Posts by Justin Gifford [ 97 ]

Tried It: Defiance

I’ve got a fairly diverse game collection. Indie, a few sports, some classics, WRPGs, shooters, sandboxes, strategy – in fact, the only traditionally console-based genre you won’t find in my library is JRPGs, which I’ve talked about before. However, with the release of Defiance, I’ve had the opportunity to get into one of the most popular game categories the whole planet over (MMORPG) that I haven’t touched since the initial release of City of Heroes. While I don’t see myself buying [...]

Worst Company in America, Twice the Disappointment

So, I’m sitting in my office, watching an online auction clock tick away for some property we’re interested in. I’m keeping half an eye on twitter as a distraction because municipal certificate auctions are hardly nailbiters and a link to an article from Peter Moore, the Chief Operating Officer at Electronic Arts pops up. He’s reacting to The Consumerist’s annual Worst Company In America bracket – EA’s a finalist this year after ‘winning’ the title last year. I don’t necessarily have [...]

The Doom of Video Game Correlation

This article has been brewing for a while, but following the murder of 26 people in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, we made an editorial decision to let it sit for a while. We didn’t want it getting lost in the noise of a very important debate here in the U.S. or coming across as a knee-jerk, hypersensitve reaction to perceived unfair criticism. Let’s be fair: overreacting to perceived criticism is something gamers and the gaming industry are particularly adept at. I’d [...]

NASA, Game Jams, and the Wizard of Oz

Aside from Twue Wuv, there are only two things more awesome than video games: dinosaurs and NASA. Although I’m convinced that the entire organization must be filled with some of the most humble people on the planet (they landed a car on Mars with an annual budget of 0.48% of total Federal expenditure and refrained from telling ALL THE AGENCIES to suck it), I’m hoping that deep down, they’re aware of their awesomeness…and that the rest of the world is, [...]

Mail This: No New Game+ = Wrong Answer

02/01/2013
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by Justin Gifford in: Editorials

Dear Game Designers Who Thought I Was Done, You know how when you’re playing an immersive game and you’ve spent a lot of time agonizing over decisions and wondering why that one part was so hard and then you finish the game and go, ‘Man that was awesome! I want more!’ and you’re talking to one of your friends who tells you about that one upgrade you missed that would have totally changed how you approached that one spot with [...]

(Unconstitutional) Video Game Laws: Episode # “I’ve Lost Count”

Is anyone feeling deja vu-ish? We’ve got another debate about the debt ceiling, the EU may-or-may-not collapse like a house of cards (again), and we’ve got legislators (one federal, this time) proposing bills that are so clearly violative of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution that I can only imagine two scenarios where the crafting of these bills were possible: the representatives are pandering idiots or their entire staff, which tends to draft the actual bills, had a five-martini [...]

Dishonored Review: Assassination at Reasonable Prices

Although it may be a little unusual, I need to start this review off with an apology to Bethesda. I’ve often said that, despite the time I’ve spent playing their games, that I wasn’t the biggest fan, that their combat & character interaction just didn’t work for me, whether it was in Elder Scrolls IV – Oblivion or Fallout 3 (I still haven’t played Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim because I know what a time-suck it would turn into). Dishonored, on the [...]

GiffTor’s Naughty and Nice List of Games for 2012

12/26/2012
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by Justin Gifford in: Cursed Activities, News

When I get up around 2,000 words in an article, even my Top Ten Games of the Year, it starts to make Justin L. break out in hives. Pet dander, half of the edible material known to man, pollen, sunlight and a stiff breeze have the same effect, though, so it’s not a big deal. Still, with my record-breaking year in terms of games played, there were a few games that deserved mention either because I still feel the need to [...]

GiffTor’s Games of the Year 2012

2012 has been an interesting year for me when it comes to gaming. There were months where I hardly had time to play (getting married takes a lot of your extra time) and there were months where it seems like all I did was play. I don’t consume games at the rate that Justin L. does when he BUYS ALL THE GAMES, but I got my hands on a wide variety of games throughout 2012 that ran the gamut. Gamuts. [...]

Just Ask: Good Buy Kinect?

10/31/2012
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by Justin Gifford in: Editorials

Question: With the recent price drops, integration of lots of music and video apps, and the growing number of motion-based games available for the Xbox 360, is it worth it to purchase the 4GB Xbox 360 to use as a combination fitness/entertainment hub? – Brandi, Indianapolis, Indiana Responders: Brandon Coppernoll & Justin Gifford with Justin Lacey Justin G No. Brandon Gifford, quit being an ass. This is a tough question to answer. Microsoft is absolutely positioning itself to become an entertainment hub [...]