Gaming 2014: The Year In Review

Hey all, hope you had a good holiday season.

So 2014 is almost over! That year went by fast but then again once you hit your middle 20s the years just start zipping by like the pages in one of those animated flip books.

Since it's year-end I'm going to do one of those year-end review type pieces.

Check it:

Far Cry 3: Far Cry With A Vengeance

Hey Ladies and Jerks,

Been a few minutes since we last spoke and this time we're talking about Far Cry. Far Cry is a game from 2004 by Crytek (of Crysis fame) about a man with a gun shooting lots of other men with guns in order to rescue a girl.

Far Cry 3 is  game from 2012 by Ubisoft (of Assassin's Creed fame) about a man with a lot of guns shooting even more men with even more guns in order to rescue TWO girls and even a couple dudes.

Progressive, right?

Click through below to find out if there's really more to it than that.

Tomb Raider 2013: Tomb Raiding Optional

What's crackin' y'all?

I think I missed a week there but all is well! I'm not so busy anymore so now I'll take a moment and jot down some thoughts on some vidya.

I picked up that new Tomb Raider reboot from last year on PlayStation Network's holiday sale and have been playing it this past week. There's stuff I like about it and stuff I don't.

Take a gander why don'cha?

What's Playin': Mobile Edition: Part Deux

Hello everyone! Little late to the party again and it's another listicle for this week! Don't worry, someday I will get back to writing more long-form pieces again.

As it is though I'm going to spend the next week moving and most of my gaming will be of the mobile variety so what better topic for a post? This is a current sampling of some of the stuff I'm playing on my iPhone 5. It's a good eclectic mix of puzzle and action gaming, all of it perfectly suited for on-the-go gaming.

Let's dig in!

Rockin' the Vidya-Casbah: A Look At Some of Rockstar's Games

Ooooh-wee, y'all!

I skipped a post last week because I was just too busy to sit down and write something. Well no more of that, I promise! Between packing stuff and getting ready to move I've found the time to return to some old favorites of mine from a company that is quite well known, Rockstar Games.

The three games I'll be talking about in this post are all venerable classics in their own right, all released within a year of each other. They are: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), The Warriors (2005) and Bully (2006). Though each game was made by separate studios working under the Rockstar banner I show how they all share a common DNA.

What's Playin': Mobile Edition

Hey y'all,

Another week another image-heavy, content-lite post from ol' Mr. Mech. Just been kicking along and letting the thoughts simmer in that noggin' of mine so for the time being let me introduce you to a new series here on TDMJ: What's Playin': Mobile Edition.

In this series I talk about games I'm playing at the moment. As you might surmise the "Mobile Edition" part means these are basically the games I'm currently playin' on my mobile devices.

Let's get to it!

Talking About Talking About Video Games

Hello everyone!

I am a bit behind this week and don't have my crap together. I've got a post on the Zelda series I started but I don't know if I'm going to finish it. I might, I just don't know!

Much like last week I let this week slip by without thinking of anything interesting to write about. So I'm going to riff free hand with some random thoughts on talking about video games.

Memory Lane - Part 1

Hello again my dearest readers!

This is the first part in a new ongoing series I'm going to do about my formative gaming experiences. Welcome to Memory Lane. In this article I cover my earliest gaming memories up to the first major milestone, the game Doom.

Let's have at it!

Fever Dreams in Deepest Space, a Review of Alien: Isolation

Hello again Dear Readers,

This time around I'm going to talk about a really great game that came out recently. That game is Alien: Isolation by The Creative Assembly. It's set up as a sequel of sorts to the first Alien movie that was directed by Ridley Scott back in 1979.

I just finished the main campaign the other day and I loved the game to pieces despite a few flaws. This is a game made by fans of the original movie for fans of the original movie. As fan service for Alien fans it succeeds with flying colors. As a horror game it is merely very good. And as a video game in general it has some nits to pick at.

It's kind of a cross between System Shock 2 and Amnesia: The Dark Descent, with a bit of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay sprinkled in for good measure.

Here's the skinny:

BioShock: Infinite or, Infinite Worlds, Zero Choice

What's happening True Doomers!

This week I'm going to talk about another one of those BioShock games, this time BioShock: Infinite. What's the final word, you ask?

Well, let me put it this way. For a supposed "thinking man's shooter" this game is actually quite offensive to thinking people everywhere.

Let me tell you why.

Ten Week Anniversary!

Hey Murder Junkies and Junkettes!

This is the tenth post to this blog and as such represents ten straight weeks of commentary and criticism of all the digital shooting and looting, slicing and dicing, and general murder and mayhem we all enjoy from time to time.

So let me just take a moment to pat myself on the back for managing to take my creative impulses and tether them to a steady schedule for so long.

*pat*

Felt great, thanks for asking! Let's talk about some games!

An Introduction to Violence

Hello once again fellow Doomers,

Today I'm going to talk about violence in video gaming. I got some comments on last weeks article that suggested I should explore the topic of violence in popular games further and how these games use ethical window dressing to make that violence more palatable.

That seemed like a swell idea to me so here we are. Let's talk about violence.

The Current Gaming Trifecta

Hey Murder Junkies,

It's that time again. Another week or so has passed us since I last left you and more gaming related thoughts have cluttered up my mind so I figure it is time to do another one of these articles.

This week I thought I could talk to you a bit about the state of video games in general and lay out, as I see it, the Current Gaming Trifecta.

First I'm going talk about just what this Trifecta is, then I'm going to talk about how it got that way by reminiscing some and giving some historical context. Finally I'm going to speculate on what it all means for gaming in general going forward.

To Kill or Not to Kill: A Dishonorable Review

Hello Dear Readers,

This week I'm going to talk about a little gem of a game from 2012 that was released by Arkane Studios, an older development house that makes games so fresh it still has that new-developer smell.

The game, of course, is Dishonored, a first person Thief-like that was billed as having Deus Ex-like "immersive sim-ness". You might call this genre the "sneak-em up" with a side of "slice-em up" if you want to go that route.

In this article I'm going to go into the game's pedigree, who exactly Arkane Studios are, and describe to you just how awesome Dishonored is while also picking at some nits I just can't ignore.

BioShock or BioSchlock?

Greetings friends!

Today I'm going to talk about BioShock 2, a 2010 sequel to 2007's BioShock. BioShock is wrongly considered a masterpiece by a lot of otherwise well-meaning people thanks to advances in public relations and marketing. The sequel fares a bit better but is ultimately plagued by many of the same problems as the original.

First I'm going to talk a bit about the original BioShock: It's lineage and main promises, what it did right and where it went wrong. Then I'm going to talk about the sequel, BioShock 2, and why it's a bit better despite making most of the same mistakes as the original.

Somewhere along the way I'm probably going to insult people who think these games are anything other than schlocky B-grade trash with nice window dressing. I'd rather not end up insulting people but when appraising these games honestly it's very hard not to piss the fans off. But oh well, fans blow!

Retreading Familiar Ground - GTA III: Shoreside Vale

Hello once again fellow Doomers!

Today we're rounding out the GTA III portion of Retreading Familiar Ground with a look at the game's final burrough, the residential area of Shoreside Vale.

Shoreside Vale is probably the smallest of the three islands despite its large geographic footprint. Half of the island is the airport and the other four districts are comprised of a light industrial area, two residential areas and a dam.

I think Shoreside Vale is really just there to give you more ways to view the rest of the city. From the hills in the north of the island you can stand atop the game world and take in all three islands at once.

The layout itself is probably the most interesting of the three islands. It has hills and lowlying flatlands along with bridges, tunnels and a dam that all serve to connect the two residential neighborhoods with the industrial area, which is separated by a small inlet of ocean.

That said, let's dive in and break it down district by district.

Retreading Familiar Ground - GTA III: Staunton Island

Hello once again, dear Murder Junkies

This time on Retreading Familiar Ground we continue our look at Grand Theft Atuo III's iconic burroughs by revisiting the second island of the three, Staunton Island. Once again heartfelt thanks go out to the good people of gta.wikia.com.

Retreading Familiar Ground - GTA III: Portland

Hey gang!

This time I'm going to do something a little different. This is the first in a series of articles I'll be doing on each of the distinctive neighborhoods and districts that make up the world of the Grand Theft Auto games. Since Grand Theft Auto III back in 2001 the main star of the series has not been the protagonist that players inhabits during their time in the game world, but in fact that game world itself.

I've spent a crazy amount of time in the last 13 years getting settled into the environments of these games and now I want to go back and take you with me. Hence the title of this series of articles: Retreading Familiar Ground.

Wolfenstein: The New Order: The Review

Greetings once again, Dear Readers!

Today I'm going to talk about a game property that is very near and dear to my heart. I first played it as a little boy on his dad's computer and it managed to make quite the impression on me and many other little boys and girls at the time. I start with a bit of a history lesson before describing the game and then end things with my final analysis. So sit back, grab a cold one or light something up or whatever you like doing to relax and read my report on the latest re-imagining of an old favorite of murder junkies everywhere.

Why True Doom Murder Junkies?

Greetings and Salutations Dear Readers!

I am Mr. Mechanical, an Internet Writer, Blogger, Over-zealous Anti-evangelist and Guerrilla Ontologist. I am also an artist, philosopher, citizen of the world, student of the universe and free-spirited post-existentialist. Further than that I am also just an everyday average Joe and proud to be an American. Most importantly, I am you and you are me and that means we are all together.