Review

Retro-Modernism

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I know that when I tell you Team Unwinnable loves RPG’s, I speak the truth. From Final Fantasy to Dungeons and Dragons, there is a special place in each of our hearts for those games that filled our childhood (and teens…and twenties…and thirties) with sorcery, adventure and a frustrating chain of disoriented companions. But it isn’t nostalgia that keeps us attached. We don’t sequester ourselves in our bedrooms late into the night, staring with bloodshot eyes at Ultima 3 just to keep the dream alive. No, it’s the innovation, imagination and artistry that keeps us playing, and when SRRN Games

Dream of the (early) 90’s: The Simpsons Sing The Blues

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If NPR’s All Songs Considered is to be believed, 90’s nostalgia is now a “Thing.” That’s all well and good, but I think that when they talk about being nostalgic for the 90’s, most people are probably thinking about the mid-90’s, when a puritanical, authenticity-obsessed notion of coolness was in vogue for a few minutes. They tend to forget about the early 90’s, a pop culture epoch so corny it almost rivaled the variety show era of the 1970’s. It was the time of Club MTV, the puppet sitcom Dinosaurs, and Ugly Kid Joe.  The Simpsons Sing the Blues was

Gaming in the Raw: CrimeCraft Episode 1

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In the latest Massive article, I spewed my impressions of the shooter MMO CrimeCraft: Bleedout. While my feelings on the game were decidedly mixed, there’s no denying that enjoyment can be found while running around wasting people while wearing high heels and short shorts. Gaming in the Raw captures my initial reactions to playing a game I know nothing about and in this episode I’m really out of my element. Check out my mad sharpshooter skillz (read noob) as I try to scrape out a meager existence in the brutal streets of Sunrise City. 

Tritton AX 720s Are Too Good for Bad Games

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Given the rapid expansion of technology applied to gaming headsets and stereo equipment in general, one might assume that most game developers in this day and age would have a vested interest in producing the highest quality soundscapes possible. But slap on a pair of Tritton AX 720s and you’ll soon discover deep flaws in sound design that the puny speakers in your flatscreen could never highlight. Although, I guess that also depends on the game at hand.

Massive: CrimeCraft Doesn’t Pay

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“We got exactly what we deserved. We hooked everything up to a dying mule.  Built a world economy on an obsolete fuel source we knew wouldn’t last. It all came crashing down around our heads faster than any of us could react. That was 10 years ago. You can either be a victim or you can fight back.” CrimeCraft (CC) is an MMO that is described by its developers (Vogster Entertainment) as a persistent world next-gen shooter or “PWNS.” It was released in August of 2010 to spotty reviews and has, despite the odds, managed to survive among throngs of

Too Close to Home: Portlandia

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Living in Portland seems to grant me a level of street-cred I’ve been able to ride for the majority of my adult life. The city is, at the very least, a part of a lot of people’s periphery. Our environmental practices and policies are nationally lauded. Our music scene has perfected the delicate oxymoron of being a well-known underground. The beer is good and rent is cheap. Really, not too shabby for a town in a state people still pronounce as OH-REE-GONE. Sure, we may take ourselves a little too seriously at times. And the hipster epidemic shows no signs

My, How the Tables have Turned!

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In the last quarter of 2010, Hasbro and Discovery Channel launched a new network called The Hub. It showcases a variety of family friendly programming and above all, the network features some of Hasbro’s well known toy brands. On the day after Thanksgiving, they launched a new G.I. Joe series called G.I. Joe: Renegades. This is a depiction of the Joes I never saw before. “Accused of a crime they didn’t commit, a ragtag band of fugitives fights a covert battle to clear their names and expose the insidious enemy that is… Cobra. Some call them outlaws. Some call them

Call of Duty: Black Ops Do Not Pray For Easy Lives, Pray To Be Stronger Men

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Call of Duty: Black Ops brings back to the series what has been missing in the past few games, a sense of realism. Whether it be the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba or battle in the Quang Tri province of South Vietnam, Call of Duty games have made a practice of using real historical scenarios and locations in the telling of their single player campaigns. This holds true, except of course for the last two games.