Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Review (Multi-platform)
Two of the Emperor’s Space Marines review the new Space Marine training simulator.... read more
Found in: Games, ReviewsEl Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron Review (Multi-platform)
El Shaddai’s visual design is a staggering achievement that maintains its sense of majesty and awe.... read more
Found in: Games, ReviewsSlow Club: Paradise
A sophomore album can fall anywhere between sounding exactly like the first album, (thus risking being boring) to being radically different, which takes the chance of losing fans from a band’s original release. English folk-pop duo Slow Club find a happy medium between the extremes.... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsCatherine Review
(Multi-Platform)
If you haven’t been playing close attention, you’d be forgiven for thinking of Atlus’ Catherine as “that sex game,” or something like that. Pre-release marketing focused on the blond curl and apple blush, the stocking hems and saucy liquor-sips of the title character—bet you thought I’d say “titular,” right? Yeah, no. The hook for Catherine wasn’t just its lissome leading lady, but the idea that she was the avatar for a mature game. A game about a man’s sex life; a game for adults.... read more
Found in: Games, ReviewsDeus Ex: Human Revolution Review
(Multi-Platform)
Step into the conspiracy.... read more
Found in: Games, ReviewsJohn Doe: Keeper
John Doe’s punk days might be long behind him, but there’s only so much mellowing out that he’s capable of. He might not be mired in drugs and desperation like he was when he sang for L.A. punks X, but he makes adult life and grown-up relations sound like worthy struggles on Keeper. Even when he’s embracing open-chord strumming, sighing steel guitar and pledges of dedication that bring to mind Jackson Browne on opener “Don’t Forget How Much I Love You,” he still sings it with the gusto he once used to sneer at LA scenesters.... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsJuliana Hatfield: There's Always Another Girl
For Juliana Hatfield fans, the release of There’s Always Another Girl should feel like an accomplishment. The songwriter’s been in a near-daily conversation with them about the album’s recording process through her PledgeMusic website and raised money by selling unique items and experiences on the site. Things fans could “pledge” for through the site ranged from a personal Skype session with the singer to the downright-weird “certified” lock of hair. These die-hards got the VIP treatment right up until the album’s completion, hearing There’s Always Another Girl a month early, and now Hatfield will see what the rest of the... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsJacuzzi Boys: Glazin'
If any old photo is worth a thousand words, the promo shots accompanying Jacuzzi Boys’ sophomore album, Glazin’, are worth double. One depicts the Miami trio— drummer Diego Monasterios in a ball-cap, and pouty frontman Gabriel Alcala in a letter jacket—leaning against an air-hockey table. Another—the most telling of the set—features the band against a yearbook photographer’s gray-sheet backdrop. Monasterios sprawls out in front of his bandmates, grinning and flashing a peace sign; Alcala pouts and flexes a bicep; bassist Danny Gonzalez adopts a more serious, arms-crossed pose than his bandmates. These aren’t the tough-guy postures or grimy mugs of... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsTrauma Review
(PC)
From the psycho-sexual phantasmagoria of the Silent Hill series to the nightmarescapes of Sanitarium to countless amnesiac protagonists unraveling the riddles of identity, videogames have a long tradition of creating compelling narratives out of psychological damage and healing. It is a shame that Trauma is not part of that storied (ahem) institution.... read more
Found in: Games, ReviewsToy Soldiers: Cold War Review
(XBLA)
As gimmick records go, the 2000 album Gizmodgery by Matt Mahaffey’s band Self is one of the best. Every song was recorded exclusively with toy instruments, such as you’d find on the shelves of your local Toys“R”Us. You’d think that conceit would be a recipe for disaster for any rock musician worth his salt, a one-way ticket to Weird Al territory. But Mahaffey’s knack for catchy hooks, funky harmonies, and effects wizardry make Gizmodgery stand on its own as a rock album, not merely as a novelty. It transcends its gimmick.... read more
Found in: Games, Reviews