Saturday, December 17, 2011
The popular pay-what-you-want bundle has never had a lineup this good.
Since first appearing in May of 2010, the Humble Indie Bundle has raised quite a bit of money for game developers as well as charity while providing excellent games to an eager audience at extremely low prices, and DRM-free to boot. The Humble Frozen Synapse Bundle from this past September actually prompted our previous article on the phenomenon. Regardless, the recent release of the newest bundle, The Humble Indie Bundle 4 (actually the eighth bundle in the lineage), bears mentioning. It also bears purchasing. As great as some of these bundles have been in the past, this latest package easily transcends them all. Owners of the Xbox 360 console should immediately recognize the presence of Super Meat Boy in this bundle. Famous for its …
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Slowly but surely, iOS and Android devices are seeing full-length, well-received titles hit the platform that have more in common with established consoles than what we think of as "phone gaming."
We all know the feeling: You're at work and you take a bathroom break, but you always take your phone with you. Why? So you can pass the time with a quick game of Angry Birds, that's why! Come on, now - no one really expects you to take a bio break bored anymore. For years now, iOS devices like the iPhone and the iPad along with a myriad of Android-based phones and tablets have successfully marketed themselves to the mindset of small-serving, "minute" gaming. It fit the medium perfectly with the hardware limitations of early devices in particular. Mobile platforms - especially smartphones - have always been well-suited to a game that was quick to launch, quick to satisfy, quick to quit, and finally, quick to resume. Idle time has never …
Saturday, December 3, 2011
While you're busy playing Skyrim, don't forget about these worthy releases on the other side of the holiday rush.
The Fall rush is over and the vast majority of the most talked-about games have seen their releases by now. Many publications have already begun tallying votes for their end-of-year awards. As such, while December seems decidedly quieter than the past few months have been, there are still some major releases trickling through before 2011 is at an end. We kick things off with another major Mario release for Nintendo’s newest portable console. While last month hosted the launch of Super Mario 3D Land to rave critical reviews, Mario Kart 7 is the newest iteration in the popular racing franchise that dates back to 1992 when it made its SNES debut (oh the hours that game stole from us). A major attraction to Mario Kart 7 is the fact that it’s …
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Here are some ideas to help put a smile on your favorite gamer's face this holiday season, no matter what their age.
With Thanksgiving behind us, the holiday purchasing spree is in full swing. And whatever our wishlists might look like, there's something each of us wants: to give gifts to our loved ones that they truly want and will make use of. These days, it's safe to assume that we all have at least one gamer in our lives that we'll be shopping for. In order to ease your gift hunt, here are some ideas that might help you scratch some people off of your list: Does your gamer play a lot of games on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3? Do they like first-person shooters? Do you hear Modern Warfare, Battlefield, or Halo at least a few times a day? Then these might be a great pick. Kontrol Freek manufactures extensions to the analog sticks found on the Xbox 360 …
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Infinity Ward sets records while Bethesda cranks out an early pick for Game of the Year.
One single week saw two of the biggest gaming stories of the year. This past Tuesday, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 released to millions of rabid fans who clearly couldn't wait to get their hands on the game. In the US and UK alone, 6.5 million copies of Infinity Ward’s FPS sold on day one, making $400 million in sales en route to setting a new record for the biggest entertainment launch in history. This was after the game had already recorded over 9 million preorders. The immediate reaction to the game, however, has been the source of contention in the gaming community. Metacritic is averaging a critic score of 89 for the Xbox 360 version, showing that most reviewers have certainly enjoyed what it has to offer. However, the user score …
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Eager gamers pack the sidewalks for the midnight release of "Modern Warfare 3"
Tuesday marked the release of the long-awaited conclusion to Call of Duty's Modern Warfare trilogy, as gamers of young and old packed the sidewalks outside local video game retailers for an epic midnight release. "I heard so much about the game and it sounded really cool," said Matt Blackenstein, who, along with his brother Evan and his mother Lisa, arrived to the Ralph's Corner Gamestop at 6:30 p.m. in order to be the first in line for the midnight release. "I played 'Black Ops' and that was a lot of fun, but everything I've read online about 'Modern Warfare 3' sounds awesome." Behind the Blackenstein's, a line comprised of hundreds of people wrapped around the strip-mall – well past where Clemens and SuperFresh used to stand. While …
Saturday, October 29, 2011
In celebration of Halloween, let's break down one of the most frightening games of all time.
Monday is Halloween, the time of year where everybody goes out of their way to be scared. In the world of video games, there are several places to go to accomplish this, but perhaps nowhere more effective than into the clutches of Amnesia: The Dark Descent for PC. One thing is for sure: The folks at Frictional Games sure do know how to scare you. And at a paltry $4.00 on Steam through October 31st, there's never been a better time to find out for yourself. The small-staffed indie developer had already flexed its survival-horror muscles with the Penumbra trilogy spanning 2007-2008. So when they said that Amnesia: The Dark Descent would be scary, many were inclined to believe them. It’s doubtful that many knew it would be this scary. Here is…
Saturday, October 22, 2011
There are a lot of big releases left before the year's end, but a few games have already come out this Fall that you should be playing right now. On the other hand, there are a few games that we'd expected to be great but didn't quite hit the mark.
The months of September through December are difficult ones for active gamers. After being spread out in reasonable fashion over the majority of the year, tons of highly anticipated titled are packed into these final months. We're now over a month and a half into the end-of-year rush, and while there are still several huge titles waiting to be released, here are three games that are already on store shelves that you should be playing right now: Gears of War 3 [X360] - Released September 20th Arguably the biggest Xbox 360-exclusive release of the year, Gears of War 3 is the conclusion of the famed trilogy of games that has provided the archetype for the 3rd-person shooter genre. And the critics agree: It's the best of the bunch. Currently…
Saturday, October 15, 2011
When one of the most influential visionaries in PC gaming is declaring the platform to be playing second fiddle, we have no choice but to listen.
The notion that PC gaming is dead has been kicked around for over a decade. Pundits have declared it repeatedly only to have games like Half-Life and Deus Ex re-introduce it as the evolutionary heart of the industry. When it once again began to lose traction, the Steam distribution platform made it easier than ever to find and purchase games for the PC without the hassle of manually patching them. By now, it should be obvious that PC gaming will never be completely dead. There will always be a place for it. Consoles are unlikely to ever have the level of flexibility to allow for the creation of mods or user-created content using anything other than game-provided tools (which aren't very common and often underpowered). Additionally, the …
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The season of blockbusters has officially arrived
Fall is here, and it brings with it the beginning of a steady stream of sure top-sellers in the video game industry. October hosts the release of id Software’s first entirely in-house title since 2004, a sequel to one of the most wonderfully sadistic games of the last decade, the Xbox 360 and PS3’s taste of a previously Wii-only dance title, the triumphant return of the dark knight, and DICE’s true sequel to their genre-defining FPS from 2005. It’s been a long time since id Software has developed a game entirely in-house. 2004’s Doom 3 was the last time that such a title was released. And with the developer’s track record of games that includes the aforementioned Doom franchise as well as several Quake iterations, a lot of gamers are …
David Powell
2:22 pm on Saturday, December 10, 2011
I enjoy "Tank Hero" on my Android tablet. "Space Physics" is also cool. I think it would be tough to play and enjoy something like a FPS on my tablet or phone, but I'd be willing to give one a try if there were a free trial version. more ›