Posts By Eric Van Allen
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2.7KReviewsRunning on rose-colored fumes — Supercharged Robot VULKAISER review
Supercharged Robot VULKAISER is at its best when playing off Saturday morning cartoon tropes and humor. Some Voltron, some Gundam, mix in...
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2.0KPreviewsA whole new world — my first demo with the Oculus Rift CV1
While waiting for my appointment to demo the Oculus Rift, I struck up a conversation with two guys nearby. They happened to...
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2.3KPreviewsFriends throwing friends — hands-on with couch bro-op Super Dungeon Bros
One of my favorite parts of any co-op game is finding ways to impede, hinder, or mess with the people I’m supposed...
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2.6KPreviewsCreep farming to-go — Hands-on with Ace of Arenas’ take on mobile MOBA
Condensing the MOBA experience to the mobile format is no easy undertaking; the genre doesn’t exactly lend itself to short play sessions...
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2.2KPreviewsHoth revisited — How Star Wars: Battlefront is nailing galactic warfare
Hoth is to Star Wars: Battlefront as Omaha Beach once was to World War 2 shooters. It is the signature battle, known...
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2.1KPreviewsAssembling the universe’s finest — Hands-on with Battleborn’s unique blend of MOBA and shooter
Battleborn represents a huge step forward for 2K Games. A co-op, character-based shooter with elements drawn from many genres, mediums and ideas,...
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2.2KPreviewsNo pulling punches — The sweet science behind Street Fighter V’s new modes and characters
The big daddy of fighting games is back, and for the first time in almost a decade, we’re getting a completely new...
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2.2KPreviewsExpanding your vocabulary — Typoman’s unique approach to grammatical platforming
A wise man once said, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Words can topple regimes and enrapture millions, and in Typoman,...
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1.8KPreviewsTools of the trade — how Rock Band 4 expands the genre without forcing change
The key to Rock Band 4’s brilliance is the way it builds up, rather than changes. Many rhythm games attempt to change...
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6.1KPreviewsCo-op across worlds — hands-on impressions of Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition
Divinity: Original Sin was a smash hit on PC, coming in the summer gaming drought to revitalize CRPG players with a breath...
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2.4KPreviewsAugmented warfare: a first look at Black Ops III’s multiplayer and specialists
After a night spent with the multiplayer of Black Ops III, I could only think of one word: control. Treyarch’s shooter wants...
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1.3KFeaturesGT@E3 — where we’ll be and what you’ll see in the coming week
It’s that time of year again, when the gaming faithful make their pilgrimage out to the hills of sunny Los Angeles to...
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3.2KReviewsCelebrating ten years of inventions — Crazy Machines 2 Anniversary DLC review
Booting up Crazy Machines 2, the initial setup had me install a pre-2010 version of DirectX in order to run the game....
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3.2KReviewsWhen worlds collide — Heroes of the Storm review
I’ve dumped an inordinate amount of time into MOBAs. Starting with League of Legends, I accumulated somewhere in the ballpark of four-to-five-thousand...
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10.7KReviewsSomething ends, something begins — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review
The finale of the Witcher trilogy has come and gone. The culmination of years of novels and games, weaving character and plot...
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3.1KEditorialsThe worst kind of DLC — Nintendo’s continued mishandling of amiibos
I remember when I was on the outside looking in on the whole amiibo craze. It was insane, right? Lines around the...
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4.7KReviewsThe final round for a classic fighter — Ultra Street Fighter IV for PS4 review
There’s a sweet science to competitive fighting games. Not unlike real-life boxing, there’s a lot of careful thought and tactics underneath the...
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3.4KReviewsMighty morphin’ management rangers — Chroma Squad review
Chroma Squad evokes a lot of the same responses that many children of the 90s have to Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. The...
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1.8KFeaturesThe International 2015 — a newcomer’s primer on Dota 2’s premier event
E-sports has grown exponentially over the past few years. It used to be a small phenomenon, and then one only contained in...
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3.6KImpressionsAuriga expanded — Endless Legend: Guardians impressions
Endless Legend was a sleeper hit for fans of 4x strategy in 2014. From the devs of Endless Space, Legend was a...
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1.4KInterviewsInterview: Rebuilding a Kickstarter for Dimension Drive
Last week, we saw the darker side of Kickstarter campaigns, as a fraudulent backer gave €7000 to Dimension Drive’s Kickstarter during its...
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2.9KImpressionsLife is Strange “Chaos Theory” impressions
Note: This impressions piece will contain spoilers for all three episodes released so far. If you haven’t played them yet, I highly...
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2.9KImpressionsSnapshot — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
We’ve been playing just a bit of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (where a bit equals dozens of hours), and been absolutely...
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2.8KImpressions
GT Snapshot — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
We’ve been playing just a bit of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (where a bit equals dozens of hours), and been absolutely...
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5.0KReviewsA breath of fresh air for Nep — Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed review
While the Neptunia series is largely recognized for its steady stream of JRPG releases, Action Unleashed is a new frontier for the...
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3.2KImpressionsPlaying chess with a bolter — Warhammer 40,000: Regicide Early Access impressions
Warhammer 40,000 has provided some pretty amazing gaming experiences, from the excellent Dawn of War series to the brutal Space Marine game....
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3.4KReviewsDon’t fix what isn’t broken — The Weaponographist review
There aren’t many game mechanics as frustrating as weapon degradation. Getting attached to a certain tool of destruction, spending time and resources...
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1.9KPreviewsConcrete jungle — hands-on with Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy
My first hour with Operation Abyss was spent lazily reading over screen after screen of text, trying to best absorb the heavy...
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3.5KInterviewsLast train to Augur Peak — An interview with Ashton Raze, the mind behind the Charnel House Trilogy
A few weeks ago, I checked out a short horror adventure game called “The Charnel House Trilogy.” It was a rainy afternoon,...
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5.9KReviewsA whole new world — Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker review
The Nintendo DS holds a special place in my heart. Years of road-tripping, traveling, and stealth-gameplay-sessions during study hall or concert band...
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4.8KReviewsPretty little idols — Omega Quintet review
Compile Heart is somewhat infamous for the style of game they develop. Anime aesthetic, referential and sometimes childish humor mixed with lewd...
