Possible News on Half-Life 3?

Last Friday, Seven Day Cooldown podcast interviewers Jack Inacker and Mitch Fryman got the chance to talk to Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve. Read On »

Book Report – Sisterhood of Dune

People who are familiar with Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction masterpiece Dune will undoubtedly know about a few organizations; The Bene Gesserit, the Swordmasters, the Mentats, the Spacing Guild – even anyone who’s seen any of the film versions should be able to recall their importance.

In the world of Dune, these societies act as a backdrop, an Establishment the book’s hero subverts.

However, in Sisterhood of Dune, Kevin J. Anderson, prolific author of spin-off and tie-in novelizations in many popular science fiction IPs, and Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert’s son and auteur of the Dune expanded universe, attempt to anchor the creation of these institutions some 10,000 years before the events of the original story.   Sisterhood is the first novel in the Schools of Dune trilogy. Read On »

Book Report – The Thirteen Hallows

In Britain, there are thirteen powerful, magical artifacts, called the Hallows, that are solely responsible for keeping a race of hungry demonic beings at bay.  Poised on the borders of the Otherworld and itching for a chance to devour the unsuspecting, apathetic denizens of modern Britain, these beings are simply biding their time while other forces maneuver to let them in.  It certainly doesn’t help that the Keepers of the artifacts are pensioners nearing the edge of their lives.

Things are looking grim in Britain these days. Read On »

Call of Duty: Well Developed or Well Marketed?

Call of Duty is a gaming powerhouse.  An instantly recognized name that attracts millions of gamers with every release, earning accolades from players and critics alike.  It’s arguably the most well-known franchise on the market today, able to attract and keep a diverse and dedicated fanbase.

But is it really as good as all that?  Call of Duty, despite its mammoth popularity, is a franchise that has offered little to the industry as a whole.  Though its sales figures are enviable, other first-person shooters surpass it in terms of gameplay variability, technological progression, and storytelling ability.  Call of Duty is, at its core, a ten-year-old game wrapped in a modern package. Read On »