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This Is The Way ... To Comicpalooza 2021

By Pete Vonder Haar

Jul 15, 2021

Delta variant be damned, American (and Houston) are pushing to return to something resembling normalcy, and that means the return of our beloved Comicpalooza. The event was canceled last year, thanks to COVID, but returns in somewhat abbreviated fashion for 2021 (Saturday and Sunday only this year, with more outdoor...

Some of the best games of the last decade are backwards looking, but they still have important guidelines if they want to be great.

5 Things A Metroidvania Needs

By Jef Rouner

Jul 5, 2021

Metroidvania is a term used to describe a certain sub-genre of video games that mimic the style of Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. In general, they are non-linear, two-dimensional side-scrolling action games that have a focus on exploring a huge area that is unlocked with power-ups. I’ve...

Cawthon's conservative donations have disappointed his LGBT fans.

Five Nights at Freddy’s Creator Defends Anti-LGBT Political Donations

By Jef Rouner

Jun 15, 2021

Scott Cawthon, the Houston-born/Austin-based creator of the hit horror game series Five Nights At Freddy’s, is a major donor to Republican politicians. Records from Open Secrets show that since 2015 he has made $42,204 in contributions, almost all of them to Republican candidates. The sole exception is former Hawaii Representative...

This man will not be explained and the game mocks you for expecting him to be.

5 Things I Hated About Resident Evil: Village

By Jef Rouner

May 18, 2021

For the record, I think Resident Evil: Village is utterly brilliant. It’s terrifying, fun to play, and certainly breathing new life into a franchise that has been limping along on nostalgia for a decade. The thing is, when a game is really, really good, it actually makes the flaws even...

This cost me as much as a trip to the emergency room with good health insurance. Interpret that information however you like.

Console Woes Could Mean a Growing Gaming Wealth Gap

By Jef Rouner

Apr 27, 2021

I got a PlayStation 5, but I’m still really unhappy with how I did. Originally, I was going to use part of my first stimulus check in 2020 to set-up a pre-order for the system at GameStop like I did with my PS4. Delays in getting that check meant I...

You'd think a series based on zombies wouldn't take twenty years to really get the horror of transformation right.

Revisiting Resident Evil 7 Ahead of Village

By Jef Rouner

Apr 14, 2021

I was obsessed with Resident Evil as a teenager to the point that I got into at least one screaming argument with my brother over a plot point in a spin-off novel (Caliban Cove, represent). As the series moved away from its survival horror roots into a more military tactical...

This game sounds like a poor use of a PS5.

Controversial “Arab Murder Simulator” Coming to Consoles

By Jef Rouner

Apr 12, 2021

Six Days in Fallujah, a game that is being referred to as an “Arab murder simulator,” is being released on consoles after years of controversy and backlash. Games where American soldiers kill endless waves of Arab enemy combatants are nothing new, and even make up some major franchises like Call...

Still the best cyberpunk game ever made.

10 Essential Games to Buy Before the PS3 Store Shuts Down

By Jef Rouner

Apr 5, 2021

Sony has announced that they will be closing down their PS3 online store on August 27. As someone that still plays their PS3 regularly, this is a sore blow, especially because there are still a lot of games on the system that have not been added to the PS4 and...

Nicole O'Neill stars as Kristina in this psychological thriller

I Saw Black Clouds Revolutionizes Adventure Games With One Basic Trick

By Jef Rouner

Mar 30, 2021

We’re living in a full motion video game renaissance that doesn’t get enough credit. After the novelty of games like Night Trap and Phantasmagoria in the ‘90s wore off, developers moved onto increasingly photorealistic animation instead of using live actors. Over the last five years, the genre has been getting...

Are you a young female protagonist in a post-2013 video game? You better learn the guitar. I don't make the rules.

Five Reasons to Get Excited About the New Life Is Strange

By Jef Rouner

Mar 24, 2021

During last week’s Square Enix Live event, the company announced the fourth installment in their Life is Strange series, subtitled True Colors, would be released on September 10 this year. Some of the revealed aspects give me hope that the series might finally be back on the right track. Despite...

This is basically a fidget spinner that occasionally emotionally manipulates me into emptying my wallet.

Mobile Games Are Both Predatory and Helpful to Mental Illness

By Jef Rouner

Jan 28, 2021

I have a love-hate relationship with free-to-play mobile games. On the one hand they are absolutely predatory in a way that might actually get them regulated by the government as gambling. On the other, they help me deal with mental illness the way nothing else does. My game of choice...

A Look Back at the ‘70s Houston Monopoly Knock-Off

By Jef Rouner

Jan 18, 2021

Have you ever wanted to play as a rich developer in Houston in the 1970s? No, probably not. Two major oil crises did a number on old H-Town, but that didn’t stop Groovy Games from publishing a Monopoly knock-off in 1977 that at least let people pretend they were tycoons...

About 30 percent of the game is menu screens. Whee, comic book adventure!

5 Most Disappointing Video Games of 2020

By Jef Rouner

Dec 21, 2020

Before we get started, let’s be clear on something. Disappointing does not necessarily mean “bad.” In fact, some of the games in this list are quite good overall. It’s just that for one reason or another they failed to live up to their hype or let themselves get bogged down...

All the fun of Double Dare without the slime.

2020 Video Games of the Year

By Jef Rouner

Dec 14, 2020

Gaming had a rough year in 2020. With many studios shutting down or delaying production on titles due to the COVID pandemic, as well as the ramp up to a new console generation launch, some loss in quantity and quality was to be expected. That said, we still got some...

The Venetian in Las Vegas, one of the casinos Sheldon Adelson controls.

Casino Mogul Adelson Hires Big-Time Texas Lobbyists

By Jef Rouner

Dec 3, 2020

Gambling in Texas has never seemed more like a pipe dream, but the owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino, Sheldon Adelson, has spared no expense when it comes to hiring major lobbyists in the state. In a recent filing, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation listed ten lobbyists that Adelson...

This game begins with sweet bat/rat lovemaking.

Yes, There are Already COVID-19 Video Games

By Jef Rouner

Jun 4, 2020

One of the great things about the massive indie game scene is that it’s possible to get video games based on real-world events as they are happening. Granted, these are often as cheap and quick as a punk song, but it’s still rather remarkable that a medium with a famously...

How can something be so much better and so much worse at the same time?

Final Fantasy VII Remake Ruined [Redacted]’s Death

By Jef Rouner

May 7, 2020

Massive spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Remake Ahead. This paragraph is just here to give you a chance to click away to avoid spoilers. How about some quick trivia so you don’t feel you’ve wasted a visit? Did you know that the original Final Fantasy VII was the first game...

Moons of Madness: Cthulhu on Mars

By Jef Rouner

Mar 26, 2020

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 H.P. Lovecraft has been going through a renaissance in video games lately thanks to titles like Call of Cthulhu and The Sinking City. None of them are as good as Moons of Madness, now out on PS4 and Xbox One. The game focuses on a...

There is a LOT going on, even in classic mode.

The Classic Mode in Final Fantasy VII Remake Isn’t Very Classic

By Jef Rouner

Mar 6, 2020

The first level of the loooooong-awaited Final Fantasy VII Remake dropped unexpectedly this week. The iconic opening of the game where Cloud, Barret, and a misfit group of eco-terrorists attack the Shinra Mako reactor looks absolutely gorgeous and plays like a dream. But there’s always a however… One of the...

Houston Ballet Principals Connor Walsh as Price Florimund and Yuriko Kajiya as Princess Aurora with Artists of Houston Ballet in Ben Stevenson’s The Sleeping Beauty.

Best Bets This Weekend: Brunch, Overwatch, and the Downtown Rodeo Parade {UPDATED]

By Natalie de la Garza

Feb 27, 2020

Not only is rodeo season upon us, we’ve found plenty for you to do, including eating everyone’s favorite meal, walking for a cause, and taking in some art.

Gaming

Growing Up Poor and the Art of Video Game Item Hoarding

Comicpalooza Returns, With Mandalorians and Lokis Galore

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