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Category: Games

  • Merry Christmas (and happy holidays!)

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    by

    Michael Lee
    in

    I’ll be back Friday with updates for the rest of the year.

  • Another Arbitrary 2008 List (Part 2)

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    Michael Lee
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    (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…

  • Another Arbitrary 2008 List (Part 1)

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    Michael Lee
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    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…

  • Goodbye Free Radical

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    Michael Lee
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    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…

  • Zero credibility (for game award shows)

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    Michael Lee
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    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…

  • Adaptation in games and Dante’s Inferno

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    Michael Lee
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    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…

  • The Home trainwreck

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    Michael Lee
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    Last week Sony’s Playstation Home finally emerged from its cave into an open beta for all Sony PS3 owners. Over 1.5 years after its initial unveiling at GDC 2007 and in development supposedly from 2005, Sony Home is still highly unfinished. It’s still under development. There are features that will be added in the upcoming…

  • 15 years of cyberdemon killing

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    Michael Lee
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    Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the seminal PC title, Doom. If you don’t know Doom then you probably don’t play games at all. Doom was one of the most significant and influential games ever released (and probably the most influential PC game ever). Doom influenced games in profound ways, from cementing the FPS as…

  • Return of the Giana Sisters

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    Michael Lee
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    In news that brings a smile to my face, the cult Amiga classic The Great Giana Sisters is now being reborn on the Nintendo DS. Now just called Giana Sisters DS, it looks pretty close to a full re-imagining of the original than a simple remake. It looks like a competent platformer with nice little…

  • Indie dev tales: Platypus

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    Michael Lee
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    Platypus was released today on the iPhone. I’m not going to link to the app though, not until I at least know that the creator is getting something out of this. If you don’t know the story, check out the making of here where the creator Anthony Flack describes the mistakes, trials, and tribulations behind…