Author Posts

James Trauben

James Trauben was loosed from his prison beneath the surface of New Jersey over two decades ago and exiled to California, lest he draw further strength from his native soil. Contained for a time within the eldritch halls of California State University Chico, he has emerged bearing a Bachelor’s degree in History and an array of religious and philosophical trivia. Twitter
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Science and Tech
James Trauben

Facebook acquires Oculus VR for $2 billion

Only a week after displaying its newest tech on the GDC expo floor, Oculus VR has reached a “definitive” agreement with Facebook. The social giant will acquire the VR manufacturer for apprximately $2 billion in combined cash and Facebook stocks. Both Facebook and Oculus VR have commented on the deal, Facebook in their official press

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Events
James Trauben

[GDC 2014] Occulus Rift DevKit 2 Impressions

It was a fairly quiet year for new hardware at the Game Developers’ Convention – except for one little piece of gear. That platform is, of course, the Oculus Rift, a virtual-reality headpiece that makes you look like you belong in a Daft Punk act and shoves you face-first into the game. My colleague Andrew and

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Gaming
James Trauben

Lords of Shadow 2 is style over substance

I’m probably way too charitable when it comes to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. It’s a disappointment not because it isn’t engaging but because it so often is, right up until it suddenly falters. Konami and Mercury Storm’s latest collaboration has met with…mixed reviews. It currently holds a critical metascore of 63 on Metacritic, with

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DAI
Gaming
James Trauben

“Discover the Dragon Age” trailer released, with commentary

Bioware’s newly-released “Discover the Dragon Age” trailer may as well be a travel brochure for the world of Thedas in the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition. “Discover the Dragon Age” pans through grandiose, lushly-detailed landscapes, showing off various features of Bioware’s new Frostbite engine. Certainly Thedas looks like a nice place to vacation, if not for

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Science and Tech
James Trauben

Fears of FCC Overreach Overblown and Misleading

This Tuesday, A District of Columbia court of appeals ruled against certain key elements of “net neutrality.” The court opinion takes a bit of reading, but can be summed up thusly: That said, even though the Commission has general authority to regulate in this arena, it may not impose requirements that contravene express statutory mandates.

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Gaming
James Trauben

Razer premieres high-concept modular computer at CES 2014

News of Razer’s ambitious Project Christine, a high-concept modular PC described as “a PC for everyone,” has been sweeping the web for the past few days. It’s certainly a distinctive-looking chassis, less a tower than a rack with slots for components. The potential user doesn’t need to know anything about putting together a conventional system

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Gaming
James Trauben

Giving Violence Weight

If I was so pretentious as to try and ascribe themes to my random musings – and believe me, I am– then I’d have to say a growing theme in 2013 for me has been giving game violence weight. No, wait! Come back! I’m not going to go all Jack Thompson on you! Let’s be

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Gaming
James Trauben

Telltale Games’ Game of Thrones teaser trailer

Well, I’m surprised it took Telltale Games this long to announce a Game of Thrones property. Details on the ground are scarce so far, little more than a single twitter post: It’s TRUE! We’re working with @HBO to create an all-new episodic game series based on GAME OF THRONES in 2014! #VGX pic.twitter.com/d5GkhS2MOw It’s an

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Gaming
James Trauben

Tomb Raider Definitive Edition announced for next-gen systems

The critically-acclaimed reboot of Tomb Raider is coming to next-generation systems as Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition on January 28th, 2014 for $59.99. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition has been “fully re-built” for the XBox One and Playstation 4. “This was a continued labor of love,” said Crystal Dynamics Executive Producer Scot Amos.  We pulled the game

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