Barry Steakfries 
is one of those heroes you feel you should be rooting for, but you don’t always succeed. He tries hard to come up with one-liners in this time-traveling shooter, but they’re really not that funny, and the game ultimately feels somewhat paint by numbers: Get the weapon drop, kills lots of monsters, run to get breathing room, repeat. This edition is a nice visual improvement on its earlier version, and the game has a vocal fan base, but it’s clear to newcomers that developer Halfbrick was just figuring out to do with the character in this early appearance. (Thankfully, they made him mute and more likable in later games.)
Author Archives: Chris Morris
App Review: Minecraft – Pocket Edition
While Minecraft 
is an amazing success story on the PC, this iOS version is stripped of a fair bit of what makes the original game so successful. Users can build structures until their hearts are content, but there’s no challenge for them to face. The monsters are gone, as is the ability to mine and craft items. It’s akin to being invited to a party, but walking into an empty building. If you haven’t tried the game, this isn’t the way to be introduced to it. If you have, you’d still have to be a massive fan to enjoy this version as it stands now. Hopefully, as the build progresses, there will be more to do — especially at this high price.
Mario creator teases retirement
The video game 
industry’s top developer seems ready to step back from game making.
Shiergu Miyamoto, creator of Donkey Kong, Mario and The Legend of Zelda, has told Wired.com that he plans to step away from major game development and focus instead on smaller projects and training younger developers. He does not, however, plan to leave the company.
App Review: Snoopy’s Street Fair
Snoopy’s Street Fair 
is positively charming and does a good job of utilizing the familiar Peanuts characters to create a fun, simple simulation that can engage players of all ages. It also boasts lots of extras, like collectible cartoon strips that never get old. However, the fun qualities are quickly overshadowed by the game’s aggressive way of encouraging players to buy in-game currency at high real-world prices. It’s quickly obvious that this is an app that’s much more concerned with separating you from your money than it is about providing enjoyable memories. It also encourages you to recruit friends from Facebook or Game Center to join you as you play.
This ponzi scheme-like marketing is old hat in the world of Facebook games — and has even been done before in the app store — but being nickel-and-dimed every time you start to have fun quickly can take the wind out of your sails.
How to go pro in video games
You’re king of 
the hill on your friends list in Modern Warfare 3. You prey on noobs whenever you encounter them online. And you never, everget tired of playing.
That’s when the thought occurs to you: Maybe, just maybe, there’s a way to make a living at this.
The good news? There is. The bad news is that it isn’t easy. At all.
Is the 3DS finally hitting its stride?
To say that 
Nintendo got off to a rocky start with the 3DS is something of an understatement. After a slight surge when it went on sale, consumer interest nose-dived, forcing the company to slash pricesand admit to being guided by hubris.
These days, though, things are looking up for the handheld system. It recently surpassed the first year sales totals of the DS system, and life to date system sales are at a solid 3 million. By February, the company expects to cross the 4 million mark.
‘Godfather’ social game bypasses Facebook
It takes a lot of 
guts for a social game to turn its back on Facebook, but you probably would expect nothing less of a game based on the Godfather franchise.
The Godfather: Five Families has decided to bypass the largest social networking site and launch exclusively on Google+.
The biggest video game controversies of 2011
For a pastime 
primarily concerned with having fun, video games sure know how to push the wrong buttons. And while 2011 was relatively tame — no Grand Theft Auto title was released, for instance, though we did see a new Mortal Kombat — there were still plenty of reasons to get mad about games this year.
From an unprecedented security breach to mobile-gaming mudslinging, here are the topics that kept us talking.
App Review: Mage Gauntlet
Imitating the 
style of a 15- to 20-year-old game is a risky bet these days, but Rocketcat Games nails it with Mage Gauntlet. From the artwork to the storyline to the levels, this feels like something that could have come from the mid-1990s — and that’s meant as a compliment.
There’s plenty of action (almost too much), plenty of loot, and a nice selection of magic spells to choose from. The story (which is much longer than you’d expect) is deliberately silly, but quickly hooks you. It does sometimes feel like you’re on a treadmill while playing, though. But played in short doses, this is an RPG that you’ll find yourself returning to regularly.
App Review: Monkonomix
Attempting something 
new in the dropping puzzle genre is certainly admirable — and Monkonomix has the gem (pun somewhat intended) of a good idea, but it falls short on execution. Barely legible onscreen text and the lack of a clear objective and tutorial in the early levels throws the player in the deep end without any solid idea of what they’re supposed to so. An onscreen question mark pulls up a help screen, but even that information is less than crystal clear.
The game’s attempts at humor are hit and miss. The attitude of the main character is one that might alienate some parents and seems out of place with the otherwise family friendly puzzle game. Should the developers go back and rework how players are introduced to the game, this might be worth your while — but as it stands now, it’s an easy pass.
Chris Morris: Journalist 