The Thin Line Between Offense And Offensive

After reading Stephen Totilo’s article In Defense of Offense: Why We Gamers Shoot, which was featured in the New York Times, I admittedly had mixed reactions and feelings. In the article, Mr. Totilo, who is also the editor-in-chief for the popular gaming website kotaku.com, explains why big blockbuster games like Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 are such a big hit amongst the mainstream gaming community.

However, I found it odd that Mr. Totilo also failed to address why it was exactly he had chosen to “defend” the appeal of shooter games, and instead chose to use language that could give critics of these games more (pardon the wordplay) ammunition. Shooting games are constantly “under fire” as it were for promoting violence and glorifying war since rarely do such games offer any other path besides “shoot and kill everything that’s trying to do the same to you.” 

Top Five FPS Villains

While it’s true that FPS fans rarely need more incentive to line up their crosshairs and pull the trigger other than the game telling them “these are the bad guys, shoot them”, it cannot be denied that finally getting to take down the henchmen’s ringleader brings with it a special sort of satisfaction.

Read the full story at explosion.com

Video Game Review: Gears of War 3; This Is How Trilogies Should End

It seems like so long ago, the first time I ever popped the original Gears of War, developed by Epic Games, into my Xbox 360 and took it for a spin.  Back then I knew next to nothing about the game, my brother had bought it and I happened to be sitting around bored with nothing else to play.  I remember comparing it to the few other shooters I knew like Halo and F.E.A.R and I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the tight controls, simple yet intuitive interface, and war-torn story of humanity’s last desperate struggle against the terrifying Locust.  Now, several years and two sequels later, I’m proud to say I’m glad I decided to give the first game a try as playing through and beating the climactic finale that is Gears of War 3 has felt like a journey of personal completion as well as the completion of a series.

Video Game Review: F.E.A.R. 3; A Solid Finale for the Trilogy

As a longtime fan of the F.E.A.R. series ever since its debut in 2005, I’ve been looking forward to playing through the third and final entry after having enjoyed my time with both the original F.E.A.R. as well as the sequel Project Origin.  The first two games were often praised for their well-blended mix of horror and action and while the story was a little wonky at times, the thrilling gameplay and gripping atmosphere more then made up for any sorts of weaknesses the plot contained.  And while the story hasn’t gotten any less crazy, I’m happy to report I genuinely enjoyed my time with the epic conclusion to the F.E.A.R. legacy.