Top Ten Video Games for Kids

Entertaining, educational, high energy or great for quiet times, video games are the perfect way to give kids a range of activities. From budding Disney princesses to wannabe Jedis, there is a great range of games out there. Read On »

Violent Video Games Return Program Questionable, Flawed

In the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, initiative has been taken against violent media (including music and video games) in Southington, Connecticut by a group called SouthingtonSOS.  Entitled the Violent Video Games Return Program, the drive is calling for parents and their children to bring in their violent media for destruction.  While I’m all for cutting down on the time kids are exposed to violence, is this really the way to do it? Read On »

Looking Ahead to 2013’s Highly Anticipated Game Releases

2012 was full of ups and downs for us all, including our gaming experiences. Though many games like Guild Wars II, Mass Effect 3, Darksiders II, and The Walking Dead will be remembered fondly in our minds, we must move forward and find new ways to eat up all of our spare time. And here we are at last, in 2013. Will this be the year of the gamer? Will you close your blinds and immerse yourselves in epic battles and tales of fantasy, or will you lay down your controllers and keyboards in a fit of surrender, ever yearning for something more? Read On »

2012 in Retrospective: Year Of The Woman Gamer

EA suing Zynga, the Mass Effect 3 ending debacle, the return of the Master Chief – all of these made great news for the year 2012 in video games, but nothing could compare to the collective voice that was heard from the female gamer camp.  Read On »

Using Tragedy To Push An Anti-Video Games Agenda

We all knew that it would come to this.  Today, Senator Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, has introduced the first piece of legislation tied to the horrible tragedy that took place last week in Newtown, Connecticut.  It isn’t a law to ban assault rifles, or limit ammo capacities; it’s about video games. Read On »

#1reasonwhy We are Putting Ourselves in a Gender Role

Two weeks ago, droves of women gamers, developers, and the like took the initiative to speak out against gender discrimination in the video game industry via the Twitter hashtag #1reasonwhy.  It began when Luke Crane (a Kickstarter employee), queried the public with the tweet, “Why are there so few lady game creators?”  This simple question lit up Twitter with a blaze of responses, from both females and males, regarding the sexism and general discrimination that women face in the gaming industry.  I decided to take to Twitter and have a look at what other people were saying. Read On »

The Future of E-sports: League of Legends

If you unwittingly tuned into the League of Legends Season 2 Championship, you might have thought it was a major sports event.  All of the key elements you’d expect were present: the screaming crowds, the fan-made signs being waved in the air, the girls swooning over the competitors, the announcers dressed in sharp suits discussing the teams… But when you looked at the details, things started to become confusing. Read On »

Gearbox Does Good Things

I am at a point in my life where I at times find it difficult to believe in good deeds for the sake thereof.  I am inclined to cast a jaundiced eye upon such works as PR stunts, or anything but what it purports to be, which is unadulterated good.  In this world?  Please.  But every so often something comes along and proves the defensive stance of my ordinarily impenetrable Cynic Style isn’t without its weaknesses.  Every so often a practitioner of the Way appears and unleashes something so charged with altruism it should be preceded by ”Ah-tatatatatatata!” Read On »

Sony Missing An Opportunity With No North America 12GB PS3

Yesterday, Sony announced a new lineup of “super slim” PlayStation 3 consoles.  The CECH-4000 series consoles will be featuring a slimmer look than the current model available in the United States and Canada, feature a top loading Blu-ray drive, come in charcoal black or classic white, and feature a 250GB or 500GB hard drive.  In Europe, they’ll be receiving a different SKU that contains 12GB of internal memory instead of the hard drive (an option that can be purchased separately at a later time will be available), however, this model will not be available in North America, and Sony could be missing out on a great opportunity because of it. Read On »

Gary Games’ SolForge Gives Digital Trading Card Games Promise

I’m not going to rehash my love of Magic: The Gathering.  I have always respected the team which created something so simple yet so damnably addicting.  Suffice to say, I have many fond memories stemming from long games played down to the very wire.

I will pause here to honor my dear mother, who pointedly did not throw a fit one summer afternoon when I called and said I wouldn’t be home for dinner as a game, which ended up being almost seven hours long, played out.  Love ya, Ma! Read On »