Pixels & Ink

It's that time of year again! CGMagazine has gone through painstaking surveys, endless debates, and several spiritual journeys to figure out the best of the best games of 2017 - an extremely difficult feat to achieve in a blockbuster year in gaming.

Join Brendan Frye, Phil Brown, Brendan Quinn, Jordan Biordi, and Lisa Mior as they dive in head first to bring you CGMagazines top 5 games of 2017, as well as their personal best games of 2017.

As the year winds down, CGMagazine has taken some time to reflect on the amazing year we've had in gaming - even if 2017 itself was a little less than fantastic. Before we get into our games of the year, however, the team decides to look ahead to 2018, and explore some of the eagerly awaited titles that are set to come out in the new year.

Brendan Frye and Lisa are joined by Bryan Calhoun and Derek Heemsbergen this week. The team looks back at some of the announcements made during E3, Gamescom, the Game Awards and PSX. From Monster Hunter World, God of War, Red Dead Redemption II, From shooters to JRPGs, to beloved franchises making a comeback to exciting new indies making their first appearance, 2018 is sure to be an interesting year in gaming.

This week, Phil, Brendan, and Lisa are joined by Preston Dozsa. The team takes a look at PUBG on Xbox One, the 2017 Game Award winners, Net Neutrality, MIGS, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Monster Hunter World.

This week, sales figures were released for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on Xbox One. Within 48 hours, over 1 million copies were sold. Day-one bugs, however, made many players question their purchase. Join the team as they explore the capabilities versus the execution of the popular survival shooter as it makes its way from PC to console.

The 2017 Game Awards happened last week. As with any awards show, there were some surprises and some upsets. Join the team as they take a look at the winners and some of the announcements.

This week, the FCC voted to repeal Net Neutrality in the U.S. The team takes a look at the impact of this decision and the next steps.

The Montreal International Games Summit (MIGS) took place earlier this week. Brendan and Lisa talk about the Canadian gaming industry and their plans for the future of Canadian gaming.

Phil saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi this week. He gives the team a spoiler-free (and not-so-spoiler-free) review of the highly anticipated next chapter in the Star Wars franchise.

Preston spent some quality time with Monster Hunter World last weekend during the PlayStation exclusive open beta. He gives some first impressions of the title with a preview of the beta.

This week, Brendan, Phil, and Lisa are joined by CGMagazine's Senior PC Hardware Editor, Cole Watson to get some first impressions on the iPhone X and AMD's latest contribution to pro gaming rigs, the Radeon Vega 56.

With the Game Awards happening this week, the CGM crew talks about potential winners and their impressions of the nominees.

After news that Steam will discontinue accepting Bitcoin as currency on their platform, the group discusses the economic impact this may have if the trend continues.

Phil Brown talks about The Disaster Artist and The Shape of Water. First, he takes us down the unbelievable look at the making of infamous director, Tommy Wiseau's cult classic, The Room. Phil tells the crew all about James' Franco's deep dive into becoming Wiseau during the making of The Disaster Artist.

and bizarre fairy tale, The Shape of the Water. Starring Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, and Doug Jones, Guillermo Del Toro's latest masterpiece is a beautifully haunting film experience.

And finally, Cole gives his first impression of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for the Nintendo Switch.

Join the CGM crew as they revisit the Battlefront II microtransactions fallout and net neutrality, take a look at Pixar's Coco, and give reviews of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

In the ever-evolving drama surrounding unfair microtransactions in EA's Star Wars: Battlefront II, people are seeking government action in regulating the gambling associated with loot boxes. But will this type of action help or hurt gaming? Brendan Frye leads the discussion as the team reflects on the actions taken by French Senator Jérôme Durain, Belgium Minister of Justice, Koen Geens, and Hawaiian State Representative, Chris Lee.

Net neutrality is up for debate once again as the new Chairman of the FCC, Ajit V. Pai, a former Associate General Counsel at Verizon Communications Inc., is looking reverse Net Neutrality in the United States. The team discuss the ramifications this might bring and the potential of this event taking place.

In reviews, Phil gives us a heart-wrenching run-down of the newest Pixar release, Coco, the story of a young Mexican boy's journey of discovery and sense of family in the land of the dead. Brendan Quinn got his hands on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, the most immersive Skyrim game to date. Finally, Lisa's obsession with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp comes to a close with the release of this twee game featuring a torrent of very needy animal friends.

With the holidays just around the corner, the Pixels and Ink crew take to the airwaves to discuss all the things that are making fans upset this week. Phil, Jordan, Brendan and Lisa dive into EA Motive and the Star Wars Battlefront 2 Microtransaction fiasco. Players are not happy with how EA is dealing with loot boxes in the game, with the way the game is setup forcing players to either wait or pay to unlock the features that brought fans of Star Wars Battlefront 2 to the game in the first place. The discussion was recorded before EA put a hold on purchases for Battlefront 2 until they sort a solution out.

With the constant power behind the Mario brand, it is no wonder Nintendo wants to take another stab at the feature film world. This time the team at Illumination, the studio behind Despicable Me, is giving it a go, assuredly making for a more kid friendly adaptation compared to the 1990’s feature film.

Phil takes everyone though the wild and strange world of Justice League, and discusses how if something could go wrong, it did in this movie. Jordan takes a deep dive into the Sims 4 on consoles, and finally, Phil looks LA Noire for the Switch and how it has changed since its last generation debut

With the busy fall release cycle, the CGM team once again join the Pixels & Ink podcast to bring all the latest news and reviews. 

This week, Brendan, Lisa, Bryan and Brendan Quinn tackle some of the big news coming out about Microtransactions and how much money is really made from these loot boxes.

As more of the fallout slowly starts to take hold over Hollywood, it seems Ridley Scott’s latest films he The Money In The World will replace Kevin Spacy with the iconic actor Christopher Plummer. Tyrese will apparently not do anymore Fast and Furious films if The Rock is in them. Amazon is looking to buy Lord of the Rings from Warner Bros. and it seems Disney is looking to buy part of 20th Century Fox. 

In reviews, Phil talks about Murder On The Orient Express, Brendan Quinn talks all about the new Call of Duty: WWII, and Bryan look at what makes the new Need for Speed instalment divisive among reviewers.

After a bit of a delay, the Pixels & Ink Podcast team is back in action! This week, Phil Brown, Lisa Mior, and Brendan Frye tackle some big announcements from Paris Games Week and Razer. Naughty Dog stirred up quite a bit of press with the reveal of some in-game footage from the upcoming and highly anticipated The Last of Us 2. Razer introduced their newest member of the Cult of Razer gaming family, the Razer Phone.

In Hollywood news, countless studios are reeling from the fallout of sexual assault allegations against powerful moguls starting with Harvey Weinstein. Another blow was struck last week when Star Trek Discovery star, Anthony Rapp, came forward with allegations of assault and harassment against House of Cards star, Kevin Spacey. 

In reviews, Phil discusses Thor: Ragnarok, The Killing of a Sacred Dear, and Super Mario Odyssey. Lisa tries to get the team on board with an early look at Animal Crossing Pocket Edition. And Finally, Brendan Frye goes through the ins and outs of the 4K madness machine that is the Xbox One X. 

Tune and don't miss a minute of the fun!

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This week, Brendan Frye, Phil, and Lisa are joined by Bryan Calhoun.

First, out team explores the ramifications of EA closing down Visceral Games, and lament the future of the new Star Wars adventure game from the studio, that will never be. They also weigh in on CD Projekt Red's Twitter reaction to a slew of negative reviews on the job review site, Glassdoor.

Phil gives us his take on the immensely disappointing The Snowman, and Leatherface, and the intensely fascinating Cell Block 99.

Finally, the team talks about Star Wars Battlefront II, Gran Turismo Sport, Rogue Trooper Redux, Monsters of the Deep, Secret of Mana Remake, and South Park: The Fractured but Hole.

This week the CGM crew was delighted to interview David Hayter. Best know for his work as a screenwriter for X-Men and The Watchmen, director, and most famously as the voice of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear game franchise, we chat about his work in film, TV, and video games, his thoughts on the SAG strike, and what it would take to make a good videogame movie.

Phil Brown saw the incredibly disappointing Happy Death Day movie this week and regales the team with all its ridiculous nonsense. Brendan Quinn gives us a rundown of The Evil Within 2, a horrifically frightening survival horror that lives up to its predecessor.