Review
Review: Junk Jack
A pixel-themed take on the world-building classic Minecraft demands an objective review, from the highest reaches to the hidden rewards of its fundamentals. Jason Johnson digs into the game’s material.
Jason Johnson
Review
Review: PataNoir
A new interactive fiction game builds a surreal world out of metaphor. So why does it feel all too real? Jason Johnson interrogates the subject.
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Review: SpellTower
A new iPad word game by independent developer Zach Gage illustrates some fundamental conflicts about operating within game systems, and then writing about them. Jason Johnson tries to untangle the letters.
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Review: Aquaria
A game about underwater exploration ironically drowns the player in its own vast world. Jason Johnson wants to chart new territory but finds his mind wandering.
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Review: Loop Raccord
Experimental game Loop Raccord draws inspiration from the process of video editing but finds unlikely communion with the sonic juxtapositions of John Cage.
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Review: Dark Souls
Jason Johnson explores the complexity of a game given to dualities.
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Review: Gears of War 3
Jason Johnson turns to Frank Sinatra to find the rhythms hidden in the new Gears.
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Review: Fruit Ninja Kinect
Discovering friendship by karate-chopping an imaginary piece of fruit. Jason Johnson field tests Fruit Ninja Kinect, the game of juicy assassination.
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Review: Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Cyberpunk role-playing game Deus Ex: Human Revolution weighs in on philosophical questions of technology and humanity. But can it transcend the conflicts and contradictions of its subject matter?
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Review: Trauma
Krystian Majewski’s debut game evades overt mechanics, feeling, and meaning. Jason Johnson explains why this is a good thing.
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Review: Fotonica
Jason Johnson starts to feel like a mechanical man in Fotonica—and it’s not a good feeling.
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Review: Realm of the Mad God
Jason Johnson describes how indie MMO Realm of the Mad God brings out the ugliest in us. And why that’s mostly a beautiful thing.