Xbox 360

Halo 2 and Halo 5: Guardians have a lot in common. Both have split narrative campaigns. Halo 2’s boasted the return of Master Chief and gave fresh perspective by allowing players to play as the Arbiter, previously a Covenant enemy. Halo 5 has players playing as Master Chief and his Blue Team, while following the path of Spartan Locke and Fireteam Osiris who’ve been tasked to track him down. Both games feature strong player versus player arena multiplayer modes, which went on to shape the future of the series in the case of 2, and is certain to do so again in the case of 5.

I played the first two Fable games without mercy. I loved the story, the characters, the combat, the writing. They were great games, and they will always remain that way. Then, Fable III was announced, and they had this grand promise of “be the King”, and that was what drew me in. But what should have been an experience that rooted me to my seat, left me questioning my decisions, while forcing me to play through it again really only left me with a feeling of ‘oh’.

For almost three weeks guardians have been hazarding “The Dark Below” in Destiny’s long-awaited first expansion (some might find the term “expansion” misleading, as it does not expand the map or playable areas much). Three new areas have been opened up to players, two beneath the Earth and one beneath the Moon, on two of the three newly added story missions and on the strike. The rest of the expansion, with the exception of the raid, will take you to the same places your journey as a guardian has already taken you. With several new hurdles to overcome, a series of new bounties, new weapons and gear to unlock and upgrade, and new objectives called “quests,” the DLC actually does freshen up Destiny quite a bit, almost in spite of itself.

As science fiction has popularly shown, the best dystopias always began as utopias. The idea of a fallen utopia is something that humanity seems to take an inherent comfort in. Much like our unflappable interest in seeing our heroes and idols fall fall from grace, a destroyed wonderland, or one that hides a myriad of horrors beneath its carefully constructed facade, is a reassuring proposition, one that works to assuage any guilt we might have for not trying to be better, or affecting any real change in our own society or circumstances.

Though the release date and any real plot details still remain shrouded in secrecy, Telltale’s upcoming Game of Thrones series purportedly leaked a few screenshots yesterday. The pictures revealed that the game’s art style will not be following in the comic-inspired aesthetics of it’s forebears (The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us respectively) but will instead impart a more realistic style that will be more appropriate to the show from which it takes its name and setting.

It has been over a month since the release of Destiny and much has changed since Bungie’s latest released. Several events have come and gone, particular weapons have risen to fame and faded into oblivion, and the Crucible has been tailored and balanced several times over. Now seems as ideal a time as ever to reevaluate the new title from the developers of Halo.

Telltale Games has managed to make a pretty big name for itself over the last few years. By focusing heavily on plot and character development in an industry that too often leaves these factors at the wayside, Telltale has brought storytelling back to the forefront of the medium. Now, with two Walking Dead titles, and the Fables-inspired series, The Wolf Among Us, under its belt, Telltale has turned it’s focus to the Game of Thrones universe.

EA’s sci-fi horror doesn’t so much wear its influences on its sleeve, but rather takes them to a tailor and makes them into a three-piece suit. Its protagonist, for instance, is named Isaac Clarke – an eye-rolling, brow-beating reference to two of science fiction’s heavyweight authors, and its premise is, essentially, Event Horizon. But despite all this, it all works really rather well.

It’s time to check your backs for the Darksign because with the release of Crown of the Ivory King, From Software has essentially closed the book on Dark Souls II. This final episode in the Lost Crowns DLC takes place amid the snowy vistas of a frozen kingdom, and levies some of the heaviest challenges yet.

The idea of psychological horror is one that has resonated strongly with audiences for as long as horror has been a genre. First introduced by the narrative titans, HP Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, the notion of psychological horror carried with it a feeling that was intensely unsettling: the idea that we may have more to fear from within than without.

When tasked with choosing a particular horror game from the long and distinguished list, Condemned: Criminal Origins sticks out for a number of reasons. It was one of the best Xbox 360 launch titles, it had a nice CSI-style investigation system, and it let you smash tramps in the face with a brick. All good, valid grounds to recommend the game to others, and yet none of them come close to the one overarching element that everyone who played it will remember.

Unless you were living under a rock last week, you took note of the highly anticipated release of Destiny, the MMO-styled first person shooter from Halo developer, Bungie. As of now, reviews of the game have drawn a partisan divide between two camps of players who have come to see the game in very different lights. Unlike an actual review, this article will focus more on the qualities that I noticed within my own experience without gauging the overall quality of the title.

Have you ever made a mistake that you wished you could undo? Well that’s a silly question–of course you have. It would seem an obvious statement that we all have our regrets about this life. Whether it be in relation to friends, family or career, each of us carries a skeleton or two around with us as a reminder of the missteps which we have been party to. Moreover, though, for so many people, their central regret is tied into the memory of a lost or faded love.

It’s pretty well known by now that the mantra of the Souls series is “Prepare to die.” Yet, one finds one’s self continuously shocked at the near-trolling levels of effort that From puts into killing the player via tactics of shock, awe, and fear. It would seem that the most appropriate citation is that of the opening cutscene of Things Betwixt, where the three former Firekeepers just laugh at you before you even begin your journey…almost as if they know what kind of horrific traumas are to come.

It made a certain kind of sense last generation. With the jump to HD leaving many gamers clawing their own eyes out after they’d hooked their PS2’s scart lead up to their swanky new plasma televisions, it wasn’t long before ‘HD Remasters’ of titles like Sly Cooper, Splinter Cell and God of War hit store …

Never in a million years, did I think that the sight of black forest cake would one day make me simultaneously smile and cringe. Portal ensured that it happened.

Cursed undead rejoice! From Software and Namco Bandai have just announced not one but three episodes of DLC, and all to be released over the course of the next four months.

On Tuesday, May 13, Microsoft revealed plans to sell the Xbox One without Kinect at a $400 price point as early as June 9 of this year.  Coming down from $500, this places Microsoft’s latest platform at the same console cost as Sony’s Playstation 4.  According to MS, the decision comes from user feedback.  Phil Spencer, …

Red Dead Redemption is often considered one of the best video games of the previous generation, a reputation it hardly deserves. The game routinely takes control away from the player when agency is needed, and gives too much freedom when it’s superfluous. Red Dead is totalitarian in its gameplay and narrative presentation, but provides a hollow, laissez faire open world in an attempt to compensate. These problems culminate to create a game that misunderstands, and straight up ignores, the interactive nature of the medium it’s in. Despite its dazzling production values, Red Dead Redemption fails as a video game because of its unengaging, scarce, and meaningless interactivity.

It’s interesting to consider how for many of us, games have been growing up with us. Atlus’ Catherine serves as a prime example of this phenomenon. Having been developed by a team who grew and matured as games themselves did the same, it simultaneously reaches much of the gaming audience as they confront the very issues addressed within it.

Fear. It seems to me that when it comes to Dark Souls II, fear is the name of the game. However, as time goes on, that fear is gradually replaced with daring, a daring that slowly becomes bravery until finally the game is mastered, and you’re filled with a feeling of great satisfaction, even confidence.

When E3 2005 was going on there was rumors that Microsoft was going to introduce a new console. The Xbox 360 promised users a unique experience with next generation graphics and a wealth of games that everyone wanted to play. When I heard about this new console I didn’t really care about it either way …

With the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 rapidly approaching, fans are rushing to stores to make their pre-orders, many of which are committing to trade in their current consoles towards the purchase of their new hardware. But is it really smart to buy a new console at launch? Should people be giving up on the …