Castle of Illusion isn’t really for kids.
The game may star Mickey Mouse, but just like its 16-bit predecessor, this new downloadable title can be punishingly hard. Jumps have to be precise. Levels require pattern memorization. Health starts low and stays low, as do weapon supplies, and checkpoints are few and far between. READ MORE
E3 is our Super Bowl. It’s our Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Halloween and birthday all rolled into one. Even if no games actually are released, it’s a huge spectacle that results in thousands of journalists making their pilgrimage and reporting on thousands of different games. Who is making what? What looks fun? What looks terrible? Are there any surprises? I can’t tell you how giddy I get before each major conference; whether terrible or fantastic, each requires a huge amount of unnecessary analysis. Making fun of the awful presenters. Breaking down trailers scene by scene. Making bold, inaccurate predictions that won’t have any fallout, because well, how could you possibly have known that Game X would be terrible and that System Y would sell like hotcakes?
I’m getting off track already. See, that’s what E3 does to you. It gets you impossibly excited about the sheer quantity of game updates, new games and hilarious sound bites that it makes it difficult to focus on the task at hand. READ MORE
I may not have been able to go to E3 with Graham and Shawn, but my local Best Buy was cool enough to host Nintendo’s E3 Experience, bringing four playable demos of upcoming Wii U games. Being the incorrigible Donkey Kong Country nut I am, nothing stopped me from getting my grubby paws on Retro’s latest. READ MORE
Sonic has had a long and winding past, but after the celebrated nostalgia of Generations, it’s time for the series to once again look forward. Sonic Lost World, a Nintendo-exclusive entry in the series, is trying the little-bit-of-everything approach. READ MORE
It’s a wonder that The Neverhood managed to exist in the first place. A claymation point-and-click adventure by Earthworm Jim creator Doug TenNapel, it’s one of those games that reek of commercial failure. But the financial prospects didn’t faze Steven Spielberg, who of all people decided to fund the game.
Artistically, the money couldn’t have been better spent. READ MORE
