Tag: PopMatters

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Neon Noir Fairy Tales

The next episode of the Moving Pixels podcast, the first in what is sure to be a series, discussing The Wolf Among Us. I am an unabashed Fables fan. I spend much of the time on the podcast resisting the urge to spew continuity all over the place. The angle of Telltale has chosen to work with the subject matter has so much to work with and benefits greatly if you know the details about the world. And from what my fellow podcasts have said, it works even if you don’t know the world that much. | more

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The Anachronic Mixup of ‘Beyond: Two Souls”

It’s a day late, but my post discussing Beyond: Two Souls is up on PopMatters. I wanted to expand upon a point I made in my review of the game, which was the anachronic nature of the game’s presentation. David Cage decided that it would be a good idea to present the story of this woman’s life out of order for some reason. At the end, an in-game fictional excuse is given for why the game is presented as it is, but it doesn’t matter as it doesn’t work in the real world with me as an audience member experiencing it. | more

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Playing the Gigolo: ‘Killer is Dead’ Changes the Pace of the Game

I want to start out by saying I chose neither the title nor the picture for the Killer is Dead piece. I am terrible at titles and sometimes leave it up to editors to come up with them for me. You can see what I put in the title field in the back end in the URL. There’s a lot of craziness going on in Killer is Dead, which I guess is standard for a Suda 51 game. But it does something I wish more action games would do. It gives the player an area to play taking a break. | more

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Sword, Sex and Suda 51

A while back we at PopMatters played Suda 51 latest creation, though only in a writing capacity this time, Killer is Dead. The studio sent multiple codes, so I got one and we decided ‘hold a podcast on it.’ I expressed my thoughts on twitter on beating the game, and later repeated them on the podcast, as “thoroughly mediocre.” I think it might be the most apt way to describe the game. While it does have interesting points, plenty to grab onto for a discussion and absolutely dripping with Suda 51′s artistic self all over the place, it just meh. | more

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Cinematic Framing in ‘Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons’

I get back to playing more recent fare with a piece focusing on an oft overlooked element in gaming and its use in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The week’s column was spawned by that all too great motivator, desperation. It was getting late and I had to go to bed early because I was working the election polls the next day. I had to be up at 5 am. I looked over my list of games that I’ve played but haven’t written anything about (every critic should make a list like this) and pick out something I could find something to say about. | more

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Reviews For September/October

Only 4 reviews over the last two months. It would have been more, but several things have kept them from others being published on time. Late review copies, accidental double scheduling etc. My next review round up looks to be a doozy. What is there really to say about Divekick? I’ve never been really all that into the fighting game scene or games in general. I’ve usually owned at least one for some matches with friends when they’re over as they’re generally good party games with a quick turnover. | more

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We Have No Mouths and We Must Scream

Just one day after Halloween, out comes our two many podcast discussion on the classic adventure game I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. In the beginning we lament that we have to warn about spoiling the game, including puzzles. In fact, a large portion of the podcast could constitute a walkthrough because of the integrated nature of them regarding the thematic content. The puzzles aren’t divorced from the story like many traditional point and click adventure games and on that alone I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream comes out far ahead of much of its genre. | more

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‘Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly’: The Uncertainty of Control

And so, horror month comes to an end at PopMatters. Originally, I was going to this game last week and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream this week, but a podcast recording schedule had me switch those around. I’d heard Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly was one of the scariest games of all time and I was going to see if it lived up to its reputation. Fatal Frame II had me hook pretty much from the word go. | more

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A Truthful Execution of Horror: ‘I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream’

We recorded a podcast on I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, it will go up soon and, in the meantime, I decide to look into it with what it does with horror. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream isn’t horrifying in the traditional sense of the genre, but then we tend to use horror, terror, frightening and scary as interchangeable when really, they are subtly distinct emotions. The game really isn’t scary. You won't be screaming or whimpering or see YouTube videos of people making fools of themselves. | more

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‘Amnesia’: The Psychological Toll of Horror

This week on horror month at PopMatters I wrote about Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Normally I like to finish a game before I begin writing about it, because often I do an examination of the whole. But with Amnesia I knew the behavior the game instills in its player going in. What I didn’t know is how complete that behavior outside the game can mirror the behavior inside the game. To properly play a horror game, you have to play it in the dark and alone. Amnesia rewards safety with staying in the dark. | more