Ah, the party game.
Much maligned among the hardcore gaming crowd, the party game is oftentimes what enables girlfriends, wives and significant others to tolerate the rest of our not-so-accessible gaming habits. Put simply, the party game is the mediator, the Henry Kissinger of gaming that allows two groups with alternate viewpoints to sit down together.
Even […]

Part One of “The Mendacity of Metacritic” can be found here, and Part Two can be found here.
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Recently, MTV’s Stephen Totilo uncovered that Konami was restricting what reviewers could cover when discussing the much-anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4, including the required (and massive) 4.6 gigabyte installation and the (disputed) length of many cut-scenes within the […]

Part One of “The Mendacity of Metacritic” can be found here.
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Like Hollywood films, the launch of a game can make or break it. If the reviews aren’t good, or the opening weekend isn’t spectacular, the project is likely to be a bust. What we’ve seen in Hollywood is simple; make a film that targets certain […]

Metacritic drives the world of gaming, which is great for CNET, the owners of Metacritic, but not so good for… well, everyone else.
This week, pearls of wisdom came from game developer “Matthew” of the blog Magical Wasteland in a post entitled, “You Can’t Fake Quality, But That Never Stops Them from Trying”. In it, the […]

While not new on the now-crowded scene of music gaming, SingStar is new to Sony’s flagship PlayStation 3 system, and while it’s not as “hardcore” a game as Guitar Hero or Rock Band, it certainly has its appeal, primarily as a party game.
There’s not much to SingStar, really - it’s basically a karaoke machine in […]

It’s downloadable, it’s brain-twisting and it’s the polar opposite of Grand Theft Auto IV.
It’s echochrome, and it’s one of the best puzzlers in years.
Part M.C. Escher, part 3-D, part 2-D and part Lemmings, echochrome takes the gamer through dozens of spectacular levels, utilizing its own set of rules for the in-game universe, all based […]

In what amounts to one of the most curious decisions I can remember, Sony and Polyphony Digital have released Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, a game which essentially serves as a demo for Gran Turismo 5, which is currently scheduled for release… eventually.
Unlike most demos, however, GT5 Prologue is being sold as a full game, which […]

Finally - the mold has been broken. The PSP, which has unfortunately been the home of too many dumbed-down and half-hearted attempts to establish console franchises in portable fashion, has its new prototype - a simple-to-play but challenging title that has style to burn.
Welcome to Patapon.

A cute, cartoon-styled world controlled by rhythmic button presses belies […]

After experiencing a corrupted save that would have forced me to move on from a game before finishing, the gaming gods smiled and allowed Uncharted to start working again on my trusty PS3. After finishing it yesterday, I have no doubt that it delivered on the promise of “Action Movie As Game” about as well […]

Pitchers and catchers reported yesterday, and while it’s still snowing here my thoughts are starting to turn to spring and baseball. MLB 08: The Show had perfect timing in releasing a demo yesterday for the PS3 and PSP. The franchise has gathered a head of steam over the past few years and seems primed to […]