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

New Phineas and Ferb Social Game

Fans of the Disney Channel’s animated series Phineas and Ferb can look forward to an upcoming Disney Mobile social title, Where’s My Perry?, scheduled for release on iOS and Android platforms later in June. Where’s My Perry? continues gameplay design from prior Disney mobile game Where’s My Water?, along with several new gadgets and features.

Read More »
i BMKQzTF M
Gaming
James Trauben

Disney Pixar Announces Temple Run Brave, Showcases First 31 Minutes of Brave

Disney Interactive and Pixar have partnered with Imangi Studios to release an expanded version of Imangi’s hit mobile game Temple Run as Temple Run: Brave, showcased alongside an advance screening of the first 31 minutes of Pixar’s upcoming film at the Pixar campus on March 29th. Temple Run: Brave features all the core mechanics of

Read More »

Konami Releases Pre-E3 Castlevania: Lords of Shadows 2 Trailer

The Dragon has returned, and by the looks of things, he’s not happy. In the buildup to E3, Konami has released the first trailer for the sequel to 2010’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and it’s a beauty. The trailer presents a very different picture of the man we once knew as Gabriel Belmont before he

Read More »

Bethesda Releases Trailer for “Dawnguard” Skyrim Add-On

Bethesda Softwork has released the first glimpse of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim‘s first official add-on, Dawnguard, scheduled for a Summer 2012 release. Dawnguard‘s trailer gives the Skyrim player looking for a bit more content plenty of intriguing hints at the add-on’s content. The narrator’s monologue indicates players will play an important role in the

Read More »

PS4 and XBox 720 Release Date Hints?

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of some unknown reader trawling through the Activision/Bungie legal documents required for their upcoming deal, the gaming world may have some idea of when Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation consoles will be available. A title identified only as “Destiny Games #1” will be released for both the Xbox 360 and 720,

Read More »

Max Payne 3’s Painful Missteps

Max Payne 3 is one of those “adaptations” where a well-known franchise is used to guarantee sales of an original and untried script. Sure, it’s yet another adventure for the hard-boiled, leather-jacketed hero sharing the series’ signature bullet-time mechanic, but the word “sequel” implies continuation – of plot elements, characterization, or even just central premise/aesthetic.

Read More »
dishonored x360 cover
Gaming
James Trauben

Bethesda Announces “Dishonored” Release Date

Bethesda Softworks’s upcoming title Dishonored will be available in  North America on October 9 and Europe on October 12, 2012, as announced today. Dishonored tells the story of Corvo, the titular dishonored former bodyguard turned infamous assassin. An open-world title set in a coastal city dominated by fantastic steampunk technology, Dishonored will be available for

Read More »

Sega May Have Canceled Bayonetta 2

Though Sega has thus far refused to comment, rumors are flying suggesting an (unannounced) sequel to racy spectacle fighter Bayonetta may have been canceled. Sega’s recently announced it would scrap several unnamed games as part of a company restructuring, and a source for SPOnG “familiar with the situation” claims a sequel for Bayonetta was among

Read More »

Sincerity in Short Supply

You’ve probably heard about George Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, even if only because of Star Wars. Campbell argued that the myths that have survived for thousands of years share a common, evocative pattern: a “monomyth” that speaks to deep human needs. As a cultural theory, the monomyth’s attracted its share of criticisms,

Read More »