There's a debate going on right now as to whether video games can considered an art form. The naysayers such as Roger Ebert suggest that despite the artistic values that games can exhibit, the mere fact that they require player input to function discounts them as a legitimate art form. Read More.
There seems to be several growing trends in video games, many of which aren't very good. Hours of dialog and cutscenes with little in the way of gameplay to be had, overcomplicated control schemes and games that go for stylization and "originality" over solid, and fun, game mechanics. Read More.
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is the third entry into Frogwares' Sherlock Holmes series, published in North America by CDV. It is a Holmes style mystery infused with some horror elements that you would only find in the Victorian era. The game begins as a simple missing person's case, and quickly unravels into a global adventure that puts Holmes up against a mysterious cult trying to resurrect H. Read More.
In my nearly twenty years as a gamer, I've learned some universal truths about the gaming world. What Ninja Gaiden taught me on the NES in 1989 was that, simply, ninjas must die. Ninjas are a constant threat in the world of gaming, and it is your duty as a player to take them out one by one. Read More.
One would be hard-pressed to describe World War II as having been fun, but Muzzy Lane and Strategy First's approach to flipping world history topsy-turvy in Making History: The Calm & The Storm brings gamers considerably close to doing just that. Although avid history buffs might enjoy turning Making History into a play by play recount of the war, the PC game's open-ended outcome sketch allows players to hop right in and go to town with their own renditions of how WWII might have been. Read More.
Expecting much of Bionicle Heroes was my first mistake. I had plenty of people suggest I try out LEGO Star Wars and such, but I had never got around to it. Bionicle was put on my plate during a dry spell, and I've decided I would have rather not been playing games than soil my fond memories of playing with LEGO as a kid with such a treacherous title. Read More.
Traxxpad Portable Studio is a game (although more like a software package) for your PSP. It allows you to create music with or without talent or soul using many of the computer-related assistance tools (most notably a quantizer) that major record producers use. Read More.
What a strange long trip it's been for the Tomb Raider series. When Core Design created the original Tomb Raider in 1996, they were setting the template for not only several Tomb Raider games to come, but also for countless 3D action games. Lara's first couple of adventures were solid, ahead of their time games that are still cherished to this day. Read More.
To market a game to Need for Speed fans and Gran Turismo fans simultaneously seems like a task only a fool would set out to do. Luckily the guys over at Microsoft Games Studios are not fools, only madmen and women with a common goal--creating the ultimate driving experience for everyone. Read More.
Nancy Drew, the young detective has been recruited to the Canadian Rockies in Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek. This is the sixteenth installment of the Nancy Drew series by developer Her Interactive. While the publisher is mainly known for creating engaging and interactive games for young girls, this time around they not only appeal to the target audience, as well adults can find this game enjoyable to play. Read More.
Resident Evil 4 was the best game of 2005 on the GameCube. There's no ifs ands or buts about it. Upon its release, the Resident Evil franchise and the GameCube itself were getting stagnant. While Resident Evil's graphics were as gorgeous as ever, the weird tank like controls and pre-rendered backgrounds were stuck firmly in the PlayStation era. Read More.
When Guitar Hero was released at the end of 2005, people raved about how fun it was to play, the quality of songs, the enjoyment factor that came out of the entire package. Guitar Hero II added to this formula, completely changing everything from the songs to the menu design, and even added in a new co-op mode. Read More.
Saving a world is easy. All you need to do is find a big bad guy, defeat him, and you're done. But how many heroes have to study for their exams late into the night? How many heroes need to meet up with friends after school, enjoy going out for dinner and singing some karaoke, or worry about staying up too late and being too tired to defeat evil when the next threat comes around? Read More.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (herein just referred to as Vegas) is the latest addition in the Rainbow Six series. Developed and published by Ubisoft, Vegas has versions for the Xbox 360, PC, and PSP. The PSP version is not a port but was built from the ground up as a smaller side story to compliment the main story line found in the Xbox 360 and PC versions. Read More.
Almost everyone knows of the tales of Hans Christian Andersen, even if they didn't recognize that he was the mastermind behind them. Stories like The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, or the Matchstick Girl might ring bells for some who remember the tales. Read More.
