One of my favorite JRPG franchises has to be the Persona sub-franchise in the Shin Megami Tensei series. Although I have played through all of the games in the franchise, Persona 3 and 4 are the ones that really captured my heart. I was talking with a friend about the two games, and we disagreed on...

(This article is spoiler-free, for those of you who, like myself until recently, have yet to play a game from 10 years ago.)As a child gamer, I was told of the greatness of the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time trilogy. Despite the praise, I had never played the games because I had somehow convinced...

Hey guys! Instead of your regularly scheduled dosage of newdarkcloud, you’re going to receive a heaping of MaristPlayBoy, courtesy of what I like to call a “writer’s exchange program” between PSTD and my own blog, the Red Shirt Crew. That said, since this is a gaming-centered blog, I figure...

(Warning: Mass Effect SeriesSpoilers, especially Mass Effect 3. You have been warned.) When I proofread the column from last week, I had realized something. While I did much to outline the problems in the Mass Effectseries and its choices, specifically how they did not significantly influence...

(Warning: Mass Effect SeriesSpoilers, especially Mass Effect 3. You have been warned.) The other day, I had a conversation with a friend of mine about the Mass Effectseries. In it, the following point came up: Where exactly does the series fall on the Sliding Scale of Linearity vs. Choice? It is a...

(Major Spoilers for the Assassin's Creed series and L.A. Noire abound.)Last week, I discussed how games could be used as a storytelling medium. I talked about the benefits of using games to explore philosophies and scenarios in a free form way: That player choice was an important concept and that...

This is a topic that I have touched on in the past, but recently, I have been given the opportunity to talk about it. A couple of weeks back, David Jaffe, creator of Twisted Metal and God of War, said, regarding to storytelling in video games, “If you've really got something inside of you that's...

(Spoiler Warning: This article discusses the first two Assassin's Creed games in great detail.)Story and gameplay are two essential parts to current generation games. People play games not only to have a good time, but also to be immerse in breathtaking narratives and interesting worlds. Many...