To be blunt, Mass Effect 2 is the game I have been waiting for ever since I started paying attention to the potential the games medium has for storytelling. This is a game that may very well prove to be important for many years after release and successfully navigates crucial territory in melding gameplay and narrative. While it is by no means a flawless game, and there is surely a ways the medium has to go artistically, Mass Effect 2 is certainly a step in the direction games need to go. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a tough one. Bayonetta simultaneously exudes a high level of streamlined polish while making the shortcomings of both the Character Action genre and Japanese design all the more blatant. I also find it interesting in how the game balances modern presentation with old-school sensibilities (especially in level progression). Though being a straight-forward single player Character Action game, Bayonetta has given me a difficult time in figuring an opinion.
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Taken as a whole, the past decade was pretty much a crappy time for everyone.  Starting with a controversial presidential election, ending with a rough recession, and underscored by a new age of Terrorism, very little of the 10 year span felt really good.  Hopefully the next ten will be better, but when the stage has been set so poorly in 2009 I won’t be holding my breath. Read the rest of this entry »

And so ends yet another year, and with it the obligatory top “X” lists that must dominate print & digital media- even moreso this year with top “X” of the decade lists.  Honestly, I think 2009 can go straight to hell when it comes to my work/personal life (some exceptions, of course), but the Videogame medium had yet another great year.  Perhaps it’s even more fitting that diversions like games have a good year when the stuff that matters is going down the shitter… Read the rest of this entry »

Verve claims, via the can text below the title, that it’s “insanely healthy energy.”  I dispute this claim on multiple grounds, starting with the term “insane” which to me indicates a degree of being unreasonable- unless they are being ironic at the oxymoron that is a healthy energy drink… I’m also skeptical of the “healthy” claim in that all this drink boasts is an apparent lack of caffeine (limiting the “energy” claim) and the addition of vitamins while still containing potentially deadly Taurine. 

It tastes like super-processsed (read: fake) orange juice and contains something that might be orange pulp but is more likely some kind of chalky substance.  You might be able to pass this off to someone as Squirt or even an Orange Julius.  It’s not a disgusting taste, but I would much rather quell my orange juice thirst with real juice than this.  At least the can looks nice, if a bit busy.  Not recommended, but not bad.

As perhaps the ultimate mainstream videogame of the last decade, (Call of Duty) Modern Warfare 2 is about as incremental an upgrade a sequel can get.  Granted, improving on an original title as quality as Call of Duty 4 means that the end result can only be a highly-polished revision addressing mostly minor flaws in the first game.  What developer Infinity Ward has delivered is a good, though very linear, single player campaign packaged with a fun mission-based co-op mode and its now-legendary multiplayer mode streamlined to near-perfection (for what it is).  Surprisingly, despite being in many ways the cultural equivalent to a summertime popcorn blockbuster film, Modern Warfare 2 manages to break some artistic ground for videogame storytelling techniques.  Read the rest of this entry »

My first inclination would be to describe Borderlands as an unremarkable FPS game with an eye-pleasing art style, but the fact that I can’t stop playing it suggests quite a bit more merit within. In fact, this is one of the only games that really “hooked” me in the traditional sense of the word all year. When all things are considered, you might describe my fascination with Borderlands to be a bit of a paradox considering how nearly every element has been outdone by other games. The only explanation I have is to file this game under the “more than the sum of its parts” category. Read the rest of this entry »

You can always count on Tekken to provide accessible and deep 3D fighting with a great cast of characters, and Tekken 6 is no exception.  Had Namco shipped the game with only the standard fighting game modes centered on the core fighting engine, the package would still be well worth it.  However, Tekken 6 ships with one of the worst single-player “campaign” modes ever bolted on to a fighting game.  The worst part is that in order to get all of what Tekken is known and loved for (the endings), diehard fans are forced to play through this tripe. Read the rest of this entry »

 Uncharted 2 is a tough one.  On one hand, it sets the standard for how a cinematic-style game should be executed and shows how a videogame should present a story that plays to the various strengths and tools the media avails.  On the other hand, it’s inherent videogame aspects clash with the cinematic feel it strives for, and also presents some glaring gameplay issues that dilute the overall experience.  All of the flaws of Uncharted 2 stand out so much more if only due to contrast, for it remains an incredible piece of interactive entertainment- just not the godly, flawless masterpiece all too many have made it out to be. Read the rest of this entry »

Brutal Legend proves that great art design, characterization, story, and overall presentation can indeed work together to make a mediocre game worth playing through to the end.  This is by no means the first time such a thing has happened (some could say the same of certain Metal Gear games), but Brutal Legend feels like there is a great deal of passion behind the game.  This passion even seems to spill over into the core concept of the gameplay which helps skirt the many shortcomings within.  Read the rest of this entry »