During a recent trip to Japan, I encountered an arcade cabinet that many would call a gimmick: a rail-shooter with sliding doors, named Elevator Action Death Parade. Having read about the game earlier this year, and with it right there in front of me, I couldn’t resist but pop in a coin to try it out.

A pair of physical doors slide open and shut like an elevator, which blocks and exposes the play screen.  The doors get “stuck” and even shake at times in cue with the on-screen action behind it. Read More »

Simplification for the masses.

Nintendo’s doing it, catering to the casual crowd with its dreck for the Wii, and Microsoft aims to do the same with Project Natal.

“Blasphemy!” old-time gamers say. But simplifying things really isn’t so bad. Simple games like Today, I Die show the benefits of paring games down to their core, and by becoming increasingly accessible, games can become experienced rather than played.

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With patch 3.1 recently released, one question has been on my mind, is Wrath of the Lich King just too easy? After two expansion packs and numerous patches, there is no doubt that WoW has changed a lot since the Molten Core days.

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Retro gaming fans and jellybean aficionados alike rejoice. Today Majesco Entertainment announced a Nintendo Wii sequel to the NES classic A Boy and his Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia. The game’s development corresponds with the original’s 20th anniversary and will feature hand-drawn and painted animation technology. The game is being developed by WayForward, which developed Contra 4 and Shantae.
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Many would call you crazy if you wanted to start up a big project during this economic recession, us included. But when we first talked with Immad Akhund and Jude Gomila, co-founders of the free casual game site Heyzap, we thought they were geniuses.

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It is well known that the iPhone has already established itself as the cell phone for this generation. At the same time, Apple’s iPod Touch became the mp3 player with its multi-functionality, essentially an iPhone-Lite. With major developers and publishers forced to cut staff and fiscal projections dramatically destroyed, there is a new bastion for many gamers – the independents and the Apple Apps Store. Soma Games is currently in the production of G, an iPhone game in the same element as Gravity Wars.

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Alright, people… it’s time to face reality. C’mon, don’t look at me like that. We’ve all had to do it hundreds of times before (though in my case, it’s usually because the power’s out.)

This time around, however, I mean facing reality in a broader sense than simply turning off your console of choice. Despite our collective hopes and dreams, it now appears video games don’t exist in some mythical fantasy land untouched by the recession. (Granted World of Warcraft still takes plays in a mythical fantasy land, but just the regular kind.)

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The next installment of the popular Sims franchise, creatively entitled The Sims 3, has officially been delayed, much to the dismay of its fans. The Sims franchise has been one of the best selling PC titles since its initial release in 2000.

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