2007’s Uncharted was sort of a sleeper hit.  Sure, developer Naughty Dog had quite the pedigree—titles like the PlayStation classic Crash Bandicoot series and last generation’s Jak and Daxter games were all critically acclaimed bestsellers.  However, Uncharted landed without much of a splash.  Maybe it was the new, unproven franchise that turned gamers off or maybe it was the crowded ...

 Tim Schafer hasn’t had a lot of luck when it comes to selling video games; one of the industry’s few critical darlings, Schafer has headed up a number of commercial flops over the years.  What he has had, however, are some of the best and most creative ideas in the history of video games—titles like Psychonauts, a 3D platformer that ...

Thomas Dale Staff Writer tadale@valdosta.edu You wouldn’t think it from the complete lack of marketing hype and momentum from Sony, but last week’s launch of the PSP Go is actually pretty monumental for the video game industry and media in general. Sony, the ultimate parade leader for proprietary media (remember the long dead Betamax?), has taken some bold steps towards ...

Thomas Dale Staff Writer tadale@valdosta.edu  ODST is a bit of a strange beast.  After Bungie’s split from Microsoft immediately after the release of Halo 3, rumors sparked up about a new, Bungie-developed Halo game that would star the space Marines in a tactical, squad-based shooter.  When Halo 3: Recon was finally announced in October of last year, it was revealed ...

Thomas Dale Staff Writer tadale@valdosta.edu Last week’s iPod-centric conference was certainly exciting for the millions of manic Apple fans; the company has become just as good at building hype as it is at selling expensive MP3 players. Prior to the conference, internet forums and blogs were filled with speculation and rumor mongering. The event was expected to be especially important ...

Thomas Dale Staff Writer tadale@valdosta.edu There’s been a lot of hubbub surrounding Sept. 9, 2009, Entertainment Weekly dubbed the day as “the reinvasion of The Beatles,” a title that’s well warranted with the long-sought remastered release of the Fab Four’s entire work. These Baby Boomer-baiting sets carry a hefty price tag ($300 for the box) and an impressive amount of ...

Thomas Dale Staff Writer tadale@valdosta.edu  Batman fans are a thick-skinned bunch.  When George Clooney donned the newly nipple-adorned batsuit to fight the cliché spouting Schwarzenegger “What killed the dinosaurs? The ice age!,” they hid behind their copies of The Killing Joke.  When Dark Horse Comics published Batman vs. Predator, they scrambled to have the story stricken from Batman canon. When ...