The latest console war has been underway for five years now, and it’s still difficult to call a winner on the basis of sales. But one game company is winning the battle for a place in our minds.

Have you heard of “the Xbox factor”?

The story goes that cinema ticket sales are increasingly dominated by romantic comedies, character-driven dramas and film adaptations of lusty vampire novels – in other words, “chick flicks”. Some Hollywood executives have attributed this to the fact that men are becoming less interested in going out to see a movie as they become more caught up in “sophisticated video games” (and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, apparently).

To me, the most interesting part of this story is the fact that the phenomenon has been dubbed the “Xbox factor”.

Not the “Playstation factor”. Not the “Wii factor”. Not the “Games For Windows Live factor”, amazingly. The word “Xbox” has been chosen to represent all videogames – or at least the videogames predominantly played by young men. Continue reading →

Welcome to the world of the Plastic Beach, a collaboration between musicians and mediums alike.

My plane arrives at its eerily uncharted destination by the sea. Fortunately, there isn’t an abrupt crash landing, or an Ayn Rand-inspired dystopian society to welcome me. Unfortunately, my first contact is with the insufferable likes of a dopey pelican and a suicidal seagull voiced by the lead singer of Blur.

I must be in Gorillaz territory. Continue reading →

If the premise of Ace Attorney Investigations doesn’t thrill you, the music will.

Miles Edgeworth’s starring adventure had me concerned for the decaying crispness of Capcom’s legal not-quite-sim series; at least before my shamefully gluttonous yet entirely satisfying playthrough over the weekend.

As much as I adore the Ace Attorney games, I admit they don’t offer much leeway in converting newcomers to the franchise. The presumptuously juvenile anime aesthetics, coupled with the seemingly endless amounts of reading required, can cloud the series’ value to the uninitiated.

Certainly, Capcom’s ability to meld endearing writing and silly situations with otherwise gruesome murder scenarios is an admirable achievement in any medium. And yet Wright and Co. reside contentedly in their niche, making few attempts to engage those who are unfamiliar with the admittedly now convoluted narrative elements of the series. Playing through each Ace Attorney title released thus far first (in order) is an understandably daunting requirement. Continue reading →