Licensed games are generally the stuff that core gamers avoid. Shoddy production, poor decisions, lack of understanding, and attempting to appeal to a broad range of audiences usually leaves us core gamers a bit out in the cold. Strangely enough, High Voltage Software is developing one of the few licensed games coming out worth looking at. Based on the movie coming out this October, Astro Boy for the Wii, PS2, PS3, and DS, is shaping up to possibly something more than just another licensed title.

Since these are more like daily wrap-ups, I’ll just list the games covered:
Left 4 Dead 2
IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
Astro Boy

Every once in a while something so original and unique rolls around that it can’t be ignored. Zeno Clash—developed and published by Chilean game developer ACE Team—is not only singular in style, but also eccentric and bizarre, my favorite flavor of originality. The world in which the game takes place, Zenozoik, is hard to compare to anything else out there. While comparisons fail to capture the spirit of game: it’s similar to the visual aesthetic of Dave Mckean, the architectural design of Antoni Gaudí, and the raw brutality of God Hand blended together. The result is an impressive, creative, and extraordinary experience that feels nothing like anything I’ve played before.

I just realized I should probably be logging my articles here. For now I’ll start with today’s feature, The Rise and Fall of Yu Suzuki. I’ll start working on previous ones next.

Yu Suzuki is a father of videogames. His works have influenced the industry above and beyond almost all others. Yet it was announced earlier this week that Sega has “retired” Mr. Suzuki from his R&D creative officer position. This position was already small enough that last year Sega of America CEO Simon Jeffrey wasn’t sure Yu Suzuki still worked for SEGA. Now his title is manager of the R&D department for Sega’s AM Plus division only. But is he really “retired,” or just not as involved with the company anymore?

So the time has finally come for me to use the first part of my blog title: WORK.

Here’s my first article that’s put up at Play Magazine Online. Hopefully it’s the first of many, and I know at least one more is coming, but only time will tell.

The Interactive Fiction Little Falls claims to be an experience rather than just a story. Released earlier this year by Mondi Confinanti in English (originally published in Italian), Little Falls has the widest range of multimedia I’ve ever seen used in an IF. Images and sound add to the story in a way that makes them inseparable from the experience (even though you can play the IF without them).