Game! Magazine
Articles and blog posts submitted to the Hinge Inquirer Publication.
November 2013
Top 5 Weirdest Videogame Afterlives
Death is only the beginning.
Maybe it’s the Halloween festivities, the All Souls Day solemnity, or the fact that recently the Legend of Korra has been dealing with tussling spirits and weird dimensions. Whatever the reason, I feel like bringing up an old article I wrote for Game! Magazine back in 2010, about the way some videogames have portrayed their versions of life after death. Granted, this list is almost three years old by now and many many new games have come out since then - some dealing with the topic in their own special way.
6 minutes
September 2013
Playing games is the norm.
Here’s a picture of someone you may or may not know. On many levels, she’s just a girl who enjoys the occasional game of Super Mario, Pokemon, and Fable. In the photo, taken by the guys at roboticrice.com (awesome site, btw), she’s playing DOTA 2. Just so you know, she’s not a “hardcore games or bust” elitist either; she totes around an iPad ready to play Dumb Ways to Die at a moment’s notice.
4 minutes
July 2013
No, this is not Minecraft in Space.
Miner Wars: 2081
Miner Wars: 2081 is a six degrees of freedom (6DOF) space simulator with free-roaming sandbox elements. You operate an advanced mining ship in a fully destructible and open-world environment, which remains persistent as you complete missions or play online with others. It’s been a while since I recorded this footage, but it remains one of my favorite Let’s Plays that I’ve done so far. Unfortunately I never got to continue playing the game, but hopefully I’ll get the chance to come back to it soon.
1 minute
August 2011
In my biased opinion.
We’ve all played games that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Call them hits, killer apps, classics or whatever else you want. The fact of the matter is the impacts these games make on their audiences go deeper than any honorific some arbitrary organization can decorate them with. Here are some of the games that, in my mind, surpass GotY and secure their place in history for the years to come.
7 minutes
July 2011
Do the extraordinary.
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics are delivering the latest Tomb Raider title, which aims to show players a new side of Lara Croft; one tinged with the green shade of inexperience, inability, and fear. A young Lara, shipwrecked and stranded on a mysterious island off the coast of Japan, must learn to adapt and survive. It’s a completely new adventure for this Lara, who had previously only just graduated from academy.
2 minutes
June 2011
Free Frags For All.
Team Fortress 2, the critically- and popularly-acclaimed team-based multiplayer FPS by Valve, is now free-to-play, with no strings attached. Valve recently announced this at the end of its Uber Update, a week-long chain of patches which added to the already monumental amount of content in the game. Players who have already purchased the game received a decorative proof-of-purchase hat, as well as a ‘premium account’ status. This grants players who bought the game - be it through retail or Steam stores, or who were gifted the game before it went free-to-play - increased backpack (item storage) space, access to all item blueprints (full crafting options), and the ability to give items to other players.
3 minutes
Sorry, editor, for the headaches!
City of Heroes goes Free-to-play Free liberty and justice for all City of Heroes, the first superhero MMORPG to hit the market, is forgoing its former monthly subscription fee in favor of the free-to-play model so popular with every MMO that isn’t World of Warcraft. It’s getting a name change, too. “City of Heroes: Freedom” will still offer a subscription to players who want access to all the features of the game.
5 minutes
PlayStation Vita is the Life of the Party
PS Vita announcement.
Sony PSV. Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as easily as NGP did, and neither sounds as good as their predecessor, the PSP. Vita is what we’re calling Sony’s new handheld, and considering all that we know about it, the finalized name might just fit, as silly as it sounds. Its technical features are nothing to scoff at. Sony has already confirmed two analog sticks (not nubs), a 5-inch OLED multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, a rear touchpad, Bluetooth 2.
2 minutes
Hide your kids and hide your waifu…
Lulsec is climbing your Windows and snatching your data up. Following the much-publicized Sony PlayStation Network debacle in April, hackers attacked Codemasters last week and Epic Games was breach yesterday. In a non-gaming-related incident, Citibank announced last week that the credit card information of 210,000 customers has been compromised since early May. Bethesda is the latest victim of cyber security intrusions, and from the looks of it, they won’t be the last.
2 minutes
Still won’t stop screen-peeking.
So you’re playing your favorite FPS with a friend. It’s a versus deathmatch mode, and you’ve managed to stalk in from behind. Just before you pull the trigger or stab the knife, though, he controls his character to immediately turn around and manages to score a lucky headshot. Admit it, every one of us who’s ever tried splitscreen gaming has at one point during a match looked at our opponents’ part of the screen.
2 minutes
There’s a new Wii in the house.
There’s finally a face to put on Nintendo’s mysterious new console, first revealed in late April this year. Originally known as Project Cafe, speculation about its final name went wild, including suggestions such as the Wii 2, Wiiii, Wii HD, and The Mario Wonder Machine of Link and Kirby Happiness. Nintendo has settled on the simple yet ambiguous Wii U. Deeper and wider. Nintendo made a huge breakthrough with the Wii, introducing videogames to a demographic that had previously been untapped.
2 minutes
Sequel seeks to improve combat; keep gritty post-apoc style.
Fans of the Ukrainian cult hit can look forward to another waltz down Moscow’s post-apocalyptic metro system as studio 4A Games has confirmed a direct sequel, entitled Metro: Last Light. THQ’s Huw Beynon called the original game, Metro 2033, a “flawed masterpiece,” referring not to the studio’s ability to craft a compelling, engrossing survival-horror atmosphere in a post-apocalyptic setting, but to the lackluster, bug-ridden combat system. In a move contrary to what is expected of big-name FPS games, 4A managed to perfect the storytelling and plot (the “first person” part), but botch the core mechanics such as combat, stealth, and AI (the “shooters” part).
2 minutes
May 2011
Point Blank is coming to the Philippines
Bringing back the good old days
Introduction While gamers all over the Philippines get their FPS fix from the latest Call of Duty and Halo titles, one developer in particular has its sights set on honoring what was arguably the most influential PC game when the local LAN café business was still in its infancy. Though now going on 12 years, Counter-Strike and its prettier cousin Counter-Strike: Source are still the two most-played games on Steam, with daily concurrent users averaging the 50,000 mark.
8 minutes
January 2011
Game! Website Articles - January 31, 2011
New Kirby, Nintendo mum on new console, Pandora’s Tower.
Kirby Sucks and Blows on the Wii Kirby’s coming the Wii again in another epic title, but this time he returns in his former fleshy glory. Be prepared to absorb abilities and switch skins again, because he’s bringing back the classic power we all know and love. So far, the project hasn’t been officially named yet. Judging from the trailer, though, it looks to be the Kirby that we missed out on in the last game.
2 minutes
Game! Website Articles - January 24, 2011
US 3DS price, Wii teaches math, vintage camera app.
Nintendo announces US price of 3DS and games March 27 is the due date for the glasses-free 3D handheld, so if you’re looking to buy one at launch – in the US, at least – you can expect to shell out a hefty $249 for the unit alone, and between $39.99 and $49.99 for every game thereafter. For a handheld, the price is high but not unheard of; the PSP retailed for the same price when it was first out in stores in 2005.
3 minutes
Game! Website Articles - January 17, 2011
Wii loses Rock Band, Wii Fit diagnoses Parkinson’s, Gameloft accused of plagiarizing.
Harmonix cuts Rock Band Network support for Wii Newly-independent developer Harmonix Music Systems has announced on its forums that they will be dropping the Wii out of the Rock Band Network effective January 18, 2011. “Next Tuesday, 1/18/2010, will also be the last scheduled batch of Rock Band Network songs brought over to the Wii,” Harmonix developer hmxhenry posts on the forum. “With the smaller online install base, limited demand for releases so far and the significant amount of work it takes for our producers and audio team to convert and process these additional tracks we’re no longer able to continue submitting RBN content to the Wii.
4 minutes
December 2010
Game! Website Articles - December 27, 2010
Super Meat Boy can’t fit on Wii, Mario Sports Mix, and Lara Croft on iOS.
Super Meat Boy’s too chunky for WiiWare Those of you waiting for a WiiWare version of the hit indie platformer Super Meat Boy (that means you two in the corner there), save yourselves the heartache; because of the service’s 40 megabyte file size limit, the game won’t be released on Nintendo’s virtual store. The news came on Dec. 24 from Team Meat – the developers of Super Meat Boy – via their Twitter account.
4 minutes
Spec Ops: Gears of Duty? Call of War?
Spec Ops: The Line is the ninth game of a series that hasn’t seen the light of day since 2002. It’s a third-person action shooter, similar to Gears of War, but with a greater focus on squad-based tactics ala Rainbow Six: Vegas. The squad members each have specialized skills at the player’s disposal, though the extent of these skills has yet to surface. Players assume the role of Martin Walker, captain of an elite Delta Force team, on a mission to save one Colonel John Konrad.
2 minutes
Big games from small companies.
The past year has witnessed some of the biggest, most expensive videogames ever created, including Gran Turismo 5’s massive $80M budget and Starcraft II’s even more enormous $100M cost. 2011 looks to offer more of the same overwhelmingly high-budget titles. Here’s a chance to get a glimpse of the much less expensive, oft overlooked world of indie gaming. It’s been picking up a lot of speed lately, largely thanks to efforts by major digital distributors in offering venues for indie developers to showcase their games.
5 minutes
Game! Website Articles - December 20, 2010
Wii lineup, Wii modding, & an iPad game for cats.
Wii 2011 Lineup Next year looks like a slow one for the Wii, especially compared to the first-party-filled 2010. Titles to expect include de Blob 2, Conduit 2, Lost in Shadow, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, LEGO Pirates of the Carribean, MLB 2K11, Mario Sports Mix, and possibly the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - though Nintendo has yet to state an official release date. Note that this is not an exhaustive list.
4 minutes
Unfortunately, “It’s on like Donkey Kong” was trademarked.
Platforms: PC Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Retro Studios / Nintendo ESRB: E Official Website: http://donkeykong.nintendo.com/ If there’s one thing Nintendo does well, it’s taking care of their long-time fans. Get ready for a big serving of nostalgia cream pie, because the Ninty guys have continued in the same vein as the New Super Mario Bros. and the recent Metroid games in reviving their classics. As usual, there’s plenty of new flavor to complement the old spice that made the series so revolutionary in the first place.
2 minutes
AKA: The Legend of the Magic Smartphone
Platforms: PC Publisher: Activision Developer: Bizarre Creations ESRB: Teen Official Website: http://bloodstonegame.com/ Ever since Goldeneye, few Bond games were developed beyond mediocrity. Lately, however, the quality of games starring MI6’s superspy has been steadily rising. One may wonder if the new Bond face has anything to do with that, and rightfully so; Daniel Craig’s portrayal of the formerly debonair secret agent arguably translates into videogames with more fluidity and comes apropos to the genre.
2 minutes
Not your daddy’s Tron.
Platforms: PC Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios Developer: GameStar ESRB: Teen Official Website: http://disney.go.com/tron/ Any gamer worth their salt is wary of videogame-movie tie-ins. These games may have decent graphics and sometimes even enlist the voice talents of the actors and actresses starring in the film release, but more often than not the gameplay is lackluster. Notable exceptions include Goldeneye and the Chronicles of Riddick games, both of which are sometimes considered even better than the movies they were based on.
2 minutes
Sexy beasts.
15.5” Sony Vaio E Series (VPCEB37FG) If you’re looking for a stylish, sturdy, and straightforward laptop that features full HD and packs a Blu-ray Disc drive, then look no further. The 15.5” Vaio E comes equipped with all this and more, at a reasonable price per pound. With the latest Intel Core i5-460M 2.53GHz processor paired with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 graphics accelerator, it’s definitely got the power needed to not only run those beautiful BDs, but the latest games as well.
2 minutes
October 2010
Cutest game of the decade.
Platforms: Wii Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Good-Feel, HAL Laboratory ESRB: E Official Website: http://www.kirbykirbykirby.com/ Price in peso: P2150.00 This game can be accurately reviewed with just a single word: “adorable.” There’s so much cuteness going on in here, you’d wonder if the entire dev team was celebrating Bring Your Daughter to Work Day every day for the duration of its development. Unfortunately, since it simply won’t do to fill up this space with “cute cute cute, pink pink pink, desu desu desu,” a more in-depth review than “it looks like Yoshi’s Story” is in order.
2 minutes
September 2010
An idea too big to pull off
Platforms: PC Publisher: Stardock Developer: Stardock ESRB: Teen Official Website: http://www.elementalgame.com/ Price in peso: P2,200.00 ($49.95), P3,100.00 Limited Edition ($69.95) Not many people know about Stardock Entertainment, regardless of the critical acclaim the developer manages to accrue. Due to this, Elemental: War of Magic is a title you’ve not likely heard of, especially with it sandwiched between the releases of Starcraft II and Civilization V, among others. It’s also a title you likely won’t hear about again, because despite Stardock’s successes with their previous titles, Elemental: War of Magic just isn’t as polished as it could be.
2 minutes
Portable pwnage
You may remember earlier this year at the CES when Alienware shocked the world with its announcement of a 11-inch gaming laptop. The reviews following its release cleared any doubt about its performance, generally raking in positive remarks with relatively few criticisms. Chief among those critiques were its Core 2 Duo CPU and no option for a matte screen. Alienware took note of these points and decided to release a new version of the M11x, which they call “Revision 2,” or R2.
2 minutes
August 2010
Hallelujah!
Platforms: PC Publisher: Team 17 Developer: Team 17 ESRB: Rating Pending Official Website: http://store.steampowered.com/app/22600 Price in peso: P900.00 ($19.99), P2700.00 for Four-pack ($59.97, 4 copies for the price of 3) It’s been ten years since we’ve had a brand new 2D Worms game, so the new Worms: Reloaded by Team 17 - the series’ original developers - serves as a refreshing reminder of the simpler days of gaming, where the concerns were about how much fun one could have with his or her friends by blowing each other to bits instead of how high one’s graphics settings can be configured to without exploding the computer.
2 minutes
Kinect, Fable III, GT5, LBP2, Epic Mickey, Kirby’s Epic Yarn.
It’s getting to look a lot like the most wonderful time of the year once again, and you know what that means: holiday shopping! Astute gamers would know that these last couple months see releases that can completely overshadow games released earlier in the year, and the same can be said about 2010’s holiday line-up. This year brings a lot of exciting new titles to the table, and hopefully there will be something for every gamer in this list.
6 minutes
July 2010
Online Co-op Shooter
Game Title: Alien Swarm Subhead: Online Co-op Shooter Platforms: PC Publisher: Steam Developer: Black Cat Games / Valve ESRB: Not Rated Official Website: http://www.alienswarm.com/ Price in peso: 0.00 (Absolutely free, just download Steam) Fresh on Steam is the free-to-play, action packed shooter, Alien Swarm. Reminiscent of Left 4 Dead, but with a bird’s eye view of the field, up to four players each control one of eight characters in bug-infested, objective-based missions.
2 minutes