I like golf. It’s a sport that virtually anybody can become good at, and the camaraderie that comes from walking with friends for a few hours while competing for longest short and best hole every weekend is one of my favorite childhood memories. And that’s why computer and console golf has always held a special place for me: not only is it the rare sports game that I understand, but the attached nostalgia makes every round a fun one. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is the most complete golf game I’ve ever played. From the excellent swing mechanics, to the variety of courses, to the great excellent online offerings, I was pleased at every turn with the experience. READ MORE
Done correctly, minimalist game design works extremely well at immersing the player in the game and enhancing their sense of accomplishment. Perhaps the genre that best exemplifies the benefits of minimalist design is puzzle platformer. In that respect, Toki Tori 2 shines as an example of how to do it correctly. READ MORE
Luigi may be portrayed as the underdog or second fiddle to his older brother in a lot of games, but in all fairness, he’s had a pretty great career. He gets to help Mario out without drawing the ire of Bowser. He travels around the globe, teaching children about famous artifacts along the way. John Leguizamo played him in a Hollywood film. Imagine the royalty checks! No risk, all reward.
Then Nintendo had to ruin everything. Dropping him into a haunted house against his will and arming him with a vacuum cleaner of all things, he had no choice but to face the reality-bending horrors of the undead all for the sake of his brown-nosing bro. Over ten years later, just when he was getting used to taking it easy again, Nintendo took it upon themselves to drag him back into the spotlight by slapping his face over the entirety of 2013. The nerve! And of course the first thing they do is throw another vacuum in his face. READ MORE
And so, a mere four months after the system’s launch, a new major retail-release title has finally been delivered for the Wii U (no thanks to Ubisoft). Is Lego City: Undercover worth the interminable wait? Fortunately, yes. READ MORE
There are some games that have come along this console generation that will stand the test of time. They will be fondly remembered and analyzed for years to come, even with some flaws. The number of titles that meet this criteria are not large in number, but they come around just often enough and help people realize why they love games in the first place. The original BioShock is the perfect example of this, setting the groundwork for a potential franchise and becoming one of the most revered games in the past several years.
Irrational Games’ follow-up, BioShock Infinite, doesn’t just live up to that legend. It surpasses it.
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