By Lucy Ungaro
After a brief lull, welcome back to The Roundup! This week, we’ve got a whole lot of Uncharted news for you, and even some drama to go along with it. Also, appearances from Doom, Civilization, The Last Guardian, and, perhaps unfortunately, politics.
Mike Thomsen recently wrote a rather controversial review of Uncharted 4 for The Washington Post. It’s biting, humorous, and often rings true, though apparently many fans of the series disagreed with that last bit. For a refreshing opinion on the otherwise seemingly untouchable series, read here.
Lately the reaction to someone disagreeing with your opinion in certain spheres of the gaming world, and, who am I kidding, the rest of the world, too (I’m looking at you, Donald Trump), has been to attempt to squelch that opinion. Mike Thomsen’s valid and subjective opinion offended many fans who had the gall to launch a petition–yes, a petition–to get his Uncharted 4 review rating removed from Metacritic. Read about that reaction here.
By the way, we’ve confirmed with Sony’s communication department that Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann never signed the petition. His comment is faked.
For a more positive take on the latest Uncharted game, check out Jeff Bakalar’s review. He says that, despite a few “eye roll” moments, the game is definitely a fitting end to a great series.
Jeremy Voss also really enjoyed Uncharted 4, and went so far as to say that it was the most enjoyable game of the Uncharted series, of which, unlike Mike Thomsen, he is a fan. See? We can have opposing opinions here and not demand that they be changed. Jeremy Voss also touched on the new Doom game which he seems to think is disappointing, especially in comparison to Uncharted 4.
And to conclude the Uncharted series of news, here’s a funny case of taking the lore too far. Samit Sarkar writes about a web domain that was in one of the meticulously packaged pieces of lore in Uncharted 4, and that a fan of the game bought once he found that the domain wasn’t taken by Naughty Dogs or anyone else. It would have been cool to search that website and find even more lore for the game–talk about meta gaming!
If you’re a Hearthstone fan, look no further for a review of the recent changes made to the game in the “Lovecraftian” expansion as described by Matt Gerardi. In the article, Matt praises Blizzard’s ability to appeal to both casual and more competitive gamers, and cites Overwatch as reference.
Our fearless leader, Harold Goldberg, interviewed Fumito Ueda, lead designer of Shadow of the Colussus and The Last Guardian, which is a game slated to be released sometime this year. In the interview, Harold and Mr. Ueda discuss the cultural influences on the visual design of the game, as well as how the character Trico was brought to life.
If you feel unprepared for a Trump presidency, Cards Against Humanity has got your back with a survival bag full of goods you’ll need to get through the apocalypse in (mostly) one piece. It also includes new cards that prove humor is the best way to get through a horrifying situation. Read Chelsea Stark‘s article on the “Donald Trump Bug-Out Bag” here.
I’m going to end the Circle news on a more positive note: here is an article by Dan Ackerman on Civilization VI, which is coming out October 21st. It’s about time for another Civ game. Maybe this time we can be less afraid of Gandhi.
And now for news outside of the Circle…
For those who think I forgot about Overwatch, you’re very wrong; I’m counting down the minutes. If you’re also craving some Overwatch and don’t know what to do with yourself, shh, it’s going to be alright. Just read this article on the backstory of the game and get ready!
Apple has very conservative, and frustrating, ideas of what a game should be. It recently rejected a mobile game, Liyla, which tells the story of a young girl growing up in Gaza Strip, saying that the game was too “political” and that it would be more appropriate in the “news” section of the app store. Read about it here.
Neuroscientists are using a videogame to collect research on dementia that could help treatment of the disease. Find out more about the initiative here.
That’s it for now, but rest assured: I’ll be back next week!
