Uberbanana's New Writeups

Spec Ops: The Line (review)

2013-05-09T08:46:24Z

Developer: Yager Development (single player), Darkside Game Studios (multiplayer)
Publisher: 2K Games
Platform: Windows, 360, PS3
Release Date: June 26, 2012 (NA), June 29, 2012 (EU)
ESRB: Mature
Format: Optical disc, digital download

Spec Ops: The Line is a reboot of the languished Spec Ops game series, but it doesnât take anything from that beyond name recognition. It is a cover-based third person shooter making use of the Gears of War version of the Unreal Engine. Flawed and, as of now, derivative as that may be, there are reasons for this which Iâll get to later.

The gameâs story follows Captain Martin Walker and the other two men of his Delta Force team as they attempt to extract Colonel John…

May Geek Quest 2013 (thing)

2013-05-01T09:09:51Z

The month of May has come again along with several important days of the Geek Calendar. Most of them smooshed together.

Geek Pride Day
May 25th is a holiday that means different things to different geeks. May 25, 1977 was the original release date for Star Wars: A New Hope. As such it is often is referred to as Star Wars Day. Towel Day began in 2001 as a day to commemorate the late Douglas Adamsâ seminal work the Hitchhikerâs Guide to the Galaxy. Some fans of Terry Pratchettâs Discworld series wear lilac and eat hard boiled eggs to commemorate the Glorious 25th of May (the date of the Peopleâs Revolution in Ankh-Morpork that ended the reign of Lord Winder). Itâs either that or getting drunk and eating a lot of meat on Hogswatch.

May the Fourth be with you!
May 4th has also come to be known as Star Wars Day, in large…

Poker Night at the Inventory 2 (review)

2013-04-27T21:57:39Z

Developer: Telltale Games
Platform: Windows, OS X, 360, PS3, iOS TBA
Release Date: April 24, 2013 (360), April 26, 2013 (Windows and OS X through Steam), April 30, 2013 (PSN NA, EU May 1), iOS TBA
ESRB: None
Format: digital download

The sequel to the original Poker Night changes things up a bit with new characters and game mechanics.

Tonight the players are; Brock Samson from The Venture Bros., Claptrap from Borderlands, Ash from Army of Darkness¹, and Sam from Sam & Max, with Reginald returning as host but now GlaDOS from Portal serves as the dealer.

This time around, the game is harder. While the character's tells are…

Poker Night at the Inventory (review)

2013-04-27T21:03:43Z

Developer: Telltale Games
Platform: Windows, OS X
Release Date: November 22, 2010
ESRB: None
Format: digital download through Steam

Poker Night is...well it's a poker game. A somewhat unusual poker game. As opposed to most poker video games that are online multiplayer or single player strip poker games, this is a single player, cross promotional, item unlocking, player taunting, frustration matrix.

The Inventory is one of those secret pan-dimensional meeting places where characters from different video game related franchises can meet for a good stiff drink and some rousing high stakes gambling.

In this game, the player arrives late at night to a Texas Hold 'Em tournament in progress. One of the players has already cashed out leaving another seat at the…

Shadow Games (fiction)

2013-04-25T08:58:06Z

New Rourke Unmasked
Shadow Games

Fear of the dark is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a primal part of us born from our instinctual drive for survival and our ingrained fear of the unknown. For a species that depends so heavily on the sense of sight, the sudden removal of that ability understandably comes as a shock. As we grow up, many become more comfortable with the dark; some even relish it. It can be empowering to take something that once left you cowering under the covers and embrace it as a natural part of your environment. However some never come to grips with their fear, instead they hide behind false stoicism and bravado, denying their unease or bull-headedly chasing after the dark hoping anything bad that happens will be over quickly.

In truth, no one can ever truly be comfortable in the absence of light. The rational mind tries to convince…

Clockwork Heart (poetry)

2013-04-15T11:05:58Z

Tick, tock, went the clockwork heart
Its flesh replaced by springs

Spinners and cogs in careful art
To ease the pain of being

Push and pull to make it through
Loveâs loss eternal sting

Shiny and blue, each day anew
Brave hope takes to wing