When reviews go Rashomon

How does this happen? How do two review outlets write reviews that are diametrically opposed?

I’m not talking just difference of opinion: “This game is fun” versus “I didn’t enjoy this game.” That makes sense. No, I’m talking reviews that read like the differing perspectives of Akira Kurosawa’s classic film Rashomon: not just mere differences of opinion, but entirely different experiences of reality.

Nintendo officially confirms Xenoblade Chronicles for North America

This morning a mysterious image of Gamestop’s release schedule featuring Xenoblade Chronicles, as a Gamestop exclusive to boot, popped up. Later Nintendo themselves confirmed that the long awaited Wii JRPG is finally coming to North America in April 2012! Nintendo

Buy Terraria! Also Steam Giveaways

Alright people, this better be the last time I tell you to buy Terraria. Today on Steam the game is only $2.50, and being December 1st the game has nearly doubled in size thanks to the 1.1 patch dropping. I

3DS beats DS' first-year sales in eight months

As far as hardware releases go, Nintendo’s 3DS got off to one of the more rocky starts in recent memory. An early reveal and a rushed release left consumers with an underwhelming list of launch titles earlier this year, not

Omnitopic December 2011: Faith

Faith and religion are difficult topics for gamers. It’s something some people don’t really want to talk about because it rarely involves shooting people (though it can involve assassination with hidden blades. Thanks Ubisoft), and because people have so many

No fixed prices for Playstation Vita titles

To counter the mobile game market, Sony plans to ditch the standard of set prices on most systems in favor of “a more tailored approach”. This way smaller third party titles can be sold at lower prices compared to first

The abstract artist: retro styling and narrative

I’ve covered a lot of games recently that have used retro RPG graphics to tell entirely different kinds of stories. And, thanks to Rock, Paper, Shotgun’s coverage of Wither, they found this really interesting quote from the game’s developer about

A Game For Your Every (and Darkest) Desires: The Rise of Long Tale

This article is about niches. Why? It all started when I wrote this. Basically, all it said was that DLC should be all-pervasive, for although it is not the most inclusive distribution model there is, it certainly makes more sense than

Wallets Everywhere Safe: Steam Sale Ending

My trembling checking account is finally safe, the sales are ending and tomorrow is a new day, free from cheap impulse purchases. Its been a good run; I have more games that will take me years to play, I was

Possibility of a Final Fantasy first-person shooter

In Destructoid’s interview with Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama, two of the most influential figures behind the Final Fantasy series, an unexpected possibility was brought up. Final Fantasy XIII was supposedly inspired by first-person shooters, so Kitase was questioned if