Chris Stone

This is the story of a boy* – not a young boy, but a man-boy, with a beard, three days’ supply worth of natural energy bars and vitamins, and an itch. Here are some short excerpts from his brain one week later.   * this isn’t really a story, it’s more of a random musing guised as a story   The idea that I should be pissing my pants the whole time: I grew up during...[Read More]

The best homage to gaming’s past came in the form of Ubisoft’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, based on the zany action-comedy-romance comic by Bryan Lee O’Malley, set to release around the same time as the upcoming film staring Michael Cera. In his adventure, Scott Pilgrim must defeat the seven evil ex-boyfriends of the one he loves, Ramona. This caught my eye from about forty feet away. A...[Read More]

Thrusted into the Transformers universe in Activision’s Transformers: War for Cybertron single player campaign, I immediately sensed the immense scale that the developers were trying to portray. As the Autobots mobilized, it quickly becomes apparent how much is actually going on as you progress through the mission. Progression was relatively linear; the battle-drive-battle-drive formula works quit...[Read More]

Ah, Kane and Lynch, what fine pair of upstanding gentlemen. Judging from the original game, there was no doubt that Kane and Lynch would likely still be a couple of criminals who apparently have secret agent combat training and wear wife-beaters made of Kevlar. These dudes are utter greaseballs. Right down to the gritty video filter, everything about the presentation of Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days ...[Read More]

In terms of creating a unique atmosphere, the aptly named Limbo takes the cake. A silhouette of a young boy with no features other than beady dots of light for eyes drifts almost lifelessly through a dark world that bleeds sadness and despair in this chilling downloadable platforming experience for the Xbox 360. Limbo is both dark and devoid of life while being vibrant and dynamic; this is no easy...[Read More]

Spending a brief amount of time with the Transformers: War for Cybertron multiplayer mode, I quickly became privy to the fact that the latest attempt to delve into the Transformers universe wasn’t shoveled out of the door like most previous attempts. After tinkering around with the character selection screen, I chose to play as the Solider class. Scout, Scientist, and Leader were the other options...[Read More]

After being released in North America as Devil Kings for past several years, Capcom finally decided to give the latest installment of the Sengoku Basara series a proper localization. As Devil Kings, all of the traditional Japanese names and semi-historical figures were changed, which kind of diluted its personality significantly. Reenergized as Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes, Capcom looks to estab...[Read More]

With absolutely no knowledge of the previous installment other than the basic concept, I wasn’t sure what to expect when viewing about a ten minute demonstration of Shogun 2: Total War. At the onset, two giant Japanese feudal armies faced off on a battlefield that was ridiculously massive in scale. Rain poured down, creating mud puddles that actually affected the properties of the terrain. Everyth...[Read More]

While wandering across the show floor, I stumbled across what I thought looked like a possible gem for the Nintendo DS – Final Fantasy: Four Warriors of Light, already released in Japan. The first thing that I noticed was the semi-cutesy character designs that look like they were pulled straight out of a children’s book. The art style fit the play style, as well. After wandering around town for a ...[Read More]