Author Archives:
The Bridge Review – Turn The World Upsidedown
The Bridge, developed by Ty Taylor and Mario Castañeda, is an award winning 2D logic puzzle game that started life as a university project and has since become an Indie favorite.
If M.C. Escher was a game designer, The Bridge would have been his darling project. If you’re a fan of twisted images and perspective puzzles, this is a game for you. Read on for more.
IGDA Faces Public Resignations After GDC Party Controversy
Yet again, it seems like the video game industry’s taken slow step forward and two quick hops back when it comes to equality in the work place. And this time, it led to the IGDA facing public resignations of a number of their prominent industry members.
This week many game industry professionals and hopefuls are attending the largest video game professional focused event in the world: Game Developers Conference. This event, better known as GDC, features panels, workshops, networking events and in the evenings, industry sponsored parties.
Last night at the International Game Developers Association event sponsored by YetiZen, a company specializing in funding social and mobile game development, attendees were treated to more than just food and alcohol, but also scantily clad dancers. More on this story after the break. Read the rest of this entry
Retro Gaming – When Old is New and Cool
Not everything is high-rez in the gaming world. Sometimes you just have to get back to basics.
When better-known characters such as Mario and Sonic moved on to 3D titles, a sizable portion of the gaming audience did not move with them. These retro gamers instead focused on a dwindling number of new releases that appealed to their tastes. Now, the 16-bit stylings of yesteryear are back and they’re big.
Retro gaming has made quite the splash in film this year. Disney’s winter hit, Wreck-It Ralph has been filling seats with gamers of all generations. The film follows a Donkey Kong-like bad-guy-who-wants-to-be-a-good-guy who leaves his arcade machine in search of a way to fulfill his dreams. Throughout the film younger viewers are introduced to gaming legends like Q*bert and Tapper alongside better known characters like Pac Man and Street Fighter’s Zangief. Wreck-It Ralph manages to cram more pop-culture gaming references and cameos into an hour and 40 minutes than most gaming conventions can over a weekend. Read the rest of this entry
SteelSeries Flux Luxury Edition Headset Review
Disclaimer: SteelSeries has provided JTM Games with one Luxury Edition Flux gaming headset for review.
For the last month I’ve been testing the SteelSeries Flux Luxury Edition headset, using it for gaming and audio on the PC and my on-the-go gaming. I’m pretty rough on my gear; in this case throwing the headset in bookbags, tossing it on tables and (occasionally) across the room. So far I’ve been pretty impressed with the design, durability and sound.
Read on for our full SteelSeries Flux Luxury Edition Headset Review.
Best of 2012 – Lee’s Top Five Games of the Year
Popular coop shooter Borderlands 2 is only one of Lee’s top picks of the year. What else is on his list?
Lately we’ve been giving out our awards to what we think are the best Canadian-developed games of the year. Of course, in addition to those awards, each of our amazing writers will also be sharing their top five games of 2012. Yesterday JTM’s own Nick D. shared his top game picks. Today, veteran writer Lee G. will share his top five games of the year.
Hit the jump to check out Lee’s Top Five Games of the Year.
Primordia Review
When I wrote earlier previewing Primordia, I said Christmas was coming early for fans of the classic adventure game genre. After playing through the complete version, I can comfortably repeat that. With emphasis.
We join our hero Horatio, a robotic hermit living in the wastes. He and his floating companion Crispin, who functions as the witty sidekick and (sometimes) helpful hint system, eke out a living scrounging junk. Their home is attacked and power source stolen, forcing Horatio to come back into the world. As Horatio pursues his missing power source, he learns about the missing race of man, his past, and the wars that swept civilization from most of the planet.
Read our full Primordia review after the break. Read the rest of this entry
Indie Spotlight – Primordia Preview
Christmas is coming early for fans of the classic adventure game genre.
“The world man built was perfect. A perfect machine built of a million imperfect parts…” begins Horatio Nullbuilt version 5, the protagonist of Primorida. If the world was perfect before, it certainly isn’t now.
I had the chance to try out a demo of Primorida, a joint release from Wadjet Eye and Wormwood Studios, and DAYUM am I looking forward to finding out the rest of this story.
Find out more about Primordia after the jump.
They Save Games – An Interview with Founders of Digital Game Museum
With PAX 2012 the place to see so many new and upcoming titles, it’s nice to come across a nod to the past. Tucked away on the 6th floor of the convention centre, the Digital Game Museum’s Evolution of the Console Controller exhibit connected the past with the future.
We met with founding members, Executive Director Judith Haemmerle and Ben Wilhelm to talk about the exhibit, the museum, and their goals for the future.
Check out our full interview after the break.
To The Moon Review
Indie developer Freebird Games describes their latest title To the Moon as “an indie Adventure RPG, about two doctors traversing through the memories of a dying man to fulfill his last wish”, but this game so much more than that.
This game offers a wonderful mix of high concept story, touching character and low brow humour. The 3 to 4.5 hour journey it takes to navigate and transform the memories of a dying man is well worth setting out on.
Read on. Read the rest of this entry
Mark of the Ninja Review – A Subtle, Brutal and Deadly Joy to Play
Mark of the Ninja throws you right into it, combining the distinctive art style and visceral kills of Shank (my favourite parts) with the quick, stealthy movements of a ninja. This game is the latest offering from Klei Entertainment, a Vancouver based studio best known for Shank, Shank 2, and EETS. Long story short, this game is well worth sinking some time into.
Read more after the break. Read the rest of this entry
