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So for the last couple of months (and especially over the last few days) there's been a resurgence of "no one should ever write for free, ever, never never" among freelance games writers and paid career professionals. As someone who takes games writing very seriously and who's also worked as a mostly-unpaid-but-not-always reviewer for the last twelve years, I wanted to take a few minutes and share my thoughts on the subject.

December 2011 is a month that, upon review of the NPD report, continues the slide that the console video game industry has seen for much of the year. Hardware sales were down 32% from a December ago, with weaker Wii and PlayStation 3 sales leading the decline.

Somewhere Between Sushi and Fish Sticks

HIGH Quality animations.

LOW Minor control issues.

WTF Children shouldn't have pets.

Happy New Year! We reveal the success rate of our 2011 gaming resolutions, and set some new ones for 2012. Plus, Fallout (the first one!), Infinity Blade II, Sequence, Darksiders, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward BORED—am I right, people? With Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, Richard Naik, and Tim "My Wife Really Did Say That" Spaeth. Oh, and I almost forgot! This is the show that changes everything.

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Links:

• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

Jetpack Joyride Underwater

HIGH Zoning out while in the zone.

LOW An underwater, generic Jetpack Joyride.

WTF Sisyphus metaphor too obvious, depressing.

Fifteen awards, six podcasters, and countless surprises. You'll be stunned by our pick for Game of the Year, and by the vigorous debate that follows its reveal. Plus: we announce the two winners of our Holiday Contest! Thanks to everyone for entering! With Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, Richard Naik, Daniel Weissenberger, and Tim "Maybe Next Year" Spaeth. From all of us at GameCritics, have a fantastic holiday, and we'll see you in 2012!

Download: Right click here and select "Save Target As..."
Subscribe: iTunes | Zune | RSS

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

Help Hills, Break Blocks

HIGH The accidental perfect shot.

LOW Obnoxious freemium advertising.

WTF The unnatural sense of joy embedded in the landscape.

Pay per Play

HIGH Decapitating an enemy with a flurry of punches.

LOW Success in the game is hidden behind a paywall.

WTF I have to pay real money to change my robot's colour? Seriously?

We've been seeing a gradual shift in software sales in the last couple of years towards digital distribution. Full retail games have been available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 over that time and, although the digital library is but a fraction of the retail library, digital has been catching up.

A Smashing Good Time

HIGH When the final explosion in Rush Hour mode causes a chain reaction that demolishes everything on the screen.

LOW Reaching the end of a Pile Up with a full 5x multiplier and dying immediately due to being out of position.

WTF "Umbrellers"?