Category Archives: Criticism

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Telling Stories Through Glitches: Review of Ghosts in the Machine

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Kaitlin Tremblay

For a book that involves worlds and places we can never inhabit, Ghosts in the Machine speaks a lot of truth about how we interact and exist in our own day to day lives. Ghosts in the Machine is a short … Continue reading →

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Alpha Protocol: Just hope you get lucky (A Review)

Posted on October 27, 2013 by John Rathiganthan

Not long ago, a friend of mine recommended I take a shot at Alpha Protocol. He knew that I enjoy action RPGs and that I love spy games. Some years ago, the same friend also recommended that I try Dark … Continue reading →

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​Gotcha!: An ARG Story

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Dan Solberg

My investment in this whole horse_ebooks thing was pretty low to begin with. An infamous Twitter bot that spits out spam poetry (that’s a freebie, Def Jam) but wasn’t actually fully-automated this whole time. Or maybe it was and was … Continue reading →

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Tighten up the Narrative in Level 3: The grammar of videogames

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Mark Filipowich

In the great sandwich of videogames, game mechanics are the baguette and game stories are the stuffing. Whether a game is simply a thin spread of butter on an oven fresh bun or a triple-decker steak’n’cheese with pan fried vegetables … Continue reading →

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Introducing Medium Rare

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Meg Townsend

We’re very proud to present Medium Rare, Medium Difficulty’s all-woman podcast. Intersectional, diverse, outspoken, and often silly. We also just like to play video games. There will be general discussion of video games, video game criticism, as well as gender, … Continue reading →

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20XX: Bleed And The Future Of Action Heroines

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Jason Rice

  As a child of the 80s, I was raised on bloodshed. Practically everything I did involved the quintessential adolescent male power fantasy, one expressed by countless Arnolds, Stevens, and Jean-Claudes. High body counts, bottomless clips, and an arsenal that … Continue reading →

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The Trouble With We Men

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Sidney Fussell

  “Videogames are sexist” passes over my ears no different than “the sky is blue.” It’s obvious. But given the strident hostility towards the women combating sexism (most famously, Anita Sarkeesian) it seems that sometimes the obvious is invisible. And … Continue reading →

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Heroic Homosexuality: Being Gay in Rogue Legacy

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Jon Fisco

Rogue Legacy takes players on a genealogical adventure through a mysterious castle filled with evil creatures and action-RPG elements. Each time your character dies, and he/she will (a lot), you are dead for good. But now you may choose one … Continue reading →

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The Endgame:The Horror of Absence in The Last of Us

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Javy Gwaltney

“I love order. It’s my dream. A world where all would be silent and still, and each thing in its last place, under the last dust.” –Samuel Beckett, Endgame [Spoilers for The Last of Us ahead, y’all] Since its release, … Continue reading →

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution: A Bold New Future Mired In the Past

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Colin Dray

Going in I had heard rumour that there was an uncomfortable, anachronistic moment in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I was vague on the details, but had a faint recollection that a number of players had expressed discomfort with some minor … Continue reading →

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