Author Archives: Matthew

Mario is Missing: Mario Meets Edutainment

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Matthew

My generation’s baptism into the bizarre world of ‘edutainment’ came with our school-mandated curriculum of the Oregon Trail series. Sure, it was supposed teach you about pioneers, but the designers made a crucial mistake – it was actually fun as hell to play. This basically guaranteed two … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mario is Missing: Mario Meets Edutainment

Perfect Dark: The Swan Song of the Nintendo 64

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Matthew

In the beginning, there was Goldeneye 007, and it was good. The year was 1997, and console shooters were formless and empty. Thus Rare said “Let there be objectives.” And so it was. And Rare blessed the players with free … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Papers, Please: Gaming Satire at Its Absolute Finest

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Matthew

I’ve occasionally heard the argument that it’s impossible to make a game about an ordinary person. An exceptional plot, they say, demands an exceptional protagonist. Somehow he or she must be special. Maybe he’s all-powerful, or maybe she’s exceptionally brave. Maybe he’s simply … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Papers, Please: Gaming Satire at Its Absolute Finest

Pilotwings: Super Nintendo à la Mode 7

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Matthew

Back in 1990, Nintendo released three first-party titles for the launch of its fledgling SNES console. The first two were Super Mario World and F-Zero, two Nintendo classics that would go on to become iconic entries in Nintendo’s line of flagship … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Pilotwings: Super Nintendo à la Mode 7

Star Fox Review: No, Not the One On Nintendo 64

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Matthew

Ah, Star Fox. If there’s anything that’ll make me nostalgic for my childhood, it’s memories of flying around the Lylat Sytem in my Arwing and waging war against the forces of Andross.

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Jurassic Park: Childhood Trauma In a Cartridge

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Matthew

It’s hard to find anyone that takes licensed titles seriously these days. With a couple of noteworthy exceptions (Spider Man 2, Goldeneye 007), they’re almost always poorly made cash-ins accompanying some movie or television show. Nevertheless, during the late 80s … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Gears of War trilogy: Instant Fun, Just Add Friends

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Matthew

I hope you’ll forgive the laziness of critiquing an entire series of games in a single review, but I didn’t feel compelled (read: motivated enough) to analyze my thoughts on each game in separate posts. Over the last weekend I … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Gears of War trilogy: Instant Fun, Just Add Friends

Six Websites to Help You Manage and Clear Your Backlog

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Matthew

Clearing out a backlog takes some serious discipline. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to most people that the first step towards clearing one out should be to catalog your games, and then determine which ones to beat first. Besides giving … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Scribblenauts: Helicopter and a Rope

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Matthew

I am a grumpy, old gamer who lacks any sort of imagination. Well, at least that’s what I felt like playing Scribblenauts. I bought Scribblenauts on its launch day, deliberately visiting a GameStop just to pick it up despite a lifelong proclivity … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Let’s Play: Rainbowing Some Sixes, Episodes 7-10

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Matthew

Posted four more sessions of Rainbowing Some Sixes this week. Check them out below or at our YouTube channel. I’m also pleased to welcome our friends Randall and Austin for episode 10, bringing our total party size to seven. Just one … Continue reading →

Posted in Lets Plays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Let’s Play: Rainbowing Some Sixes, Episodes 7-10