You Can’t Even Call These Video Games

A serious mockery of an art form

Mind control doesn’t exist, but it doesn’t need to for me to make this next sequence sound all too familiar to a handful of readers. Open YouTube app on your mobile phone -> scroll through your feed -> click on a video that piques your interest -> if it’s monetized, ads will roll before, during, after, or at all three points depending on the length -> one of those ads is for a simple puzzle or side-scrolling shooter game -> the example player plays the puzzle extremely poorly. If you’re on desktop and have the Adblock for YouTube extension, then these may not be seen at all. If you’re on mobile, like I usually am, hammering away on the screen for the Skip Ad button is a regular routine.

Read More »

The Other British Invasion of 1997-2003: A Culmination

Beatles and Stones out of the way

Take a look at some of the biggest games and entertainment products to release from 1997 to 2003, look at their country of origin, and count on your fingers how many of them are British. By my estimate, there’s a handful of the most famous ones that come straight to mind. Majority video games, but also film and TV. Regular readers and subscribers know what my go-to is and we’ll get to the video games in a moment, but let’s talk about British TV a little. The Brits reading this can name some of their favorites (excuse me, favourites), but let’s look at the one that successfully crossed over to the American TV world:

Read More »