Ken Levine gets collaborative in creating Bioshock Infinite · 26 March, 03:04 PM
Ken Levine is not afraid to take risks. “I’d rather go after something that’s ambitious and fail than do the same thing annually,” said the game designer and cofounder of Irrational Games, on the phone from London, England.
Read more at the Georgia Straight
Reviews: Crysis 3, Dead Space 3, Lego City Undercover, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Ouroboros gaming mouse · 20 March, 04:14 PM
This week, ninja cyborgs, Nanosuited soldiers, and creepy Necromorphs are all bested by a tough-as-nails cop crafted from Lego blocks. Plus the mouse that can be made to fit palms of all shapes and sizes.
Read more at the Georgia Straight
God of War: Ascension and Gears of War: Judgment · 13 March, 12:12 PM
It’s a daunting task to follow a successful trilogy, but two blockbuster franchises, each a hardware exclusive, are doing so this month.
Read my feature about God of War: Ascension and Gears of War: Judgment at the Georgia Straight
Getting to know the new Lara Croft with Tomb Raider reboot · 28 February, 02:47 PM
Susan Arendt has been with Lara Croft since the beginning. “I have a deep affection for the character,” Arendt said on the phone from her office. “I love her character, I love her independence, I love her self-reliance. I love that you get the feeling that Lara would do what Lara does whether anybody was looking or not.”
Read more at the Georgia Straight
Sony announces the PS4 · 22 February, 01:37 PM
I was in New York for Sony’s press event at which the company introduced the PlayStation 4.
Read my coverage in the Georgia Straight or watch the clip below of me speaking with Sarah Galashan for CBC News Now.
Review: Aliens: Colonial Marines · 19 February, 01:14 PM
I had to take out the disc for Borderlands 2 when I put in the disc for Aliens: Colonial Marines. I shouldn’t have done that. Even though the two games were developed by the same studio – Texas-based Gearbox – they don’t belong on the same shelf.
Read more at the Georgia Straight
Previews: God of War Ascension and The Last of Us · 11 February, 01:55 PM
I was in Los Angeles in early February on assignment for the Globe and Mail, covering four upcoming games being published by Sony Computer Entertainment.
Two titles, Killzone: Mercenary and Tearaway, are for the Playstation Vita. The two games could not exist on any handheld device previously (Sony offers up big guns, playful paper for struggling Vita).
God of War: Ascension is the first title to follow the bestselling trilogy. This prequel has some new elements to its combat system to keep things fresh (Grappling with new God of War’s combat gameplay).
And I got a chance to play an early section of The Last of Us, from Naughty Dog, the developer that brought us the Uncharted adventure games. It was the first glimpse at the zombie-like creatures that populate the game (Face to face with new horrors in The Last of Us).
Global Game Jam gets bigger each year · 24 January, 01:11 PM
The Global Game Jam concept was conceived by Susan Gold, who was inspired by the Nordic Game Jam, an annual event that has taken place in Copenhagen since 2006. In a phone interview, Gold told the Straight she brought the idea to North America and expanded it globally in 2009. At the time, she was an instructor at the Centre for Digital Media, and she held one of the first events at Simon Fraser University.
Read more at the Georgia Straight
Game Design campus opens doors for VFS expo · 16 January, 09:36 AM
In addition to Industry Speaker Day, Vancouver Film School’s Game Design Expo features an open house.
Read more at the Georgia Straight.
Halo 4, Far Cry 3 designers talk at VFS Game Design Expo · 16 January, 09:35 AM
More than a month after Halo 4’s release, Chris Haluke was busy at work. A lead designer at Microsoft Studios’ 343 Industries, Haluke is responsible for Spartan Ops, the episodic cooperative multiplayer portion of the game.
Read more at the Georgia Straight
