Joe revisits his misspent youth while sampling Magic: The Gathering's latest expansion, Shadowmoor.
Escapist Editorials
The Escapist is proud to present Unforgotten Realms, the epic tale of Sir Schmoopy of Awesometon, the dual nunchuk-wielding sorcerer and Eluamous Nailo, Master Wizard in training (AKA Rob and Mike) and their animated adventures in the Unforgotten Realms (AKA, Mike's homebrew role playing game).
By pandering to gamers' obsessively forward-thinking approach to their hobby, the media and industry both encourage an enthusiast culture that, for the most part, suffers from an inability to thoughtfully examine the games its consumes.
A few weeks ago, The Escapist's Team Humidor visited Epic for an exclusive, unprecedented, uncensored look at how the award-winning studio operates. We sat in on a meeting with Gears of War 2 department heads, ate in their kitchen, played on their lawn, spoke with Cliff Bleszinski and saw never-before-seen footage of Gears 2. And we brought a camera.
Each week we publish letters sent to us regarding previous issues and highlight particularly interesting forum posts. If you'd like to comment on an article directly, send your letter to editor@escapistmag.com.
A few weeks ago, The Escapist took a field trip. Our permission slips had "NDA" and "Microsoft" printed on them, our sack lunches came from Chick-fil-a and our sweaters ... we left those at home. Where's Mom when you need her? Notepads, voice recorders and cameras in-hand, we packed into the van and headed out to Epic, the Cary, North Carolina, studio that brought you Gears of War and Cliff Bleszinski. We'd be looking at both.
"I think people say I'm a little bit harder on Microsoft than others just because I know them, and I know what they want, and I know why they want it," Fergusson says, "so I tend to call 'bullshit' a little bit quicker than other people do."
Some will care, some won't, and, to be perfectly fair, most will never even realize that anything controversial is happening. Still, the continued tightening of the noose around big-budget PC titles brings questions about the platform's long-term viability back into stark contrast against the comparatively hassle-free experience of consoles.
Through designing and playing this game sketch, I've discovered my own strategy for dealing with police brutality in a public forum. Should I ever find myself in that kind of situation, I'd be ready to act, and I'd be brave enough to act. At least I hope that I'd be brave enough to act.
It's a Friday afternoon, and Scott Foe is in a hotel room, 27 floors above the streets of San Francisco. In two hours, he'll be unveiling his latest project to the press. It's billed as "the highest production value mobile title ever."
This week, for Episode Nine, the de-rez team presents a game of Russian Roulette with ATI and Nvidia, a letter from Jack Thompson and the self-playing console.
This week Yahtzee turns the angry, yellow eye on you, the viewer. Particularly those of you who have sent him email crying about the Super Smash Bros. Brawl review.
The loss of two of the ESA's largest members - who would soon have become its single largest member - will likely cause ripple effects with far-reaching and potentially damaging consequences to the organization and the industry at large. But in matters such as these, there are typically many more questions than answers, not least of which is why anyone should care about the ESA in the first place.
Each week we publish letters sent to us regarding previous issues and highlight particularly interesting forum posts. If you'd like to comment on an article directly, send your letter to editor@escapistmag.com.
