In recent years there has been a trend of moralization in video game criticism, particularly concerning gender inequalities, but also race and sexuality. Dragon’s Crown is only the latest subject of this kind of criticism: before it we've had Tomb Raider , Deus Ex: Human Revolution , Bayonetta and so on and so forth. A lot of people are pleased with this, but the truth of the matter is that thi...
guys i was looking at paintings and came across these shocking works (might be NSFW if your employer objects to nudity in classical art): "La Nymphée" by some guy called Bouguereau or something, very sexist but what do you expect from a Frenchman "Green Eyes" by Arantzazu Martinez who i think is a woman, but looking at the painting it's clearly misogynistic (why is the woman doing a sexy pose w...
I cannot help but look at this year with mixed emotions. On the one hand, for me as a European who enjoys arcade games, this has been an absolutely stellar year with Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu , Deathsmiles , The King of Fighters XIII and Arcana Heart 3 getting localized, Muchi Muchi Pork! and Pink Sweets being released in a region-free port compilation, and the excellent Hard Corps: Uprising comin...
A couple of months ago, a small video game shop/café called SuperMotaro -- yes, that's a reference to Mortal Kombat's Motaro -- opened on Hantverkargatan 90 in Stockholm. I've visited it a handful of times, and feel I need to tell people about this lovely little place (I know Giant Bomb has a fair amount of Swedish members). SuperMotaro deal primarily with Japanese video games from past generat...
☆☆☆ (out of five) Shadows of the Damned , in which Garcia Hotspur ventures through Hell to save his girlfriend Paula from the demon lord Fleming with the aid of his trusty sidekick, the flaming, talking skull Johnson (capable of transforming into a torch, a motorbike and a variety of guns for Garcia to use), is a very disappointing third-person shooter. Its primary problem is simple: Garcia is...
☆☆☆☆☆ (out of five) Vanquish is no ordinary third-person shooter. It has most of the things you would expect from a game in the genre these days – walls you can attach to for cover, regenerating health, a limited number of weapons you switch between with the D-pad – but whereas games like Gears of War and Uncharted are about being a badass right from the get-go, Vanquish is about becoming one....
☆☆ (out of five) Shadow of the Colossus is, essentially, one long action-adventure boss rush. The only enemies in the game are sixteen gargantuan colossi the main character has to kill in order to resurrect a dead princess, and the only times at which you aren't fighting one of them of is when you're riding to the next. It's a great concept. A particularly well-designed boss fight is often the...
☆☆☆ (out of five) Portal could have been great. The concept was ingenious: a gun that shoots portals is a very cool thing indeed, and allows for some amazing level design. Unfortunately Valve screwed up by making the puzzles way too simple – the whole game felt like a long tutorial for a set of harder, better puzzles that didn't actually exist. Enter Portal 2 . It's got a plethora of new puzzle...
☆☆☆☆☆ (out of five) Most people know of God Hand for the PlayStation 2, developed by the late Clover Studio, not as one of Shinji Mikami's masterpieces ranking alongside, or perhaps even above his Resident Evil 4 in quality, but as either a stiff, ugly mess of a game not worth anyone's time, or a game whose main appeal lies in its abundance of ridiculous, referential cutscenes and its hilarious...
I've never really been interested in making this kind of "Game of the Year" blog. This year, though, I figured what the hell. I can at least give it a shot. See if it's any fun. So here are my ten favorite 2010 releases, the five games I think could've made that list if I had played them, my ten favorite pre-2010 releases I didn't play until 2010, and the ten 2011 releases I'm looking forward t...
Flower is what happens when a bunch of no-good hippies learn how to utilize the Playstation 3's power. ☆ (out of five) For years, indie developers have tried to convince themselves -- and, by extension, others -- that conventions are a bad thing; that challenge and complexity -- the cornerstones of any mechanically outstanding video game -- are harmful ; that the " experience " -- whatever that...
Like the titular realm, Limbo is neither abhorrent nor wonderful. ☆☆ (out of five) Ah, Limbo . It has been called this year's Braid ; a masterpiece; perfect , even. Let's have a look-see, shall we? Limbo is a puzzle-platformer. And I'm going to address the game's largest problem immediately: Both the puzzles and the platforming are completely devoid of any challenge. The former virtually never...
A while ago, I picked up a used copy Silent Hill 2. I knew a lot of people consider it the best horror title ever made, and I'd been wanting a new survival horror game for a while. I got home, put it on the shelf and... just kind of forgot about it, I guess. It's been sitting there for a good two months. Two nights ago, I decided to fire it up. I also decided to chronicle my experience with it...
A while ago, I picked up a used copy Silent Hill 2. I knew a lot of people consider it the best horror title ever made, and I'd been wanting a new survival horror game for a while. I got home, put it on the shelf and... just kind of forgot about it, I guess. It's been sitting there for a good two months. Tonight, I decided to fire it up. I also decided to chronicle my experience with it in a se...
Today, I realized that I'm excited for God of War III . Heck, I'm excited as hell . What I don't know is why . See, God of War: Chains of Olympus , my introduction to the series, was an absolute joy to play. The combat was simple yet immensely satisfying; the boss fights were spectacular; the story somehow managed to use Greek mythology in ways more epic than actual Greek mythology; the graphic...
I've been excited for Bayonetta since the first time I saw it. The art style, the music, the insane over-the-top action... everything just clicked. It was love at first sight. However, there's this gnawing worry that's constantly been there, in the back of my head. What if the game wasn't as good as it looked? What if it was just all flash and no substance? What if the game was shite ? Now, don...
Yet another sequel I'd like to see: Fatal Frame V While it's not even certain if the fourth one is getting released here in Europe, I'm already longing for a fifth entry in the series. The first one I played was Fatal Frame II , and it's the scariest game I've ever played. To be honest, I haven't even finished the game because it's so damn scary. The fact that your only weapon is a camera and t...
Another sequel I'd like to see. This time it's... Metroid Prime 4 I have actually only played one game in the series, Metroid Prime 3 . I was thinking of buying the two previous ones, but then the New Play Control ports were announced, and I decided to wait. Anyhow, MP3 was an amazing game. Some of the best graphics I've seen on the Wii, great art design and music, and incredible atmosphere. He...
I thought I'd write some stuff about sequels I'd like to see, and what I'd like to see in them. The third one is... Mega Man Zero 5 I've always ben a big fan of the Mega Man games, and if you ask me, the best ones were the Mega Man Zero games. In addition to your trusty Buster you had the Z-saber, which you could use to slice enemies in half. In the three first games you also had the Shield Boo...
I thought I'd write some stuff about sequels I'd like to see, and what I'd like to see in them. The second one is... Zack & Wiki 2 The point & click genre is nearly dead, which is a sad thing. However, it won't give up without a fight - about a year ago, Zack & Wiki for the Wii was released. A great visual style, challenging puzzles and great use of the Wii's motion controls made this one of th...
I thought I'd write some stuff about sequels I'd like to see, and what I'd like to see in them. The first one is... The World Ends With You 2 The World Ends With You is my favorite Nintendo DS game, and my second favorite JRPG. The combat system made excellent use of both the dual screens and touch control. It took a while to get the hang of it, but once I did, I had more fun than I have ever h...
GOTD 1981-1990 Super Mario Bros. (1985) Gun.Smoke (1985) Contra (1987) Rastan Saga (1987) Mega Man (1987) Super Contra (1988) Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) Mega Man 2 (1988) Crime City (1989) Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989) Out Zone (1990) 1991-2000 Shatterhand (1991) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991) Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1993) Contra: Hard Corps (1994) Metal Slug: Sup...