Response to “Xbox? Done.” – Piracy has a valid point you know?

Having just read this interesting opinion piece on The Escapist on the problems that arise from digital media I felt like providing some counter argumentation. 

Portal 2 Review – As good as it gets

[This review contains spoilers, so don't even think of reading it if you plan to play i!t]

Portal 2 is a game that does everything right, but your experience can vary quite a lot depending on if you have played its predecessor before. Valve did really the best possible job anyone could have done on a sequel of a game that drew much of its acclaim from an innovative and quite genius feature.

BioShock Infinite Review – The False Shepherd of Video Games

Shortly after I finished BioShock Infinite I somewhat foolishly declared it as the best game I ever played. I had convinced myself into believing that for a day under the influence of hype and very good story twist. But I wasn’t ready to really give an opinion. A week has passed, the hype worn off and I return to really think about it all. Turns out that BioShock Infinite is ‘just’ a good shooter with a better story that falls short of its ambitions. Mild story spoilers ahead.

Thirty Flights of Loving Review – Quality over quantity

Having picked up the latest Humble Weekly Bundle (which features games from Blendo Games), I knew what I’d play upon getting home from work. I’d heard good things about the game Thirty Flights of Loving, and that it was a rather short game.

It’s a story about a heist gone wrong. Something happens and you make your escape, but the actual heist isn’t shown. Instead, you have a Tarantino-esque stylish crime story shown in non-linear fashion. There’s no exposition through dialog or text in the game, everything is shown and you have to figure out what’s going on by what’s happening around you and what you’re doing in the scene before the next jump cut. This is possible thanks to imagery that we’re familiar with and associate with these type of movies. I’m not sure this format lends itself well as a general one for every kind of setting.

Dear Esther Review

Dear Esther is very pretty.

So…that’s all? Not quite. While the visual artistry of the island that you visit as the  unnamed protagonist is stunning, the goal of this game is to serve as an example that games can be more than just violence simulators. I feel that it would be more appropriate to call Dear Esther a work of interactive fiction. You traverse a mysterious island, and all you need to do is listen to the audio log like pieces of prose that the protagonist is speaking out loud. 

Bioshock Infinite – Immediate thoughts after the end

Don’t read if you don’t want spoilers!

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm – First Impressions

Having gone back and finished up the Wings of Liberty campaign, I was finally clear to move on to Heart of the Swarm. Like with BioShock Infinite, I shall write down some of my initial thoughts after playing the first 2 missions really quickly. Some spoilers ahead, so be warned.

BioShock Infinite – First Impressions

Attention, I’m here writing about the opening of BioShock Infinite, so there will be spoilers. If you’re anything like me, you won’t even want the beginning spoiled.

I have been waiting in anticipation for this game for over a year, ever since seeing the vision in the first trailers for the game. While I will write up a more in depth review of BioShock Infinite, I just wanted to log some of the impressions of the first 3 hours of the game.

Double Fine Adventure “Broken Age” makes me happy I donated

So after a year of waiting, Double Fine has finally revealed the name and a trailer for the fabled point and click adventure in the classic vein. The name is Broken Age. Having been funded on Kickstarter and, uh, kickstarting a whole wave of classic game comebacks it seems like it will be great and justify the faith put in Double Fine by the fans. I’m one of the backers and secured myself a digital copy of the game. Tim Schafer is one of most creative game designers in the industry and I’m a big fan of the classic Lucas Arts adventure games, so it was a no-brainer to support this game. As an added perk, as a backer I get to watch regular episodes of the documentary made by 2 Player Productions on the process of making the game, as well as interesting mini docus called “sidequests” in which the focus is one various topics involving Schafer and Double Fine. Here’s the trailer to Broken Age:

What strikes me immediately is the really pretty art style, and it really does have the artistic handwriting of the man called Nathan “Bagel” Stapley (@natelbagel)who Schafer explicitly wanted to give the visual direction. There’s also the theme of duality, of the boy and the girl separate plotlines that they’ve been discussing throughout preproduction. It’s fascinating to follow the making of this game, and gets me more and more excited to finally play it myself.

Visit the website www.brokenagegame.com

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain looks breathtaking

If you haven’t seen it yet, here is the latest trailer and confirmation that The Phantom Pain is indeed, Metal Gear Solid 5.