Articles

When folks versed in their good book go out to preach the word, they don’t want to hear about a different book you might adhere to. Tell the gallivanting doorbell sermon that you’d like to discuss the nature of their beliefs and yours – rather than having them tell you how unquestionably right they are – the look on their faces will then turn from being bright as the Sunday afternoon, to harsh as a wicked storm.

Now, plenty of gamers subscribe to their games as resolutely as the millions enamoured with their untouchable beliefs, and if you show an inkling of opening discussion over that which they love religiously, the diatribe is heated, quick, and cruel. But rarely is the scorn against your words. Rather, it will probably be against the number by which you sum your praise and criticism of the game. Continue »

After over a week of romping through Fable II we’ve realized that Albion reflects a solution to economic woes. Early on, the game lets you know that you usurp gold from your owned properties every five minutes, even when the console is powered down. It will accumulate when you’re not playing. So as you lead your current bankrupt existence, take solace in the fact that you’re always making cash… in the digital realm. Continue »

A skyscraper sized mechanical beast towers over grassy Icelandic hills. At first it inspires awe, since few games are rendered with such literal, uncontained immensity. But something is askew in Resistance 2, because when it comes down to the true sense of it all, it’s hardly impactful.

Playing the earlier levels of Insomniac’s latest effort left a feeling of indifference. For all its attempts at imbuing a sprawling scale, the highly deliberate crescendo of chaos generally remained at a mild plateau. Much is going on, most of it blurred together. Continue »

It starts with a heavy boot sinking into ashen, damp sand. Despite the cold and alien landscape, this is a battle with a distinct familiarity: it’s harkening back, drawing inspiration, and twisting it in a new light. If you haven’t already sensed it, Killzone 2 is oddly recognizable. The vivid, iconic imagery of war parallels great battles from the past, and, of course, the games they inspired. But rather than being wholly derivative of what it so explicitly admires, the enormity of developer Guerilla Games’ vision puts it a cut above the rest. Continue »

An umbrella, to say the least, is an interesting parting gift after a sleek, stylish and classy gaming event. Seeing as no precipitation was in the forecast, perhaps Sony felt that any smidgen of sun would shrivel the pasty Canadian gaming press. Or maybe it’s a message that we should all use that proverbial umbrella to weather out the storm of games that looms upon us this autumn.

Shame that it’s all so appealing though, I might have brave the rain.

The annual Playstation Holiday Preview Event was held in a posh, brightly lit studio turned media venue in downtown Toronto yesterday, complete with an affluent source of drinks, and, more importantly, an avalanche of new titles. Here’s a look at the games that received briefer playtimes. Lengthier ones will get the full preview treatment soon, namely Killzone 2 and Resistance 2, so stay tuned. Continue »

This week was a bit of dry spell. But lately, doorsteps and inboxes have been flooded with games. Here is what’s coming up:

Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway

Little Big Planet Beta

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Rock Band 2

Well, this never happens. EA’s fresh survival horror IP, Dead Space, has been bumped up to October 14th for the Xbox 360 and PS3. First announced to ship day and date on Halloween, then pushed forward to the 21st, and now this; the release plans have been strange to say the least.

Development teams are almost always hitting a massive crunch before a looming date, but maybe Dead Space is all but done at this point. It seems like a possibility. And EA has put a lot of confidence — perhaps too presumptuously — in its broad sci-fi universe; with animated comics and even a feature length animated film. In this industry good release news is odd, especially when a new IP is being treated so well. Let’s have more of it.