Posts By Tayo Stalnaker

Naughty Dog, without question, is one of the most praised developers this generation, not so much for their gameplay, but for their smart, character-driven writing and breathtaking set pieces. This cinematic, directed design found in their Uncharted series has placed them at the forefront of narrative gaming, and The Last of Us continues this trend in emphatic fashion.

Ever since its first global release for the Nintendo Gamecube a decade ago, Animal Crossing has amassed a very large and devoted fanbase. Its Sims-meets-Harvest Moon real-time gameplay is notable for its charm, depth and accessibility. This fact alone easily makes Animal Crossing one of Nintendo's most popular franchises. Animal Crossing: New Leaf is the latest iteration of the series, this time finding its home on the 3DS. For many, this was a highly ...

For many, science is frightening. For all of the wonderful and amazing things it's capable of, numerous people fear that in the wrong hands science can, and will, be used for evil. To be sure, this has happened before, and since humans are skeptical by nature, it's no surprise a lot of us feel this way. It's these worries that are the reason why science fiction like Remember Me exists. The very thought that a morally ambiguous corporation (Memorize, in this ...

Another day, another indie side-scrolling shooter. They seem to be a dime a dozen currently, but that's OK since they serve a purpose – fast entertainment on the cheap. Point 5 Projects' Bad Bots is another 2D shooter that recently hit the scene. Like many games of its ilk, it tries to recapture old-school aesthetics by providing gamers with challenging arcade action. Bad Bots accomplishes this, but in a way that feels incomplete.

To say the Monster Hunter series is big in Japan is an understatement. These third-person action RPGs are positively huge in the Land of the Rising Sun, so much so that they played a major role in popularizing the PSP. However, Monster Hunter Fever hasn't quite found its way to the West. It does have a devoted cult following in North America and Europe, but their numbers aren't large enough to make Capcom's beast slaying franchise a household name. Regardless, ...

Cyberpunk RPGs aren't very common in gaming, so I'm always intrigued when I hear about a developer taking the genre for a spin. Mars: War Logs is the most recent post-apocalyptic RPG to surface, but the game's developer, Spiders, decided to throw a future Mars colony into catastrophe instead of Earth civilizations. This gives War Logs some unique qualities compared to most other games of its ilk, and the change is refreshing. However, despite all of this, it's ...

Legendary designer Keiji Inafune has dabbled in macabre video games before. He's most well known for co-creating Mega Man, but he also has Resident Evil, Onimusha and Dead Rising production credits under his belt. Since leaving Capcom, he's decided to dive back into darkly atmospheric game design with his latest project, Soul Sacrifice.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon came out of nowhere. “This is just an April Fool's joke!”, people claimed. “Oh, it's just going to be some lousy DLC!”, cried the cynics. Thankfully, none of this was true, and the Kojima-esque viral marketing campaign successfully drummed up interest. Blood Dragon is its own game, is definitely not DLC, is definitely an homage to 80s blockbusters, and is definitely awesome.

J.J. Abrams' take on Star Trek, while it has its detractors, has been well received by fans old and new. The next film, Star Trek: Into Darkness, is slated for theatres next month and expectations are high. So, what better way to celebrate this highly anticipated sequel then by playing a game based on the hit films? Well, after spending some time with the latest Star Trek game, I can think of quite a few ways.

Arcade style beat 'em ups are becoming fashionable again in the gaming scene. Many have either bought new gameplay concepts to the table or have been clever reimaginings of old franchises. The Sacred series, which are action RPGs in the vein of Diablo, has decided to join in on the brawler craze with its latest instalment – Sacred Citadel.

Ubisoft has been known to be at their most experimental with new console releases, and the Wii U was the perfect opportunity to pay homage to the first game they ever made – Zombi. Released in 1986 for the PC, Zombi was a first-person action-adventure game that takes place in a mall filled with zombies. The game's “hook” was that after a player died they would turn into a zombie and the other survivors would have to defeat it. ZombiU features a similar game ...

In what appears to be a bid to garnish more sales for the aging franchise, Capcom has decided to shake things up in the Resident Evil universe. With four campaigns, multiple playable characters, Mercenaries mode and the all-new Agent Hunt feature, RE6 is positively ripe with content. Gone are the days of puzzle solving in an eerie atmosphere. Now, it's all about cinematic action and ultra-linear level design. While these changes didn't hurt sales, the game has ...

Sniper: Ghost Warrior hit the gaming scene in 2010. It wasn't very well received, but it sold well enough to warrant a sequel. The first installment was panned for containing too many run-and-gun missions, something that shouldn't be in a game supposedly all about sniping. With that, developer City Interactive decided to make some much-needed improvements with the sequel, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2. While they succeeded in building a game that focuses more on ...

Reboots, remakes and reimaginings seem to be all the craze these days. This year we've already seen a different take on Metal Gear, a modernized Devil May Cry and now the highly anticipated reboot of Tomb Raider. This new version of Tomb Raider is more character-driven, cinematic and is reminiscent of many modern action-adventure titles. While it does capture some of what made the original games great, the exploration and puzzle solving play second-fiddle to ...

Baldur's Gate is often regarded as one of the finest role-playing games in existence. Initially released in 1998, it was BioWare's second title and proved to be influential not only for BioWare's later works but for other Western RPG developers. With a strong emphasis on storytelling and customization, Baldur's Gate paved the way for other RPGs to follow in its footsteps and ultimately change the landscape of the RPG genre.