As with anything, when it comes to the gaming industry, there’s tons to complain about. Casual games, for instance. Or monstrous price tags. Just choose your poison.
But the biggest problem, by far, is that they’re too damn long. In this fast-paced culture, who has time for 20 hours (and upwards) of gameplay? We can’t even find time to cook our own food anymore, let alone churning through whole days playing video games.
Disturbed (and Loving It): Top 5 Games of Mayhem and Destruction
Someone who loves being disturbed? Don’t make the office uncomfortable, man.
Top 5 Game Girls That Could Kick My Ass
Psh, Zoey is so overrated…She didn’t hear me, did she?
Child’s Play raises $1.4 Million
All well and good, but how much more do I have to hear about these two?
Rumor: Mass Effect Trilogy Coming to PS3
I’d buy it… again.
10 Great Non-Japanese Role Playing Games
They’re still not as good as JRPGs.
Four things Sony can do to turn the tide for the PS3 in 2009
1. Figure out what Home is for.
Wii Crossbow
Wait, you want me to buy a crossbow imitation? Maybe those stuck-up politicians aren’t just blowing hot air.
Portal Gun Replica
One step closer to actually shooting portals!
The Producers of The 1UP Show form Area 5: Launch new show “CO-OP”
They’re back, and they’re still talking ****.
A Gallery of 20 Humorous Game Glitches
Let’s make fun of the game designers who skipped these bugs.
Casual Games, Gamer Culture, PC
The results are in, and it’s a tie. It has been an interesting research process, and despite my hypothesis, storyline-based and graphics-based games currently share the majority of Steam’s popularity contest. The PC gaming market is a very broad one, and good thing, too. It looks like every angle of research production (when done well) is given its due. At least for now. In looking at the top six most popular games currently being sold on Steam, the score is 3 to 3.
Casual Games, Diablo, Game Design, Gamer Culture, PC, Technology
Being of the female species myself, I find it hard to ignore the many discrepancies between mine and the bodies of the female characters in the video games I play. I’m not just talking physics-defying waistlines and breasts that make Pamela Anderson consider a training bra. I’m talking about the body parts whose illustration seems like it would be second nature to create. The most interesting part of this discrepancy, I have found in my video game travels, lies in the difference between the console and PC- based characters. PC –based games, it seems, have the female anatomy much more understood, while many console creators leave me wondering if they have ever seen a real female (IRL, anyway). Read More »
Casual Games, Gamer Culture, Nintendo Wii, PC
Did you know that there are some people out there who don’t play video games? By choice? It’s understandable, though. Jumping into gaming isn’t as easy as it used to be. Stick your grandpa in front of an online Counter-Strike match and he’ll look at the keyboard the same way a monkey would look at an algebra equation. And it hardly seems fair throwing him into the inevitable onslaught of spawn-killing delinquents. There’s hope for your Pap-Pap though, with the aid of the right introductory games.
Gaming Videos, Music, PC, Xbox 360
Portal has received plenty of praise since its release last year, thanks to brilliant writing, engaging puzzles, deadly humor, and an absolutely innovative use of FPS technique. It’s also the perfect length: long enough to fulfill your gaming itch, yet short enough to prevent repetition and boredom, and allow players ample time to bake Portal cakes, download Jonathan Coulton songs, and mourn their Weighted Companion Cube. One of the best uses of this free time: Trickster’s “Still Alive” typography, found on Vimeo and viewable below. This was a triumph.
PC, Team Fortress, Technology, Xbox 360
Ranking Valve games is a lot like ranking your own children. When people ask, you spout, “I love them all” or something equally inane. Deep down, though, you prefer little Randy and hope Sally is the mailman’s demon spawn so you can divorce your overbearing shrew of a wife. Note to current and prospective parents: Child Services frowns upon ranking children with a branding iron, especially when rankings are subject to change.
Game Design, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
There are few certainties in gaming: extra lives, “game over” screens, and saving the princess. It’s time to add one more to that short list. The addition of the gun from Portal would drastically alter any game (for the better, of course), so why not help struggling developers who can’t seem to come up with new game play mechanics? Here’s a list of games that would benefit greatly from the inclusion of a portal gun — GLADoS (sadly) not included.
