I’ve lost that Warcraft feeling

My hands are still shaking.  I feel like I’m in withdrawal.  Something is missing.   Something is out-of-place.  Earlier this week, I did the unthinkable.  This is the week I finally worked up the guts and ended my six-year relationship with World of Warcraft.  I’ve been in a rocky relationship with the most popular MMO [...]

Technology: Okay, cool, but when can we have sex with it?

Did anyone else feel a few pangs on disappointment on New Year’s Eve eleven years ago? As a child of the 1980s and 1990s, I grew up thinking, ardently believing that I had been born at exactly the right time.  You see, the year 2000 was right around the corner.  I was going to be [...]

Catch-22: It’s the best there is

We’ve all heard the phrase catch 22, but I was oblivious to it origins until college. For those of you who have not become acquainted with the pre-M*A*S*H melancholy war novel read by high school students the world over, the phrase catch 22 was coined by Joseph Heller in his book by the same title. [...]

Dr. Oddlot or: How I learned to swallow the pill and play video games

So in my real job I meet a wide variety of people and talk to them about stuff. One recent conversation with a psychiatrist or psychologist, or whichever one can give you drugs, told me that videogames are a complete and utter waste of time. In case you haven’t gathered this from visiting this site [...]

A generation of super intelligent pixel babies

I have a crippling, debilitating disease that has devoured countless thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in the past year.  Just about every time I seem to get ahead financially, the symptoms start acting up again, and it’s time for me to make an appointment with a specialist, whose main job is simply to [...]

Mass Effect: a novel idea

I was supposed to read Drew Karpyshyn’s Mass Effect: Ascension before I played Mass Effect 2. If you didn’t either you didn’t miss much. Ascension doesn’t rise to the heights of excitement and intrigue that Revelation reached. But then again, how could it? It’s sandwiched between two epic video games. It does have a few redeeming qualities and I still like Karpyshn’s work.

Godfather II: Just another sandbox game

For anyone who has read the book or seen Godfather II, and let’s be honest, if you haven’t you’re not playing this game, you may be in a for a few surprises. Whatever you do, don’t read the book or watch the movie within six months before playing this game. Don’t do it. As a matter of fact, don’t play any game based on a movie shortly before or after seeing said movie. Consuming the same storyline across mediums without providing ample time for digestion between will always lead to despair and indigestion.
The plot compliments the film nicely while allowing you to be the Don you want to be without stomping all over Mario Puzo’s grave.

Speaking of being Don, the chain of command is a little bizarre to say the least. Again, in reference to the movie or book, once Michael Corleone takes over he ships out to Vegas, divides up the Corleone’s New York territory amongst his favorite underlings. Low and behold when you come on the scene the underlings aren’t getting along. So good old Michael tells you he’s putting you in charge of the olive business and tasks you with cleaning up New York. Read: kill everyone. Here’s where things get fishy.

The stakes of remakes

Having a popular idea from the past remade into something for today’s 18 to 25 demographic is not a new idea, but isn’t it getting a little out of hand? With more and more video game developers repackaging old games from two generations ago with a steep $35 price tag, where do we cross the line between a new gaming experience and getting ripped off?