January 2012
22 posts
One hell of a year
Finally: I’m up to date with posting links in this space, pretty well caught up with work, and have knocked out weekend-consuming social obligations. Now I can write this post. As you might surmise from following this space or my Twitter feed, last year was pretty amazing in terms of work, start to finish. Here’s a quick look at some of the fantastic opportunities that came my way...
iPad reviews of the week: 01.14.12 @ GamesRadar →
Here is my final iPad reviews of the week column for GamesRadar, which posted earlier today and includes Assassin’s Creed Recollection and Bag It! HD. It’s been a great run, but after about 15 months, this weekly column is no more. Ultimately, the posts weren’t picking up traffic, which had always been an issue, and I credit my editors for letting it run as long as it did in an...
Review: Cars 2 AppMATes @ Mac|Life →
Here’s my Mac|Life review of Cars 2 AppMATes, an iPad app that utilizes optional plastic cars that interact with the game world. This review is also found in the March 2012 print issue. It’s a great concept, but the execution is terribly inconsistent. Not worth the cash.
Review: Whale Trail (iOS) @ Mac|Life →
Here’s my review of Whale Trail, a rad little iPhone and iPad addiction created by ustwo, for Mac|Life. It also appears in the February 2012 print issue. It’s super simple, but I love this game. It’s been supplanted by Super Crate Box in my regular routine, though…
Review: Motion Explosion @ Official Xbox Magazine →
Here’s my review of Motion Explosion, a Kinect game developed by Artech Studios and published by Majesco, for Official Xbox Magazine. This review also appears in the forthcoming March 2012 print issue. It’s a gross-sounding title, but the game is actually super sterile and thoroughly bland.
Backtracking: Amped 3 @ Official Xbox Magazine →
My second entry in Official Xbox Magazine’s web-only Backtracking series is on Amped 3, an Xbox 360 snowboarding game and launch title that I loved way back when. It hasn’t aged remarkably well on the slopes, but the bizarre sense of humor definitely holds up.
Interview: Yaron "Lonewolf" Levi @ GamesRadar →
I spoke with Yaron Levi, a freelance weapons designer who worked on The Darkness II and Modern Warfare 3, for GamesRadar to talk about his work and experience. Every so often, I write an interview-based article that seems to come and go with absolutely zero fanfare. Sadly, this seems to be one of them.
Review: NFL Blitz (XBLA) @ Official Xbox Magazine →
Here’s my review of NFL Blitz, an arcade-style football game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports, for Official Xbox Magazine. This review also appears in the forthcoming March 2012 print issue. It’s pretty good! A bit too streamlined for its own good and surprisingly devoid of personality, but entertaining all the same.
iPad reviews of the week: 01.07.12 @ GamesRadar →
Here is last weekend’s iPad reviews of the week column for GamesRadar, which includes Super Crate Box and Kinectimals. As detailed on my Twitter feed this morning, I’m kind of crazy about Super Crate Box right now. When I wrote this up, I was terrible at it, but kept at it. Within the last couple days, I’ve figured out how to do decently well at the game and keep inching higher...
10 Original iOS Standouts from 2011 @ Mac|Life →
Wrote up this gallery-based list of 10 top original iOS games from 2011 for Mac|Life, which highlights worthwhile iPad and iPhone games that weren’t sequels or spinoffs. Some excellent titles in the bunch.
Review: Wipeout 2 @ Official Xbox Magazine →
Here’s my review of Wipeout 2, a Kinect game developed by Behaviour Interactive and published by Activision, for Official Xbox Magazine. This review also appears in the forthcoming March 2012 print issue. I reviewed Wipeout: In the Zone for Kinect last year and though it pretty decent (despite issues), but this “sequel” released just four months later is a half-hearted cash-in...
High Scores: The Best of 2011 Ballot @ Kill Screen →
As with last year, Kill Screen asked me to submit a ballot of my top 10 games of 2011 for its High Scores critics poll. Clicking the above link yields my own personal ballot, in which I list and explain my favorites from the year, and you can click here to read the collective top 25 voted by the entire group. And it seems you can buy the artwork as a rad print, which I totally intend to do now...
Review: SpongeBob's Surf & Skate Roadtrip @ OXM →
Here’s my review of SpongeBob’s Surf & Skate Roadtrip, a Kinect game developed by Blitz Games and published by THQ, for Official Xbox Magazine. This review also appears in the forthcoming March 2012 print issue. It’s decent! But also fairly unremarkable.
Review: Psychonauts (Mac) @ Mac|Life →
Here’s my review of the recently released Mac version of Psychonauts, a platform-action game developed and now published by Double Fine, for Mac|Life. This review also appears in the February 2012 print issue. I hadn’t played it back when, so it was fresh to me — and while I loved the characters and atmosphere, the mechanics left me wanting.
The Games of January 2012 @ GamesRadar →
Every month, I spin through the upcoming release schedule for GamesRadar, and here’s the feature for the month of January 2012. It’s a remarkably thin slate this month, at least until the last day, which features Soulcalibur V, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and NeverDead. And Gotham City Impostors (front and center on the above image) was delayed shortly after this posted, so the month is...
10 iOS Games with Holiday Updates @ Mac|Life →
As part of my editing gig with Mac|Life, I have to assign or write gallery articles that spotlight a number of apps that all fall within a theme. For this pre-Christmas one, I picked out 10 existing iOS games that had recently received holiday updates. I suppose this means very little now that it’s January. Oh well.
Backtracking: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand @ OXM →
Official Xbox Magazine recently launched a web-only column called Backtracking, which looks back on a secretly classic, kitschy, or otherwise memorable past Xbox/Xbox 360 release, and my first contribution spotlights the wonderfully bizarre 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. Have a couple more of these running in the near future, and definitely have some more ideas to pitch beyond that.
My 2011 GOTY is Better with Kinect @ OXM →
As it came time to finalize my 2011 year-end gaming list, I realized that Child of Eden was my favorite experience of the year, thanks in part to its Kinect compatibility. So I pitched the idea of exploring that to Official Xbox Magazine, and they thankfully let me go ahead with it as an entry in their biweekly Kinect web column, titled “The Sole Train.” It’s also the first...
Review: Fractal: Make Blooms Not War @ Mac|Life →
Here’s my review of Fractal: Make Blooms Not War, a stellar Mac puzzle game developed by Cipher Prime and published by IndiePub, for Mac|Life. This review also appears in the February 2012 print issue, which is out now (and I helped edit).
Hands-on with OnLive for iPad @ Mac|Life →
I wrote this hands-on preview of the OnLive cloud gaming app for iPad back before Christmas, thinking it’d follow any day then — but it’s still awaiting approval from Apple, it seems. Curious what the hold-up is, especially since OnLive seems confident that its new cloud desktop app will launch this week on iPad. Interesting. Anyway, the gaming app was really cool, but it...
iPad reviews of the week: 12.17.11 @ GamesRadar →
Here’s the last iPad reviews of the week column I wrote for GamesRadar before the holiday break. It features a couple of heavy hitters in the form of Grand Theft Auto III and Batman: Arkham City Lockdown.
Review: Yoostar on MTV @ Official Xbox Magazine →
Catching up on a backlog of links. Here’s my review of Yoostar on MTV, a Kinect game developed by Blitz Games and published by YooStar, for Official Xbox Magazine. This review also appears in the just-released February 2012 print issue.
December 2011
12 posts
January 2012 print contributions
January’s print month (in a couple cases, the January/February print month) is another very big one for me in multiple ways, but the biggest reason is that it marks my debut as a contract editor for Mac|Life magazine. As detailed before, I’m filling in for my on-leave editor for four months through the end of January, which means I’m in charge of the App|Life (app reviews and...
Review: Deepak Chopra's Leela @ OXM →
Here’s my review of Deepak Chopra’s Leela, an Xbox 360 collection of Kinect-based mini-games and meditative exercises, for Official Xbox Magazine. This review also appears in the forthcoming February 2012 print issue, alongside four other reviews.
iPad reviews of the week: 12.10.11 @ GamesRadar →
Here’s my latest iPad reviews of the week column for GamesRadar, which posted on December 10 and includes Zen Pinball and Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies. Zen Pinball is a very swell port (and free download), while Black Ops Zombies is OK. It’s already been updated with tweaks since I wrote this, so it might be better by this point.
Holiday 2011 print contributions
My work appears in two Holiday 2011 print issues (Nintendo Power axed its bonus issue starting this year). Over in Official Xbox Magazine, I have a half-page hands-on preview of the excellent Fez for Xbox Live Arcade on page 25. Back in the reviews section, you’ll find my 1/3-page piece on Minute to Win It for Kinect on page 69, followed by a same-sized look at Rotastic for Xbox Live Arcade...
December 2011 print contributions
December 2011 is one hell of a print month for me. I admittedly lost myself a bit in work while putting all of this together some weeks back. It was well worth the effort, though, and it’s gratifying to see all of this come back on the printed page. My work appears in six December issues with several very large contributions, all of which I’ll exhaustively detail below.
The super...
Feature: The Fall of Tony Hawk @ 1UP →
Here’s the online version of my feature for 1UP on Tony Hawk Ride and Shred, titled The Fall of Tony Hawk. I recently blogged about the experience of writing up this investigative feature for 1UP Presents #3, and this web version includes an altered ending to better reflect new details since the original printing — namely Robomodo’s follow-up projects and the teased...
Feature: Hands-on w/ Sifteo Cubes @ GamesRadar →
Here’s my feature about the Sifteo Cubes — a trio of small displays that can be used in tandem for simple play experiences — for GamesRadar. I actually wrote this one a ways back, but it just posted this week. It’s interesting tech, but there isn’t a lot of exciting content just yet. Hopefully the SDK release will encourage interesting indie fare. Seems like this...
iPad reviews of the week: 12.03.11 @ GamesRadar →
Here’s the latest iPad reviews of the week column, which was posted at GamesRadar on December 3. It includes my write-up of Spy Mouse HD, and was planned to contain another new release, but a mix-up nixed that at the last second. Instead, you’ll find a blurb on Feed Me Oil HD from the swell Hollander Cooper. This weekend’s post is all fresh releases, though.
The Games of December 2011 @ GamesRadar →
Last month, I started tackling GamesRadar’s monthly roundup of game releases, so here’s my second crack at the recurring piece. It’s noticeably shorter than November’s, which was out of control, but there are still some worthwhile releases in the mix. Mario Kart 7 is a lot of fun (and out this Sunday), though it didn’t blow my mind. I also reviewed another game on...
8 Recent Mac App Store Games... @ Mac|Life →
Here’s an article that I wrote today: 8 Recent Mac App Store Games Worth Playing over at Mac|Life. As part of my contract editing position, I assign and occasionally write these app gallery pieces, so I decided to do one on recent Mac App Store game releases. I’d hoped to couch it in a “to gift for the holidays” theme, but that App Store currently lacks a gifting feature....
Review: Twister Mania @ Official Xbox Magazine →
Here’s my review of Twister Mania, a Kinect game developed by Naked Sky and published by Majesco, for Official Xbox Magazine. It may also be in the January 2012 print issue, but I can’t say for sure until I see it. This game is ostensibly based on the classic Twister plastic mat game, yet it has roughly nothing to do with it — and is a wickedly lightweight play experience. So...
Preview: Robomodo's Bodoink on Kickstarter @ 1UP →
Just recently, I wrote up two very large and very different feature articles for a couple publications. One was for Gamasutra about how indie game developers are best using Kickstarter to fund their projects. The other was a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Tony Hawk: Ride and Shred by Chicago-based studio Robomodo for 1UP Presents (and soon, 1UP.com). Never did I imagine that those...
November 2011
26 posts
1UP Presents: Issue #3
Been waiting a while to share this one. First, some background. 1UP Presents is the bimonthly print magazine of 1UP.com, but unlike traditional magazines — which sport advertisements, are sold at newsstands, and typically offer subscriptions — it can only be purchased online, with each issue printed on demand by HP when ordered. Unfortunately, all those things combine to make the...
The Best Deals of Black Friday '11 @ GamesRadar →
Here’s my feature for GamesRadar titled The Best Deals of Black Friday 2011, which serves up some pretty self-explanatory info: it’s a compendium of the top brick-and-mortar deals kicking off on Friday (some on Thursday). It’s very similar in structure to last year’s post (which I didn’t write), so it was just a matter of keeping an eye on all the ad reveals and...
Review: Kung Fu High Impact @ Official Xbox Mag →
Here’s my review of Kung Fu High Impact, a Kinect action game developed by Virtual Air Guitar Company and published by Ignition Entertainment, for Official Xbox Magazine. It also appears in the upcoming January 2012 print issue of the magazine. It’s an updated take on last year’s so-so Kung Fu Live for PSN, and while it’s a little more refined here, it still has some...
iPad reviews of the week: 11.19.11 @ GamesRadar →
Here’s my latest iPad reviews of the week article for GamesRadar, which posted on November 19 and includes Age of Zombies Anniversary and Asteroids Gunner. As hinted at on my previous blog about this weekly column, I’ll now be covering just two iPad games per week, instead of the previous four. I proposed the change, as doing four per week had become a real grind and was losing its...
List: 25 Games w/ Hip-Hop Stars @ Complex →
Here’s a list feature I did for Complex titled “25 Games Featuring Hip-Hop Stars as Playable Characters.” It’s a compilation of games from over the years that include famous rappers, DJs, and producers as playable characters, whether they’re the stars of the show or just hidden unlockables. The list starts with 16-bit entries like Rap Jam: Volume One and Shaq-Fu and...
Review: Need for Speed: The Run @ OXM →
Here’s my review of Need for Speed: The Run, a racing game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts, for Official Xbox Magazine. It also appears in the forthcoming January 2012 print issue. I’m a fan of several series entries and awarded the last two (Shift 2 Unleashed and Hot Pursuit) a 9.0 or equivalent score in reviews, but this one really fell flat for me....
Review: Steambirds Survival HD @ Mac|Life →
Here’s my review of Steambirds Survival HD on iPad for Mac|Life. I originally wrote it as a much briefer version for the January 2012 issue — my first as a contract editor, in stores in a couple weeks or so — but expanded it out just a bit for the website. Great game. One of the best and least-punitive free-to-play games on the App Store.
iPad reviews of the week: 11.14.11 @ GamesRadar →
Here’s my most recent iPad reviews of the week column for GamesRadar, which posted on Monday and includes Shantae’s: Risky’s Revenge, ProtoSlice, Sad Robot, and Brothers in Arms: Global Front Free+. All four arrive without a price tag, though one requires an in-app purchase for the full game and two others rely on microtransactions to some extent. This article missed the...
Review: Assassin's Creed: Revelations @ GamePro →
Here’s my review of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, a multiplatform open-world action game developed by Ubisoft Montreal (with support from other studios) and published by Ubisoft, for GamePro. Last year’s entry, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, was one of my favorite games of 2010, but this marks a pretty notable departure in quality from the past two releases. The annual...
November 2011 print contributions
My work appears in the November 2011 issues of four different print magazines. I’ll start with Nintendo Power, which has five pieces from me, including reviews of the Wii and Nintendo DS versions of X-Men Destiny. Both are tiny reviews found on page 79, and both games also happen to be pretty terrible.
in the back of the book, you’ll find three articles from me in the Community...
Preview: Fez @ Official Xbox Magazine →
Here’s my preview of Fez, an upcoming indie game for Xbox Live Arcade that I saw and played at the Fantastic Arcade festival in Austin in late September. This preview also appears in the Holiday 2011 print issue, which is out now. It’s a truly stunning little game, and I’m really excited to dig into it in a couple months or so (should be out early next year).
Review: The Black Eyed Peas Experience @ OXM →
Here’s my review of The Black Eyed Peas Experience, a Kinect dancing game developed by iNiS/Ubisoft and published by Ubisoft, for Official Xbox Magazine. It also appears in the forthcoming January 2012 print issue. I had a lot of fun with this game — a lot more than I expected, since I’m not a fan of their music. Half-expected whining/jokey comments about the score, but no...
Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 @ OXM →
Here’s my review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, a first-person shooter developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision, for Official Xbox Magazine. It also appears in the forthcoming January 2012 print issue. Hey, I reviewed the latest Call of Duty game for OXM! That’s pretty rad. So is the game, luckily. The online version includes a launch day...
iPad reviews of the week: 11.07.11 @ GamesRadar →
Here’s my iPad reviews of the week column for GamesRadar, which posted on November 7 and includes Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation, Whale Trail, Quarrel Deluxe, and Espgaluda II HD. I’m really hooked on Whale Trail (pictured), but this is one of the better all-around sets of games I’ve profiled for the column, which has stretched on for more than a year at this point. Hurrah for...
The Dark Side of Freemium @ Mac|Life →
And finally, here’s the last bit of my freemium games feature from the December 2011 print issue of Mac|Life. The Dark Side of Freemium was a large sidebar about some of the consternation caused by in-app purchases and ways to safeguard them, but it works well here as a standalone piece, despite lacking the context of the original feature. On a side note, I hope to never play Farmville or...
10 Freemium iOS Games to Try @ Mac|Life →
Here’s another piece of the big freemium games feature I did for the December 2011 print issue of Mac|Life. Like the previous postings, they took part of the overall print article and spun it off into an online piece. This one’s about 10 popular freemium iOS games; it started as a large sidebar in print, but here’s its a standalone gallery piece.