Microsoft

What is the concept? From Raiden’s snaking plasma-beam to Ikaruga’s polarity switching mechanic, any respectable shmup has a distinctive hook. For Solar Shifter EX, a recent PC release from the one-man studio behind Meridian: New ...

In 2011, when developer Toys for Bob released Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, the concept of fusing physical toys with video game was innovative. For many, being able to place a figurine on the bundled “Power of ...

When Destiny was released last September, it was an exceedingly contentious title, forming divergence in both critics and consumers. For some, Bungie’s ambitious amalgam of first person shooter, role-playing game, and massively multiplier elements gelled ...

What is the concept? Neo-Freudian criminologists believe that a large percentage of lawbreakers want to get caught. The theory is particularly useful when discussing the behavior of nearly every video game villain. Either divulging their ...

When John Madden Football was released for the Sega Genesis in 1990, few could have predicted it would become the prototypical sports game franchise. Purportedly, the Pro Hall of Famer and former Oakland Raider coach ...

In Japan, the visual novel has a rich, thirty-year history, with the medium’s success stimulating an assortment of sub-genres. But beyond the possible exception of the 1994 Sega CD release of Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher, VNs ...

EA Sports’ games generally follow a cumulative approach, with each annual iteration retaining the main engine while adding new features, gameplay modes, and roster updates. The exception to this practice happens amidst the transition to ...

For years, Budapest-based Zen Studios has cultivated a near-faultless formula. Beginning with 2007’s Pinball FX and continuing through Pinball FX 2 and Zen Pinball 2, the developer strove to simulate the steel-orbed pastime, with each ...

A massive, high-definition television is now a requisite purchase for most gamers. Such as acquisition allows for the appreciation of graphical fidelity created by contemporary consoles. Nearly as essential is the investment in a high-quality ...

Disparagers often state that developer Omega Force’s output represents variations on a single theme. Irrefutably, there’s some truth in that assentation, with a throng of titles (typically, but not always having ‘Warrior’ in the title) ...