Posted 06/24/09 at 01:00:00 PM by Nathan Grayson

“Never bring a knife to a gunfight” – a wise saying that’s kept Cowboy duels the world over interesting for years. That cardinal rule doesn’t say anything about stone-shattering mining hammers, though, and there’s a very good reason for that. To quote an enemy from Red Faction: Guerrilla: “Snap! Crack! Sounds of brain splattering like wet spaghetti against a wall.” Hey, I never said I was quoting something that came from the poor guy’s mouth.

Battering EDF goons into Mars-flavored space-paste isn’t the only thing my hulking steel hammer does, either. It can render years of architectural progress futile in a few powerful blows, taking chunk after chunk out of buildings until all that remains is splintered scrap. As you can imagine, the practical applications for this futuristic form of Building Neutralization are endless. Wall in my way? Knock it down. Gun emplacement in my way? Knock it down. EDF fortress in my way? Well, you get the idea. But aside from the novelty of being able to run through walls screaming, “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch,” the ability to homerun-swing the entire environment around me into chalky dust – to never be impeded or have to take “the long way around” – is incredibly liberating. In fact, other shooters now feel limited and strange to me because they lack that feature.
 
Clearly, Red Faction developer Volition is onto something here. Completely destroyable structures give me all kinds of new options, keeping missions endlessly fresh. What Volition created, then, is a good, well-implemented game mechanic. It brings me endless amounts of joy and – even more importantly – I can’t imagine playing other games of its variety without it. As much as the game’s destructible environments have been pushed and marketed, they aren’t some big gimmick. In fact, interestingly enough, Red Faction: Guerrilla’s also a perfect example of how to both define and avoid cheap gimmicks – lessons that, if cranky, keyboard-bound gamers are to be believed, are quite important.

 Insert disc titled "Read More" to continue.

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Posted 04/24/09 at 11:59:28 PM by Nathan Grayson

Yeah – this is getting pretty ridiculous. Just when you thought Valve’s market-dominating Steam service couldn’t cut any more off its game prices without bleeding money, they go and prove everyone wrong.
 
This weekend, Valve’s offering the Orange Box – a complete steal even at its original price – for $9.99. For those who haven’t been keeping score, the Orange Box contains Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episodes One and Two, Half-Life 2: The Lost Coast, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. Really, the only things this virtual incarnation of said box lacks are, well, actual oranges and any sort of box. But hey, you’re saving the trees for cheap, and isn’t that basically the American Dream?
 
So, six amazing games. Ten bucks. Breathing lightly on piggy bank will yield you that kind of scratch. Seriously, if you haven’t played these games, what are you even waiting for? Afraid you might lose your job while utterly engrossed in your new purchases? Well, if Steam keeps topping itself like this, you probably won’t need much money to keep your gaming appetite sated anyway.

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Posted 10/16/08 at 08:31:27 PM by Nathan Grayson

EA has certainly taken a turn for the less-reviled as of late -- a sudden change that can be attributed to risk-taking, trouble-making CEO John Riccitiello. However, even creative greats like Picasso, De Vinci, and Batman were only human, and all humans have breaking points. For Riccitiello, that point was seemingly first-person run 'n' rebel Mirror's Edge.

"I was totally convinced that game needed to be third-person and not first-person, because I wanted to see Faith," Riccitiello said.

“I was really wrong about the third-person thing,” he continued, citing the highly anticipated title's finished form.

But even with titles like Mirror's Edge under his belt, Riccitiello's heart is clad in a business suit, and some "creative risks" -- like Tim Schafer-Jack Black collaboration Brutal Legend -- give him palpitations (the bad kind; not the blood-pumping, required-to-survive kind).

"I have seen it," Riccitiello replied when asked if EA has considered publishing Brutal Legend. "I am well aware of what the game is. It’s a very significant creative risk."
     
"Sometimes significant creative risks end up being some of the world’s best products. Spore was also a significant creative risk. So was The Sims. Portal, BioShock. But so was [the relatively poor-selling, high quality Tim Schafer title] Grim Fandango."

That's, uh, pretty hard to mistake for a "Yes."

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Posted 07/08/08 at 08:21:57 PM by Tom Edwards

Scott Dacus is such a big fan of Portal his ringtone is the game’s theme song, “Still Alive.” However, an even bigger fan of the game commissioned Scott to build this case as a gift for his wife. We think this man is a genius or headed for divorce court—either way, he’s our new hero!

Hit the jump for an up-close look at a case which will never threaten to stab you, and in fact cannot speak.

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Posted 03/25/08 at 12:15:52 PM by Thomas McDonald

The Independent Games Festival is chock-full of inventive indie fare.

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Posted 01/30/08 at 03:11:37 PM by Will Smith

Finishing The Orange Box left us in a state of shock. It wasn’t Half-Life 2: Episode 2’s requisite cliffhanger ending that floored us; rather, it was the realization that Episode 2 is the low point of the entire Orange Box package. Portal and Team Fortress 2 completely eclipse what Valve bills as the “centerpiece” of the bundle.

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Posted 10/12/07 at 06:00:13 PM by Maximum PC Staff

In this weeks episode of the Maximum PC Podcast, the gang talks about hard drives, solid state drives, and Intel's X38 chipset

Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/maximumpc/1337

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