This will be remembered as a supremely important game, and a sublimely good one. Portal calls for a special kind of nonlinear thinking, creating a world around its puzzles. It features outstanding art direction, writing, and voice acting and an experience so tightly tuned that this couldn’t be anything but a Valve game. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed myself as much as I do when I play Portal.
He Said It, Not Me
Valve Software’s Orange Box is a complete breakfast of video games, containing five products—Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. This has led to no small amount of anger, as it’s more expensive to purchase the games a la carte and most people already own half of the package. But with the ability to give your duplicates to other Steam subscribers and the fact that even with the repeats you’re still getting five games for 50 bucks, it’s kind of hard to stay mad. The interesting aspect of Orange Box is where the value truly lies.
Portal is very nearly worth the price of admission by itself,” opined a friend recently. “And with one of the best villains since SHODAN. There, I said it.
Given that he’s referring to a game so brief it’s more of a tech demo, that’s a bold statement … and a totally accurate one. But let’s back up a little bit.
In 2005, a team of students at the DigiPen Institute for game development released their senior project, a quirky little oddity called Narbacular Drop. The object was to navigate through a dungeon by placing and manipulating interconnected gateways. This peculiar game won a zillion awards and caught the notice of the industry at large. Half-Life creator Valve Software’s giant cash maw yawned open and swallowed in its entirety the Narbacular Drop development team. Valve was hard at work on the Half-Life 2 episodes and intent on expanding the already absurdly complex Half-Life universe (see our Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two reviews for details). The new team took the reins of Portal, which bears many similarities to that senior project.
Truth is, there’s a lot to like in the Orange Box, especially for people who haven’t gotten onto the Half-Life 2 bandwagon. But it’s Portal that makes the purchase worth it. This will be remembered as a supremely important game, and a sublimely good one. Portal calls for a special kind of nonlinear thinking, creating a world around its puzzles. It features outstanding art direction, writing, and voice acting and an experience so tightly tuned that this couldn’t be anything but a Valve game. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed myself as much as I do when I play Portal.
Aperture Science: We Do What We Must Because We Can
Set in the world of Half-Life—though when in that world is unclear—in Portal you play a woman named (according to Wikipedia) Chell, who has ill-advisedly signed up for a research project sponsored by Aperture Science Laboratories. We never learn the circumstances of her recruitment—Chell may just be a hapless victim of Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, which it happens to be at Aperture; she’s a little old for that, but who knows. All we know is that she wakes up in a test chamber, the first of 19 in the experiment. Her job is to get from the entrance to the exit of each. This is more challenging than it sounds, but Aperture has thoughtfully provided a handheld transdimensional interconnect generator, a “Portal Gun.” This gun fires blue and orange doorways into flat surfaces. Walk into one, come out the other. Simple!
No.
“Up” and “down” lose meaning when you can walk through a wall and tumble out the ceiling. You retain momentum when you pass through a portal, so it’s possible to “fall” upward or hurl yourself laterally by combining gravity and creatively placed portals. You could create a portal above a threat, then create another beneath a heavy crate, so the object falls through and squishes your target. Or just shoot a portal at your feet to effect a speedy escape. And you can look through these portals and see yourself across the room, possibly upside down. Or pass through them so quickly that you chase yourself in circles. Staring into the endless, Escher-like repetition of certain portal combinations is an outstanding way to liberate your meal all over the keyboard.
Portal is totally unique puzzle game. While getting from A to B is the point, in Portal the challenge isn’t about accomplishing that. With the Portal Gun, you can go in anywhere and come out anywhere, provided you can see your destination and the surface you shoot at can hold a portal; walls, fences, locked doors, and deadly traps don’t mean what they do in other games. The most amazing thing is how quickly you get used to the power. Why walk down a hall when you can cross 50 yards in a nanosecond? Why bother with the floor when the ceiling’s right up there? The navigability of Portal’s topsy-turvy world is dictated not by Sir Isaac Newton, but by the gun in your hands. It starts out gently to teach you the ropes, and Portal is obviously a product of Valve’s clinically obsessive, alarmingly tortuous level-design-by-playtest process. There is not a thing out of place. Puzzles will never frustrate or even stump you, though you’ll have to stop and think often. While there are moments when you’ll need speedy reflexes, you solve most challenges with your brain, not your fingers. You’ll transfer your Portal experience to the real world, eyeing cubicle walls and grocery aisles as possible teleport opportunities.
Portal is also funny—very funny. Valve now employs Old Man Murray refugee and Psychonauts co-scribe Erik Wolpaw, and his script is a deft lattice of intrigue, menace, and hilarity. The many lighthearted moments don’t undermine its construct of fear. Portal is a lonely, dangerous-feeling game; you are literally a rat in a maze, in serious peril, overseen by an entity whose motivations are unclear.
I’ve Experiments to Run, There Is Research to Be Done
Your test proctor is a computer named GLaDOS, and from the beginning she doesn’t seem … quite right in the head. But her voice is your only companion in the austere and creepy test chambers. Each chamber has windows through which observers might peer, but there are never any people behind the glass. Only her cameras watch you. In some rooms, you’ll discover cracks in the set pieces and see frightening evidence that other subjects have died in this experiment … unless, of course, that’s all part of the test. GLaDOS’s generally peculiar behavior induces a disorienting paranoia.
This brings us back to the Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network, or SHODAN, the fascinatingly vicious AI antagonist from the System Shock games. Where most game enemies are formulaic and depthless, SHODAN is a source of endless discussion among game scholars: because she is always with you, watching, taunting, interfering. Because she does display affection for you at times. Because she’s kind of sexy. And because unlike most “villains,” who are “evil,” SHODAN simply hates, she hates, relentlessly; her unyielding malice renders evil irrelevant.
GLaDOS isn’t like that at all.
Variously plaintive and threatening, at times GLaDOS appears rather genuinely to want to be your friend. GLaDOS promises you cake. GLaDOS sings you a song. But she also lies and hinders. She tries, hard, to kill you. Always beneath the erratic behavior is a thread of cruelty. Sometimes obvious, often veiled, the constant undercurrent of viciousness in every remark she makes. It’s amazing how close you get to this disembodied voice, at times so distorted it’s difficult to understand. You come to know her from her initial clinical detachment to anger to desperation and fear. GLaDOS is afraid of you and far too confident of her own superior intellect, relying on ever more ridiculous and transparent deceptions to throw you off course.
It’s interesting that the two finest enemies in video game history are both female supercomputers; I think it has less to do with gender or species and more to do with the fact that they’re hovering over your shoulder throughout, commenting on and dissecting every move you make. By the end, you’ve known them for so long you can’t help but be fond of them.
And the Science Gets Done, and You Make a Neat Gun
You’ll finish Portal in less than three hours and enjoy one of the most hilarious, enigmatic, and tantalizing endings in years. The question now is whether (and how) Valve intends to migrate the characters and equipment from Portal into Half-Life, in which I’d welcome the appearance of GLaDOS and Chell. Like Gordon Freeman, that series’ protagonist, Chell doesn’t speak; also like him, she’s a pretty tough cookie. The franchise could use another major female character to supplement Alyx Vance, and I’d love to see GLaDOS spar with Overwatch, the AI that controls the wicked alien Combine’s security services.
There’s already some crossover. Aperture Science gets a mention in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. This company—a humble manufacturer of shower curtains for the U.S. Army before it branched out into transdimensional physics—was in direct competition with Black Mesa Research Institute for government money. Near the end of Episode Two, the human resistance discovers the location of the Borealis, an Aperture-owned ship that apparently vanished in a Philadelphia Experiment–type of situation shortly before the Black Mesa incident. If Half-Life has a moral, it’s that teleportation is a dangerous toy best left unplayed with. Black Mesa’s teleportation research triggered two alien invasions and the near-extinction of humanity; Aperture seems poised for similar disaster.
I’d welcome the characters, but I’m less sure about the hardware. The Portal Gun is a game changer, much more so than Half-Life 2’s Gravity Gun. I think it’s a little risky to give it to Gordon Freeman. First, he already has a lot to carry. Second, while Half-Life’s environmental puzzles could be even cooler with portals, it is primarily an action shooter. In the hands of a creative player, the Portal Gun would be such a devastating weapon that the rest of Gordon’s arsenal would be obsolete. So we’ll see.
These Points of Data Make a Beautiful Line
The complexities of incorporating portal technology into Half-Life 2’s Source engine are not inconsiderable, as the Developer’s Commentary section of the game reveals. Physics, which play such an important role in Source, just act weird when you add portals to the equation, and much of the team’s effort was devoted to getting the technology to work.
Their time paid off. Portal functions as advertised, stable and elegant. Its antiseptic look has earned some complaints for lack of flair; I disagree. I think Portal looks the way it does for a very good reason. The art direction is clean and stylish, a dystopian minimalism well removed from the gloomy urban hell of Half-Life 2’s City-17. It’s unfair to say that a game isn’t varied enough when the whole thing takes place in a series of scientific test chambers. All of Portal’s original art and sound effects work in harmony.
The only real complaint about Portal is its length. Even if you play through a second time to hear the Commentary track, even with the included Challenge Levels, there’s just not enough here. Still, whether purchased as part of the Orange Box or as a $20 standalone over Steam, Portal is worth every dime. But I can sympathize with your skepticism on that matter if you haven’t played the game. Had Portal included 50 test chambers instead of 19, I’d be a much happier camper.
I am fascinated by Portal, this game made by students who got the developer’s dream come true: the chance to work with Valve Software at the height of its awesome. The chance to try something different, something unique and a little crazy. Everything from the gameplay to the closing credits is risky. Most publishers wouldn’t touch something this … off-kilter. But Valve is Valve; it has limitless resources and is a font of innovation. For them, it’s a small gamble—Portal wasn’t that expensive to make, it’s part of a larger package, most of the team were recent grads so no reputations were really on the line—and it paid off.
Ironically, Portal completely overshadows the good but unmemorable Episode Two, supposed star of the Orange Box. Portal, tucked neatly alongside four other games, outshines them all and ensures itself a place in posterity.
Developer: Valve | Publisher: Valve | Released: October 2007
Available on PC (version played), PS3, Xbox 360 | Time Played: finished ~1.56 million times
Email the author of this post at steerpike@tap-repeatedly.com.
System Requirements
1.7 GHz processor (P4 3 GHz or better recommended) 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended) DirectX 8 level graphics card (DirectX 9 level recommended) Windows Vista/XP/2000 Mouse Keyboard Internet connection
Pages
Category Archives
- Alliance of Awesome (RSS) (13)
- Announcements (RSS) (35)
- Editorials (RSS) (342)
- Celebrity Guest Editorials (RSS) (11)
- Culture Clash (RSS) (25)
- Ephemera (RSS) (68)
- Features (RSS) (213)
- A Weekend With (RSS) (4)
- Dark Souls Diaries (RSS) (14)
- Death in Fire (RSS) (4)
- Diary Of A Call Girl (RSS) (3)
- Games of the Year (RSS) (36)
- Kermdinger Chronicles (RSS) (9)
- Local Flavor (RSS) (12)
- MrLipid's Closet of the Odd (RSS) (2)
- My Idea of Fun (RSS) (7)
- On Tap (RSS) (7)
- Quest for 7:00 on the Nordschleife (RSS) (7)
- Superficially Relevant (RSS) (7)
- Tap Dance (RSS) (65)
- Tap vs. Tap (RSS) (9)
- Tapping Down Memory Lane (RSS) (4)
- The Log of Shame (RSS) (5)
- FFC Archives (RSS) (419)
- Impressions (RSS) (202)
- News (RSS) (366)
- Reviews (RSS) (175)
- Uncategorized (RSS) (8)
Blog Posts
- Side by Side: Squeakers (0)
- Side by Side: Voidigo (0)
- Side by Side: Spiderheck (0)
- Side by Side: Moving Out (0)
- Side by Side: Chambers of Devious Design (0)
- Side by Side: Island Bender (0)
- Side by Side: Dashpong (0)
- Xtal’s Games of 2022: Truest Self, or Lolololololololol (1)
- Play the Lottery (2)
- Side by Side: Space Beast Terror Fright (0)
- Side by Side: Morkredd (0)
- Side by Side: Scavenger of Dunomini (0)
- Side by Side: Buissons (0)
- Side by Side: DYO (0)
- Side by Side: Sky Rogue (0)
- Side by Side: Feud (0)
- Side by Side: Samurai Gunn 2 (0)
- Gregg B’s Games of 2022 (0)
- Side by Side: GourMelee (0)
- Side by Side: Windjammers 2 (0)
- Side by Side: Spirits Abyss (0)
- Side by Side: Very Very Valet (0)
- Side by Side: Bämeräng (2)
- AJ’s Games of the Year 2021 (6)
- Boyfriend Dungeon (1)
- Dozen Days of Demo #9: Project Haven (1)
- Dozen Days of Demo #8: My Time at Sandrock (1)
- Dozen Days of Demo #7: Severed Steel (0)
- Dozen Days of Demo #6: Reshaping Mars (0)
- Dozen Days of Demo #5: Chernobyl Liquidators Simulator (0)
- Dozen Days of Demo #4: Blaster Master Zero 3 (0)
- Dozen Days of Demo #3: Sable (3)
- Dozen Days of Demo #2: Bandit Simulator (0)
- Dozen Days of Demo #1: Terra Nil (2)
- Steerpike’s Dozen Days of Demo (1)
- NieR Replicant ver 1.22474487139… (3)
- Mad Devils Heads For Steam Playtest (1)
- Tenderfoot Tactics (0)
- Side by Side: Season 5 Deleted Scenes (0)
- Element TD 2 Launches Into Early Access (2)
- Fancy A 2.5 Space Adventure? BlazeSky’s Available In EA (0)
- Impressions: Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise (3)
- The Last of Us Part II: Hateful. Brutal. Beautiful? (0)
- Steerpike’s Games of 2019: Wait—Isn’t He Dead? (5)
- Gregg B’s Games of 2017-2019. Yeah. (4)
- Xtal’s Games of 2019: Born at the End of the Universe (4)
- AJ’s 2019 Video Game Roundup (5)
- The Rise of Skywalker (10)
- Side by Side: Disobedient Sheep (1)
- Side by Side: At Sundown: Shots in the Dark (0)
- Side by Side: Totally Reliable Delivery Service (0)
- Side by Side: On Trailers (0)
- Side by Side: Wand Wars (0)
- Side by Side: Daka Dara (0)
- Side by Side: SSMP (0)
- Side by Side: BADBLOOD (0)
- Side by Side: Inversus (0)
- Side by Side: Double Takes (0)
- Side by Side: Battle Bolts (0)
- Side by Side: HELLFRONT: HONEYMOON (0)
- Side by Side: Chambara (0)
- Side by Side: LazerGrrl (3)
- Side by Side: Fling to the Finish (2)
- Ground, to Major Tom (6)
- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (3)
- There’s No Hentai at MomoCon (1)
- Impressions – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2)
- Devil May Cry 5 (3)
- Xtal’s Games of 2018: “The earth has music for those who listen” Or: The King Is Gone But He’s Not Forgotten (9)
- Twilight of the Wii Shop Channel (4)
- Games I Liked in 2018 and Also in 2017 (5)
- Road to Redemption (4)
- Catch Us Live from PAX Unplugged (0)
- Side by Side: Witchball (2)
- Side by Side: Chronobot (0)
- Side by Side: Birdsketball (0)
- We Nerds Ruin Everything (3)
- Side by Side: Nuclear Reaction (0)
- Some of the Games of PAX West 2018 (4)
- Side by Side: Hacktag (0)
- Donut County (3)
- Side by Side: Totemori (3)
- Side by Side: Cuckoo Curling (0)
- Side by Side: Anyball (0)
- Side by Side: Tuned Out (0)
- Side by Side: Muddledash (0)
- Side by Side: Regular Human Basketball (2)
- Side by Side: EGX Rezzed 2018 (1)
- Entertainment versus Affliction in Hellblade (4)
- Xtal’s Games of 2017: Helpless Like a Rich Man’s Child (5)
- The true Demon’s Souls ends Here (4)
- Girls Behind The Games Hashtag is So Good, So Pure (1)
- Side by Side: N++ (1)
- Greetings from PAX Unplugged (2)
- 2017 Is the Best Year for Games of All-Time, And It’s Not Even Close (4)
- Side by Side: Johann Sebastian Joust (0)
- The Last Guardian: Brief thoughts and Thanks (3)
- Side by Side: Sumer (0)
- Side by Side: The Unholy War (2)
- Side by Side: Cryptark (0)
- PAX West 2017: The Good Life with SWERY65 (1)
- PAX West 2017: Dungeons & Dragons, Playing and Watching (2)
- Side by Side: Gang Beasts, Abyss Odyssey & Season 3 (1)
- Side by Side: Vomit Crabs (1)
- Help a Brother Out, Part 9 (0)
- Heart Quest Books: D&D Adventures for Girls (4)
- Too Many Games and the Philadelphia Game Scene (2)
- I Play Fighting Games for the Story (10)
- Checking in from the D&D Adventurer’s League (1)
- Let My People G-OHGODWHATISTHAT (3)
- Nier:Automata (mostly) & Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (sort of) (19)
- Apparently It’s Not the Last One (1)
- Side by Side: Crawl (0)
- Side by Side: Magicka 2 (4)
- Catch Me on Twitch! (3)
- Xtal’s Games of 2016: Journey Milestone Accomplished (5)
- Gregg B’s Games of 2016 (12)
- AJ’s Games of the Year 2016 (11)
- The Drake Incident: Harbour Master vs. Hellkite (4)
- Death in Fire: A RimWorld Saga, Part 4 (16)
- Death in Fire: A RimWorld Saga, Part 3 (0)
- Death in Fire: A RimWorld Saga, Part 2 (7)
- Death in Fire: A RimWorld Saga, Part 1 (1)
- Obduction (4)
- Side by Side: Affordable Space Adventures (0)
- Oh look, a list (A Top 17 list) (10)
- Hands on with Torment: Tides of Numenera at PAX West (3)
- Feelin’ Iffy: Pathologic Remake Delayed (10)
- No Man’s Diaries: Prologue (13)
- Hate Expectations (7)
- Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma (5)
- Bastard Bonds (4)
- Too Many Games in Philadelphia (1)
- PAX East 2016 – Part 5 – Roundup (0)
- Games of PAX East – Part 4 – Indie Minibooth (0)
- Games of PAX East – Part 3 – Interviews! (2)
- Games of PAX East – Part 2 – VR (2)
- Indie Games of PAX East – Part 1 (2)
- Fire Emblem: Fates (3)
- Side by Side: Archon (3)
- Impressions: Salt and Sanctuary (4)
- Games and Music at MAGFest 2016 (3)
- Steerpike’s Games of 2015: Somewhat Enriched (5)
- Gregg B’s Games of 2015 (7)
- AJ’s Games of the Year 2015 (6)
- Xtal’s Games of 2015: “And the wind will lift away our rot” (3)
- Help a Brother Out #8 (4)
- 2015: To Pimp a Bunch of Miniature Reviews (5)
- Tales from the Borderlands (0)
- MrLipid’s Closet of the Odd: Black Viper – Sophia’s Fate (3)
- Rise of the Tomb Raider (7)
- Side by Side: Crypt of the Necrodancer (1)
- Three Thoughts about Undertale (9)
- Steam Hardware Impressions Part 2: Steam Controller (18)
- Steam Hardware Impressions Part 1: Steam Link (6)
- Side by Side: Rocket League (5)
- Microsoft Acquires Havok from Intel (3)
- Batman: Arkham Knight (9)
- Side by Side – Season 2: Assault Android Cactus (1)
- Voice Actors Vote on Strike (3)
- “In My Heart I am a Gamer” (7)
- Rumors of Our Demise, etc. etc. (5)
- Zeke Iddon Presents: Gaming for Profit on YouTube (0)
- Mineclass (1)
- Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne – A Real Actual Game (2)
- Impressions – The Witcher: Wild Hunt (10)
- Axiom Verge (3)
- GameLoading: Rise of the Indies (4)
- Gregg & Steerpike vs. the Overworld (3)
- Local Flavor: Connor Hart from OverReact (0)
- Local Flavor: What Pumpkin Studios and Hiveswap (2)
- Local Flavor: PHL Collective and ClusterPuck 99 (2)
- GDC 2015: GDC Microtalks and #1ReasonToBe (3)
- Find Me at GDC (2)
- Local Flavor: CleaverSoft and EarthNight (1)
- The Order | 1886 (21)
- Impressions: Life is Strange, Episode 1 (2)
- Local Flavor: Golden Ruby Games and Extreme Exorcism (3)
- Hyrule Warriors (7)
- Local Flavor: QuadraTron Games and Threshold (1)
- Side by Side: The Series So Far… (2)
- Games I played in 2014 and thought were gud. (5)
- Steerpike’s Games of 2014: Unfinished (11)
- AJ’s Games of 2014: The Wicked, the Weird, the Wacky (5)
- Bravely Default (5)
- GSC Game World Returns (4)
- Impressions: Elegy For a Dead World (3)
- Local Flavor: The Sheikh Zayed Institute’s Pain Medicine Care Complex (2)
- Tap Dance: Introducing ‘Side by Side’ (1)
- Learning to Fly (7)
- Tap-Repeatedly Returns (0)
- Dreamfall Revisited (11)
- A Journey Inward (6)
- Local Flavor: Schell Games and Team Enemy Mind (2)
- Impressions: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (9)
- In My Life (2014 Edition): A Collection of Miniature Reviews & Impressions, Disguised in the form of incoherent ramblings (10)
- Don’t Fear the Creeper: Microsoft Mines Mojang (7)
- Local Flavor: Michael Silverman of Silverware Games (1)
- Review: Shadowgate (2014) (1)
- Local Flavor: Ryan Morrison of Island Officials (3)
- Why I’m Extra Excited About Minimum (3)
- Why The Emerald Dream Can’t Be An Expansion (3)
- Local Flavor: Shawn Pierre of OriGaminc (8)
- Impressions: The Forest Early Access (7)
- Review: Shovel Knight (5)
- The Wolf Among Us (9)
- Aiden Pearce is the Worst (18)
- Help a Brother Out, Part Seven (5)
- On Tap #7 (0)
- The Endless Night of Kentucky Route Zero (8)
- Storming the Castle (7)
- Iron Man Mode Suicidal Aeroplane Charity Livestream Extravaganza! (0)
- On Tap #6 (6)
- Child of Light (3)
- Impressions: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Lost Alpha (11)
- On Tap #5 (3)
- Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (5)
- Avengers Alliance Disassembled (5)
- Moebius: Empire Rising (1)
- On Tap #4 (8)
- Never-Ending Battle? (26)
- Trip Report: PAX East 2014 (3)
- Review: Escape Goat 2 (2)
- Impressions: Lifeless Planet (7)
- Guest Editorial: Arkham Identity (5)
- On Tap #3 (7)
- EGX Rezzed 2014 (4)
- On Tap #2 (5)
- Impressions: Enemy Mind (2)
- Oculus Rift and the Future of VR (12)
- On Tap #1 (10)
- Adventure Games from Phoenix Online Publishing at GDC (3)
- Soul Pain (20)
- Dispatches from the GDC Narrative Summit and Critical Proximity (3)
- One Last Night in Arkham (15)
- Impressions: Broken Age (7)
- South Park: The Stick of Truth (4)
- Impressions: Thief (44)
- Impressions: Banished (3)
- Irrationalia (7)
- Indie Games in Public (4)
- The Last of Us: Left Behind (8)
- The Castle Doctrine (3)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (12)
- Early Excess? (20)
- Don’t Look, the Rapture is Here (10)
- Impressions: Horizon (7)
- Proteus (2)
- A Speedy Million Dollar Game Charity Run (5)
- Gregg B’s Games of 2013: List Off* (7)
- Xtal’s Games of 2013: The Good in Everyone (5)
- Steerpike’s Games of 2013: Silent Night (17)
- Dix’s Games of 2013: Family Ties (9)
- AJ’s Games of 2013: You Have My Axe (9)
- Impressions: FORCED (4)
- First Person Literacy and BioShock Infinite (7)
- Impressions: Ossuary (7)
- I’m Irrationally Angry About Transformers Legends (12)
- Knee-Deep in the Dear John (3)
- The Bridge (3)
- State of Decay (10)
- XCOM: Enemy RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY SNIPER MAJOR AND SHE STILL CAN’T HIT IT (15)
- Can You Steal A Franchise Back to Health? (37)
- Batman: Arkham Origins (10)
- Extra Life – Play Games – Heal Kids (5)
- The Stanley Parable (10)
- Beyond: Two Souls (13)
- Knock-Knock (11)
- Revisited: Heavy Rain (11)
- Signal Boost: Help Support Game Design Research (5)
- Closure (2)
- Review: Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller: Episode 4 (5)
- Announceosaurus: Valve’s SteamOS [Updated] (25)
- Impressions: Escape Goat 2 (2)
- Glad We Got That Sorted Out (3)
- Tap-Repeatedly Joins the Previous Decade (8)
- He Could Only Rule the World (19)
- Review: Everlove: Rose (4)
- I’m Not Buying Grand Theft Auto V – I Bought Saints Row IV Twice (20)
- Gameplay for Fun and Profit (4)
- Sacrifice (34)
- What a Difference a Year Makes (12)
- Review: Dragon’s Crown (41)
- Everlove: A Romance Game for Women (11)
- The Soulless Social Payne of Rockstar Games (9)
- Kermdinger Studios Unveils Stunt Runner (A Kermdinger Chronicles Update) (4)
- Shadowrun Returns (7)
- Assuming Direct (Star) Control (9)
- Fifteen Hours of Eight (14)
- Review: Face Noir (6)
- The Tapcast of Us: Kristine, Dix, xtal, and Steerpike! (0)
- Help a Brother Out, Part Six (17)
- Culture Clash: Storyville, Population One (9)
- The Walking Dead: 400 Days (2)
- The Last of Us (5)
- Age of Broken Promises (33)
- Review: Deadpool (12)
- When Online Multiplayer Games Die (8)
- Review: Neverwinter (7)
- Metro: Last Light (11)
- Deadly Premonition – The Director’s Cut (17)
- Impressions: The Last of Us (10)
- Trip Report from the Gotland Game Conference (3)
- Culture Clash: A Camel (11)
- Tomorrow’s Harvest (1)
- Tap vs. Tap: Xbox One (16)
- The Night of the Rabbit (8)
- Let’s Watch Let’s Plays (11)
- Star Trek: The Video Game (A Cooperative Review) (4)
- The Part You’re Missing (8)
- Culture Clash: The Fourth Letter (2)
- Antichamber (5)
- Selling Survarium (6)
- Neverwinter Beta Launch Interview (2)
- Celebrity Guest Editorial: NYFA’s Zeke Iddon! (24)
- Thomas Was Alone: A Micro Review (8)
- Defense Grid 2 is Go (11)
- Impressions: Don’t Starve (7)
- Culture Clash: You Just Had to Be There (2)
- Enraptured by Sadness: BioShock Infinite and the Depressing Reality of AAA Game Design (34)
- Review: Retro City Rampage (3)
- Do You Divekick? (7)
- Revisited: Alan Wake (24)
- Talking Cognition and Mystery Adventures at PAX East (4)
- My Idea of Fun: Bioshock 2 (18)
- PAX East Hands-On: Outlast and Remember Me (4)
- My Friday at PAX East 2013 (7)
- There’s the Door, John (10)
- The Games I Saw at IndieCade East (7)
- Impressions: Impire (11)
- The Ultimate Triumph of Beer Pong (15)
- Game of Moans (2)
- Culture Clash: That Used to Be Us (3)
- …And a Stick to Steer Her By (2)
- Impressions: Neverwinter – Beta (4)
- Revisited: Defense Grid (4)
- Impressions: Dead Space 3 (17)
- Discontinuity (6)
- Industry Attrition Continues (4)
- How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Backlog (10)
- Did Anyone Actually Need for Lightning to Return? (21)
- Xtal’s Games of 2012: Beauty Lies in the Eye (8)
- Culture Clash: Play it Some Author Way (2)
- Gregg B’s Games of 2012: Distractions (14)
- Steerpike’s Games of 2012: Special Achievement (13)
- AJ’s Games of 2012: And I Feel Fine (6)
- Tap vs. Tap: Authorship (8)
- Gamer’s Block (22)
- Merry Christmas from Your Android Device (1)
- Obstacles & Introspection, Part 1: The Way Out Is Through (8)
- Review: Cognition: Episode 1 (5)
- Review: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (32)
- Gamers Give Back (0)
- GSC Game World Resurrects Itself; Sends Nastygram; Vanishes Again (8)
- The Naked Vulnerability of Halo 4 (14)
- The Dissent, Part 2 – Journey and Dear Esther (21)
- Tapcast: Ben and Steerpike Talk Mass Effect (3)
- Crowdfunding and the Mysterious Oton Console (13)
- Review: Primordia (4)
- Impressions: Miasmata (10)
- The Dissent, Part 1 – S:S&S EP (13)
- Games Don’t Need Much Story (24)
- More-ment (4)
- The Final Ultimate Red Vs. Blue 10 Season Box Set Review (4)
- The Continuing Mission: The Search for Great Star Trek Games (Part 4) (4)
- Difficult Choices in The Walking Dead (5)
- The Seventh (34)
- Culture Clash: The ABCs of AAA (9)
- Star Citizen Kickstarter on its Final Countdown (2)
- Tales from a Halo Household (12)
- A Preview of Gender and Diversity in Primordia (5)
- Consider Wreck-It Ralph (5)
- Group Impressions: Guns of Icarus Online (Beta) (5)
- We’re Not Here for Integrity (5)
- Don’t Bite The Hand That Feeds (10)
- Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (4)
- Impressions: Dishonored (23)
- FTL: Faster Than Light (2)
- This Shrivels My Game Sack (17)
- Culture Clash: World of Wonkcraft (3)
- Site Maintenance Tomorrow And Maybe Longer (0)
- Eurogamer Expo 2012: Mind Dump Part III (8)
- Eurogamer Expo 2012: Mind Dump Part II (5)
- Eurogamer Expo 2012: Mind Dump Part I (7)
- Review of “The Best Red vs Blue DVD Ever” (3)
- Impressions: Prison Architect Alpha (3)
- Thoughts on the Smithsonian’s Art of Video Games Exhibit (8)
- Tap vs. Tap: Dix and Steerpike Battle Bosses (17)
- The Continuing Mission: The Search for Great Star Trek Games (Part 3) (0)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Epilogue (37)
- Project Eternity Kickstarter Breaks All the Banks (10)
- Culture Clash: Meta Effect (4)
- Review: The Walking Dead (Episodes 1 – 3) (20)
- Tap Dance: HM and I talk At A Distance (2)
- Puzzle Clubhouse Launches, and It Has Lasers (1)
- Steam Goes Green (36)
- Shameless Self-Promotion: Podcasting Edition (1)
- Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (9)
- The Continuing Mission: The Search for Great Star Trek Games (Part II) (2)
- You Can Help Uwe Boll Create In the Name of the King 3 (5)
- The Continuing Mission: The Search for Great Star Trek Games (Part I) (4)
- Commemorating 100 Weeks of Failure (4)
- Dominique Pamplemousse in Another Crowdfunding Project You Should Check Out (1)
- Culture Clash: Something I’ll Never Do Again (3)
- Impressions: RaiderZ Beta (12)
- Exclusive Interview: Hidden Path’s Jeff Pobst (7)
- Guild Wars 2 (Noob) Beta Impressions (24)
- Bethesda Maybe Acquires STALKER Publication Rights (5)
- Tap vs. Tap: “Pink” Games (3)
- Celebrity Guest Editorial: Ernest Adams! (42)
- Yes: It’s a Game (26)
- My Idea of Fun: Game of Lordly Caliber (1)
- Culture Clash: Dangerous to the Last Drop (14)
- Impressions: Polymorphous Perversity (9)
- Impressions: Gratuitous Tank Battles (4)
- Impressions: Endless Space (4)
- Cherry Capital Con (1)
- The World Zynga Made (7)
- Tap vs. Tap: Women in the Game Industry (16)
- Obvious Bias: Cute Robot Destruction (2)
- Nintendo’s Imaginary Friends (5)
- Tap vs. Tap: The Game/Feminism Discourse (6)
- DIY Diagnosis (8)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 1,170-1,259 (9)
- Impressions: Splice (2)
- Culture Clash: It Might Be Fun to Run a Newspaper (13)
- Apologies to Lara Croft (22)
- Persistence of Revision (16)
- I Am Your Sword And Your Shield (5)
- A/B vs. W&Z, Final Round (10)
- Gremlins in the Wires [Updated] (11)
- The Log of Shame: May Day, May Day (18)
- Impressions – Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (11)
- Harley Quinn’s Revenge (6)
- Con Coverage Continues (2)
- My Idea of Fun – MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (4)
- Tap Dance: Cat’s Away Chronicles II (starring me!) (3)
- Boldly Go Somewhere Else Entirely (5)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 1,103-1,169 (9)
- Passage Is Not About Me (15)
- Marvel Rolls Infinite Sevens (15)
- Culture Clash: The Magic in the Machine (10)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 1,044-1,102 (17)
- Monsters We Have Met (4)
- Fez (13)
- Impressions: Dragon’s Dogma (7)
- Kermdinger Chronicles #9: Jammed (6)
- Do go down to the woods tonight… (48)
- Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP Now on Steam! (7)
- Indie Impressions from PAX East (2)
- How Not to Learn to Use Rifles (12)
- Alliance of Awesome: Cat’s Away (2)
- The Log of Shame: April Showers. Showers of GAAMEZ (16)
- SquareSoft Demos at PAX East (1)
- One Hundred Years of Tragedy (11)
- Culture Clash: U Know U a Playa (6)
- Kiss Me, Kill Me (6)
- Kermdinger Chronicles #8: The Little Reveal (4)
- On The Fragmented Future of Dungeons & Dragons (15)
- Neverwinter Dawning (3)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 898-1,043 (9)
- Kermdinger Chronicles #7: THE FINAL EPISODE (0)
- Important Pre-April Gaming News (1)
- Guild Wars 2: Separating Wheat From Chaff (26)
- Journey (19)
- Alliance of Awesome: Cats, Carts, Causes and Context (0)
- Vessel (6)
- Kermdinger Chronicles #6: GDC Edition (0)
- A Preview of Gunpoint (4)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 735-897 (27)
- Among the Cool Things I Saw at GDC (4)
- In Memoriam: Ethan “Finkbug” Sicotte (23)
- I’m Commander Shepard, and This is My Favorite Flavor-Aid on the Citadel (22)
- I Like Women in Games Initiatives, But It’s Complicated (15)
- Wipeout 2048 Is Cool As Fuck (2)
- Game (almost) Over! (24)
- I’m Tapping GDC 2012 (2)
- The Log of Shame: March of the Backlogs (27)
- Dear Esther (12)
- Kermdinger Chronicles #5: A Very Special Episode (4)
- Boomblastica (5)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 697-734 (7)
- My Idea of Fun, Episode 4: Forgotten Planet (15)
- Analogue: A Hate Story (7)
- Kermdinger Chronicles #4: Indie Developer, Free to a Good Home (1)
- Kick It: Auditorium Duet (1)
- Guild Wars 2: Mesmer PvP (6)
- Playstation Vita: First Impressions (8)
- A Legion of Story Problems (30)
- Impressions: Guild Wars 2 Beta (18)
- Kermdinger Chronicles #3: The Pitch (4)
- The 3DS Is Doomed (2)
- Planned Site Outage [UPDATE] (0)
- The Log of Shame: Love Log Edition (42)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 651-696 (10)
- Guild Wars 2: Unleash The Beta! (36)
- Kermdinger Chronicles #2: Mystic Crystal Revelations (2)
- Lunchbreak Game: Super Mario Crossover 2 (1)
- What’s Wrong With AAA Today? (25)
- And Yet It Moves (11)
- Fine Time (14)
- Kermdinger Chronicles #1: Meet the Team (7)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 581-650 (19)
- My Idea of Fun: the Time Bandits (6)
- Scenes from the Game Jam (10)
- Stealing Beauty: A Thief Retrospective, Part 2 (0)
- Pardon Our Dust (0)
- Impressions: Frankenstick (5)
- Happening Now: Global Game Jam (2)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 472-580 (13)
- The Log of Shame: Backlog Battles for the Masses (Now Recording for January!) (Updated with Q&A!) (51)
- Saints Row: The Third – No Longer By Proxy! (8)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 332-471 (16)
- Armand’s Unsolicited Games of 2011: You’ll Never Guess the Winner (9)
- Xtal’s Games of 2011: Not Another Fetch Quest (8)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 200-331 (11)
- Impressions: Katawa Shoujo (5)
- AJ’s Games of 2011: I Will Take It Personally (9)
- Mat’s Games of 2011: The Times They Are A Changin’ (6)
- Gregg’s Games of 2011: Too Many Games. Sob. (7)
- Steerpike’s Games of 2011: Small Batch (20)
- Dix’s Games of the Year 2011: My Funny Friend & Me (6)
- More Adventures in my Steam Backlog: NightSky and Jamestown (9)
- My Idea of Fun: The Interloper And The Twisted Tourist (15)
- The Steam Holiday Sale Will Do Strange Things to My Backlog (15)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 134-199 (7)
- Dark Souls Diaries: Deaths 1-133 (19)
- This Joker Isn’t Funny Anymore (14)
- Guild Wars 2: Mesmer (1)
- Tap vs. Tap: Game Journalism (8)
- Miles Jacobson Looking To “Next Gen”, Tablets “Catching Up With” PC (1)
- Confirmed: GSC Game World Shuts Down (11)
- The Incredible Threat of Failure (23)
- To Mii, To You (0)
- My Idea of Fun: Tri-Optimum, Tanks, Tentacles, and Terrorists (7)
- Tap vs. Tap: Villains (10)
- Pride and Possession (7)
- You Go Hide, I’ll Count to Ten (14)
- Happy Thanksgiving! (6)
- Impressions: Jurassic Park: The Game (6)
- Are We Approaching Travel Games? (12)
- Impressions: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (72)
- Battlefield 3 (PC) (9)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (10)
- Culture Clash: A Zero-Sum Game (9)
- A Weekend With: Bloodline Champions (7)
- Rodentia (22)
- You Make It Easy (6)
- It’s Not All About You (8)
- Discuss: Reviewing Battlefield 3 (17)
- On Cosplay and Privilege (19)
- Armand and I talk Ruins (21)
- Impressions: Batman: Arkham City (7)
- Introducing ‘A Weekend With’ (6)
- Watch As I Die A Little Inside (7)
- Alliance of Awesome: Armand’s IndieCade Roundup (7)
- Men of Science: HM and I play Portal 2 co-op (2)
- Impressions: Trauma (4)
- [UPDATE] RAGE: It’s A Looker – Now With Extra Technical Support (12)
- Exclusive Interview: ArenaNet’s Bobby Stein (13)
- It’s Interactive Fiction Competition Time (8)
- Ico (Remastered) (9)
- The Binding of Isaac (15)
- Impressions: Star Wars: The Old Republic (59)
- Impressions: RAGE (15)
- Tap on Tour: Eurogamer Expo 2011 Impressions (7)
- Alliance of Awesome: EuroPodcast! (7)
- Exclusive Interview: ArenaNet’s Colin Johanson (11)
- When Is A Spoiler Not A Spoiler? (6)
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (26)
- Impressions: Guild Wars 2 (21)
- Social Strawberry Season (14)
- Meaningful Play: How Games Can Help Solve Real-World Problems (7)
- The Beaver (9)
- We Don’t Really Do “Reliability” Here (0)
- Tap on Tour 2011: Euro Gaming for the Masses (8)
- Heads Up: SEEEEGAAAAA (3)
- Are You a Gamer? Plan for a LAN (8)
- Impressions: City of Heroes Freedom (4)
- Culture Clash: Every Day is Kids Day (6)
- Alliance of Awesome: Bits ‘n’ Bytes Celebrate Gaming 2011 (0)
- Alliance of Awesome: Where He Came From (1)
- Isaac Must be Into S&M (10)
- Trackmania² Canyon (5)
- 21st Century Criticism: Reviews in Four-Letter Words (12)
- Alliance of Awesome: Now With Extra Steam (3)
- Revisited: Brink (9)
- What Is and What Should Never Be (10)
- The Official Tap-Repeatedly Post of Crap Nintendo Peripherals: Version 1.0 (4)
- Farewell, Doctor (7)
- Meta Watch: Dead Island (17)
- Hide (5)
- Dust 514: Producer Interview On “The Marriage of EVE and Dust” (0)
- Video Game Addiction and You (8)
- SW:TOR: HUTT! HUTT! HUTT! (1)
- Guild Wars 2: News Round-up (1)
- Into EVE Online (2)
- Proto-Celebrity Guest Editorial: Jacob “Bear” Elert! (5)
- First Impressions – Deus Ex: Human Revolution (39)
- Alliance of Awesome: Cheer Up, Rock (3)
- Adventures in User Generated Content (6)
- Sylvari: Gender Defined (9)
- Celebrity Guest Editorial: Amanda Lange! (38)
- Mania Potential – Trackmania 2 Beta Impressions (5)
- Heads Up: Brink Big Weekender (3)
- Anti-War Has Never Been So Much Fun (18)
- First Impressions: From Dust (18)
- Revisited: Limbo (11)
- Culture Clash: History Became Legend, Legend Became… Well, You Know (4)
- 3DS SOS (7)
- Alliance of Awesome: Making Sacrifices (1)
- Coppers for Nothing and Tracks for Free (2)
- The Humble Indie Bundle – VVVVVV Edition (4)
- We’re Watching the Watchmen (12)
- Rock Anthem for Saving the Franchise (12)
- If Stabbing a Puppy Would Make it Cooler, I Would Stab a Puppy. Bring Me a Puppy. (18)
- Good Fortune for the Uncharted Movie (7)
- Drunken Guest Editorial: Armand K (11)
- Do You Want Some Juicy Sales Figures? (2)
- From Dust to Silence (22)
- First Impre- no, Fuck it. This Game Sucks. (20)
- May I Have This Dance? (14)
- Back to the Future: The Game (5)
- Slugged In The Brain (5)
- Newer Vegas (6)
- First Impressions: SpaceChem (22)
- I Am Ready (45)
- There’s No Fun Here (13)
- They’re inside (15)
- All Your Mats Are Belong to Master Race (14)
- SWTOR: Alderaan Highlights Trailer Arrives! (2)
- US Supreme Court Does Right by Constitution (9)
- Supreme Court to Rule on Freedom Monday (Maybe) (4)
- Guild Wars 2: Open House and Underwater Combat! (1)
- Mario Marathon Turns Four (1)
- FIFA 12 Equalises on PC (5)
- Impressions: Child of Eden (15)
- First Impressions – Alice: Madness Returns (20)
- Viva La Vita Tequila (5)
- Enter Trackmania (5)
- Alliance of Awesome: The Dying Auteur (1)
- Fact Check! (4)
- Filling the Pipes (12)
- Exclusive Interview: ArenaNet’s Jon Peters and Jonathan Sharp (35)
- SWTOR: E3 Tatooine Walkthrough (11)
- Help a Brother Out, Part 5 (8)
- Wii U. Wake Me Up When The Nightmare Is Over! (24)
- From Dust: E3 Trailer. Yum. (6)
- L.A. Noire (16)
- Culture Clash: The Open World (9)
- DNF DNR? (22)
- The 8th (17)
- God Did It (18)
- Brink (15)
- First Impressions: The Witcher 2 (33)
- June Is: Honeymoons and Game Shows (2)
- Guns of Icarus (6)
- Suspending Disbelief (25)
- Guild Wars 2: ArenaNet Announce The Engineer! (1)
- Someone Thought it was a Good Idea (12)
- Proto-Celebrity Guest Editorial: Brandon Perdue! (10)
- Every Day Is Exactly the Same (9)
- Guild Wars 2: Lions Arch Official Video (4)
- RIFT: 7-Day Free Trial (4)
- There is a Monkey in Our Wrench (7)
- If It Wasn’t Valve, I Wouldn’t Care (12)
- Exclusive Interview: ArenaNet’s Bobby Stein (13)
- The Eleventh Colossus (47)
- Anomaly: Warzone Earth (3)
- Another World: 15th Anniversary Edition (16)
- Pointing Fingers (35)
- Alliance of Awesome: Overrated (20)
- Culture Clash: Fun with Franchising (2)
- Total War: Shogun 2 (7)
- XOC Plays Super Mario Bros. 3 (6)
- Guild Wars 2: The Domain of the Charr (0)
- Vocal Coaching (37)
- ESRB to Computerize Game Ratings (6)
- Introducing the Alliance of Awesome (7)
- Guild Wars 2: Charr Week Looms (4)
- Two Conversations (36)
- E3: Wii Follow Up Imminent? (16)
- IGDA vs. Amazon App Store (15)
- Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Trailer Goes Live. Yeah, About That.. (11)
- The Humble Frozenbyte Bundle Is Now Live (4)
- Creating Concepts (4)
- Do No Harm (5)
- Everything is Personal, Especially When it’s Not (11)
- High Five (3)
- Let Me Finish (6)
- Exclusive Interview: ArenaNet’s Daniel Dociu #3 (24)
- The Sun Makes a Right Page 3 Tit of Itself Again (10)
- Portal 2: Aperture Investment Opportunity #3 “Turrets” (1)
- Prematurity (8)
- Resident Evil: 15th Anniversary Trailer (1)
- Exclusive Interview: ArenaNet’s Daniel Dociu #2 (20)
- Going Platinum (8)
- What I Hate (And Love) About Nintendo 3DS (24)
- Portal 2: Aperture Investment Opportunity #2 “Bot Trust” (1)
- Public Service Announcement: Tweet, Tweet (3)
- GameStop Gets Impulsive… but what Does it Mean? (3)
- First Impressions: Love (15)
- Killzone 3 (7)
- Exclusive Interview: ArenaNet’s Daniel Dociu (39)
- First Impressions: DarkSpore Beta (15)
- 2011: A Vintage Year for Zombies (21)
- First Impressions: The Dream Machine (9)
- Crysis 2: Storms The Chart (8)
- EVE Online: A Future Vision (4)
- Culture Clash: Suffer the Little Children (13)
- Guild Wars 2: Meet The Hylek (0)
- Portal 2: Aperture Investment Opportunity #1 “Panels” (7)
- Microsoft’s Vision of the Future of PC Gaming Is.. (14)
- Revisited: Grim Fandango (17)
- PAX East: Cosplay, Alive And Well (6)
- I Don’t Want An All Digital Future. This is Why. (14)
- Apocalypse Soon (9)
- Crafting A Future (14)
- EA to Win Multiple Awards for Kickass PR Week (19)
- Breaking Barriers (14)
- RIFT (7)
- First Impressions: Pokemon Black/White (8)
- The Often of Action (21)
- First Impressions: Stacking (14)
- Now Printing In 3D (0)
- RIFT: It’s A Long Wait… (10)
- Atlus Shrugs – No Catherine Outside Japan (18)
- Gemini Rue (11)
- Culture Clash: The Innovation Pinata (1)
- Marvel vs Capcom 3 (3)
- Guild Wars 2: New Norn Video! (7)
- Game Gorging (18)
- First Impressions: Bulletstorm (22)
- The Stars, Like Dust (10)
- PC Gaming Alliance Shrinks by Two Sizes (4)
- Reverse Me (16)
- Bulletstorm To Include Bullets, Storms (5)
- Culture Clash: The Beauty of a Living Thing (14)
- EVE Online: Captain’s Quarters (7)
- Guild Wars 2: Norn Week (10)
- The Gameification of Everything (3)
- Trade Fortress 2 (19)
- Steam: Total War: Shogun 2 Demo (2)
- Steam: It’s A Bit Popular (26)
- To Mod or Not to Mod (24)
- A Casual Revolution (8)
- World Of Pokemon? (12)
- How Ninja Theory Earned $60 (31)
- Dark Souls Announced (8)
- First Impressions: RIFT (21)
- Debbie Does Demo Downloads Directly (10)
- It Really Does Strike Twice (4)
- Beyond Black Mesa (16)
- HM and I talk Immortal Defense (5)
- Alone for All Seasons (54)
- VVVVVV (15)
- Boob after Reading (9)
- Rue the Whirl (5)
- 2011 Belongs to Handhelds, 3D (7)
- The End of Identity (2)
- Celebrity Guest Editorial: Drew Davidson, Part 2! (15)
- World of Warcraft: Diary Of A Call Girl (9)
- Kinect Sells… a lot (29)
- Celebrity Guest Editorial: Drew Davidson! (26)
- A&B vs. W&Z, Round Four (1)
- Shafer and Stern Join Stardock (3)
- Season’s Greetings! (23)
- Weep for Your Shattered Lives (22)
- Why Pay To Play? (5)
- Build a Patch to Stand the Test of Time (3)
- Alan Wow (6)
- Do Not Steal This Book (10)
- The Rumble of the Humble (9)
- Discuss: 2010 FOTY (13)
- First Impressions: World of Warcraft – Cataclysm (8)
- It’s Tricky (6)
- Wherefive Elder Scrolls? Right Here (16)
- Irresponsible Hate-Filled Rant (13)
- Season of Giving (2)
- It’s an Elephant (26)
- Yesterday Seems So Far Away (6)
- R18+ Now a Reality (Sort of) in Australia (5)
- Culture Clash: The Price of Freedom (0)
- First Impressions: Killzone 3 (BETA) (16)
- Happy Thanksgiving! (21)
- HM and I talk Titans (7)
- The Mighty w3sp (5)
- What Rhymes with “Man Furismo Jive”? (8)
- Emergent-cy (10)
- First Impressions: Revenge of the Titans (Beta) (13)
- The Indignant Bat (25)
- And in it, they will Stalk. (18)
- Here We Go Again: Black Ops Edition (10)
- Wherefive Elder Scrolls? (8)
- First Impressions: Fate of the World (4)
- Bitter (And Not So Sweet) Symphony (13)
- Supremely Unconfident (17)
- I Never Liked the Place Anyway (4)
- Developer is About to Die (25)
- Now I’m No Longer Alone (30)
- FIFA 11 vs PES 11 (15)
- Microsoft Relaunches GFW (13)
- Just Dance 2: Shock And Awe (2)
- New Vegas Glitchy. Also: Sky Blue (38)
- It Creates Unfair Expectations (6)
- Tim Langdell Ousted from IGDA (3)
- Culture Clash: The Game of Life (0)
- Penumbra: Black Plague (11)
- It’s Not Just Black and White (26)
- Final Fantasy XIII (16)
- Langdell Over the Edge? (0)
- Team Fortress 2: Micro-transactions Are Go! (9)
- Discuss: The Sony PlayStation Turns 15 (19)
- Kinect: Things It Doesn’t Work With #604 (18)
- No. No, No, No. No No No NONONONO (4)
- B, G, and E go H and D (23)
- Tentacles Are Scary (8)
- First Impressions: F1 2010 (4)
- The Bobby Kotick Show: BWAAHAHAHAHAHA (14)
- Tom Chick vs. All of Civilization (23)
- First Impressions (Sort of): Enslaved (14)
- Bioshock: Infinite: In-game Footage Released (9)
- Great Expectations (5)
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent (21)
- Sales Chart: Halo Reaches For The Top (5)
- Alien Breed 2 – Assault: Incoming! (0)
- Global Agenda: Beggars Can’t Be Choosers (0)
- GoG GaGs? (45)
- Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (4)
- The Bobby Kotick Show: Money, Money, Money! (6)
- Maybe It’s the Second-to-Last Guardian (11)
- Arcen Games Need You (8)
- Culture Clash: The Sounds of Silence (0)
- Guild Wars 2: Book Your Annual Leave NOW (20)
- Halo Reach: Oh The Embarrassment (18)
- Revisited: Starcraft 2 (21)
- Horror Tomorro’ (40)
- Appreciate/Forgive (10)
- Simon of the Dead (3)
- My Inner Child Just Peed Itself (11)
- PSP Gone? (5)
- On the Perils of Over Anticipation (7)
- Warhammer Online: Diary Of A Call Girl – Chapter 2 (4)
- Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty (20)
- Alien Breed: Impact & Alien Swarm (11)
- First Impressions: NHL 11 (10)
- Elemental May not be Fundamental (21)
- Sexy Beast: Atlus Preps Catherine (9)
- Looks Like Someone’s Angling for a Job at Valve (2)
- Warhammer Online: Diary Of A Call Girl (6)
- Portal 2: Johnny & Bonnie 5 (9)
- The Last Bastion About to Fall? (2)
- A Chance at Karmic Reclamation (6)
- That is Whack, Yo (16)
- Karma, We Have a Problem (24)
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. People Disregard Steerpike’s Opinion (16)
- Holy Shit, It’s BioShock Infinite! (25)
- First Impressions: Mafia II (6)
- Revisited: Warhammer Online (10)
- Sometimes the Stories Write Themselves (3)
- Men Who Hate Women (29)
- People of Walmart (14)
- Revisited: Dead Space (12)
- Also: Godzilla. (11)
- The Bobby Kotick Show: Get Harassed, Get Fired (5)
- Immortal Defense Now Name Your Price (28)
- Discuss: Rage Against the Rage Quitters (14)
- Celebrity Guest Editorial: Ben Hoyt! (6)
- Kieron Gillen is a Stud (2)
- Starcraft 2 is “Unfinished,” Say People Who will Buy it Anyway (17)
- Impressions: Deadly Premonition (15)
- Limbo (20)
- Comic-Con 2010: Handin’ Out An Ass Whoopin’ (5)
- Alan Wake (8)
- Dream A Little Bigger Darling (27)
- You Pay for Quality, You’d Better Get Quality (15)
- Kinect Priced, New 360 Bundles on the Way (9)
- Modern Conflict HD (3)
- Wordy and Pretentious. That Sounds Right, Yeah (14)
- Tim Schafer Tells Truth, Apologizes (5)
- Ikaruga: Hardorah than Hydorah (3)
- Welcome to the Slaughterhouse (2)
- A/B vs. W&Z, Round 3 (1)
- Anonymity vs. Exposure (18)
- (Not In) Limbo (32)
- The Bobby Kotick Show: Armageddon! (5)
- Opening the Mouth (7)
- Meta Watch: Crackdown 2 (5)
- Snakes of Avalon (2)
- It’s OK, We’re All Insane Here (4)
- In The Mouth of Madness (8)
- Let’s Talk About Zombies (20)
- Steerpike Bricks His iPhone (14)
- Sony Plugs The Hole, New Firmware to Wage War on Wallets (2)
- Polycount Sets The Bar (0)
- Pardon Our Dust (0)
- If Only Professional Developers were So Dedicated (3)
- Paul The Psychic Octopus Says: Auf Wiedersehen, England (10)
- PlayStation Plus/Negative (8)
- Lady Luck, Shine On Me (5)
- The Bobby Kotick Show: Blame the Victim (7)
- Discuss: 3D, Or Not 3D? (19)
- Top Kill (16)
- Don’t Stop, Believ… erm. Journey. (7)
- E3 News: Return of Eric Chahi and Tetsuya Mizuguchi (5)
- E3 2010: A Change of Name, A Diet and Lots of Dancing; It’s the Microsoft Keynote (12)
- Do Not Be Alarmed (10)
- APBeta (7)
- Dreamcast Resurrection (3)
- Huh. (1)
- An Alarming Confluence of News (6)
- Video Games Matter. Video Game reviewers…maybe not so much. (16)
- GoldenWhy (10)
- Lotus III: The Ultimate Tune (1)
- Hmmm. (7)
- First Impressions: Alpha Protocol (29)
- Steam May or May Not Be Evil (15)
- Suspending Disbelief and Roleplaying (6)
- Eurogamer Snags first Alpha Protocol Review (7)
- Tap-Repeatedly Votes YES (12)
- Wow, I Was NOT Expecting That: Killzone Edition (1)
- XCOM Arrives (9)
- Red Dead Redemption Strolls Into Town (2)
- Alan’s Take (25)
- WHAT! Same Screen?! (4)
- First Impressions: Steam for Mac OS X (10)
- The Slope Just Got Slippier (13)
- The Mirror Crack’d (3)
- Metro 2033 (10)
- Blizzard: There’s An App For That! (2)
- Aion Falters (0)
- Guild Wars 2 Surfaces (0)
- Actiblizz Begins Call of Duty Franchise Rape in Earnest (4)
- Shavings from Other People’s Nightmares (14)
- An iPad Adventure: Part Two – The Pre-Order (6)
- Fractal Demo Now Available (2)
- Bronzemurder He Wrote (and Illustrated) (7)
- iBone.. Just Not Tonight, Darling. (7)
- Frozen Synapse (6)
- Taking The ‘Um’ Out of Humble (23)
- Just Dance Falls! (4)
- Keep It Simple (23)
- Alan Waste (6)
- Gothic II: Night of the Raven (11)
- The Future ex-Mrs. Steerpike (3)
- Sony Gets Sued (7)
- Floppy Goes Limp (14)
- Site Misbehavior (0)
- Football Manager Handheld 2010 (2)
- “I Can Feel The Epicness Flowing Through My Balls” (3)
- Hamlet (3)
- Like Tiny, Mysterious Comics from Another World (16)
- They Keep Going, and Going, and Going (10)
- Impressions: Just Cause 2 (8)
- Site Maintenance this Weekend (0)
- X-COM to be Developed by Irrational’s Red-Headed Stepchild (8)
- Yes, Yes, the Upper Banner will be Fixed (20)
- Valve Know A Good Thing (7)
- A/B vs. W&Z, Round Two (2)
- Just Dance…All The Way To The Bank! (14)
- Wow, I Was NOT Expecting That (11)
- Battlefield Bad Company 2 (9)
- New York Gets PWN3D By The 80’s (4)
- A.I. War (7)
- Red Dead Redemption is Best Game Ever (or else) (13)
- What’s Your Favourite? (20)
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (10)
- First Impressions: Darkfall (3)
- From The Cutting Room Floor (17)
- Watch 2 Stupid People and a Gardener Talk About Games on TV (23)
- Review: Near Orbital Vanguard Alliance (N.O.V.A) (6)
- Wuv, Twue Wuv (7)
- First Impressions: Battlefield Bad Company 2 (6)
- Badger Watch (21)
- Laying Foundations (13)
- SA AG to Step Down in 2014 (2)
- First Impressions: God of War III (5)
- Swiss Game Ban Passes (12)
- First Impressions: Metro 2033 (14)
- Jason! Jason? Jaaaasssoooon! (10)
- An iPad Adventure: Part One – Justification (22)
- First Impressions: Mortal Online (10)
- Oh, THIS is Gonna End Well (2)
- Starfeld: Not Starfield (7)
- Strangely Silent at Infinity Ward Exit (1)
- First Impressions: Final Fantasy XIII (31)
- Verbal Warfare (19)
- Walk the Line (28)
- A/B vs. W&Z, Round One (8)
- Eastern Promises (14)
- Review: Heavy Rain (14)
- IGF 2010 (17)
- Freedom Doesn’t Exist (40)
- The Long, Sordid Tail of DRM (29)
- Goons Loom at Infinity Ward (33)
- Peggle (6)
- It is, in Fact, Pouring (22)
- Off the Rails (9)
- Fear Factor (14)
- First Impressions: Heavy Rain (17)
I hate QTEs, but Heavy Rain is sitting in my Amazon cart waiting for me to push the button. I don’t even own a PS3, but I plan on buying the game anyway. I do have a good friend who’ll let me play at his house. Of course, I’ll have to drive 100 miles, one way, through the snow to get to his house. His chat-happy birds will cheerfully chirp thereby completely disrupting any atmosphere, but I can play.
What!? Heavy Rain is full of QTEs? I totally did
notsee that coming.The whole dad experience thing sounds intriguing. I’m already getting odd looks from my girlfriend for exclaiming over cute kids on the bus or at the mall, something like what you described might send my biological clock over the edge.
My sentiments exactly David!
Mat has been playing the Heavy Rain demo for a while now, and although he admits he is intrigued by the story, he does constantly complain about the control method.
R2 + Analogue stick to run? *scoff*
@Lew: DEMO?! PS3 DEMO?! *runs off to PS3*
That sounds like the Batman: Arkham Asylum controls – Crazy Bonkers Design. The sort of design that puts pull handles on push doors.
@Steerpike: “I despise children. They are disgusting and annoying. They knock things over. They interfere with everything. They’re not useful until they’re at least 13, when you can get them to mow the lawn and stuff. But you can pay a service to do that for just a few hundred bucks a year and the service won’t vomit on you, shit in its diapers, grow up to resent you, or otherwise suck. Don’t flame me and don’t post comments to the contrary: kids are repulsive. Why anyone would want them is beyond my feeble imaginings.”
HAHAhahaha- I er, – hahahaha – you’re as outspoken as me about
demon spawnchildren.Yeah its been on the internet for weeks and weeks Greggi. I think you have to do a couple of online puzzles etc to get the appropriate code or something.
Search on Kotaku, they first ran with it IIRC.
The puzzle code was for early access before it hit the PSN Store. It’s been available to all since last week.
Regarding the demo, it took me around 3 or 4 attempts at it to appreciate it. First time around I couldn’t have been more dissapointed by it, but after the 3rd or 4th I decided I wanted to stick with it. I don’t think the demo is a particularly great example of what the game supposedly does best either – choice. I also HATE the control scheme and some of the voice acting is so wooden. Creating an immersive, realistic game is fine but having characters stumbling into tables and fridges because of the ham fisted controls, and listening to French voice actors impersonate Americans does remove that realism a little!
Still, I rushed out to buy it this morning and will rush home from work to play it in about an hour!
@ Toger: I don’t own a PS3 either, and it’s not like Heavy Rain seems to be “that” game which makes you run out and buy one– like Bioshock made me run out and get a 360– and it’s also not like this game looks groundbreaking in any way, because it really doesn’t. It’s just got me curious…and people tend to do crazy things the week after they get their yearly bonus. Soooooo yeah, who knows; maybe I’ll own a PS3 soon, but like hell I would admit that it was for Heavy Rain. Psh. I’d tell people it was because I wanted to watch BSG on blu-ray; though anyone who knows me would see right through that lie since I am an avid non-format-upgrader: I’ll switch my BSG collection from DVD to blu-ray the day I upgrade my copy of Jurassic Park from VHS to DVD. (Hint: never)
@xtal: I’m in no hurry to upgrade my meagre DVD collection to blu-ray either, but I have to say the movies I’ve watched on my friend’s PS3 are absolutely stunning. Blade Runner was simply breath-taking in blu-ray and it made me want a PS3. I don’t think Heavy Rain will be a system seller for me, but I’m betting the game from the Ico team will.
A game from the Ico team, you say? Hmmm. I’ve been making rounds on Kijiji and Craigslist looking for a copy of Ico (eBay prices are so shudder-inducing) for a few days now. I really need to play that game after my experience with the indescribable Shadow of the Colossus.
It’s good to know they haven’t died some Interplay-esque death in the meantime.
Nope, they’re a small team that works within Sony. Fumito Ueda is the lead and he’s got like ten or so people who’ve worked with him on all his games. Sony pretty much lets them do what they want.
The Last Guardian is the game that’s coming up from them. It looks more like Ico and less like Shadow of the Colossus to me, which is to say it appears to be focused on platform elements. If I didn’t already have a PS3, it’d be the game that sells it.
@Toger: Ooh, Blade Runner on Blu-ray, gorgeous in all its gorgeosity. In 5.1 it sounds incredible too.
I bought my PS3 for Team Ico’s unnamed-at-the-time game, Heavy Rain (back when it was just a teaser), LittleBig Planet (yes, yes, I know), Dead Space and Motor Storm: Pacific Rift which sort of pushed me off the fence.
Gregg, oh yes. The surround sound was spectacular. Did I mention my friend’s HDTV is 72″ (obscene, isn’t it)? It’s like being at a high-class theatre: better food, pauses for bathroom breaks and no one talking through the movie.
Is Trine up on PSN, yet? If so, that might be my tipping point: Last Guardian, Heavy Rain and Trine.
*spits tea out, despite not drinking any*
O_O
72″?! I’m speechless. I can only imagine how awesome that is. Size does matter.
Not so sure about Trine… hang on. I think it is.
I think it is too, Toger. I’ll check.
To be honest, though, I doubt you’d be disappointed with the purchase even if Trine’s not there yet. I’ve been way happier with my PS3 than with my 360. Demon’s Souls, Valkyria Chronicles, Uncharted, Folklore, even little games like Flower – I’ve had more concentrated fun with the PS3 than with Microsoft’s console, which tends to gather dust for months between game releases.
72″???? I thought size didn’t matter!
Size doesn’t matter. 😀
In my friend’s defense, it was a great deal: opened box, itty-bitty scratch on the case, not a dead pixel to be seen and it was less $$ than the 60″ he originally wanted.
Thanks for checking guys. I’ve played a tiny bit of Uncharted, but I’m horrible at the combat. Flower intrigues me. As does Demon’s Souls, but I know that game will crush my soul.
There were certain moments in Flower where it just totally succeeded in conveying a feeling that I can’t say I’ve had in many other games, usually when rushing across a field through the grass or through a canyon or just skimming a pond, but it was never anything to do with collecting bloody petals or fulfilling some rudimentary puzzle. I think my problem with it was that it felt like it was trying to be this deeply emotional piece but in the end there seemed to be too many concessions to being a game rather than just running with the emotive side of the experience. One thing I am sure about though, is the trophies. Don’t get me started on the fucking trophies…
One of my favourite little games on the PS3 is Everyday Shooter. It’s got a brilliant soundtrack that suits its raw visual style and I love how each level requires a certain tactic or strategy to survive it. It’s a very satisfying game in small bursts.
Unfortunately Cage mucked up the ending yet again. The problem is that the mechanic of the game forced them to have to cheat in order to prevent spoiling the mystery of the game.
There is also a red herring that makes no sense and is obviously put there to misdirect the player.
90% of the game is awesome, the last 10% while not as bad as the indigo prophecy, is still sloppy.