Yes, it’s once again time to check in on Geoff Keighley and his merry band of misfits, to see what of worth came from this year’s Summer Game Fest show. As with last week’s State of Play highlights , we’re just here to look at the interesting stuff - the games that caught my eye, either through a strong showing or a fascinating angle on their given material. How many of these titles will actually stick the landing remains to be seen, but for now here are my thoughts… Felt That: Boxing Developed by: Sans Strings Studio Doing what basically seems to be a straight “save the orphanage”/underdog boxer story, but where everyone is Basically a Muppet, is a great gag. Seems like it’s a mix of Punch-Out-like fights and an assortment of minigames themed after training montage moments, that’s some good stuff. Marvel Cosmic Invasion Developed by: Tribute Games The folks behind the excellent TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge making another pixel-art beat 'em up, this one a mash-up of Marvel Comics hero...
Today I’m debuting our first of several on-going segments - A Look Back, where I… well, take a look back, duh. Specifically, we’re gonna be discussing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. For starters let’s get into what kind of world we were living in when Modern Warfare exploded onto the scene. We were four years into the War on Terror, and six years out from 9/11. Two world changing events whose ramifications and influence crept their way into every aspect of culture - film, television, literature, comic books, and yes, VIDEO GAMES. War and its particular brand of brutal violence became a sort of norm, rather than a niche interest, in the world of gaming. You couldn’t throw a stone five inches without hitting a game about MASCULINE, OLD FASHIONED AMERICAN MEN FIGHTIN’ THE GOOD FIGHT AGAINST THE FOREIGN AGENDA. Even if the games weren’t necessarily set on Earth or fixated on stereotypical images of terrorists, the imagery and themes on display - ranging from widesprea...