NeoPets Puzzle Adventure Interview
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Posted on November 22nd, 2008 by
Neopets Puzzle Adventure is an upcoming puzzler for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC. It features characters from the popular NeoPets Web site mixed with gameplay similar to Othello/Reversi. I recently got a chance to ask a few questions to Sean Epperson of Griptonite Games, developers of Neopets Puzzle Adventure (DS). Read on for some great insight about the new game!
Original Half-Life $0.98 Today Only
Posted on November 21st, 2008 by
OK, it started Wednesday, but I only heard about it late last night … anyway, this milestone first-person shooter is celebrating its’ 10th birthday, and as a treat, Valve is giving it away for the low price of 98 cents (get it, released in 1998, sell for 98 cents!). I had been working on a Retrospective, but let me just be clear – it was a great game in 1998, and it is still great now. The graphics have been improved through the Source engine, but it still looks like a 1998 game. The gameplay and excellent narrative style haven’t lost their edge a bit in the last decade. If you don’t own it – or even if you do but don’t have it on Steam, go here and buy it. NOW!!! EDITOR: Mike meant to warn parents that this game is rated M. It’s tame by today’s standards, I could see 15+ myself, but parent be warned. Half-Life is a horror game.
Good. Old. Games.
Posted on November 20th, 2008 by
I love truth in advertising, and the guys from CD Projekt (responsible for bringing us The Witcher) were certainly upfront when creating their new site. The European publisher wanted to make a site that would charge a reasonable amount and give gamers older games that were out of circulation in a convenient, DRM-free package that you can download forever. I *know* … so why are you still here!?!? more…
Mississippi Library Association Keynote
Posted on November 19th, 2008 by
Tomorrow morning I jet off to Jackson Mississippi to address a few hundred librarians while they eat dinner. I’ll probably be helping them with their game night too. To be honest? I can’t wait. It’s fun and fine to chat with gamers and gamerparents, especially at a place like PAX, but I can’t move people there. I can’t defend gaming and I can’t explain why I think it’s crucial that libraries be involved and make games available to everyone who can afford a console – not just the rich. If I can change a few minds, I can really help a lot of parents and kids. Thank you MLA for this opportunity.
Beyond the ESRB
Posted on November 18th, 2008 by
Recently, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (the body that rates the games) announced that they would – finally – add more detail about why games get the ratings they do. This is something I’ve been advocating for my entire career and it took them 5 years, but they finally did it. So why didn’t I post about it? Sour grapes isn’t the right word and I don’t feel slighted or wounded really – I’m just disappointed. Here’s why…
Mirror’s Edge
Posted on November 18th, 2008 by
Mirror’s Edge is the kind of game I hate because of how much I love it. (Portal is another great example.) These are games that thrill me with their style or uniqueness while making me want to break the record for how fast you can throw a controlleragainst a wall. I’m about halfway through and stuck in Mirror’s Edge, stuck in a way that makes me want to NEVER start the game again … but I know that’s not true. I’ll break eventually. Mirror’s Edge is too interesting and cool for me to be able to ignore it completely.
Pac-Man Christmas Ornament
Posted on November 15th, 2008 by
In my 10+ years reviewing video games for various publications, I’ve written about some pretty weird stuff. When I was writing for the Dallas newspaper, Chex cereal at one point included a prize in every box: a PC game called Chex Quest (a family friendly Doom clone). Thinking it would never be published, I wrote a review of it as kind of a joke. But the joke was on me because the newspaper actually published it and it garnered some pretty positive feedback! Later, when I was also writing reviews of video game accessories and gadgets, they had me review a PlayStation memory card that was shaped like Lara Croft. I mean, how do you review that? I wanted to say, “It’s the only memory card with breasts,” but this was a family newspaper so I wisely used some restraint. And then there was the time where I wrote The Grinch video game review entirely in rhyme. Well today I’m going to continue that tradition of writing reviews of weird stuff with the Hallmark Pac-Man Christmas Ornament!
Happy Veterans Day
Posted on November 11th, 2008 by
It’s Veterans Day. This day has usually been marked pretty quietly at my house. Most of our family’s involvement in the military was in the past and those men had passed on, so the bulk of our remembrances have been for Memorial Day.
But now my eldest son is in the Army, and has been through a tour of duty. His best friend is in the Navy. Among the gang who I used to clutter my foyer with huge sneakers every weekend there are two Marines, two more Navy people (both girls), and another guy in the Army. My brother-in-law is a Navy vet. Veterans Day isn’t only a day off school at my house anymore.
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Air Traffic Chaos DS
Posted on November 10th, 2008 by
Air Traffic Chaos takes the nightmarishly tense world of “pushing tin,” that is, managing giant aircraft with hundreds of lives at stake that are, at the same time, approaching, departing, landing, taking off, and circling above. It’s the kind of job that turns people into jelly or leads to early heart failure – so why not simulate it as the backdrop to a puzzle game?
Game Review: The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga (PS2, PSP, Wii)
Posted on November 10th, 2008 by
Arcade game maker SNK is best known for its 2-D one-on-one fighters. And now you can enjoy one of their longest running fighting game series with The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga for the PS2, PSP, and Wii. This collection contains five KOF games: KOF 94-98, along with special challenges and unlockable bonus material.
