Editorial: And The Score Is...

For many gaming sites, being listed on Gamerankings.com or Metacritic is the be all, end all of writing about video games (or at least reviewing them). Being included on the Metacritic listings lends an air of authenticity and authority. It's an honour to be included among the websites that carries weight with review scores. It makes that site's opinion count for something. After all, bonuses for developers are often tied to attaining a certain Metacritic score. Suddenly that 5.5 / 10 review has some real world consequences.

But is it really an honour? Is it something a game site should hold as the end point for having "made it" even if the owner of said gaming site doesn't really know how it all works?

To be honest, I hadn't given it any thought until a few weeks ago when The Armchair Empire's review scores stopped having any influence. Any review after our review of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger have not been factored into Metacritic averages. (The 2,200+ previous reviews are still included.)

Review: Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus (PS3)

Back in 2002 Insomniac games introduced us to the world of Ratchet & Clank on the PlayStation 2 and for me, my world was changed forever. I loved that game and the two direct sequels (Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal) that grew alongside the popularity of the PS2. I ended up skipping Deadlocked as it wasn't a full story-driven adventure but I did consume the Size Matters offering on the PSP before they made the move to the PlayStation 3.

Preview: Dead Rising 3 (XB1)

It's three days after a terrible zombie outbreak in Los Perdidos and Nick Ramos is about to have a very bad day. Or possibly, series of days. As the third game in the Dead Rising franchise (in development at Capcom Vancouver) there needed to be a shift from the confining mall and Vegas-like settings of the previous games and the developers have done so by making the game open world.

Hardware: Nintendo 3DS XL

Right out of the gate, Nintendo's 3DS XL addresses my two main issues with the "regular" version of the 3DS: the screen is much larger and the stylus is stored on the right side rather than the back of the unit.

Everything else remains the same, aside from the obvious look of the unit (and the headphone jack shifted to the left), which is reminiscent of the DS before it officially launched way back in 2004. It's the rounded corners and edges that do it.