Dragon Fin Soup

Tuesday, September 30, 2014


I had the good fortune to grab some hands on time at PAX with Dragon Fin Soup, a gorgeous classic style 2D RPG with a blend of rouge-like elements produced by Grimm Bros. Inspired by iconic RPGs of yore (Zelda, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy), Dragon Fin soup is an artfully styled homage to them.

Of Orcs and More Orcs: Hands on With Shadow Of Mordor, A Post PAX Update

Thursday, September 25, 2014


I spent the better part of an hour with Monolith and Warner Bros. Games Shadow of Mordor at PAX. During that time I was allowed to acquaint myself with many of the interesting systems at play in the latest Lord of The Rings based title. Its open world approach, varied enemies and fascinating Nemesis System took me by surprise.

In Shadow of Mordor, you play as Talion, a ranger of Gondor. You and your family are killed by Sauron in a ritual to summon the spirit of Celebrimbor, the elf who forged the rings of power. Celebrimbor's wraith possesses the body of Talion, resurrecting him (at least in part). With the promise of revenge, Celebrimbor empowers Talion to turn Sauron's armies against him.

Beyond that, very little else has been revealed about the story, but it's been written and directed by Christian Cantamessa, one of the writers of Red Dead Redemption and John Gonzalez, the lead writer of Fallout: New Vegas. These credits give me hope that the story won't tweak with the canon of the existing lore too much. What I played didn't showcase the story. Instead, it focused on the way the Nemesis System interacts with the game world.

POST REDUX 9/13/13: The Games I Play Today

Tuesday, September 23, 2014




[EDITOR'S NOTE:] I'm sick, folks. It's not pretty, and I'm not quite together enough to guarantee I won't puke on my computer. I've reached back into the vaults and pulled out an older post. I think it's relevant, especially for those new readers wondering why I love the indie games so. Enjoy the read, I'm going to go sit in front of the toilet.

The majority of my gaming time used to be spent largely with big name titles from large developers. On any given day, I would prefer Halo, Battlefield 3, Assassin's Creed or Mass Effect to smaller titles. Consoles were my primary platforms for play, with my PC serving more as a stereo than anything else.

Times have changed lately. More and more, I've been playing independent titles over large studio games. While I still enjoy playing many major releases like Borderlands 2, the vast majority of my time has been given over to the indie games. Why? For the longest time I couldn't put my finger on it.

Electric Boogio

Thursday, September 18, 2014
I covered the Stinky Footboard a long while ago, which is an excellent pure-blooded gaming foot controller, but I came across another excellent foot controller this year at PAX Prime.  It's called the Boogio developed by Reflx Labs and Qi2, and you can wear it in your shoes with no added weight.  These things are efficient!  They are a sticker with pressure sensors, accelerometer, and soon will include gyroscopes, all of this on the bottom of your insole.  While I find the technology fascinating in itself and it's capacity, what I really find sexy is the potential for gaming, health, and general computing uses, particularly in tandem with Oculus Rift.

POST PAX UPDATE: Guns of Icarus

Tuesday, September 16, 2014


While at PAX, I got a chance to see some of the new features coming to Guns of Icarus Online, the steampunk airship combat game. Unlike many aerial combat games, you are just part of the crew with three other players filling essential roles onboard like navigating, manning weapons and repairing damaged components. Until now, it's been strictly PVP, but the latest update will add a new cooperative PVE mode that changes the tone of the game. 

Ten Minutes in a Locker: Alien Isolation

Thursday, September 11, 2014


When I was a kid, the most terrifying thing I could imagine was the creature from Alien. I was probably too young to watch Alien the first time I saw it, in fact, I'm certain of it. Since then, movie monsters have fascinated me, though none have ever come close to topping the drone. Later Alien films, while good, just haven't had the same atmosphere. When I heard about Alien Isolation and what the Creative Assembly were attempting I couldn't wait to get my hands on the game. Naturally, PAX afforded me just such an opportunity.

POST PAX UPDATE: Far Cry 4 Impressions

Tuesday, September 9, 2014


While at PAX I swung by Ubisoft's booth to take a look at Far Cry 4. As a big fan of the series - which starts with Far Cry 2 as far as I'm concerned- it was one of the games I was most excited to see. The emails I had exchanged prior to PAX made mention of getting my hands on the new Shangri-La mode, the built in Blood Dragon-esque experience. Unfortunately, it was decided that they weren't quite ready to show it at PAX, and it was pulled. I did get to play a bit of the E3 demo and try my hand at a small mission in a variety of ways.

Scratch Your Cold War Itch With RESISTOR_

Thursday, September 4, 2014
Image source courtesy of Cardboard Fortress

One of the first games we (Wesley H. and I) had a chance to play at PAX was an indie card game called RESISTOR_ (yes, the underscore is intentional) from Anthony Amato Jr. and Nicole Kline of Cardboard Fortress. You and your opponent are supercomputers, each one trying to dismantle the other's firewalls and disrupt their CPU. The implied finality is that with the other supercomputer out of the way, you are free to launch your nation's nuclear arsenal without fear of retaliation. RESISTOR_  uses the familiarity of a deck of cards and uses the space to create a unique and memorable game.

Post PAX Wrap-up

Tuesday, September 2, 2014



PAX Prime 2014 is over. The last four days have blurred together into a strange amalgam of games, panels and caffeine. From big franchise games like Shadow of Mordor to indie card game RESISTOR_, we covered a lot of ground this year and got our hands on a lot of interesting games. You'll hear more about those games in the coming days. For now, I'll leave you with a few choice highlights.