Hey everyone,

This space has been where I've seriously written internet things ever since I wrote internet things seriously. At one point it started out as a high school diary and evolved into me writing more professionally, or at least critically, about things people might care a bit more about reading! Unfortunately, now I've been through design school and have learned a thing or two, and really enjoy developing in Wordpress, as it gives me a lot more control.

And on that note it's time to let this little place go. I really did enjoy it, and it's been a great place to write and think and talk. I'll try to keep it around, along with all the fond memories.

My new blog area is off my main website. It's got a temporary visual design, which will change, but you'll be able to read to your heart's content. Check it out at

I know there are some people who even through to today, kept reading the sporadic posts I did create. Thanks so much for doing that, it means a lot... and, it's not as though I'm stopping. I hope you check out my new space and continue enjoying my haphazard writing. And thanks for reading it over the years. Take care,

- Adam <3


P.S. If you didn't catch the throwback signature... ...that's probably for the best. =D

P.P.S. I'm bringing all the content (since I started writing about games) over to the new site and it's all still archived there and searchable. So, it should all still be around.

Child of Eden - Review
(for Xbox 360/Kinect)




Let me level with you right off the bat, you probably won't buy this game. If you do, it won't be for months, or longer, until you find a copy that isn't as expensive as this title is. The only reason you would go out and buy it immediately is if you were one of the ten million or so who picked up a Kinect when it came out.

The game contains five-sixish levels, each of which plays in about 10 minutes, and you'll have to replay each a couple times to unlock them all. You'll "finish" the game in 90 minutes. It's short enough to be considered a downloadable game, but it sells for about $50 dollars.

So I don't expect you to buy it, especially if you don't have a kinect (which are something like $150 on their own). You can play it with a controller, and it's still fun, but not quite the same.

That said, I really, really hope you surprise me and buy it anyway. This game is incredible as a shooter, as an impressive tech demonstration and most importantly, as an art piece. In the "are video games art?" discussion, there are arguments for both sides, but games like Flower and Child of Eden are the idea proof for the "yes" side of that debate. They combine audio and visuals and interactivity to evoke emotion more effectively than any other artistic medium, when used properly. This is just because they have more visual, auditory, and sensory stimuli available to them to make you feel feelings, and Child of Eden somehow manages to tickle all of them at the same time.

It's visually stunning. And also, often, it's nonsense. You'll shoot virus barnacles off this space whale with your butterfly shooting gun. You'll get purple muck off of internet light squids. You'll fight malicious infected flying flowers and have to return them to their normal, not-flying-around-and-shooting-people state. Sometimes it can be quite a bit too much sensory overload, but when each "archive" (level) comes to a head, it draws itself together in the most moving way I've seen in a long time. The best example is that space whale, part of a level called "Evolution", where you see him transform from a single cell organism into (eventually) a fantastic hyperreal creature we've never seen before. Evolution.

I talked a lot about how the game looks and feels, but the game also plays very well. It's snappy, and controlling the game with kinect is actually much more fluid. Your shots are more accurate, it's more responsive, and switching weapons feels natural. Plus it's just cool to chase down that menacing virus satellite with your hand and sweep shots over it before it shoots you down.

But it feels amazing. The music is very positive, the levels are each very symbolic and gorgeous in their own way. The developers have said they were trying to create the "happiest" game that's ever been made. They did it.

If none of what I've talked about really interests you, take a pass on Eden. But if you're willing to give it a shot and see if it can really move you in the way I've been describing, I challenge you to go get it and see what an artistic video game can do to you. In the end like most art it's indescribable. You just have to experience it.

P.S. The music is by a band called the Genki Rockets. They're J-poppy, electric, and are all about positive sounds and feelings. If any of their music (try starline or breeze) appeals to you, all the better, but if not then Child of Eden will be a tough sell... they did the entire soundtrack.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Review
(for PC)




People kind of hate on Treyarch's CoD games. Die-hard Infinity Ward fans of the series are worst for it, obviously, but almost everyone who's played both brands of game will agree the modern warfare series is just a lot better. There are a lot of reasons thrown around for why, most of which relate to specific multiplayer game mechanics, but on the whole, like other Treyarch games, Black Ops lacks polish.

Actually, before I say things that are bad about the game, let me say this in bold: Treyarch makes great Call of Duty games. They're really fantastic and the only reason they're so frowned upon is because they're so heavily compaired to modern warfare. I think Treyarch did a really good job on Black Ops. That said, here's why I didn't like it as much.

Call of Duty games are hyperreal. They're games about war. I like playing them around and on rememberance day because they're unfiltered visions of what war is like, and what people really go through and see and experience. Modern Warfare 2 took it to another level, especially with scenes like the infamous "No Russian" which puts you in the weighted boots of a terrorist mowing down unarmed, terrified civillians in Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow. There's something incredibly sobering about seeing this sort of abomonation from a first-person view, as opposed to seeing aftermath photographs of ambulances or shattered glass on the ground.

Alternatively, you'll know what it's like to become close to the members of your squad then have your helicopter go down, and have several hundred enemy infantry advancing on your position, shooting all your friends one by one as they try to defend your position. No matter how hard you fight, you'll feel utterly hopeless.

I know seeing this kind of experience is definitely not for everyone but for a desensitized generation X'er or Y'er or whatever the hell we're called, it's really something else. I hate having to play sequences like that but I'm very glad that I get to because it really gives me an idea of the kinds of horror that troops have to go through when they're at war.

So why can't Treyarch games do this so well? Black Ops' first failing is that it's not hyperreal. It's still grounded in very real events, but the main character is the victim of a brainwashing scheme which controls him and forces him to take action, kill certain people... there are some arguments that one could make involving post traumatic stress, and hallucinating, but the problem is that it's protrayed in a much more over-the-top video game-y way, it loses that grounding in reality that it had. Scenes just don't hit as hard. It's really a shame, it feels like Treyarch robs themselves of such big moments for no good reason besides a different style of storytelling.

They rob themselves of some excitement in multiplayer as well when compared to Modern Warfare 2. It's a sort of isolated issue, but I think it's really important. In the multiplayer progression, you always used to unlock new equipment and weapons and that sort of thing, and you did so in a very structured way. At each level you received specific rewards. In Black Ops, you get to choose your rewards. The problem is when after the first dozen or two dozen levels, you've acquired pretty much everything you would ever want to posess. This gives you absolutely jack-all to look forward to as a bigger reward in the later levels, besides the obvious online reputation and the eventual prestige. It's way less exciting.

It's just a lot of little things that combine to create an overall slightly less exciting experience (I won't mention that the games, especially the PC version of the game, are considerably buggy). It's only slightly unfortunate that everyone hates on it so much for such minute differences... again, only slightly unfortunate, as they're still making several buttloads of money. So they're being justly rewarded for their work. Just fine with me!

You'll notice in that review I didn't talk about Nazi Zombies at all... I held off on purpose because I just talk about zombies so damn much there's not much point in asking me. But if you're interested: yes, zombies are still completely badass, they've upped the gameplay in really fun ways, and given you a lot of things to try out. They even included a dual-joystick classic style zombie shooter. So much fun.

Dead Rising 2 - Review
(for Playstation 3)
Co-reviewed by Sam Jeffery




Meet our Dead Rising 2 hero, Rogue Justice.

Rogue Justice is a man of the people. He goes out of his way to help his fellow man, but won't hesitate to do what's necessary if things go awry (which means leaving your sorry ass behind if you can't keep up). He goes all in on every hand of strip poker he plays. (In fact, he went all in on your mother last night.) He smirks when he's satisfied. He smirks when he's dissatisfied. There's generally a lot of smirking when Rogue Justice is around. He gets crazy with duct tape. He's not afraid to ride a tricycle with pink streamers in public. He tends to eat by smushing food back and forth across his face until it disappears.

But most importantly, Rogue Justice doesn't take your shit.

And all this might sound too silly, but you know what? The Dead Rising games are silly. They're games about a mass zombie outbreak. They're very exaggerated works of fiction. They're arcade-style, in your face, and they might feel broken but everyone in the world of the game plays by the same rules. If a psycho with a pair of flamethrowers is decimating you any time you fight him and you beat him by waiting for him to get stuck behind a garbage can and shooting him there, then it'll feel glitchy. But it's not to say that you can't find other tools or combo weapons in the game world to take him on with that will end up making the job a piece of cake. Despite having such a realized story, Dead Rising games aren't really about the story, they're about you struggling for your life in a zombie-filled sandbox with other normal people, and some other not-so-normal people too. It doesn't concern itself with being serious or realistic. It's a game about damn zombies and it makes sure to make it as over-the-top and surreal as it can to keep it fun, while still staying serious in the context of its characters to keep it grounded and make you care.

So it might be jarring to be stabbed through the gut 4 times with a machete then blown back with a shotgun blast to the head, survive, then down an entire liter of orange juice and be completely healed. Sure. But it's HILARIOUS.

The game still relies on a tight three-day schedule, with important events you have to be at on time for, or risk losing the game's story. This never proves to be such a challenge, as you're given plenty of advance warning at times like this. However, you also have plenty of side-missions that you can check out, which involve the aforementioned psychos to fight, survivors to rescue, and weapons/shortcuts to open up. None of these are mandatory, and the game starts out by killing off a whole host of supporting characters, immediately letting you know that it's okay to let these missions go. You're only one man, and you can't rescue everybody. You'll have to make sacrifices in order to keep you and your own safe, and that's what any person would do in that situation. Despite all the corniness and surreal stuff, this also helps keep the game somewhat grounded in logic and reason.

A lot of things have been tightened up from the first game, including managing survivors (and the survivor's AI), allowing you more chances to save, and keep your levels, experience and money if you ever want or need to start another playthrough. It feels like a much more satisfying blend of unforgiving/challenging mechanics and assistance during your stay in zombieville. I can't quite give it my highest score, though, because there are too many instances where we just got frustrated with some enemy, or the sightly wonky controls, or when we were getting clobbered by a psycho we hadn't figured out. Despite that, it's still a great new Dead Rising game.

Currently Playing

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent
• Resident Evil
• Resident Evil 4
• F.E.A.R. 2
• Call of Duty: World at War (Nazi Zombies)
  

It sure has been a while. It's been weird coming back to write a proper article or two... finding half-finished and a few fully finished articles about games long past (and when I say long past, I mean "last year"). But with my recent graduation and full-time work settling in for now, and with a lot of extra time not cluttered up with homework or school projects, I spent many evenings doing... many a random thing. But with Halloween approaching (my favourite holiday of the year), I figured I should at least keep my evenings somewhat thematic and give myself something to work on. I compiled a list that contained as many scary, fear, or freaky games as I could care to dwell on, and decided to play through as many as I could within the month of October. I'll talk in detail about the ones that make me the most frightened, or that I like the best for other reasons.

The first most exciting game to come to my attention by a very long shot was Amnesia: the Dark Descent. Initially I heard about this game from ben crosshaw, and was told by another game-playing friend that it was a lot like Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, which is easily the best scary title I've ever played. Since it had pretty big shoes to fill, I decided to see if it came close to matching the high standards I have for it (despite it being made by a very low-grade indie developer).

It not only met my standards, it demolished my standards.

First of all, the only things this game shares with Eternal Darkness are the Lovecraftian feel of the horror, and the concept of a sanity meter, which affects how you perceive what's going on in the game; besides that, too much sanity loss will eventually result in losing.

Secondly, this game is scary. Very scary. Far, far scarier than Eternal Darkness.

The opening titles of the game contain a few direct pleads from the developers, asking you to not worry about things like game saves (when you stop playing it saves your exact position and status), or even worrying about completing the game at all. Just allow yourself to become immersed in the world. Turn off the lights, put on your headphones and put up the sound. Make sure your brightness is properly adjusted (as with many horror games). Ready? Okay, good, we promise we'll scare the piss out of you.

And do they ever. The game is scary because it understands less is more. It understands that showing you less of the monsters you're up against makes you much more afraid of them. It understands that people are the most scared of what they don't understand, and that the monsters of their imagination are far more horrifying than any abomination a creature developer could ever slap onto your screen. So, when you see a monster, it'll be shuffling into a corridor at the other end of a long hallway. It'll be roaring at the end of a dark room. It'll be on the other side of padlocked prison bars. You won't be able to see it very well. In fact, if you do look at it, that increases the chance that it'll notice you.

The main character is a personification of your five-year-old self. If you're stuck in the dark, you get more and more scared until you step into some light or turn on your lamp. If you see a monster, you won't fight it. You will only run and run and run until several million miles separate you and the creature. If you close your eyes and you can't see the monster, it isn't there... usually. The game forces you to follow all these rules, and it works to great effect. After my first monster encounter, I spent a full ten minutes toward the beginning of the game practicing running into and hiding within a closet, making sure I could hit a good enough time such that I could disappear should a monster suddenly drop into the room.

And don't get me wrong. Even though you can't fight them, monsters will suddenly appear often enough for you to be terrified, and run. Monsters will corner you in a completely empty, brightly lit room, and you'll have to find some way to escape. Without looking at it. Monsters will threaten to break down the door and you'll have about 10 seconds to find the best hiding place you can in a room filled only with a pile of corpses and two knee-high boxes.

The sheer panic that comes from having to avoid monsters that you cannot possibly defeat is something that can't be matched by any game. Dead Space, Doom, F.E.A.R., resident evil, ...hell, even Eternal Darkness provide you with an arsenal of guns to face whatever scariness is coming at you. When you're just as terrified and helpless as you most likely would be if you were in that situation, and you have to make do with what you have, a genuine panic takes hold; a baser survival instinct that absolutely forces you to react quickly, or come face to face with an abject horror that the game will never really show you... it'll just make you show yourself what you're the most afraid of.

While the mechanics, physics, voice acting, and story themselves aren't award-winningly produced, the sound design is brilliant and the atmosphere is unmatched by any A-grade title I've ever laid eyes on. If you're looking to play a game that will make you very scared, don't miss Amnesia. It's a $20 download on Steam, and as a bonus, you'll support a very competent indie developer. And don't be warded off by the fact that it's a first-person game... it's not a shooter, as there isn't any shooting involved. It's just a first-person puzzle based ...terror machine.