Posts tagged opinion 
Powering beyond 100 hours in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
In his weekly column, writer Bob Mackey will alternate between two of his passions: the Japanese RPG genre and classic games. This week, Bob returns to the world of Monster Hunter. Since I don't play MMOs, it's a rare occasion to see the timer on any of my games roll past that magical 99:59 mark. ...
The troubled history of Kingdom Hearts reflects Square Enix's own
In his weekly column, writer Bob Mackey will alternate between two of his passions: the Japanese RPG genre and classic games. This Tuesday brought the announcement of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix's American release date, and with it, feelings of ambivalence from people like me who once thought the ...
Mars: War Logs brings the resistance back to RPGs
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. I probably wouldn't have noticed Mars: War Logs except for the PR email I received which included a line about ...
The spoils of Atlus RPGs
In his weekly column, writer Bob Mackey will alternate between two of his passions: the Japanese RPG genre and classic games. In recent years, Atlus' string of portable-bound RPG remakes has done an excellent job of showing off the developer's history with video games before the breakout success ...
Grandia: How a forgotten JRPG solved the problem of repetitive combat
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which primarily focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. This week, however, Rowan focuses on a forgotten JRPG: Grandia. One of the core issues facing most ...
Decaying Dark Souls and an interest killed with kindness
Welcome to The Level Grind, a column that asks questions about game design and industry culture from the perspective of a game player. A few weeks ago I wrote about Dark Souls and how my initial impression of the game was, for the lack of a better term, "wrong." I'd given the game another shot ...
DuckTales Remastered runs on more than nostalgia
In a new weekly column, writer Bob Mackey will alternate between two of his passions: the Japanese RPG genre and classic games. This week Mackey discusses the recently revealed DuckTales revival. Game designer Warren Spector's preoccupation with Mickey Mouse ranks up there with some of the more ...
Breaking in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate before it breaks me
In a new weekly column, writer Bob Mackey will alternate between two of his passions: the Japanese RPG genre and classic games. "Before you register any complaints with the management, remember one thing: I'm new here," Mackey says. Jump onto any video game forum these days, and you'll find no ...
Nintendo's mischievous Marvelous mixes Zelda with point-and-click PC adventures
In a new weekly column, writer Bob Mackey will alternate between two of his passions: the Japanese RPG genre and classic games. "Before you register any complaints with the management, remember one thing: I'm new here," Mackey says. Kicking off my new column at Joystiq, I thought I'd put my best ...
Mass Effect 3's 'Citadel' DLC demonstrates the franchise's messy, wonderful soul
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. One of the reasons that the Mass Effect series has been one of the most-discussed franchises of the generation is ...
