When I think back over the last twelve months of my gaming year, the word that instantly springs to my mind is “change”. I began 2011 the same way I’ve started and ended the last fifteen years; as an exclusively console gamer. But mid way through this particular year something changed. I built my own PC. On a personal level this represented a huge undertaking, something I never thought I’d achieve and certainly not successfully, …
For the last eighteen months, one game has dominated my thoughts and industry interests more than any other. That game was Batman: Arkham City, follow up to 2009’s roaring success Arkham Asylum. Praised for its tight Metroidvania design and original plot penned by long time Batman writer Paul Dini, Arkham Asylum placed us into the world of Batman like no super hero game has before or since. Appearing from seemingly nowhere in the gaming landscape, …
I’m an omnivorous gamer. When I’m not behind the computer screen, you might find me behind the “DM’s screen,” running a game of Dungeons & Dragons. And as a Dungeon Master, I’m familiar with a lot of the tricks that DMs use to keep a Dungeons & Dragons game exciting. A prolific source of roleplaying-game-related and other unrelated writing, Robin Laws, wrote a book many years ago that was required reading in my friends’ circles for anyone …
It’s strange watching the rise of player versus player (PvP) prominence within massively multiplayer games. First exposed to the concept in Ultima Online when out in the wilds of Britannia, I’ve watched it evolve from what was a seemingly a recreational activity when not questing or exploring, to it taking pride of place as a must have within the genre…
My recent trip to GDC Online in Austin, TX, reminded me how much I hate traveling by airplane. Being crammed into an aluminum tube with a hundred other people, after waiting uncomfortably for hours, after being frisked, maybe, is just not my idea of convenient. I’d rather drive. But this also made me return to a thought I’d had some time ago. Traveling is expensive, time-consuming. Daunting, even. But there’s so much fascinating stuff in …
Another month, another column! Today, Tappers, I submit for your consideration a Culture Clash installment full of holiday cheer. Should be on the IGDA website in the next few days if you prefer to do your considering over there. This topic has been on my mind since I got a Kindle of my own. I love the device; it’s certainly increased my reading, but it – like Steam – does represent a fundamental shift in …
I have spent more money on gaming mice than the average resident of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan makes in a year. As if it weren’t already established fact, this officially makes me a Terrible Person. What’s worse is that, on average, these mice last maybe a week or two. My ongoing and doomed quest to find the perfect gaming mouse is perennially thwarted by a reality that is as true as it is completely outside …
So Uncharted 3 releases next week. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this game since…well, since about 18 hours after Uncharted 2 released. And the early reviews are great. But it seems like every time a lauded, high-profile release comes along with a linear story, we get into this crazy conversation about…well, about how inferior linear stories are. For that matter, Arkham City kind of leads into this conversation, since its story is absolutely linear in the …
I’m going to put this out there. I’m not all that comfortable with how EA have gone about their distribution of review code for Battlefield 3. This is why.
It’s that time of year – the spooky time of year – when people’s thoughts are occupied with monster movies, horror games, and dress-up. Halloween! I accidentally stumbled in to a discussion this weekend with a friend about a segment of this annual topic: the dreaded “women’s costume.” First, some background: I was in line at Party City the other day, shopping for what I intended to wear, and I saw the woman in front …
About a month ago just before the run up to the Eurogamer expo 2011 (which Mat C and myself covered here), Joel Goodwin, a.k.a. Harbour Master of Electron Dance, posted up a discussion the two of us had about our experience with the little miracle that is the Portal 2 co-op campaign entitled Men of Science. Joel without me realising also recorded some of our antics and spliced them together to form a very special …
I’ve spoken to ArenaNet’s lead writer, Bobby Stein before, but after playing Guild Wars 2 at the Eurogamer Expo last month he was kind enough to get in touch to see how I got on. Despite my initial reservations most were unfounded, but there were still just a couple of things I wasn’t entirely happy with. With interview questions in hand, here is how we got on…
And so it came to be. Three simple folk from the north of England descended on London’s Earls Court for the 2011 Eurogamer Expo, bright eyed and with high expectations of the gaming goodness on offer. For Lewis it was time to finally play his beloved Guild Wars 2. For Mat, a long awaited chance to try out the PlayStation Vita. For Gregg, the opportunity to chat to some of the industry’s brightest and most …
Lead Guild Wars 2 content designer, Colin Johanson, managed to find a little spare time in his very busy Eurogamer Expo schedule to sit down and chat with me about all things Guild Wars 2. Here is how we got on…
Followers of the official Tap Repeatedly Twitter feed (accept no imitations) may have noticed a brief spat this afternoon regarding a well known mainstream blog perhaps saying more than it should have about the upcoming Batman: Arkham City. To cut a dull story short, it seems the more established gaming press have recently been treated to an extended hands on session with The Dark Knight’s latest outing, and with embargoes clearly lifting at around 3pm …