Hollywood 
has produced tons of stellar adaptations. The Godfather was translated beautifully from Mario Puzo’s novel. Driving Miss Daisy hit no speedbumps in its move from stage to screen. The Avengers turned the comic book series into a pop-culture juggernaut.
When it comes to games, though, film studios have yet to find the magic formula. That hasn’t stopped them from trying.
It 
might be considered a family game, but Skylanders Trap Team is something of a homewrecker.
My daughter is completely in love with it and gets upset if I play without her, which poses a problem when you happen to review games for a living. My wife is in charge of paying the bills each month; at some point, she’s going to notice the hefty assortment of Toys ‘R’ Us charges on our credit card statement. The “it’s a write off!” excuse might not fly.
For 
the past two decades, if you’ve wanted to get a video game into Wal-Mart, Target or any other brick and mortar retailer, you’ve had to go through the Entertainment Software Ratings Board first.
The ESRB isn’t just the gatekeeper of what can and can’t appear in a video game. It’s also proven to be a helpful tool for parents, a shield against those who wish to demonize an industry, and a thorn in the side of game makers hoping to reach the biggest audience possible.
It turns 20 on Tuesday, and while vidoe game ratings are now ubiquitous, that wasn’t always the case.
Few 
stars have burned as brightly — and burned out as quickly — as Sega’s Dreamcast console.
Adored by players from the moment it was announced in 1998, the system was truly ahead of its time. Even today, on the 15th anniversary of its debut, the Dreamcast has a fan base more loyal than many modern systems.
Nintendo, 
earlier this year, said it was hoping games like Mario Kart 8 would spur people to buy the Wii U – and help it return to profitability.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be happening.
Generally, 
when the video game world meets the real world, the results are either corny or fanboy-focused. But Square Enix’s latest venture is a different story altogether.
The Final Fantasy XIV-themed Eorzea Cafe, which opens tomorrow, is shaping up to be a high-class establishment that blends haute cuisine with an environment evoking the spirit of the game. A yellow light, meant to simulate the sunset in the city-state of Gridania, permeates the cafe.
The 
numerous Game of the Year honors that Sony’s post-apocalyptic adventure The Last of Us took home in 2013 (including one from us) weren’t just because of the game’s tense gameplay. The story – and the phenomenal acting by the cast of voice actors – was just as good.
So if you missed last night’s one-time live performance of selected parts of the game by that same cast, you owe it to yourself to take the time to watch it now.
The 
Walking Dead, the critically acclaimed adventure game version of the multimedia zombie franchise, is shambling towards a third season.
Telltale Games made the announcement at Comic-Con this weekend, delighting fans of the series, which has sold more than 28 million ‘episodes’ to date. Word of the renewal comes while the second season of the game is still ongoing. (Because of its episodic format, each story is referred to a season, rather than chapter or some other term.)
Has 
the long-rumored merger of two online video titans finally occurred?
Venturebeat is reporting Google has signed a deal to buy game-streaming service Twitch, for $1 billion. (Both companies are declining to comment on the report.)
Ubisoft 
wants to take gaming to new heights.
The publisher has announced a new promotion which will let one fan play Far Cry 4 – from Mt. Everest.
Chris Morris: Journalist 