Author: Michael Martin

Mike Martin cut his teeth on Atari, Commodore, and Nintendo gaming. He’s seen bits go from 8 to 16 then 32 to 64 and beyond. He’s always felt at home in arcades, darkened buildings with rows of glowing monitors before they became extinct. He’s managed a video game arcade, a successful independent gaming store, and operated a gaming website of his own. His battle with personal demons has been a major influence on life experiences and writing recently and it seems the perfect opportunity to marry gaming and writing.

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus Review: One Last No Frills Ride

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Michael Martin

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It can be a little intimidating to jump into the epilogue of a series when you’ve only sparingly dabbled in the franchise throughout the years. But Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus offers everything one would expect it to; steady gameplay with outlandish upgradeable weapons and some wise-cracking humor to go with a no frills sci-fi adventure. A few new mechanics have been added to spice up the mix to make Into the Nexus a solid but brief final entry that doesn’t go out of its way to be great as Ratchet and Clank ride off into the sunset with the PS3. (more…)

Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Skulls of the Shogun Review: Tactically Storming the Samurai Afterlife

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Michael Martin

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General Akamoto is having a pretty bad day. Just as he’s about to become Japan’s new Shogun, he’s betrayed by one of his own and killed. The icing on the cake? Someone is impersonating him. Skulls of the Shogun features fantastic art and sound design that marry themes from ancient Japanese art style with Cartoon Network style. The aesthetic attention to detail by 17-Bit is remarkable. The whimsical Japanese fantasy setting is brought to life by magnificent character and level design, and accessible, progressive tactical strategy gameplay. (more…)

Posted in Mobile, PC, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Call of Duty: Black Ops II Review: Let This Call Go To Voicemail

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Michael Martin

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The Call of Duty franchise practically prints money for Activision shareholders. It is for this reason that an annual release in November is as certain as Thanksgiving. 2012 marked Treyarch’s turn in the development driver seat and they are looking to show that they aren’t just the Call of Duty “B-Team.” Unfortunately, Call of Duty: Black Ops II falls short of the lofty expectations set forth by the stellar World at War and the original Black Ops. (more…)

Posted in PC, PS3, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged