Okami
Review by SteerpikeNovember 2006
PS2, We Hardly Knew Ye
A console’s twilight days are bittersweet, because even as the next generation beckons, developers have mastered the art of pushing older technology beyond its limits and turn out some awe-inspiring work. Never has this been more evident than with the PlayStation 2, a technological dinosaur so mind-bogglingly underpowered compared to its successor that it wouldn’t be unfair, when juxtaposing the two, to equate its Precambrian workings with hamsters running on wheels. Yet from this Methuselah we have seen God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Final Fantasy XII and now Okamigames that share almost nothing in common save one unifying trait: that none of them have any right to exist on a platform so ancient it’s been outstripped by cellphones.
Clover Studio’s Okami, powered by hamsters, will leave you breathless in an assortment of ways. It is so stunning to look at that even if there weren’t a good game underneath I’d confidently recommend it. But there is. There’s an intoxicating, unforgettable platform adventure that combines the very best of Zelda, Rygar, Castlevania, Dragon Quest and a dozen other golden age classics in a wholly unique and immeasurably wonderful new treasure. Here now at the end of PS2’s long life, when all eyes are pointed toward the future, Okami shows us power in the past.
God = Dog
Long ago in feudal Japan, the eight-headed creature Orochi terrorized the village of Kamiki. Every year a maiden was sacrificed to the monster’s hideous appetite. Its evil was so potent that it poisoned all of Nippon. When the beautiful Nami was chosen as Orochi’s next meal, her lover Nagi swore to defeat it. But his mighty sword couldn’t harm the beast, who savaged the warrior with teeth and claws. Just as Nagi was about to succumb to death, a white wolf appeared in the cave. This apparition had been seen in town earlier; villagers called it Shiranui and thought it was a servant of Orochi. But the wolf attacked the monster and held it at bay. Finally, blood from a hundred wounds matting its white fur, Shiranui collapsed, having bought Nagi enough time to recover. Moonlight bathed his sword, imbuing it with the magic needed to sever Orochi’s heads. Burying that sword in a rock at the cave entrance to bind any lingering evil inside, Nagi carried the wolf’s corpse back to Kamiki.
The villagers erected a shrine to the lupine hero, and for a hundred years all was well. But now the sword has been removed from the stone, and Orochi has risen. Nippon’s natural beauty is again tainted by evil, and monsters ravage the landscape. Sakuya, the wood sprite patron of Kamiki Village, uses the last of her dwindling life force to call for help from long-absent gods and so gains the attention of Okami Amaterasu, the sun goddess, the mother of us all. Amaterasu chooses to manifest as a certain white wolf, and your adventure begins.
For all the glurping melodrama of the above, Okami isn’t some ponderous Dunsan-Asian romance. It’s actually rather goofy. There’s pie and fireworks and silly dances and trapezoidal love affairs and booze. An extraordinarily disrespectful little bouncing bug man named Issun serves as Amaterasu’s tagalong mascot and advisor, referring to her as “Ammy” or, more often, “furball.” Said Furball has the habit of dozing off when a conversation gets too boring. In many ways, the game is a contrast to the oh-so-serious storylines and characters we usually see in plot-driven adventures. Our canine protagonist is unique tooyou’re a dog, yes, but in most video games you’re also an underdog, and that’s not exactly the case here.
Amaterasu is a god, and pains are taken to ensure that you never forget it. Flowers spring up wherever those white paws land. Wild animals tumble over each other in an effort to get near. Night and day exist at her whim. She can literally paint and unpaint the foundations of reality, create and destroy with a celestial ink brush. The very stars themselves are drawn down from the heavens by the awesome grace of Amaterasu’s divine magic.
And yet for all this power, she is fragile. Deities gain strength through the reverence of mortals, and mortals have abandoned gods … because gods have apparently abandoned themhiding, doing nothing while monsters lay waste to the realm. Amaterasu has been gone even longer than many of her divine cohorts. There is precious little worship going on when the game begins. No one is sure how to deal with the sudden appearance of an enormous white wolf that carries the sun on its back. Sakuya believes in you, but Sakuya is desperately weakdying, in factand the creature Orochi’s sinister hold over Nippon is dramatically stronger and farther-reaching than the power of a single invalid wood sprite or forgotten sun goddess.
Practically speaking, your job is to save the realm by driving off the evil taint that’s ruining its rural splendor, to tie Orochi’s eight necks into knots and thus save Nippon. Thematically, Okami is about restoring human faith in the divine, and Clover’s greatest accomplishment is how adroitly it realizes this somber theme in such a silly, sweet-natured game.
Okami is very, very Japanese, to such a degree that the manual takes an almost apologetic tone in warning players that they might not get everything that’s going on. It is steeped in Japanese culture and mythology. The characters, plotlines and locations are a who’s who of Asian folklore, the eastern equivalent of a Hans Christian Andersen video game. Yet despite the highly Asian sensibility, to me it felt less … off-puttingly Japanese than, say, Final Fantasy. At last count, Okami had moved about 237,000 units worldwide, 150,000 of which were in Japan. These numbers aren’t huge but aren’t too bad either, and it’ll sell more as its legend grows (and oh, it is, you should hear what some people are saying about itthe Play review closed with “I love you Link, and I always will, but my new best friend is a breed apart”).
So … Pretty …
Fear of the Uncanny Valley effect in modern “realistic” game engines has led to a strong Dragon’s Lair graphical backlash, especially on consoles and generally in the form of cel-shaded or anime-inspired graphics. Dragon Quest VIII, Zelda: Wind Waker, Trace Memory, Xenosaga and others have all gone this way. Even Clover’s own Viewtiful Joe games are cel-shaded. The effect is pretty and somewhat unique, but to my eyes it looks a lot better in still screencaps than in actual gameplay.
Okami is not cel-shaded, and its still screencaps cannot in any way do justice to the magnificent splendor of the actual gameplay. The whole thing is done in a style known mostly to Asian art historians and people who overuse Photoshop filters: as a sumi-e painting on a rice paper canvas.
Sumi-e is an acquired taste, but in perfect fluid motion it is an unforgettably delicious visual feast. Seeing the wind as wisping swirls of black ink on a far horizon, seeing rich blue mountains fade into view in dawn sunlight, perceiving for the first time the true meaning of the phrase “riot of color” when Amaterasu restores one of the magical Guardian Sapling trees that protect Nippon’s natural beauty. … Okami is so mouth-watering that I am seriously considering buying a gigantic TV just to fully appreciate it.
The game’s traditional-sounding Asian score fits elegantly with the visual triumph. The only sonic mistake Okami commits is the decision to subtitle all the speech against a vaguely Japanese-sounding babbletrack, an effect that worked far better in Shadow of the Colossus than it does here. It gets repetitive and a little grating, which wouldn’t have happened if they’d included a few more phonemes. I’m fine with the subtitling in general (English voice actors would have been a disaster), but hearing “ooglooboogloobooglooboo” over and over while you read dialogue gets irritating. Plus the type is small, and as I mentioned, so is my TV.
You Got Chocolate in My Peanut Butter
Your quest to save Nippon is characterized by a series of elegantly interconnected adventures and stories dealing not only with Orochi’s curse but a variety of other troubles that only Amaterasu and Issun can possibly solve. There’s a nasty sea monster, the mother of all snowstorms, a haunted forest and many other subplots great and small, usually requiring some combination of good reflexes and clever problem-solving to sort out.
Okami has elements of many genresplatforming, adventure, RPG and action all apply. But there’s more to it than that. There’s something so … joyous about it, in Amaterasu’s happy barks, in her running, her jumping, her digging of holes. I found myself ignoring the game for stretches, just doing these things. I don’t know if it’s the way the controls handle, or the graphics, or what, but it’s there. Okami is the video game version of Professor Dumbledore, managing somehow to be both gleeful and august.
The Celestial Brush system is getting much attention in the press; it’s a unique mechanism for affecting the game world that fits right in with the whole you-play-an-omnipotent-goddess thing. Hold R1 and the world becomes your canvas, to be literally painted with a giant ink brush. You’ll master more than a dozen brush powers: fix or destroy objects, summon dawn, slice enemies and so forth. Most puzzles involve the Celestial Brush to some degree or another. Amaterasu has forgotten many of the techniques (and Issun’s only along to steal them), so one of your objectives throughout is to relearn. Thankfully, Okami is very forgiving of poor calligraphy (hey, it’s hard to draw a circle with a thumbstick), so as long as you generally paint the shape you’re trying to, it lets you go.
As you restore Guardian Saplings, defeat enemies, feed wildlife and generally do your furry best to beat back the monster incursion and improve humanity’s faith in the gods, you gain faith points you can spend to improve Amaterasu’s capabilities. Individual capabilities can be adjusted to suit the player’s overall style. It’s a limited system: you can’t buy one Brush technique and forego another, for example, but this is not really a stat-based game so that’s okay.
Okami is dialogue-heavy and spends a good portion of its time in expository mode; if you have a problem with reading backstory or conversing with characters, it’s not for you. There is plenty of action as well. Combat can be sought out or avoided, and aside from a handful of required encounters you can choose to dodge most foes if you desire. These enemies are portrayed in the game world as “monster scrolls”evil-looking green carpets that patrol the landscape and hone in on Amaterasu as she runs. Combat itself occurs in a separate gamespace, a sort of monsterdome, where you employ your celestial brush and a variety of upgradeable weapons to teach these demons who their daddy is.
One of the complaints we’re hearing about Okami is that it’s an extremely easy game, particularly the combat. Even a non-console guy like me encountered very little difficulty. As I get older, though, I care more that my games are fun and less that they’re hard, so the fact that Okami’s combat and action are pretty simple don’t really bother me. Plus, with 30 to 50 hours worth of play, not to mention several replay and find-more-secret opportunities, you really do get your money’s worth from this product.
The game can drag a bit when you’re facing some puzzle or challenge that you can’t quite figure out. In many cases, you must turn to Issun or one of the other characters for help, but Okami is not always sufficiently forthcoming about that. It can be hard to see the icon indicating that a character “still has more to say,” as it were, so you may spend some time just sort of wandering trying to figure out what you’re supposed to do. Fortunately, none of the challenges are particularly hair-tearing, though many do require a lot of thought and sometimes a good deal of running around. It’s the worst thing I can say about a game that’s otherwise a tour de force.
I Got Your Four Leaves Right Here
By now the news is all over the wire (and FFC forums): publisher Capcom shut down Clover Studio a few weeks ago. Some more eager folks have speculated that “Capcom closed Clover” is a fancy way of saying “Clover wanted to go independent;” while that would be nice, the fact is that’s not the way the video games industry (or any industry) works.
Capcom owned Clover, lock, stock and barrel, and in fact started the studio using Capcom employees. Clover’s mandate was pretty simple: make games like Okami. Strange, unique, innovative, challenging, artistic, creative, unusual games that pushed the boundaries of what we’ve seen in the medium. Clover delivered big time, and not just with Okami either: Viewtiful Joe and God Hand both revitalized their respective genres. But, like it or not, the studio posted a loss of four hundred million yen, and Capcom is above all other things a business that’s in the business of staying in business. The decision, sad as it was, had to be made.
In a way I applaud Capcom, not for shutting Clover down but for starting it up in the first place. Only one other companySonyhas a studio like that, a studio whose job is to create proof that games can transcend what they are right now, more or less regardless of the financials. The vast majority of video game executives at the publisher level don’t play games and don’t care about them. So it’s really great to see big, wealthy companies willing to essentially burn their profits in the interest of improving the human condition. It could be equated with the Emperor Augustus commissioning Virgil to write the Aeneid, or the Church paying Michelangelo to paint its ceiling.
Okami is something really special. It blends jubilant gameplay, potent theme and rich artistry in an utterly seamless package. It has received universal acclaim from the gaming press, and hopefully it heralds a new era of platforming, a new set of heady days the likes of which we’ve not seen since Sonic 2. That its studio is gone, that it hasn’t sold a bazillion copiesthese things are somewhat irrelevant. Okami is with us, and that’s what matters.
Above all else, it has a sweet temperament and gentle demeanor that makes it almost impossible to dislike. There aren’t many games out there that have made me just feel happy, and this is one of them.
The Verdict
The Lowdown
Developer: Clover Studio Publisher: Capcom Release Date: September 19, 2006
Available for:
Four Fat Chicks Links
Screenshots
Where to Find It
Links provided for informational purposes only. FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies).
Copyright © Electric Eye Productions. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.
Pages
Category Archives
- Alliance of Awesome (RSS) (13)
- Announcements (RSS) (35)
- Editorials (RSS) (341)
- Celebrity Guest Editorials (RSS) (11)
- Culture Clash (RSS) (25)
- Ephemera (RSS) (68)
- Features (RSS) (205)
- 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) (35)
- 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) (58)
- Tap vs. Tap (RSS) (9)
- Tapping Down Memory Lane (RSS) (4)
- The Log of Shame (RSS) (5)
- FFC Archives (RSS) (419)
- Impressions (RSS) (195)
- News (RSS) (366)
- Reviews (RSS) (175)
- Uncategorized (RSS) (8)
Blog Posts
- 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)
- Beneath A Steel Sky: Remastered (19)
- God Dammit, Satan, I’m Warning You for the Last Time (16)
- A Guardian Angel (11)
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Remember Diapers) (12)
- PC Gaming Diagnosed with Lung Cancer (67)
- The Bobby Kotick Show: Nice Try Edition (5)
- STALKER Engine Creator Says STALKER Engine Not Used for STALKER-Like Game that is Not STALKER (2)
- Down Under (24)
- It has Something to do with Math (3)
Ahh this is part of the Indie Love Bundle. I’d buy it and dole out some of the other titles that I own to others as gifts but alas, the house is really lightening my pockets this month so I doubt I’ll be able to.
EDIT: Just followed the link and it looks wonderful, regrettably I’m at work so no sound…
I cannot say enough about Auditorium and recommend it to everyone I can. Its concept is intriguing, the game play is flawless, and its artistic vision and execution is impeccable. You can play several levels for free from their website or pay a well-worth-it price of $10.99 for the full game. I can’t wait for Fractal, and by the quality and attention to detail with which the former was created, I am confident it should be another hit.
Argh, you’re making me want to get that there Love bundle… will definitely check it out. Cheers HeddHunter, oh and Welcome To Tap!