Impressions: PixelJunk Lifelike
“Different” is an understatement when it comes to PixelJunk Lifelike. Shortly before our demo began Q-Games’ Dylan Cuthbert gingerly warned us that Lifelike didn’t fit the traditional videogame mold, but I’m not sure any sort of preemptive explanation could have prepared us for what in the exact hell we were going to be looking at. In fact, even after reviewing our ex...[Read More]
Red Faction: Armageddon
Red Faction: Guerrilla was a game about breaking stuff. One could argue its open world systems were surprisingly well built and the gunplay wasn’t half bad, but the star of the show was the myriad of possibilities in which Alec Mason could demolish EDF property. Watching a building crumble under stress from a nano rifle or well placed remote mine was a pleasure previously unrealized, and Vol...[Read More]
Portal 2
My copy of The Orange Box traded hands like children trade chicken pox. Portal was so smart, so inventive, and so respectful of the player that it was my go-to “you gotta play” whenever a friend joined the current console generation. This anecdote was a microcosm of a repeating epidemic in the gaming community; Portal’s splendor infected everyone it came into contact with. Like The Leg...[Read More]
Patapon 3
Few debuts on Sony’s PlayStation Portable were as instantly arresting as Patapon. Sandwiched in the middle of their 2007 E3 montage, the teaser was short on context but high on appeal. Its 2D presentation was entirely unique while its gameplay, as we would soon discover, was a concept all its own. Patapon was a rhythm/action game where the player controlled a tribe of warriors by inputting s...[Read More]
The 3rd Birthday
The 3rd Birthday selected an unconventional path to fruition. Never mind its discarded origin as a cell phone game, the more interesting story lies with its relationship to Parasite Eve. A third game isn’t necessarily surprising, Parasite Eve’s unique combat mechanics and real-world setting were more than enough to merit another entry in the long dormant franchise, but some mystery exi...[Read More]
Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy
Dissidia: Final Fantasy was created to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Square-Enix’s (née Squaresoft’s) Final Fantasy series. It pulled two dozen heroes and villains from Final Fantasy I through XII and pitted them against each other in a free-roaming 3D fighter, and then topped it off with extras out the wazoo. While this experiment of considerable risk arrived more competent t...[Read More]
Okamiden
Okami deserved better. Clover’s 2006 PlayStation 2 classic was loved by a precious few, but a wide majority simply passed it by. It’s hard to say where the fault was; “drawing” on the screen to cast spells was an incredibly fresh mechanic, and the sketch-book art direction was (and still is) completely unique. If I had to guess, the misguided Zelda comparisons, awkward paci...[Read More]
Submissions for 2011 Into The Pixel Collection now open
Editor’s Note: Into The Pixel is one of the most overlooked booths at E3. Usually showcasing a wide variety of art inspired by our favorite games, nothing serves as a better reprieve from the stress of E3 than a casual stroll through an otherwise unassuming art gallery. I’ve always been impressed with the quality of the work there, and can’t wait to see it again in 2011. Check ou...[Read More]
An ode to Super Meat Boy
Super Meat Boy was voted our collective 2010 game of the year on Episode 16 of our podcast, Flap Jaw Space. One would think beating out Mass Effect 2 and Super Mario Galaxy 2 would merit additional coverage somewhere at Digital Chumps, but, outside of a small feature I wrote and some E3 coverage I can’t find, Super Meat Boy has been absent from the pages of Digital Chumps. After a month of blood, ...[Read More]
Dreamcast Collection
If asked my favorite console, Saturn or PlayStation 2 would make a run for it, but there’s a special place in my heart for Sega’s final system. This space won’t be used to speculate on the reasons for its demise, but rather to celebrate the awesome library of games released over the Dreamcast’s short life. Shenmue, Seaman, Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram, NFL2K, Jet Grind Radi...[Read More]
Bulletstorm
To paraphrase Hot Shots: Part Deux, first person shooters are usually about killing things until they die from it. Doom? Kill stuff. Call of Duty? Shoot dudes in the face. Left 4 Dead? Work together to kill zombies. Semi-relevant objectives give context and bombastic weaponry provides variation, but in the end you’re always John Matrix in the last twenty minutes of Commando. Bulletstorm, the...[Read More]
Dead Space 2
Dead Space was born into considerable adversity. A brand new title for a dormant genre from an unproven development studio could have easily been swept under the rug. Defiant as it was resilient, Dead Space ignored the odds and yanked said rug out from under its expectations. Certain storytelling methods and gameplay mechanics were familiar, but written into a memorable experience filled with tens...[Read More]