Author Archive
Game On: Extra Life 2011
On October 15th at 8am, for my second year in a row I’m going to fire up my Xbox and embark on the Long Road I call Extra Life: 24 hours of gaming in the name of charity. I’m sure that once more, around the 18th consecutive hour of my unblinking eyes being seared by the merciless television, I will pause and wonder just what the hell got me thinking this was a great idea. And the answer will be as simple as it is cliché.
It’s for the kids. Read On »
Dark Souls: As It Once Was, So Shall It Be
They’re not ready for this…or are they?
As someone whose gaming career began in the days of the 2600, I have borne witness to a shift in the arc of game design. Now, most everyone will agree games are ultimately about entertainment. What changed was the root of that entertainment. Games now tend towards providing a bit of escapism for the player without them having to put much effort in. Think of it as an interactive movie where the obstacle, be it a giant monster or arcane puzzle, is merely a plot device moving you on to the next scene. Those who wish for a greater challenge have the option to increase the difficulty, but rare now is the game where the difficulty simply “Is”. Dark Souls, like its spiritual predecessor Demons Souls, is such a game.
Damn kids, in my day this was considered a mid-boss.
Some of you already get it, others of you require a frame of reference (due to my advanced age, no doubt) to really understand what this means. The entertainment value in many games of the 8 and 16 bit eras was drawn from the challenge they posed. Battletoads, Ninja Gaiden, Zillion, TMNT, Ghouls and Ghosts, Shinobi, and R-Type come to mind. Read On »
Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012: Summon your credit card.
In hindsight, I did him a favor.
I love Magic: The Gathering. The very concept of summoning minions to wreak havoc upon mine enemies while flailing indiscriminately with arcane destruction has resonated so strongly with me to reflect in my character choice in near every MMO I’ve played. I clearly recall trips to the hobby shop in Utica to stock up on booster packs and say goodbye to my hard earned allowance. Hot summer days spent sheltered in basements and garages, hoping that the cards fall just right so I can snag that rare my opponent was unlucky enough to wager. Good memories, one and all…except that one time I thought Dave was going to attack me after I won the Phantasmal Forces that he had just acquired…but mostly good overall.
So when Duels of the Planeswalkers dropped on XBL I took just short of a New York minute to buy that sucker and get back in it. For a brief while I was flying high on nostalgia and the thrill of battle. Being a sucker for straight-color decks Read On »
Put the Snake Back in the Box…
Dear Kojima Hideo-san, please make a third Zone of the Enders game. It is nearing the ten year mark and we have rumors, and naught else. Jehuty was so awesome I forgave you for Leo Stenbuck, the most irritating protagonist this side of EVERYONE in Shining Force Neo and roughly half the cast of Evangelion …And speaking of heavy-handed philosophy in a format unsuited for it using characters who only manage to make those watching… Read On »
Change your passwords…again…
An early-morning email blast from BioWare Edmonton notified folks the legacy servers supporting the Neverwinter Nights forums were, you guessed it, hacked. Roll call of the vulnerable info includes (per the email):
“user names, encrypted passwords, email addresses, mailing addresses, names, phone numbers, CD keys and birth dates from these forum accounts on the system may have been compromised, as well as other information (if any) that you may have associated with your EA Account.”
Anyone else a touch worried about that last line?