Unwinnable

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is the latest entry in Capcom’s Versus series. An update of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Ultimate MVC 3 adds 12 new characters, some extra stages, an online spectator option and some other bells and whistles to what was already a pretty solid videogame. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is exactly what it’s supposed to be – a damn fun arcade fighter! (more…)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is my first attempt at a Zelda game since The Adventure of Link. So yes, I missed out on A Link to the Past, arguably the best game in the series if my friends are to be believed. The 3D revolution brought on by Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask? The cel-shaded glory of The Wind Waker? Skipped all that, too. I did buy Twilight Princess, but I admit I did so solely for far more nefarious purposes. So Skyward Sword is a complete sea change for me – one that, frankly, hurts the series more than helps. (more…)

Born in the trenches of World War I, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth grew to become one of the most expansive worlds to ever grace fantasy fiction. Tolkien created an entire world history that never appeared in his actual stories, yet there are letters, notes, unfinished stories – all manner of apocrypha relating to Tolkien’s published works. Warner Bros. Interactive and Snowblind Studio’s Lord of the Rings: War In The North takes a stray line from The Lord of the Rings and expands it into a story using said apocrypha. The result is not a bad game per se, but it doesn’t tread new ground in gaming either. (more…)

Everything about Saint’s Row: The Third is bombastic. Its look, its sound, its set pieces (“I’ll shoot the window out of the plane…”) It’s a world where game shows mimic the violence of the streets; where driving on the wrong side of the road earns you not nitrous boost, but respect; where Brutes that look more than a little like Left 4 Dead’s tanks occasionally show up and throw you around. And hoo-boy is there casual sexism! But it’s not in service of creating “gritty realism”, an “adult” world. It’s juvenile to the extreme. It positively revels in video game camp, the good and the bad. The more I enjoy it, the more I can’t stop thinking about it. (more…)

Back in 1997, I was in middle school and had a PlayStation. I also had FIFA: Road to World Cup 98. This was my introduction into the football genre of sports videogames. My friend Nick Sullivan and I had a fierce rivalry, as we would battle between Team USA and Brazil on a weekly basis. He stomped me most of the time, mainly because Brazil was nearly unbeatable in that game (check the stats).

It’s 2011 now and FIFA is still around, but to be honest I wish I still had my old copy from ’98. I found most of the gameplay in the new FIFA 12 to be extremely monotonous (and I like watching soccer!). (more…)

I was one of those kids growing up – at a young age I was fascinated with cars and had pictures of some of them plastered on my walls. It was the subtle lines and look of them that had me hooked. I saw them as works of art and hoped that one day I would be able to get behind the wheel and unleash one. I can say, to this day, I have yet to accomplish this dream, but with Forza Motorsport 4, I unleashed the kid in me. (more…)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves begins with a bloody and bruised Nathan Drake escaping from a wrecked train dangling off a cliff somewhere in the high passes of the Himalayas.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception begins with a bar fight in an English pub.

If that disparity in scale and ambition doesn’t bother you, you may want to stop reading now. (more…)