A Year of Surprises and Disappointments

Over the last few months, I haven’t had a lot of money to pick up most of the popular releases and even less time to play the ones I have been able to grab. With my lack of variety and experience this year, I don’t really feel qualified to join the typical game of the year discussions. So I thought, rather than writing another article on how great Skyrim is, I’d talk about a couple of quality games that surprised me this year, and a couple not-so-quality ones that were pretty disappointing. continue reading

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  • The Many Lists of 2011

    First things first.

    It’s my fault that our 2011 lists are so late getting out. I asked GamerDork’s wonderful writing staff back in December to start thinking of “Game of the Year” lists, or explorations, or whatever they felt like doing to commemorate the year, so that I could have a whole bunch of stuff to start off the new year with a bang.

    Then my computer exploded. Well, sort of. Anyway, the end result, excuses aside, is that a lot of great stuff has been waiting patiently in the background to be seen, and that’s what will be featured on GamerDork this week. Before I launch into other folks’ experiences, I just wanted to be up front about why they’re a little late.

    Also, I wanted to get my own list out first. Editorial privilege, you know. continue reading

  • It's no ordinary Menswear Collection
  • GamerDork Rerolled Episode 006: Booty Call

    GamerDork Rerolled!

    SOPA protests reach all the way to GamerDork HQ this week, where we show our support by saying as many things that should probably be censored as we can. Oh, and we also talk about video games and stuff.

    Visit us at our new home at SPOnG.com to download the new episode, subscribe on iTunes, or subscribe to our RSS feed!

    © 2008-2011 GamerDork.net. All rights Reserved.
    Hosts: Leah Haydu & Alex Shaw
    Producer: Leah Haydu
    Do you have feedback or questions? Email us at rerolled@gamerdork.net

    How to Rule the World From Your Kitchen Table

    As I’ve been told I’m the board game go-to guy for GamerDork, I thought I should write a kind of introduction to the world of gaming without electricity for anyone who’s interested in trying this type of game.

    Now I’m not saying I’m a guru on all things board games related, or know the answer to every question you may have.  Sorry — I’m not, and I don’t. What I am saying is I’m the dumb git who said he would write some articles about this strange world.

    So where to begin? continue reading

    The Changing Demands of Gamers

    Try to imagine the life of a time gone by.  It was a time of people reading games magazines, sitting in their bedrooms watching loading screens, and hearing the screeching noise of cassette-tape decks playing code that would result in a race for the mute button.  These were the days before the behemoth publishers such as EA and Valve became commonly known.  Yes, the late 80s and early 90s are fondly remembered by some of us due to the simplicity of life, and generally low expectations of games.

    We can relate to Grand Theft Auto : Vice City’s radio adverts for the Degenatron video game system, where you control the green dot in your race to defeat the monstrous red square!  In those days, games were much more arcade-like in their design, since there weren’t large budgets to afford mainstream media advertising, and the arcades were where many kids and adults alike spent their change.  The graphics there were often far superior to what you could have in your own house, so you were happy with the often-poor home conversions of games. continue reading

    Review: Nano Assault

    I never played Nanostray, Shin’en Multimedia’s scrolling space shooter for the DS, nor did I pick up its sequel, Nanostray 2, so when the cousin of the family, Nano Assault, showed up for the 3DS, it nearly sailed right under my radar. It would’ve been a shame if it had, because while the game isn’t exactly the most complex or demanding experience around, it’s definitely an entertaining way to spend a few hours.

    Like Nanostray, Nano Assault has you piloting a ship loaded with a variety of explodey-bits which you will use to blast your way through the waves of baddies blocking your path. Unlike Nanostray, though, Nano Assault takes the “Nano” part of its name a bit more literally by making your spaceship tiny, and your field of battle the infected cells of the human body. continue reading

    GamerDork Rerolled Episode 005: Down the Duckhole

    GamerDork Rerolled!

    It turns out we’re pretty big fans of Skyward Sword around these parts, so prepare yourself for lots of Zelda talk! We also try to resist the lure of Skylander-mania, lament the lack of real news, and wonder just how Solid Snake gets all the ladies with such ease.

    Visit us at our new home at SPOnG.com to download the new episode, subscribe on iTunes, or subscribe to our RSS feed!

    © 2008-2011 GamerDork.net. All rights Reserved.
    Hosts: Leah Haydu & Alex Shaw
    Producer: Leah Haydu
    Do you have feedback or questions? Email us at rerolled@gamerdork.net

    Character Select Network: GamerDork’s December Picks

    Now that the holidays have wound down, it’s time to catch up on all the stuff you missed while you were stuffing your face with delicious holiday treats and watching Die Hard for the eleventy-billionth time. To get you started, check out these articles from around the Character Select Network from the month of December!

    continue reading

    GamerDork Rerolled Episode 004: Coat Hangers and Shiny Things

    GamerDork Rerolled!

    In what might be the only gaming podcast you’ll listen to this week where no one’s playing Skyrim, Leah is joined by Nick to talk about Zelda, Batman: Arkham City, The Binding of Isaac, and more. Listen carefully and you can also hear Leah morphing into a power-crazed dictator right before your very ears, courtesy of Civilization V. There’s also a rather pointed non-chat about the VGAs.

    Visit us at our new home at SPOnG.com to download the new episode, or subscribe on iTunes!

    © 2008-2011 GamerDork.net. All rights Reserved.
    Hosts: Leah Haydu & Nick Dinicola
    Producer: Leah Haydu
    Do you have feedback or questions? Email us at rerolled@gamerdork.net

    Belated Review: Driver: San Francisco

    [I wrote this the week it came out. I then had something of a gaming midlife crisis (again) and didn’t submit it. Consider it a review for a game you were waiting to drop to £19.99 for]

    I used to wonder what it would take for me to become a ‘professional’ games journalist. I hate my job but know a lot about games so, y’know, writing for a living could be fun, right? I mean, you get to play games all day and write about them! What could go wrong?! And even if you got a game that was utter fucking gash, you could lay into it because hating on shit is also fun! It’s a win-win!

    But what happens when you get games that are, for want of any better description, only ‘OK’? Forcing yourself through an abortion of a title is kind of fun, just so you can put the boot in, but what about those thousands of titles that fail to elicit ANY kind of response above a shrug and “…s’alright”? This is the problem I have with Driver:San Francisco. continue reading