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Somewhere between a magazine and a blog, we cover all consoles, past and present, mostly by ranting and raving about them. A majority of our efforts are put into writing articles and editorials, but we do a review now and then as well.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'Editorials'
Fighting off the pirates - DRM points to deeper problems
With Spore’s flagrant copy protection causing a stir, DRM is once again the hot item of debate in the gaming world. I welcome any rigorous discussion of the topic, because while most of us will...
Thoughts on filler
While playing Professor Layton last Spring, I remember Jay asking me (before he had purchased the game himself) if it were true that the game was bad because 80% of the puzzles were simple, the kind o...
Gaming Community Rant
My last few weeks of gaming have been dominated by two downloadable games, Braid and Bionic Commando. While both playing each game and reading the discussions surrounding them, I came to a great pers...
RPGs are bad “games”
The JRPG genre is filled to the brim with games that are so ridiculously easy they are bad “games” - in the sense that a game is something you should have to play optimally to achieve success. Th...
Dual Shocked
Way back when the Playstation was Sony’s way of saying “fuck you” to Nintendo, there was the original Playstation controller. The method behind it was simple; take what Nintendo mad...
E3 08 - Sony Press Conference impressions
The major E3 press conferences played out the way I expected, except for Sony’s. Nintendo didn’t have much, and they didn’t really need much. Microsoft needed a fresh coat of paint...
Firaxis Rage
I love Civilization. I really do. I’ve been on a massive kick of Civ 4: BTS multiplayer recently, and I’m eager for Civilization Revolution, as are many of my friends. But I can’t excuse some...
Dyack takes on the world
Recently, Denis Dyack of Silicon Knights appeared on the 1up Yours podcast to discuss the current state of forum accountability, specifically citing the popular forum NeoGAF as a place that requires c...
Its all over: MGS4, or the New Gen?
As I feared, the majority of reviews of Metal Gear Solid 4 are disappointing to say the least. Unfortunately, too many critics are interested in remarking about the length and quality of the cutscene...
Video game plots must evolve
The importance of video games to human development cannot be overstated. I believe there have been three major inventions that have radically shifted the creative horizons of the human species and the...
Review of an Insecticide interview
Insecticide is a recently released adventure game featuring shooting levels. It was developed by a team composed of several of the people responsible for some of the great adventure games produced by...
The promise of motion control
Who wrote this unspoken hardcore gamer law that we can’t enjoy a game that engages more than just our brains and fingertips? Just because our hobby has been sedentary in the past, a lot of peopl...
The next gen consoles then and now
Folks, it has been some time since the "next gen" was actually the next. I think it is about time to call it the current gen, and on that note, I think it is time to re-evaluate the ...
Murdering children does not grant you magical powers - More thoughts on good and evil in games
I started to write this as a postview of one of my favorite games, Beyond Good & Evil, when it occurred to me that there has been a lot of talk over here at videolamer recently a...
I’m so sick of Noble Deaths, I could sacrifice myself for the good of others! – Part Trois
The only thing that frightens people as much as life without meaning is death without meaning. For some odd reason, we find it difficult to cope with the loss of a loved one to an ope...
I’m so sick of Good Guys, I could arrest a pedophile! – Part Deux
After my rant about the depiction of globally destructive forces of Evil in video game plots, I should like to turn my attention to the other side of the ancient coin: the Good. That’s rig...
I’m so sick of Evil, I could murder an innocent child! – Part Un
This post, like all of my ramblings, has to do with specific complaints about videogame plots and story premises in general. (Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep the use of the word ‘...
Am I bitter or have you not played enough games?
I recently played Assassin’s Creed and Mass Effect for the first time. Both seemed to be very good games in the ten minutes I dedicated to each (reviews indicate that with prolonged exposure my ...
GTAIV perfectly captures look and feel of fictitious city
When you get a postcard, do you look at the photo of the Grand Canyon or the Eifel tower or whatever and go “oh my god! It’s so lifelike! It’s like I’m actually there!!!!”...
Gaming Industry Advice from a Non Gaming Industry Member
Hey, that title looks like our slogan! This started as a comment to Derek’s post, but I decided I would kick it up a notch and give you all some Golden Jew advice on the gaming industry, if you actu...
You have to Burn the Rope
By now you might have heard of You Have to Burn the Rope, the flash game which will become a new phenomenon for some time to come (though likely nowhere near the likes of Portal). I’m not sure ...
Sins of an Innovative Developer
Sins of a Solar Empire is such a complicated game that I felt compelled to write an accompanying editorial with my review. Because Ironclad has tried something new and fresh, there are more ...
The PC gaming industry is broken
Lately there has been a lot of kerfluffle coming out of the Epic Games camp about the superiority of console development over PCs. CliffyB, as much as I usually admire the man, has h...
Finished with the Next Gen – A jumble of an article
I have had an Xbox 360 for about three months. Under normal circumstances such a short period of time would never be enough to wear down the novelty of this fantastic new toy. However, about...
Ziff Davis files for chapter 11, rebel journalists celebrate
So Ziff Davis, owner of the magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly and website 1Up, is finally going under. Last week they filed for bankruptcy (I hope you didn't have any gift cards for ...
Teabagging and Halo 3 – An Anthropological Study
The Muffin Buffalo stalks through the corridors and crevasses of The Narrows map on Halo 3. Quietly he roams, picking his targets and releasing them from their mortal coils. He has done this many time...
Microsoft lets a customer down, gamers let humanity down
When I first saw the headline of this story - Microsoft Erases Gamers Memories - I figured some kid drew a picture of his favorite My Little Pony on the side of his 360 case and Microsoft erased it. T...
What is a game, EGM?
It's depressing to see prominent video game publications play the role of the conservative establishment. Edge magazine recently doubted that games should strive to be more than simply games...
Video games as art: Passage
If there were any lingering doubt as to the status of video games as a viable art medium, Passage lays that argument to rest. I’m not saying Passage is the first inventive concept ever, no...
Hysteria Over Mass Effect and the Infantilization of America: On the Benefits of Exposing Children to Adult Material
Volumes have already been written regarding the recent clash between several conservative pundits and the gaming community over ‘objectionable’ material in BioWare’s newest addi...