I'm just going to shoot straight from the hip: I'm a big ol' coward. I've been writing about video games in some capacity since 1999. I got my first reviewing "gig" in 2001. I've had many stops along the way since then, and I've probably had my fair share of opportunities to pursue my "dream job" and write about video games for a living.

This time Extra Credits talks about balancing the powers granted players in a game with the skill level necessary to execute said power. As with a lot of things Extra Credits covers, it's a concept that sounds a lot simpler than it actually is.

Indie developer and fighter of good fights Mommy's Best Games recently released Serious Sam: Double D—XXL on Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). The big cheese of Mommy's Best Games, Nathan Fouts, explains everything anyone needs to know about XXL, and a few other topics came up, to boot. Apart from the noogie he gave me (it still smarts!) the interview went rather well.

Metal Gear Squalid

HIGH The final mission in high chaos adds much-needed narrative tension.

LOW The penultimate mission seems to drag on forever.

WTF The "shocking twist" can be seen coming from orbit by a blind man with his eyes closed… Not that having his eyes closed actually matters, what with him being blind and all.

A Vapid Beauty

HIGH The dance number after the credits roll.

LOW The "story" is a bloated, empty mess of half-realized nonsense.

WTF Why is Jeanne glowing there?

Extra Credits takes a brief look at combining genres. They give some pretty nice examples of it working (Puzzle Quest) and examples of it not being such a bright idea. Something to keep in mind as genre blending has been kicked into overdrive over the last few years.

The Space is a Lie

HIGH Figuring out "Breaking the Arc."

LOW Any time I needed to precisely control the pulling ability.

WTF What is going on with this purple block?

Cinemablend ran an article recently that leveled some pretty serious charges at the gaming press. The article uses terms like "publisher-bought gaming media" and maintains that gaming press needs to come clean before games come out if they're bad. This article, if you haven't read it already, is fallacious and unnecessary.

Better Than the Devil You Knew

HIGH The Barbas battle is a true showstopper.

LOW Vergil is… kind of a dick.

WTF The awkward button combos required for Devil/Angel dodges.

Extra Credits discusses the design concept of "Counter Play." The idea here is that in a multiplayer game, there should be interesting abilities or weapons that a player can use on another player that is also interesting for that player on whom the weapon or ability is being used. It's a seemingly simple idea that upon discussion appears to be something the industry hasn't wrapped its head around yet.