iPad

I'm still putting some time into Metro 2033, but I've got to be honest here, folks... the appeal is really wearing off. What a difference a few hours makes, eh?

The guys at Extra Credits look at something that you've probably never heard about: we are running out of bandwidth. All of those videos of cats being adorable and marathon sessions of Angry Birds and Call of Duty are taxing the current bandwidth sources leaving us in need of more sources or risk running out in a couple of years. It may not seem applicable to gamers, but just watch the video and you'll see that this could be an issue especially with newer game consoles and game-playing media devices coming online at about the same time.

I know I'm totally late to the party on this one, but holy sugar smacks, you guys... Metro 2033.

Hocus Pocus. Presto-Chango. Alaka-SHAM.

HIGH Thematically coherent and smoothly animated presentation.

LOW Gameplay that feels like the player is in a drowning tank with no way of escape.

WTF Two modes disguised as four with slight rule tweaks.

My oldest son's summer vacation is over soon, just a couple of days left, but he managed to finish a few games while he was here. The second game he finished was Street Fighter X Tekken. Although it's not really a traditional game that you can "finish" in the sense that you've completed all quests or rescued the people in need, we went through the game with all available story-based pairs, so I'm calling that done.

Hungry for More

HIGH The "batteries" line near the end of the episode.

LOW Being shunted out of a scene before I was ready.

WTF Kenny's dialogue didn't match my choices from Episode One.

With so many platforms and the influx of new funding sources, Indie game development is looking like a surer bet than it ever has. However, as the guys at Extra Credits repeatedly point out in this video, once you actually attempt it, you might have to temper your expectations.

Electronic Romance-flavored Cotton Candy

HIGH The clever dialogue when I figured out a puzzle without any clues.

LOW Replaying (and re-reading) the final scene four times trying to get it right.

WTF Why is there no option to quit and restart mid-chapter?

Extra Credit now examines the Augmented Reality Game genre. This genre appears to be the furthest out of reach given the technological requirements and costs needed to create seamless experiences. Should someone get their head around those limitations—and I guess wearable technology becomes a thing—it has great potential to blur the line between gaming and the real world.

Alternate Reality Games and Augmented Reality Games both fall under the acronym of ARG, but are actually quite different. Extra Credit takes a quick look at the Alternate Reality Game half of that genre of games—and yes you can argue that they are games. Perhaps it is because they are unfamiliar to the public and save for a few great examples like Microsoft/Bungie's I Love Bees or Electronic Arts' Majestic, they have been largely untouched by many in the games industry.