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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.
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- Dead Rising 2: Off the Record (360)
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Category Archives: xbox 360
Besting Cesar: Examining Shank’s final fight
Further to my review of Shank over at Rules of the Game, I wanted to examine the fight with Cesar, the man responsible for the murder of Shank’s girlfriend and the last encounter of the game. It stuck in my … Continue reading
Shank review at Rules of the Game
I got a review copy a few weeks ago for Shank, a beat ‘em up from Klei Entertainment. I’d been following this game since the original announcement, and after seeing the initial demonstration videos I was pretty fired up for … Continue reading
Posted in action, arcade, reviews, Rules of the Game, xbox 360
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Case Zero: An Introduction to Dead Rising 2
Around this time last year, I complained that the trial version of Batman: Arkham Asylum was a poorly constructed demonstration of the final game, and lamented the days when demos were complete pieces of a larger game that allowed the … Continue reading
Dante’s Inferno: The Wretched
Dante: “Where are the others? Why aren’t the other damned down here with me?” Lucifer: “This isn’t their Hell, Dante. It’s yours.” – from Dante’s Inferno Dante’s Inferno is a half-hearted action game that gets caught up in its own … Continue reading
Posted in action, game culture, reviews, xbox 360
3 Comments
Darksiders: Uncanny
Darksiders is a wave of nostalgia. It is playing A Link to the Past (1991) on a Super Nintendo console borrowed from a friend away for summer vacation. It is the limited edition comic book with holofoil cover that never … Continue reading
Posted in action, comics, reviews, xbox 360
3 Comments
Ghostbusters The Video Game: Nostalgia is a Dangerous Weapon
Including the New York Public Library as a playable mission in the demo1 should have been a dead giveaway. As one of the signature setpieces in the film Ghostbusters, allowing players to take part in a second trip to this … Continue reading
Borderlands: Genre Pollution
With Borderlands, a game described as a “role-playing shooter”, developers Gearbox hope to capture the audience that spends many sleepless nights wandering through forgotten strongholds while pillaging corpses and undefended treasure chests. They want to make the grind of the … Continue reading
Posted in fps, reviews, rpg, xbox 360
2 Comments
Prototype: With Great Power Comes No Responsibility
Prototype is excess. It is what happens when game designers grow up with American comic books post-comics code and the type of Japanese animation that is more interested in overblown displays of power than telling a story. It is a … Continue reading
Posted in action, comics, console gaming, reviews, xbox 360
3 Comments
Prince of Persia: Epilogue
This is the second part of a two-part review of Prince of Persia (2008) and the “Epilogue” (2009) downloadable content. There are spoilers, but you already knew that. This review examines the “Epilogue” adventure and its relationship with the original … Continue reading
Prince of Persia: Destiny or Inevitable Conclusion?
This is the first part of a two-part review of Prince of Persia (2008) and the “Epilogue” (2009) downloadable content. There are spoilers, but you already knew that. Taking UbiSoft Montreal’s intentions at face value one should be able to … Continue reading
Posted in action, adventure, reviews, xbox 360
7 Comments