Impressions from 25 hours of Bloodborne
Bloodborne’s a huge game. Digital Chumps received a copy about a week in advance, but it wasn’t nearly enough time to properly play through the game. What follows are loosely connected observations, general information, and an introspective reflection around the first twenty-five hours of Bloodborne. Stylistically, it’s more loose and conversational than a committed, thesis-drive...[Read More]
Lords of the Fallen on PC
In November, I played Lords of the Fallen on PS4 and enjoyed it. I didn’t finish it at the same, partly due to workload and also because over the course of the next month, I was putting the finishing touches on a new gaming PC, the first that I had built in (too) many years. Lords of the Fallen was going to be one of the first games to be installed on my new rig because I was impressed with ...[Read More]
Dying Light; Hurried and Imperfect Thoughts
Dying Light is a surprisingly long game! In lieu of a timely review amidst a hectic week, I’ve decided to write a mess of words in response to the first half of the game. Ordinarily I’d quality check my writing to make sure it all flows together and makes sense, but I did none of that for this. That being said, check back for our review later this week – which surely will benefit...[Read More]
Eric Layman’s top ten videogames for 2014
2013’s list was founded on the principle of raw innovation. 2014’s thematic tie in-is a bit more fundamental; one cool idea. I can’t think of a better way to express 2014’s drive other than games that left a profound impression by the efficiency and execution of a single great idea. In some cases I couldn’t believe a game like this hadn’t existed before, and ot...[Read More]
Flap Jaw Space: Episode 82
We recorded a really great episode, which I’m not just saying because our work typically ranges from “man, this is pretty bad,” to, “yeah, but why is this three hours long?” Mark Shepherd joined us for the fourth time in Flap Jaw Space’s four year reign and first time in 2014! We called upon his tremendous insight and deep-reaching appreciation of the 16-bit era...[Read More]
Flap Jaw Space: Episode 81
Welcome, probably. Rather than separate our witless digression from our industry leading talk about videogames, please enjoy this mixed-together text dump detailing Episode 81’s marvelous content: The merits of seersucker pants, the idea of buying children, Chris’ love of the Miiverse (and related indoctrination by Mario Kart 8), the weird arcade bar Chris visited in Chicago, Supe...[Read More]
Flap Jaw Space: Episode 79-80
To be perfectly honest I have no idea what happened to Episode 78. We recorded it, it’s right here, but the blog post I made for it two months ago either vanished or never existed. Further complicating matters, we decided to record two different episodes three weeks apart and then stitch them together into a single episode. Episodes 79 & 80 are now Episode 7980. In Episode 79 we discusse...[Read More]
Flap Jaw Space: Episode 77
Continuing our fine tradition of posting content months after it was created, Episode 77 is finally ready to be consumed via Internet web page. I took notes on my phone during production, apparently detailing the topics of conversation. They are as follows: phone gymnastics, tinder, grinder, eating weird animals, Transformers, Steve’s wife murdering a deer with a car while pregnant, being sa...[Read More]
Flap Jaw Space: Episode 76
In what’s become another rambling barrage of vicious non-sequiturs, we spend twenty minutes talking about Steve’s full body massage and the surrounding etiquette of such, why Chris quit Facebook, credit card tips for functioning middle class adults, whether or not John Calipari is bad for basketball, 16-bit sports games, and how to properly deal with homeless people aski...[Read More]
Killzone: Shadow Fall’s “Insurgent Pack” is off message, but on model
Software may be primed for a new generation of hardware, but the model that defines its content adheres to lessons of old. Killzone: Shadow Fall, consciously and inconspicuously, wasn’t one to go off-model. Vague novelties allowed it to score somewhere in the average range, leaving its downloadable content the task of supercharging the inevitable decay of its structure. Enter the Insurgent P...[Read More]
Additional Thoughts on Goat Simulator
I had to figure out if I could lick that hang glider. You’ll have to forgive me, I should have provided a bit of context. I was simulating what it’s like to be a goat through Coffee Stain Studio’s Goat Simulator. Like any normal goat, I could bleat, aggressively ward off humans, and use my nine-foot tongue to lick and stick to virtually anything in sight. I’ve been to plent...[Read More]
Brief Observations from the Dead Island: Epidemic beta
I don’t understand MOBA’s. I mean, I sort of get them – I’ve watched Dota 2 surge in popularity and bleed through different odds and ends of the Internet over the last three years and don’t fault anyone’s interest in it or the burgeoning genre – but it seems like a proposition too massive and unwieldy for my particular tastes. The ceiling seems too high an...[Read More]