After playing the beta of Tom Clancy’s The Division, I previously wrote about my experiences with the PVP-enabled Dark Zone area, and the design flaw that is forcing players uninterested in PVP to engage in it if they want the full experience of the game. Now with the full release, I still stand by my …
The best loot-based games understand the addictive cyclical nature of finding better gear and using it to improve your character in order to, well, find better gear. While The Division certainly isn’t without flaws, it absolutely understands how satisfying it is to finally find that high-end drop you’ve been looking for. Set in post viral …
In an era where video games (primarily those in ongoing franchises) are becoming more monotonous and studios elect to rehash the same properties over and over again, Ubisoft’s Far Cry Primal is the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Sure enough, that light isn’t always clearly luminous, somewhat muddied by its own ambitions …
I will confess, Tom Clancy’s The Division probably wasn’t made for someone like me. I’m typically a solo gamer with the occasional cooperative excursion when my friends’ schedules actually match up for once, someone who is much more interested in exploring and going at my own pace through a story with a distinct beginning and …
Ever since the release of the original Super Mario Bros. 30 years ago, Mario has regularly and persistently found himself at the top of the platforming heap. Oh sure, there’s been some competition: a Sonic the Hedgehog here, a Crash Bandicoot there, even the occasional Banjo-Kazooie or Bubsy (wait, scratch that last one). None of them have lasted for long against the venerable plumber …
Kingdom Hearts has a way of telling complex stories that produce more questions than answers. As such, Kingdom Hearts games tend to run long. With the minor exceptions of Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days, each of the games has managed to build a strong fan base that continues to pine for Kingdom Hearts 3 (Before I die Square Enix, that’s all I ask–before I die). The longest game to date is Birth by Sleep, which clocks in at a healthy 45 hours of gameplay that purely moves the plot forward. That does not include any time players might spend mucking about with meld commands, building command decks, playing mini-games, or fighting in the arena. Players are willing to invest so much time in Birth by Sleep because although Birth by Sleep failed to pick up where Kingdom Hearts 2 left off, it provided players with new game mechanics that improved gameplay tenfold, and it presented three unique perspectives on the events that lead to Kingdom Hearts.
In gaming, journeys begin with the single press of a button. Should a game fail to capture a player’s attention, their audience will not hesitate to stop the game and never return. This unfortunate turn of events essentially leaves untold numbers of characters trapped in suspended animation, never knowing the outcome of their quest.
Like ABC’s Once Upon a Time on acid, Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us tells an intricate and involving story of fairy tale and urban legend characters who have been cast out of their fantastic realm and into our world. Set primarily around a series of horrific murders, and the consequences they have on this secret community, The Wolf Among Us employs Telltale’s now signature style of cause and effect storytelling to its greatest capacity yet. Based on the comic series Fables, The Wolf Among Us is a chilling and engrossing neo-noir, and stylistically the coolest game in years.
Due to its propensity for conflict, war has long been a popular backdrop for video games but never has it been seen like this. Filled with humanity, sorrow, and honesty, Valiant Hearts: The Great War uses the true history of World War I to weave together the stories of its protagonists (ranging from a German soldier, to a French POW, to a Belgian combat nurse). The gorgeous graphics, evolving gameplay, and original design only serve to make the experience offered here more enticing. Thoroughly moving and steeped with loss, Valiant Hearts is not a game you will soon forget.
While gamers could be forgiven for being a little trepidatious at the prospect of the Walking Dead series continuing without most of its main cast from the first volume, luckily those concerns turned out to be needless. The second season in Telltale’s zombie anthology focuses on Clementine, the most vulnerable of its cast of characters, and uses her vulnerability as the narrative crux of the plot.
This year’s E3 had a lot to like. We had more glimpses of the return of both Nathan Drake and Master Chief. We had the continued rise of the indie developer, showing fantastic stuff like No Man’s Sky and Inside. We had Nintendo finally delivering a strong showing – Zelda! Splatoon! Captain Toad! – with a pre-recorded event that arguably trumped both Sony and Microsoft’s live offerings (it was certainly a hell of a lot more fun – the Iwata/Reggie face off eliciting genuine laughs rather than awkward groans).
After steadily working your way across the bare map, you’ve finally reached it. You’ve dodged enemies, commandeered vehicles, maybe even taken part in a spot of violence to get here. But you don’t mind the long slog, because you know that in a few minutes you’ll have a fast travel point unlocked. You just need …
Within the evolution of gaming, there are certain telltale signs that games of a specific genre have reached the pinnacle of their existence and will see minimal improvements from that point on. Oftentimes we can predict when gaming genres will reach this peak simply by looking at how complex the goal of the game is. …
Australian publication Ninemsn – a joint venture between Microsoft and Aussie entertainment company Nine – don’t cover video games. They do movies and music, but that’s about as close as they get. So it’s understandable that they were rather mystified when they received a black box delivered to their office, complete with PIN number and …
For fans of the show, South Park: Stick of Truth is a necessary addition to their gaming library. Plenty of video games attempt to capture the spirit of a television show or movie, but none has been as successful as Stick of Truth.