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Are We Being Unfair When We Say That Grinding Sucks?

I hate feeling like a cog in the machine—like my actions don’t matter, like I’m wading through tedium before I can get to the ‘meaningful’ part. Tedium exasperates me, makes me start thinking about depressing things like not reaching my true potential. This is true in both real life as well as in games. So…

Thank The Wolfman: The Historical Murder-Fest Dreadline Still Exists

Back in May, we caught wind of Dreadline, a game in which famous monsters travel through time to equally famous tragedies and kill everyone before they would’ve died anyway It’s an enjoyably goofy premise, and given that the game is headed up by former Harmonix and Irrational developers Bryn Bennett and Steve Kimura, it’s got…

How Many ‘Easter Eggs’ Can You Find in MLB 13 The Show‘s Latest Trailer?

Sony released this trailer today for MLB 13 The Show, and producer Ramone Russell vowed that “about 10 Easter Eggs are included in it.” Operation Sports’s community has gone dissecting it frame-by-frame; here are some of their readers’ guesses: • “So RttS and HRD now both have some “personal lock on ball” view with a…

This Moronic Sandy Hook ‘Game’ Is Probably Fake [UPDATE]

People wasted no time last month following the tragic events at Sandy Hook, judging from the existence of a dev blog that purports to show screenshots of Sandy Hook: The Game. According to the website, the game is the “official video game of the sandy hook massacre, you play as Adam Lanza.” Not much is…

In Case You Forgot, Get All the Ugly Details of the 38 Studios Debacle in Seven Minutes

The spectacular crash of Curt Schilling’s video game development studio was one of the most stunning—and heart-wrenchingly sad—news stories of last year. The downward spiral of the company that made Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has been well-documented but this news report by Reason does a nice job of laying out the stakes, motivations and consequences…

Watch This Silly Source Filmmaker Re-Creation Of Two YouTubers Absolutely Losing It

Sonic The Hedgehog released in 2006 sure is a terrible game. The duo known as Game Grumps learned this the hard way, and broadcasted their experience playing the game for their audience about a month ago. The original, which you can watch down below, is pretty funny on its own. But it also inspired possibly…

I Don’t Envy What Xbox Support Has to Put Up With

Xbox support has a Twitter account—it’s very helpful and responsive, in my experience! But sometimes, the stuff they have to put up with is so idiotic that I can’t believe how patient they are. I know I couldn’t be after this exchange on Twitter. [View the story "Xbox Support" on Storify] A bigger picture of…

A Handy 2013 Calendar For Gamers

Start flipping open those cute puppy calendars your parents bought you, and pull out your Sharpies, because it’s time to get down to the temporal nitty gritty on entertainment in 2013. We’ve got a ton of (hopefully) great, big games, movies, and more to look forward to this year. My wallet cringes at the thought.…

Rumors of PS4 Restricting Used Games Send GameStop Stock Tumbling

GameStop’s stock price closed lower by $1.30—a five percent loss overall—after word this morning that Sony had applied for a patent on technology that could restrict how used games are played on its next console. Used games are, of course, a cornerstone of the GameStop customer experience, whether trading them in for store credit toward…

Mad Catz Plans to Create Mobile Gaming Controllers. And Mice. And Keyboards. And Headsets.

Power A has the MOGA. Nyko has its PlayPad. Steel Series has gone Free. Everybody’s trying to get into the mobile gaming controller market, looking to deliver a game pad solution that all game developers can embrace. Mad Catz isn’t just building a mobile game pad. They’re creating a universal Bluetooth technology initiative called GameSmart…

77 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies to Watch Out For in 2013

This year, legends walk the silver screen. From Captain Kirk to Superman, our greatest heroes are back, and facing their darkest hours. But 2013’s movies also include some brand new indies from Neill Blomkamp and Shane Carruth, plus a whole lot of fantasy insanity. Here’s our complete guide to 77 science fiction and fantasy movies…

Faith In Humanity Slowly Depleting: This Jerk And His Supporters Find Joy In Harassing Women Gamers

New year, new cretins who hate women who dare to like video games. Here are a couple of videos by YouTube user ShrineNI where he tells people how to go about finding and harassing women gamers, particularly those who stream on services like TwitchTV and play World of Warcraft. His main gripe seems to be…

Demon’s Souls will be downloadable on PS3 starting 1/8. Atlus will shift the game to pure white tendency through 1/14.

Jason’s Top Ten Games Of 2012

You don’t realize just how good a gaming year it’s been until you look back at all of the games you actually played. From physics puzzlers to ninja simulators, 2012’s library was full of interesting, creative, unique experiences. I played a lot of games last year. A few were bad. Most were good. Some were…

How Disneyland Helps Make Better Video Games

Video games and theme parks have quite a bit in common—they’re both engineered areas that encourage people to explore, even while controlling the overall experience. All the same, it’s rare to see a veteran game-maker break down all the lessons he takes from Disneyland and applies to video games. This talk by Scott Rogers from…

Christmas Was Very, Very Good to Angry Birds

Of the estimated 17.4 million new Android and Apple phones and tablets unwrapped on Christmas day, nearly half snagged a copy of Rovio’s bird-powered physics puzzler. It sure pays to be nearly synonymous with mobile gaming, doesn’t it? Using statistics gathered by Flurry.com, Rovio celebrates another year of Angry Birds success. 2012 saw the launch…

Make Superman Fly Where You Want, With Remote Control

The guy who filmed this video pulled over because Superman flew overhead. Wouldn’t you? According to YouTube poster Triathlonky, the Superman flyer seen here is most likely a custom job, meaning that you can’t just run out and buy one. But, man, there’s a ton to admire in the sculpt and swoop of the thing.…

Why Journey Should Be Game Of The Year

The first time I played Journey, I thought, “Okay.” It had been a lovely experience, sure. I’d played it to around the halfway mark, taken a short break, then finished it. It seemed very nice. Remarkably pretty, and with a gorgeous soundtrack. Past that, I couldn’t quite nail it down. The second time I played…

FarmVille 2 Prized Chicken Coop: Everything You Need to Know

Before the changes to the Prized Animal feature in FarmVille 2 that made prized animals grow more slowly, players filled their farms with tons of Prized White Chickens, as they grew in a flash. If you’re still holding onto many of these Chickens, but would like to reclaim some space on your farm, you can…

On Further Review, Notre Dame Leads the Voting for NCAA Football 14‘s Cover

So, we know a little more about how NCAA Football 14 is handling its social media vote-off to determine the game’s cover subject this summer. Apparently there were some other polls on the game’s Facebook page factoring into a school’s overall vote popularity. While that means Penn State and Kentucky are not actually No. 1…