Monthly Archives: November 2008
Keeping score
Ever since I can remember being conscious of videogame reviewing as something to think about rather than something that simply existed, there has always been a general unease about scores and scoring. And possibly rightly so: often, a review … Continue reading
Filed under criticism, videogames
Living in Fable
What follows is a slightly more personal and subjective account than I’d normally post on this blog. I hope you forgive me. It also contains heavy Fable II spoilers, so read at your own peril. Cultural objects are often infused … Continue reading
Filed under the way we play, videogames
Great Game Spaces: Majora’s Mask’s Clock Town
Majora’s Mask is the forgotten step-child of the Zelda series. Smaller, shorter than Ocarina of Time, with a depressing story about a suicidal moon and a deranged child kidnapping horses and fairies, it nevertheless received good reviews at the time. Since then, … Continue reading
Filed under Great game spaces, videogames
Adaptation
There are many predictable aspects to the gaming industry. I am no analyst, but even I can make some pretty safe predictions for the next five years. Nostradamus says that EA will continue to release yearly sports videogames; first-person shooters … Continue reading
Filed under videogames
The Sphere of Influence: Journey to the Centre of the Earth
There, upon a granite slab, appeared two mysterious graven letters, half eaten away by time. They were the initials of the bold and daring traveller: “A. S.,” shouted my uncle. “Arne Saknussemm! Arne Saknussemm everywhere!” – From the Malleson translation … Continue reading
Filed under The sphere of influence, videogames
Blog pause
Just a quick note: I’ll be out and about for the next three days covering eGames, so blogging will be put on hold temporarily. I hope to resume with new energy and ideas come Monday.
Filed under videogames
The pacifism of violence
I’ve been meaning to write on this for some time now, and with Owen Good posting a remarkably clear-minded commentary on the latest and truly horrendous Call of Duty: World at War trailer over at Kotaku, there doesn’t seem … Continue reading
Filed under videogames
Rolling Yahtzee
I think that by this point, it’s probably safe to say that Yahtzee, and his Zero Punctuation series is not only the most viewed videogame commentary on the internet, but also probably one of the most highly viewed video series going around. … Continue reading
Filed under criticism, videogames
The videogame miniature
“The miniature is power: over the world of things we would like to possess but do not.” – Sarah Higley, “A Taste for Shrinking: Movie Miniatures and the Unreal City”, Camera Obscura What if the worlds we inhabit in … Continue reading
Filed under videogames
