For a few days, I was on a roll with Split/Second. I was really enjoying the progression through the career mode and I thought this wouldn’t end like my experiences with Burnout Paradise or Blur, where I hit a figurative brick wall. In both games, I hit a point where I needed “x” amount of points to move onto the next set of challenges, yet I couldn’t muster up the skills to make the necessary progress. At first, I was finishing second or third in my Split/Second races, which was enough to get me to the next episode. However, my lack of perfection eventually caught up.
design
Game Design Talk: My Dilemma With inFamous
inFamous is one of the games that motivated me to buy a PlayStation 3. To me, this looked like a cooler version of Crackdown, which I liked quite a bit. I’ve had this game in my collection for the past few months, but I’ve only been playing it on and off for the last few weeks.
Despite being fun to play, I’m having a really hard time motivating myself to play this game. It’s not the gameplay mechanics that turn me off, but the context behind those gameplay elements.
Game Design Talk: Rock Band 3 Career Mode
Since I wrote up my initial impressions of Rock Band 3, I’ve had the opportunity to play a few more sessions, including one family party where this and Just Dance 2 were big hits. Harmonix did an amazing job revamping the game on all levels, though I’m of two minds about one major change to the game.
Game Design Talk: God of War Puts Me Through Hell
After powering through 2/3 of the game in a weekend, I’ve slowly chipped away at God of War ever since. I’m pretty close to the end now, though I currently need to take a break from it to vent my current frustration.
Not that I hate the game or anything. I think it’s pretty fantastic. However, I just passed a part of the game that made me want to rip my hair out. For God of War vets, you probably have a good idea of where I’m going with this. If you haven’t made it this far, I must warn you that there are mild spoilers ahead.
Game Design Talk: The Controls of Little Big Planet
It’s been a while since I wrote about Little Big Planet. Since I wrote my initial impressions, I have played a bit of it, but for the most part, I’ve actively avoided it.
For a game that I liked so much to start, things went sour pretty quickly. As I continued to play through the game, it became readily apparent to me that the controls and character physics were not designed to handle this type of action.
Why Isn’t There A Video Game About The Notebook?
Love is the most popular subject matter in virtually every medium across every culture. Much of the music we listen to, television shows we watch and books we read deal with the subjects of love, dating and romance. Personally, I’m a sucker for a good love song, though I can pass on most chick flicks and romance novels.
With that said, where are the video games about love, dating and romance? Why hasn’t the most universal subject matter made a splash in the medium of video games? I acknowledge the fact that Mass Effect has a relationship mechanic, but its a small part in a big game about shooting aliens. Final Fantasy VIII tells a love story, but its wrapped around a fantasy world where you kill monsters and level up. I am also aware of the dating simulators in Japan, but cultural differences wouldn’t allow for direct ports of those games to other regions. My question is, where is the video game equivalent of The Notebook?
Game Design Talk: Uncharted’s Ending
(SPOILER ALERT: This post will analyze the final chapter of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune in detail. I know the game came out in 2007, but nonetheless, you’ve been warned)
Game Design Talk: Exploding Barrels and Other Video Game Clichés
I’m on pace to finish Uncharted in the next few days, and I’ve had a really good time with it. If my queue of PS3 games to play wasn’t so big right now, I would have likely jumped to the sequel immediately. There are however, a few very specific gripes I have with this game, and one of them I wanted to use as a jumping-off point for a bigger discussion. For a game that at times tiptoes into the realm of realism, there are some very specific video game clichés that really take me out of the moment. In particular, I can’t help but shake my head every time I see strategically placed explosive barrels in the environment.
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Social vs. Gaming: Why I Haven’t Jumped Into the Social Games Scene
I love social media. I am a long-time blogger, active Facebook and Twitter user, and enjoy the technologies so much that I pursued a career in which I could work with these technologies on a regular basis. I currently work in the digital/interactive advertising business, where leveraging social technologies to improve our clients’ position in the marketplace is part of my everyday life.
Combined with my love of games, I should be all over social games like FarmVille, Mafia Wars and Foursquare. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. As of now, I have no personal interest in playing any social games. It’s not the social elements that turn me off to the scene; it’s the gaming part.
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Game Design Talk: How Conquist Takes iPhone Risk and Ruins it With a Terrible User Interface
I really enjoyed the simplicity of the user interface Risk had on the iPhone. I had a lot to overcome, having not played Risk in 15 years, but I picked it up immediately and the user interface worked exactly how I wanted it to.
I picked up Conquist on the iPad because it looked like Risk with more features, iPad support, it had great user reviews and it was on sale for $1. In spite of its strengths, I hate this game. Terrible design choices make this an extremely annoying game for me to play.
In Third Person 
