The following is a review of the game that makes the recent releases of FIFA 10 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 seem trivial. Yes, it’s Football Genius – The Ultimate Quiz (pun credited to GamerNode Director Eddie Inzauto).
Football Genius
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Monthly Archives: October 2009
Feminized Franchises
This is a piece I wrote for ChicksDigGames in April 2008, the link to which appears to be permanently broken. For portfolio purposes, I’ve reposted it here. I’ve edited it since to make it a touch more concise and neat.
You Can't Go Back To WoW
This is a piece I wrote for MMO Life in June 2009, the link to which appears to be permanently broken. For portfolio purposes, I’ve reposted it here:
Raven Squad
My mum once said that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Actually that’s a complete lie, given that she hated proverbs. In fact, she never said anything remotely like that, but would I like to think that if she knew I would waste my adult life reviewing video games then she would have, because she would have known that eventually I would have to review a game like Raven Squad.
The Passage Of Time In Azeroth
This is a piece I wrote for MMO Life in June 2009, the link to which appears to be permanently broken. For portfolio purposes, I’ve reposted it here:
PES 2010
The pages of gaming history are full of great, unbridled battles for market dominance. Children of the 90s will remember the epic feud between Sony and Nintendo, and the first-person shooter’s first steps being fought out between Quake and Doom, while modern-day gaming has brought us the multimillion dollar battle of the band games between Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero. Arguably, however, one of gaming’s most long-running rivalries is one that sometimes gets overlooked, probably because its evolution has been so subtle through its many, seemingly greedy yearly updates. I am of course talking about FIFA vs. Pro Evolution Soccer.
My Gaming Through Grief: The Aftermath Of Smashed Plates
Previously, I tried to distinguish between fantastical escapism and engaging escapism. The more I reflected on that post, the more I wondered if, when saying engaging escapism, I was just gussying up distraction.
The latter doesn’t seem to do what gaming did for Daniel justice. Nonetheless, is it accurate semantically? Was gaming simply a distraction for Daniel, albeit an active one? But there’s the rub; I don’t think distraction can be active. Surely something distracts us, and that’s passive. Contrastingly, Daniel talked about solving problems and taking on challenges when gaming through his grief, and that is clearly active. Therein lies the further rub; play by definition is active. Gaming is an interactive medium. I realize I’m stating the obvious a bit here, but it’s worth underlining, as I believe it was the engagement with gaming that was key to Daniel’s escapism. When we’re in despair, feeling like we’ve been robbed of all influence, gaming can be very empowering.
Gameswipe: Partly Aimed At The Non-Gamer, Held Aloft By The Gamer
I’m paraphrasing Charlie Brooker a bit with that title. Brooker, the creator and presenter of the mocking review shows Screenwipe and Newswipe, was tweeting ahead of Gameswipe’s debut showing on BBC 4. To paraphrase once more, he tweeted that the one-off gaming special was partly aimed at those who don’t care about games. After watching Gameswipe, it’s clear that it was indeed partly – possibly mostly – aimed at the non-gamer, but after reviewing the aftermath and the figures it’s also clear that the show’s chances of being commissioned into a full series fell squarely at none other than the gamer’s feet.