Skylanders Giants review: Big toys, small changes
Of all the good fortune I've been afforded in my life, little compares with the joy of becoming a parent. That probably goes without saying. However, being able to justify the ludicrous cash outlay that comes in the pursuit of a hobby was, for me at least, an unexpected side benefit of having a ...
Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten review: A premise unchanged
The Disgaea series is a tough nut to crack. With its dated gameplay and recycled graphics and music, each new entry in the franchise has flown in the face of convention. Nevertheless, whether owing its longevity to quirky storytelling or staggeringly deep and complex mechanics, the franchise has ...
Age of Empires Online review: Casual conquest
In reading online discussions surrounding Age of Empires Online, you'd think that the developers had taken to traveling the country with the express intent of running over kittens. Clearly, players have taken issue with this latest in the Ensemble-created historical strategy franchise, which ...
Review: Tournament of Legends
Tournament of Legends was originally conceived as Gladiator A.D., a fighter hinged on stylized gladiatorial combat. But the concept -- and, as it turns out, its potential -- was later scrapped in favor of the shallow SoulCalibur imitation we're now left with. The real tragedy here isn't the ...
Review: Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Xbox 360/PS3)
Listen ... do you smell something? Stripped of its license, Ghostbusters is a passable, if largely forgettable game. The entire experience is held together on the merits of its source material alone, with occasionally witty dialog and story draped like a sheet across what amounts to inconsistent ...
Survey: Developers still worship Miyamoto, Blow too
Luminary Shigeru Miyamoto hasn't lost his shimmer in the eyes of game developers, with a recent industry poll finding the Nintendo icon to be without equal. The survey, commissioned by organizers of next month's Develop Conference, asked 9,000 devs to name their game development hero, with nearly ...
Metal Gear Solid Rising getting re-done graphics engine
Like a case of bad allergies, Metal Gear Solid 4's graphics left us rubbing our eyes. That said, when it comes to developing the recently unveiled Metal Gear Solid Rising, the latest sequel's eye candy is not nearly sweet enough. According to Kojima Productions assistant producer Sean Eyestone, ...
Sucker Punch explains why it remains PS3 exclusive
Developer Sucker Punch started life nearly a decade ago with its first release on the Nintendo 64. Since that time, however, the studio has created titles exclusively for Sony platforms, including the Sly Cooper franchise and recent electro-shocky superhero game, inFamous. Co-founder Brian Fleming ...
Famitsu lifts camouflage off Metal Gear Arcade
It's a little known fact that here at Joystiq we have a pretty extensive collection of coins, both big and small. It's a source of pride, but even so we're just as eager as you are to empty our piggy banks in the name of Hideo Kojima and his mysterious Metal Gear Arcade. The project was one of ...
E3 was successful for little guys too
Okay, we admit it. Despite E3's recent return to form, we missed Kentia Hall's secluded cave of unspoken delights, if only for its cheap food and even cheaper thrills. Still, the lack of a space to call their own didn't stop some companies from venturing to the surface and setting up shop in the ...
