Essay
Nintendo’s Power
Nintendo’s new gaming console, the Wii U, has already been dismissed by gaming experts and fans. Is their skepticism warranted, or are they missing the forest for the trees of Hyrule? Jon Irwin thinks the latter.
Jon Irwin
Review
Cloud of War
If we must tangle with our enemies, can we laugh with them too? Nintendo’s new Kid Icarus: Uprising soars through a cloud of action, wit, and self-reference—all at once.
Article
In Search of Gaming’s Worst
One of our favorite pieces from the vault. Dave Carter began the Computer and Video Game Archive at the University of Michigan. But this isn’t your typical archive of gaming’s greatest. It seeks out the forgotten and worst bits of gaming, too—the Philips CD-i, the Atari 7800 controller, the doll tha
Funspot
No Quarters Given
Arcades are a memory of our youth and nostalgic nod to our future. One writer takes the long road from New Hampshire to central Florida and beyond.
Review
Step by Step
What’s within this haunted house? And is it worth exploring with your own two feet? Jon Irwin wonders about the architecture of tedium as he explores Kinect title Haunt.
Interview
Why Grow Up?
We talk to PopCap’s Jeff Green about the end of text adventures, why Bookworm succeeded where other word games failed, and how game journalism needs to evolve.
Essay
The Edible History of Games
In common parlance, tastes change. But this is no mere truism; when technology moves with the times, so does what we find palatable. We look at the history of videogames through the surprisingly familiar lens of food.
Review
A Kind of Gathering Panic
Two recent apps bring human beings in close contact. Runaway iOS hit Draw Something has strangers competing for bombs and profit, while Nintendo’s Swapnote has more volume and humanity.
Review
Review: Fishing Resort Casts a Deep Spell
Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka continues to defy expectations with Fishing Resort, a Wii game that moves at the pace of nothing. Jon Irwin explains why watching the water poses a deeper challenge than the average game.
Review
Review: Mario Kart 7
Do multiplayer games bring us closer together, or push us farther apart? Now on its seventh lap, the Mario Kart series introduces some bits and pieces of social networking to mix things up. Jon Irwin recalls furiously racing against friends after school in the original Mario Kart, and wonders what i
Profile
Profile: Matt Boch
What does it mean be a rock star? We sit down with Matt Boch, who tells us about designing controls for Rock Band sequels and other interactive projects as a musician and how a rock song compares to a sandwich.
Review
Review: Rayman Origins
The return of Rayman turns the simplicity of moving left and right into a platform for ornate, surreal—and very French—beauty. Jon Irwin finds the game cause for celebration.