Majora's Mask is Better Than Ocarina of Time

Majora's Mask has the unfortunate luck of being the younger brother to one of the most beloved, classic games of all time. Ocarina of Time gets all the love and attention, from GameCube re-releases, Master Quest re-makes, and 3DS releases, while MM sits alone in the corner, an under-appreciated gem. Which is sad, because MM is the better game, and deserves at least a little bit of attention. So let's break it down point-by-point to examine why Majora's Mask is better than Ocarina of Time.

Episodic Games: "Still Waiting"

Let's talk about them new-fangled "episodic games" for a bit. They first showed up on the scene in 2006 with Sin: Episodes, followed shortly by Half-Life 2: Episodes. The idea was to release a full-length game in smaller chunks called "episodes." They'd cost a fraction of a full-priced game, and would be released about every six months. It was a novel idea at the time, but look where it's gotten us. There's still a lot of potential yet to be tapped with episodic games, but so far the concept has been mostly disappointing.

What Happened to Guild Wars?

Two weeks ago I reminisced about how much I missed Guild Wars. So nostalgic was I that I reinstalled it with all of the expansions that I never got around to, and jumped back into the game that set a new standard for how online games could function.

And then I discovered that the game had changed rather significantly in the last five years. The sense of community seems to have faded, at least in the campaigns, and so the feeling of questing, adventuring, and monster-slaying no longer feels wholesome. What happened to Guild Wars?

Motion Controls Disrupt Immersion

When Nintendo was first unveiling the DS and the Wii, I was among many optimists thinking that these new innovations would revolutionize gaming. I thought we were one step closer to virtual reality, and that the new controls would put us closer to the action and make us feel a part of the game. But they did the exact opposite, putting an extra layer between me and the gameworld. It's harder to suspend my disbelief when I'm blatantly aware that I'm standing in my living room swinging a piece of plastic in front of my TV. So here's why motion controls disrupt immersion.

Video Games in TV: Warehouse 13

"Some TV shows just don't get it." Part of a periodical series: Video Games in TV. 

Tonight's episode of Warehouse 13, "Don't Hate the Player," was kind enough to synchronize precisely with my plans to write another article for Video Games in TV. This episode follows the tried formula of "players stuck in a virtual reality game," where the heroes play the game in order to save the day. Unlike most other episodes that show a completely inept understanding of the medium, "Don't Hate the Player" strives to be a respectful homage to video games. It's not a perfect tribute and comes off a little shallow, but there's no reason to hate this episode.

Don't Hide From This Review

I've just played through Hide, a free indie game by a fellow named Andrew Shouldice. It's something of a three-dimensional first-person survival-horror game with a very simple (if not entirely original) premise: survive. Your goal is to find five locations in a dark, snowy wood, reading the signs at each one while avoiding the certain death that stalks you in the night.

It's an interesting, atmospheric game that packs a lot into the experience, despite its limited content and simple premise. It's certainly one of the more engaging, immersing titles I've played in a while, dripping with melancholy, longing, and despair. All in the good sort of way that you'd expect from a survival-horror. So that's a fair bit of praise for it. Continue reading for the rest of my review of Hide.

Type Harder, Not Smarter

Type Hard is a free indie game that's actually pretty interesting, considering its only gameplay mechanic is typing. Words appear on screen and you type them. You earn points for not making mistakes, and for typing more words per minute. That's it. It's an extremely simple concept that shouldn't really be that interesting, but by golly does it get the adrenaline pumping. So here's my brief review of Type Hard. Continue reading to find out why you should play it.