February 26, 2013
One of the biggest money makers for video game companies is collector's editions. Generally, companies include a junky art book, a soundtrack, and some form of cheap plastic that no one really wants. The price is jacked up to an obscene level, and profit for the publisher goes through the roof. I even included collectors editions into my list of biggest rip-offs in video game history. However, some collector's editions have held their value in a big way.
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February 22, 2013
We've all done it - turned a seemingly benign situation into a faux-haunting, listening out for any small noise that might suggest we're not alone. This feeling of manufactured anxiety is where the free short horror game One Late Night differentiates from the rest of the genre. It takes an average situation and plays on your ability to create your own scares.
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February 22, 2013
Just this last Christmas, I treated myself to a brand new gaming keyboard and mouse. Razer is the Nike of gaming peripherals and I've never given their products a try, so I went for it. This article is no endorsement of Razer and their products, but one of the most interesting perks of owning Razer gear is a certain piece of software that allows you to help manage your hardware.
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February 21, 2013
I will readily admit that I am a Halo hater. I've played almost every entry in the franchise (except Reach, I heard mostly negative things from my hardcore Halo playing friends). I reached a point where I decided that the Halo franchise just was not for me. If, like me, you've given up on the Halo franchise, Halo 4 is the game you should give another chance, and here are the reasons.
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February 20, 2013
Behold, the eighth generation of video games is upon us. The Wii U has already been launched, with Nintendo dropping the successor to the Wii at the end of 2012. Sony and Microsoft will follow suit shortly, with Sony perhaps having unveiled the PlayStation 4 by the time you're reading this. By the end of 2013 all three next-gen consoles are expected to be out in the wild. The video games industry is at an important junction.
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February 15, 2013
Despite breaking the single-day record for sales of a PC game, at 3.5 million, I feel as if Diablo III has turned out to be a bit of a flop. The game had a rocky start with a release that was riddled with crashes, and a huge base of players have severe gripes about the game's difficulty and gameplay in general. Luckily for me, Path of Exile has just come out of closed beta and is available for anyone to play.
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February 14, 2013
It looks increasingly likely that 2013 will be the year when the next generation of video games truly begins. The Wii U is already on the market, but the signs aren't good for Nintendo. Early sales have been disappointing, and there looks to be little chance of lightning striking twice with the Wii moniker. Which leaves room for Sony and Microsoft to steam in and steal all the glory.
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February 14, 2013
Besides the platformers that Mario is known for, there are a ton of spinoffs that feature the famous plumber's name and face attached to them. Almost all of the franchises with Mario's name are of an incredibly high quality, so picking the best is no simple task. However, I have a great deal of experience playing all of them, so I am going to really think hard and choose the Mario spinoffs that are the top of the heap.
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February 12, 2013
Collecting video games is hard work. Sure, you can go on eBay and just buy up everything you want, but if you do, you will be paying full market value or more for every game and console you purchase. This is not the smartest way to collect, as you will be spending much more money than you need to. Instead, the best way to collect is to use your local resources such as pawn shops, flea markets, Craigslist, and if you're really lucky, Freecycle.
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February 12, 2013
Gaming is among the most demanding tasks a consumer PC will ever be asked to handle. Updating hardware is expensive, so many users look for optimizations that can improve performance for free. The truth is that many of these tweaks are barely more than snake oil. They rarely (if ever) work and provide little benefit when they do. There are just a handful of tactics that make a real difference.
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February 7, 2013
It's an unfortunate truth that the best video games aren't always the ones which make money. Essentially there is little correlation between critical reception and commercial success. The same goes for movies and music as well, though sites such as Metacritic have helped mainstream consumers make informed decisions in the entertainment field. This means some of the best games ever released haven't generated sequels, or, if they have, not for a long time.
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February 7, 2013
Video games are now commonplace, having grown from being the domain of the geekiest kids in the '70s and '80s to mainstream fare in the '90s and '00s. In the '10s you can play video games on dedicated consoles, set-top boxes, computers, tablets, smartphones, and many more devices I've probably forgotten to list. They're here, and they're here to stay, and yet the debate over whether they're a force for good or evil is still ongoing.
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February 7, 2013
After spending the last 48 hours passing through various airports, sleeping very little and being crammed into economy airplane seating I don't think I'll ever consider a career in commercial aviation. Jet lag aside, there are only so many impatient travellers and take-off procedures I can stomach in one week. I'd rather pretend with the aid of my iPhone and Pocket Planes, another of those oh-so-popular micro-management games.
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February 5, 2013
I recently wrote an article about the biggest rip offs in the history of video games. In it, I was quick to point out that Microsoft charges $60 a year for a service that simply grants players the ability to play games online and a few other little perks. Sony, on the other hand, has an incredible service called PlayStation Plus that costs $50 a year, and gives users some cool extras, while playing games online remains free.
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February 4, 2013
Room escape games are basic puzzlers where the objective is to; well…escape from a locked room by solving some sort of a challenge. The solution is the unlock key. You can think of room escape games as a mish-mash of adventure games and puzzle games. Solutions are not immediately clear, and you really need to laterally think your way to the answer.
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