Mike Fahey

Sometimes All A Game Needs Is Color, Shape and Music

One of the most popular puzzle games on Android and iOS right now does not contain birds, angry or otherwise. There are no rotating blocks. You don’t have to match three of anything. Physics isn’t a particular concern, and power-ups are completely unnecessary. Shapes, colors and sounds — that’s all Color Zen needs. Upon first…

The Ray Gun Returns In Black Ops II: Vengeance July 2

Are you Call of Duty: Black Ops II players ready for four all-new strategy-rich maps and an epic new chapter in the Zombies experience, complete with the debut of the Ray Gun Mark. II? Not yet? Well okay, you’ve got until July 2 — longer if you play on PC or PlayStation 3.

BioShock‘s Ken Levine Takes A Shot At Scripting Logan’s Run

Logan’s Run fans have been clamoring for a remake of the 1976 film adaptation of William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson’s classic tale of dystopian ageist science fiction for decades. According to an exclusive report from Deadline Hollywood, Ken Levine’s next big writing gig after BioShock Infinite is penning the latest script for the…

Shadowrun Returns Slips From The Shadows July 25

A shadowrun rarely goes exactly according to plan. Originally planned for release this month, Harebrained Schemes’ Kickstarter-backed Shadowrun Returns is bringing its classic single-player isometric role-playing action to PC and tablets on July 25. It barely feels like over a year has passed since Shadowrun pen-and-paper RPG creator Jordan Weisman launched the Kickstarter that promised…

Hot Pockets: The Snacktaku Review

“Why do we eat garbage?” Of all the questions pondered by snackologists since the founding of the science, this is the most contentious, its possible answers the fuel for many of the field’s most fervent dance-offs. Some say the answer is convenience — what’s easier to prepare, a pita filled with mayonnaise or Beef Wellington?…

Every Wonderfully Complex Board Game Needs A Tablet Version

This is Agricola, available now on iOS from Playdek Games. Based on one of German board game designer Uwe Rosenberg‘s finest creations, it’s deep, satisfying and a little complex, but nowhere near as complex as this: This is how Agricola works as a physical board game. It’s a mad whirlwind of cards and resource counters…

When Gaming Gets Too Heavy, Nippon Ichi Brings The Happy

As I wade through the dark and depressing world of The Last of Us, I slowly fill with a sort of gloomy despair — a despair that can only be countered by anime frivolity and quick-time eating, courtesy of Nippon Ichi’s The Witch and The Hundred Knights for the PlayStation 3. Due out in Japan…

These Games Were Missing From E3

Now that we’ve had a weekend to recoup from the bright lights and pulsing music of the world’s most elaborate video game marketing circus, it’s time to take a quiet moment to reflect on the games we didn’t get to play at E3 2013. Jade, Samus, Drake — where were you guys? Now this isn’t…

If The Chocobo Song Had Lyrics, They’d Be Sung In A Fake Irish Accent?

Prolific as he’s been over the past few years, video game lyricist Brentalfloss has never topped his rendition of “Crazy Duck In Space.” Now he’s finally given the Chocobo song from Final Fantasy the lyrics treatment, and he still hasn’t topped his DuckTales jam. I think it might be, quite possibly, the really odd Irish…

Xbox One’s Reputation System Sounds Crazy But It Just Might Work

Placing the responsibility for policing a community into the hands of the members of said community is a lovely idea that rarely works as expected. The new Xbox Live reputation system launching with the Xbox One gives players the power to promote the polite over the pestiferous, with (hopefully) enough safeguards in place to prevent…

Meet Four New Pokemon, The First Gym Leader, And Everybody Else In X/Y

You’d think The Pokemon Company would have gotten all of its Pokemon X and Pokemon Y news out during the major gaming trade show that just blew through, but no — the info train keeps rolling. Meet your trainer’s pals, the first gym leader, and four new entries in the Kalos Region Pokedex. Let’s do…

You Know What The Morning After E3 Needs? Mighty Switch Force 2 Music

After being assaulted by a mix of horrific dubstep and “epic” video game trailer music for four days straight, it’s time for something a little more traditional — something like Jake Kaufman’s fantastic soundtrack for Mighty Switch Force 2. Mighty Switch Force 2 just hit the3DS eShop yesterday, and a good 50 percent of why…

The Mad March Of The PlayStation Mascots

When we think video game mascots, PlayStation isn’t the first console that comes to mind, but Sony has quite a few iconic heroes and villains in its ranks, as proven by both PlayStation All-Stars and this series of Vine vids our fearless leader capturing during his E3 travels. Can you name them all? No, you…

Dammit, Avengers Alliance Is On iOS Now

Avengers Alliance, the oddly-compelling Marvel-themed turn-based role-playing game that I had serious trouble tearing myself away from on Facebook, is now a free iOS game. This is not good. It’s good for those of you who’ve avoided playing the game on Facebook or Playdom. It’s really a nifty little social game, all things considered, with…

Man Of Steel Is Not A Bad Game. Just A Bad Superman Game.

If Phosphor Games Man of Steel featured some generic superhero character — if I weren’t meant to be stepping into the red boots of a comic book icon with three-quarters of a century of history — I would probably love it. I don’t hate it. In fact, I quite like the fighting engine, a riff…

A black Samsonite backpack belonging to Rami Ismail, co-founder of Ridiculous Fishing and Super Crate Box developer Vlambeer, disappeared during Sony’s E3 mixer at the Figueroa hotel last night. According to Joystiq the bag contains an Asus laptop, two Vitas, the iPads, power adapters — Ismail says it’s “pretty much my entire company.” Information on…

There’s Already My Little Pony Movie Content In The Game

With a limited release of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Equestria Girls movie this coming Sunday, Gameloft has gone ahead and slipped a little something special into the official mobile game of the hit show. This is Sunset Shimmer. She has issues. So many issues that she steals a crown from the Crystal…

Also during Venus Patrol‘s indie E3 showcase, developer and Indie Fund partner Kellee Santiago took the stage to announce an agreement to finance two unannounced original games from Tim Schafer’s Double Fine. Expect more on those in the coming months.

The “World’s First Speed MOBA” Spawns On The App Store

Crafted by former members of A Bit Lucky and some folks from Trion Worlds, Solstice Arena is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena game that Zynga is calling the “world’s first speed MOBA.” What does that mean, exactly? Well, it means 3-on-3 matches last for 5-12 minutes, making it a very mobile-friendly. They’ve gotten rid…

That Other XCOM Game Snuck Into E3

The folks over at Twitch have been streaming live gameplay demos from E3 all week. I know this, becuase every now and then over the course of the past few days I’d completely cut-off contact with my coworkers to enjoy a particularly compelling segment, like this one for The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. I’ve been intrigued…