Stephen Totilo

Ubisoft is making another game about James Cameron’s Avatar movie universe for PC and console. Their most recent one, in 2010, wasn’t very good. Better luck this time! Ubi says development will be led by Massive, the studio behind The Division and will use that game’s engine. No release date or gameplay details.

Early Impressions Of The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

My emotional journey over my first four hours of playing the new Zelda: liked it, grew skeptical of it, doubted it, regained appreciation, now hooked on it. If you love the Zelda formula you may take this same ride when you start playing The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, which comes out for…

Early Impressions Of My Very Own Nintendo Switch

I carry the thing around in a big wool sock and finally had the nerve to play it on the beleaguered C train this morning, fearful someone would try to snatch it. This is Nintendo’s new console, the Switch, and I’ve had it since Tuesday evening. Not much time, really, so what can I say?…

A New Patch Tweaked Watch Dogs 2‘s Ending, And Fans Are Wondering Why

A new 10GB patch for Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs 2 fixes bugs, adds new clothing, tweaks some systems and primes the game for some downloadable expansions, but it also adds a mysterious conversation to the game’s final cutscene. That’s got people guessing, since game endings don’t usually get patched. Spoilers follow, of course. Watch Dogs 2‘s…

Oddly Enough, Watch Dogs 2 Is An Innovative 3D Platformer

The 3D platformer, the faded genre of Super Mario 64 that flourished two decades ago, was supposed to finally make a comeback in 2017. The likes of Yooka-Laylee and Super Mario Odyssey were going to bring it back. But Watch Dogs 2, of all games, snuck some 3D platforming into its side missions last year,…

Limited Splatoon 2 Demo Will Be Available On Nintendo Switch In Late March

Proving that they’ll do what they want, whenever they want, Nintendo just announced in the middle of a weekend night that there will be a “global testfire” for Splatoon 2 from March 24-26 on their new console. The summer-slated sequel to the mostly multiplayer team pain-shooter will be available for Nintendo Switch owners to play…

A Very Satisfying Comeback Win

I think I finally understand what people love about competitive gaming. I’ve finally played a PvP game with enough dedication to get skilled, to relish victory, to learn from defeat and to make a comeback like the one here. The game I’m playing is Clash Royale, the extremely popular competitive multiplayer game that involves players…

Simpler Video Game Menus Are Better

The release of the former Wii U exclusive Yoshi’s Woolly World to the Nintendo 3DS demonstrates once again that gaming menus are best when they’re lists. Nothing fancier is needed. We don’t need to be able to wander every which way through them. Both versions of Woolly World are sidescrollers. They pretty much have the…

I Started These 269 Video Games In 2016 And Liked A Whole Bunch

For the 11th year in a row, I’ve tallied a list of all the games I started and/or finished in the previous year. This is a list of games I started in 2016. Some I played for mere minutes, some for hours and some until the credits rolled. Some were good. Some, not so much.…

The Gamers Of The Year, 2016

The people who play video games have an impact on what we play and the gaming culture at large. Since 2012, that premise has informed our annual listingof the Gamers of the Year. This piece originally appeared December 22, 2016. There’s no one achievement that can put someone on the list. Some are champions of…

Four Surprising Moments Tucked Into Watch Dogs 2

You may have expected hacking, driving and shooting in Watch Dogs 2, but did you expect a discussion of Aliens Vs. Predator? How about a chat about what’s cool about Latin? Yes, the language. Ubisoft’s developers have hidden some odd and interesting stuff in their latest massive open-world game. The Aliens Vs. Predator thing is…

What We Liked And Didn’t Like About Watch Dogs 2

Three of us on staff have been playing Watch Dogs 2. Two of us have finished it. We figured it was a good time to chat about the good and bad of the game. There was a lot to consider! Bonus: We may accidentally wandered into a discussion about why one of us is very,…

The Division’s terrific $15 Survival expansion is now available on PS4. It’s been out for PC and Xbox One for a month, and we really like it. Read our Xbox One impressions for a breakdown of how it transforms the game.

Here’s Where You Can Play The Nintendo Switch Starting Next Month

Nintendo will let the public gets hands on time with its next console/handheld starting in January as part of a multi-city tour, the company announced today. It sounds like space will be limited, so be prepared to wait on line if you want to play the Switch. The world’s most acclaimed maker of iPhone games…

Grand Theft Auto Online’s newest free expansion, Import/Export, is out today. It mostly involves stealing and driving incredible cars, including the ramp car in the video here, posted on YouTube by gamer Oderus Orungus. More details on Rockstar’s site

From a recent Reddit AMA with Justin Kurzel, director of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie.

The State Of The Xbox One In 2016

When 2016 began, you needed to own an Xbox One to enjoy most of the benefits of Xbox gaming. Here at the end of the year, you don’t. This is part of our 2016 “State of” series, a look at how the major consoles, VR platforms, and PC are doing this year. That twist arrived…

The Debate Over Cheating In Grand Theft Auto Online, Waged By Two Friends Who Disagree

Dirty Worka and Carbine King—not their real names, as you may have guessed—are two Grand Theft Auto Online players who clash about one important thing. Dirty Worka hates the rampant cheating in the game. Carbine King is a boastful cheater. Despite this, they’re friends and sometimes play against each other. “Dirty Worka is a great…

Five Great And Very Weird 2016 3DS Games You May Have Missed

You had your Pokémons and your Fire Emblems and your (really, really good) new Kirby game, but the games I most enjoyed playing on my 3DS this year were smaller, less hyped oddities. Do you like weird, great games? Here are some of my favorites from this year: Pocket Card Jockey From Game Freak, the…

As they did last summer, the makers of The Division are inviting fans to provide in-person feedback regarding some changes to the game. This time, they’re flying fans to Red Storm in North Carolina this January in preparation for changes to The Division’s most controversial component: The Dark Zone. More info here