Archive for the 'Gaming' Category

Going Old-School With Nethack

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

I’ve written ANOTHER article for Crispy Gamer, this one in the form of a blog post. This one talks about a favorite game of mine: Nethack. Here’s a snippet:
“No! It’s too strong! I … oh, damn it, the f*cking troll killed Carbomb.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” asks my wife Charlotte, who with a [...]

Character in Gaming

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

I’ve written a new article for Crispy Gamer about the need to invest more development time (and machine cycles) in creating compelling virtual characters. Here’s an excerpt:
Recent releases like Gears of War 2 and Killzone 2 have offered gamers visual fidelity of unparalleled quality. For over a decade, improving visuals has been the focal point [...]

Review – On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 2

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

Penny Arcade continues to branch out into the world of video games which it’s so lucratively mocked throughout its history. Does this installment stand out, or is it just more of the same?
The Short Version

Platform: Xbox 360
One Word: Improvement
Two Words: Funny Action
Worth It: Yes
Scale: terrible | poor | fair | good | great

The Long Version
“I [...]

The Top 8 Rejected PS3 Games

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

At Crispy Gamer, my place of employment, we’re always striving to give our readers new and interesting glimpses into the world of video games. Because of what we do, we enjoy backstage access to a wide variety of games. In our never-ending quest to bring gamers the real scoop, we sometimes uncover strange information that’s [...]

Review – Portal (PC)

Friday, January 16th, 2009

The Short Version

Platform: PC
One Word: Clever
Two Words: Amusing Writing
Worth It: Yes (conditionally)
Scale: terrible | poor | fair | good | great

The Long Version
“Android Hell is a real place, and you will be sent there at the first sign of defiance.”
So says GLaDOS, the psychopathic AI construct who serves as both your primary guide, and primary [...]

My Year in Video Games

Monday, January 5th, 2009

Well, another year has passed. 2008 was a busy year for me (and largely a good one!) — I took a new full-time job, I got engaged, I went on my first cruise, I visited Switzerland, I moved to Brooklyn, I redesigned cDebris,  I adopted another cat, I helped plan my wedding, I got married, [...]

Review – Fallout 3 (PC)

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

The Short Version

Platform: PC
One Word: Apocalyptic
Two Words: Incredible Depth
Worth It: Yes
Scale: terrible | poor | fair | good | great

The Long Version
Fallout 3’s the first game I’ve given a “great” to on this site, a rating I don’t expect to use often because, frankly, it’s thrown around far too easily by most game journalists. Most [...]

On Charitable Causes

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Well, we’re nearing holiday season, and like many other Americans, the holidays often serve to remind me that there’s a whole big world out there full of people less fortunate than myself. Each year I try to make some donations – the amount of which varies based on how I’m doing that year. It’s something [...]

Too Many Games!

Monday, November 10th, 2008

My god, I hate the Christmas season from a video-gaming standpoint. This isn’t 1999, when I was single and my “social life” was going to Outback Steak House with a bunch of other GameSpy nerds before coming back to play video games for the next five hours. Uh … you know what? Frankly, I’m glad [...]

Ordering a New PC

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

The one thing I hate about being pretty computer-knowledgeable is that whenever the time comes to upgrade, I inevitably end up talking myself into building my own machine, even though I am really past the time in my life when I enjoy doing so. I often wish I could just order something, pull it out [...]