About
Tales of a Scorched Earth is a personal weblog devoted to the critique of video games and game culture, but easily integrates other forms of consumable media. Here you will find independent analysis and opinions on video games, comfortably distanced from the industry at large. Updated at least once a month, but more if I'm feeling particularly inspired.
email: gatmog [AT THIS DOMAIN]
twitter: gatmog
tumblr: gatmog
last.fm: gatmog
steam: gatmog
XBL: gatmogzero
PSN: gatmogzero-
Recently Added
Search the Archives
Playlist
- Dead Rising 2: Off the Record (360)
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (360)
- Darksiders (360)
- SpaceChem...always SpaceChem
Recent Comments
Mostly Disposable Text
- No matter how shitty I'm feeling, the guitar solo at the end of this song always makes me feel better. (3:25) http://t.co/BtrCy7I7 01:13:03 PM May 19, 2012 ReplyRetweetFavorite
- "D3 is like your favorite pair of jogging pants." "But I don't own any jogging pants." "You will." 01:04:36 AM May 17, 2012 ReplyRetweetFavorite
- maladjusted 12:40:03 AM May 16, 2012 ReplyRetweetFavorite
- It sounds like they are playing the Dead Rising mall music in this grocery store. Should I be worried? 01:53:59 PM May 12, 2012 ReplyRetweetFavorite
- The new Silversun Pickups record is waiting for me when I get home. Exciting! 10:08:32 PM May 10, 2012 ReplyRetweetFavorite
Linkolepsy
- action button
- banana pepper martinis
- before game design
- Celeste Gagnon
- chungking espresso
- Curmudgeon Gamer
- Delayed Responsibility
- EDGE
- Eric Zermeno
- Flash of Steel
- game design advance
- game sugar
- GameSetWatch
- Hardcore Gaming 101
- insert credit
- killspeak
- Magical Wasteland
- Murderblog 3D
- Polycat
- Quarter to Three
- Rock, Paper, Shotgun
- The Artful Gamer
- The Gamer’s Quarter
- The In-Between
- the new gamer
- The Quixotic Engineer
- contents of this site ©2003-2011 in whole or in part Andrew Smale. all images on this site are copyright their respective owners. comments are owned by the poster and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website. site powered by WordPress and notepad++.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Category Archives: demos
The Video Game Demo: advertising catalyst or legitimate demonstration?
Within the first fifteen minutes of playing a video game, I can tell if it will be good. I have yet to decide whether this is a useful skill in the context of adult life. Services like Steam and the … Continue reading
Posted in console gaming, demos, game culture, gaming media, pc gaming, xbox 360
6 Comments
Ghostbusters: The Video Game continues the assault on nostalgia
“If you loved the films then this is the game that you have been waiting for.” – Extreme Gamer “If you’re a fan of the movies this alone is largely enough to look past the game’s failings.” – Total Video … Continue reading
finding Wolverine
On the surface, X-Men Origins: Wolverine seems like a single player verison of Raven Software’s own X-Men Legends/Marvel Ultimate Alliance, that focuses more on the immediate thrill of the action instead of stat boosting and party management. Most importantly, they … Continue reading
Posted in action, comics, demos, xbox 360
2 Comments
your cover has just been destroyed. now what?
When Red Faction: Guerrilla‘s friendly tooltip “Hit LB while near a wall or an obstacle to take cover” popped onto the screen, my eyes were rolling to the back of my head in pre-emptive disinterest. But I played through the … Continue reading
Ninja Blade: regression
It has ninjas and big swords, so it must be cool. Right? At least, that’s what From Software is hoping. Trying to come up with a list of “must have” games for the 360 in 2009, I came across the … Continue reading
Posted in action, console gaming, demos, xbox 360
4 Comments
F.E.A.R. 2: in which you see ghosts and fire a gun and wear power armor
The demo for F.E.A.R. 2 has two themes running through it that are clearly at odds with one another, and they do a fine job of convoluting the game’s purpose. On the one hand, the introductory mission of F.E.A.R. 2 … Continue reading
Posted in demos, fps, xbox 360
Leave a comment
Resident Evil 5: the demo
Anticipating Resident Evil 5 was clearly a mistake. After playing Resident Evil 4 twice and subsequently labeling it “the most overrated game of 2005″, I should have known better than to expect anything different from a sequel banking on its … Continue reading
Posted in 3ps, demos, survival horror, xbox 360
1 Comment
Playing catch-up on the XBox 360
I took advantage of the Boxing Day shopping frenzy over the weekend and picked up an XBox 360 Pro Holiday Bundle at a discount that was hard to ignore. This is a purchase I had been deeply considering since my … Continue reading
Posted in action, arcade, castlevania, console gaming, demos, features, fps, gears of war, platformer, rpg, xbox 360
2 Comments
Left 4 Dead impressions
Updated November 14, 2008 Left 4 Dead goes out of its way to create an interactive horror movie. The movie poster introducing the upcoming mission, the four horror movie archetypes forming the group of survivors, a city overrun with Infected … Continue reading
Posted in demos, fps, left4dead, pc gaming, survival horror
Leave a comment