Anonymity is buffer for consequence. Perhaps that’s why in our era religious texts and pitchforks have been replaced by keyboards and broadband connections. Granted, we live in a time of donning masks: the lonely are led to Second Life, videogames imitate power fantasy, and intolerance is epitomized by a faceless crowd, who stare at computer screens and treat dissonance as a disease. Continue »
Too much of a good thing always has its eventual consequence, no matter how you shake it. A lifetime supply of a favourite food will either prove exhaustive within a month, or turn you fat over years. Everything requires balance.
I have the opportunity, owed to some consistent work on this site, to get many games without the need to consistently pinch for pennies. And, on one hand, that means my one man show can roll out the content carpet often. But, on the other, it rests entirely on my will to plough through and review each one to its fullest extent. Continue »
"This game is like attaining a state of Nirvana, within Nirvana" - A quotation predicted to appear in a 2009 game review
When an audience saw a reel of film projected onto a backdrop for the very first time, they were so taken with the reality of the illusion that they ran, panicked and screaming, to the back of the theatre. The moving image was that of a train rolling into a station; towards the camera, and, in turn, the mass of people in its path of motion. To them, it all but barreled through the screen.
If you frequent games press outlets upon the eve of a tentpole release, where thousands of smelly nerds wear down that F5 key at 11:59 for the long awaited review, you already know the likely outcome: Being told that game X will transcend review scales, be the best of all time, make the previous hyperbole darling a moot point, and redefine the gaming landscape, of course.
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Resistance 2‘Tis the season, says Soviet Santa. Expect those reviews within the next few weeks. And while you’re bored, check out our twitter for artefacts from the internet, among other things: twitter.com/OnlytheGames
When folks versed in their good book go out to preach the word, they don’t want to hear about a different book that you might adhere to. Tell the gallivanting doorbell sermon that you’d like to discuss the nature of their beliefs and yours – rather than them telling 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 »