Violence and conflict have always been fundamental in video games. As video games became defined by win and loss states, violence and death followed suit. Twenty years ago, early ultra-violent titles such as “Doom” and “Wolfenstein 3D” took a heavy share of the market. Even classic nonshooter games such as Read More…
The first trailer released for this game came out in November 2011, and since that time, the Internet has exploded into a frenzy of Grand Theft Auto V news. Various YouTube channels and entire websites have developed as a result of the massive hype and high expectations of this game. Now that the Read More…
Fighting games have notoriously hard learning curves. Unless you and a friend are willing to spend time learning complicated systems, mastering perfectly-timed button combinations and constantly practicing against one another for weeks, most fighting game matches devolve into button-mashing and hoping that cool moves happen randomly. But “Divekick” removes all Read More…
Four installments in, “Saints Row” has come far from its roots as a “Grand Theft Auto” clone. Initially a “gang-warfare,” open-world third-person shooter, the franchise developed and embraced its lunacy, avoiding the path of providing “cinematic” experiences in favor of dumb, fun mayhem paired with hilarious writing and clever game-play Read More…
The “backlog,” in the context of video games, is the stack of games you’d like to play but just haven’t gotten around to yet. Because playing and beating games is a huge time commitment, backlogs tend to pile on and grow year after year, and having the time to catch Read More…
If there’s one problem with “The Last of Us,” it’s the game’s linearity. Once you’ve made your way through one section of the game — and witnessed the inevitable cinematic cutscene that bolsters the narrative between gameplay chapters — there’s no going back. The loot you missed is gone, the Read More…
In survival video games, there’s always a home base — a place to store your loot, heal your wounds and save your progress before venturing out into the darkness again. It’s somewhere to go, and it’s somewhere to be. It’s safe. Surviving in the gaming community isn’t as easy. Gaming Read More…
“Next-gen” means a lot of different things to gamers — and nothing at all, probably, to the uninitiated. It literally refers to the new “generation” of gaming consoles, but it also means growth and expansion in an industry marred by “sequelitis” and negative stereotypes. Next-gen was the unofficial theme of Read More…
The first time you do it, you’re not really thinking. You’re in game mode, trying to get from point A to point B, still adjusting to the unfamiliar controls. You don’t blink as your old body — the one you so carelessly swapped for that of a clone — crumples Read More…
Throw Trucks With Your Mind True to its title, “Throw Trucks With Your Mind” allows you to throw trucks in-game with your mind. Using NeuroSky’s MindWave EEG headset, which is noninvasive and does not require applying gel or other substances, the game translates your brain waves into inputs to the Read More…