Moving Pixels Podcast: Grand Theft Stupid?

I love me an open-world, crime game. But I don't love Saints Row: The Third so much. Its antics fell flat for me, but it seems to have hit a sweet a sweet spot for my fellow Moving Pixels podcasters, Rick Dakan and Nick Dinicola.

One man's stupid is another man's comedy gold?

Moving Pixels Podcast: Grand Theft Stupid?

The Best Games of 2011

We did kind of spoil this list on our Game of the Year Edition podcast.

Mike Schiller was kind enough to write the intro text and a bunch of our writers contributed to the blurbs.

But here it finally is (check the link to the podcast, though, if you want to hear some of the discussion about how the list came about):

The Best Games of 2011

Moving Pixels Podcast: Leaving the Asylum for the City

Man, I totally dig the images featured at Dead End Thrills, like the one of the Joker above.

You can find that same image adorning the latest installment of the Moving Pixels podcast, which features a discussion of Arkham City. It is a game that I have written two or three things on before (links at the destination page at PopMatters or somewhere down below), but as always, I can usually talk a game to death if need be.

Moving Pixels Podcast: Leaving the Asylum for the City

Post-It Note Role-Playing, or the White-Collar Warriors of Skyrim

So, yeah, this one might get me in trouble today. Though, it isn't as if I kinda haven't written about this before.

Bethesda's open worlds are not my personal favorite spaces to play in. It's the "to do" lists that nag at me, that demand my time. Which is funny, because all games demand your time. It's just something about the presentation of Skyrim's demands that turns me off.

I get that people like the game. I really do. But here is why it just isn't my thing:

Post-It Note Role-Playing, or the White-Collar Warriors of Skyrim

Moving Pixels Podcast: Exploring Open Worlds

Nick Dinicola and I were joined once again this week by Mattie Brice. We discussed open worlds for a very long time. It's hard to put a halt on a good conversation, though. (Or maybe I just don't know when to shut up).

I don't say it often enough, but Nick is the hardest working guy in games criticism. Writes like a work horse, edits audio like a dream.

Moving Pixels Podcast: Exploring Open Worlds

Requiem for a Tiny Internet

I don't think that I talk about the social aspects of gaming that often.

Of course, I haven't played much multiplayer these last few years.

However, I used to (more so in the 1990s I think), so I do have a few thoughts on the "tinier" internet of that era. Those thoughts emerged in contrast to the my recent forays into the League of Legends community:

Requiem for a Tiny Internet

Moving Pixels Podcast: Game of the Year Edition

A few weeks ago, Nick and I got together with one of the newer bloggers at PopMatters, Mattie Brice, to discuss the concept of Game of the Year lists. Nick is thoughtful as ever, and Mattie has some great things to say as well. And I guess that I'm there, too.

Moving Pixels Podcast: Game of the Year Edition

Vulnerable Icons and the Bat's Need for a Cat

And I'm still talking about Batman: Arkham City?

It's a highly competent game, the actual ending of which saved it from seeming like a soulless version of the first game. However, I wasn't aware of the fact that there is another "ending" to the game (I guess I was aware that the possibility of such an ending existed, but I forgot about the choice that leads to it almost immediately after making it in the game), and it is the interesting implementation of the "Catwoman" ending that I decided to talk about.

I'm working on some things right now concerning boys, gender roles, and how those roles are reflected/encouraged through game objectives, so the broader implications of male-female gender roles suggested by the conclusion was of interest to me.

Vulnerable Icons and the Bat's Need for a Cat

The Best Flash Games of 2011

And... we're back.

While I seem to recall all the year in retrospect stuff used to appear on television during the month of January, everybody seems (to me) to do it these days in December. All of our gaming discussion looking back over 2011, though, at PopMatters seems to follow the old school model; we'll be discussing 2011 for at least this week and next in a number of different ways.

One of my contributions to the 2011 retrospective is my second annual "Best Flash Games" column. You can find it here:

The Best Flash Games of 2011