Posts by Travis Woodside

I used to pride myself on my video game collection. My collection of GameCube titles, in particular, was a sight to behold. The GameCube came out just before I graduated high school, so while I was in college and working part-time I had quite the expendable income with which to buy whatever I wanted. So while I picked up every GameCube game worth playing, I also picked up a few terrible games just because they were part of a series and would look nice on my shelf.

Shigeru Miyamoto plays Angry Birds. That means he has a smart phone. Someone else at Nintendo probably has a phone too and on that phone they’ve downloaded a gaming app and seen online leaderboards or asynchronous multiplayer. Heck, they’ve probably seen live multiplayer. Someone over there is probably playing an online game right now. On a phone. So why is it, in 2012, that Nintendo still doesn’t seem to understand how to develop appropriate online systems for their own consoles and games?

Ridley Scott’s return to science fiction cinema with the film Prometheus has left fans with mixed feelings. Some love it, some hate it, some have wondered what Zero Suit Samus is doing in the movie. But one thing is for certain: If you’ve seen Prometheus then you’re in the mood for some Aliens. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many games based on the Alien franchise that are any good. Except one.

“What a bunch of jokers!” I've heard that phrase a hundred times in Xenoblade, an epic Japanese RPG published by Nintendo, yet I can't get enough of it. Dialogue that is frequently repeated is supposed to be the bane of the video game industry, but something about this title makes formerly irritating matters a joy. Perhaps my opinion is tainted by the fact that Xenoblade is one of the best games ever released on the Wii, but I think the real answer is more subtle than that.