Burke's Joystick

As I just blogged about , I am getting increasingly fatigued by modern gaming.  Everything is "hurry, hurry, hurry!"  Or, if not that, it is often about "second life" experiences.  That is, it is about deep experiences where the player can invest hundreds and hundreds of hours immersing himself in a virtual world almost as tangible as his material reality (games like Skyrim and Eve Online , come to mind).  Now, I am a fan of such experiences - in fact, I think such games are what is best about modern gaming - but it can get all so tiring after awhile.  Sometimes I just want to be able to sit down and quickly and easily invest myself into a game.  You know, sort of like with a board game where you read the rules, set up the board, and off you go!  No muss, no fuss. Usually Chess is my go-to game in this regard.  Despite its 21st Century online trappings, it remains first and foremost a classical board game in style and temperament.  Ind...

Ubisoft seems to be one of those game companies with a passion for self-destruction.  I mean, when one looks back at their record, how could anyone feel differently?  Not only did they come up with one of the most hated, most draconian, and ultimately, most failed DRM schemes imaginable, but they also have a way of rubbing people the wrong way with inappropriate political comments.  For example, recall the forthcoming title Rainbow Six: Patriots , a game that turns a Tea Party-like political movement (the "True Patriots") into domestic terrorists, including giving players the chance to play a hostage with an attached suicide vest .  Yeah.  Can you say tasteless?  Sigh.  I guess I could say something here like  'what do you expect from a French company?' , but do I really need to at this point? Well, today Ubisoft decided to dig itself a little deeper into its favorite politically inappropriate hole with two bizarre i...