STORIES, STORIES

The Sad State of Modern Videogame Journalism by Tamim Kashgari I remember a more innocent time, a time when I could read a review and look at a score and feel both safe and informed about a game. It was a wonderful little world filled with rainbows and unicorns.  But now I find myself drowning in a sea of corruption, opinion and petty rivalry. Well, alright, it was never that good then, and it isn’t really that bad now either. Nevertheless, there is a real problem with modern videogame journalism. Some game reviewers – and in some cases, entire publications – have forgotten what a review is supposed to be and the weight that it carries. A review isn’t just supposed to be a description of a game, it is supposed to be a critical examination of a game as well. Aside from that, a game review is the tangible representation of the relationship between a reviewer and the public – a relationship that some reviewers don’t take very seriously.  This is an especially heinous...

To save you some precious time, I go through movies, TV shows, books, websites and apps – both good and bad. Here's a list of my recommendations for you this month.  Good TV, Bad TV Now that the Big Kahunas have ended (The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, Breaking Bad) or are winding down (House of Cards, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Doctor Who) ,  us television rats are scrambling about for the Next Big Thing to put our social lives – and sometimes careers – in jeopardy with the binge-watching and Twitter-ranting that comes with committing to a TV show. At least I was, earlier this year, and so I hunkered down on the couch and went on a brave mission to find just the right TV series.  Here are some of the worthy ones: FARGO (Season 1) If you're a sucker for character development like I am, you'll have to fight not to be mesmerized with the one in this show. It certainly helps that they are doled out by such fine actors as Billy Bob Thornt...