I beat Prince of Persia 2008 last night, and I’m still thinking about it. This is a very well-crafted game. Although many folks derided it for being too easy, it’s actually not. The game is very challenging in places; it’s just not punishing. I found myself struggling at certain points, especially boss battles, and there was a genuine sense of accomplishment when I succeeded… without any frustration from having to endure cheap deaths or repeat long sections of the game. Additionally, this game has the best implementation of quick time events that I’ve seen. It’s always clear when you should expect one, and the button you need to press is either obvious from context or random for effect. The only annoyance I had with the system was when I came back to the game after a break and forgot what the “block” symbol meant, especially when it is so similar to the “grab” symbol.

But the most interesting thing for me about the game at the moment is the ending. There will be spoilers. Continue reading The Ending of Prince of Persia 2008 →

This post is long overdue. At the beginning of the year, The 1UP Show was cancelled, which killed the best traditional games journalism work on the net. Shortly thereafter, several of the people who made The 1UP Show great, including my personal favorites Ryan O’Donnell and Jay Frechette, started a show called CO-OP.

It’s basically The 1UP Show, but in an apartment instead of a cube farm, and it’s complete with a catchy opening theme and charmingly tongue-in-cheek episode plotlines like “some team members are suspected of having nerd flu” or “let’s try out local restaurants.” CO-OP discusses the games they want to discuss, honestly, enthusiastically, and without any number ratings. If you want to know about interesting new games or decide whether to buy something, this is what you should look at. My only criticism is that they do not review every title that comes out ever.

Check out CO-OP and throw a little money their way with the Paypal link on their page. Their homegrown ads probably pay the bills, but they deserve all the help they can get.