Backhand of Justice

Arcades were once great gaming meccas. Kids from across the neighborhood would converge to spend many quarters and hours on their favorite hobby. Back then, videogames were a social hobby, as you would encounter countless kids with whom you had a common interest while waiting for the next game.

While the home console changed the face of gaming forever in primarily positive ways, one negative side effect was the death of the arcade and the emergence of the fat loner slob videogame stereotype. Can new 3D games reinvigorate the arcade scene? read more

Self-described videogame connoisseurs have long claimed that graphics don’t matter. ‘It’s all about the gameplay, obsession with graphics is for immature plebeians who can’t recognize real quality!’

This is a ridiculous notion. Videogames aren’t merely about the story or the gameplay; they’re about the total experience. A big budget film like Avatar can offer a different and equally valuable experience as a small art house film, and a graphically stunning videogame can offer the same.  read more

Gamers expect a constant progression of technology. In just 3 decades, games have evolved from primitive black and white graphics to the extremely lifelike presentation seen in Uncharted 2 and Heavy Rain.

Developers can’t possibly keep pace with the acceleration of technology given its current trend. What can be done to help them out? read more

Dragon Age had many skeptics pre-release. It was seen as a throwback niche product, attuned to hardcore RPG fanatics that were hidden in some dungeon somewhere, rolling dice for the last decade. An antiquated, hardcore RPG couldn’t really be successful in today’s sophisticated and streamlined market, could it?

Now that we know Dragon Age sold 3.2mm copies since its release date, putting it on pace for over 5 million, we have to ask whether there are any niche products anymore. I believe there’s no good product that won’t find an audience. If your game doesn’t sell well, it’s probably because it was crap, not because there’s some missing audience for your phenomenal game.     read more

Bioware has announced that only Mass Effect 2 saves in which Shepard survives the ending can be imported into Mass Effect 3. Considering the trilogy is Shepard’s story, this is understandable. 

Will restrictions like these eventually cripple the breadth of choice available in a game like Mass Effect 2? Choose your own adventure novels are frequently crap because it’s hard to develop a compelling multi-thread storyline, after all. read more

Game consoles have historically had representative mascots: Nintendo has Mario, Sega had Sonic and Sony has uh … Crash Bandicoot? Ok, forget Sony.

Game designers have tried to manufacture mascots, and forgotten mascots are continually brought back to life, such as the recently announced Sonic 4 in a desperate attempt to take advantage of a preexisting fan base. This is foolish; game mascots don’t become or remain popular because of some easily identifiable character design, that’s a thing of the past. All it takes today is a high quality game. read more

Every serious gamer has a collection of old games, whether it’s dusty SNES cartridges lined up on a bookcase somewhere, or PS1 discs sealed away in a binder. While nobody remembers what connector is required to hook up an original NES to a TV, or even whether that technology exists anymore, that physical reassurance is there. Worst case scenario, emulators for old games are widely available online.

With the news that Halo 2 online is shutting down, however, we have to come to terms with the idea that online games, no matter how popular, will not survive the test of time. Even the Modern Warfare 2 and World of Warcraft’s of the world will be condemned to obscurity once that online experience can no longer be replicated. read more

Dante’s Inferno is probably an OK game. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s trendy to criticize EA’s grand vision of The Divine Comedy as an exploitative debacle. If you focus on just the story, that’s probably fair. What I don’t understand is why everybody is so critical of its gameplay without even having played it.

The term ‘God of War ripoff’ has been thrown around liberally of late with the release of Darksiders, and if any game deserves it, it’s Dante’s Inferno. That being said, why does that make it a bad game? Why does everybody say ‘Just wait for God of War III, that game is going to be awesome!’ Does a game get a free pass on repetitiveness just because it’s part of the franchise which originated its style of gameplay? read more

Ignore the inflammatory headline; the answer is clearly yes. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s happening much  more slowly than I would have imagined.

Steam announced its ‘impressive’ subscriber figures of 25 million last week. While total sales up 225% in 2009 sounds impressive, it’s actually quite pathetic. Going to the store involves tiresome walking. Why aren’t more people downloading games? read more

It’s finally happened: my computer has fallen behind the curve. What was once a proud and powerful machine has been beaten into submission by new games. Dragon Age bloodied its lip; Mass Effect 2 delivered the deathblow.  read more