Author Archives: Edcrab

Batman vs. Batman: Nolan and Rocksteady’s Dark Knights

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Edcrab

Note: the following article contains spoilers for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and the Arkham series of games from Rocksteady. “Pretty good movie, but Arkham City’s Batman is the better Batman.” This took me by surprise. Did they mean … Continue reading →

Posted in Intermedia | Tagged Arkham Asylum , Arkham City , Badass Prime Mastermind , Batpoints , , The Dark Knight Returns , The Dark Knight Rises , The Joker , Warner Brothers | Leave a comment

Firing the Canon: Black Mesa

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Edcrab

Black Mesa is a faithful recreation of Half-Life, for better or worse. It plays like a fusion of Half-Life andHalf-Life 2, as you might expect from a fan project attempting to recreate the original using the sequel’s engine. Well, more … Continue reading →

Posted in Firing the Canon , SERIES | Tagged Barney , , , Episode 1 , , Episode 3 , Gabe Newell , , , , Lambda Complex , SDK , , Valve , Xen | 1 Comment

Second Nature: Language, Exclusion, and Gamer Rage

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Edcrab

by Edcrab A little after its release, my dad played Baldur’s Gate. I remember him being amused that hitting livestock with a quarterstaff had shifted his reputation to that of a heinous slayer of innocents. Wanting to know exactly how much harm he was doing to said cows, he checked out his weapon’s stats. “What’s a d6?” In a fit of rage I threw him out the window and then told everyone on Facebook, which existed back then if you knew where to look, what a newb he was and how I’d totally owned him, and then I got all the likes. After my father had dusted himself off and we cleared up all the broken glass, I explained the term’s origins. He seemed quite happy to accept that it was shorthand for a six-sided dice, and therefore designated a value of one to six. And then he cursed the Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Conversation , Humour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“I’m Not Offended”: The State of Discussion and Contagious Ideas

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Edcrab

by Edcrab Assassin-women in nun costumes, being killed. No, not a B-movie, I’m describing the Hitman trailer which most everyone has seen and rolled their eyes at. It didn’t “feel” Hitman. It was widely disparaged and derided, seen as laughable, sometimes seen as indicative of all that is wrong with gaming. I saw it as indicative of a marketing department that couldn’t feel Hitman on the feelingest day of their life with an electrified feeling machine, and I wondered whether that kind of violence against women in fetish wear is what the demographic longs for or whether it’s merely what they’re expected to long for according to the extensive research of ad agencies. Tycho thought it was ridiculous too. But he also felt similarly about the response to it, and as is so often the case with this strange beast called the internet, it prompted a discussion in kind. In Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Conversation | Tagged Child's Play , Diablo 3 , Dickwolves , , , Freedom of Speech , , , Penny Arcade , , Shattersnipe , | 13 Comments

Illusionists of Choice: Design, Critique, and When Choice Matters

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Edcrab

by Edcrab So you have slaughtered or snuck past hordes of robot orcs and you’re deep in the fortress of the Last Level, with magma pools and electrified drill ceilings and a worrying lack of handrails and fire extinguishers. You … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Firing the Canon: Planescape: Torment

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Edcrab

Firing the Canon is a recurring feature where an MD contributor examines a classic game and interrogates its status. This week, guest contributor Edcrab looks at Planescape: Torment and the heights of, and limits of, its success. By Edcrab End … Continue reading →

Posted in Criticism , Features , Firing the Canon | Tagged | 2 Comments