Category: PC

February 2, 2016 / / Articles

The Seven Prettiest Puzzle Games

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Puzzle games tend to be on the beautiful side. Smart developers must realize that the player will spend most of his or her time inspecting, studying and generally staring at their digital surroundings, so you better make it damn beautiful to look at. Whether it be surveying aseptic Aperture Science labs in Portal or navigating derelict spaceships in The Swapper, these video games transport you to ponderously pretty and preposterously puzzling places.  (There are so many astonishingly beautiful games out there so picking only seven was a quite a task!) Here are the seven prettiest puzzle games in my estimation.

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January 29, 2016 / / Gaming

Rise of the Tomb Raider Impressions

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I haven’t played a Tomb Raider game since the release of the much-anticipated reboot way, wa-a-ay back in 2013 (can anyone even remember that far back?) so when Rise of the Tomb Raider finally became available to us non-Xbox One-owning gamers, I immediately sunk my teeth in. By the end of the first entry of the series reboot I was a swashbuckling, dual-pistol-ing, ledge-leaping maestro. The set pieces, the beautiful locales, the lovably illogical story gave Uncharted a run for its money. How do you follow up such a strong origin story? Rise of the Tomb Raider’s answer: Bear fights. That’s how. Readers beware! There’s a chance of minor spoilers below.

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January 28, 2016 / / Articles

100 Words or Less: Virtual Becoming Reality

virtual-reality

I have been a bit skeptical of VR in the past. I’ve tried to contain my excitement over Oculus Rift and Sony VR for fear of disappointment. In my mind the technology was too ambitious to get my hopes up. Over the years I’ve seen the Oculus Rift dev kit videos on YouTube, read the articles praising it. I’ve even seen the technology improve over a few short years, and witnessed other technologies take VR further, technologies like Virtuix Omni. As time has worn on,  I can no longer deny the possibility of virtual reality becoming, well — a reality.

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January 25, 2016 / / Gaming

Adventures in the Mundane: Emily is Away and Depression Quest

emilyisaway

Fantasy and video games go together like peanut butter and chocolate. It’s a tried-and-true combination, and we gamers keep coming back for more. As much as we like prancing around as elves with arcane and mystical powers, I think we can agree to the fact that the medium has the capacity to expand, to tell real, meaningful stories.

Games like Emily is Away and Depression Quest have proved that the vicissitude, disappointment and heartbreak of everyday life are themes an interactive medium can explore — and explore successfully!

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May 27, 2015 / / Articles

Perception Is (Probably) Taking My Money

perception-horror-game

A group of horror video game mavens have — unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your opinion on scary things — come together to form The Deep End Games. These devious Deep End developers are Kickstarting Perception, which is purported to be a (wonderfully?) masochistic first-person terrorfest. Currently, over 600 backers have pledged almost $30,000 out of The Deep End Games’ $150,000 goal. I really want this game to happen so I am (probably) giving Perception my money.

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May 21, 2015 / / Articles

Black Mesa: Losing My (Half) Life

black-mesa
Black Mesa has just been released on Steam! Well… “just released” as in a week ago. Yes, I’m a bit late to jump on this internet bandwagon (as I usually am). I was quick to buy myself a copy as soon as I found out about its release. I played and loved the original Half-Life, and was more than happy to revisit the Black Mesa facility and all of its inhabitants (both talkative — looking at you lab coats — and unwelcome alike). But, alas, I’ve encountered a rather tragic dilemma: I have to choose between enjoying the super awesome remake of a Valve classic and preserving my sanity.

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