https://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/20/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-11/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ffproject-ff5-11b.jpgFinal Fantasy VEveryone knows that bed rest fixes everything. Even tumors, probably.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ffproject-ff5-11a.jpgFinal Fantasy VThis does raise the question of who the hell is raising all of these draconic zombies in the first place, but no one's asking.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ffproject-ff5-11.jpgFinal Fantasy VI think you just like fighting people, dude.2015-05-20T14:33:46+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/19/why-no-ones-funding-it/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/invest-1-514.jpgChroma SquadI love this as I love few things, but I am not asking questions about why it wasn't snapped up promptly by investors.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/invest-514.jpgStrike Suit ZeroI asked why no one would invest money on this idea, then I played it and my question was answered in short order.2015-05-14T19:07:46+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/18/demo-driver-8-alter-world/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/demodriver-alterworld-2-513.jpgAlter WorldAnd this year's award for Worst Use of a Bat is already a probably lock.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/demodriver-alterworld-1-513.jpgAlter WorldI've seen this concept done before, with the caveat that when I saw it done before it was much better. Go look up Eversion.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/demodriver-alterworld-513.jpgAlter WorldIf your first thought is "that looks like some bullshit right there" then your first thought is right.2015-05-13T19:11:12+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/15/telling-stories-getting-better-but-never-good/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tellstory-57-1-513.jpgFinal Fantasy XIVI am relatively certain I can do this. Vaguely certain. I can't do this, let's leave.2015-05-13T13:12:49+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/14/the-myth-of-the-killer-app/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/killer-512.jpgAlan WakeI'm pretty sure this was meant to be a killer app at some point and I'm absolutely certain it didn't kill much of anything.2015-05-12T16:46:09+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/13/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-10/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ffproject-ff5-10b.jpgFinal Fantasy V"Now, honey, hear me out - I know you love this drake, but he does have a lot of meat on him and we are in the middle of a siege."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ffproject-ff5-10a.jpgFinal Fantasy VScrew these things in particular.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ffproject-ff5-10.jpgFinal Fantasy VFaris is very intent on that moogle butt.2015-05-11T16:26:56+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/12/hard-project-jurassic-park/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/hardproject-jurassic-3-507.jpgJurassic Park: The GameYou would think this would be the point where Telltale's laser-narrow focus would actually work out really great, but apparently not.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/hardproject-jurassic-2-507.jpgJurassic Park: Operation GenesisAnd then you have this fucking thing, which is SimZoo Or Some Bullshit But With Dinosaurs, which... I mean, at this point I just don't even know.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/hardproject-jurassic-1-507.jpgJurassic Park (SNES)Oh, well, this is plenty of visual spectacle.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/hardproject-jurassic-507.jpgJurassic WorldLet's see how absurd this all looks in another ten years of research, because we still don't know a fragment of what we like to pretend we know about dinosaurs.2015-05-07T18:04:54+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/08/telling-stories-importing-tone/2015-05-07T14:28:23+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/07/challenge-accepted-a-closer-look-at-super-mario-bros/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/challenge-mario-2-505.jpgSuper Mario Bros.Admittedly, the later stages are fond of just throwing random crap at you over and over in random directions, but it's predictable.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/challenge-mario-1-505.jpgSuper Mario Bros.I will go to my grave hating those damn squid. That's the sort of experience these water worlds engender.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/challenge-mario-505.jpgSuper Mario Bros.Boy, Bowser has some posture issues, huh?2015-05-05T17:20:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/11/demo-driver-8-forward-to-the-sky/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/demodriver-forward-2-504.jpgForward to the SkyThe screenshots, sadly, don't convey how clean everything seems to be in motion.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/demodriver-forward-1-504.jpgForward to the SkyIt's a pretty line, sure, but it didn't actually frustrate me at any point.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/demodriver-forward-504.jpgForward to the SkyAnime princesses apparently have a lot of expectations they have to manage, like, all the time.2015-05-04T16:35:30+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/06/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-9/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ffproject-ff5-09b.jpgFinal Fantasy VOur primary vehicle is explosions.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ffproject-ff5-09a.jpgFinal Fantasy VIt's a subtle touch that most everything uses a slightly different tileset here, making the world look different without being entirely alien.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ffproject-ff5-09.jpgFinal Fantasy VAnd here is a boss pooping.2015-05-01T18:38:02+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/05/the-paid-mod-debate-we-never-had/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/paidmod-1-501.jpgCounter-Strike: Global OffensiveThis started life as a mod. Then it became a paid product. Does one change the other? Is this a relevant data point?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/paidmod-501.jpgSkyrimHere we go with an important point of discussion we'll never actually discuss.2015-05-01T13:07:24+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/04/demo-driver-8-environmental-station-alpha/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-environmental-2-427.jpgEnvironmental Station AlphaI don't believe it's done with disrespect, but I also don't believe it's done very well.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-environmental-1-427.jpgEnvironmental Station AlphaWhen does "stylize" cross over into "protecting oneself from copyright infringement?"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-environmental-427.jpgEnvironmental Station AlphaNormally I don't like name-dropping another game dozens of times while talking about a game, but... sometimes it's necessary.2015-04-27T17:03:11+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/bonus-articles/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/patronbonus.jpgPatron bonuses2015-04-25T19:59:18+00:00weekly0.6https://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/26/beneath-the-steadying-fear-of-darkest-dungeon/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/darkest-3-424.jpgDarkest DungeonYou learn the arsenal of your enemies, and in time, you learn to wield it against them with all the mercy they showed you.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/darkest-2-424.jpgDarkest DungeonNo man should be declared guilty by succumbing to sin; rather, it is through sin that we become conscious of virtue.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/darkest-1-424.jpgDarkest DungeonThe fear is real, it is paralyzing, it lies at the heart of us. That too much stress, ultimately, will tear us down, confront us with a challenge that we could in theory overcome but in practice destroys us.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/darkest-424.jpgDarkest DungeonSo close to shattering, but still they press onward.2015-04-24T13:37:27+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/25/powerless/2015-04-24T12:50:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/05/01/telling-stories-fuck-immersion/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/tellstory-56-423.jpgFinal Fantasy XIVIs this technically a reference to a character that doesn't exist in this setting? Yep, you can argue that. But who cares?2015-04-23T19:17:07+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/30/we-remember-the-worst-examples/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/worst-1-422.jpgRed Faction: ArmageddonOr the mere fact of this game's existence and narrative.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/worst-422.jpgTerrariaEveryone just talks about the time that killing unicorns served as a metaphor for man's inability to recognize beauty, not all those times it was awesome.2015-04-22T19:21:20+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/28/hard-project-metal-gear-solid/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hardproject-metalgear-3-421.jpgMetal Gear Solid V"WHO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT THE PATRIOTS FOR FOUR STRAIGHT HOURS?!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hardproject-metalgear-2-421.jpgMetal Gear RisingStrictly speaking, "don't raise child soldiers to become cyborg superwarriors" is a good lesson, but it's not one likely to apply to most of your day-to-day life.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hardproject-metalgear-1-421.jpgMetal Gear Solid VI know that I'm not looking at a joke here, but I feel like I should be, and the fact that I'm not kind of terrifies me.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hardproject-metalgear-421.jpgMetal Gear Solid VThe outrage over a change in voice actors might not be entirely justified, but it did sort of speak to one of the few reliable islands in the franchise.2015-04-21T16:41:23+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/27/demo-driver-8-starlaxis-supernova-edition/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-starlaxis-2-417.jpgStarlaxisThe visual appeal should be a little thing, but... dang.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-starlaxis-1-417.jpgStarlaxisCareful where you point that thing.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-starlaxis-417.jpgStarlaxisI'm not the only one who thinks that this game has a title which sounds like a particularly advanced laxative, am I?2015-04-17T20:21:49+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/24/telling-stories-stopping-points/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/tellstory-55-417.jpgFinal Fantasy XIVOh, wow, let's stop here and really wallow for a bit!2015-04-17T18:33:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/23/challenge-accepted-forever-running/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/challenge-endless-2-416.jpgDungeon DefendersThe story mode is just a warm-up for the actual game.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/challenge-endless-1-416.jpgTorchlight IIThere's a loose structure to consider in the end, but for the most part it's just derping along until you're done.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/challenge-endless-416.jpgEndless SpaceThere is no permanent failure, just different steps on the road to success, most of which involve persistence.2015-04-16T20:04:58+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/29/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-8/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ffproject-ff5-08b.jpgFinal Fantasy V"You want some means of external lift so that our city doesn't fall to the ground in a crater the instant that it loses its power source? Fuck you, Barry. That's stupid and you're stupid."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ffproject-ff5-08a.jpgFinal Fantasy VI'm pretty sure I've killed a million of you in World of Warcraft.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ffproject-ff5-08.jpgFinal Fantasy VAnd herein we learn the reason why most cultures build cannons that fire long before a bunch of people get into melee range.2015-04-16T14:21:50+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/22/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-7/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ffproject-ff5-07n.jpgFinal Fantasy VThis happened, and then someone scurried off to write Secret of Mana based entirely on this one scene.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ffproject-ff5-07a.jpgFinal Fantasy VIt looks oddly comfortable.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ffproject-ff5-07.jpgFinal Fantasy VIt also features the objective best enemy in the entire series.2015-04-16T02:10:08+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/21/going-back-to-the-start/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/recycle-414.jpgCombiner WarsIt's a promo image; I just wish they were more interesting combiners to promote.2015-04-14T18:32:19+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/20/demo-driver-8-dollar-dash/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-dollardash-2-413.jpgDollar DashIf I were feeling cynical, I would comment on a rather thinly-made game with this title being a quick way to try and generate some money. And I am feeling cynical. There you go.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-dollardash-1-413.jpgDollar DashWe exist here in the shadow of our own sins, the debts we accrued in life.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-dollardash-413.jpgDollar DashIf anyone ever asks me to explain EVE Online again, I'm just going to lock them in a room where they have nothing to play other than this game. That should serve as an object lesson.2015-04-13T16:30:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/15/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-6/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ffproject-ff5-06b.jpgFinal Fantasy VWhen you were young.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ffproject-ff5-06a.jpgFinal Fantasy VBelieve in the power of birb.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ffproject-ff5-06.jpgFinal Fantasy VOh, this feels like a reference to something.2015-04-10T17:58:35+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/17/telling-stories-the-metaplot/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/tellstory-54-410.jpgWildStarYou may not have been here for this, but you may also have had more of an impact than you think, in a somewhat roundabout fashion.2015-04-18T00:01:59+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/16/compression-play/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/compression-409.jpgSaints Row: Gat out of HellIt's hard to stress how wonderful flying feels in the game, and it's very hard to say whether having a longer game with more opportunities for flight would make it feel better or just tedious.2015-04-09T18:13:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/14/hard-project-mobas/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hardproject-moba-3-407.jpgHeroes of the StormSort of the extended answer to a question no one was asking.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hardproject-moba-2-407.jpgDota 2What do you get when you take a game that you can't make a sequel to and make a sequel anyway while totally unmooring it from all of its core concepts?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hardproject-moba-1-407.jpgInfinite CrisisI don't know if the difficulty in actually finding screenshots of these games is indicative of something or not.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hardproject-moba-407.jpgLeague of LegendsBelieve you me, I find it absolutely baffling that I live in a world where this can exist but it doesn't make me fall to my knees in fascination.2015-04-07T15:39:47+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/13/demo-driver-8-beatbuddy-tale-of-the-guardians/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-beatbuddy-2-406.jpgBeatbuddyThe still shots don't capture the neat scrolling effect that wonderfully creates a feeling of depth and scale. They do, however, capture the sense of being a boring game, because still screenshots are boring to play.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-beatbuddy-1-406.jpgBeatbuddyYou know what, I'm just going to chill right here.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-beatbuddy-406.jpgBeatbuddyAre you? Is there a reason I was supposed to care about this? Were you going to tell me why I should care about it?2015-04-06T20:35:08+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/10/telling-stories-no-accounting-for-taste/2015-04-06T18:29:57+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/09/challenge-accepted-taking-a-deeper-look-at-tetris/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/challenge-tetris-2-403.jpgTetrisThe ability to tempt fate doesn't hurt matters.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/challenge-tetris-1-403.jpgTetrisIt certainly doesn't hurt the game's universal appeal that it can be played on pretty much anything with a graphical display and a little space.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/challenge-tetris-403.jpgTetrisAre there better feelings in games?2015-04-03T15:42:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/07/titular-goals/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/catchall-402.jpgPokemon Rumble WorldSometimes, of course, there's no actual catching involved. That's when you know the game is mocking you.2015-04-02T19:20:32+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/02/april-foolishness/2015-04-02T13:31:32+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/06/demo-driver-8-letter-quest-grimms-journey/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-letterquest-2-402.jpgLetter Quest: Grimm's JourneyIt's all exactly what you would expect, yes. It's also all exactly what you would want, so why complain about that?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-letterquest-1-402.jpgLetter Quest: Grimm's JourneyIf you're going to go ahead and just functionally copy something, you may as well go ahead and do so with an underserved game.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/demodriver-letterquest-402.jpgLetter Quest: Grimm's JourneyI fought a werewolf with nothing more than weaponized words. That's what I did today.2015-04-02T13:30:34+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/03/telling-stories-sexuality-without-the-skeevies/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/tellstory-53-2-331.jpgWarhammer OnlineYes, I had roleplaying ideas about this guy. No, none of them involved what he did in the bedroom.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/tellstory-53-1-331.jpgTERA"She's not actually a child, she just looks exactly like a human child with animal ears wearing highly sexualized dresses. Totally innocent!" Does that defense actually sound solid to you? Does that sound right to you?2015-03-31T20:38:22+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/08/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-5/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-05a.jpgFinal Fantasy V"Damn it, I hate pain! It hurts real bad! Who thought this would be okay?!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-05.jpgFinal Fantasy VThe group shares a moment of silence for realizing that in the final assessment, all of them are going to be either Freelancers or Mimes.2015-03-30T19:24:26+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/04/01/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-4/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-04b.jpgFinal Fantasy VI'd ask if this guy really wants to burn to death and explode, but he was apparently cool with living inside of a tiny box up until now, so maybe I just have no understanding of how his priorities work.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-04a.jpgFinal Fantasy VWe will robot rock you.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-04.jpgGreat Wall of China (Wikimedia Commons)Like, imagine this, only built by the modern Chinese government to make sure that no one found out about what skeletons looked like.2015-03-30T17:07:44+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/30/demo-driver-8-just-get-through/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-jgt-2-327.jpgJust Get ThroughThere's also a level editor for custom areas, although that sort of seems the default for games like this now.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-jgt-1-327.jpgJust Get ThroughIt's probably a smart idea not to cuddle too close to the explosion here.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-jgt-327.jpgJust Get ThroughAlso, assume everything on every map will kill you.2015-03-30T16:03:34+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/31/hard-project-otherland/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/hardproject-otherland-3-327.jpgOtherlandWasn't there a story about that, dropping breadcrumbs and losing your way in the forest? That seems relevant.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/hardproject-otherland-2-327.jpgOtherlandThis is something to be avoided, not played with.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/hardproject-otherland-1-327.jpgOtherlandAll of the pieces look right, but if that was all it took to make things come together... well, this would be a very different world than the one we live in.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/hardproject-otherland-epl-327.jpgOtherlandWastelands, teenage or otherwise.2015-03-27T17:20:29+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/29/fundred-percent-completion/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fundred-3-326.jpgDeus Ex: Human RevolutionYou should not feel broken when trying to get back into a game.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fundred-2-326.jpgDarksiders 2"Just wanted to pop in to let you know that you're enjoying the game correctly. Way to go!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fundred-1-326.jpgMass Effect 2Now, if it had involved more blowing up robots and Commander Shepard, yes, I probably would have kept snapping those photos.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fundred-326.jpgSaints Row the ThirdI'll probably keep playing this game for a long time, even if I don't have any more objectives to chase therein.2015-03-29T17:29:25+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/28/the-journey/2015-03-25T16:56:36+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/27/telling-stories-the-in-character-post/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/tellstory-52-2-324.jpgWildStarAdmittedly, sometimes it can be totally acceptable to have something accessed in-character.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/tellstory-52-1-324.jpgWorld of WarcraftOn the bright side, it can allow you to throw some shade that would be otherwise impossible to put into action.2015-03-24T19:03:41+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/24/the-tyranny-of-games-that-were/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/gameswere-318.jpggameswere-318Get in there and get wet.2015-03-24T16:26:04+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/26/challenge-accepted-i-earned-it/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/challenge-earn-1-epl-324.jpgDefiancePart of why I dislike the game mechanic of starting you with all of the game's toys and then stripping them away after the opening sequence is because instead of earning your way up, you feel as if you're earning your way back to where you started; it feels less like a reward and more like the removal of a handicap.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/challenge-earn-epl-324.jpgWarhammer 40k: Dawn of War 2I have the tools to kill all of these orks, so I will kill them and get their stuff, because that is how this works.2015-03-24T11:48:28+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/25/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-3/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-03b.jpgffproject-ff5-03bI tried to think of something from my childhood. Something that could never hurt us. My conception of what could never hurt us is, it should be noted, pretty terrible.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-03a.jpgffproject-ff5-03aAt least there are places in the castle to roleplay!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-03.jpgffproject-ff5-03The couple that hunts wind drakes for their component parts together stays together. Until a bunch of kids murders them, anyhow.2015-03-18T18:03:39+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/23/demo-driver-8-secret-of-the-magic-crystals/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-magicgems-2-317.jpgdemodriver-magicgems-2-317Is that horse making bedroom eyes at me? Is that what's happening? Did you install Bronies: The Game on my hard drive, Steam? You son of a bitch, did you do that?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-magicgems-1-317.jpgdemodriver-magicgems-1-317Sweet, sort of like some actual gameplay!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-magicgems-317.jpgdemodriver-magicgems-317Back in the 90s, I was in a very famous teevee show.2015-03-17T19:35:03+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/20/telling-stories-why-arent-people-getting-into-this/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/tellstory-51-1-317.jpgtellstory-51-1-317Adding in more duskwights wouldn't go amiss, but it very rarely does.2015-03-17T15:39:18+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/18/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-2/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-02a.jpgffproject-ff5-02aOn the plus side, it's the least gender-biased portrayal of a female character in the series to this point, so I suppose I'll take what I get.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ffproject-ff5-02.jpgffproject-ff5-02Hey, dude, I head you were dealing plot coupons?2015-03-16T20:33:53+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/19/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-game-design/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/sins-1-316.jpgThe Elder Scrolls OnlineThe first reaction to making your way through an undying hellscape should not be boredom.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/sins-316.jpgDarksidersI suppose it's not really judgement day, but it's similar.2015-03-16T16:39:47+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/17/hard-project-the-matrix/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/hardproject-matrix-2-305.jpghardproject-matrix-2-305In my younger days, I thought this would be relatively timeless. In my defense, see also "younger days."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/hardproject-matrix-1-3051.jpghardproject-matrix-1-305The trenchcoats were not statted as gear.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/hardproject-matrix-305.jpghardproject-matrix-305How could this have gone wrong? Oh, wait, all the ways.2015-03-05T18:29:03+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/16/demo-driver-8-wings-of-vi/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-wingsofvi-2-305.jpgdemodriver-wingsofvi-2-305#whatdoyoumeanit'snotsymbolichttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-wingsofvi-1-305.jpgWings of ViMy opinion of this game goes up every time I see another game try to be difficult just by changing the rules every four seconds.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-wingsofvi-305.jpgdemodriver-wingsofvi-305She looks so mildly out-of-sorts all the while.2015-03-05T17:27:22+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/09/demo-driver-8-the-joylancer-legendary-motor-knight-2/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-joylance-2-301.jpgdemodriver-joylance-2-301The tricks used to make sure the whole thing still works in grayscale/sepia are well-worn, but reliable.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-joylance-1-301.jpgdemodriver-joylance-1-301Further credit where it's due, the lady lead has a very nice design.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/demodriver-joylance-301.jpgdemodriver-joylance-301You can set up how many visual effects are on screen, which can make this cleaner to read as necessary.2015-03-01T19:16:37+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/13/telling-stories-smothering-words/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/tellstory-50-1-227.jpgtellstory-50-1-227You do not need to explicitly tell me that the outfit is ridiculous. I can see it.2015-02-27T15:21:09+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/12/challenge-accepted-perfect-play/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/challenge-perfect-2-226.jpgchallenge-perfect-2-226If opponents actually looked at the Third Street Saints' track record, every game after the second would end in mumbled apologies and whatever the Saints wanted being handed right to them.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/challenge-perfect-1-226.jpgchallenge-perfect-1-226You can complain about stupid AI, but unlike human beings, it's stupid in predictable ways.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/challenge-perfect-226.jpgchallenge-perfect-226You could, in theory, program a Dan AI so perfect that no human player could touch him.2015-02-26T21:14:21+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/10/growing-out/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/growing-226.jpggrowing-226I have it on reliable authority that this was largely okay.2015-03-11T21:08:51+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/06/telling-stories-the-space-between-can-and-should/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/tellstory-49-1-226.jpgtellstory-49-1-226There are some characters for whom "can" is barely even a question, of course.2015-02-26T16:08:02+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/05/two-points-for-conventions/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/conventions-2-219.jpgconventions-2-219A game which I didn't care about at all became a game I... well, one I still don't play, but at least one I look at with longing eyes.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/conventions-1-219.jpgconventions-1-219More of this, because it makes being here worth the effort.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/conventions-219.jpgconventions-219Every time I think that I'm out, I get pulled back in. And that's not counting the sheer number of times I want to be out.2015-02-19T18:17:20+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/11/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-v-part-1/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ffproject-ffv-1d.jpgffproject-ffv-1dThe Goonies it ain't.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ffproject-ffv-1c.jpgffproject-ffv-1cI meant to type "Kain" but this works too.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ffproject-ffv-1b.jpgffproject-ffv-1bIt's just like Butz!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ffproject-ffv-1a.jpgffproject-ffv-1a"Bye, Dad! Have a good day at work, try not to die in a sequence of events that might end the world!" "Honey, you don't have to say that to me every morning."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ffproject-ffv-1.jpgffproject-ffv-1It also corrects Final Fantasy IV's longstanding lack of quirky minibosses to like.2015-02-18T14:42:39+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/22/why-are-fighting-games-still-gross-as-hell/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/fighting-2-217.jpgfighting-2-217Reasons why it's still shameful to say you're a hardcore gamer just keep mounting up.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/fighting-1-217.jpgfighting-1-217That's not a skirt. That's a belt with fringe.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/fighting-217.jpgfighting-217A picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case a large variety of additional questions and conclusions.2015-02-23T10:23:33+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/03/hard-project-the-x-files/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hardproject-xfiles-3-217.jpghardproject-xfiles-3-217Good luck finding a screenshot of this game! Because I couldn't.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hardproject-xfiles-2-217.jpghardproject-xfiles-2-217Ah, good, another show in which the smart character is somehow too stupid to recognize changing environments and circumstances when she is literally always wrong.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hardproject-xfiles-1-217.jpghardproject-xfiles-1-217According to the show, this is the man who cannot in any way find a date and must resort to constant filthy pornography.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hardproject-xfiles-217.jpghardproject-xfiles-217"I think it's aliens." "Shut the fuck up, Mulder."2015-02-17T16:42:05+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/02/demo-driver-8-sunrider-academy/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/demodriver-sunrider-2-216.jpgdemodriver-sunrider-2-216And you can choose this before you know what any of it means, which meant that I had lots of money without realizing what I could spend it on.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/demodriver-sunrider-1-216.jpgdemodriver-sunrider-1-216The alternative is that the usual dating sim girls you encounter are, in fact, 100% true to the sort of people you find in Japan. Which would mean that Japan is horrifying.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/demodriver-sunrider-216.jpgdemodriver-sunrider-216Stand back, we're going to use science on it.2015-02-16T18:14:29+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/27/telling-stories-you-are-responsible/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/tellstory-48-3-213.jpgtellstory-48-3-213Put on a good show for the camera.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/tellstory-48-2-213.jpgtellstory-48-2-213"I was totally going to come to your thing, but then... meh, I didn't."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/tellstory-48-1-213.jpgtellstory-48-1-213"Before we get started, I should let you know that my character is half plane."2015-02-13T18:27:30+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/26/challenge-accepted-deception/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/challenge-deceive-213.jpgchallenge-deceive-213It's super-nice how smart you feel after you successfully unwrap these after just a single try, though.2015-02-13T16:40:46+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/24/review-scores-are-silly/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/scores-1-212.jpgscores-1-212This is not what critical thought exists to provide.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/scores-212.jpgscores-212I give this questline a solid twelve elf ancestors out of four.2015-02-12T17:15:58+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/23/demo-driver-8-steam-and-metal/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/demodriver-steamandmetal-2-210.jpgdemodriver-steamandmetal-2-210It's a solid idea, I just wish the designers had proven interested in, like, doing something with it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/demodriver-steamandmetal-1-210.jpgdemodriver-steamandmetal-1-210"I love you, cute anime granddaughter!" "I love you too, science grandpa! I really hope that the fact that my face is on the front page doesn't presage a terrible fate awaiting you in the near future!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/demodriver-steamandmetal-210.jpgdemodriver-steamandmetal-210Some of you will see this and instantly be "that's my jam!" In that case, well, you're welcome! Glad to help.2015-02-10T21:18:13+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/20/telling-stories-i-have-sunk-so-low/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/tellstory-47-2-209.jpgtellstory-47-2-209Sometimes you regret most what you feel you never deserved.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/tellstory-47-1-209.jpgWorld of WarcraftThe flip side, of course, is that you create a scenario wherein looking how you want is inherently tied to your progression through tedium, which is not quite the motivator you might expect.2015-02-09T20:47:03+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/09/demo-driver-8-rag-doll-kung-fu/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-ragdoll-2-130.jpgdemodriver-ragdoll-2-130This part, admittedly, looks more fun. Not enough to justify the time needed to get here, though.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-ragdoll-1-130.jpgdemodriver-ragdoll-1-130Yes, flying through the air in lazy arcs, I get that. I know lots of games that let me do that. Reliably. On demand.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-ragdoll-130.jpgdemodriver-ragdoll-130I understand that the spastic flailing is part of the intended charm, but that is not the selling point you may believe.2015-02-09T17:06:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/19/why-fan-translations-make-me-leery/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/translation-205.jpgtranslation-205"Well, why did they change anyone's name?" Because you can fit names into four characters that you can't fit into four letters, because that's how different languages work.2015-02-05T19:44:53+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/16/demo-driver-8-croixleur-sigma/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/demodriver-croixleur-2-204.jpgdemodriver-croixleur-2-204You're talking a big game, but what you're showing is "wait, I have no money left on this Starbucks card?"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/demodriver-croixleur-1-204.jpgdemodriver-croixleur-1-204Look, ma'am, I don't care what you have been brought up to believe, there is no situation wherein a short-sleeved dress with a short skirt is appropriate attire for any combat scenario.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/demodriver-croixleur-204.jpgdemodriver-croixleur-204If you're expecting a personality beyond "girl one" and "girl two" you will be sadly disappointed.2015-02-04T20:07:35+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/17/hard-project-cowboy-bebop/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hardproject-bebop-3-204.jpghardproject-bebop-3-204Jet makes out pretty much okay, but that's another story.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hardproject-bebop-2-204.jpghardproject-bebop-2-204It's usually followed by the "we're not going to get paid" face.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hardproject-bebop-1-204.jpghardproject-bebop-1-204Also, I think guys with white hair and katanas are out of vogue now.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/hardproject-bebop-204.jpghardproject-bebop-2043, 2, 1, let's jam.2015-02-18T00:07:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/03/04/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-14/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ffproject-ff4tay-14a.jpgffproject-ff4tay-14aAngelic guy riding on greebly monster bits. It's like someone just put together all of the stock elements of a Final Fantasy boss and then called it a night.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ffproject-ff4tay-14.jpgffproject-ff4tay-14Total number of explanations for why she looks like Rydia and why she was passing for Rydia in the interlude: 0.2015-02-03T04:14:08+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/25/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-13/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ffproject-ff4tay-13a.jpgffproject-ff4tay-13aWhen they figure out how to do it, these guys are just going to blow up every possible moon as soon as possible.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ffproject-ff4tay-13.jpgffproject-ff4tay-13This is the way the world ends, This is the way the world ends, Not with a bang but with a - Wait, actually, it's going to include a moon crashing into the planet, that'll include a bang.2015-02-03T03:07:49+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/18/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-12/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-12.jpgffproject-ff4tay-12The point at which the game has more or less officially thrown up its hands and stopped knowing what it was doing.2015-02-01T03:27:20+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/13/telling-stories-the-tone-police/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/tellstory-46-1-130.jpgtellstory-46-1-130Creating a perfect little bubble for yourself is one thing, but trying to force everyone into it means everyone gets crushed.2015-01-30T17:21:39+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/12/challenge-accepted-what-you-know-you-dont-know/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/challenge-info-1-130.jpgchallenge-info-1-130Sure, this game's whole gimmick is having you lose because of things you couldn't have known about - which is why the game tells you to save often and gives you the tools to correct that at many points.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/challenge-info-130.jpgchallenge-info-130I know something you don't know.2015-01-30T15:45:16+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/10/your-childhood-is-too-fragile/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/childhood-130.jpgchildhood-130The awfulness of this beast now makes him no less of an adorable kitten back then.2015-01-30T12:51:51+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/28/how-gaming-turned-me-into-a-better-person/2015-01-29T15:50:34+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/27/game-farts/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/fart-2-122.jpgfart-2-122These games were supposedly built to be more mod-friendly, yet I've actually seen fewer mods surface - perhaps because there's less incentive? How do you incentivize it?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/fart-1-122.jpgfart-1-122I can't understand looking at this picture and not thinking "well, I want to play that game yesterday" but some people apparently do.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/fart-122.jpgH1Z1It's hard to appreciate coming very far in zombie survival games chiefly because most of the open PvP sandboxes will see you dead before you can do anything with it.2015-01-27T18:46:05+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/06/telling-stories-repair-tools/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/tellstory-45-1-127.jpgtellstory-45-1-127See no evil, pretend it didn't happen, everything is fine, who wants to go for steak?2015-01-27T16:26:13+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/31/not-of-the-culture/2015-01-26T22:36:29+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/11/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-11/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-11a.jpgffproject-ff4tay-11aThis is also a significantly better film than Man of Steel.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-11.jpgffproject-ff4tay-11I suppose that technically this would make the End of an Era events in Final Fantasy XIV a reference, but I choose to ignore that fact.2015-01-23T19:43:23+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/02/demo-driver-8-running-with-rifles/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-runrifle-2-123.jpgdemodriver-runrifle-2-123Yes, go ahead, get all of those Lonely Island jokes out of your system.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-runrifle-1-123.jpgdemodriver-runrifle-1-123Look, I'm not saying that the explosion on the right should be tracking broken legs, I'm just saying that you can't really claim that each bullet will bring death in a realistic manner when I can fall five stories without a bruise.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-runrifle-123.jpgdemodriver-runrifle-123It's basically like playing with your army men, except you only get one guy and no further control over things.2015-01-23T15:12:45+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/04/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-4-the-after-years-part-10/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-10a.jpgffproject-ff4tay-10aWhat's really beyond my understanding is how Cecil's biological brother has roughly nine million times as much melanin in his skin.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-10.jpgffproject-ff4tay-10There is nothing as badass as a dude in long hair with a kilt and a scarf but no shirt. Maybe? I don't know.2015-01-22T20:18:14+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/03/hard-project-guitar-hero/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hardproject-guitar-3-122.jpghardproject-guitar-3-122Existing in a quantum superposition of an overplayed joke and a marvelous tribute.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hardproject-guitar-2-122.jpghardproject-guitar-2-122"I'm going to play this keyboard so hard, no one will even be thinking about the fact that we're covering Piano Man!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hardproject-guitar-1-122.jpghardproject-guitar-1-122At least Metallica got to pretend at being relevant to someone other than pointlessly angry suburban teenagers?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hardproject-guitar-122.jpghardproject-guitar-122I have no regrets about five-starring Through the Fire and the Flames, but I think I was pretty much done afterward.2015-02-20T16:04:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/02/05/sequel-ties/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/sequels-1202.jpgsequels-1202The fact that she could theoretically be dead is apparently something people have a great deal of investment in.2015-01-22T16:40:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/25/marlow-briggs-and-the-god-of-war/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/marlow-3-120.jpgmarlow-3-120The whole thing is helped by a trailer and official store page that clearly recognizes how important its influences are and some really stellar art direction.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/marlow-2-120.jpgmarlow-2-120The rotating static images that pass for the game's cutscenes are most likely meant to be a cost-saving measure, but they do a good job of coming across as a stylistic choice.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/marlow-1-120.jpgmarlow-1-120If you can give me Drax the Destroyer, you can give me Marlow Briggs.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/marlow-120.jpgmarlow-120I don't know about you, but I find this a lot more believable than having your superpowered hero come from a culture which was famous for its military discipline and unit organization.2015-01-20T20:31:19+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/28/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-9/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-9a.jpgffproject-ff4tay-9aI would like to note that this plays as the opening cutscene when you start the game, thus ensuring that if there was any ambiguity about how things would shake down it is neatly sidestepped early.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-9.jpgffproject-ff4tay-9Because we didn't see enough of those stupid pointless redemption sidequests when were slogging through the original game, let's have another one!2015-01-20T14:24:16+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/30/telling-stories-im-not-calling-you-a-liar/2015-01-16T18:04:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/29/challenge-accepted-the-exploit-experience/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/challenge-exploit-115.jpgchallenge-exploit-115Every inch, every move, every frame can matter.2015-01-16T05:25:47+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/22/today-and-yesterday/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/testoftime-2-114.jpgtestoftime-2-114I know when I start playing this I'm just going to keep playing it for a long while, so I'm a bit reluctant whilst I have other things to do.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/testoftime-1-114.jpgtestoftime-1-114For all intents and purposes this has been my game of the year for the past two years.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/testoftime-114.jpgtestoftime-114Boy, this game was going to be super important and a long-runner until five seconds after it launched and no one cared.2015-01-15T04:57:59+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/26/demo-driver-8-gas-guzzlers-extreme/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-gasguzzlers-3-114.jpgdemodriver-gasguzzlers-3-114I'll spare you the not even remotely funny "pun" names of the other drivers.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-gasguzzlers-2-114.jpgdemodriver-gasguzzlers-2-114Props to whomever was responsible for making sure that the car damage felt nice and, well, damaging.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-gasguzzlers-1-114.jpgdemodriver-gasguzzlers-1-114It does hurt a little bit that the "fire backwards" button is in the same place I expect the handbrake to be.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-gasguzzlers-114.jpgdemodriver-gasguzzlers-114This game really has nothing to do with gas or cars that guzzle it, despite the title.2015-01-14T16:27:28+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/12/demo-driver-8-cabelas-dangerous-hunts-2013/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-cabelahunt-3-101.jpgdemodriver-cabelahunt-3-101Creating another installment of a game that should never have had a first installment does not help your case against greed.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-cabelahunt-2-101.jpgdemodriver-cabelahunt-2-101HI KITTYhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-cabelahunt-1-101.jpgdemodriver-cabelahunt-1-101HI PUPPYhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-cabelahunt-101.jpgdemodriver-cabelahunt-101Will this be a game of stalking the stalkers, hunting the hunters, being at once the victim and the predator?2015-01-13T05:32:42+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/23/telling-stories-dont-be-so-hard-on-your-character/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/tellstory-44-1-109.jpgtellstory-44-1-109For all you know, that character concept that you think is so brilliant you wish you had thought of it has a player who thinks "this is so dumb, I shouldn't have done that."2015-01-23T21:58:24+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/16/telling-story-id-like-to-have-an-argument/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/tellstory-43-1-0105.jpgtellstory-43-1-0105"So what's my motivation, exactly?"2015-01-09T14:54:37+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/09/telling-stories-letting-the-mechanics-speak/2015-01-09T14:53:32+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/21/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-8/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-8b1.jpgffproject-ff4tay-8b"Thanks for the present! I'm sure it won't backfire or turn out to be less than welcoming in any way."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-8a.jpgFinal Fantasy XIVSome characters lend themselves to this quite naturally, of course.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-8.jpgffproject-ff4tay-8He and his assistant both have the look, at the very least.2015-01-08T18:40:21+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/14/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-7/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ffproject-ff4tay-7a.jpgFinal Fantasy XIVHow far can you say you've come when you've seemingly been here all along?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-7.jpgffproject-ff4tay-7Cleaning up the messes that other people make from childhood and receiving none of the credit2015-01-07T15:29:27+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/19/demo-driver-8-sacraboar/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-sacraboar-2-0106.jpgdemodriver-sacraboar-2-0106Pilot your green sphere against the red square in an epic battle of who gives a damn.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-sacraboar-1-0106.jpgdemodriver-sacraboar-1-0106You can see that the guy on the left is going to die because he isn't shooting right now. This is about as epic as the game gets.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/demodriver-sacraboar-0106.jpgdemodriver-sacraboar-0106Almost every single screenshot is made up chiefly of empty space. This is not an accident, nor is it to the game's credit.2015-01-06T17:30:05+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/20/hard-project-lord-of-the-rings/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hardproject-lotr-3-0106.jpghardproject-lotr-3-0106You can know with remarkable accuracy what she is shouting, but it doesn't actually matter much, does it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hardproject-lotr-2-0106.jpghardproject-lotr-2-0106Oh, you made them look like building toys except I can't actually build anything. Never mind, you solved that up nicely.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hardproject-lotr-1-0106.jpghardproject-lotr-1-0106By definition, this game cannot be generic, and yet it feels generic.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hardproject-lotr-0106.jpghardproject-lotr-0106On the plus side, it's doubtlessly better than the most recent Assassin's Creed game with its blatant disregard for being even baseline playable.2015-01-06T15:29:07+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/13/its-not-for-you-unless-it-is/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/foryou-1-0105.jpgforyou-1-0105"How dare this game be a pseudo-Metroidvania experience when I personally dislike that?!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/foryou-0105.jpgforyou-0105This was most definitely for me. It was just terrible at it.2015-01-05T19:17:21+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/15/challenge-accepted-first-level-hell-and-the-late-game-cake/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/challenge-levelone-1-0101.jpgchallenge-levelone-1-0101On your good days as the lone rogue in the group, you still get to accomplish stuff.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/challenge-levelone-0101.jpgchallenge-levelone-0101All right, maybe some of them were ants and not scorpions. Split the difference.2015-01-01T16:19:10+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/01/challenge-accepted-the-meat-of-challenges/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/challenge-how-1219.jpgchallenge-how-1219When failing with panache becomes harder than succeeding gracelessly.2015-01-01T14:32:11+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/05/demo-driver-8-pid/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-pid-2-1230.jpgdemodriver-pid-2-1230I'm not sure if it was lo-res as a stylistic choice, as a cost-saving measure, or both at once.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-pid-1-1230.jpgdemodriver-pid-1-1230This kid is going to have some weird stories to tell at school tomorrow, that's for darn sure.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-pid-1230.jpgdemodriver-pid-1230Pleasant enough, but is that enough?2014-12-30T19:20:32+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/08/killing-the-six-fingered-man/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/sixfinger-2-1229.jpgsixfinger-2-1229The conclusion was foregone, always, but we strive on. Because we choose to.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/sixfinger-1229.jpgsixfinger-1229They are not what you're afraid of. But they'll do.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/sixfinger-1-1229.jpgDragon Age: InquisitionI am in control here, except that I'm not, and ultimately I have to exist at someone else's allowance.2014-12-29T16:12:34+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/06/hard-project-mmos/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hardproject-mmo-1-1229.jpghardproject-mmo-1-1229"He looks sort of sinister." Really, now.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hardproject-mmo-1229.jpghardproject-mmo-1229Create a world. Live there forever.2014-12-29T14:47:41+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/30/the-biggest-parts-of-2014-a-review/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2014review-1224.jpg2014review-1224This kind of sums up my feelings about the year, yeah.2014-12-24T17:57:28+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/27/elephant-hatred/2014-12-23T21:00:02+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/02/telling-stories-making-a-guest-appearance/2014-12-22T19:00:47+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/28/the-tiers-of-remakes/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/remake-1-1222.jpgremake-1-1222How is it more fun to play through one game with Vile than to play through five other games with Zero? I don't even like Vile.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/remake-1222.jpgremake-1222Do the same thing over again, only different and better.2014-12-29T09:05:21+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/21/a-story-of-the-vagrant/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/vagrant-2-1218.jpgvagrant-2-1218Dangerous, never common, unique, but also never so rare that they feel wasted.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/vagrant-1-1218.jpgvagrant-1-1218Not going to lie, I want about seven more games starring chain-smoking lady inquisitor here. She is awesome.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/vagrant-1218.jpgvagrant-1218You could be forgiven for thinking that this game's plot intimately involved both of these characters with one another.2014-12-18T14:38:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/29/demo-driver-8-lost-planet-extreme-condition/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-lostplanet-2-1216.jpgdemodriver-lostplanet-2-1216Air trilobytes, the sworn enemy of manheaps the world over. A battle for the ages.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-lostplanet-1-1216.jpgdemodriver-lostplanet-1-1216The fact that Lost Planet managed to do a pretty good job of handling a mech section makes it better, but I wouldn't hold it against the game if it failed.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-lostplanet-1216.jpgdemodriver-lostplanet-1216And with this I make it amply clear why I chose to round out the month with this out of all my possible "present" games.2014-12-16T14:26:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/26/telling-stories-no-repeats/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/tellstory-42-2-1212.jpgtellstory-42-2-1212"But maybe the next animal onslaught will overwhelm him!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/tellstory-42-1-1212.jpgtellstory-42-1-1212Everything new is old again.2014-12-12T14:48:21+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/25/games-for-christmas/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/christmas-3-1211.jpgchristmas-3-1211Hey, it's not like Rudolph is all that appropriate either.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/christmas-2-1211.jpgchristmas-2-1211Happy Holidays from the Batcavehttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/christmas-1-1211.jpgchristmas-1-1211Yes, it does pile on the pop culture references kind of thickly, but appropriately.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/christmas-1211.jpgchristmas-1211This game doesn't really have anything to do with Christmas, but I did get it for Christmas one year, which seems apropos as I continue falling in love with its second sequel.2014-12-11T15:09:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/16/on-popularity/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/popularity-2-1210.jpgpopularity-2-1210No matter how many monuments you erect to yourself, you're still just someone in the same world as everyone else.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/popularity-1-1210.jpgpopularity-1-1210I'd like more people to know, but it's got to be all right if it's just two people who do.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/popularity-1210.jpgpopularity-1210I'm all alone, but I'm giving this presentation even though it scares me.2014-12-16T18:56:23+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/22/demo-driver-8-gunpoint/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-gunpoint-2-1208.jpgdemodriver-gunpoint-2-1208Why these buildings all signed up for a contract with OmniHack I have no idea.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-gunpoint-1-1208.jpgdemodriver-gunpoint-1-1208You can say "fuck subtlety" and break through a central skylight, possibly while screaming an appropriate hashtag.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-gunpoint-1208.jpgdemodriver-gunpoint-1208The Real Folk Blues.2014-12-08T18:05:00+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/23/hard-project-tech-games/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hardproject-tech-1-1208.jpghardproject-tech-1-1208I honestly think this franchise is run entirely upon the lack of shame of its entire playerbase at this point.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hardproject-tech-1208.jpghardproject-tech-1208I can't be too hard on a game that only set me back fifty cents, but still.2014-12-24T20:42:00+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/19/telling-stories-the-post-mortem-examination/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/tellstory-41-2-1204.jpgtellstory-41-2-1204Trying to bring back something that was a place and time does not make it automatically a good idea.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/tellstory-41-1-1204.jpgtellstory-41-1-1204Subject everything to careful critical analysis. My lifestyle may be showing.2014-12-08T14:21:41+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/18/challenge-accepted-difficulty-patterns/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/challenge-curve-1-1204.jpgchallenge-curve-1-1204Don't you wish there was some game that allowed you to play with your music, like Rock Band, but without all that playing music?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/challenge-curve-1204.jpgchallenge-curve-1204Giving the player ultimate control over the curve has both benefits and drawbacks, starting with the fact that players have the right to just opt out of much challenge there.2014-12-18T19:12:04+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/15/demo-driver-8-lumines/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-lumines-2-1203.jpgdemodriver-lumines-2-1203From the other side of the screen it all looks so easy.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-lumines-1-1203.jpgdemodriver-lumines-1-1203I kind of assume that every single one of these screenshots was assembled in a test version or that one of the developers is an actual wizard.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/demodriver-lumines-1203.jpgdemodriver-lumines-1203Elegant and simple sometimes leaves a distressing amount of space wherein you'd like to say something without much to say.2014-12-03T15:36:56+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/11/duration-metrics/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/duration-1-1202.jpgduration-1-1202Seriously, fuck these birds.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/duration-1202.jpgduration-1202Also, there are dragons. They're pretty fun.2014-12-02T17:12:27+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/12/telling-stories-off-the-table/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/tellstory-40-2-1202.jpgtellstory-40-2-1202You can justify lots of things, and sometimes it's better to do that than pretend you can't.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/tellstory-40-1-1202.jpgtellstory-40-1-1202PTAF in the background.2014-12-02T14:36:20+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/09/hard-project-sonic-the-hedgehog/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hardproject-sonic-3-1201.jpghardproject-sonic-3-1201No one really builds high-speed hedgehog ejection units.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hardproject-sonic-2-1201.jpghardproject-sonic-2-1201Also somehow a fat guy outruns this super-fast hedgehog every single time.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hardproject-sonic-1-1201.jpghardproject-sonic-1-1201Of course, there are always exceptions.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hardproject-sonic-1201.jpghardproject-sonic-1201When a series resorts to mining out its past, it's usually because the present is much less interesting.2014-12-09T23:07:01+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/30/lest-a-monster-you-become/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bloodlines-5-1126.jpgbloodlines-5-1126You only look human.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bloodlines-4-1126.jpgbloodlines-4-1126You also run into a lot of this, which sure feels monstrous. But there's not much you can do about that.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bloodlines-3-1126.jpgbloodlines-3-1126You can, of course, also just be a straight-up monster.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bloodlines-2-1126.jpgbloodlines-2-1126You're not trying to keep them safe, you're trying to maintain your crop.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bloodlines-1-1126.jpgVampire: The Masquerade - BloodlinesIt's not that we can't have an HD remake of this, it's that on one responsible for the game thinks it's worth the effort.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bloodlines-1126.jpgbloodlines-1126It's not the supernatural that makes any hint of opposition something to be destroyed.2014-11-26T16:40:39+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/29/disconnection/2014-11-25T17:39:04+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/08/demo-driver-8-satazius/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-satazius-2-epl-1125.jpgdemodriver-satazius-2-epl-1125Same as it ever was.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-satazius-1-epl-1125.jpgdemodriver-satazius-1-epl-1125Just an FYI, I cannot remember whether Satazius is the name of your ship, the enemy forces, or just alphabet soup.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-satazius-epl-1125.jpgdemodriver-satazius-epl-1125Considerate enemy armadas build ships that are designed to be dangerous from exactly one angle and utterly non-threatening in every other configuration.2014-11-25T14:59:51+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/05/telling-stories-you-need-to-make-the-money/2014-11-24T16:45:04+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/23/the-dark-heart-of-final-fantasy-xi/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/xilesson-4-1117.jpgxilesson-4-1117A controlled mess is still a mess, but in part it's a desirable one.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/xilesson-3-1117.jpgxilesson-3-1117Balance is a multi-headed monster; fight one head too long and you lose sight of the others.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/xilesson-2-1117.jpgxilesson-2-1117Figure out what makes it work and then do it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/xilesson-1-1117.jpgFinal Fantasy XIYou can always teach an old dog new tricks, but you can't necessarily make them use or face about those tricks.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/xilesson-1117.jpgxilesson-1117You know it doesn't want you there, but you can't help but feel a stirring of nostalgia.2014-11-17T15:00:38+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/26/why-didnt-roger-ebert-want-games-to-be-art/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ebertart-3-1021.jpgebertart-3-1021It's a silly strategy game, but it's also a celebration of the history of human civilization and what we're capable of becoming as a species.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ebertart-2-1021.jpgebertart-2-1021A movie can show you regret. A game can make you feel it, let you play with it, give you changing and unchanging environments as a core portion of its play pattern.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ebertart-1-1021.jpgebertart-1-1021When a game polarizes people both for and against it as extensively as this one does, it seems to be more than just a disagreement in preferred flavors.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ebertart-1021.jpgebertart-1021There are so many different ways in which video games can be art that I can fill this article with screenshots of games that are all different sorts of art and still have space left over.2014-11-17T14:25:05+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/04/challenge-accepted-teaching-patterns/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/challenge-learn-epl-1114.jpgchallenge-learn-epl-1114Yes, it takes a while, but you do get there eventually, and that's part of the point.2014-12-05T00:59:01+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/14/telling-story-the-opening-still-matters/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tellstory-37-2-1104.jpgtellstory-37-2-1104This story only ends one way, in the final assessment.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tellstory-37-1-1104.jpgtellstory-37-1-1104I was not prepared for a place so cold.2014-11-14T17:03:33+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/02/a-helpful-guide-to-western-and-eastern-rpgs/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/eastwest-2-1002.jpgeastwest-2-1002Protip: If the mods are what makes the game worth playing, why not get the people who made the mods to make a game and cut out the middleman?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/eastwest-1-1002.jpgeastwest-1-1002Apparently, this design can be considered "too girly" for some players' sensibilities. That statement says so many things about the speaker's issues and so little about the actual character design.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/eastwest-1002.jpgJade EmpireI remember when this was a platform exclusive, and it succeeded in selling me on a long wait to buy it until it was not.2014-12-02T18:31:01+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/13/anonymity-isnt-the-issue/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/anonymous-2-1111.jpganonymous-2-1111The only way that I'm going to see what the game is like if you don't recruit Garrus in the first game is if I can just click an option in some sort of world-builder.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/anonymous-1-1111.jpganonymous-1-1111The backwash from the chaos you spread is someone else's problem, therefore you don't need to give it a second thought!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/anonymous-1111.jpganonymous-1111It's not the fact that you don't have to look at yourself that lets you get away with it.2014-11-14T15:30:01+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/28/telling-stories-keeping-it-tense-with-zero-stakes/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tellstory-39-2-1110.jpgtellstory-39-2-1110I suppose I really got myself into this situation anyway. That was all me.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tellstory-39-1-1110.jpgtellstory-39-1-1110Trying to pretend that the real world doesn't take priority isn't going to work well when it does take priority repeatedly.2014-11-10T14:14:20+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/21/telling-stories-going-to-the-chapel-et-cetera/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tellstory-38-2-1106.jpgtellstory-38-2-1106There's always someone at the party who just can't hold back and overdoes it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tellstory-38-1-1106.jpgtellstory-38-1-1106The less said about meeting the in-laws the better.2014-11-10T13:11:01+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/01/demo-driver-8-beatblasters-iii/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-beatblasters-2-1106.jpgdemodriver-beatblasters-2-1106Oh, come on, these guys actually have shields, they can take care of themselves.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-beatblasters-1-1106.jpgdemodriver-beatblasters-1-1106I get the distinct feeling that the king is not well-loved by his subjects.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-beatblasters-1106.jpgdemodriver-beatblasters-1106I am relatively sure that this is the place where Kirby bosses are born.2014-11-06T19:58:38+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/25/hard-project-dungeons-dragons/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/hardproject-dnd-2-1106.jpghardproject-dnd-2-1106The fact that Dungeons & Dragons Online now seems to focus a lot on crossing over with Forgotten Realms is sort of like abandoning the setting of Star Trek to just faff about in mid-90s LA.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/hardproject-dnd-1-1106.jpghardproject-dnd-1-1106Of course, to a not-exactly-surprising number of fans, everything is a ruining hackjob.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/hardproject-dnd-1106.jpghardproject-dnd-1106Taking on Tieflings as a basic race was probably a wise move, but it also speaks to that back-and-forth process of taking something, making it non-generic, and then trying to make it generic again.2015-02-19T02:50:00+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/27/i-would-be-thankful/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/thanks-1105.jpgthanks-1105If you're in America, like me, you're eating one of these today.2014-11-05T19:28:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/24/demo-driver-8-vector/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-vector-2-1105.jpgdemodriver-vector-2-1105I am a leaf on the wind. Watch me soar.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-vector-1-1105.jpgdemodriver-vector-1-1105"I'm so glad I took this moment to check myself." -Guy who didn't wreck himselfhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-vector-1105.jpgdemodriver-vector-1105Maybe they'd stop chasing you if you stopped pirouetting all over the place and making them feel like total dickwads.2014-11-05T17:09:16+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/20/challenge-accepted-breaking-out-of-the-challenge-box/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/challenge-outside-2-1105.jpgchallenge-outside-2-1105"Lead a child queen to her death over and over until you learn by trial and error how to stop doing that" does lack a certain encouragement.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/challenge-outside-1-1105.jpgchallenge-outside-1-1105Too much hopelessness, of course, just makes you not want to bother at all. But that's another story.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/challenge-outside-1105.jpgchallenge-outside-1105The game is substantially helped by its fair assortment of hellmouths in need of closing despite everything.2014-11-05T13:24:25+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/18/just-because-youre-wet-doesnt-mean-its-raining/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/justbecause-3-1104.jpgjustbecause-3-1104Yes, I realize that the only people really complaining about stuff like Windblade being childhood-ruining are whiny pissbabies trying to justify their sexism, but it's a weak argument even by whiny pissbaby standards.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/justbecause-2-1104.jpgjustbecause-2-1104By the time you reach the promise set up in these initial preview shots, it's just about time to say goodbye.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/justbecause-1-1104.jpgjustbecause-1-1104And conversely, being grimdark doesn't make you deep.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/justbecause-1104.jpgTRANFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTIONThere is, of course, the question of how many times you have to be right before it counts as just being smart.2014-11-04T18:04:25+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/17/demo-driver-8-hard-reset/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-hardreset-2-1103.jpgdemodriver-hardreset-2-1103Come for the shooting of robots, stay for... actually, more shooting of robots. That's our thing. Robots and shooting.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-hardreset-1-1103.jpgdemodriver-hardreset-1-1103"Hello, you're probably wondering if I'm a metaphor for humanity's over-reaching zeal for perfection and a disconnect between the physical and the mental. Turns out I'm actually just a bullet sponge."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/demodriver-hardreset-1103.jpgdemodriver-hardreset-1103Robot rocked.2014-11-03T15:08:35+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/07/telling-stories-three-beats/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tellstory-36-1-1103.jpgtellstory-36-1-1103It's easier when there aren't many moving pieces to massage, if you can make it happen.2014-11-03T11:53:17+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/11/hard-project-robotech/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-robotech-3-929.jpghardproject-robotech-3-929I suppose this could all be subtitled "Anime Distribution Was Weird In The '80s."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-robotech-2-929.jpghardproject-robotech-2-929Admittedly, you can kind of see why some of these mech designs get left by the wayside.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-robotech-1-929.jpghardproject-robotech-1-929"Do... do I get to show up in something again? It's been ever so long."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-robotech-929.jpghardproject-robotech-929So maybe it's mostly because I haven't done a column on enormous robots in a while, what's the difference?2014-10-27T13:46:23+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/28/hard-project-hellboy/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/hardproject-hellboy-2-1023.jpghardproject-hellboy-2-1023When you wind up with a labor of love, it's easy to forget the labor part.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/hardproject-hellboy-1-1023.jpghardproject-hellboy-1-1023Look, I recognize that the graphical capabilities of consoles back when this game was first released were not up to par with more modern games, and the designers were doing the absolute best they could. Having said all of that, this still looks ugly as hell.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/hardproject-hellboy-1023.jpghardproject-hellboy-1023Actually Ron Perlman.2014-10-27T13:45:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/10/demo-driver-8-mxgp-the-official-motocross-videogame/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-mxgp-2-1024.jpgdemodriver-mxgp-2-1024I suppose I thought for some reason that the games were generally more free-wheeling and less focused upon intense competition. I don't know why I thought that.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-mxgp-1-1024.jpgdemodriver-mxgp-1-1024That guy's neck is really sinewy.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-mxgp-1024.jpgdemodriver-mxgp-1024Between the helmets and the posture, I can't help but get the sense that the riders of these bikes are sort of confused by what's happening. "Heavens, this bike is now airborne! I have made a grave error, whatever shall I do?"2014-10-24T20:01:51+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/04/whats-a-success/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/success-1024.jpgsuccess-1024I wanted to come here when it was peaceful. Mission accomplished.2014-11-04T19:21:28+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/06/challenge-accepted-the-puzzle-roadblock/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/challenge-puzzle-2-1023.jpgchallenge-puzzle-2-1023In this game, it's usually the difference between clearing and dying.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/challenge-puzzle-1-1023.jpgchallenge-puzzle-1-1023There's a lot of difference between "figure this out while you do it" and "stop what you're doing to figure it out."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/challenge-puzzle-1023.jpgchallenge-puzzle-1023Looked at in a broad enough sense, every game is a puzzle game, and the differences just come down to how it's puzzling you.2014-10-23T17:18:54+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/30/horrific-asides/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/sidehorror-3-1022.jpgsidehorror-3-1022Hearing them scream just makes it worse, really.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/sidehorror-2-1022.jpgsidehorror-2-1022The Harvester, meanwhile, would have to wait for the sequel to really become a thing of horror beyond appearance.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/sidehorror-1-1022.jpgsidehorror-1-1022Let's be real, there was no way I wouldn't love a thing that gave me floating dinosaur ghosts as enemies.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/sidehorror-1022.jpgsidehorror-1022You wouldn't think this would even register as scary in a game where you fight a space dragon in a world of lava, but here we are.2014-10-30T17:52:43+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/03/demo-driver-8-splice/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-splice-2-1006.jpgdemodriver-splice-2-1006In this screenshot, the puzzle is unsolvable.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-splice-1-1006.jpgdemodriver-splice-1-1006I suppose every puzzle is "make this work" on some level, but usually I like to at least know why I'm making it work.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-splice-1006.jpgdemodriver-splice-1006On the one hand, I appreciate that we have arrived at a point wherein a game that would not do well with any plot doesn't feel the need to engage in even an excuse plot. On the other hand, I'm annoyed that a game can't be bothered to even give me an excuse plot, so perhaps I'm just messed up.2014-10-22T14:53:18+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/27/demo-driver-8-dreadout/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-dreadout-2-epl-1022.jpgdemodriver-dreadout-2-epl-1022Much scarier when they're not just a thing to pump bullets into, I tell you what.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-dreadout-1-epl-1022.jpgdemodriver-dreadout-1-epl-1022At least the game generally does not seem concerned with playing up Linda as a character dripping with sex appeal, which is nice.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-dreadout-epl-1022.jpgdemodriver-dreadout-epl-1022Places to run away from really fast, part one of like a million.2014-10-22T14:52:53+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/31/telling-stories-only-a-little-time/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/tellstory-35-2-1021.jpgtellstory-35-2-1021Please note "hey, here's a joke, your point of view!" is not what I'm talking about here.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/tellstory-35-1-1021.jpgtellstory-35-1-1021I realize this is also sort of a playbook for half of the things I do in roleplaying with this particular character.2014-10-22T03:48:50+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/25/polybius-filter/2014-10-21T14:23:23+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/21/mangling-terms/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/words-2-922.jpgwords-2-922Batman is generally very worried that you will misuse terms implying that you are the night. Fortunately for him, he can guard that zealously.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/words-1-922.jpgwords-1-922Yes, on the one hand, it's very similar to Grand Theft Auto IV. But it also had a lot of features that game lacks, and it's ultimately a very different experience.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/words-922.jpgwords-922Sometimes, admittedly, it's not necessary to call a game a clone to get an idea of how it plays.2014-10-22T00:31:58+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/16/uniquely-game-based-horror/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/gamehorror-3-1016.jpggamehorror-3-1016This is, of course, all very distinct from "promising combat handled in an awkward fashion."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/gamehorror-2-1016.jpggamehorror-2-1016Having every single fight be won by the skin of your teeth certainly drives home the idea that you should be a bit scared.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/gamehorror-1-1016.jpggamehorror-1-1016Admittedly it wasn't quite played for horror, but it was sure disorienting.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/gamehorror-1016.jpggamehorror-1016No, I'm not quite talking about the horror inherent in realizing that this is probably both the revival and the end of the Legacy of Kain franchise.2014-10-16T19:32:12+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/20/demo-driver-8-among-the-sleep/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-among-2-1014.jpgdemodriver-among-2-1014It's a rare game that can manage to blend childhood obliviousness with adult concerns without having either one come off as being inherently silly. That alone is worthy effort.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-among-1-1014.jpgdemodriver-among-1-1014This, by contrast, was not scary. This was Outland from a two-year-old's point of view.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/demodriver-among-1014.jpgdemodriver-among-1014Standing here, with sounds coming through the house, not sure where your mother is, the world too dark to make out details... that's scary.2014-10-14T19:26:03+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/14/hard-project-zombies/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/hardproject-zombie-3-1011.jpghardproject-zombie-3-1011Not pictured: dynamic, unexpected actions.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/hardproject-zombie-2-1011.jpghardproject-zombie-2-1011The real fun of surviving in a zombie apocalypse is fighting off fellow survivors who will happily murder you for your stuff, not dealing with zombies.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/hardproject-zombie-1-1011.jpghardproject-zombie-1-1011It's not as interesting when the hordes of undead mostly serve as filler for the hack-and-slash in a bull mask and sweat pants.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/hardproject-zombie-1011.jpghardproject-zombie-1011Ironically, this genre seems almost impossible to actually kill.2014-10-12T03:16:58+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2015/01/07/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-6/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-6a.jpgffproject-ff4tay-6aThat's right, this scene wasn't just padding and promising a character we wouldn't see suit up for a long while.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-6.jpgffproject-ff4tay-6Quirky character squadron, go!2014-10-10T14:08:41+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/31/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-5/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-5a.jpgffproject-ff4tay-5aYou can do better, Leonora.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-5.jpgffproject-ff4tay-5Because nothing gets me excited like seeing a spoiled jerk with a god complex waltz around talking about how great he is for four hours, I tell you what.2014-10-08T18:44:12+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/24/telling-stories-short-stories-with-tragic-endings/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/tellstory-34-2-1007.jpgtellstory-34-2-1007"Troubleshooter" is a job. As in one or that which shoots trouble.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/tellstory-34-1-1007.jpgtellstory-34-1-1007If something happens to them, it doesn't make the proposal tragic. Just sad in hindsight.2014-10-08T04:08:20+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/23/challenge-accepted-what-makes-a-good-challenge/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/challenge-good-3-1007.jpgchallenge-good-3-1007I am absolutely certain a lot of the text in this was changed significantly. That's part of why I like it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/challenge-good-2-1007.jpgchallenge-good-2-1007"I wish there was a full 3D Sonic game!" I said in my younger, less cognizant years.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/challenge-good-1-1007.jpgchallenge-good-1-1007It doesn't matter how I play, as long as I play with affection.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/challenge-good-1007.jpgchallenge-good-1007It's not the fault of the level, it's the fault of my own choices.2014-10-08T03:05:41+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/24/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-4/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-4.jpgffproject-ff4tay-4I actually like Yang a lot. He is also a complete idiot. These two things are not in opposition.2014-10-07T19:57:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/17/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-3/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-3a.jpgffproject-ff4tay-3aPimp my sky-ride.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-3.jpgffproject-ff4tay-3I don't even know where to start with your outfit and what's going on here.2014-10-07T00:34:58+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/10/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-2/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-2a.jpgffproject-ff4tay-2aBecause when my dad killed a whole lot of people going to Mist, everything worked out super good.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-2.jpgffproject-ff4tay-2"Kain? Who is Kain? My name is Don Incognito!"2014-10-07T00:20:35+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/07/thats-not-really-scary/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/scary-3-1006.jpgscary-3-1006It's not just the thing itself that's scary, it's that it works in a completely alien way to every part of your understanding.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/scary-2-1006.jpgscary-2-1006This is a bit scary looking, sure, but it stops being scary pretty damn quick when you realize it's just a thing to pump bullets into.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/scary-1-1006.jpgscary-1-1006I feel confident in saying that Sheva Alomar probably deserves better than Resident Evil.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/scary-1006.jpgscary-1006I've heard very good things about this game and pray it does not disappoint me.2014-10-07T16:16:16+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/12/03/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-the-after-years-part-1/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-1a.jpgFinal Fantasy IV: The After YearsThe stated goal of this game was to continue the story of Final Fantasy IV. Which it sort of did, but mostly it just gave you something to do for a few hours.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4tay-1.jpgffproject-ff4tay-1Parents just don't understand.2014-10-02T19:45:17+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/26/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-interlude-part-2/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4i-2.jpgffproject-ff4i-2I don't know where people live!2014-10-02T14:41:07+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/19/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-interlude-part-1/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4i-1a.jpgffproject-ff4i-1aThis is really not a boss I needed to fight again, but apparently that's what I'm going to be doing in this, so...https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4i-1.jpgffproject-ff4i-1Hey guys, I'm the prelude to the main conflict here!2014-10-02T14:32:46+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/12/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-12/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-12c.jpgffproject-ff4-12cI'm so glad that after all of that dancing around we wound up basically at the same point.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-12b.jpgffproject-ff4-12bJust rounding out the last few enemies from the original we haven't used yet, I guess.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-12a.jpgffproject-ff4-12aThat point when you're having more fun with the game when you completely ignore who the characters are and focus on who you want them to be.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-12.jpgffproject-ff4-12This is not the Lunar Subterrane, but boy, it would be nice to have more of a change of scenery.2014-10-02T14:24:33+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/11/05/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-11/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-11b.jpgffproject-ff4-11bDon't you dare get involved in a fight whose outcome directly affects you in an effort to compromise my enormous ego.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-11a.jpgffproject-ff4-11aOn the plus side, I suppose we got to avoid fighting a mostly-naked woman with the power of having really long hair.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-11.jpgffproject-ff4-11Like Ramuh, he is a beard with a guy attached.2014-10-02T13:51:21+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/29/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-10/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-10b.jpgffproject-ff4-10bJust slap one of these babies on the front of your car and you can pass right through cement! Drills!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-10a.jpgffproject-ff4-10aAnd then I show up in the challenge dungeon like a million times! It's all Wallace from here on out, bitches.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-10.jpgffproject-ff4-10"Sorry if my home is a little hard to get to, Cecil, but seeing as some jackass blew up my original home along with everyone I ever loved, it seemed like a good idea not to include a Welcome mat."2014-10-02T13:31:05+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/22/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-9/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-09a.jpgffproject-ff4-09aCid.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ffproject-ff4-09.jpgffproject-ff4-09Points for keeping the old screenshots relevant through the whole of the game, though!2014-10-02T12:13:45+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/17/telling-stories-i-wish-i-was/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/tellstory-33-2-1002.jpgtellstory-33-2-1002If I had it all again, I'd change it all.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/tellstory-33-1-1002.jpgtellstory-33-1-1002I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller, I wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her.2014-10-02T11:59:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/13/demo-driver-8-tobes-vertical-adventure/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-tobe-2-929.jpgdemodriver-tobe-2-929Man, Rise of the Tomb Raider looks so great.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-tobe-1-929.jpgdemodriver-tobe-1-929Don't mind me, folks, it's just pilfering time.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-tobe-929.jpgdemodriver-tobe-929Nostalgia coupled with nostalgia married to solid mechanics leaves evaluations in a complicated place.2014-09-29T17:30:37+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/08/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-7/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ffproject-ff4-07a.jpgffproject-ff4-07a"By the way, before you come in... this is August, so we do have a minor infestation of demonic dolls working for the main villain. Totally normal, nothing to worry about as long as they stay away from the crystal. Just keep your eyes open."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ffproject-ff4-07.jpgffproject-ff4-07The main characters, looking for all the world like they're preparing for the world's most boring threesome.2014-09-29T14:03:09+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/01/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-6/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ffproject-ff4-06.jpgffproject-ff4-06Later, Yuna would summon them to break the entire game. Occasionally.2014-09-29T13:59:54+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/15/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-8/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ffproject-ff4-08a.jpgffproject-ff4-08aLike an entire freaking planet of Optimus Primes.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ffproject-ff4-08.jpgffproject-ff4-08Yes, it's a flashback to a part of a game that wasn't one of my favorite bits from the original anyhow!2014-09-29T13:48:29+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/10/telling-stories-what-you-dont-see-when-looking-in-the-mirror/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-32-2-928.jpgtellstory-32-2-928"Jedi" is a decent career choice, but it's pretty hard to get into.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-32-1-928.jpgtellstory-32-1-928So much going on around them. So much going on between them.2014-09-29T13:33:44+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/28/dmc-devil-may-cry-is-the-game-of-games/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/dmc-4-923.jpgdmc-4-923Being the protagonist means saving people, but not everyone.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/dmc-3-923.jpgdmc-3-923If DMC didn't do it, you probably don't need to.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/dmc-2-923.jpgdmc-2-923If you can take down every enemy this way, why would you ever rely on another technique?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/dmc-1-923.jpgdmc-1-923The wheel turns, and you probably do not want to be in front of it when it finishes.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/dmc-923.jpgdmc-923You learn how to work with the game so steadily that it's possible to not even recognize you're learning quite as much.2014-09-29T13:24:08+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/02/easy-villains/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/villains-2-927.jpgvillains-2-927The question isn't whether the game would have been better without cut content, it's whether or not it was ever going to be implemented anyway.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/villains-1-927.jpgvillains-1-927Come to think of it, Dragon Age Inquisition nabbed big chunks of this, too, albeit not really cool stuff like the class system.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/villains-927.jpgvillains-927It's not as satisfying to say you got yourself into this mess by yourself, but it's probably more accurate.2014-09-27T14:06:25+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/06/demo-driver-8-system-protocol-one/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-system-2-925.jpgdemodriver-system-2-925Submit yourself to the judgement tube, viruses!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-system-1-925.jpgdemodriver-system-1-925Super Tower Defensio Galaxy.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-system-925.jpgdemodriver-system-925Not one of the more interesting layouts, but those are kind of impossible to show in a two-dimensional image.2014-09-25T16:47:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/09/challenge-accepted-meta-challenges/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-meta-4-924.jpgchallenge-meta-4-924What's the proper procedure here? Am I the reason our team will fail or are you?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-meta-3-924.jpgchallenge-meta-3-924Sometimes you just don't have a clear picture of what the game is asking from you.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-meta-2-924.jpgchallenge-meta-2-924Start playing, get through tutorial, get overwhelmed, put it down, feel guilty, restart...https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-meta-1-924.jpgchallenge-meta-1-924You couldn't have been that much different in the first game, but by definition you had to be.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-meta-924.jpgchallenge-meta-924I just can't stand being told I'm a horrible person too many times in a single day.2014-09-25T03:00:37+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/10/03/telling-stories-your-flaws-weave-a-tale/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-31-2-923.jpgtellstory-31-2-923Knowing too much is only a problem in settings where you're not supposed to know much.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-31-1-923.jpgWildStarA framed and frozen moment, So far from perfection, Not truth or transcendence will set you free - Still you don't believe.2014-09-23T18:14:18+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/29/demo-driver-8-magic-2014/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-magic2014-2-918.jpgdemodriver-magic2014-2-918I also remember that at one point Chandra was specifically the lady Planeswalker who wasn't cheesecaked to all hell. Something to consider as she gets a higher set of heels and a bigger chest with each passing year.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-magic2014-1-918.jpgdemodriver-magic2014-1-918Man, I've always wanted to see a high-resolution picture of this card in action!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-magic2014-918.jpgdemodriver-magic2014-918This is as dramatic as it gets.2014-09-18T19:20:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/30/hard-project-half-life/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-hl-3-918.jpghardproject-hl-3-918Namely, why would you make this? And another more relevant issue, I suppose.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-hl-2-918.jpghardproject-hl-2-918There was a time when people could not get over how good this game looked. That time was a while back.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-hl-1-918.jpghardproject-hl-1-918Sometimes half the problem is the footprint.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-hl-918.jpghardproject-hl-918Defiant!2014-09-18T15:42:54+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/27/why-dont-we-finish/2014-09-17T23:22:11+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/26/telling-stories-get-wasted/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-30-2-917.jpgtellstory-30-2-917Life moves so much faster when you realize that you will, eventually, have to finish what you're doing.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-30-1-917.jpgtellstory-30-1-917He may also be a pirate. It's a fine line.2014-09-28T22:51:30+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/22/demo-driver-8-don-bradman-cricket-14-126/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-cricket-911.jpgdemodriver-cricket-911Cricket, the last great mystery of our age.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-cricket-2-911.jpgdemodriver-cricket-2-911I don't know if this is successful batting or not. Perhaps it is? Perhaps this is a prelude to the cricket equivalent of the Jecht Shot?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-cricket-1-911.jpgdemodriver-cricket-1-911I'm not sure if I was treating this game with all of the dignity it deserves or not.2014-10-04T15:56:52+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/25/challenge-accepted-when-good-trouble-goes-bad/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-nowbad-2-909.jpgchallenge-nowbad-2-909The line between exploits and simple smart play are not as clear as you might like.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-nowbad-1-909.jpgchallenge-nowbad-1-909The game could be programmed with reliance upon ancient hardware that means you can't actually play it functionally on your more modern machine, even though you can get past the ancient and kind of horrid graphics.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-nowbad-909.jpgchallenge-nowbad-909The first time you see these, you understand their attack patterns. The other way around, it would kind of be for crap.2014-09-10T03:08:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/09/timing-your-purchase/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/releasetime-2-815.jpgreleasetime-2-815If you had told me back then that I could save my money and just buy the game digitally for my computer in two decades or so, and also that it was a pile of shit, I would not have believed you.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/releasetime-1-815.jpgreleasetime-1-815The real question is whether or not it was worth sitting on a pre-order receipt for a decade and then actually playing this game.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/releasetime-815.jpgreleasetime-815If you'd longed to see Wakka's pillowy man-bosoms in the highest possible definition, well... I don't exactly understand how your world operates. Sorry.2014-09-09T16:18:22+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/23/maybe-its-time-to-stop/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/stop-3-902.jpgstop-3-902The stages are chosen, yes, but they're pegged at a certain level just the same.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/stop-2-902.jpgstop-2-902When your big promised change to the series is that you might be tackling dungeons in a non-traditional order, you are officially making sequels with all of the novelty of a sequence breaking tutorial.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/stop-1-902.jpgstop-1-902Look, there is a sign right there! This was years ago! Just accept this and move on already!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/stop-902.jpgstop-902If only there were some sort of sign.2014-09-09T15:58:07+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/18/keep-the-lights-on/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/lightson-3-909.jpglightson-3-909We're really shortchanging moderators in the illustration department here, but I assume this is the dress code.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/lightson-2-909.jpglightson-2-909Ironic that a game which is all about making pretend people winds up removing a whole lot of the stuff you see in real people.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/lightson-1-909.jpglightson-1-909Playing to win means not doing what makes most of your friends with thugshttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/lightson-909.jpglightson-909The light of the Crystal, great, but can we talk a little more about the light of the server's power indicator?2014-09-09T15:57:49+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/15/demo-driver-8-tomb-raider-underworld-148/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-tombunder-3-905.jpgdemodriver-tombunder-3-905Good thing that most ancient ruins are designed with plenty of handholds.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-tombunder-2-905.jpgdemodriver-tombunder-2-905Did you forget the bottom half of your wetsuit? Or... did you seriously cut the legs off of it? Is that a thing you did?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-tombunder-1-905.jpgdemodriver-tombunder-1-905Make your game assuming one audience and then https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-tombunder-905.jpgdemodriver-tombunder-905Nyan nyan nyan etc.2014-09-05T17:23:37+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/19/telling-stories-avoiding-cabinet-flaws/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-29-2-904.jpgtellstory-29-2-904We never really get better, we just graduate to a different level of mistake.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-29-1-904.jpgtellstory-29-1-904I am relatively certain this gentleman could hire someone to fix any cabinets he needed fixed. That seems like an easier path.2014-09-05T04:58:17+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/16/hard-project-front-mission/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-frontmission-2-904.jpghardproject-frontmission-2-904Apparently I'm a sucker for brainy platinum blonde women named Elsa.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-frontmission-1-904.jpghardproject-frontmission-1-904"Before we get on to fighting this guy, wouldn't you like to hear a complex discussion of sovereign territory and entangling alliances? Please answer 'yes' or 'super yes'."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hardproject-frontmission-904.jpghardproject-frontmission-904Oh, they did all right. I don't trip over my own feet all that often.2014-09-04T17:56:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/24/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-5/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ffproject-ff4-05a.jpgffproject-ff4-05a"Oh, sure, we'll trade you this bomb and then you'll be on your way, right? This was a good decision."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ffproject-ff4-05.jpgffproject-ff4-05Remember, kids, no matter how urgent your mission is, you can always lie down in a bed and nap for a few hours to recover all injuries.2014-09-03T17:22:23+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/04/tough-acts-to-follow/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/toughact-2-903.jpgtoughact-2-903It helps a lot if your game isn't also boring generic fantasy, but if that was all you needed to change then we wouldn't see non-generic-fantasies floundering.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/toughact-1-903.jpgtoughact-1-903Certain games have an easier time with this than others.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/toughact-903.jpgtoughact-903So far I've been having a blast, and that's usually my first goal with any game in the franchise, so mission accomplished.2014-09-05T16:31:24+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/12/telling-stories-fueling-the-maze-builders/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-28-2-902.jpgtellstory-28-2-902Sometimes all it takes to feel like you have influence is being told you have influence.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tellstory-28-1-902.jpgtellstory-28-1-902Yes, I did get infested by the virus we're trying to stop, but if you had been there the whole thing would have made perfect sense. And, you know, not seemed dumb.2014-09-03T02:24:43+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/11/challenge-accepted-being-better-than-you-were/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-growth-2-902.jpgchallenge-growth-2-902This was popular, let's just make everything else we do more of this forever and ever.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-growth-1-902.jpgchallenge-growth-1-902The fact that I can now just load this up on my computer both goes a long way toward making me happy and also kind of puts the lie to what I used to think.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/challenge-growth-902.jpgchallenge-growth-902Not this kind of growth. This is different.2014-09-11T23:48:02+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/08/demo-driver-8-sleeping-dogs-109/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-sleepingdogs-2-902.jpgdemodriver-sleepingdogs-2-902I'm not sure what part of the game this is from, but I'm going to assume it's one of the dating sequences.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-sleepingdogs-1-902.jpgdemodriver-sleepingdogs-1-902Time it takes to forget that you're playing a cop in this game is equal to the time it takes to find someone you can lay a totally awesome smackdown upon.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/demodriver-sleepingdogs-902.jpgdemodriver-sleepingdogs-902I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL2014-09-02T13:58:45+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/31/defiance-and-the-dancing-bear/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/defiance-3-829.jpgdefiance-3-829I realize it's an old and well-worn trick, but treating fantastical technology as mundane because of its familiarity to the people using it is still a nice way of introducing the world at the macro level.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/defiance-2-829.jpgdefiance-2-829Even if they are running drugs, this may not be the best way to foster trust in the community as a whole.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/defiance-1-829.jpgdefiance-1-829I'm not sure how many shows consider "ominous Brent Spiner-type" to be a necessary part of their cast makeup.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/defiance-829.jpgdefiance-829Let's all pause for a moment to appreciate the show giving us another non-English curse word to pepper speech with while avoiding strict censor guidelines.2014-09-01T00:04:07+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/05/telling-stories-serial-roleplaying-or-building-events/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-27-2-828.jpgStar Trek OnlineNo one told me to make the Borg-iest possible costume on my Romulan, but it sure did serve as a fine motivator.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-27-1-828.jpgtellstory-27-1-828There's a difference between keeping the character recognizable and kneecapping any growth before it happens, and it expresses itself through subtle means.2014-09-07T01:35:14+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/17/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-4/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ffproject-ff4-04a.jpgffproject-ff4-04aTo be entirely honest, I only skimmed the text here and kind of thought that he was going to become a plantain, which would have led to a very different game.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ffproject-ff4-04.jpgffproject-ff4-04"I've got a great idea, guys. Let's see if we can screw with a random knight for a while until he climbs up the mountain of death we keep down the road."2014-08-28T13:42:54+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/01/demo-driver-8-serious-sam-hd-the-first-encounter-94/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-serious-2-827.jpgdemodriver-serious-2-827Don't look now, but I'm pretty sure this guy showed up in like a million Looney Tunes episodes.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-serious-1-827.jpgdemodriver-serious-1-827"I am strongly compelled to shoot!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-serious-827.jpgdemodriver-serious-827There's not a whole lot to say, although it's kind of disheartening just the same.2014-08-28T03:48:37+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/02/hard-project-adventure-time/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hardproject-adventure-2-827.jpghardproject-adventure-2-827You'd think this kind of upgrade would stick around for a longer period of time.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hardproject-adventure-1-827.jpghardproject-adventure-1-827You don't usually beat up penguins, dude, this isn't your style. That's not cool.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hardproject-adventure-827.jpghardproject-adventure-827Well, everything looks right, I suppose.2014-08-27T15:11:53+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/26/this-isnt-a-post-about-zoe-quinn/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/quinn-2-825.jpgquinn-2-825Do I need to harp on this again? Like... really?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/quinn-1-825.jpgquinn-1-825If you're going to look down on the people who play this on consoles because they don't have the exact same experience you do, you are kind of a jerk.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/quinn-825.jpgquinn-825In fact, she's not even mentioned after the opening here and in the final two lines of the piece.2014-08-29T17:12:36+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/30/we-need-that-story/2014-08-31T09:16:44+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/29/telling-stories-i-do-not-build-a-maze-i-assemble-tools/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-26-2-826.jpgtellstory-26-2-826Just let me solve all of your problems myself! Jeez, why do you even have problems?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-26-1-826-e1408940039824.jpgFinal Fantasy XIVI've told stories, seen stories unfold, found myself in a place so different from my start that I could not find the route back again.2014-08-29T17:18:14+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/28/challenge-accepted-select-difficulty/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/challenge-select-2-821.jpgchallenge-select-2-821And some games wouldn't even make sense for letting you select your difficulty level.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/challenge-select-1-821.jpgchallenge-select-1-821This game launched without so much as a slap on the wrist for dying and later tried to implement some elements to support tactics other than "blitz forward." You can guess how well that worked.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/challenge-select-821.jpgchallenge-select-821This is not the vacation I had been expecting.2014-08-21T15:56:39+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/21/who-wants-to-play-my-idea/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/idea-3-819.jpgidea-3-819Remember, this was also born from an idea, and that idea was to fix the problems that existed in previous versions of the idea.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/idea-2-819.jpgidea-2-819Trust me, there's nothing that's going to make this all right in the bird nest.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/idea-1-819.jpgidea-1-819If there's ever a game that's setting up for disappointment based around a combination of nostalgia and creator worship, this would be it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/idea-819.jpgidea-819"Megaman without Capcom" is a pretty solid idea, admittedly, but it's still just an idea.2014-08-19T15:00:52+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/10/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-3/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ffproject-ff4-03b.jpgffproject-ff4-03bIf this guy wasn't a legendary victim of Chronic Backstabbing Disorder by now, it would be shocking.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ffproject-ff4-03a.jpgffproject-ff4-03aSeriously, these are enemies you can deal with just by not hitting them. There's no reason to get worked up about this.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ffproject-ff4-03.jpgffproject-ff4-03Seems like a nice enough place, just a few inches short of lush grasslands. That's normal, right?2014-08-19T03:49:31+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/25/demo-driver-8-blade-kitten-353/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-bladekitten-2-818.jpgdemodriver-bladekitten-2-818Well, that's what you get when you go to Mook Academy.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-bladekitten-1-818.jpgdemodriver-bladekitten-1-818Yeah, you can tell who this was made for, but it's not being obnoxious or pandering about this.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-bladekitten-818-e1408413540721.jpgdemodriver-bladekitten-818It's nice when something turns out better than you had any expectations it would be, definitely.2014-08-19T02:03:21+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/22/telling-stories-this-is-the-world-we-live-in/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-25-2-818.jpgtellstory-25-2-818This is why people tend to cite Star Wars as a fantasy setting rather than a science fiction one, for instance.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-25-1-818.jpgtellstory-25-1-818Running around with two guns was less dangerous here than you'd expect.2014-08-18T14:22:46+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/09/03/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-2/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ffproject-ff4-02b.jpgffproject-ff4-02bAnd then we fight it again later.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ffproject-ff4-02a.jpgffproject-ff4-02aDoes this look like a man who waits for the tank to establish threat before opening fire? No, it does not.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ffproject-ff4-02.jpgffproject-ff4-02You can buy this game right now on Steam! It's not expensive!2014-08-14T03:37:07+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/20/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasys-first-generation/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ffg-01.jpgffproject-ffg-01Some things just don't change over the years.2014-08-13T17:39:13+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/18/demo-driver-8-tank-universal-265/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-tank-2-813.jpgdemodriver-tank-2-813He looks reasonable. Let's reason with him using our reason.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-tank-1-813.jpgdemodriver-tank-1-813This guy is a bad guy, because he's red. So you want to blow him up. But I don't know what he does or what his deal is. This may be an allegory.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-tank-813.jpgdemodriver-tank-813At least it's not World of Tanks.2014-08-13T15:35:33+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/19/hard-project-doom/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hardproject-doom-3-812.jpghardproject-doom-3-812I'm not sure exactly what I'm feeling here, but "doom" isn't it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hardproject-doom-2-812.jpgDoomThe idea of mods changed so much about this game.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hardproject-doom-1-812.jpghardproject-doom-1-812This is a small snippet of the 10th level of the second game rendered in an overhead view. It doesn't look much more straightforward from the ground level, either.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hardproject-doom-812.jpghardproject-doom-812It's so hardcore it doesn't even need a description beyond one word.2014-08-25T06:30:15+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/13/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-11/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-11b.jpgffproject-ff3-11bYes, I opted for the NES version just for the heck of it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-11a.jpgffproject-ff3-11aNormally I'd be upset that this is what she's remembered for, but I'm not entirely certain that she has any other character traits.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-11.jpgffproject-ff3-11"Okay, Akihiko, you're up. Name for the boss that's less stupid than Two-Headed Dragon." "Twinhead Dragon!" "Great. Okay. Super."2014-08-11T17:38:11+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/15/telling-stories-three-big-memories-and-why-they-stand-out/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-24-3-811.jpgtellstory-24-3-811A rogue Sith lord with no interest beyond making the Empire burn...https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-24-2-811.jpgtellstory-24-2-811I've told and seen so many stories unfold that https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-24-1-811.jpgtellstory-24-1-811She inspired disciples. From both sides of the fence.2014-08-11T16:44:50+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/14/challenge-accepted-competitive-vs-mechanical-balance/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/challenge-balance-3-806.jpgchallenge-balance-3-806It's only unbalanced when not everyone can use the same tricks.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/challenge-balance-2-806.jpgchallenge-balance-2-806These guys are meant to be balanced against one another and their peers, not working in a team.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/challenge-balance-1-806.jpgchallenge-balance-1-806Sometimes dying in this game is actually a net benefit.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/challenge-balance-806.jpgchallenge-balance-806We like to think it's like this, but it's really more this with a smaller set of scales beneath each hook, and another set there.2014-08-06T22:24:56+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/11/demo-driver-8-the-stanley-parable-demonstration/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-stanley-2-805.jpgdemodriver-stanley-2-805I'm sure you've made a habit of clicking all of these now, or doing what I'm asking you not to do, so it doesn't really matter what I say here, does it?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-stanley-1-805.jpgdemodriver-stanley-1-805There are no powerups in these boxes, nor is there any reason to click on this picture.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-stanley-805-e1407249287873.jpgdemodriver-stanley-805Please do not read the alt text for this image.2014-08-05T17:11:01+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/12/undeveloped-extensions/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/needsequel-804.jpgneedsequel-804Look what we found just lying around!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/needsequel-1-804.jpgneedsequel-1-804After years of complaining, it's finally happened - we have found Japanese box art far worse than US box art, even from the era when studios would prefer showing us art of misshapen old men instead of anime characters.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/needsequel-2-804.jpgneedsequel-2-804SHOTS FIREDhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/needsequel-3-804.jpgneedsequel-3-804Trying this once every five years or so is too rarely. And, for that matter, speaks to a certain part of the problem.2014-08-12T20:32:52+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/04/demo-driver-8-ring-runner-flight-of-the-sages-206/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-ringrunner-2-802.jpgdemodriver-ringrunner-2-802An encyclopedia would be nice, even if it is a bit of a kludge.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/demodriver-ringrunner-1-802.jpgdemodriver-ringrunner-1-802You can't fault the game for failing to make it clear that space is really, really big.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-ringrunner-802.jpgdemodriver-ringrunner-802It'd be really nice if some of these games provided better screenshots instead of looking like a hot mess in still frames.2014-08-02T21:05:25+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/08/telling-stories-playception/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-23-2-801.jpgtellstory-23-2-801"Mmm... no. Your attacks are technically proficient, but they're boring to watch. You're too busy trying to kill me, I want you to try and stage-kill me. Okay? Great."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/tellstory-23-1-801.jpgtellstory-23-1-801This does not necessarily apply to characters who are themselves theatrical and spend hours in the rain just to look cool.2014-08-01T14:52:32+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/07/electronic-arts-not-the-devil-you-want/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/eanotsobad-3-731.jpgeanotsobad-3-731Yes, I'm sure the publisher stopped in and asked Mythic to make sure this game was buggy and unfinished before it launched.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/eanotsobad-2-731.jpgeanotsobad-2-731"My successes are all my own, but my failures are someone else's fault" is not a mantra that has sounded convincing ever, from anyone.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/eanotsobad-1-731.jpgDragon Age IIYou can just come back to it later, it's still going to be there.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/eanotsobad-731.jpgeanotsobad-731If you're blaming EA for the fact that you disliked the ending of Mass Effect 3, you should probably take that back down a notch.2014-08-08T20:14:44+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/05/hard-project-the-dark-tower/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-dt-2-729.jpghardproject-dt-2-729The definition of a coming storm.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-dt-1-729.jpghardproject-dt-1-729It's a good game, but you need to play through it 19 times to really get the full experience.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-dt-729.jpghardproject-dt-729In the background, you can distantly hear Elton John singing.2014-07-29T17:33:33+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/01/telling-stories-roleplaying-is-stressful/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tellstory-22-2-728.jpgtellstory-22-2-728We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tellstory-22-1-728.jpgtellstory-22-1-728This scene took months to happen. For many reasons.2014-08-01T20:00:05+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/27/nier-and-the-art-of-pulled-punches/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/nier-3-725.jpgnier-3-725It's a weird game when the talking book full of dark magic is one of the protagonists and probably the least awful one there.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/nier-2-725.jpgnier-2-725I'd be happy with a game that delved into more detail about Kainé with slightly less effort put into justifying cheesecake outfits and more effort put into exploring her behavior and backstory.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/nier-1-725.jpgnier-1-725When the world itself is monstrous, what hope is there for those who are not monsters to survive? Does monstrosity not become a reality of evolution?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/nier-725.jpgnier-725There are more colors. But their relevance bleeds away.2014-07-25T15:12:14+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/26/the-core-of-the-game/2014-07-24T17:03:06+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/28/demo-driver-8-hammerfight-308/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-hammerfight-2-724.jpgdemodriver-hammerfight-2-724"I'm looking for a hammer." "All right, sir, how can I help you?" "Show me where to find the hammers." "Well, what project are you working on?" "Finding a hammer." "What are you going to do with the hammer, though?" "Hammer things."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-hammerfight-1-724.jpgdemodriver-hammerfight-1-724How is it that all of the preview screenshots look more interesting than the actual gameplay? Shouldn't that be the other way around?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-hammerfight-724.jpgdemodriver-hammerfight-724Spin round for what?2014-07-23T14:37:12+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/31/challenge-accepted-do-it-yourself/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/challenge-self-2-722.jpgchallenge-self-2-722Hmm... no, this is too hard. Could we try this again and keep it hard, but less hard?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/challenge-self-1-722.jpgchallenge-self-1-722For some games, the struggle is figuring out how you're supposed to play these things normally in the first place.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/challenge-self-722.jpgchallenge-self-722This is not an SCC, but it's a nice shot.2014-07-23T03:37:05+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/29/leave-this-out-of-your-game/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/leaveout-3-722.jpgleaveout-3-722I guess this is still a franchise thing?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/leaveout-2-722.jpgleaveout-2-722The game even has a locksmith. Yes, with a useful ability.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/leaveout-1-722.jpgleaveout-1-722Then there's the part where you think that this is something you can do by hacking consoles. I don't even know where to start explaining how that's wrong.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/leaveout-722.jpgleaveout-722You move sixteen tons, whaddya get? Another day older and I've made a lot of gil off the Market Boards.2014-08-06T00:46:58+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/25/telling-stories-safe-and-sound/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tellstory-21-2-721.jpgtellstory-21-2-721If no one says why they won't hang out with you, that's usually a sign that you're kind of uncomfortable to be around.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tellstory-21-1-721.jpgtellstory-21-1-721You don't get to know who everyone is.2014-07-21T15:53:06+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/24/a-game-like-a-warm-hug/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hug-2-717.jpghug-2-717"Hello, Shepard, I'm Nihlus. I'm going to restate plot points you're already aware of on your fourth playthrough in the most roundabout and irritating fashion possible until you max out your Renegade score because you'll pick literally any conversation option that will end this dialogue faster."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hug-1-717.jpghug-1-717All right, so pretty much everyone feels like the Katamari games are a warm hug.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hug-717.jpghug-717When you were young.2014-07-24T16:37:14+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/15/creating-the-environment/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/howplay-2-708.jpghowplay-2-708You don't have to keep the war going, but the alternative is extinction.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/howplay-1-708.jpghowplay-1-708Don't drop me here and then expect I won't try to climb.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/howplay-708.jpghowplay-708You threw me into the arena, don't be surprised that I plan to fight now.2014-07-15T16:15:56+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/22/hard-project-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-mlp-3-715.jpghardproject-mlp-3-715Ubisoft animators watch this many women on the screen and just wonder how in the world they DID it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-mlp-2-715.jpghardproject-mlp-2-715Sombra's characterization basically starts and stops at "I AM MAD" so I don't really look forward to seeing him again.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-mlp-1-715.jpghardproject-mlp-1-715"Spike, stop reading that C&D letter from Hasbro Legal!" "But it makes me happy! Especially the parts smudged from the manchild tears."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-mlp-715.jpghardproject-mlp-715I am relatively certain that having this picture on my site will put me on some sort of watchlist, because... well, see the first entry past the cut.2014-07-15T16:03:43+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/21/demo-driver-8-sugar-cube-bittersweet-factory-447/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-sugarcube-2-714.jpgdemodriver-sugarcube-2-714Do you want to go through 90 levels of this? I really don't.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-sugarcube-1-714.jpgdemodriver-sugarcube-1-714There are bosses. There is nothing interesting to say about them; you have to get past them, it's meant to be tricky, good night.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-sugarcube-714.jpgdemodriver-sugarcube-714It would be really nice if even the designers could get a single shot of this game that did not make it look unbelievably messy, because that certainly turned me off.2014-07-14T15:30:41+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/18/telling-stories-keeping-the-faith/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tellstory-20-2-711.jpgtellstory-20-2-711You need enough time to react, but you also need enough time to feel threatened.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tellstory-20-1-711.jpgtellstory-20-1-711I'm not sorry I met you, I'm not sorry it's over, I'm not sorry there's nothing to say.2014-07-11T17:56:39+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/17/challenge-accepted-why-fake-difficulty-is-still-a-thing/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/challenge-fake-2-711.jpgchallenge-fake-2-711If you were allowed to solve all your problems from the ship, you would never leave.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/challenge-fake-1-711.jpgchallenge-fake-1-711Everyone makes mistakes.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/challenge-fake-711.jpgchallenge-fake-711Fakin' it.2014-07-11T16:27:12+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/14/demo-driver-8-castlevania-lords-of-shadow-98/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-castlevania-2-707.jpgdemodriver-castlevania-2-707Shadow of the Lots of Other Games Doing This Stuff.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-castlevania-1-707.jpgdemodriver-castlevania-1-707This dude is going to kill some monsters, but he's already so sad that he can't be arsed to smile. His manly tears must flow.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/demodriver-castlevania-707.jpgdemodriver-castlevania-707And you find yourself thinking "I could be playing a game that's just as dude-centric but with Joe Mad designs," so that's not a ringing endorsement.2014-07-07T14:00:26+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/11/telling-stories-breaking-into-the-middle/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tellstory-19-2-703.jpgtellstory-19-2-703Yes, you were the asshole.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tellstory-19-1-703.jpgtellstory-19-1-703A quiet cough is heard. "Um, you don't know me," said the young Cassian woman, "but I'm really a huge fan of your work." Unfortunately for her, she was talking to a hologram.2014-07-03T15:53:52+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/10/game-companies-feel-like-people/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/gamepeople-3-701.jpggamepeople-3-701Not that Valve is immune to people idolizing the company or to doing generally stupid crap, to be fair.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/gamepeople-2-701.jpggamepeople-2-701"Hey guys, we remembere dthat you liked our games when they were fun to play. Maybe we can do that again?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/gamepeople-1-701.jpggamepeople-1-701This is also why my max-level characters in any MMO wind up with tons of healing items from the early levels that I saved just in case I ever needed them.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/gamepeople-701.jpggamepeople-701If game companies were more like cats, I think I'd like them more.2014-07-10T17:25:33+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/30/demo-driver-8-unmechanical-416/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-unmechanical-3-623.jpgdemodriver-unmechanical-3-623Just to be redundant, this is all very mechanical.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-unmechanical-2-623.jpgdemodriver-unmechanical-2-623Do we make all the colors line up on this one? Probably? I don't want to know.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-unmechanical-1-623.jpgdemodriver-unmechanical-1-623How will Helicopter Potato get out of this predicament? I do not know or care. Goodbye.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-unmechanical-623.jpgdemodriver-unmechanical-623Tim Burton has so damn much to answer for.2014-07-01T15:56:10+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/08/hard-project-pacific-rim/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-pacrim-3-701.jpghardproject-pacrim-3-701"I mean, we're still gonna chop a couple of kaiju, right? 'Cause I wanna chop some kaiju!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-pacrim-2-701.jpghardproject-pacrim-2-701By contrast, the film brought this issue up once, when Raleigh and Mako were told that they should not blow up the interior of the Shatterdome.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-pacrim-1-701.jpghardproject-pacrim-1-701You need full control over the systems to make it feel real. In the film, this took three people. Think about it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hardproject-pacrim-701.jpghardproject-pacrim-701You see that chassis and your brain immediately starts playing the theme song. Mine does anyway.2014-07-01T15:55:20+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/27/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iv-part-1/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff4-01b.jpgffproject-ff4-01bLater, Square loved the idea of having an army of airships so much that they would base an entire game off of it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff4-01a.jpgffproject-ff4-01aIt also kicked off a long tradition of hopeless dorks taking the lead, because for all the guff I gave Firion, I'm pretty sure he never murdered civilians.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff4-01.jpgffproject-ff4-01The box that would eventually launch a lot of angry diatribes.2014-07-01T02:38:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/07/demo-driver-8-defenders-quest-valley-of-the-forgotten-179/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-defender-3-630.jpgdemodriver-defender-3-630I admit it's a bit of toy-based goobery, but I do love customizing sprites.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-defender-2-630.jpgdemodriver-defender-2-630It might not be everyone's thing, but it hits the notes it wants, and it does so brilliantly.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-defender-1-630.jpgdemodriver-defender-1-630I know I'm fond of a tower defense game when I look at a tower layout in a demo screenshot and immediately get twitchy about how the units are laid out.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-defender-630.jpgdemodriver-defender-630Next time I play this game, I'm going to name you Blinky just for continuity.2014-06-30T19:00:49+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/08/06/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-10/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-10a.jpgffproject-ff3-10aThis is going to get worse before it gets better, isn't it?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-10.jpgffproject-ff3-10Yep, it's still here. Hey, remember when that guy with a gold fetish made us think that he'd blown this crystal up? Anyone know what happened to him, that was just weird.2014-06-29T04:54:26+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/28/the-moment/2014-06-29T02:02:15+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/30/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-9/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-09a.jpgffproject-ff3-09aHe's rarely as awesomely huge as he ought to be, but this game is a particular offender.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-09.jpgffproject-ff3-09Because of course the official art would have the girl be the healer.2014-07-31T00:50:18+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/04/telling-stories-catching-up-mechanically/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tellstory-18-2-627.jpgtellstory-18-2-627She's always been carrying buckets of knives, but now it's canon.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tellstory-18-1-627.jpgtellstory-18-1-627Hanging out on Deep Space Nine won't make her any more Cardassian. I've tried.2014-06-27T17:19:52+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/03/challenge-accepted-fairs-fair/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/challenge-fair-2-626.jpgchallenge-fair-2-626I have a pretty good guess of where I'm supposed to dodge, but I don't know if I'm being herded there just before the kill shot.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/challenge-fair-1-626.jpgchallenge-fair-1-626This is both a minigame and what a party looks like after you've completed a round of this game.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/challenge-fair-626.jpgchallenge-fair-626It might seem fair to gang up on someone until you get ganged up on yourself.2014-06-26T16:18:46+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/23/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-8/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-08b.jpgffproject-ff3-08bThis is also what Titan looks like. Come on, guys, you could have legit reused this one!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-08c.jpgffproject-ff3-08cFor the record, this is what Titan looks like.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-08a.jpgffproject-ff3-08aThose big purple hippos are really the signature beast. Like dragons in Dungeons & Dragons or goths with boundary issues in Vampire: the Masquerade.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-08.jpgffproject-ff3-08You don't think... nah. Couldn't be.2014-06-26T00:48:54+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/29/frozen-and-the-art-of-unlearning/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/frozen-2-625.jpgfrozen-2-625Now, if I could in some way combine the two of them, that would be something.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/frozen-1-625.jpgfrozen-1-625You might have been complicit in what happened, but it's only partly your fault. Everyone told you that this was the script to be followed, and your main weakness was that someone else analyzed it and took advantage of it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/frozen-625.jpgfrozen-625If you don't like it, I'm not going to convince you otherwise, but I question your decisions.2014-06-25T19:46:58+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/01/immersion-isnt-a-headset/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/vr-3-624.jpgvr-3-624"Wow, so I can swing my arm and the sword will swing and it'll be awesome!" we all said. And then we silently thanked Nintendo a year later when most of their games didn't make you do that because it turns out that swinging your arm doesn't make you feel like you're swinging a sword and also makes it harder to hit the jump button.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/vr-2-624.jpgvr-2-624I always wanted to experience my games not just as an observer, but as an active participant, so when I run somewhere as my character I can fall to the ground gasping for breath and feel dizzy and disoriented a minute after I started playing. Then I can get exhausted after playing for ten minutes after I've spent twenty minutes just getting set up. Hey, maybe I could get my buddy to come over and actually ram cutlery into my arm any time I get hurt!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/vr-1-624.jpgvr-1-624Books would be much better if they just sprayed ink into your eyes instead of forcing you to read.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/vr-624.jpgOculus Rift Development VersionIt's hard to believe that this is the device that will change gaming forever, due in no small part to the fact that it likely won't.2014-07-08T01:52:39+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/16/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-7/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-07a.jpgffproject-ff3-07aDragoons: providing new and exciting irritations for the party since the third game in the series.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-07.jpgffproject-ff3-07Your majesty!2014-06-20T19:39:05+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/27/telling-stories-the-attraction/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tellstory-17-2-620.jpgtellstory-17-2-620If there were ever a character where I wish I had more screenshots...https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tellstory-17-1-620.jpgtellstory-17-1-620Sometimes a good score just means your heart is getting broken that much harder.2014-06-20T13:43:17+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/26/the-fault-of-modern-gaming-is-our-own/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/moderngames-2-609.jpgmoderngames-2-609There was a huge fan outcry that this game wasn't localized - and when it was, people still just flocked to more Mario games.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/moderngames-1-609.jpgmoderngames-1-609I'm the one who kept giving these guys money; I can't exactly complain that they used that money to be bigger.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/moderngames-609.jpgmoderngames-609Taking a bold step of bringing in stubble-covered white guys, but this time they're wearing hoods.2014-06-27T03:00:52+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/09/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-6/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-06a.jpgffproject-ff3-06aI'm pretty sure this guy started that trend.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-06.jpgffproject-ff3-06"We've decided we're the Light Warriors!" "And we're not going to ask for any money or adulation or anything!" "Nope! We're just going to fling ourselves into battles we can't possibly win!" "We did not think this through, did we?" "Shut the fuck up, Donnie."2014-06-18T17:58:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/24/hard-project-magic-the-gathering/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hardproject-magic-2-618.jpghardproject-magic-2-618So now you're using your computer to play with cards, which you could do without a computer, only this way is cheaper. Except it's not cheaper, because you're buying this game every year all over again and you only have a handful of options for cards unless you shell out for DLC. So you've trapped technology in recursion. Good work.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hardproject-magic-1-618.jpghardproject-magic-1-618Exploring new worlds is nice and all, but it doesn't always fill the seats.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hardproject-magic-618.jpghardproject-magic-618Some splices are doomed to die on the operating table.2014-06-18T12:45:21+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/23/demo-driver-8-magical-drop-v-218/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-mdrop-3-epl-617.jpgdemodriver-mdrop-3-epl-617Didn't The Devil used to be a male character? I know why you did this, but even so... oh, never mind.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-mdrop-2-epl-617.jpgdemodriver-mdrop-2-epl-617The World in Magical Drop V; like a Bratz doll that attained freedom and came down with a case of Stage VI Animes.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-mdrop-1-epl-617.jpgdemodriver-mdrop-1-epl-617The World in Magical Drop 2; skimpy, sure, but not constantly pratfalling with her ribbon dress.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-mdrop-epl-617.jpgdemodriver-mdrop-epl-617This isn't how I remember it, but I'm not sure whose fault that is.2014-06-17T14:01:06+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/07/02/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-5/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-05b.jpgffproject-ff3-05bThis, more or less.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-05a.jpgffproject-ff3-05aAfter spending so much time faffing about elsewhere, it's nice to see the actual plot moving along at a nice clip.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-05.jpgffproject-ff3-05Set to make a triumphant return in Final Fantasy XIV, I think we can all agree that Hein is the boss we need.2014-06-16T20:35:04+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/25/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-4/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-04b.jpgffproject-ff3-04bWhile the remake uses a consistent color scheme throughout the tower, the original version makes the top much darker than the remainder of the tower. Honestly, I find it a lot more effective in the long run.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-04a.jpgffproject-ff3-04aAh, the halcyon days of Final Fantasy. Back then, we didn't ask why there was a man using a snake as a loincloth who also had wings and shark teeth. It was just kind of part of the world. We accepted that yes, he was there, and he was an antagonist, and we needed to fight him. Why? Why anything?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-04.jpgffproject-ff3-04It's bomb, it's bomb, it's big exploding and red! It's bomb, it's bomb, kill it in one turn or you're dead!2014-06-16T13:50:19+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/20/telling-stories-thats-what-i-want/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tellstory-16-2-613.jpgtellstory-16-2-613Keep your eyes open, see?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tellstory-16-1-613.jpgtellstory-16-1-613"Don't mind me, fellow roleplayers, I am simply passing through! I am a player of roles as well!"2014-06-13T16:59:17+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/17/our-struggle-to-model-a-female-character/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/woman-3-612.jpgwoman-3-612You have probably faced a lot of these if you are anything like me.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/woman-2-612.jpgwoman-2-612It's almost like only one audience plays your game when you make every other audience ashamed to be caught playing it!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/woman-1-612.jpgwoman-1-612Our research stated conclusively that this is what all women look like and how they dress casually.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/woman-612.jpgwoman-612We spent months figuring out how to make it look totally realistic when white guys run through dank sewers so that you can seriously feel the sweat and stench and now you want us to add girls to the mix? What are we supposed to do?2014-06-17T20:33:58+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/19/challenge-accepted-easy-keeps-you-going/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/challenge-goodeasy-2-612.jpgchallenge-goodeasy-2-612Oh, sure, the details are different, but I've been taking these guys out since the beginning, don't you know.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/challenge-goodeasy-1-612.jpgchallenge-goodeasy-1-612Here, blowing up half of the town isn't a challenge, it's almost a byproduct.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/challenge-goodeasy-612.jpgchallenge-goodeasy-612First time, yes, full challenge. Subsequent times? Thanks, I'll just faceroll it on easy.2014-06-12T13:41:22+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/12/thoughts-on-the-e3-2014-presentations/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/e3thought-4-611.jpge3thought-4-611I do not want to buy a Wii U. I would like to play this game. If the powers that be would be so kind as to let that happen, that would be great.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/e3thought-3-611.jpge3thought-3-611I am told this dude is my reason for being excited about the PS4? I don't really get it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/e3thought-2-611.jpge3thought-2-611We were all thinking it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/e3thought-1-611.jpge3thought-1-611Finally, I can play through that PSP game everyone loved back when it came out.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/e3thought-611.jpge3thought-611IT LOOKS A LOT LIKE THE PRESENT AND FEATURES LOTS OF STUBBLE-DUSTED WHITE GUYS2014-06-11T17:11:57+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/18/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-3/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-03a.jpgffproject-ff3-03aI'm just saying, we already brought the costumes.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ffproject-ff3-03.jpgffproject-ff3-03I'm not saying this little guy isn't adorable, because we would both know that was a lie. I'm saying that the odds of him casting spells are fairly low. Or "rat problems" are more serious than most people let on.2014-06-11T14:37:03+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/16/demo-driver-8-rochard-379/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-rochard-2-610.jpgdemodriver-rochard-2-610"Well, what we're looking at here is a real basic sit-you-a-shun, y'see? We gots an abandoned temple, gots a mining crew, gots a corporate office, I don't need to paint ya a picture. Figure I can get this cleared up for you in about ten hours if I've got the parts I need. Damage-wise, you're looking at two hundo."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-rochard-1-610.jpgdemodriver-rochard-1-610Boy, you wouldn't expect a guy his size to be quite so spry, but here we are.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-rochard-610.jpgdemodriver-rochard-610I played Portal and you didn't, you miserable hacks! Have fun shooting an invulnerable box!2014-06-10T16:18:15+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/13/telling-stories-enhance-both-experiences/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tellstory-15-2-606.jpgtellstory-15-2-606"Occult Knowledge" is a skill for the Illuminati in the same sense that "not shitting in your pants" counts as a skill.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/tellstory-15-1-606.jpgtellstory-15-1-606Some characters don't stop for the world, either, so it's only fair.2014-06-06T15:48:24+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/10/hard-project-silent-hill/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hardproject-silent-2-604.jpghardproject-silent-2-604Each new game seems to make the place look less like a site of unspeakable horror and more like a vacation getaway.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hardproject-1-silent-604.jpghardproject-1-silent-604Based upon regularly visited locations, Silent Hill has a hospital the size of Providence.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hardproject-silent-604.jpghardproject-silent-604The hills are alive with mist monsters and nurses.2014-06-04T16:23:03+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/09/demo-driver-8-dins-curse-273/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-dinscurse-2-602.jpgdemodriver-dinscurse-2-602Can we please have just one of these games without giant spiders? Just one.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-dinscurse-1-602.jpgdemodriver-dinscurse-1-602It's what's on the inside that counts. Unless, you know, there are plenty of options that look better on the outside and have almost the same thing on the inside. Then it gets a lot fuzzier.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/demodriver-dinscurse-602.jpgdemodriver-dinscurse-602Go kill the things down the hole, you jerk.2014-06-02T13:53:22+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/about/2014-06-02T00:38:16+00:00weekly0.6https://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/11/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-2/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ffproject-ff3-02a.jpgffproject-ff3-02aYo.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ffproject-ff3-02.jpgffproject-ff3-02Don't mind me, folks, just your average group of teenagers armed with a bunch of weapons and magic, nothing to be alarmed about.2014-05-30T14:31:03+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/06/telling-stories-a-little-special-goes-a-long-way/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-14-2-530.jpgtellstory-14-2-530You might thing that it's the robot part that's unusual, bit it's actually the Victorian trappings.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-14-1-530.jpgtellstory-14-1-530No, the special part is not the wings, those are actually normal for elves in this game. Yeah, I know, I don't know.2014-05-30T13:15:04+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/05/challenge-accepted-what-youre-wading-into/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/challenge-expect-2-529.jpgchallenge-expect-2-529Part of this comes down to introducing new things that players will actually want to use, obviously.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/challenge-expect-1-529.jpgchallenge-expect-1-529Sometimes the thing is just being annoying, though, so that's worth noting.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/challenge-expect-529.jpgchallenge-expect-529If it were just this, it would admittedly be a little boring. it would also be consistent.2014-06-12T14:38:34+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/04/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-iii-part-1/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ffproject-ff3-01a.jpgffproject-ff3-01aI'm always happy to see this dude show up more in pretty much any game.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ffproject-ff3-01.jpgffproject-ff3-01By our powers combined, we will be really freaking overpowered sooner or later.2014-05-28T19:31:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/03/drm-has-changed-drm-has-stayed-the-same/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/drm-2-527.jpgdrm-2-527I don't have the box for this expansion, but I don't know if that makes it easier.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/drm-1-527.jpgdrm-1-527One day - not soon, perhaps, but one day - you will come to realize that they have always been watching you. Not maliciously, but because they could and they feel the need. They have always watched for all of human history. All that's changed over time is that they've gotten better at doing so.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/drm-527.jpgdrm-527Not exactly what you were expecting, maybe, but more than worth the price of admission.2014-05-27T21:05:18+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/06/02/demo-driver-8-alien-rage-85/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-alienrage-2-527.jpgdemodriver-alienrage-2-527It's the same old story, same old song and dance.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-alienrage-1-527.jpgdemodriver-alienrage-1-527Yes, we should probably be archiving even the utterly terrible stuff that no one really needs to remember at all.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-alienrage-527.jpgdemodriver-alienrage-527Four unlikable protagonists rolled into one! How can you lose?2014-05-27T12:25:11+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/30/telling-stories-adult-themes-and-porn/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-13-2-523.jpgtellstory-13-2-523You know that your character really ought to kill someone, but sometimes you as a player would rather have them around for the long haul.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-13-1-523.jpgFinal Fantasy XIVDon't assume that someone's passion being different than your own means that they're any less genuine about it, though.2014-05-23T13:38:12+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/29/spoiled-on-star-trek/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/startrekspoil-3-521.jpgSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESSIt also features the first Starfleet captain who is a walking plank of wood (seen here with Uhura).https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/startrekspoil-2-521.jpg'Enterprise' TV StillsI might not care much for Enterprise as a whole, but darn it I still love Hoshi Sato.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/startrekspoil-1-521.jpgstartrekspoil-1-521See that guy in the back, the Klingon who's barely in the shot? I also don't think anyone would believe you if you said that he'd go on to the single longest-running character in the franchise.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/startrekspoil-521.jpgstartrekspoil-521If I had to guess "what series would end off the run chronologically" I really would not have guessed Voyager.2014-05-29T18:40:51+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/31/uninstalled-or-how-to-say-goodbye-and-mean-it/2014-05-20T18:27:03+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/20/where-did-world-of-warcraft-go-wrong/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/wowdown-4-513.jpgwowdown-4-513The erosion of choice isn't the destruction Deathwing is known for, but it's what he did.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/wowdown-3-513.jpgwowdown-3-513I mean, we need to have some people who choose to be something other than draenei, presumably.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/wowdown-2-513.jpgWorld of WarcraftI have some lasting frustrations, yes.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/wowdown-1-513.jpgwowdown-1-513The first expansion also brought us two of the coolest races in the game, something that some people are still intensely angry about despite (or because of) their popularity.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/wowdown-513.jpgwowdown-513I should not be looking at an expansion filled with draenei and not be excited. This is literally everything I've ever wanted.2014-09-12T14:19:02+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/24/a-virtual-gun-and-good-entertainment/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/specops-3-520.jpgspecops-3-520Objecting to the fact that the message here wasn't comfortable or saying that you didn't have a choice is sort of missing the point.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/specops-2-520.jpgspecops-2-520That's a problem to be solved in game terms, mind, not necessarily narrative ones.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/specops-1-520.jpgspecops-1-520Blinding the player consistently is kind of frustrating, but that's also part of the point.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/specops-520.jpgspecops-520The heavenward spire never looked so foreboding.2014-05-20T14:43:26+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/27/hard-project-world-of-darkness/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/hardproject-wod-2-520.jpghardproject-wod-2-520Hunter: The Reckoning - Screw It All, Let's Use All This Potential To Make A Gauntlet Clonehttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/hardproject-wod-1-520.jpghardproject-wod-1-520It looks rough, but this may be the last good game we'll get set in this universe.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/hardproject-wod-520.jpghardproject-wod-520Screw horses; my kingdom for a company who will actually develop this line properly.2014-05-27T17:20:42+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/26/demo-driver-8-eschalon-book-1-224/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-eschalon-2-519.jpgdemodriver-eschalon-2-519Perhaps there's good reason we've moved on. Just a thought, you know.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-eschalon-1-519.jpgdemodriver-eschalon-1-519Man, I'm going to run out of torches! Then I'm going to be stuck cranking up the gamma on my monitor.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-eschalon-519.jpgdemodriver-eschalon-519"This," he said, "is going to be one of those games that's like a roguelike with its nitpicking attention to detail but without its relentless powergaming to take the edge off, isn't it?" "I'm afraid so," replied the narrator. "You might want to get a drink."2014-05-19T15:45:36+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/23/telling-stories-fitting-in-the-circle/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-12-2-516.jpgtellstory-12-2-516You have done nothing to be proud of.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-12-1-516.jpgtellstory-12-1-516Not quite the same as characters who are using circles as a major element of their design, before you ask.2014-05-16T14:34:15+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/22/challenge-accepted-the-virtues-of-easy/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/challenge-easy-2-514.jpgchallenge-easy-2-514Novelty doesn't make everything better, but we've probably got more than enough Batman stories to do us for the next hundred years.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/challenge-easy-1-514.jpgchallenge-easy-1-514Dead subculture walking, in short.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/challenge-easy-514.jpgchallenge-easy-514Why play this instead of something harder? I can think of dozens of reasons.2014-06-01T18:07:16+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/28/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-ii-part-7/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ffproject-ff2-07a.jpgffproject-ff2-07aAt least he would go on to have a personality added several years later, so that's all right, I guess.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ffproject-ff2-07-e1399991091576.jpgffproject-ff2-07Hell is not other people. Hell is, apparently, covered in bright lights with pink walls and blue floors. In summary, Hell is a disco.2014-05-14T16:31:49+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/21/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-ii-part-6/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ffproject-ff2-06a.jpgffproject-ff2-06aCurse your sudden and poorly foreshadowed betrayal that makes no sense to the viewers!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ffproject-ff2-06-e1399985029709.jpgffproject-ff2-06It looks more reminiscent of Final Fantasy I dungeons than it feels in this screenshot.2014-05-13T13:05:09+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/19/demo-driver-8-insaniquarium-403/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-insaniquarium-2-512.jpgdemodriver-insaniquarium-2-512Oh, good, I had wondered when I would next get to stare into the face of horror.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-insaniquarium-1-512.jpgdemodriver-insaniquarium-1-512The presence of a whale, a mermaid, and a school of guppies lead to questions about scale and water composition that will never be answered. Which I guess can vaguely be qualified as "insanity," so bully for the title?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-insaniquarium-512.jpgdemodriver-insaniquarium-512You probably pictured halfway to this to begin with, and that's fair.2014-05-13T05:30:49+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/16/telling-stories-and-ill-form-the-head/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-11-2-512.jpgtellstory-11-2-512I know that you had wanted her to be a slightly impulsive commando, but I decided she was more interesting as a drunken loudmouth with a fear of heights.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-11-1-512.jpgArcheAgeIt's time to accept that your new thing is just a new thing, not some magical force of nature.2014-05-12T13:00:46+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/15/zones-of-death/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/deathzone-2-509.jpgdeathzone-2-509Who could have seen this coming when we entered Dragon's Lair Mountain?!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/deathzone-1-509.jpgdeathzone-1-509Call me crazy - ha ha, yes, hello crazy, I'm dad, very funny - but I'm thinking our main mistake here was entering the Flying Swords Zone.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/deathzone-509.jpgdeathzone-509"Oh, let's build a little cottage up there!" - No one, ever, in the history of the world2014-05-09T14:18:14+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/14/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-ii-part-5/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ffproject-ff2-05-e1399558675976.jpgffproject-ff2-05It's raining frogs! Hallelujah, it's raining frogs! I guess.2014-05-08T14:22:18+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/13/hard-project-superman/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/hardproject-supes-2-508.jpghardproject-supes-2-508Kudos to Infinite Crisis for the fact that it sees Superman teaming up with whomever for what he thinks is the right cause. I know that wasn't really the goal, but I still laud the achievement.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/hardproject-supes-1-508.jpgSupermanAlso, that posture is terrible.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/hardproject-supes-508.jpghardproject-supes-508Truth, Justice, and Soaring Around Looking Majestic.2014-05-08T14:11:35+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/12/demo-driver-8-reaxxion-348/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-reaxxion-2-5071.jpgdemodriver-reaxxion-2-507It's kind of a mess.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-reaxxion-1-507.jpgdemodriver-reaxxion-1-507I admit it looks really busy here, but in context it... also looks really busy.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-reaxxion-507.jpgdemodriver-reaxxion-507If I get that, I can quit my job! Thanks, Reaxxion!2014-05-07T19:06:28+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/09/telling-stories-buddy-event/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-10-2-506.jpgtellstory-10-2-506Causing mayhem with your friends is generally a solid decision, however.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tellstory-10-1-506.jpgtellstory-10-1-506Sometimes, friends are at a premium in the game anyway, much less outside of it.2014-05-06T15:52:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/08/challenge-accepted-selling-on-the-challenge/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/challenge-selling-2-505.jpgchallenge-selling-2-505I wouldn't say I expect Lotus Juice, just that I welcome his music.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/challenge-selling-1-505.jpgchallenge-selling-1-505I don't know why we haven't seen a million sequels to this, but life is disappointment, I guess.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/challenge-selling-505.jpgchallenge-selling-505Yeah, this is going to get worse before it gets better, isn't it?2014-05-09T12:56:54+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/06/no-i-dont-like-star-wars/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/nosw-3-505.jpgnosw-3-505Let's not forget KOTOR 2 rewriting a villain into a secret hero.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/nosw-2-505.jpgnosw-2-505If there's a better poster child for why one can dislike Star Wars than Boba Fett, I haven't found one.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/nosw-1-505.jpgnosw-1-505I know, it's the object of shame, but it also says a lot about where the franchise was in '78.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/nosw-505.jpgnosw-505It's Hoth. It's always Hoth. Because it was in the movies, and how can we possibly avoid referencing the movies over and over? So let's slowly erode the idea that Hoth was this frozen backwater in the middle of nowhere and just keep going back to Hoth. (And somehow it's still doing better in this regard than Tatooine.)2014-12-18T05:51:39+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/01/its-not-being-a-straight-white-guy-that-makes-people-dislike-you/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/whitedude-428.jpgwhitedude-428Well, thanks for clarifying.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/whitedude-3-428.jpgwhitedude-3-428Praise must be given to a game with the self-awareness to include tutorials and then explicitly label them in-game as tutorials.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/whitedude-2-428.jpgwhitedude-2-428The change of this character's outfit from the one on the right to the one on the left provoked a huge outcry and screaming accusations of censorship. The character in question is fifteen years old in the original Japanese version. This is skeevy on so many levels.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/whitedude-1-428.jpgKittenIf the headline reads something about adorable kittens being added to a game, it's probably spurious. Nothing is more adorable than an actual kitten.2014-05-02T04:32:35+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/05/demo-driver-8-trine-212/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-trine-2-501.jpgdemodriver-trine-2-501And a lifetime supply of arrows.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-trine-1-501.jpgdemodriver-trine-1-501I'm on a magical floating block. I'm on a magical - whoa-oh - floating block.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/demodriver-trine-501.jpgdemodriver-trine-501The thief, to almost no one's surprise, is my favorite.2014-05-01T14:16:16+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/07/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-ii-part-4/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ffproject-ff2-04-e1398787898800.jpgffproject-ff2-04Well, it beats waiting for his FATE in Coerthas.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ffproject-ff2-04a.jpgffproject-ff2-04aOh, and Maria also is apparently wearing a one-boob leotard complete with a small piece of metal covering her other nipple? So that's different than Guy, and it also makes my head hurt just thinking about what the hell this outfit is supposed to be.2014-04-30T15:57:53+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/05/02/telling-stories-tomato-tomato-shield-bash-arm-thrust/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tellstory-9-2-429.jpgtellstory-9-2-429You can have all the tricks in the world, but they won't make you capable of hitting a target when you really need to.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tellstory-9-1-429.jpgtellstory-9-1-429A Farseer. Sort of. It's complicated.2014-04-29T15:34:26+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/29/hard-project-firefly/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/hardproject-ff-2-428.jpghardproject-ff-2-428Not in this franchise you're not.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/hardproject-ff-1-428.jpghardproject-ff-1-428I admit that years of people kind of mis-reading Mal as a character have soured me a little on the fandom.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/hardproject-ff-428.jpghardproject-ff-428Find a ship, find a crew, make no money, fail, get an online petition going, make a movie, fail again, stare at the wall...2014-04-30T14:08:19+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/26/advancing-isnt-winning/2014-04-26T16:55:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/28/demo-driver-8-wings-of-prey-176/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-wings-2-424.jpgdemodriver-wings-2-424His insurance premiums are going to be through the roof! Ha ha! Also he's probably going to die.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-wings-1-424.jpgdemodriver-wings-1-424Thus began our long love affair with planes that are armed to the teeth despite the complete lack of suitable opponents with other aircraft armed to the teeth, which has left several generations of deeply frustrated fighter pilots and fighter pilot enthusiasts.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-wings-424.jpgdemodriver-wings-424Going out in a blaze of glory, mostly because your plane is on fire.2014-04-29T23:35:42+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/30/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-ii-part-3/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ffproject-ff2-03.jpgFinal Fantasy IIWhich one contains the real news story?2014-04-23T13:54:06+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/25/telling-stories-be-afraid-after-all/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tellstory-8-2-423.jpgtellstory-8-2-423"Why would you play a Sith lawyer?" they asked. Why would you play anything else?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tellstory-8-1-423.jpgWildStarDon't try to convince me that this lady does not come from a universe with an adequate set of gaming consoles.2014-04-23T13:25:47+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/24/challenge-accepted-thats-not-a-challenge/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/challenge-notreal-2-421.jpgchallenge-notreal-2-421No, this isn't about time, it's about travel through time being a challenge. It's different.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/challenge-notreal-1-421.jpgchallenge-notreal-1-421Next expansion is just more Eevee variants, because fuck it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/challenge-notreal-421.jpgchallenge-notreal-421I hate to make it seem as if I'm kicking a game on the way out, but if there was ever a poster child for some of this...2014-04-21T15:50:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/22/ruined-forever/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ruined-2-421.jpgruined-2-421All right, let's be fair, Metal Gear has lots of issues across every installment both past and present.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ruined-1-421.jpgruined-1-421I'll still be on the air for the better part of a decaaaaaaaaaade.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ruined-421.jpgRuined FOREVERThis is just plain good to have around anyway.2014-04-21T13:10:45+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/21/demo-driver-8-pyroblazer-284/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-pyroblazer-2-418.jpgdemodriver-pyroblazer-2-418This is ground control to Major Tom You're really out in space And the papers want to know which way you'll go Maybe if you had a minimap you'd know!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-pyroblazer-1-418.jpgdemodriver-pyroblazer-1-418Winding your way through a tube. Exciting and dynamic in the early 90s, I guess.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-pyroblazer-418.jpgDemo Driver Pyroblazer headerYour guess is as good as mine right now.2014-04-18T17:21:46+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/23/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-ii-part-2/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ffproject-ff2-02a.jpgffproject-ff2-02aNo! Wrong! Totally wrong! Why did you do this? Never do this again!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ffproject-ff2-02.jpgffproject-ff2-02Winter isn't coming, it has arrived here in Constant Snowtown.2014-04-17T15:32:44+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/18/telling-stories-with-my-weapon/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tellstory-7-2-417.jpgtellstory-7-2-417This axe is special mostly because it can't stop the chop.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tellstory-7-1-417.jpgtellstory-7-1-417This qualifies as a weapon if I get it to sit on someone.2014-04-17T14:47:50+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/17/the-jack-of-all-problems/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/jackofalltrades-da2-416.jpgjackofalltrades-da2-416There was no "be okay at lots of things" in this game; there was "be good at different things in different ways." You might see why I prefer this to plate-wearing mages from the original.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/jackofalltrades-yosuke-416.jpgjackofalltrades-yosuke-416Different words, but pretty much the same soul.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/jackofalltrades-416.jpgJack headerWell, now we can all be mildly useless but balanced against one another's uselessness.2014-04-16T19:35:40+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/15/hard-project-mega-man/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/hardproject-mm-2-415.jpgHPMM Sidebar 2Let's port an action game on to a touchscreen! That's not screamingly ridiculous at all, no.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/hardproject-mm-1-415.jpgHPMM sidebar 1Supposedly, this is coming to the 3DS VC in May. As my tone implies, I do not have a great deal of faith in this fact.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/hardproject-mm-415.jpgMegaman Hard Porject HeederWhat's so funny about robotic cats, dogs, and birds?2014-04-15T14:57:55+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/16/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-ii-part-1/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ffproject-ff2-01-e1397058926722.jpgFF2 image 1Here I go, playing star again.2014-04-10T15:31:35+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/14/demo-driver-8-assault-android-cactus-202/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-cactus-2-410.jpgCactus Holly sidebarSECONDARY CANNONBALL / OFTEN WILL HIT NOT A THING AT ALLhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-cactus-1-410.jpgDemo Driver Catctus sidelineDon't you grade her at this moment, she looks so happy. (Actually it's the sideline of the "cleared" tag, but there is a ranking system just the same.)https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-cactus-410.jpgAssault Android Cactus headerWe've never really moved on from television of the smashiest variety, have we?2014-04-10T14:36:02+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/11/telling-stories-thinking-like-a-television-with-your-characters/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tellstory-6-2-409.jpgSWTOR tellstory sidebarMost seasons of Micharan's Jedi life involved her taking someone under her wing, because that's how she rolled.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tellstory-6-1-409.jpgWS tellstory sideshotThe "green surfing" season lost a lot of viewers.2014-04-09T14:07:37+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/10/challenge-accepted-how-games-challenge-you/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/challenge-types-2-407.jpgBatman challengeBruce, you're the world's greatest detective, but figuring out that no one likes having a door slammed into their face is not detective work.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/challenge-types-1-407.jpgTerraria sidelineTechnically remembering where you set up your subterranean kingdom doesn't qualify as a memory challenge.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/challenge-types-epl-407.jpgChallenge Types headerSometimes it's just challenging to keep your feet underneath you.2014-04-07T15:42:57+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/04/telling-stories-youre-not-that-girl/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/tellstory-5-2-401.jpgLightning sidebarJust take a nice vacation from everything.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tellstory-5-1-401.jpgRhio-Nel SidelineDisregarding any elements of obvious physical distinction, of course.2014-04-04T16:14:13+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/08/the-benefits-to-free-games/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/freegames-2-403.jpgBlackthorne sidebarSo maybe it doesn't hold up quite as well as you'd hope, but it's still there.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/freegames-1-403.jpgArena sideshotSure, I have a profound antipathy for this series, but it's really cool that you can have it for free.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/freegames-403.jpgDead Space HeaderI don't know where I'm going to put all of these.2014-04-04T12:56:23+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/07/demo-driver-8-imperium-romanum-gold-edition-374/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-imperium-2-402.jpgImperium Romanum sidebar 2I understand that you don't want the game to focus on combat, but this should not be the most boring part of gameplay.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/demodriver-imperium-1-402.jpgImperium Romanum sidebarA funny thing happened on the way here, chiefly involving fire.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/demodriver-imperium-402.jpgImperium Romanum headerOur artist's recreation of the city before the incident under discussion. He works, like, really fast.2014-04-02T14:26:20+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/09/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-i-part-5/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ffproject-ff1-05-e1396366583689.jpgFFProject, FF1 finalYou could also Bane Sword her for old time's sake, but that's not necessary.2014-04-01T15:43:10+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/03/expanding-beyond-titanfalls-server-limitations/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/titan-server-2-328.jpgLoL server sidebarBecause when I play this game, I think libraries.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/titan-server-1-328.jpgHeavy from TF2Only in your mind, good fellow.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/titan-server-328.jpgTitanfall header"Giant robots" describes why I would ever play this game in about two words, although I guess that's not really a number.2014-03-28T17:05:19+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/29/when-can-i-stop-playing/2014-03-28T16:31:18+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/01/hard-projects-star-trek/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/hardproject-st-2-327.jpgStar Trek arcade cabinetButtons include "shoot" and "discuss with bridge" and "philosophize."https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/hardproject-st-1-327.jpgStar Trek side shotAll right, you enjoyed the adventures of Starfleet, but don't you really want to follow a Romulan crew being casually condescending to every other species?https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/hardproject-st-327.jpgStar Trek headerWhen all else fails, burn everything.2014-03-27T16:10:30+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/04/02/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-i-part-4/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ffproject-ff1-04-e1395863907310.jpgFinal Fantasy project legacy shotI think I had more fun with this one, but then, the final bosses weren't nearly as annoying.2014-03-26T20:19:50+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/31/demo-driver-8-race-07-118/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/demodriver-race07-2-326.jpgRACE 07 demo driving and suchWe can look at nature any time! Let's go watch cars drive around!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/demodriver-race07-1-326.jpgRACE 07 side shotI don't know what sort of car this is supposed to be, but I kind of like it.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/demodriver-race07-326.jpgRACE 07 HeaderThe title of this recurring feature has never been so appropriate.2014-04-01T03:13:46+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/28/telling-stories-being-polite-to-roleplayers/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tellstory-4-1-epl-326.jpgMy favorite Aurin sideshotOoh, spectating! It's my favorite thing to do!2014-04-01T03:09:15+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/27/challenge-accepted-the-need-for-opposition/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/challenge-obstacle-2-epl-320.jpgThe Path shotThis game could have a lot of stuff written about it. And it did.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/challenge-obstacle-1-epl-320.jpgMark of the Ninja shotYou are totally failing at the ninja-spotting challenge, guy.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/challenge-obstacle-epl-320.jpgYou Have To Burn The Rope snapshotIf games require challenge, why is this still obviously a game?2014-03-24T12:41:41+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/25/genre-evolution-isnt-up-to-you/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/genre-2-321.jpgFFXI shotYes, it's the poster child for putting up with horrible stuff for the good parts.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/genre-321.jpgIkaruga shotI mean, yes, I expect projectiles flying toward my inexplicably fragile ship from every direction, but we're talking about a question of density here more than anything.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/genre-1-321.jpgMarathon screenshotThe graphics do not hold up all that well after all this time, but you can't really expect that.2014-03-21T12:39:33+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/26/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-i-part-3/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ffproject-ff1-03.jpgFinal Fantasy Project in the Water ShrineOver and over, back and forth, circles around circles.2014-03-19T17:13:09+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/1983/01/20/critical-gaming-the-language/2014-03-19T16:20:13+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/24/demo-driver-8-the-night-of-the-rabbit-181/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/demodriver-nightoftherabbit-2-317.jpgDemo Driver: More Rabbits NocturnalA great deal could be said about the game's use of gentle light and earth colors to accentuate the feeling of nostalgia, but for all I know that's the whole game right there.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/demodriver-nightoftherabbit-1-317.jpgDemo Driver: Night of the Rabbit sidelineOh, look, it's the most dapper of all rabbits.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/demodriver-nightoftherabbit-317.jpgNight of the Rabbit headerYou said it was night, but this looks pretty much like day to me.2014-03-18T17:19:36+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/21/telling-stories-we-dont-like-your-kind-here/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tellstory-3-2-318.jpgAirelle STOSometimes people are just plain hostile.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tellstory-3-1-318.jpgMal & RhioSometimes conversations qualify as hostile environments, really.2014-03-21T17:33:58+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/20/should-bravely-default-be-a-final-fantasy-game/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/bravelydefault-2-317.jpgThe Not-Exactly-Warriors of LightNow if you guys had been around when I was creating my group for FF1, that would have been great.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/bravelydefault-1-3171.jpgEdea artworkSorry, Edea, the game you're in is pretty good without being great. It never quite passes that threshold.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/bravelydefault-317.jpgBravely DefaultIn most fantasy RPGs, having amnesia is like one better than having an iPod.2014-03-17T12:42:53+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/19/the-final-fantasy-project/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ffproject-ff1-02.jpgFighting the Fiend of FireOfficial promotional shots: the refuge of everyone without adequate equipment to properly capture screenshots themselves.2014-03-17T12:20:56+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/18/hard-project-transformers/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/hardproject-tf-2-313.jpgFall of BruticusA generation will never know of Bruticus as a big, bad, battling dudicus.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/hardproject-tf-1-313.jpgGears of WarptimusTotally sweet wave-based shooting arenas are the right of all sentient beings.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/hardproject-tf-313.jpgShockwave (Rise of Dark Spark)This might be as good as it gets. That isn't entirely buoying.2014-03-20T15:05:42+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/17/demo-driver-8-jagged-alliance-back-in-action-65/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/demodriver-jaggedalliance-1-epl-312.jpgJA:BiA Sidebar 1G.I. Jerkshttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/demodriver-jaggedalliance-epl-312.jpgJagged Alliance: Back in Action headerDead in the water.2014-03-12T17:49:52+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/14/telling-stories-roleplaying-and-character-pets/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tellstory-2-2-311.jpgWarhammer Online is gone now, thoughHis name is Curlytail Von Hoofyparts and he's the best friend an ork could want.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tellstory-2-1-311.jpgI'm not a goobue petFor the last time, I am not your pet, I am riding on a goobbue. It is different.2014-03-14T19:28:14+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/11/were-probably-not-facing-another-game-crash/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/gamecrash-2-305.jpgWii U promo imageYou can even release a console that no one wants or asked for and still be considered a successful company!https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/gamecrash-1-305.jpgAngry Birds imageAngry Birds would probably be less successful as a $60 release.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/gamecrash-305.jpgAtari 7800Not the face of the future.2014-03-12T04:28:28+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/13/challenge-accepted-the-entry-point/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/challenge-entry-2-228.jpgMega Man 2Oh, another out-of-reach ladder, can't imagine how I'll get this one right.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/challenge-entry-1-228.jpgSpace InvadersSimilarly, the entire concept of video games was accidentally invented with a poorly-programmed spreadsheet application.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/challenge-entry-228.jpgchallenge-entry-228Source: Wikimedia Commons2014-03-08T02:15:12+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/12/the-final-fantasy-project-final-fantasy-i-part-1/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ffproject-ff1-01.jpgFinal Fantasy 1 (bridge)"Quickly, fulfill a prophecy that later turns out to be self-negating!"https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ffproject-logo.jpgFinal Fantasy Project logoArtwork from a sketch by Yoshitaka Amano2014-03-08T02:13:44+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/10/demo-driver-8-alien-breed-2-assault-249/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/demodriver-alienbreed2-1-228.jpgAlien Breed 2: Assault in actionYou knew the entire game looked like this from the moment you saw the title. Do not lie.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/demodriver-alienbreed2-228.jpgDemo Driver 8: Alien Breed 2Stupid waist-high guardrails!2014-03-10T21:54:47+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/07/01/tolerance-levels/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/da2-dlc-tolerance.jpgThe Robes of Insert Coin To StartI would really have liked to include a screenshot of the upcoming DAII DLC, but we don't know what that looks like yet, so have a mage in a Guy Fawkes mask.2014-03-07T13:11:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/06/30/get-over-it/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/swg-damn-ewoks.jpgRemember me as I was. Swarmed with teddy bears.There are no doubt many images that I could use to memorialize Star Wars Galaxies with more dignity. That's kind of why I picked this one instead.2014-03-07T13:11:21+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/06/29/la-nawwwww/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/lanoire-vehicularmanslaughter.jpgIt's worth noting that the actual game is largely devoid of explosions.Is Detective Cole Phelps tracking down a case that required an awful lot of explosions behind him, or is he suffering from severe gas? It's kind of ambiguous.2014-03-07T13:10:50+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/05/26/under-the-alien-dome-with-number-fourteen/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/anomaly-warzone-inaction.jpgCalling it "tower offense" feels vaguely like marketing.It's really hard to get a screenshot from the game that's not either staggeringly busy or just plain boring.2014-03-07T13:09:57+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/05/25/final-fantasy-vii-and-the-great-big-undeserved-credit/2014-03-07T13:09:26+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/05/22/gyromancy-magic-of-gyroscopes/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/gyromancer-firstimpressions.jpgActually, it's not all that different from Pokemon."Gastrosaur" seems less like a good name for a monster and more like a name for a dinosaur-themed restaurant chain.2014-03-07T13:08:54+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/04/25/an-ode-to-smart-bombs/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/randomkongshmup.jpgThe smart thing to do would be to throw a bomb.This was randomly on the front page of Kongregate when I clicked over. (The game is D.N.8, if you're curious.)2014-03-07T13:08:22+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/04/07/the-commandments-of-official-game-sites/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/cohwebsite.jpgA random shot of the CoH front pageThe front page of City of Heroes has remained fundamentally unchanged since the game launched seven years ago. There is no excuse for not getting this right.2014-03-07T13:07:25+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/04/05/like-rogues/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/torchlight-roguelike.jpgIf we're lucky it'll drop a sparkly!"Who am I? What am I doing down here? No time for all of that, there's a giant spider here that somehow has escaped killing up to this point!"2014-03-07T13:06:57+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/03/20/dynamic-content-will-not-save-us-all/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/dynamicwillnotsave.jpgGuild Wars 2 to feature dynamic content and attractive norn"Crap, what was going on in this zone again? Did I have events to complete in the north? I knew I should have written all this down."2014-03-07T13:06:07+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/03/14/slay-and-pray/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/hymntotourach.jpgImage of the Hymn to Tourach cardTurn two, your opponent removes a third of your hand and cripples you. Good game!2014-03-07T13:05:20+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/01/04/cataclysm-does-not-redeem/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wow-nothingfixed.jpgNothing fixed in CataclysmThe Stormwind Full Employment Act remains in force.2014-03-07T13:03:13+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/01/19/im-ready-sony-isnt/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/ps3-slim-console.jpgIt's all regret from here"Lenny, you failed me." "But Grandpa, Fairsley lied!" "Ah, shut up."2014-03-07T13:02:54+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2010/02/21/the-lich-king-does-not-tell-stories/2014-03-07T12:59:47+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2014/03/07/telling-stories-getting-back-to-roleplaying/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tellstory-1-2-307.jpgCetlali & RalHello, nice to meet you, please be my friend.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tellstory-1-1-307.jpgRhio & ShienneSmaller than you, but not small despite all that.https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tellstory-logo.jpgTelling Stories Logo2014-03-10T21:59:33+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/07/03/an-open-letter-to-electronic-arts/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/me3-origin-manshep-e1398700227152.jpgI still have no idea who this dude is supposed to be. Shepard is a girl.Maybe the ad campaign could employ a variant of the Citadel discount speech from the second game. "I'm Commander Shepard, and I purchase all of the games starring myself via the official Electronic Arts distribution service."2014-02-27T14:38:09+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/02/15/lionizing/2011-02-18T14:37:48+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2011/02/06/fantasy-earth-zeroed/https://eliot-lefebvre.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/fezgone.jpgFantasy Earth Zero artworkConquest isn't going to fix this one2011-02-07T03:09:38+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2010/04/16/the-dumb-sparklepony-and-25-better-options/2010-04-26T14:48:04+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2010/02/23/the-easy-way-out/2010-02-26T14:11:08+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.com/2010/02/22/breaking/2010-02-23T06:01:51+00:00monthlyhttps://eliot-lefebvre.comdaily1.02015-05-20T14:33:46+00:00