A MOST AGREEABLE PASTIME
Video Games, Victorian Style
Category: Features
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This week on Spiffing Reads, we begin with an eye-opening behind-the-scenes look at a certain 3D vampire series. “We got caught in a s***storm” (Eurogamer) This interview with the developers of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is fascinating. It’s interesting to hear how the two LoS games were by far the most successful Castlevania games in…
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Just a trio of articles on Spiffing Reads this week, kicking off with a comeback from Sonic in an unlikely quarter. How Sonic the Hedgehog’s weirdo Twitter account could bring him back from the brink (Polygon) Most corporate Twitter accounts are harmlessly banal, and the same was true of the official Sonic the Hedgehog account…
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This week on Spiffing Reads, we start off with a mid-life crisis. Pokémon Go, mid-life crisis and me, by Ellie Gibson (Eurogamer) “I will be 40 next year, and I am in the midst of a mid-life crisis. How do I know this? It’s not because my idea of a party is staying in with…
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This week on Spiffing Reads, we start with a look back at when running a games magazine basically meant dicking about. When bass fishing features go wrong: a cautionary tale (Eurogamer) I used to be an avid games magazine reader. But like most gamers, I now rely on the internet for most gaming news and…
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A while back, I was curious as to which games have sold the most overall, so I found myself browsing through a list of the best-selling titles of all time. It included the usual suspects – Super Mario, Call of Duty, etc. – but one name jumped out at me: J.B. Harold. I’d never heard…
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This week on Spiffing Reads we start off with that old bone of contention – mainstream press railing on about how games rot your brain. Why Mainstream Reporting on Video Games is Still Often So Negative (Kotaku UK) A brutal but enlightening look at why games still get bad coverage in the mainstream press. Short…
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This week on Spiffing Reads, we kick off with a look at how magic in video games is in need of a radical overhaul. Putting the magic back into magic in fantasy games (Eurogamer) It amazes me just how influential the ideas of Tolkien are in the modern age. We still have countless video-game dungeon…
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Welcome to Spiffing Reads, our weekly round up of the best games writing, which this week kicks off with an alternative take on Sonic. Sonic boom: Ellie Gibson on nostalgia, novelty, and that 9/10 (Eurogamer) The ever-brilliant Ellie Gibson penned this meandering article on her expectations for Sonic Mania, interspersed with parenting metaphors, and ex-boyfriends…
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This week on our weekly roundup of the best games writing, we start with a look at the crazy time that Nintendo’s been having lately… Nintendo’s roller-coaster week (GamesIndustry.biz) A look back at an important week for Nintendo, with their share price peaking and then diving in relation to Pokemon Go, and leaked reports revealing…
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Welcome to Spiffing Reads, our weekly round-up of the best games writing. This week, the big story is Eurogamer’s leak of details for the upcoming Nintendo NX. NX is different, and different is Nintendo’s best option (Eurogamer) Part of me wants Nintendo to release a super-powerful console, one that will have third-party publishers rushing back,…
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Welcome to Spiffing Reads, a new section on A Most Agreeable Pastime where every Friday we list gaming articles that have caught our eye this week. We’re always on the lookout for interesting gaming sites, so if you’ve found a brilliant blog, or you’ve read something amazing this week, please share it in the comments.…
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I had a fascinating chat with Phil Robinson of the Museum of Games and Gaming while I was at Play Expo Blackpool the other month, and it really got me thinking about where this urge to play video games actually comes from. Sure, games are fun, but why are they fun? Phil put together an…
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At Play Expo Blackpool I met up with Simon Marston, who’s something of a Virtuality megafan. His garage is stuffed full of 199os VR kit, and he’s become an expert at keeping these fragile machines running. He brought along his two Virtuality 1000 series VR pods to the show, and he reckons that these are…
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As promised, I thought I’d write up a few thoughts on my visit to the wonderful Play Expo Blackpool just over a week ago. It was a crazily hectic day in the end, as I rushed around trying to interview people and type up my notes, but I did manage to find some time to…
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I read Ready Player One for the first time a couple of months ago, and I loved it. It’s unashamedly packed with references to 1980s games, films and TV shows, and it even feels like a good old-fashioned eighties hero fantasy movie in the way it’s structured. The fact that Steven Spielberg has signed on…
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I’m off to Play Expo Blackpool on Saturday, for what promises to be a hectic but fun-packed day of gaming – of both the retro and future flavours. I have a few potential articles lined up based on some of the people and games being shown at the expo, so it’s going to be a…
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When I heard that there are around 18 quintillion planets in the upcoming No Man’s Sky for PS4, it got me thinking – how does that number compare with the number of planets in the actual Universe? Then I started wondering whether the various procedurally generated creatures in the game would actually be likely to…
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My Roy amiibo finally arrived this morning – and only three days late. Ooooh, GAME UK whyIoughta… [shakes fist]. To be fair, they sent it out on Thursday morning, so it’s probably more Royal Mail to blame. But everyone loves to take a pop at GAME sometimes, don’t they? *mumble mumble preowned prices mumble mumble…
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Things have been quiet on the amiibo front of late. The last one I bought was R.O.B. back in November, although before that there was a relative flood of them through my front door in summer. And now another one is due to arrive. Tomorrow, Roy will join my other four Fire Emblem amiibo –…
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Regular readers will already be familiar with our “gaming piles o’ shame” over there on The Mantelpiece. Sir Gaulian’s backlog is mightily more impressive than mine, but both are nothing to be sniffed at. Put simply, we have far more games than we have time to play them. This is a frustrating situation to be…
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Here was the pitch I made for the Star Wars article I just wrote for Kotaku UK: Every Star Wars game ever, from worst to best Exactly what it says, complete with many, many snarky comments. Particularly about Star Wars Kinect. It seemed a simple enough pitch, an article that would involve a fun stroll…
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One morning just before Christmas I was in full-on pre-Xmas deadline panic. I had a seemingly never-ending article due in and no end to it in sight, plus the usual pre-Chrimbo anxiety about unbought presents and uncooked turkey. But despite being pressed right up against a deadline, I just had to take some time out…
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[타블로] If you’ve never heard of Korean artist and author Tablo, then I suggest you acquaint yourself quick-smart. For mine he’s one of the most versatile composers around, with an incredible range that spans from out and out bass-heavy hip hop, to beautiful duets backed by melodic piano scores. And that’s just his solo work. His…
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The last couple of times I’ve popped into GAME, I’ve been surprised at just how many amiibo are in stock. It seems that Nintendo have firmly delivered on their promise back in May to increase amiibo production. I saw all sorts of previously rare amiibo on my visits to GAME stores in Walthamstow and Edinburgh,…
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Following a spate of excited pre-orders a few months back, and the many trials and tribulations I went through in trying to order a Woolly Yoshi amiibo, all of my chickens have come home to roost, so to speak. That is, a tonne of amiibos descended on my house, much to the alarm of Ms.…
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“Speak to Colin Moriarty”. It was the task that will always define Fallout 3 for me. As I traversed the wasteland in search of high adventure, there it was, always sitting at the top of my quest log. It was at around the 60 hour mark I finally made my way to Moriarty’s Saloon, took…
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The road to the top is a long and bloody one for Brutal Deluxe. Week after week the boys run out onto the field and pour their heart and soul into the game, putting their bodies on the line, all for a taste of that sweet Speedball victory. They may start as a bunch of…
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Good news everyone! With the arrival of Robin and Lucina, my set of Fire Emblem amiibos is complete! At least until they decide to release any more Fire Emblem-themed amiibos, that is. Lucina, of course, is one of the main characters in the recent Fire Emblem: Awakening for the 3DS, whereas Robin is the player’s…
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There was something wonderfully magical about Viva Piñata. It was easy for tending to one’s garden to border on obsession, as building a sustainable ecosystem through both the comfort of nurture and the ruthlessness of nature, had me running home from work at lunchtime to briefly play god from the comfort of a beautifully manicured…
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I could write about Doom all day. And believe me I’ve tried. And tried again. For me it sits right next to Wipeout as one of the games that made me sit up and pay attention to games as more than just a thing that I did when the sun went down or the ball was…
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Success! After the ups and downs of the past few days, I’ve finally managed to pre-order a Yarn Yoshi amiibo. I received a tip-off from this Reddit forum that GAME are taking in-store pre-orders for old yarn-face himself, even though you can’t currently pre-order through the website. So after confirming this was the case with…
A MOST AGREEABLE PASTIME 