Strategy/Sim

A Joy from Afar

HIGH Blowing up an enemy capital ship as it tries to jump out of the system.

LOW Getting rocked by pirates right as I'm about to mount an attack on my main enemy's homeworld.

WTF Seriously, screw those pirates.

Welcome to the first installment of a brand-new semi-regular feature here at GameCritics.com: TouchTalk. While this series was inspired by one of my old features, the Bargain Basement, I've got an all-new focus for an all-new phase in gaming. Rather than highlighting discounted gems in the used section of a retail shop, I'll be reviewing downloadable mobile games and apps that you might want to check out… and maybe some that you'll want to avoid.

Ten-legged Tactics

HIGH A bigger role for gunslinger Clint.

LOW Getting stuck on a level by overlooking a very obvious switch.

WTF When's the next episode coming out?

By Baseball Geeks, for Baseball Geeks

HIGH: Having to make a tough roster decision when a player came off the disabled list.

LOW: Being overwhelmed by the sheer number of options and information available.

WTF: This game loves Eduardo Sanchez.

It feels like forever since last update, but that's the way life goes sometimes. I caught a sore throat right as the week started and I've been trying to sleep it off when I haven't been grinding away at the day job, so that ate up a lot of my regular time. Toss in a wife and kids to fill up the rest, and there you go.

Escape into the Cubiverse

HIGH Discovering a vast cave system underneath my house.

LOW Repeated game-killing glitches.

WTF The game can often be scarier than most horror titles.

Well, E3 is upon us again. While a tsunami of new game info is pouring out of LA, I'm not sure that anyone will have time for this little old blog, but it's still business as usual for me until PAX later this year. The convention always falls on the first week of my son's summer visit, so I haven't gone to the last few. Family > E3, but I will be watching all the press briefings!

Looking forward to a Gamecritics review of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we won't be covering it anytime soon due to the game shipping in an unplayable state.

The Slow-moving Runaway Choo-choo Train of Deadly Death

HIGH Bringing maxed-out missile launchers to bear on the enemy.

LOW Waiting one second too long to change course and getting mulched.

WTF It's never explained why your forces can't slow or stop. No brakes?

The other day on Twitter, I had a discussion with a friend about being dissatisfied with the current types of games produced by the industry. He countered by saying that there were games in the indie space that filled that need, and that it was important for critics to seek them out and spread word of their existence.