Last year, the international wires picked up the unbelievable story about a teenage Taiwanese gamer who, after playing Diablo III for 40 hours, died at an Internet cafe. He was found draped over a desk, and although he woke up briefly, he only managed to stumble a few steps before passing out, never to awaken again. It was a shocking, senseless tragedy. And afterward, the public did as...
LG is aiming to bring popular smartphone and tablet games to your televisions in 2013. Gaming on the television is something that has been discussed frequently over the past couple of years, and while there have been a few forays into the field, it appears that LG is going to get serious about it in 2013. "Our extensive library of games has been growing steadily since we launched the...
In 1996, I was in fifth grade—a sprouting youngster still jumping fences and chasing down the Ice Cream Man. It was the end of summer. I don’t remember the exact date, but I know that it was night, 8, maybe 9. I was ready—I had anticipated the contest for weeks, to the point where it was all I thought about, at all times. Nothing else mattered. Before that, early one weekend morning, I...
I play a lot of games. That means I often run into a lot of pet peeves. Not enough controller mapping options, inappropriate use of subtitles, tutorials that are too long (or not long enough)… the list goes on. Game design is practically becoming a science; yet, there are still two major design points that I feel aren't implemented enough. In fact, these two points should be turned...
Welcome, welcome, welcome to a weekend of sales that are more than likely guaranteed to bleed your bank accounts completely dry. Gamers take heed: there are new bundles, systems and some sweet games to pick up over this weekend. We’ve decided to gather some of the weekend’s best deals from a smattering of North American retailers. While it would be impossible to create an all-...
After getting a fill of relatives this weekend, you may yearn for a break. While four whole days off from work or school may be a gift, who wants to squander that time dodging kooky Aunt Edna? It’s not too late — you can make the most of your holiday weekend with one of these 4 ideas for rocking that Thanksgiving weekend. Get Your Game On, I: NFL’s Thanksgiving Classic Tis the...
Gamers are a special breed in that buying presents for them can be very, very easy. Figure out what types of games they like and head out to your local gaming shop. Odds are, their favorite genre is covered somewhere in the holiday release calendar, so getting them the latest and greatest (or the classic and amazing) should be simple. Before you run out and buy any of this stuff, make...
I loved Jetpack Joyride when it launched on iOS. I remember playing through the entire game in about two days before I sold my iPhone 4 and moved to Android. But it’s an incredible game and, now, it’s available for all Android users. The idea is super simple: Barry (the guy wearing the jetpack), needs to escape a lab filled with scientists. You’re in control and the goal is to grab as...
It seems to be the big trend these days. Aging entertainment veterans and game developers are taking to the iOS and Android markets to crank out a few pet projects. Recently, Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune released his free-to-play run n' gunner J.J. Rockets for the Android market in Japan, and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi released a silly little surfing game of all things...
In video games, boss battles typically come in three flavors: great, mediocre and terrible. Oh, sure, that’s me simplifying things but the general feeling of a game’s pinnacle moment can often be categorized as such. We hate terrible boss battles. As we well should. But, I mean, we really hate them. After sitting around and talking about them for a bit, we decided it would be great to...