Gaboom: Jessica Ratcliffe interview

“We currently have 3,500 members and I’m hoping for a big boost next week…fingers crossed! I wouldn’t say we are super close, but it is my aim to be operating outside of the UK within 12 months.”

Snakes On A Plain Biscuit

You’ve seen the movie Snakes On A Plane, right? No, me neither. It is by all accounts a terrible film however, that only got made due to internet hype that never translated into ticket sales. A shoddy unprofessional effort, that somehow snagged Samuel L. Jackson so it had a professional, talented face to show to the world. This reminds me of the games industry, and its laughable attempts to convince governments and mainstream media that it mass produces valid art.

Me, you, and the fanboys

So, my first article for Critical Gamer attracted a fair amount of attention, both here and at N4G. It’s nice to be noticed – even by sociopathic nerds.

That doesn’t tell the whole story, though. First of all the majority of comments that referred to me directly were somewhat negative. Secondly, most of the comments on N4G didn’t refer to me and, to be honest, most of them didn’t even acknowledge the existence of my article. I had inadvertently set off a mini fanboy war between PS3 and 360 zealots, which seems to be even easier than I had suspected. I repeat the sentiment of my previous article: people are idiots.

Conflict: Denied Ops: review

There’s no point wasting anybody’s time trying to describe or justify the gung – ho, jingoistic, simultaneously tired and ludicrous plot. All you really need to know is that you take charge of two Americans who spend the entire game wreaking havoc and shooting foreigners in the face. Now, get your eyes ready for a good rolling: one character carries a machine gun and favours all – out combat, and is also harder to kill. The second unlikeable protagonist is a sniper with less health, who is apparently ‘stealthy’ and prefers to take out enemies from a distance

Bend over and take your pricing

To recap: if you complained about Modern Warfare 2′s pricing and paid so much as a single penny more than you usually would upon release, you’re stupid. If you complained about the PS3′s release price but still paid it, you’re stupid. If you’re complaining about the Xbox Live Gold price hikes but have already resigned yourself to paying them, you’re stupid. If none of this applies to you, don’t worry. I do not doubt for a second that I could find several examples in your purchase history that would emphatically prove to my satisfaction that you are stupid.

Raise Hope For Congo talk to Critical Gamer

“It is important to note that the Enough Project is not calling for a ban or boycott of Congolese minerals, which would hurt miners. Instead, we encourage the development of legitimate, conflict-free mineral supplies from Congo through the development of tracing and auditing.”

Scott Pilgrim VS. The World: The Game

Chances are that within the last two weeks or so you will have at least heard of Scott Pilgrim. Along with being a very successful graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley, which reached its final volume earlier this year, it is also a recently released movie and retro style Xbox Live/PSN arcade game.

Monday Night Combat: review

Xbox Live’s “Summer of Arcade” is a grab bag. There is some good and bad. And there is always at least one surprise hit. This summer, it seems, that honour can be awarded to Monday Night Combat.

Medal Of Honor (2010): Beta impressions

Basically, the question we all want answered is – is this game going to rival those two stalwarts of the FPS world? Tough one. It’s very unlikely that this will have MW2 quaking in its boots, but it might well give BFBC2 a run for its money. Don’t, however, be surprised if MOH 2010 turns out to be a bit of a gooseberry. After all, two’s company, three’s a crowd.

DeathSpank: review

DeathSpank is a game that was made with love. Games in this category are few and far between, but they are easily spotted: unique art styles, tight characterisation, self-aware sense of humour. Most importantly, games in this category give the sense that they would have been made no matter what. And it’s a good thing, because such games also tend to break up a monotonous game market. Think Team Fortress 2. Think Borderlands.

And now, think DeathSpank.

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