Blogs
March 21, 2012The man who was responsible for the soundtrack of our youth, Nobuo Uematsu, turns 53 years old today. In 1985, Uematsu was an amateur musician working in a Tokyo instrument-rental shop in when an employee with the video-game company Square asked him if he would be interested in composing some songs ... More >>
Blogs
February 13, 2012Gaming is about challenges, or if you're into MMORPGs, gaming is about challenges and calling people gaylords. Regardless, game designers go to extreme lengths in order for you to test your skills, with rewards to follow. Sometimes, though, the rewards are simply not worth the agony of the accomplis ... More >>
Blogs
January 2, 2012To be clear, turning franchises into video games is a scam to get people to buy them as presents. "Oh, you liked Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Here's the game they made about it. Happy Christmas." That sort of thing. For the most part the game designers are on a rushed deadline, and they generally resen ... More >>
Calendar
September 15, 2011To be clear, turning franchises into video games is a scam to get people to buy them as presents. "Oh, you liked Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Here's the game they made about it. Happy Christmas." That sort of thing. For the most part the game designers are on a rushed deadline, and they generally resen ... More >>
Blogs
July 18, 2011The Houston Symphony feat. Susan Calloway
Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy
Jones Hall
July 16, 2011
Rocks Off scrambled like a mad bastard last year in order to catch Final Fantasy Distant Worlds at the Houston Symphony. This year, we were only marginally better prepared, but no less ... More >>
Blogs
May 12, 2011It sounds like heresy to most older folks, this writer included, but for about the past decade, a lot of younger gamers have been discovering punk rock, ska, and classic and indie hip-hop through the Tony Hawk series of skateboarding video games. The idea may be repellent to those of us who r ... More >>
Blogs
February 15, 2011UbisoftCall of JuarezEven though the Mexican Drug War continues unabated a few hundred miles down the Southwest Freeway, this news that there is a South of the Border-themed Grand Theft Auto video game in the works somehow seems predictable.
According to manufacturer Ubisoft, first-person sh ... More >>
Blogs
February 11, 2011Thursday, Activision killed the musical video game Guitar Hero after six years of turning young ears into heshers, glammers, and classic-rock devotees. The debt that older bands like the Ramones, Poison, Black Sabbath and Rush owe to the game is immense. True, the kids (and drunk adults), wer ... More >>
Blogs
January 4, 2011Oh, how we danced, Angry Birds. Oh, how we danced.I like to think I'm a pretty good guy. I work hard. I try to treat my friends well. I try to educate myself and grow as a human being. But, I have plenty of faults. I'm more than happy to admit that because it helps me to grow when I realize w ... More >>
Blogs
January 3, 2011Rocks Off got Donkey Kong Country Returns for Wii for Christmas. Big deal, right? We're willing to bet there are less than a thousand 29-year-old American males who didn't receive some kind of video game as a gift, but it's a big deal for us.
See, we actually kind of did grow out of video ga ... More >>
Blogs
November 17, 2009 Ho, Ho, Ho! For this, the most somber of holiday seasons, our dear friends Nintendo have found have their nostalgic side. With their recent release of Super Mario Brothers Wii, and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks -- due out December 3 -- Nintendo has gone back to two originals that helped sta ... More >>
Music
July 23, 2009Three decades after a metal classic, Judas Priest keeps "Livin' After Midnight."
Blogs
May 28, 2009For a few hours yesterday, the lead story at Chron.com gravely warned Houstonians on the dangers of mixing generators and video games. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston evidently found that this happened often in the blacked-out weeks in the wake of Hurricane Ik ... More >>
Music
November 20, 2008Blogs
November 12, 2008Home Entertainment
November 6, 2008They're not yelling "Bruce" this time. They're booing
Calendar
September 25, 2008Go inside your favorite golden oldie video game
Home Entertainment
September 4, 2008Home Entertainment
August 21, 2008Home Entertainment
August 14, 2008Blogs
July 23, 2008Calendar
July 10, 2008Home Entertainment
June 12, 2008Fake-instrument overload offers plenty to fret about
Calendar
May 29, 2008Winners of the 2005 “Be a Guitar Hero” contest, this four-piece dirtcore band features twang, sleaze and scantily clad dancers
Home Entertainment
May 29, 2008Helping the world forget we once loved Thigh Masters, too
Home Entertainment
January 10, 2008Indy Legends brings Brickyard history to life
Home Entertainment
December 20, 2007How yesterday's games spawned today's best-sellers
Calendar
December 13, 2007Station Museum of Contemporary Art’s multimedia exhibit provides a new argument for a tired cliché
Home Entertainment
December 13, 2007It's never been easier to start your own (fake) band
Home Entertainment
November 8, 2007Two vampire classics are back. Unfortunately, this time, they bite
Home Entertainment
November 1, 2007The Revolution will be televised — and plenty addictive, too
Home Entertainment
October 25, 2007It's five great games for $60 – shoot first and ask questions later
Home Entertainment
October 18, 2007Jackass presents the world's biggest waste of time
Home Entertainment
October 4, 2007The Wii's latest pool game is a cue stick in the mud
Home Entertainment
September 27, 2007Lair's fire-breathing dragon is just a big turkey
Home Entertainment
May 17, 2007Marble Mania rolls out a winner for the Wii
Home Entertainment
April 5, 2007Blogs
February 19, 2007Home Entertainment
December 28, 2006It's just the only standout in an otherwise shameful launch.
News
November 23, 2006Camping out at Best Buy with gamers -- and entrepreneurs
Home Entertainment
November 16, 2006Final Fantasy XII: Role-playing on autopilot.
Home Entertainment
July 6, 2006Like the real thing, Table Tennis shouldn't be played alone
Home Entertainment
March 9, 2006A Resident Evil remake captures all the creepy fun of the original
Home Entertainment
February 2, 2006Dead or Alive 4 finally gets hardcore
Music
January 26, 2006Who was responsible for the best music of the 1980s? Nintendo. Who's finally discovering it? Everyone.
Home Entertainment
December 15, 2005Barbarians, brain-eaters and beagles round out the best of 2005
Home Entertainment
October 20, 2005Nintendogs' charm will win over the most jaded of gamers.
Calendar
June 3, 2004The Triple Crown thunders to the finish line
Culture
August 15, 2002It's man vs. machinima when video games become, ahem, movies
Music
July 6, 2000Game soundtracks struggle for legitimacy in an industry obsessed with killing machines, not killer tunes
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