Games
Massive: Guild Wars 2 – Reinventing a Genre
Most of the recent MMO releases have been as original as vampire movies mired in teenage angst. They seek to capitalize on conventions established by their predecessors. It’s not a bad starting strategy to construct a game that is instantly familiar to the masses. These titles tend to have one or two gimmicks or twists of their own: “Because orcs are so last year, we allow you to play bipedal space otters instead.” This trend has led to stagnation. Players that have tried MMOs in the past and not enjoyed them aren’t suddenly going to become fans. Those that do
Unwinnable Presents: The Best and Worst of PAX East 2011
PAX East 2011 gave Team Unwinnable a lot to look forward to in the world of videogames and geek culture. It also gave us some memorable moments that we won’t -and can’t – soon forget. So much so that if all of it made it to print, let’s just say our readers may think of us in a different light. With that being said, clear your mind [“…and the rest will follow!” Ed.] and in no particular order, here is our list of what we thought was the best and worst of PAX. Enjoy. [Editor’s Note: If we indeed told
Pokemon Black: Gotta Catch ‘Em All!
A few years ago around the block from my house, an old lady was sleeping in her bed when a candle she left lit accidentally tipped over. Her house was consumed in the fiery blaze and having no children and being a widow, there was no one to mourn her passing. The house stood an abandoned, burned-out husk for the next seven years and was without anybody to purchase it. Nobody would inhabit that house. Nature, of course, overcame and the house has became a squatters’ paradise for all manner of beast with four legs or wings, and by proxy,
Retro-Modernism
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
X-Rays, Joysticks and Fatalities
There were many, many games I wanted to test run at PAX East and Mortal Kombat was at the top of my list. I have been playing MK since the first game and even reminisced this weekend about playing it in college under the tutelage of another fellow student and soon surpassing the master at his own game. I can bring up past memories of Sports World in Paramus, NJ and how me and my cohorts reigned supreme during the MK II and III days amidst a sea of noobs. While I’ve owned just about every console version, none of
Less About Thinking: DYAD and the Metaphysics of Gaming
It is indeed the unique gaming experience when one achieves a moment of stasis, a state of equilibrium caused by opposing equal forces. In the case of Dyad, those forces – the player/agent and the game – relate mutually to internalize something which is wholly external or other.
The Lost Script – A PAX East Adventure
A few nights ago, Team Unwinnable shot a short film. Shortly after the fact, Ken Lucas met Geddy Lee. Geddy Lee, in all his magnificent benevolence, bestowed one super power on Ken, a power of Ken’s choosing. Ken chose Death Ray. Unfortunately, Ken was holding the video camera when Mr. Lee gave Ken his Death Ray power. The film is survived by its writer and screenplay. Enjoy.
Gaming in the Raw: CrimeCraft Episode 1
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.
Winter Never Changes
Winter The seemingly endless months of January and February have the unique distinction of being the most boring time of the year for videogames. The big rush of the Fall and Christmas seasons have long passed. We are now left with a faint memory of triple-A title releases as we all hold fast till the first one drops in 2011. However, there is always that one game that is released in the winter that everyone thinks is the best game ever. Last year was Mass Effect 2. Critics exploded with delight with the idea of another BioWare game. Granted, what
