Eddy has written a total of 422,116 words on this site.

I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

Pixel Count: How Do You Prefer Your Hype?

The reveal of Bungie’s newest property, Destiny, has had me thinking this week about the nature of hype in the video game realm. With everything from years-out announcements to games that get stuck in an endless development cycle, games that get dropped on us just a few months before release and more, we’ve seen the whole gamut of hype. Sometimes it is a bit much for our poor hearts, methinks.

But while I’m excited about the little snippets that Bungie showed off, I can’t help but feel like maybe the announcement had been just a tad overhyped in the week prior. Bungie explained a little of what Destiny is, but there’s still so much we don’t know, and for a game that seems built around its high concept that we may or may not have seen before, it seems like maybe that information is necessary. In the end, it comes down to strategy, and how each developer feels that they can ultimately sell more copies.

All that to ask you guys today’s poll question. How do you prefer your video game hype? Go!

How do you prefer your hype?

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Ni No Kuni and the Lost Art of Cut Scenes

Ni No Kuni

Over the weekend, I finally jumped into the world of Ni No Kuni, Level 5 and Studio Ghibli’s collaborative take on JRPGs. As has been reported from pretty much the whole world, the game is charming as all hell, from the story down to the monster design. With a great big world to explore and tons of sidequests, the experience is certainly reminiscent of the RPGs I used to play during my summers off of school.

But one of the more surprising reasons for my nostalgia happens to be the game’s cut scenes. Back in the day, one of my favorite parts of a new game was getting to a CG cut scene. These fully animated sequences served as a bit of a reward after a particularly harrowing part of the game, and always kept me on the edge of my seat. The fact that they looked so much better than the game made it all the more rewarding. Continue reading Ni No Kuni and the Lost Art of Cut Scenes

Bungie Reveals Project Destiny

After a couple of years of silence, Bungie has spilled the beans on their ambitious, imaginative project, Destiny. In one of their famous ViDocs, the house that built Halo unveiled its new shared-world shooter. While it’s hard to know what it is exactly at this point, the implication seems to be a persistent online sandbox world, where the players have an affect on the world and the story. It sounds like an MMO, but also with a few elements such as DayZ.

Bungie plans to unfold this universe over the course of 10 years. And what a universe to play in. I could go on and on about the art style, which reminds me of both Halo and Mass Effect, but with a touch of ruin seen from something like Enslaved. While most of what we see in the video is concept art, we do get a couple of bits of gameplay towards the end. You should really just watch it for yourself.

What do you guys think of Destiny, upon its first reveal? I have to admit, it’s a bit bittersweet to see the game’s scope and style, knowing that I had a chance to be at Bungie for all of this. I’m curious to see what else they have in store for us, and what other things they’ll release about the game in the coming months.

GamerSushi Community Night: Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2

Last month, our Counter-Strike: Global Offensive game night was a rousing success. There were around 20 GamerSushi folks in and out of the server over the course of the night, and at one point we had a pretty healthy (although maybe a bit one-sided) 9 versus 8 match going.

Getting the crew together was so fun, we thought we’d try to start doing it twice per month, especially now that KillKill’s server is up and running. For our next game night, we’re eying Team Fortress 2. We expect mayhem.

Here’s how to sign up: if you haven’t joined the GamerSushi Steam Group, you should do that. Then in the comments, tell us what days/times would be best for you next weekend. We’ll do our best to set up a game time that works for as many of you guys as possible.

Also, you should wish Anthony a happy birthday today. Go!

2/23 Update: We’re playing this tonight at 10pm CST. Who’s in?

Review: The Walking Dead

Walking Dead

You probably know all about Telltale’s adventurous take on The Walking Dead, which released in 5 episodic installments over the course of 2012. Taking a comic book series and a TV show known for its zombie scenarios and making it anything other than a first person shooter might have seemed like an odd move to some, but Telltale clearly saw past the horror and straight to the humanity of Walking Dead’s world — and that sometimes, humans are the scariest creatures of all.

In a departure from our normal reviews, all four of the GamerSushi writers have contributed to this piece. As you may know, Walking Dead was our number one game of 2012, so we wanted the review to reflect that high place that we’ve given it. To review the game, each of us have written about the one aspect that makes this game stand apart, and why we personally chose it as our game of the year. Enjoy! Continue reading Review: The Walking Dead

Cliff Bleszinski on the Evolution of Franchises

Cliff Bleszinski

Like many franchises before it, Dead Space 3 has been coming under fire for its sudden shift in tone. Where the first two games were heavily geared toward survival horror, Dead Space 3’s added co-op partner and upgraded arsenal supposedly give players more ways to take down armies of necromorphs than ever before. Even though our very own Mitch insists that the game still has its own share of scary, there are others who disagree.

Naturally, there are pockets of gamers that are extremely upset over this change in mechanics to a game that they love dearly. To some, it’s “selling out.” But Gears of War honcho and former Epic Design Director Cliff Bleszinski has some different ideas about what’s happened to the Dead Space franchise. In a recent Dead Space 3 blog post, Bleszinski calls the game an evolution of the franchise, and uses that term endearingly. And according to him, “You can either fight it or embrace it.” Continue reading Cliff Bleszinski on the Evolution of Franchises

How to Apply for a Video Game Job, by Naughty Dog

Naughty Dog

For Did You See This Wednesday, we’re talking about a subject that I know is near and dear to many of your hearts: applying for a job in the gaming industry, as brought to you by Naughty Dog. I resisted the urge to make a doggy style joke in the title, in case any of you are wondering. Puns!

Naughty Dog, creators of games such as Uncharted and the upcoming Last of Us, have released an amazingly helpful guide for game industry hopefuls. Resumes and Portfolios: The Naughty Dog Way breaks down what the developer expects to see from potential employees, including a list of what they like in a portfolio, and the kinds of qualities they’re looking for. In a beloved industry with a notably small pool hiring only the best talent, this kind of guide is more than welcome. Continue reading How to Apply for a Video Game Job, by Naughty Dog

Pixel Count: Prioritizing Your Backlog?

Welcome to Pixel Count Tuesday, everyone. Let’s get to polling.

Sorting through your video game backlog is like fighting a hydra. Every time you knock out a Witcher 2, a Dead Island pops up to take its place, right next to the Ni No Kuni head you were already aiming at next. And that’s not to mention the Final Fantasy VI head that’s been staring at you for nigh on 2 years.

At some point, you’ve got to step back, take a deep breath and get yourself more organized. For me, backlogs require a plan of attack. I can’t just fight through these games with a devil-may-care attitude, willy-nilly. I have to schedule, prioritize and move through them in the right order.

So my question to you guys is this: how do you prioritize your own gaming backlog?

How do you prioritize your backlog?

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Continue reading Pixel Count: Prioritizing Your Backlog?

Sleeping Dogs: When to Let a Game Lie

Sleeping Dogs

As I talked about last week, I’ve been doing a remarkable job when it comes to my gaming backlog. The most recent casualty on my seemingly ever-growing list (seriously: I just added Ni No Kuni to it this weekend) is Sleeping Dogs, Square Enix’s Hong Kong crime drama.

I’m generally down on open-world GTA style games, but Sleeping Dogs was a welcome treat, providing fun hand-to-hand combat, some nice diversions, exhilarating driving and a well-told story to boot. But one of the things I loved most about Sleeping Dogs? It knew when to call the game quits. Continue reading Sleeping Dogs: When to Let a Game Lie

GamerSushi Asks: Saying Goodbye?

Uncharted 2

For today’s GamerSushi Asks Friday, we’re going to take a look at the long, hard farewell. I feel like there’s a “that’s what she said” in there somewhere.

After finishing Far Cry 3 recently, something happened to me that I’ve really only experienced a few times in gaming. After the main game was completed, the pirates were vanquished from the island, outposts liberated, animals hunted and huge portions of secret items located, I realized there was nothing left for me to do in the game. Because of said pirate vanquishment, I couldn’t even run around and kill a few bad guys. I was done with the game, almost completely.

And when it came time to sign off, I found myself coming up with excuses to hop around the world a little longer. I was kind of sad to say goodbye. This has happened before, and will hopefully happen again. Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Saying Goodbye?

The GamerSushi Power Rankings: February 2013

Torchlight 2 cut scene

I hope you’re all happy to know that we’re bringing the Power Rankings back this year, but in a slightly different format. Last year, the Power Rankings updated at a few key points to bring you our running list of the best 10 games of the year so far. In 2013, the Power Rankings will focus more on our hottest 10 games of the moment, despite what year it was released. Think of it as a “what’s trending” list amongst the GamerSushi staff. These are the games we just can’t get out of our heads, or out of our disc trays (or hard drives, as it were).

Every year, it’s interesting to note the games that stick with you from the end of the previous year’s crazy gaming season. For me, the biggest surprises to come out of the Fall were games like Hotline Miami, but most especially Far Cry 3. While I had no interest in Far Cry 3 for the entire year, I couldn’t put the game down for the entire two weeks that I blazed through it, completing nearly all of the sidequests as well. If you had told me that Far Cry 3 would still be on my mind in 2013 a year ago, I would have snorted and called you a crazy person. Heck, I still might call you one today.

Here are GamerSushi’s top 10 most played games right now. Feel free to tell us we’re the crazy ones, and tell us what would be on your list. Continue reading The GamerSushi Power Rankings: February 2013

A Look at the Players’ Bill of Rights

Phoenix Wright

For Did You See This Wednesday, we’re taking a look at a classic piece of writing on games.

Over at Gamasutra, writer Laralyn McWilliams resurrected an old essay by Graham Nelson, who, if you’re not aware (and I wasn’t), did a lot of legwork for the interactive fiction medium. These adventure games essentially formed the basis of video games as we know them.

Perhaps Nelson’s most famous essay about game design is known as the Craft of Adventure, in which he meticulously outlines what he titles the Players’ Bill of Rights. These rules are a set of standards that game creators must honor when dealing with players. And oddly enough, it’s still just as meaningful almost 3 decades later. Continue reading A Look at the Players’ Bill of Rights

Borderlands 2 and the Question of Duping

borderlands 2 loot

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve made what amounts to a Herculean effort in terms of my gaming backlog. That means that I’ve utilized the strength of ten mortal men to play lots and lots of video games, and the pile of judgmental game titles, physical and hypothetical, have lessened their gaze of fury, demanding to be played.

Basically, I’m having fun.

The most recent target of my gaming swathe has been Borderlands 2, the ludicrous FPS action RPG that can barely support any more capital letter descriptors. Nick and myself have been tearing through this game like nobody’s business, and just this past weekend managed to smite the Warrior, the game’s final fiery boss (with some help, of course). Naturally, one of the biggest draws of any dungeon crawler like Borderlands happens to be the massive amount of loot that you have access to, and according to legend, the Warrior drops some mighty fine bonuses. Continue reading Borderlands 2 and the Question of Duping

GamerSushi Game Night: Counter-Strike GO

CS GO

If you’ve missed the good word, we’ve had ourselves quite a bit of fun on the GamerSushi Twitch TV channel in the last couple of weeks. Between Borderlands, Sleeping Dogs and Hotline Miami, we’ve been hanging out and enjoying some good times playing games.

Well, something that came out of those sessions was the idea for a GamerSushi Community Game Night. Site user KillKill was gracious enough to grab a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive server for us Sushians to partake in a night of competitive leet skills.

So, if you’re interested in joining us sometime this weekend, here’s how to participate: in the comments, leave 1) your Steam ID and 2) whether Saturday night or Sunday night (after the Super Bowl of course) would be better. We can’t guarantee that everyone will get a spot, or if we’ll have a ton of people on short notice, but we figured this was long overdue. Hit us up in the comments!

Update: We’ll be playing tonight, post Super Bowl, around 10pm CST, or shortly thereafter if the game’s not quite over. If you can’t make it, no worries — I’m sure we’ll be in and out of the server for quite a bit over the coming weeks. For now, join the GamerSushi Steam Group so you can keep apprised of when we’re all in game.

Update 2: We’re playing. Server is here: 173.62.11.99:27015

Gaming Pop Quiz: 2013 Edition

Pop Quiz

Sweet, merciful heavens. Has it really been almost a year since our last Pop Quiz? My, how time flies. In my defense, the last Pop Quiz arrived about a week before my daughter did, so it’s interesting to note how little humans tend to disrupt things like, you know, writing features for a gaming site.

So, since it’s been a year since our last getting-to-know-you game, we wanted to ask some questions about the upcoming year, last year, and where your head is at as a gamer for the time being. While 2012 was certainly an interesting and fun year for gamers, 2013 looks to be no slouch, either. Already we’ve had Ni No Kuni and Devil May Cry making waves, and Dead Space 3 is just around the corner next week. Seems like we have a good opportunity here for some questions.

If you haven’t joined us for a Pop Quiz before, it’s simple. Just answer with as much or as little of an explanation as you like, and nobody will judge you. Too much. OK, scratch that, I’m always judging.

Continue reading Gaming Pop Quiz: 2013 Edition

This Week’s Trailers: Bioshock Infinite and Elder Scrolls Online

For Stop the Presses Thursday, the biggest pieces of gaming news to drop this week happened to come in the form of two trailers.

Bioshock Infinite, coming in March, is a game that I can’t quite seem to peg. It’s well documented that the original Bioshock didn’t quite grab me the way it grabbed everyone else, even though I was appreciative of its dark atmosphere and its art design. Meanwhile, Infinite’s city in the sky, Columbia, is almost the opposite of Rapture in terms of its look and feel, even if its dark underbelly is similar in theme.

This newest Infinite trailer highlights the secrets of Columbia, and gives us a bit more info about the story. This game is tempting me something fierce, guys.

Continue reading This Week’s Trailers: Bioshock Infinite and Elder Scrolls Online

Crunching the RPG Numbers

Borderlands 2

In today’s edition of Did You See This Wednesday, we’re going to be talking about RPGs.

As goofy as it sounds, one of my favorite parts about any RPG is watching my damage number creep up as I progress through the game. Whether this number is ratcheting upward through new equipment or because I’ve hit a new level seems to matter little — what matters is that sweet, sweet damage total. I get kind of addicted to it. This is most evident in Borderlands 2 (which we’ll be streaming tonight), a game that bombards you with more numbers than a Mathletics competition, both in and out of combat. Continue reading Crunching the RPG Numbers

Review: XCOM: Enemy Unknown

XCOM

We don’t get many thinking man’s games these days. It’s usually shoot first, ask questions never, and maybe occasionally press X to interact while the really cool stuff happens in QTEs or cut scenes. But XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a different kind of animal for a different kind of gamer. Of all things, XCOM is the most taxing on your brain — and sometimes your heart. Continue reading Review: XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Sim City and the Nature of Addiction

Sim City

To continue our theme of What We’re Playing Monday, I thought I’d take us on a dismal tour of my future, one in which I gain 100 pounds, lose my job and become a hermit that only plays Sim City.

OK, so maybe the future isn’t set in stone yet, but seeing as how much I enjoyed my time in the closed beta this weekend, there’s certainly some kind of dark timeline where all of this takes place. Although, considering how much fun the game is, maybe it’s not necessarily a dark time line after all? Continue reading Sim City and the Nature of Addiction

Nintendo Hits You in the Feels with Wind Waker HD

Wind Waker HD

Man, Nintendo sure does have a bullseye right on our nostalgia bone, doesn’t it? In a totally unsurprising move, Nintendo revealed this morning (via Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma) that an HD version of Wind Waker will be releasing this fall.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Reborn is meant to tide maniacal Zelda fans over while the real Wii U game is in development, but this doesn’t just look like a straight port. Based on some of the game’s gorgeous screenshots, I think it’s safe to say that Nintendo is updating this classic game in an even more beautiful way, in addition to all these new-fangled definitions.

While it’s easy to sour on HD remakes as nothing more than the often-brandished money grab, I still stand by the position that playing a timeless game in a more future proof fashion is a good thing for video games. It’s a way to preserve some of the medium’s history, and really, I can’t think of a more excellent game for Nintendo to have done it with. Wind Waker had such a lovely style to it, I can’t wait to see it on current hardware. Once I get a Wii U, that is.

So what do you guys think? Are you yay or nay on a Wind Waker HD? And seriously, check out the Wii U Facebook page for more awesome screenshots.