Writer's Blog!

Wow, have I had an interesting month. It's been such an epic spectacle that I thought I would put my feelings into words and really show my appreciation for the massive impact this month has had on me. So without further ado, thank you November. Thank you for teaching me valuable lessons in such concepts as humility, but even more so, in torture. Thank you for showing me all the unique ways to crush a man’s soul, shatter his self-worth, and bring him to the brink of insanity. Thank you for showing me my new threshold for pain and especially thank you for showing me all the new and creative ways to use swear words. Thank you for showing me that sprinkling in a few good things here and there only serves to make the next act of viciousness that much more impactful. Thank you for showing me all the new smells, the new sensations and the new feeling in my stomach. You know, the one that won’t be going away anytime soon. And most of all, thanks for the feelings of dread on what ...

Batman Arkham Asylum was a huge surprise when it was released in 2009. It looked great, and it seemed like a Batman game that actually might not suck, which was pretty rare back then. In fact, Batman Vengeance is the only game that was any good. DC had a notably poor record for developing games based on their characters, so it’s easy to see why nobody would believe, but when the truth dawns, it dawns in fire. Sorry, I had to. Anyway, Arkham Asylum was probably the first excellent Batman game ever made. And when I say excellent, I mean setting a new bar for game developers. I would never have expected to see that come from a licensed game, much less a license that has struggled as hard as Batman has to create even a decent game. If Batman Arkham Asylum set a new standard for many action adventure games to come, the question is, can they outdo themselves? I can’t say that Batman Arkham City is better than Arkham Asylum. It’s not because it’s bad, far from it. I just can’t say...

Yesterday, Xbox 360 users who signed up for early access to Mass Effect 3 got a special treat. A Beta Demo of the highly anticipated threequel was leaked over Xbox Live and fully downloadable. The version was rough around the edges (very rough) but fans were still delighted to get early-early access to the final act in the prolific trilogy. I myself was unable to play the demo, but I have seen footage of it in its entirety. Since I have been incredibly vocal about my negative opinions of Mass Effect 2 and the way the series has been marketed since joining with EA, I thought it may be a good idea to offer some first impressions. All of the videos start off on the menu screen. One of the most memorable moments of ME1 was its unique menu. I remember listening to a haunting atmospheric melody as I stared at the horizon of a distant planet. Upon hitting the start button, I was transported to a screen that slowly cycled through the story’s cast of characters. ME2’s menu wasn’t so ...