Games
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Dungeon Master Brings the Pain
When I’m running a campaign, I have a script in mind. I think most dungeon masters do. For me, everything is moving towards an epic final confrontation. Throughout the encounters, the villain is established and shown to be a powerful, formidable threat. The motivations are laid out. The stakes are revealed. The encounters are set…
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Dungeon Master Writes Novel that Writes Campaign that Writes Novel
Last year, I played Dungeons and Dragons for the first time. My wife got me started on the hobby. I played a character I affectionately remember as the “Burninator”, a wizard whose first response to any problem was to set it on fire. It was loads of fun, but I wanted more. I wanted to…
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Dungeon Master Messes with Player Sympathy
As a writer, I find being the dungeon master of our local RPG sessions to be a challenging and rewarding experience. In a lot of ways, it’s like writing a novel. Yeah, like writing. Heh. Like writing on the fly with a captive audience. Like writing where any lovingly-crafted character may be put to death…
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Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC – Game Review
IN SHORT: Experience one last hurrah with the characters of Mass Effect 3 as you explore new areas within the Citadel and take down a surprising new foe. WHAT IT IS: A massive amount of new character-based content! Every surviving character in my save file was represented with new scenes and dialogue, some with multiple…
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Final Fantasy XIII: Please Give This Plot a Pulse!
SPOILER WARNING! This article contains PLOT SPOILERS for Final Fantasy XIII. You have been warned! Final Fantasy XIII is something of a mixed bag. On one hand, it has a fast-paced and innovative combat system that keeps me coming back for more. Coupled with its tough difficulty curve, the game provides a generous challenge to…
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Fallout 3: President Eden is a Big Jerk!
SPOILER WARNING! This article contains PLOT SPOILERS for Fallout 3 and its expansion Broken Steel. You have been warned! The world of Fallout 3 is huge, rich, and entertaining. It’s not a game that guides the player through one action set piece after another. In a sense, the player makes his or her own set…
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Halo Series: I Prophet of Regret Nothing!
SPOILER WARNING! The following article contains PLOT SPOILERS for the Halo series. You have been warned! Halo was the reason I bought an Xbox, and I played that game to death. It was the first time I really enjoyed a shooter on a console. Every aspect of the game felt polished to me, from the…
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Bioshock: Would You Kindly Make Sense!
SPOILER WARNING! This article contains PLOT SPOILERS for the first Bioshock game. You have been warned! Bioshock is one of my top ten favorite game of all time (it’s #6). It’s fast, fun, atmospheric, and very well designed. As with any game, some elements click better than others (that darn research camera, grrr). But I’m…
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Mass Effect 3’s Ending: Catalyze This!
SPOILER WARNING! This article is about Mass Effect 3’s ending and contains SPOILERS. This article will also have SPOILERS for the endings of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. You have been warned! So, yeah, ME3’s ending. Not exactly what we expected, right? I remember playing through the game for the first time (without the…