Posts tagged @previews 
Three points of view on Grand Theft Auto 5
Los Santos, a sub-urbane simulacrum of the auto-dependent Los Angeles, is the foundation for Rockstar North's next big heist, Grand Theft Auto 5. The studio's job is to create, not acquire: build the biggest playground yet, and fill it with more, more, more things to do. The first thing we do is ...
Lessons from Metroid: Spending some time with A.N.N.E.
At the opening of Super Metroid, a gunship rockets through space, eventually descending to the surface of the planet Zebes. A hatch opens, and bounty hunter Samus Aran slowly rises from the ship amidst the rain and lightning of an alien world. It's one of the most memorable moments of the 16-bit ...
Total War: Arena's ongoing quest to reshape competitive strategy
Creative Assembly has a good thing going with its Total War franchise. For seven games now, it's been remarkable successful at combining real-time tactics and turn-based strategy, making money and consistently expanding its studio. Their next game, Rome 2: Total War, a sequel to the most beloved ...
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon welcomes you to the retro party
If Far Cry 3's grim tale of survival was a poor fit for the game's exotic, often preposterous antics, there are no such fears for its seemingly disconnected spin-off. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is nothing short of ridiculous, and deliberately so. Ubisoft's standalone shooter celebrates the endearingly ...
Defacing dungeons in The Legend of Zelda 3DS
Link has the ability to flatten himself and slide along walls in the upcoming 3DS sequel to the cherished SNES adventure, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Think of it as wallpaper in honor of the protagonist, or as living graffiti defacing the dungeon's interior. It's a new mechanic (likely ...
Mayor for a day in Animal Crossing: New Leaf
As I stepped off the train to embark on my new life in my new Animal Crossing: New Leaf town, I was greeted by a party of citizens who immediately proclaimed me the mayor. Did I kill the old mayor on the train before arriving and assume their identity? How was I elected mayor when I'm not even a ...
Ouya: Hands-on with the user interface
Earlier this week, we took a look at the Ouya hardware that began shipping to Kickstarter backers last month. Now, join us as we delve into the software that makes the little console tick. We should have a broader review of our experience with the Ouya within the coming days. ...
Laika Believes preview: The robot space dog with a heart of gold
Minicore Studios is a small indie developer in Austin, TX, and it's making an alternate history game about the first dog in space. The game is called Laika Believes, but unlike the legitimately terrible fate that befell the real Laika, Minicore's version of history represents something a bit more ...
Ouya: Joystiq takes a closer look
We're still composing our thoughts on our Ouya Kickstarter console – expect more on that later this week – but in the meantime we thought we'd give the Joystiq biomass a look at the diminutive hardware and its accompanying controller. Ouya's Kickstarter backers started receiving their ...
Storyteller preview: In the eye of the beholder
"Wait, save that. No one's done it that way before. You made it more complicated." Daniel Benmergui reached out to grab the mouse and save a screenshot of my panels in his comic-book narrative game, Storyteller, where I had just concocted a tale of love and loss based on the page's prompt, using a ...
