The most obvious place to start – one of the only obvious qualities it has, really – is that The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is unquestionably the most visually spectacular game I have ever played. Even if there weren’t anything else to say, that might be enough. If your computer can run it (and it’s punishing, but not too punishing) you probably need to buy it just to see the incredible technology The Astronauts bring to bear on this indie mystery. It’s simply jaw-dropping. Your jaw will drop. Which is harder to do than you think. Have you ever tried to drop your jaw? I just released my jaw muscles and my jaw stayed more or less where it was. It moved a little. But I wouldn’t call it a “drop.” You have to actively drop your jaw. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter will make you do that.
Something snarky about it being Wednesday.
I swapped Ikaruga for Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. There. I said it. And here’s another thing: I had more fun with Double Dash!! than Ikaruga, despite the Treasure shoot ’em up being a thing of beauty. So what made me swap it? Because as much as I love an indiscriminately difficult game I wimped out. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have the patience to learn the bullet patterns or have the perseverance to wield …
According to Apples latest annual report, 20.7 million phones were sold during 2009, representing an increase of 78% compared to 2008, and generating a total revenue of $6.8 billion dollars. Net sales of other products and services increased to $696 million dollars predominantly, according to their report, because of an increase to net sales of third party digital content and applications…
I think this could be one of the most important games I’ve ever played and it took me completely by surprise. Developed by Paolo Pedercini in six days for the Experimental Gameplay Project, Every Day the Same Dream demonstrates beautifully how interactivity can communicate certain concepts every bit as effectively as linear media, perhaps even more so. I noticed it a few weeks ago but haven’t really had a chance to post about it. So …