Monday Night Combat, a winner in a summer of losers

August 12th, 2010

Monday Night Combat, a winner in a summer of losers

I’m a big fan of the Xbox Live Arcade, but so far this year’s Summer of Arcade has been less than exciting. The first title to get any sort of eyebrow raise from me has been Monday Night Combat, a tower defense/shooter all in one. And it’s not bad.

August 5th, 2010

Hot Wheels racing revisited, a new game

I rarely go back and revisit and/or rebuild anything. I usually work on web projects for the learning challenge and once that’s conquered, move on. I then take all what I learned and add it to the next project, so each new project gets better. However, Hot Wheels is clearly something that deserves love and [...]

July 20th, 2010

Online multiplayer is not a problem

Wait a second. You’re telling me that game makers spent years trying to find the formula to create games that people love to play online, and now that’s a problem? Gee, I’m sorry you have a fun game. I see two solutions.

June 14th, 2010

Kinect, game controllers aren’t the problem

To date, the Nintendo Wii has been one of my worst gadget-buying blunders. I was blinded by the promise of something different. At the time I was ready for different, and that somehow made me forget that I’m not a big fan of Nintendo games. The marketing worked.

June 11th, 2010

Blur is still good

A couple months ago I praised the new racing game Blur for being the best of both worlds, a great real-world racing game while channeling Mario Kart. That review was based on the XBL demo which was naturally limited and only offered on-line multiplayer. Well, after I fixed my Xbox, I treated myself to Blur [...]

June 10th, 2010

Picking up Microsoft’s slack

Playing around with computer hardware is not something I enjoy anymore. There was a time and place when I reveled in hardware. Since then I no longer care much about specs and just want something that works out of the box. I guess I’ve lost my techie edge. I’ve built many computers and unfortunately, I’ve [...]

June 3rd, 2010

Flying with Joe Cool

Game demos are not only good for the gamer, but they’re good for the maker. Case in point this time is Snoopy Flying Ace on the XBL Arcade. All things considered, if I saw a game with “Snoopy” in the title I’d either pass it by entirely or at most, pick it up too see [...]

May 19th, 2010

Are all games worth at least a dollar?

I’m a cheap ass gamer. I make no apologies for it and I’ve praised the likes of cheap games before, but as I was browsing through the selection of Indie games on Xbox Live last night seeing all the $1 downloads, I asked myself if it’s possible that any game is worth a dollar.

April 22nd, 2010

After Burner Climax, arcade brutality

One thing I really love about arcades games is their sheer brutality. It’s funny that the “simple” games are seemingly always the hardest. They may not have the best story or character (if any), but they can deliver on the challenge and fun. After Burner Climax is no exception to the rule.

April 7th, 2010

Blur, the next great racing game

Racing is one of my genres of choice for video games. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s just you and your car. It’s about control and quick decision. Did I mention it’s fast? Well, the latest entry into the world of racers, Blur, was released as a beta this week to public. I grabbed it and [...]

April 6th, 2010

Make more old games new

Everyone complains that there is nothing original happening in movies. It’s just remaking old films with bigger budgets and better special effects. The same can be said for video games, but remakes aren’t a bad idea…if they’re done right.

April 2nd, 2010

iPad, it will change things

We talked about the iPad last night on CAVEradio and while my #1 criteria for getting one is indeed still a stylus, I think something like an affordable, easy-to-use tablet PC will change how people interact with…well, just about everything.

March 29th, 2010

Toy cars, real racing

I wouldn’t be much of a self-promoter if I didn’t (once again) talk about the Fantasy Racing League I created that launched this week. After several weeks of testing, it’s finally go time.

March 27th, 2010

Inside the Xbox Game Room

The Xbox Game Room was finally released this past week and while Microsoft chose not to ignore my suggestions for the Game Room, I nonetheless spent an entire night playing with the quasi-free Xbox add-on. I was surprised how much fun playing doll house with a virtual arcade can be.

March 8th, 2010

Fantasy racing league, a project done

Yes, I finished a project, amazing as that is. After a couple months of weekend coding sessions, I have launched a new web game, a fantasy racing league…for Hot Wheels. Best part is, you don’t have to collect to play, but right now I just need your help testing it all.

March 5th, 2010

The true Urban Champion

Last year I became the holder of two world video game records, Urban Champion and Robocop, both NES titles. My title on Robocop has since been beat twice, but my title of Urban Champion remained. But that record was for Urban Champion on the Wii’s Virtual Console. Not to dis the Wii, but that just [...]

March 2nd, 2010

Finally, Wipeout on the Xbox, kinda sorta

I used to be a Playstation gamer. The PS1 and PS2 days were a good times for gaming. Sony ruled the roost and never looked back. We all know that changed when the Xbox 360 and then PS3 was released. The PS3 had everything going for it - except a decent price. All but hardest [...]

March 1st, 2010

Indie games, little price but big fun

One great thing about Xbox Live is allowing people to make their own games. Assuming you have the money, time, and skills, you can make and release a game that people can download and play on their console. They might even pay for it. But lets face it, most Indie games fall somewhere between “meh” [...]

February 14th, 2010

Darwinia+ makes herding cats fun

You know the term “it’s like herding cats”? Well, herding cats has never been more fun than it is in Darwinia+ on XBL Arcade. It’s a great balance of RTS, puzzle game, and God sim. But I was surprised it ended up being a full title in my library.

February 9th, 2010

What is your fantasy…sport?

In my everlasting attempt to create things to entertain people, I’ve made video games, blogs, radio shows, contests…lots of things, and it’s all been fun, but I have yet to make a web-based game that I consider successful. I’ve tried but it never worked out like I had hoped. I’m trying again and this time [...]

January 31st, 2010

Trials HD, a true Excitebike

Trials HD from the Xbox Live Arcade is another title saved by having a big TV. When I played the demo on my old TV, I just couldn’t get into the experience. The graphics were too dark and too small. But now, they’re awesome. This is game is what you’d get if Excitebike was really [...]

January 16th, 2010

Galaga Legions, a beautiful challenge

When I started video game day at work, one of the first games people jumped on was Galaga. I can’t say I was ever a big Galaga fan but playing with people that remembered the game and loved the game made all the difference. Galaga high scores quickly became a daily mission and it’s one [...]

January 14th, 2010

Xbox Game Room, ideas for a better arcade

Microsoft announced the Xbox Game Room at CES this year and for retro fans like myself it was some good news. But as details came about it quickly became less interesting for several reasons. Plus, I think there are a lot of things they could have done to make the experience better.

January 2nd, 2010

Making a shmup

I love me some arcade shooters - or shmups as they are often called. They’re fast, easy to play yet challenging to get good at. Regardless of platform I always seek out the shmups. Through emulators I have dozens upon dozens. With some vacation time I decided to try and make my own.

December 22nd, 2009

Paper telephone can save your party

Paper telephone was introduced to me by a friend during a party that had reached that critical point when everyone was gathered but had nothing much to do. Finding an activity that is fun for everyone is tough. Video games don’t work, trivia doesn’t always work, cards are a shot in the dark…but paper telephone [...]

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