The Roundup: Artifact Announced, Letters From Incarcerated Gamers, Mortal Kombat Retrospective, Esports In Olympics, DeepMind AI, and Your Brain On Videogames

By Jonathan G. Lee Hey! Jon here, bringing you another Circle Roundup. This week’s Roundup features some great thought pieces and discussions. Make sure you read this one on your lunch break with a nice salad and a drink. And with that, the Roundup! Joshua Rivera had a debate with his colleague Scott Meslow over…

The Roundup: The Circle Speaks

By Harry Rabinowitz You’re a kid now, you’re a squid now… Jason Cipriano reviews Splatoon, Nintendo’s fresh, ink/squid based take on the third person shooter genre. Chris Plante is joined by Griffin McElroy to explain E3, its history, and its place in the 2015 gaming landscape. Anthony John Agnello talks song licensing, away-time, and Rock…

The Roundup: The Circle Speaks

By Harry Rabinowitz I want everyone to give a warm welcome to Matt Gerardi, the newest member of the Critics Circle! You can check out some of his work here at the A.V. Club. You may know Nintendo’s first party studio HAL Laboratory as “those folks who make Kirby”. Not anymore! Anthony John Agnello interviews game director Yasuhiro…

The Roundup: The Circle Speaks

By Harry Rabinowitz It’s been a while, but we’re back! A quick reminder that if you missed the Awards, you can still check it out on our Twitch channel. But this is The Roundup! Jeff Bakalar and John Azzilonna review The Order: 1886. Both laud the games graphical fidelity but are dissapointed by other aspects of the…

The Moment: Portal 2

It didn’t take long for the moment to make itself known. Portal 2 hooked me immediately. And I imagine it does that for players who haven’t indulged in the first game. Why’s that so? By ‘immediately,’ I mean within the first minute or two. It’s not done with a lengthy opening movie, which sometimes works…