Thanks to this videogame related ruling, I'm moving to Europe.

I’m moving to Europe. I’ve always wanted to, not least of all because it’s old, beautiful, and full of real castles. But there are other perks as well. For instance: mandatory paid vacation. That’s why Europeans have so much time

ROCKSMITH and the victory over gamification

Gamification is a sexy buzz word. It was born from the assumption that people value the things they struggle to obtain more than the things they freely receive. And so, the behaviorist wizard assigned points and levels to everything. His spell dictated that we would become more motivated if we became aware that every level passed or song beaten was a stepping stone, an achievement.

It was under the lure of this magic man that I purchased Rocksmith, a rhythm game you play with a real guitar and whose goal is to teach you how to play it. Perhaps now, with the ethereal motivation provided by gamification, I would be finally able to switch from the G chord to the C chord without having to stop and mentally command my fingers to do so. It was an impulse buy to be sure, but one that ended up being my most played game of 2011.

And here is the twist: gamification didn’t do a damn thing.

Assassin's Creed 3 is true, speculation is permitted

It’s hard to decide whether to praise or berate Ubisoft for putting out an announcement for AC3 with nothing more than a release date (October 30th) and the news that it’s been in development for three years. The fact that game announcements can even happen like this especially coming from a company that could afford twenty seven marketing departments if they were needed is truly surprising. Whether you’re Half Life 3 or Primal Rage 2, it doesn’t make sense to announce a new product without at least something for people to look at or some news to get excited about even if it’s teaser trailer with some simple motion graphics of the game’s title or juicy details like, “Assassin’s Creed 3 will feature a third hidden blade hidden in the new protagonist’s boot!” Everyone already knew AC3 was coming out this year, but it just seems like the inevitable kickass trailer we’re going to get at E3 this year has been soiled by this squeezed-out fart of an announcement.

That said, it’s a few days later and we’ve had time to calm down.

Rayman Origins is a Roller Coaster Ride

Warning: This review contains detailed narrative spoilers but only moderate mechanical spoilers. Rayman started with a quirky and fun 2D platformer released back in 1995. Then came the 3D sequels, one that was unrelated to the first game but still

Taking Another Stab at Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Warning: This review contains detailed mechanical spoilers but only moderate narrative spoilers. Fern already wrote on Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and though people have probably already moved on to Revelations (the newest installment in the franchise as of the time of

Ubisoft don't learn, contemplate skipping PC release for I Am Alive, piss off a lot of people

Ubisoft’s downloadable post-apocalyptic adventure I Am Alive fell off the map a few years ago, re-surfacing only in the last couple of months with a trailer and a mini press blitz. In an excerpt from a recent interview with incgamers, creative director

Sony Looks To Pick Up Assassin's Creed Film Rights

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed looks to be the latest IP set for the silver screen following reports that Sony are in final negotiations to acquire rights for a film adaptation. The publisher is said to have been shopping the rights around

Get Some Assassin's Creed in Your Assassin's Creed

Yo dog, I heard you like Assassin’s Creed so we- Ahem, sorry. Ubisoft has announced that PS3 copies of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will come bundled with a copy of the original Assassin’s Creed on the Blu-Ray disk. It’s a smart

Ubisoft Removes Online Authentication from From Dust

In two weeks, at least. Yesterday, an Ubisoft rep posted on the Ubisoft forums that in two weeks, a patch for the game will be released that removes all forms of online authentication. The reason for the wait is because

Ubisoft "changes" Driver: San Francisco DRM.

In response to the extremely negative reaction to their always-online DRM for Driver: San Francisco, Ubisoft took its fans reaction to heart, and made some “changes”. “We’ve heard your feedback regarding the permanent internet connection requirement for Driver and have