When I first received Fez, I have to say I wasn’t excited, mainly because 2D puzzle platformers have never quite hit the mark for me. Braid, Cave Story and Limbo didn’t excite me the way I wanted them to. Something seemed off and while others were praising their originality I simply found them annoying. So it was with some trepidation that I began my journey into the world of Fez. Was I going to once again fail to see what the fuss was about or was this the game to convince me that there is a lot of fun to be had with this format? Read the rest of this entry »

You stand in the middle of an endless ocean of sand. Your identity is unknown and your purpose is unclear. This is where your journey begins.

Some of the screenshots give the impression that Journey offers nothing more than a huge, static and dead expanse of yellow sand. These images can’t embody one of the essential truths about the gane, namely, that it feels alive. Gently shifting sands, robes dancing in the breeze and the subtle shift in colour as you leave one area of the desert and arrive in another combine to form a peaceful, almost melancholy sense of place. Read the rest of this entry »

As a form of entertainment, games have certainly evolved beyond their simple roots. What began as a means of passing time has evolved into a medium worthy of recognition as a meaningful pursuit. Some games exist to entertain. Others serve as competitive sports. Then there are games like those in the Mass Effect series. Read the rest of this entry »

The Japanese arcades are a sight to behold. Machines lined up one after the other in all their old school glory. Their flashing lights are blinding in a way and inviting in another, so I take a seat and start playing a game called Boxcelios. My ship flows side to side, attempting to catch enemies in my firing arc as I hurtle across what can best be described as a luminescent sea. I bust through the outer armour of the latest one while the ‘ding!’ of the machine sounds and another enemy comes flying into view. The score counter sits at the top of the screen as I chase a new record. Read the rest of this entry »