Opinion: The Xbox Live Price Hike…And What You Can Do About It
Posted by Thomas Walters in Console, Opinion, Xbox 360 on 03. Sep, 2010 | 3 Comments
It emerged this week that as of November the price of an Xbox Live Gold subscription is going to be creeping up, rising by $10 a year in the States. On this side of the pond, the UK arguably comes off slightly better (surely a first in any international pricing comparison), with only the month-to-month [...]
Opinion: A Week With PlayStation Move: Some Reflections
Posted by Mark Cullinane in Console, Opinion, PS3 on 01. Sep, 2010 | 0 Comments
Having received a press review unit from Sony, as well as went hands-on with a mix of titles slated for various release dates before Christmas, we have a much better idea of what the new PlayStation Move system is like, what it promises for gameplay, and indeed the quality of games we can expect from [...]
Opinion: How Blizzard made the specialist gaming press redundant- and why it matters
Posted by Thomas Walters in Opinion, PC on 08. Aug, 2010 | 0 Comments
So, after a brief flurry of controversy around the fact that no reviews were available until after the launch, Starcraft 2 has been showered in (admittedly belated) critical praise, and the astronomical sales have enabled Blizzard to wallpaper the east wing of their offices with money. The delay on reviews, though, still interests me. [...]
Mediawatch: Limbo reaction shows videogame journalism stuck in teenage years
Posted by Mark Cullinane in Console, Opinion, Xbox 360 on 07. Aug, 2010 | 14 Comments
The emergence of indie games as a creative force to be reckoned with has been one of the most welcome revolutions sparked by the rise of digital distribution. This month, Danish studio Playdead’s Xbox Live Arcade title Limbo joins World of Goo and Braid as critically acclaimed low-budget, high-concept indie titles that have grabbed the [...]
PlayStation Plus’ lucky dip of content not for everyone, probably for someone
Posted by Mark Cullinane in Console, Opinion, PS3, Reviews on 26. Jul, 2010 | 0 Comments
Videogame ownership is so passé. Where once we purchased boxed copies at retail, it has been decided that the future of videogames is one filled with DRM, conditional ownership and the holy grail- monthly subscription fees.
Much of this has yet to come to pass, but in recent times we’ve seen ideas like OnLive threaten to [...]
Mediawatch: The Irish Times gaming nous disappoints
Posted by Mark Cullinane in Opinion on 10. Jul, 2010 | 1 Comment
It was with great interest that I noted The Irish Times, Ireland’s main broadsheet daily paper, has instituted a gaming section in its weekly culture magazine, The Ticket. Finally, I thought, gaming would take its rightful place amongst the film, music and theatre coverage that previously dominated the supplement.
Whilst what I’ve seen so far has [...]
No Added Sugar’s Chris on IGN E3 coverage
Posted by Mark Cullinane in E3 2010, Opinion on 18. Jun, 2010 | 2 Comments
We’re usually not ones to plug our close rivals IGN, but when one of their E3 wrap-up videos features our very own Chris Evans opining about the 3DS, Kirby and Zelda, we can’t help but make an exception. See the video to the right to see, amongst others, Chris- and we’ve helpfully posted a picture [...]
Opinion: Nintendo bridges the gap between the expanded and traditional audience at E3
Posted by Chas Guidry in E3 2010, Opinion on 16. Jun, 2010 | 2 Comments
For the last four years, E3 has been a bittersweet event for Nintendo fans. The company’s acquisition of the expanded audience, those who didn’t consider video games a hobby, required Nintendo to market products that didn’t appeal to the fans it cultivated over the years. Polished tech demos and mini-game collections like Wii Sports Resort [...]
Multicritic: Time to kill E3?
Posted by Mark Cullinane in E3 2010, Opinion on 16. Jun, 2010 | 1 Comment
Should E3 be heralded as the mecca of the videogames industry or should it quietly be put out to pasture? The team offer some thoughts on the proper role of the mega-conference.
Opinion: I Came, I Zerged, I Conquered
Posted by Thomas Walters in Opinion, PC on 13. Jun, 2010 | 1 Comment
I’ve always had a bit of a love affair with the strategy genre. Dune II was the first game I played in any kind of dedicated way, hunched over the keyboard of my family’s shiny new PC with its 486 processor and 8MB of RAM. No game I’d played before could quite compare to that moment [...]
