Video games are thrilling to me because of their diversity as a medium – beyond being simply a game, they can function as a toy (Electroplankton), a competitive sport (Street Fighter), an interactive story (Ico), or even a piece of literature (RPGs). I doubt many gamers will disagree with me on these points; however, our enjoyment of a game as literature is stilted, and the problem may be in part due to us gamers. The problem? Gamers are far too spoiler-phobic, and it prevents gamers – and even game critics – from ever talking about a story in depth.

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In what many call the first cinematic video game experience, Metal Gear Solid truly sets the mold for immersive gaming experiences to come.  Combining an involved plot with white knuckles stealth action, you were truly made to feel like a pawn amongst the powerful.  This peon like role was only exaggerated by the dire mission, in which you were surrounded by trained killers.  One slip up and you were spotted, and that could mean certain death.  That is, until one particular item turned the rules of engagement inside out. Read more… »

Call Of Duty 4. Famous for its still extremely popular multiplayer and short but action packed story line was a game which set the bar for console shooters in terms of multiplayer ranking and set pieces in single player.  Amongst the high praise for the multiplayer the main let down of Call Of Duty 4was that the single player was a short lived experience.  And it was… but on Veteran, Call Of Duty 4 made Oblivion look short.

May be some spoilers after the jump. Read more… »

When I was a kid, I was terrified of trading in a used game. I remember checking and double-checking that flaming cartridge or disc to make sure it was suitable to sell on to another keen gamer. For an N64 cartridge, I’d blow the hell out of the thing until there was nothing but the sweet smell of success rebounding into my face; for a PlayStation disc, I was inclined to shine that baby up until my heart was content, safe in the knowledge that my reflection was clear to smile back at me, free from the obstruction of any blemish or scratch.

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The rise of the internet, and subsequently the rise of online gaming, have seemingly revealed to us the true nature of humanity.  If an outside observer, say an intelligent alien being from another world were to view our internet in a random fashion, he or she would most likely assume that humanity is filled with the most vile and deranged perverts, people who would rather have sex with balloons while dressed as Saturday morning cartoon characters than live a respectable life, but this is the price we pay for anonymity.

The same price is paid continually by those that play competitive video games online, as millions of foul speaking youths and ignorant adults have deemed the realm of online gaming their personal anonymous platform to perform a Don Rickles stand up routine on the world, but why?

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When browsing the web in a state of boredom, I came across a quite interesting article. This article suggested after a recent poll/survey suggested that one out of three British men would prefer to play video games than sleep with their partner, claiming the 72% of them would turn down their partner in order to play a new release.

As someone who is not currently in a relationship I still find this latest statistics hard to take on board. I have been in a long term relationship, and over this period I would not even think of turning down a night of romance to play the next level of a game.

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Easter is here for those that choose to believe in that stuff, but for all of us, regardless of religious denomination… we’ll be gaming.

See after the jump what’s spinning in the staff’s consoles and PC-DVDs this weekend!

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Not too long ago I watched a quasi-documentary called “Why We Fight”, which detailed the story of the American War Machine, with the soldiers, politicians, generals and such all detailing why they think the military is essential in day to day life. It then got me thinking, not about war or the military, but about gaming. Why do we game? Not only that, but why do we, the hardcore gamers, feel such a strong bond to gaming, including the industry, the community, the developers and, most importantly, the hardware creators themselves.

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The Gamer Limit Sunday Soapbox is a Sunday-only set of Gamer Limit articles straight from the minds of your favorite writers and editors. Think of the soapbox as a blog post or diary entry that we want you to see. Content will will be limitless, ranging from feelings about what we’ve been playing, to reactions to a piece of news.

Keep in mind that these aren’t your standard news, features and previews that you’re used to, and significantly more grounded in opinions and personal feelings. As such, you’ll be getting a much deeper look into the minds of the staff here at GL. Read more… »

Over the last few years, games have started to develop a few nasty traits. Like in any person, traits are generally part of the evolution of character, game elements that develop when developers try to find new ways to innovate, or in some cases, even take shortcuts. In some cases, these aspects of design can become innovation stalwarts, providing standards for the industry. But over time, they can become stale, or crutches to disguise bad design. But sometimes, they shouldn’t have existed at all.

These traits can arise for all sorts of different reasons, from laziness, to create mass appeal, and even, more recently, one of greed or exploitation. Sadly, the more games that start to use these elements, the “cheaper” the titles become. In this article, I’ll cover a few of my top pet hates, and establish why I think that games should remove them, and what I think that developers find some appealing about including them.

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Alright, I’ll admit it. I’m a bit of a JRPG tragic.

There, I said it. I’m not ashamed of it. But who can blame me? I grew up with some of the best console RPG titles to ever grace the chips of a cartridge. Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Phantasy Star, Secret of Mana – the list goes on. Every generation since the NES has given gamers a plethora of fantastic stories, great characters, and extraordinarily eccentric villains. What fan could forget Kefka from FF3? Read more… »

Every time we get a brand new franchise that we love, we pray to the Gods of Gaming that they don’t cock up the inevitable sequel. This isn’t to say that the sequels are bad games, they just pale in comparison to what came before. Occasionally we’ll get games that stand tall over their predecessors, like Street Fighter II or Soul Calibur 2. But more often than not we’re given a game that will disappoint us from start to finish, simply because we can’t help but compare it to the previous game. This is Gamer Limit’s Top 10 Disappointing Sequels. Read more… »