Art Machine
Just another former infatuation junkie

I liked what I saw of Portal. It was goofy and fun and really cool once I got my hands on a controller.

Everything I heard about Mass Effect told me that it was a game I would want to play if I ever got the chance.

And, of course, BioShock looks really cool, too.

Oo! Let’s not forget GTA IV.

But what it finally took to get me to put an Xbox on my wishlist was to see this preview:

We hear a lot about innovation in graphics, innovation in hardware, and the occasional peep about (gasp!) innovations in gameplay. But sometimes it takes an innovation in user experience, too. I remember the first time I ever turned on my PS2 to play God of War—and within minutes was pulling off the most badass moves I had ever done in a videogame. The boss of the prologue level is the Hydra, fer cryin’ out loud.

When a game can make your experience thrilling to watch – and even more thrilling to know that you executed it, even if all you did was press a button or two – then you have an innovation in gamer experience. And the parkour action in this preview has me dying to take the game for a spin.

What is surely to be one of the most heavily-hit Flickr sets of all times has just gone up – a side-by-side comparison of landmarks from New York City and its digital cousin, Liberty City. It shows an incredible eye for detail and an astounding amount of work done on world building.

Too bad they didn’t spend that much effort on walking down the street.

For the record, with neither a PS3 or an XBox, I’m out of the loop on the GTA IV goodness. I’m sure if I had the controller in hand, I’d be loving it. That doesn’t mean the physics that let you knock over streetlights while Sonny Bono-ing yourself on saplings aren’t fundamentally broken, however.

And now, your dose of Yahtzee from The Escapist. Yahtzee takes on Army of Two. (some language not safe for work) He does a fairly good job after a rough start of avoiding the gay jokes – but that’s probably because he has plenty of cruddy game design to discuss.

It’s always fun when the court jester gets the chance to speak directly to power in any industry.

This week on Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee gives a presentation to the Game Developer’s Conference.