Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning... almost
Marc Kusnierz | Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 4:06PM 
I really like Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. A lot. I like it more than I ever would have expected. I like it, but I don't love it. Reckoning has great combat for all classes and is absolutely beautiful, with color and vibrancy reminiscent of the recent Trine 2 [my review]. The leveling/experience system is well thought out, easy to use, and encourages experimentation with easy access to respecing. The story is interesting and the voice acting is great, much better than the often-compared-to Skyrim. There is a lot to love in Reckoning, but it fails at building character and personality, making me care about the story, or satisfying my desire for unique loot, all of which leave me only liking a game I could have easily loved.
More so than anything else, the lack of character and personality keeps Reckoning from reaching "of all-time" greatness. If the gameplay and visuals of Reckoning were mixed with the story and world (story) of Dragon Age, I'd be in heaven despite not believing in heaven. So many characters in Reckoning lack a personality and even the few who are interesting only stick around for a short time or aren't fleshed out to a satisfying degree. There are characters I've met and wanted to know better—much, much better— but the game never gave me a chance and it wouldn't matter since my character is an emotionless mute who is litter more than a pretty mannequin.
Julius Styles - Julius Styles: The International
Marc Kusnierz | Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 4:44AM 
If you want me to cover your game and/or etcetera
Marc Kusnierz | Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 9:15AM Don't say something like this:
(from an email received)
"If you do not get a review build and then write more than a thousand words about our game in a single post which receives more than ten comments, regardless of the review score or your opinion of the game, we will Paypal you a dollar -- guaranteed. (Please email *Email Removed* a link to your review to redeem your dollar.)"
This is not a big site by any means. It is a site of one—Rob is a podcasting hero, but he doesn't write for the site or any of that jazz—and I pay for everything myself. I will never accept money from a developer/creator. Ever. And I will never cover what you make if you make such an offer. In the long run my lack of coverage will likely mean nothing as I am a small force in the world of pseudo press, but I would rather have my integrity than your dollar or attention. It's worth so much more. (And no, I will not mention the game/developer by name for obvious reasons.)
New Humble Bundle: Mojam
Marc Kusnierz | Friday, February 17, 2012 at 6:19AM 
I have always been a fan of the Humble Bundle with all their bundles of charitable delight and indie publicity and everyone knows I love a good rhyme—I love bad ones too. Well, the newest bundle isn't really a bundle (at this point) but it's an interesting idea that one could relate to the recent Double Fine Kickstarter shenanigans of pleasantness and it comes as no surprise that Mojang—creators of Minecraft—is behind it.
The basic idea is simple: You donate and split the money how you like as always, but this time there is no specific, already-made game to receive (once again, at this point); instead, Mojang is creating a game from scratch, and in sixty hours a game, genre and whatnot chosen via a poll, will be created. (It's going to be a steampunk-themed RTS.) It's very interesting and the entire process is going to be streamed over TwitchTV, so you can watch everything fall apart as people start dying off come hour sixty. I would be surprised if no other game joined the bundle over the coming days, but either way, I contributed and I hope you feel inclined to do so too.
Review: Pinball FX2 - "Epic Quest" (XBLA)
Marc Kusnierz | Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 1:29PM 
My love for Pinball FX2 and its Zen brother is no secret. I love the game of pinball and love what Zen Studios has been doing with the game of ball beating. The newest addition to the family of tables is “Epic Quest,” a table themed around good old fashioned action RPGs. In a statement that will make you believe you're telepathic, “Epic Quest” is one of my favorite tables to date.
It may not be the deepest system, but the “Epic Quest” table does include stereotypical RPG elements like leveling up and collecting loot. It was awesome at first, but the lack of a large variety of loot made it less exciting after a significant amount of time passed. That's not to say those elements got boring, but there was little surprise after a few hours of constant play. And for those who play RPGs often, let it be known that purples exist and if you don't know what I'm talking about, just know it's more than just a pretty color. I was also surprised, the pleasant kind, to discover that loot carries over from game to game—as does the character level with a cap of 100—not just over the course of one game.