Author: Michael Lee
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Another Arbitrary 2008 List (Part 4)
(Parts 1, 2, and 3) Best Fashion Game: The World Ends With You (DS) Square-Enix’s inscrutable action-RPG The World Ends With You end up surprising many by being both original and good, a rarity from the Square end of Square-Enix. But underneath its unique dual-screen battle system and Nomura character designs was actually a very…
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Another Arbitrary 2008 List (Part 3)
(Parts 1 and 2) Best Music Game: Rhythm Heaven (DS) Rhythm Heaven is the sequel to the Japan-only game, Rhythm Tengoku. Tengoku was an exercise in musical brilliance, tying together simple game mechanics with vibrant and eclectic artwork to create a memorable experience. Unfortunately, Rhythm Tengoku came at the tail end of the Game Boy…
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Another Arbitrary 2008 List (Part 2)
(Part 1) Best Most Game: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) Nintendo’s catch-all fighting title returned bigger than ever. But it wasn’t just how overstuffed the options were for multiplayer. Or how the single player had evolved into a full-blown (if semi-mediocre) adventure along with classic mode and various minigames. Or how events became a mode…
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Another Arbitrary 2008 List (Part 1)
Everyone and their mom has some “Best of 2008” or “Top 10 Games” list at the end of every year. As one famous writer once said, lists are the lazy journalist’s story. But then again, I may be working too hard. So over the next two weeks as game news slows down, I will present…
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Goodbye Free Radical
Goodbye Free Radical. You had a good run with the Timesplitters franchise, refusing to give into the trend of narrative-driven FPS games and sticking to the tried-and-true mechanics you originally set in Goldeneye. You were one of the few developers keeping the twitch FPS alive on consoles. I’m sorry that Haze had to happen, it…
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Zero credibility (for game award shows)
On Sunday anyone who an orgy of marketing could do worse than to tune into the 5th annual Spike Video Game Awards. This dubious awards ceremony had various games awarded from such esteemed categories like the Best Independent Game of the Year Fueled by Dew and Big Name in the Game wedged in-between premiere trailers…
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Adaptation in games and Dante’s Inferno
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And EA’s new Dante’s Inferno is another cobblestone on that road. Based off one of the most famous pieces of literature in the western hemishere, The Divine Comedy, Dante’s Inferno is an attempt to adapt that masterful work of religious symbolism and political satire into a…