Recently in Video Games Category

This week, the name of the game is Love. No, I'm serious. The game is actually called Love.

Love, right now, is mostly possibility; a sign of things to come or a flash of hope that fades out, we'll see in time. For now though, the potential is incredibly exciting.

Love is a one-man project being created by one-man team Eskil Steenberg. Called by Steenberg himself a "not-so-massively multiplayer," Love is a persistent world, Player-vs-Enemy, first-person game. You and 199 other denizens of the world of Love search for tokens that allow you to create and defend a settlement of your design, made by deforming the terrain live within the game. While you work to create your own space with your fellow settlers, you must also fight the AI of the world -- opposing settlements -- with their own defenses and resources.

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Reading Roger Ebert's review of 17 Again recently, I looked at the three-star rating at the top and thought, "Man, Ebert's really jumped the shark, huh?" Then I thought about again: I've been reading his reviews for years, and it's pretty rare that I disagree with the guy. He wouldn't have any positive words for a movie that didn't have any positive words. It made me think: Why do I read reviews? Why does anyone read reviews.

A friend of my compared a review to a letter from a friend abroad: If he had a good time there, he'll try to make you want to come check it out for yourself. If he got dysentery from the tapwater, he'll want you to know that too. In short, the writer is relaying his or her personal experience.

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Take a deep breath before you try this one: Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram.

VO:OT is representative of the best parts of Xbox Live. The incredible variety of titles available means that just about anyone can find something to play. From popular casual games like Peggle and Bejeweled to retro-style side-scrollers like Castle Crashers, there are games for everyone. Virtual On is for the fanboys.

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Every winter and spring, it seems like gamers are playing catch-up from the rush of the fall release cycle. Many games are overlooked entirely while others are relegated to a rent-and-try. One game I picked up, but didn't get around to for a few months was Sega's Yakuza 2. After playing games like Fallout 3 for way too long, I finally took the time to put in this stellar RPG from Sega. I was surprised a few times by the game, but one thing that didn't surprise me is how little has been said about it.

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After Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 hit the shelves this fall, and both had spent their time in my 360's tray, I announced to the world (or maybe just my wife) that I was officially done with buying music games.

As great as some of the song choices have been in the last couple iterations, things have been getting stale, and there's nothing new to the game anymore. The only times either of the discs made it out was for entertainment at a party.

Then I had to go and rent Guitar Hero Metallica.

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(This was huge for me, getting to interview someone like Mr. Langdon over the phone! Give it a listen!)

Kombo had the chance to sit down with stuntman and actor Reuben Langdon last week for a chat about his work in video games. Best known in the world of video games for his voice and stuntwork as Devil May Cry's stylish hero Dante, Reuben is also responsible for the motion capture work behind Street Fighter's Ken Masters and Resident Evil's Chris Redfield. We talked with Reuben about his origins as an actor in Japan, his stunt work along martial artists Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, how motion capture has changed and what it's like to work as some of gaming's best-known heroes.

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More than just about anything, the downloadable demo has defined the current console generation. Suddenly we can try all sorts of games before we buy them. Pick up an Xbox or PlayStation, and you could squeeze a solid hundred hours out of the system before even spending a cent on download or retail games.

So, are demos here to stay like analog sticks, or will they go the way of the Sega console and disappear for good?

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(Personal Note: This is the first article I posted where I get flamed! Check out the comments! Respond if you like, but not in my defense.)

Here I was, all ready to write you this nice post about how few top-selling games are Japanese anymore. I was going to mention how well the third Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku) is selling in Japan, despite being little more than a blip on the radar over here. Not to mention how the prime franchises over here are Madden, Grand Theft Auto, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, while Japanese charts are populated with Monster Hunter, Pokemon, and Dragon Quest.

Then Nintendo had to go and take up half the top 10 with all their first-party titles in both markets.

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While plowing through Resident Evil 5, I've been witness to all kinds of design ideas and game mechanics.

Making everything -- from healing to opening doors a cooperative experience -- was a stroke of genius right from the beginning.

Making the ending to the final boss battle so esoteric, not so much. I'm also not terribly happy about the inability to swap weapons between players. There's no reason for it. The game's not perfect by any means, and I'll admit part of the reason I'm enjoying it so much is because I'm a huge Resident Evil fan.

My favorite, and probably the most subtle mechanic, is that box of ammo left behind by the Kalashnikov-wielding zombie you just perforated.

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First off, I must brag: My first front page!

How awesome?!

As games continue to enjoy the benefits of increased budgets, the line between Hollywood and its massively multiplayer interactive replica narrows. Games have more capacity than ever to imitate and even surpass movies in visuals, audio and even storytelling.
When reading or even writing a review, it's easy to compare the experience to a movie, book, or some other piece of art. It's not exactly a stretch. However, there are aspects of gaming that just plain don't apply to a book, movie, song, or even painting.
The interactive aspect is just one. In more traditional art forms, the author has total control within the contained bounds of the created piece. No one can walk up to one of Picasso's paintings and turn a color dial, and you can't add your own jazz riffs to your favorite Miles Davis album. Sure, you can take that piece of art and do with it what you wish, but the art itself will still remain complete, outside of that.

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