Category Archives: Video Games
Super Dodgeball Brawlers
Super Dodgeball is one of the sleeper series from the early days of the 8-bit video game era. It is also a part of the popular Kunio-kun series from Japan. Dodge ball is a traditional American game played by children since the 19th century. It isn’t hard to explain. Two teams hurl a ball at [...]
Mario Kart Wii
There is very little that is new about Mario Kart Wii. The game is a decent racer. It holds up very well to its predecessors. It has a few new bells and whistles– like the inclusion of motor bikes, more racers on the track, and new weapons. This is all that Nintendo really needed to [...]
Wii Fit
One of the original selling points of the Wii console was that by its very nature, the control scheme necessitated more activity and movement in game play. This allowed the launch title Wii Sports to have an exercise theme beyond merely being a sports game. Several people also attempted to use that game to lose [...]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
For many video game enthusiasts there is simply no bigger game than the Smash Bros series. What started as a low budget effort by Nintendo to produce a four player variation on the popular two-dimensional fighting game genre, has exploded into one of the most highly anticipated and wildly popular game series in history. The [...]
Also posted in Reviews, Wii
Tagged convergence, mario, nintendo, pokemon, video games, wii, zelda
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Gorillas
One of the first narrative video games was Nintendo’s Donkey Kong, which debuted in 1981. It’s thin storyline followed a mustachioed man as he leapt over barrels to save a woman from the clutches of a sexually frustrated gorilla named Donkey. With its physics, real time game play, and plot, Donkey Kong was truly a [...]
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
The take off popularity of the Ace Attorney series has caught a lot of people off guard both in Japan and abroad. The series of interactive legal dramas has been a landmark success for Capcom, and Phoenix Wright, it’s star, has enjoyed a cult following among players around the world. Players were further caught off [...]
Also posted in Nintendo DS, Reviews
Tagged ace attorney, hero, Nintendo DS, video games
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Super Smash Bros Brawl: The Subspace Emissary
There is no story more eloquently told in the medium of the video game than the tale of the hero. Virtually every narrative video game made today is a take on the heroic epic which forms the foundation of literature and informs modern storytelling. The Smash Bros. series is popular franchise of fighting games which [...]
Also posted in Reviews, Wii
Tagged convergence, mario, media, nintendo, pokemon, video games, wii, zelda
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Geometry Wars Galaxies
If you look at the list of games on our Reviews page, there are generally two types of games. The first are games with a strong narrative. They have engrossing stories and great characters. The second are games which lack those things, but make up for them in some other way relevant to new media. [...]
Professor Layton & The Curious Village
In an essay on interactive fiction, writer and game theorist Nick Montfort describes how virtually any new medium can be treated as a literary device. He notes that even puzzles and riddles can be reviewed as works of interactive fiction, held to the same standards as conventional fiction. First in a series of games, Professor [...]
Also posted in Nintendo DS, Reviews
Tagged layton, mystery, Nintendo DS, puzzle, video games
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Endless Ocean
An increasing number of higher profile games are dropping a focus on narrative and refocusing on experience. This is easy in video games– audience experience goes hand in hand with plot. Endless Ocean abandons dramatic tension and focuses almost entirely on experience. The player chooses his or her path, and creates a personal narrative within [...]
