Eric Layman

Level-5 must be doing something right.  It's not every day Square-Enix hand picks a (relatively) unknown developer to take the reigns over their most lucrative franchise.  Apparently they knew what they were doing; the risk paid off and Dragon Quest VIII was a massive success on both sides of the planet.  Level-5's previous effort, Dark Cloud 2, earned a similar amount of critical praise, as did t...[Read More]

Personal stupidity which usually leads to bodily harm is arguably the most universally comedic part of American culture.  If you're walking down the street and the person in front of you slips and falls over, you'd never laugh (well, most of us wouldn't).  However, watching their blunder vicariously through a television is an entirely different story.  As America's Funniest Home Videos and, yes, J...[Read More]

Don't ever judge a book by it's cover.  It's a cardinal metaphor in the judgment process, be it food, literature, or, yes, even videogames.  On occasion, awesome games are blessed with awesome covers (think Shadow of the Colossus).  Sometimes, though, interactive works of art are fronted by a horrendous depiction of the game's alleged content (Final Fantasy XII).  That being said, when Diner Dash:...[Read More]

When was the last time your interest in a game was conceived upon seeing the game’s title?  Consider that question carefully.  In the been there, done that age of franchises, sequels, collections, and ports, how many new games actually sound like game you want to play?  I didn't know what to say when Dead Head Fred appeared in my review pile, but, thankfully, the back of the box placed everything ...[Read More]

Since the beginning of time math teachers have tried to convince their students that arithmetic is actually a fun and rewarding activity.  Even at a young age the BS detector would sound wildly; how in the world could something so seemingly unnecessary be practical, let alone fun?  I mean, we had the Apple II, surely nothing was more fit to handle all mathematical calculations in the human world. ...[Read More]

Dating sims are to American gamers as Xbox is to Japanese gamers; niche market doesn't quite begin to describe the simultaneous incomprehension with these respective genres. A fundamental difference exists within our two increasingly diverging cultures, for whatever reason the Japanese cannot produce a significant reason to own an Xbox just as my fellow Americans are similarly apathetic to dating ...[Read More]