Namco Bandai Unleashes New Trailer And Screens For Star Trek

Namco Bandai and Paramount Pictures today released a new trailer and screenshots for the upcoming video game based in the universe of J.J. Abrams’ hit 2009 reboot of Star Trek. Read On »

Details On Upcoming Star Trek Game Revealed

Today is a good day for Star Trek fans, as Paramount Pictures and Namco Bandai games released new details regarding the upcoming game based on J.J. Abrams’ movie reboot.  If you’ve yet to hear of the title, it is a standalone two player co-op adventure that continues the adventure of Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, and is being penned by BAFTA winner and writer of God of War Marianne Krawczyk.  Read On »

New Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Trailer Released

Namco Bandai today released a new trailer for the upcoming Tekken Tag Tournament 2. 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.

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 »