Eric Van Allen


Tactical play is a hallmark of the Rainbow Six series. Although differing in intensity, each entry has tried to put a spin on the methodical operations of various renowned international special forces. Rainbow Six: Siege continues this trend, and though it veers more towards the modern than days of yore,
by Eric Van Allen
Every story has a branch, a “what-if” moment where the protagonist wonders if they might have been able to do something differently. Stories is a game about those moments, where one after another, the choices you make weigh upon you, either leading to your untimely death or the solution you
by Eric Van Allen
Nostalgia is a powerful tool. It signifies an emotional attachment to something, and that’s valuable in its own right. Games like Shovel Knight or Pillars of Eternity wouldn’t have happened if some didn’t hold a longing for the Good Ol’ Days. Nostalgia can also be a crutch,
by Eric Van Allen
Typoman is a game about the power of the pen, the strength that words have, and what can happen to a society when that right is controlled or tampered with. It is a game that extols the virtues of expression, and even if it misses in the minutia, it still
by Eric Van Allen
Within an hour of starting up Yo-Kai Watch, I had befriended several ghouls, including a talking cat named Jibanyan who punched cars to get stronger, and a purple anteater named Baku who eats nightmares for food. If that intrigues you, then I have good news: that’s just the surface
by Eric Van Allen
“When a child first catches adults out — when it first walks into his grave little head that adults do not always have divine intelligence, that their judgments are not always wise, their thinking true, their sentences just — his world falls into panic desolation. The gods are fallen and all safety
by Eric Van Allen
Having no prior experience with Dragon Quest before picking up Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below, I was as intimidated by my lack of background knowledge as I was by the subtitle. Dragon Quest was a series that always stayed on my periphery – in
by Eric Van Allen
Space isn’t always the idealistic future we paint it to be. While some portray it as a romantic opera of gallantry and humanity unified under one banner, others see it as a dismal and wild frontier, where only the strong and clever will survive. Rebel Galaxy falls squarely in
by Eric Van Allen