June 2012
1 post
10 tags
Pros & Cons (Impressions): Lollipop Chainsaw
We are finally two weeks away from Grasshopper Manufacture’s Zombie-Action title, Lollipop Chainsaw. This exciting new title from the twisted mind of Suda51 focuses on zombie hunter and cheerleader Juliet Starling who fights off hordes of zombies in San Romero High School, which Starling formerly attended. She carries with her the severed, yet still living, head of her boyfriend Nick, who...
May 2012
15 posts
7 tags
Ask a Dork: Nintendo at E3 2012
“What does Nintendo need to win E3? What do you expect?”
Allow me to make an extremely partisan statement: Nintendo will garner the most attention this year at E3. We already know that Nintendo will be bringing a new Super Mario Bros. entry and Pikmin title to the Wii U and I think it’s safe to say that more of Nintendo’s first party IPs will likely join them. It’s been awhile since we’ve...
8 tags
10 tags
7 tags
Ask a Dork: Microsoft at E3
“What does Microsoft need to win e3. What do you expect?”
It’s difficult to gauge how excited we should be for Microsoft’s press conference at E3 this year. Unlike E3 2011 where new technology was being released (Kinect), UIs were being overhauled (New Xbox Experience), epic series were concluding/continuing (Gears of War 3, Halo 4, etc.), and the titular system received a sexy...
9 tags
Ask a Dork [Rebuttal]: Video Game Consoles as...
My brother Troy:
It has been too long since I have walked within the hallowed halls of this blog. For the last few weeks I have been content to rest in my seat as other posts went flying by. However, this recent post did not zoom by as quick as the others, and like a dragon flying unaware by me in Skyrim it unknowingly begs that I ready my weapon and let loose a shot (even if this may come back...
10 tags
The Cold Shoulder - Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
There are a lot of great game out there that are overlooked because they aren’t AAA titles, they’re made by an unknown developer, or they have a few problems here and there. These games are essentially given the ‘cold-shoulder’ by most purchasers because they don’t get the same level of exposure. A sad fact that I find absolutely tragic.
So why not provide a platform for these great games to...
15 tags
Ask a Dork: Sony at e3
“What does Sony need to win e3. What do you expect?”
Attending e3 is kind of like playing a game of cards; most companies go in assuming that their going to trump the competition with their offerings, only to find that the competition has brought the winning hand. So, what exactly constitutes winning at e3? Two things: blockbuster game announcements and upcoming hardware details. In the...
13 tags
Final Fantasy XIII-2: A DLC Love Story
Alright, I like Ultros as much as the next guy, but Final Fantasy XIII-2’s DLC is on my last nerve.
Let’s call it like it is folks, Final Fantasy XIII-2 was released in an incomplete state. So many questions are raised during the story that are never addressed and we are made to assume that they will be appropriately addressed via DLC. The only problem being that they...
13 tags
Summer Gaming List
Sunny days and warm nights are almost upon us. In an elementary school kind of way, I’d like to throw out my planned Summer Gaming List and I invite you to do the same.
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Skyrim is epic for sure, but you almost have to be an invalid to enjoy it. This game is a life-sucker. Due to work and life commitments, I’ve only invested about 5 hours into what is...
17 tags
Video Game History: The Mana Series
We all have that one video game series that draws us back for each iteration regardless of how terrible or ill-conceived as they might be. Some of you may return to each iteration of Call of Duty or Final Fantasy expecting dramatic improvements only to be let down, but I return to the world of Mana hoping for things to return to their original formula. To understand why early entries in this...
9 tags
Ask a Dork: Gaming Consoles as Entertainment Hubs
“Do you think that video game consoles should be purely gaming devices or all in one entertainment hubs? What is the line?” I don’t wear a watch, nor do I carry around a PDA or mp3 Player. To the same effect, I do not own a Netflix box, DVD/Blu-Ray Player, or PVR. This is not because I’m poor so much as it is that owning many devices to do many tasks isn’t as efficient or economical as owning...
7 tags
5 tags
6 tags
Ask a Dork: Gamer Preferences
“Do gamers like putting themselves inside action or do gamers prefer a more cinematic character based experience?”
[Originally written for nerdsontherocks.com Check out the site!]
Wow. This is a deceptively difficult question to answer.
The short and sweet response is that gamers enjoy both putting themselves inside action and taking in a more cinematic character based experience. This...
23 tags
Top 10: MIA Video Games
How many potentially awesome games have failed to see the light of day due to funding issues, perceived lack of demand, and censorship? Too many. Now, I’ve already droned on about my deep adoration for the fledgling Thrill Kill, but what other amazing games are we missing out on? This is a top 10 list (Thrill Kill excluded) of quality games that will likely never see the light of day. Much...
April 2012
21 posts
5 tags
14 tags
Top 5: Nintendo 3DS Games I'm Looking Forward to...
Announcement: I will be buying a Nintendo 3DS.
I’ve staved off any will to purchase one in the past, but the stars have finally aligned. At this point the handheld is finally financially viable and has a library to support it. It helps that there are some pretty exciting titles on the horizon as well.
With that in mind, I thought it would be neat to make a list of the five games that are...
7 tags
9 tags
Ask a Dork: Silent Protagonist
[Originally posted at nerdsontherocks.com - Check it out]
“Are silent protagonists still relevant in gaming today?”
The simple answer would be “Yes”, but I should probably explain my reasoning. Silent Protagonists continue to dominate a variety of roles, but not all of them are exactly ‘silent’. Several Silent Protagonist variants populate the gaming landscape today and it’s likely that...
12 tags
The Cold Shoulder - Binary Domain
There are a lot of great game out there that are overlooked because they aren’t AAA titles, they’re made by an unknown developer, or they have a few problems here and there. These games are essentially given the ‘cold-shoulder’ by most purchasers because they don’t get the same level of exposure. A sad fact that I find absolutely tragic.
So why not provide a platform for these great games to...
10 tags
4 tags
6 tags
Entertainment Consumers Association
The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) is the non-profit membership organization that represents consumers of interactive entertainment in the US and Canada. The association was founded to give gamers a collective voice with which to communicate their concerns, address their issues and focus their advocacy efforts. As such, the ECA is committed to a host of public policy efforts,...
9 tags
(Mostly) Original James Bond Games
Who doesn’t love James Bond? This suave secret agent has been featured in numerous books and movies, but what about his non-canonical appearances? You may not believe it, but 007 has been featured in eight (soon to be nine) video games that are not directly based on a specific Ian Fleming book or film. What’s even more remarkable - most of them are actually good.
After getting on a...
10 tags
Ask a Dork: Used Games
[Originally posted at Nerds on the Rocks, this weekly feature addresses all the questions that only a true dork can properly answer.]
“What is your stance on used games? Is it killing the industry? How would you fix it?” The concept that used games are killing the video games industry has been thrown around a lot, mostly by developers who haven’t been performing too well lately. In...
5 tags
Currently Working On...
I know it’s been awhile since my last feature on here and I wanted to assure everyone that I’m still alive and kickin’.
Essentially, my writing time has been split between work, writing for Mission:Geek, and some freelance writing stuff here and there, but I’m finally getting to a point where I can take writing full-on. I have a couple projects on the go and will post...
11 tags
Pros & Cons: The Legend of Dragoon
Being the late adapter that I am, The Legend of Dragoon was my first PlayStation game. Sure, my brother Troy (often featured on this site) had a PlayStation with an impressive catalog (Tales of Destiny, Grandia, Lunar II, etc.) which we played to death, but when the time came for me to buy my own console and games, The Legend of Dragoon was the first title I picked up.
While I don’t...
7 tags
11 tags
Mass Effect > Mass Effect 2 > Mass Effect 3
This post will likely get the attention of Mass Effect fans that understand basic operational mathematics (for better or worse).
I am making the abject statement that the original Mass Effect was the pinnacle of the series. Please don’t shred me into little pieces with your comments - I plan to defend my point.
Why Mass Effect is greater than Mass Effect 2:
(Bare with me people,...
8 tags
10 tags
My Brother Asks: "How Can Japan Regain its...
What an interesting question. To be specific, Troy is referring to game development in Japan and how things have shifted to the west in recent years. Before we can actually say whether they can or not, we have to examine why there has been a change.
Since the early days of video gaming, Japan had been where game systems were built, games were developed, and arcades flourished. The whole...
Anonymous asked: I just wanted to let you know that I think you're a total babe and I stalk you every day! --- Secret Admirer <3
9 tags
13 tags
Pros & Cons: Silent Hill HD Collection (Xbox 360)
There has been a bit of a commotion in the Silent Hill community regarding the recent release of the Silent Hill HD Collection. Apparently bugs, glitches, and graphical errors galore have bogged down the revamped titles to a point of being damn near unplayable…or so some fans would have you believe.
Being the obsessive fanboy that I am, I ignored all rumors of terribleness and purchased...
9 tags
Indepth Analysis - Silent Hill: Among the Damned
As you may recall with my analysis of Silent Hill: Dying Inside, I am of the mindset that Scott Ciencin can’t write a solid Silent Hill story ark because he fundamentally doesn’t understand Silent Hill’s modus operandi. The biggest strength of Silent Hill is the feeling of absolute isolation that a town which is completely indifferent and heartless towards your presence can generate. Silent Hill...
13 tags
New Details Revealed: Star Wars Episode VII: The... →
March 2012
9 posts
10 tags
Awesome 8-bit Movie Posters via Eric Palmer
Oh-so-awesome graphic designer Eric Palmer has created a set of NES-style movie posters which provide homages to 300, The Dark Knight, Jurassic Park, and more. These posters are both cute and clever - Check them out!
11 tags
5 Reasons Why Silent Hill: Downpour's Bogeyman is...
[Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers. Don’t read if you haven’t finished the game.]
Just like Walter Sullivan and Valtiel before him, people have been eying Downpour’s Bogeyman with comparisons to Pyramid Head. I suppose it makes sense; you see a large, stalking humanoid creation of Silent Hill’s creation and you assume that they must be the new stand-in for the Red...
10 tags
Silent Hill: Downpour Review
[Originally, I had posted this at MissionGeek.com. Please check out the site at let me know what you think about my review.]
To say that I am a fan of the Silent Hill series is a little inaccurate. I spend most of my days replaying previous entries in the franchise, agonizing over the comic’s minor inconsistencies, detailing my hatred of the movie to random pedestrians, and writing...
9 tags
Common Arguments: Final Fantasy VII
[Wow, this is a doozy. Just to provide a bit of exposition - I’ve been trying to get this article off the ground for a while, but have been so slow to produce it because of Final Fantasy VII’s impact. People are passionate about this game and trying to approach the title realistically with argument for and against could be an internet death sentence. For the record - I very much like...
9 tags
My Brother Asks: "Is the Wii Still Relevant?"
“In the console wars, the Wii would have a step-up in terms of intuitive interaction (via the Wiimote controller) and certain selection of exclusive games. Now that the exclusive games have run their course and both xbox360 (Kinnect) and PS3 (PlayStation Move) have interactive peripherals, is the Wii still relevant?” -Troy
The simple answer is “No”.
The Wii had a very...
9 tags
A Quick Jot: DLC and the Rise of Broken...
I’ve had something stuck in my craw since the onset of 2012 - big budget games are moving away from presenting a solid and complete story in order to leave the PAYING audience on a cliffhanger before episodic DLC content is released. Mass Effect 3 did this just recently and fans are rightfully up in arms about it. I know it’s profitable for companies to monopolize multiple endings to...
10 tags
The Cold Shoulder: Deadly Premonition
There are a lot of great game out there that are overlooked because they aren’t AAA titles, they’re made by an unknown developer, or they have a few problems here and there. These games are essentially given the ‘cold-shoulder’ by most purchasers because they don’t get the same level of exposure. A sad fact that I find absolutely tragic.
So why not provide a platform for these great games to...
6 tags
Been Feelin' Lazy Lately...
Not that it’s a valid excuse per se, but life has been a little crazy, fast, and fun these days and my typical pastimes have been suffering from neglect as a result. Because I have an awesome base of super-cool regular readers, I’ve decided to detail some of the things I have in the pipeline for this month…
Hold me to my word folks - I want to get this all out:
(1) Common...
9 tags
My Problem With... Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of...
Originally released in 2001 (and recently re-released in an HD Collection), Metal Gear Solid 2 stands as both the entry point for next-gen tactical espionage action and the black sheep of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. There are a lot of reasons why Fanboys tend to moan about MGS2, but all of them essentially boil down to that of raised expectations. High-Def graphics, improved audio, beautiful...
February 2012
14 posts
7 tags
Facebook Gaming Popularity Wains, Thousands of...
Some interesting gaming related statistics were released today: In 2010, roughly half of all Facebook users jumped on such titles as Farmville and That Other One, whereas 2011 saw only 25%. This is a significant drop in participation rates and forces the reevaluation of social gaming as a viable & reliable medium.
Researchers are citing smartphone competition, the demand for less casual...
12 tags
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review
[As opposed to working my way backwards with another Common Arguments article, I’ve decided to post my review of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Originally, I had posted this at MissionGeek.com. Please check out the site at let me know what you think about my review.]
There are few things as taxing on the psyche as going back to a former lover. Regardless of whether you are a proponent or detractor...
8 tags
It's a Good Day...
Xenoblade Chronicles - Confirmed for April 6, 2012 NA Release
The Last Story - Confirmed for 2012 NA Release