In January, I made a list of all the games I knew I wanted this year: The ones I was sure would be locks for the top spots in my Game of the Year list. This list was dominated by big-budget sequels like Borderlands 2, Assassin's Creed 3, and Halo 4.

Now in December, I look at my GOTY list, and it looks nothing like the January one. Some early locks scraped by (Borderlands 2), some just barely missed the cut (Halo 4), and one in particular was gravely disappointing (Assassin's Creed 3).

It was a surprising year, and I couldn't be happier.

I had considered writing a year in review earlier, but it wasn’t until I read Daniel Feit’s that I became motivated enough to actually go through with it. While I keep a list of games I conquered over the year, …

It’s mid-February 2002 and a 12-year-old Chase is ecstatic to get his first brand-new, not hand-me-down home console. I go with my father to the local game store and they ask me what color Gamecube I want: Purple or black?…

After reading Patrick Molloy’s strategy-RPG article, I was inspired to go back to two of my favorite game franchises: Advance Wars and Fire Emblem. While on the surface, these games are extremely similar; they have key differences that make …

For this writing challenge example, I chose to design a fictious boss battle set in the Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island universe. I decided to write a script and added in a few pictures at the end for reference, …

I don’t much care for Leigh Alexander. Not in a “I’d spit in her face if I saw her” type way – can’t really think of anyone I’d do that to actually – but in a way that makes me …

With the 3DS in stores and in people’s hands, it’s only a matter of time before Nintendo begins their eventual ratcheting down of support for the DS line. Despite the lack of a great launch lineup (although I would whole-heartedly …

In Mark Diagle’s recent article “The Big Bang Theory: Symptom of a larger problem, perception,” Mark finds that the CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” shows gamers in a negative light and is actually holding us back from achieving equality …

Think about the qualities of poorly reviewed games: short, linear, easy. These are pejoratives we hear all the time.

Costume Quest is all of these things, but it’s better for them. “How can this be?” you may be asking yourself. …

Sonic 4: Episode 1 is the best console Sonic game since the Dreamcast.

It’s a true statement, but instead of being an accomplishment, it only serves to remind us how awful console Sonic games have been these past couple console …

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In my opinion, video game music died with the Nintendo 64 and the Sony PlayStation. It’s not …

In a recent Examiner.com Chicago article, Alexander Hinkley told us "why fighting games suck.” I’m not sure why he did this. Maybe he thought we were all having a bit too much fun with our Street Fighters and our Tekkens. …

….on console.

After reading Eugene Kang’s “Complexity is Killing the JRPG,” and the point/counterpoint from B. Chambers and Jon Porter about whether JRPG’s need to be fixed or not (not to mention the 120+ hours of Dragon Quest 9 I’ve …

Demos haven’t changed much in their short history. We’ve gone from demos on discs to downloadable ones, but that hasn’t changed the content of demos, just the way we receive and consume them. Crackdown 2 and Just Cause 2’s demos …

There aren’t many characters in Portal – about five depending on your definition of a character.

Chell is basically a blank slate. She has no real background of which to speak. Hell, it takes a bit of work just to …

I love podcasts of all kinds, especially video game podcasts. I truly believe they are the next step in video game journalism. Unfiltered opinions, usually glazed in a hilarious, metaphorical candy shell, a podcast is a source of news and …

Like a lot of gamers out there, my first console was a Nintendo Entertainment System. But while I loved playing that Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt dual cartridge, it didn’t completely entrance me. There was still a chance that I’d grow …

What started as a four-part series has evolved — pun not intended — into a nine comics and a desktop wallpaper for Mare Odomo.

Letters to an Absent Father is a comic strip detailing how Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum deals …

Happy Field Week everybody! 

I’ve been playing WarioWare D.I.Y. almost non-stop since it came out and with my new DSi XL purchase, I don’t see that passion ending for a while.

So when Alex and Cody first mentioned the idea …

Maybe you saw it when it first came out. Maybe you missed it. In any case, on this day where we celebrate all that our mothers have given us, I implore you to watch this.

I don't know about you …

Don’t let the recent events showcased by Digg deter you, Columbia, Missouri is actually a really nice place to live, gamer or otherwise.

I’ve lived in/near Columbia my entire life and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else (ok, maybe Boston. …