story far too early to know if the study is credible or not.” In the video game world where we fear meeting other people the closest we come to first impressions are a consoles launch, something we of the PC master race don’t have to worry or care about. Now, screwing up a system launch doesn’t necessarily mean the kiss of death, but it’s still something that should be avoided. As we approach the launches of two next gen consoles let us take a moment to look back on the best and worst of launches.
Ultima I Retrospective
Having garnered something of a reputation for himself in the still-fledgling computer gaming market, Richard Garriott found himself in an unenviable position: how to follow Akalabeth: World of Doom. While not the most sophisticated or visually stunning game made up to that point, Akalabeth was, as detailed in my article on the game, a game of considerable character and charm, one that had caught the imagination of many of the new group of people soon to be called Gamers. Read more …
The Last Remnant – A Retrospective
Japanese RPGs: they divide opinion, arguably, like no other. While any genre of game has its lauders and its detractors, JRPGs seem to have something of a bipolar effect on gaming as a whole. Offer one to a gamer and they will probably have one of two reactions; utter revulsion or eager anticipation. Few games garner such a cult following as some of luminaries of this gaming sub-section and even fewer garner such utter dismissal and ridicule from those who dislike them.
A Stick To Beat Gamers With
The games industry has an image problem. Some people may protest, but you know it, I know it and, boy, does the media know it. Computer games and, by extension, gamers are often derided in the general consciousness, seen as a group of social outcasts, misfits who just aren’t like ‘normal’ people. It may be grossly unfair, but the stereotype of a gamer who lives on his own (and he’s always male) or with his parents, doesn’t wash and doesn’t really interact with other people prevails in many people’s minds. In the mental image, he’ll most likely be teenage or early twenties too, sitting for hour upon hour at his computer, playing his games. Read more …