Interview by Matt S. “Those that cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” so the popular truism goes, and traditionally it has been the role of the arts to preserve history and make it palatable to the next generation – thus providing that source of collective “memory” across…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Through the Darkest of Times is a critically important game that is so relevant and poignant today and we should all play it (and then be terrified by its implications). It’s the kind of game that belongs in schools and museums because the points its making…
Read MoreVideo by Matt S. Ghost of Tsushima is Sucker Punch’s latest, and it is a really good open world action game, in just about every way. Combat is fun and fluid, the world is a technical marvel to explore, and the black & white mode is a lot of fun…
Read MoreOpinion by Matt S. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That famous quote from philosopher George Santayana is of particular relevance to the video game industry. As the world’s most popular and widespread form of entertainment, video games have impact and shape how people view…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. I do like games based in real-world history that actually respect the history, and Paradox Interactive’s strategy games have been some of the more respectful out there. Europa Universalis IV is great, for example, but as great as it is, there are a lot of people…
Read MoreBook review by Matt S. “The hurt ones were quiet; no one wept, much less screamed in pain; no one complained; none of the many who died did so noisily; not even the children cried; very few people even spoke. And when Father Kleinsorge gave water to some whose faces…
Read MoreBook review by Matt S. “Without military power”, Japan’s education minister announced in a radio address back in September 1945, “we go forward with culture.” His comment envisioned the country’s peaceful reinvention via education and the arts. Finding quality accounts of the development of Japan through its modern history is…
Read MoreBook review by Matt S. Almost every single samurai throughout history was Japanese. That’s perhaps the most obvious thing a person could say of course, but by the time that Japan was genuinely opening its boarders to international trade and cultural exchange, the samurai had already come and gone as…
Read MoreReview by Ginny W. The sunlight is almost blinding as it glints off the rolling hills of Phokis. My horse, Phobos, has somehow survived a bloodless goring by a bus-sized boar who charged right at us while we were enjoying a leisurely canter across a plateau. Unfortunately, he’s nothing like…
Read MoreTravel by Matt S. As a very big fan of games based in Japanese history – Samurai Warriors, Nobunaga’s Ambition, Hakuouki and the like – I’ve always used my trips to Japan for Tokyo Game Show and the like to indulge in some history tourism. Over the years, I’ve visited…
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