Richard Naik's blog

I knew very little about XCOM before the show, but now it's one of my most anticipated titles. A re-imagining of the classic PC strategy series, Enemy Unknown gave me a very distinct Frozen Synapse vibe, which makes sense since it was itself heavily influenced by the XCOM games. There was no playable demo at the show and the presentation consisted of a pre-beta build, but I liked what I saw and will likely be picking it up when it releases.

On the latest episode of After Dark, we take on Mass Effect 3 and the now-infamous ending, share our reflections on the Mass Effect franchise, and have a spirited discussion about sexual relations. Featuring Richard Naik and Brad Gallaway, special guest Michael Cunningham on loan from RPGamer.com, plus a special appearance from Tim "Brett Favre" Spaeth.

• Mass Effect 3 Review
• Mass Effect 3: A thing that happened
• Mass Effect 3: A requiem for the ME universe
  

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A copious amount of blood, sweat, tears and other bodily fluids have already been spilled over Mass Effect 3′s ending. Several of the first few Google results concern the overwhelmingly negative fan reaction in some way, be it in the form of an online petition or a silly FTC complaint. The laser-like focus on the ending is a damn dirty shame, because outside of those five minutes at the very end of the game and a shaky first hour or so, Mass Effect 3 is about as good a series finale as I could have hoped for.

Greetings all. We're trying out a bit of an experiment here, and no, it isn't "how many times can I fit the word 'game' into the headline?" It's the first ever GameCritics game night, which will hopefully give our wonderful community the chance to play, interact, and mercilessly embarrass each other all in the name of good-natured fun.

The first game that we're going to try is Team Fortress 2, for which we've set up our own server (details below). If you haven't played before/aren't experienced, don't worry! This is going to be about having fun above all else, and all skill levels are welcome.

The first date we're shooting for will be Thursday Feb. 23rd, at 7pm CST/8pm EST. I will also post an announcement in the Steam group around that time. Also, we'd like to know what games you would like to see for possible future game nights-post your suggestions in the comments.

Hope to see you there!

TF2 server address (add to favorites in the game): 8.6.75.26:27015

Steam group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/gamecritics

2011 was a year of extremes for me, both in games and in life. I'll stick to the games here, since my personal life isn't worth wasting valuable internet real estate on. There was very little middle ground as far as my opinions went—I either loved it or hated it. Since everyone comes to me to feel good about themselves, I'm going to focus on things I actually liked.

We're bringing back GameCritics After Dark, and to kick things off it's a special Zelda extravaganza! We assemble a crack team of experts to give their take on The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, then we debate an even more enormous question: what is the future of the Zelda franchise? Featuring Richard Naik and Mike Bracken, plus special guests Jeffrey Matulef and Brainy Gamer's Michael Abbott.

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• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

I really like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I want to state this now, since most of what I'm about to write will probably make it seem like I dislike it. However, just because I like something doesn't mean I can't criticize it as well. And believe me, there are things to criticize about Skyrim.

At long last, we've reached the end. The final boss is actually pretty tough, so I go ahead and use the Rolling Shield on him. After that we've got a very somber ending and then the credits, complete with me struggling in vain to fill several minutes worth of dead air.

I'll be back sometime in the near future with Mega Man X2 and so on, but I'll be taking a small Mega Man break first. Until then, enjoy this last video. It's been fun!

The third Sigma Stage is essentially a big boss rush. I have to face the five remaining Mavericks plus the stage boss, D-Rex. While it isn't that bad if you use the Maverick weapons, this stage can be hell if you're doing a buster only run, especially since you have to deal with both Sting Chameleon and Armored Armadillo again.

The next video will be the final stage and ending. Enjoy!

The boss battles in Deus Ex: Human Revolution suck. Hard. The people of the Internet appear to agree on this notion. While they aren’t game-breakers, they are clumsy and uninspired bullet sponges whose design runs counter to the nature of the rest of the game.