Your Move

Back in 2013, Capcom released a remake of their fantastic 1989 game, DuckTales . The game was greeted with positive reviews when it was released, with reviewers praising the faithful recreation of the show and balanced gameplay. But after today, if you haven’t bought the game, you’re out of luck.

Back in 2015, I spoke about Super Mario Maker, a game where you get to create your own levels for Super Mario Bros. I called it “more of a tool than a game”. I had a ton of fun with it, even though I never really made anything I thought was good enough to share. Now, its sequel, Super Mario Maker 2, has been released for the Nintendo Switch. My biggest problem with the original was that there wasn’t much to the game except making levels, and playing levels others had made. In this sequel, though

For a home game console, the Nintendo Switch is tiny. Mine sits atop my Xbox One like an oxpecker on a rhino. But compared to previous portable game systems, it’s a behemoth. I could fit the Nintendo 3DS or Game Boy Advance in my pocket. I need a bag to safely carry around my Switch, and with the detachable controllers on the sides, it feels like the whole unit could shatter if I dropped it. This week, Nintendo announced that they’ll be releasing a new device, called the Switch Lite. This system

Pokemon Go launched nearly three years ago, and was an instant hit for its developer Niantic. Niantic just launched their next game, but this time based on the Harry Potter universe. It’s called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite , and is based on the same platform as Pokemon Go - and when you open the game, it looks very similar. Your character, a wizard, is standing on a street map of where you are standing in the real world. Your mission is to liberate magical artifacts that have been stolen and

Every year, all the huge video game companies announce their next big things at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, or E3, and this year’s E3 just ended today in Los Angeles.

This commentary originally aired on August 10, 2017. For as long as I can remember, graphics in video games have astounded me, and have been a major driver in the industry. Particularly, I remember how everyone was amazed when machines like the Nintendo 64 and Sony Playstation started making 3D games possible. When Final Fantasy VII came out on the original PlayStation in 1997, the graphics amazed me - huge enemies and vast landscapes. Looking back, though, the graphics have not aged well.

In 1993, a landmark movie was released. Sure, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List were important, but what could have more cultural resonance than Super Mario Bros ? Of course, a movie based on the most successful video game franchise in history up to that point would be a smash hit. Add in Bob Hoskins, the star of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? , and Academy Award nominee Dennis Hopper, and you couldn’t fail. Except you could, because the movie was an unmitigated disaster.

If Final Fantasies VII and VIII were bold steps forward for the series, Final Fantasy IX was a nostalgic look back.

In comparison to its predecessor, 1999’s Final Fantasy VIII is a divisive game. It came after the most popular entry in the series and changed the mechanics of the series’s trademark gameplay more radically than any game prior.

Final Fantasy VII is an all-time favorite game of mine. In the 22 years since it was released for the original PlayStation, it’s been released on several other platforms. Last week, it came out on the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One, so I decided to go back and play it again.