Mark Steighner
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Writing For
COGConnectedLatest Reviews
Lies of P
I love it when a musical artist remixes a familiar song in new and unexpected ways. You know, like playing Green Day’s American Idiot as a guitar folk ballad. Sometimes these things work, sometimes not so much. When they hit, though, they can reveal hidden aspects or fresh perspectives. I...
Everspace 2
No foolin’, back in April of this year I reviewed the PC release of Everspace 2. Spoiler: It was a great sequel to one of my favorite games. The original Everspace in 2017 was a roguelike and had a fair amount of procedural generation. Everspace 2 jettisons that formula for...
Ride 5
Many of us could probably imagine — and perhaps have actually experienced (legally or not) — the thrill of high speed auto racing. We’ve all been there, on an empty stretch of highway, giving it a little more gas than the situation strictly requires. While high-end Formula 1 cars are...
Gord
Don’t try to tell me that video games are not educational. For example, from playing Gord I learned that a gord is a Slavic medieval settlement, a small cluster of buildings surrounded by a wall. The game also taught me that, as the British say, I would be rubbish at...
There are many adult gamers for whom Double Dragon represents carefree hours in the local arcade, or maybe a happy, simpler time parked in front of their NES. Set aside the fact that many readers weren’t even alive in 1987, almost everyone has heard of the franchise and played some...
I’m lucky enough to have the chance to preview and review a lot of games. That’s awesome, but there’s a downside. I rarely have time to get endlessly lost in a sprawling and ridiculously deep MMORPG like The Elder Scrolls Online. However, I have reviewed nearly every annual expansion, including...
Trepang2
Although it has been a long minute — 12 years — since the last F.E.A.R game, many fans still remember the supernatural shooter and its unsettling child antagonist, Alma. The three-game F.E.A.R franchise was known for excellent, first-person shooting and its blend of otherworldly powers. Though there’s no literal connection,...
Planet of Lana
Are games art? Or entertainment? It’s an old argument that I think we’ve moved past. Games can be either, neither, or both. Planet of Lana certainly looks artistic and painterly. But is it also entertaining to play?
Diablo IV
Every gamer has a story about THE game. You know the one. The first game that kept you up at night, calling in sick for work or missing class, turning your gaming space into a funky-smelling trash heap of pizza boxes and soda cans. For me, it was Diablo 2....
When it comes to the Lord of the Rings, there are a few levels of fandom. Some people, of course, think the whole fantasy genre is a bunch of silly nonsense. We’ll ignore them. Then there are those who have read the books, maybe more than once. And seen the...
If there’s ever a world-ending apocalypse, it will be interesting to see if any fictional scenarios line up with the real thing. There are many to choose from. Zombie plagues, nuclear holocausts, weird magical uprisings, vampire takeovers, and many more. Before I bum myself out even further, let’s dive into...
Ravenlok
Although they’ve evolved into complex games with deep skill trees, timing-based moves, and endless depth, action RPGs really only require a few basics to be fun. Even young players require a coherent narrative, a strong main character, and some degree of customization. Add visual appeal, some clear goals, engaging missions,...
