Giancarlo Valdes

Giancarlo is a recent college grad doing what any other recent college grad would do: stumble through the murky darkness that everyone likes to call “adulthood.” Saddled with a ton of loans and debt, writing is perhaps not the smartest career move for him, but he enjoys it all the same, especially when it’s about videogames. And if this doesn’t work out, he has high aspirations to become America’s Next Top Model. Or maybe a hand model. He isn’t sure. Someone once told him that he has pretty hands. And by “someone,” he means his mom.

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stories by Giancarlo Valdes

Resident Evil 6′s new modes put an undead spin on competitive multiplayer (preview)

The new modes arrive first on the Xbox 360 on December 18, with PlayStation 3 to follow sometime later.

Pull off some ridiculous time traveling heists in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (hands-on preview)

Sly and the gang are back to their old tricks (along with some new ones) in Sanzaru Games' take on the stealth platforming series.

Writer Rumble is a vicious but therapeutic exercise for former English majors (review)

Famous authors from the past battle against another with the most powerful weapon of all: words.

GameStop: Knowledgeable employees ‘drive’ its growing downloadable content business

We talk to GameStop's director of retail digital distribution, Brad Schliesser, about the retailer's philosophy behind in-store DLC sales.

Save Clementine all over again with these The Walking Dead-inspired custom figures

Artist Shaun Nakasone sculpts incredibly detailed vinyl figurines based on video game characters, comic book superheroes, and more.

Ace of Spades is much more than just ‘Minecraft with guns’ (hands-on preview)

Developer Jagex combines Minecraft's addicting building mechanics with a class-based multiplayer experience in this colorful first-person shooter.

Mobile developer Intellijoy partners with YogiPlay to improve its educational apps (exclusive)

YogiPlay's combination of childhood experts and analytics will give Intellijoy a chance to improve its educational apps.

Diablo-like Legends: Rise of a Hero launches on Zynga.com

Legends: Rise of a Hero is a free-to-play role-playing social game that focuses on collecting loot, recruiting friends, and building your kingdom.

Wreck-It Ralph’s film crew discusses bad guys, cameos, and portals inside toilets (interview)

We interview the director, screenwriter, and producer of Wreck-It Ralph find out just how an animated film about a video game villain got made. Warning: some parts of the interview contain spoilers.

LittleBigPlanet Karting shows off Sackboy’s serious driving skills (review)

Sackboy and friends put aside their platforming roots in favor of lean, mean, homemade machines. The result is a stand-out kart racer with enough tweaks and customization to make it play almost exactly the way you want.

Nintendo Land will make you hate your friends and family (hands-on preview)

Nintendo Land is more than just a collection of minigames: It's a competitive arena that tests your relationship with those you love most.

Developers team up with scientists to help make ‘smarter’ games (interview)

We've heard of developers hiring economists and military consultants for their games before, so why not scientists, too?

Just Dance 4 revels in absurdity even as it loses some of its mojo (review)

Ubisoft once again invades your living room with Just Dance 4. But after seven games in the franchise, the formula is starting to feel a little stale.

Keep your Dance Central 3 party going with its SmartGlass DJ app (preview)

Dance Central 3 DJ is one of the first concrete examples we've seen of Microsoft's SmartGlass application since its announcement at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Dance Central 3 hops, shuffles, and body rolls its way to greatness (review)

Developer Harmonix continues its fantastic legacy of music games with Dance Central 3. Consider the title your yearly reminder of why you bought the Xbox 360's Kinect hardware in the first place.

Vehicles are the real stars in the chaotic world of team-shooter Ravaged (hands-on preview)

With a combination of deadly vehicles, homemade weapons, and large battlefields, independent developer 2 Dawn Games wants to deliver an unpredictable multiplayer experience.