Tech-Gaming Technology, Gaming, and Culture

Many franchises feel the pangs of stagnancy by their fourth iteration. After a trio of titles that define, then gradually refine a series, the fourth game often exhibits a divisive tension between prudent evolution and ...

In a Tale of Two Cities, Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. While the author’s parallelism probably wasn’t referring to a week in which Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! ...

Robert’s Take: Across Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s four novels and fifty-six short stories, Baker Street’s distinguished detective imparts an essential axiom: details are imperative, but if you don’t take a step back, it’s easy to ...

Although Japanese role-playing games are habitually criticized for having derivative battle mechanics, verbose dialog, and trope-filled plots, the genre flaunts one prodigious advantage; no other type of game routinely offers such a rich depiction of ...

In retrospect, 2013’s Disney Infinity proved to be a surprisingly incongruous product. While the Play Set mode was elevated by the inclusion of cherished characters from the Disney and Pixar catalogs, the actual action was ...

From The Creative Assembly’s attempt to provide Alien aficionados with an experience that matches the white-knuckle tension of the original film to Visual Concept’s sixteenth iteration in their beloved basketball franchise, this week itinerary of ...

While it’s not unusual for a game franchise to sidestep stagnation by switching genres, 2012’s Persona 4 Arena was a truly curious crossover. With its source material exhibiting the resonant characterization and rich storytelling that’s ...

2011’s Anomaly: Warzone Earth turned the tower defense genre on its head, tasking players with snaking their way around a procession of alien turrets. Unsurprisingly, the mechanic struck a chord with both critics and consumers, ...

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. Wasteland was originally created in a time when most PC RPGs consisted mostly of fantasy settings. Although the gameplay wasn’t far off from the party management and ...

Robert’s Take: I put a chicken pot pie in the oven, and boot up DG2: Defense Grid 2 to help pass the hour-long cooking time. Within seconds of navigating through the slick, StarCraft II-esque menu ...