Review
Bennett Foddy’s GIRP reminds us of the human instincts to survive and to improve. Lana Polansky explores how GIRP captures what it’s like to feel over-exerted—and the sense of accomplishment that comes from outdoing one’s own expectations.
Review
Does MLB 11: The Show capture the feeling of a real game of baseball? How does it capture realism while still providing exciting action? Ian Cohen describes the elation of MLB 11: The Shows‘s new pitching mechanic and the genius of paving out a virtual Major League career.
Review
What is the true endpoint of a good dungeon crawl? Is it contentment and riches, or some perversion of the two? We dig into Torchlight in search of truths.
Review
Why a browser game about conquering the world is Chris Dahlen’s preferred way to communicate with his friends.
Review
What makes eating a man’s face so sexy? And how does Quan Chi relate to The Wire? We take a blow-by-blow look at Mortal Kombat‘s new fatalities.
Review
More story, more laughs, more portals. Portal 2 hits all the right notes when it comes to delivering a bigger, better Portal. Jason Johnson explains how it gets away with being more than a sequel.
Review
Videogames are anything but real, but at least Crysis is known for its accurate simulations of natural environments. So why is Crysis 2 set in the concrete jungle? Ben Abraham talks about why the sequel feels too artificial.
Review
Why does Filipe Salgado always feel guilty whenever he plays Pokémon? Maybe it’s because Pokémon unabashedly refuses to grow up—save a few evolutions here and there. But is that really such a bad thing? Pokémon Black and White shows some awkward signs of growth—but still appeals more to the rowdy li
Review
Jordan Mammo got sucked into Marvel vs. Capcom 3‘s colorful acrobatics. But how far can a light show go? Read on to see what fighting games have to do with athletes.
Review
Try to make sense of Minotron: 2112 and all you get is a deafening bleat. Richard Clark explains why Jeff Minter’s latest psychedelic tribute to retro gaming is a miss, starting with the fact that you can’t aim.
Review
Some may mistake the third in this series from Atlus as one of the new crop of retro, impossible Japanese role-playing games, but they’re wrong. Courtesy of Shigeo Komori, the drone of the grinding in the sea city of Armoroad provides its own distinct appeal.
Review
Cheap and easy iPhone games are a dime a dozen. How do they affect us on a deeper level if they’re meant as distractions? Quantum Sheep’s monochromatic space jumper tackles the dilemma head on.