Sessler's Soapbox

Everyone's excited about LA Noire, so of course Adam Sessler has plenty to say about it. Going beyond his written review, The Sess sees this new experiment as an interactive narrative rather than just a video game trying to be like a movie. The pace, characters, and performances create an experience like no other game before it, and for that reason alone LA Noire is worth playing. Plus everyone wears awesome hats.

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Roger Ebert is eating his words. This past week the National Endowment for the Arts has officially recognized video games as a legitimate art form. On that same thread, The Sess sees a different angle to this artistic argument. Recently there has been an influx of games and patches inspired by the death of Osama Bin Laden, which got Adam thinking about venues of expression. He thinks this form of media is being used by individuals to try to understand or explain a large world event that we're all living through, something artists have been doing for centuries. Do you agree that these games are an artistic voice? Or do you think it's just simply fuel for machismo and nationalism?

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A lot can happen in a week, and this past week was a doozey. Between the PSN outage, the Royal Wedding, and the death of Osama Bin Laden our minds have been spinning. Adam Sessler, of course, has his own unique take on these recent events, and even found a thread that he thinks links them all together. How much can the actions of one or two people affect millions of other people? Find out in this week's Sessler's Soapbox.

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Now that we have official confirmation from Nintendo that they will be revealing a new console at this year's E3 speculation is bound to run rampant. Of course The Sess has to weigh in and give his predictions for what we'll be getting our eyes on this June. Code named "Project Cafe" and incorrectly labeled the "Wii 2", this new hardware from Nintendo could be the first contender in the new console cycle. Are you ready to upgrade? And will this new console be able to compete with future Xbox and Playstation consoles for the hardcore gaming market?

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Happy Portal Day everyone! Yes, one of the most anticipated titles of the year is finally on store shelves and according to the reviews it does not disappoint. Adam is loving every minute of Portal 2, and is not only impressed by its writing and comedy but also by its genius construction of puzzles. So if you could stop testing just for a moment and put down the controller, The Sess has something to say about everyone's favorite first-person puzzle game, Portal 2.

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You might have heard about the recent controversy regarding Metacritic and their addition of info pages for individual developers. You might want to check out their official statement on the matter. Well like many other people in the industry, Adam has taken issue with these individual metacritic pages, and feels this may be a slippery slope towards unfair classification of people who work on video games. Do you agree with The Sess? 

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Collectibles in games have been around for years. Sometimes you feel an uncontrollable urge to catch 'em all, and other times you couldn't be bothered. In this week's Soapbox, Adam discusses what he thinks are good and bad examples of how collectibles can be implemented in games and how a poor execution of these extras can actually bring him out of the gaming experience. 

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With the launch of the Nintendo 3DS following the launches of both the Kinect and Playstation Move, there seems to be an influx of new gaming technology. While sales of these new pieces of hardware seem successful, the question is do they enhance our gaming experience? In this week's Soapbox, Adam expresses his confusion over these new gadgets and his fears that the gaming industry is putting technology before creativity.

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There was a time in the gaming industry when "linear" was a bad word. Nowadays games are presented in many different ways and, depending on the subject matter, a linear progression may be the best way to do it. On this week's Soapbox Adam talks about how much he's enjoying Crysis 2, how its linearity is an improvement over the first game, and yet it still allows for a lot of freedom within gameplay.

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PAX East always has some amazing discussions and panels about what it takes to make a great game, and this year was no different. Inspired by these conversations, Adam decided to take a moment and get on his Soapbox to discuss why he thinks world-building is one of the most important elements of video game development. Is it the universe that drives you? Or do games motivate you in other ways?

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Today the Bioware dark fantasy epic Dragon Age 2 hit store shelves, and just like it's predecessor you are allowed to make a wide variety of choices for your character as the game progresses. There was one particular choice that caught Adam Sessler's eye, and that was the romantic relationships you can engage in. Not only are you allowed to sleep with whomever you want, but you can also bed down with multiple characters of different genders, which is totally Bi-winning. Find out what the Sess thinks about this little video game sexual revolution in this week's Soapbox.

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Adam Sessler is not the biggest multiplayer fan in the world. In fact, he very much prefers the single player experience. Which brings us to this week's Soapbox. The Sess was enjoying Watson's run on Jeopardy, and it reminded him that the eternal struggle of man versus machine can be applied to the single player experience in video games. Your own wits against the most sophisticated artificial intelligence is sometimes preferable to being killed and humiliated by a foul-mouthed 12 year old. Don't you agree?

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Another year, another nonsensical rant from a supposed "expert" on Fox News. This time, the target of their ire was Bulletstorm, claiming it could turn young children into rapists, and no one puts baby in the corner without getting a talking to from Adam Sessler. In this week's Soapbox, The Sess explains why he's not that upset over Fox News' latest gaff and why we shouldn't even give them the satisfaction of paying attention.

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Puzzles have been a part of video games for decades. Even some of the biggest action titles will occasionally ask you to slow down and turn a few gears or move a few pillars. Love them or hate them, puzzles are a gaming tradition in many ways, so of course Adam Sessler has an opinion on them. In this week's Soapbox The Sess will discuss how puzzles can be used for both good and evil, and why he loves when they're used properly and executed logically. Who doesn't love a good puzzle?

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Last week we all got our first look at the NGP, Sony's Next Generation Portable gaming system (you can still call it the PSP2 if you want). While Adam wasn't in New York for the press conference, he was paying attention from the comfort of his own home. In this week's Soapbox, find out what Adam thinks of the NGP, if it will sell well, and what it might have to do in order to compete with other portable platforms like the iPhone or the 3DS. 

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