There’s a literary device called the Deus Ex Machina (no, the game series didn’t invent that cool-sounding word), which describes when an author uses a plot device to solve a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story. It’s possibly the most difficult literary device to use, since, if you calibrate it wrong, it undermines everything you’ve done leading up to that…
There’s a literary device called the Deus Ex Machina (no, the game series didn’t invent that cool-sounding word), which describes when an author uses a plot device to solve a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story. It’s possibly the most difficult literary device to use, since, if you calibrate it…
Read MoreCivilization VII is disappointing. To be clear, this doesn’t mean it’s not well-made, and I’ve enjoyed it enough, but it represents the most radical change for the series in perhaps its entire history, and as someone who has spent more than 1,000 hours in Civilization VI, not all of these…
Read MoreSome of you are probably wondering: “What is a Sugoro?” Well, it’s easy to explain. Sugoroku is a classic Japanese board game where players roll the dice to move their pawns from the start of the board to the goal. There are many takes on Sugoroku in video games, including…
Read MoreHello Kitty Island Adventure is such a clever game in so many ways. Superficially, it looks like Animal Crossing, and will no doubt attract a similar audience for that reason. But it’s also a game that has an identity all of its own once you dig beyond the superficial, and…
Read MoreWe see a lot of efforts to take history and build a video game out of it. This year alone we’ve already seen the newest chapter in the Dynasty Warriors series. Civilization VII is just around the corner. Ubisoft seems to be in all kinds of development hell with its…
Read MoreI never thought I’d be playing a Neptunia take on Mario Kart’s Battle Mode mixed with Katamari Damacy, but here we are. The latest oddball spinoff for the most oddball video game properties is Neptunia Riders Vs. Dogoos. It’s nuts. It’s also wonderful, and really good fun. The story, such…
Read MoreThe recent passion for retro remakes has seen a whole host of titles updated and refreshed, though with mixed results – I’m still stinging from the disappointment of Bubble Bobble 4 Friends and maintain that Snow Bros Wonderland isn’t much of an upgrade over the original, really, even though clearly…
Read MoreLove Too Easily ties hard, and I’ll give it props for tackling an enormously difficult genre for the video game medium: rom-coms are difficult in literature and cinema, and both of those mediums are far more nuanced for storytelling that extends beyond physical conflict. Unfortunately, Love Too Easily also highlights…
Read MoreAll the best titles on PlayStation Vita were experimental little efforts with a lot of heart and very nearly no brand pull. The people who loved the console the most weren’t there for Call of Duty, God of War, GTA or whatever other big properties were turning Sony into a…
Read MoreI feel bad that this is going to be copy-paste review, but there really isn’t much to say about Donkey Kong Country Returns HD that I didn’t say in my review of the port of the game to the 3DS several years ago. I don’t think that this is a…
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