MGSV: People are upset about costumes, but not child soldiers?

Let me start this off by saying I'm not at all oblivious to the over-sexualisation of female characters in a lot of video games, films and comics. There is a lot of valid criticism surrounding the outfits of Soul Calibur's Ivy and DC Comics' Power Girl.

I don't really feel in that great a position to comment on when it wanders into ridiculous territory, but I'm fairly certain something like Dead or Alive Beach Vollyball qualifies. I'm not here to enter the debate about the recently released full render of Metal Gear Solid V's character, Quiet, but I'm a bit perplexed by the discourse surrounding it.

That's not a dildo bat, this is a dildo bat: The Australian Cut of Saints Row IV

After announcing its introduction of an R18+ rating to gaming, many Australian gamers thought that this would herald a new age in the vice-like censorship that had a healthy grip on our countries’ marble pouch. Finally there was a light at the end of the tunnel. 

However, as most of you know, Saints Row IV came under the crosshairs of the Australian Classification Board due to its touching on topics such as sexual assault, drugs and general butt-stuff. It was refused classification, and Australian gamers sighed and sagged back into their seats. We weren’t even angry, we were just disappointed.

Smoke & Mirrors: Video game advertising in 2013

Last week, I wrote about my feelings on video game cutscenes - where they work, where they don't work, and why I feel game designers should be exploring other story telling methods.

Today I'm taking a similar position on one of the marketing avenues heavily utilised by game designers: trailers.

Ignoring the fourth wall: The problem with video game cutscenes

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say almost all gamers regard gameplay over story. Sure, story is important - I've put down games because the plot has been so woefully executed I couldn't bring myself to go on, and I've struggled through mediocre gamplay because I've been invested in the story.

However, if I could only have one thing in a video game - good gameplay or a good story - I'd definitely lean towards the former.

Back to the food chain: The Last of Us beheads the zombie genre

Maybe I'm alone here, but I'm kinda over zombies. As a lover of comic books, metal and video games, I realise zombies are pretty hard for me to avoid, and honestly I'm okay with that. I don't want to see zombies disappear.

But I am a bit sick of seeing them all the time.