Retro Reflections by Matt S. Back in 2001, when the first The Lord of the Rings film was released to cinemas, the world got hit with a new wave of complete love and fascination for J.R.R. Tolkien and his brilliant, important, fantasy masterpiece. Suddenly people were re-discovering the books all…
Read MoreReview by Brad L. Philosopher George Santayana once mused “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I swear Santayana somehow predicted Double Dragon IV. A myriad of games looking to replicate the glory days of the Nintendo Entertainment System have come and come again, like a…
Read MoreRetro reflections by Matt S. As most readers know by now, I’m a great fan of the fantasy Middle East. One of the first games I played that really captured the exotic magic of that setting was Al-Qadim: Genie’s Curse, and to this day, with a setting as criminally underused…
Read MorePreview by Harvard L. Here’s a PSA to all game designers and people with an interest in balancing game systems – play Card Quest. It’s a humble little Early Access card battle/strategy RPG combat game with some immensely elegant mechanics that lend themselves to compulsive, satisfying play sessions. I really…
Read MoreGame Theory by Matt S. Final Fantasy isn’t a game that people generally cite as an example of philosophical depth. Indeed, most people don’t see it as much of anything; it’s rarely considered a “great” Final Fantasy game, and very rarely played except by the purists and franchise historians. And…
Read MoreWe have a bit of a different episode for the Digitally Uploaded podcast this week; it’s all about the Internet Archive and the games it stores on its digital database. Matt C, Matt S and James all picked a game from the Internet Archive to play, and reflect on in…
Read MoreRetro reflections by Matt S. When I was a real youngster, before I had even really started playing video games (I didn’t yet have my first console – a Game Boy – and though the family had a Commodore 64, I very rarely used it), I discovered a box that…
Read MoreReview by Jim S. Wild Guns: Reloaded is a remake of a game from back on the Super Nintendo, which is unusual in itself, as most remakes are focused on newer games from PS2 and later. But, I do like that Natsume has gone back farther and brought back this…
Read MoreReview by Nicktatorship. Bard’s Gold is acutely aware of what it is – not exactly a love letter to platformers of the early nineties, but a jaunt into a pseudo-relic of the era. It delivers an exacting feel of the time, to those that missed out on its ludic cousins…
Read MoreRetro reflections by Matt S. My family generally ends up playing a fair few games over Christmas. Not just video games, mind you, but board games too, and as a bonding experience it’s hard to go past either. I have unforgettable memories of intense games of everything from the classic…
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