Review by Lewis B Brink Developer Splash Damage Publisher Bethesda Released May 2011 Available for PC (version reviewed) Xbox 360 and PS3 Time Played “Finished” campaign mode and all challenges up to ***. Rank 15 (20+ hours). Verdict:5/5 Gold Star The finest team-shooter since Team Fortress 2. Need I say more?
Today is my birthday – thirty-six, if you must know – and my brother Marcus (whose fifth novel comes out on June 9, don’t forget!) loaded me down with a mountain of treasures, including CD Projekt’s latest, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. I own the original Witcher, on account of a Steam sale, but I never got more than ten minutes into it. Many a positive review of this sequel landed it on my …
Ah, it’s that time of year again. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and those long barmy summer nights fill with the sounds of laughter and the aroma of someone else’s barbecue. And for three days at the beginning of June, you’ll be able to hide away from all of it. Secluded from the dangers of pollen or killer bees, gamers around the world will find forums, blogs and live streams beaming the …
Developer Muse Games Publisher Muse Games Released 2010 Available for PC and Mac Time Played 3 hours (single player campaign completed, multiplayer unplayed) Verdict: 3/5 Middlin’ “Given its short development time, Guns of Icarus is an impressive feat. Most disappointingly however, is that it only flirts with greatness; hinting at a game that it could be and more damningly one that we’d all rather be playing.“
There has been some grumbling going on within the MMOG community at the reveal of Guild Wars 2’s Engineer. Protests from fans that it’s a joke or a wind-up, mixed with moans of “Grenades?! Turrets?! Ugh…” are seemingly common place at the moment, as the prospect of a technologically advanced class slips into a fantasy heavy setting…
I just need to compose myself before I write this post… …. …… ……..OK. That should do it. I’m in control of my squeal reflex.
I suppose poor taste is subjective. GamePolitics reports that Disney (!) has applied to trademark the phrase SEAL Team Six for – get this – “entertainment and education services, toys, games, and Christmas stockings, ornaments and snow globes.” Because nothing rounds out your snow globe collection like a team of optimized killers putting a cap in Osama bin Laden from deep inside a liquid-filled globe of yuletide cheer. Commercialization is apparently a cornerstone of Democracy, …
Today, earthlings, I give you Brandon Perdue: Carnegie-Mellon grad student in Entertainment Technology, nice person, and proto-celebrity. Why proto? Well, Brandon is still learning his craft. He is not a celebrity yet. But I have faith he’ll become one! Probably very soon! Maybe as early as next week!
I met Brandon when I was down in Pittsburgh speaking at CMU on behalf of another Celebrity Guest Editor, Drew Davidson. It was a cool day for me: CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center is awesome; I got to meet students, which I love, and none of them said (out loud) that they wished they hadn’t come to my little workshop. One did leave in the middle. ANYWAY
Brandon was there, and at the end I gave my pitch for Tap, which I always do, and he said he might be interested in contributing. Thereafter we exchanged some emails discussing a paper he was working on (he never said – out loud – that my comments were useless), and once that was done he asked if the offer was still open. And look!
What we have here is an eloquent reflection on a gone-away genre, one that’s dear to many hearts and sorely missed. I think you’ll agree that he has a gift for capturing why we loved them. Take it away, Brandon!
— S
So began today what was perhaps inevitable: those folks who run that Steam thing have allowed themselves to admit to themselves that their wonderful Steam Sales are just that: sales. But also: wonderful. Instead of waiting until the middle of the week, weekend, or holidays celebrating dead people, they’re just going to have the things every damned day. For the rest of time.* Although all that other stuff will surely still occur. As that jerk …
I’m about to unleash the geek. It doesn’t happen very often, but here we go… OH MY F*CKING GOD IT LOOKS A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!!!!!11111111111 *Ahem* That would roughly be translated as ArenaNet, over on their official YouTube channel, have just released a video tour of Guild Wars 2’s Lions Arch. Despite reading Guild Wars 2’s books, my knowledge of Guild Wars lore is limited. I do know however that it was once the main city of the Kingdom …
RIFT seems to be doing well of late and it just goes to show that producing and releasing a polished product, especially within online universes, goes a long way in pleasing a prospective player base. It’s no surprise then, that Trion Worlds have today announced two new programs designed to give gamers a free taste of the popular MMOG. The first is a 7-day Free Trial which lets players experience the game for a full week at no cost, and …
As you may have noticed (or not, we’re still not sure what’s happening) Tap-Repeatedly is experiencing a crisis of aesthetics. Please be patient while we freak out over a private email thread and on the Staff forum. Regular transmissions will resume in the fullness of time. If you have a particular issue or concern, or if you have broken our site and would like to issue your demands, please email steerpike@tap-repeatedly.com. UPDATE: the problem may …
In October of last year, Valve announced their second project of 2011 would not be Half Life 2: Episode 3 or Half Life 3 or Just Release Another Half Life Game Already, Goddammit, but DotA 2. Much of the gaming world’s response amounted to a collective, “Wha…who…why would…really?”
After my latest Guild Wars 2 article, “Vocal Coaching”, ArenaNet’s lead writer Bobby Stein got in touch, and put some time aside to discuss Guild Wars 2’s voice acting, its dialogue and the audition process. Here’s how we got on…
You know the problem with perfect things? They’re perfect. And the moment something exceeds expectations, everyone expects more. Shadow of the Colossus was – and is – transcendent; “perfect,” even. Except for one thing. And though that one thing wasn’t enough to seriously tarnish the game, after that encounter it was super hard for me to be objective. I found it difficult to forgive or forget a flaw that would have gone unnoticed in any other game. Because Shadow of the Colossus was perfect, imperfections stand out.