Brad Gallaway's blog

Looking back at the various ninjas that have populated the gamescape over the years, the vast majority of them have focused on combos and combat, rather than truly employing stealth to its greatest degree. Klei Entertainment wants to change all that. With its upcoming XBLA release, Mark of the Ninja, they aim to bring sneaky back, and they're doing it in a big way—2D.

For my next big review, I've been working on Risen 2: Dark Waters (Xbox 360). I was a big fan of the first Risen, and I was always disappointed that the game never got the credit I felt it was due. It was rough, to be sure, and I can understand why a certain section of people wouldn't give it the time of day. That said, there was a lot of great stuff happening in that game once you got past appearances, and people who I would've expected to dig into it never did.

Welcome back to a semi-regular feature here at GameCritics.com: TouchTalk. While this series was inspired by one of my old features, the Bargain Basement, I've got an all-new focus for an all-new phase in gaming. Rather than highlighting discounted gems in the used section of a retail shop, I'll be reviewing downloadable mobile games and apps that you might want to check out… and maybe some that you'll want to avoid.

While at the most recent Seattle Indie Expo (SIX), I had the chance to meet Jesse Turner, artist for the recent iOS release, Shellrazer. I was blown away by his energy and enthusiasm, and there's no question he's a very talented artist. Dude can draw the hell out of turtles, yo. Although I didn't have a ton of time at the show, Jesse was quite gracious and willing to follow up with me afterwards, and here's what he (and his teammate Nick Waanders) had to say.

A few weeks ago, it seemed like there wasn't a single thing to play. Now, it seems like there's too much to handle!

Welcome back to a semi-regular feature here at GameCritics.com: TouchTalk. While this series was inspired by one of my old features, the Bargain Basement, I've got an all-new focus for an all-new phase in gaming. Rather than highlighting discounted gems in the used section of a retail shop, I'll be reviewing downloadable mobile games and apps that you might want to check out… and maybe some that you'll want to avoid.

Both of my kids are really into costumes and such, and today my youngest asked me for some rocket boots. I didn't have anything immediately on hand besides an old pair of galoshes that were not being used, so the wife picked up a few bits, and this is what I put together.

Last year's Seattle Indie Expo proved that the Pacific Northwest is a hotbed of up-and-coming games development talent, and if anyone needed further proof, then this year's SIX drove the point home.

First, a disclaimer—this is NOT a review. Just saying. So, Persona 4: Arena... like, WOW. As someone who wasn't really a fan of the BlazBlue fighting games, I wasn't overly excited about the thought of those devs taking one of the best Japanese role-playing games from the last decade (if not the last... ever) and making a fighting game out of it, but I just received a review copy and I've been playing it for the last few days.

Welcome to the first installment of a brand-new semi-regular feature here at GameCritics.com: TouchTalk. While this series was inspired by one of my old features, the Bargain Basement, I've got an all-new focus for an all-new phase in gaming. Rather than highlighting discounted gems in the used section of a retail shop, I'll be reviewing downloadable mobile games and apps that you might want to check out… and maybe some that you'll want to avoid.