New Xbox Reveal Show Notes

Here are my show notes of the Microsoft console reveal (I made the mistake of titling the word doc "Xbox Infinite Reveal," that would have made too much sense).

May 21, 2013

Lefthand Speculation: "The Reload" Teaser

Lefthand Speculation

“The Reload” Teaser

Philip and Donnie work at their non-game related jobs all day. But they're always in the know. Here's their conversation about "The Reload" teaser that went up on Sony's Youtube channel earlier today.

Pixel News: July 27, 2012

Pixel News: July 27, 2012
Get the day's video game news while you wait during a loading screen
Written by Philip

Review: Resistance: Burning Skies (Vita)

Review: Resistance Burning Skies
The First FPS for Vita Falls Flat on its Face...F
Written by Philip

To spread the good word of Lefty across the globe so that every ear may hear I expanded my efforts and recently posted a review on Gamefly.com for Resistance: Burning Skies for the Vita. A person in the Gamefly congregation was so moved by my sermon that he couldn't help but transcribe word for word the message that the video game gods had to offer. Here is a copy in it's original form. The message is clear: Beware of Burning Skies, for they are the burning fires of gaming hell.

Review: PS Vita

Review: Playstation Vita
Livin' La Vita Loca
Written by a portable version of Philip

Three years since the announcement of the mysteriously awesome "Next Gen Portable" I finally have the Vita in my hands. Is it everything I ever wanted? Is it worth the price tag? Did my cini-mini-bagel that I had for breakfast sit well with me? Find the answers to all of these questions and more inside.

Opinion: E3 2012

Opinion: E3 2012
The Big 3 Take the Stage
Written by Philip, the couch reporter

E3 is finally behind us and we can now shift our focus from what we hope everyone will present to what we think will actually come to life. Who won? Who lost? And who is keeping score? Lend me your eyes as I mock gaming's titans from the safety of a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.

Review: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Review: Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3)

Awesome trailers lie to me

Written by Non-Augmented Philip

From the moment I first saw the cinematic trailer for Deus Ex: Human Revolution I was in love. I’m actually still severely dehydrated from all the saliva lost. I couldn’t wait for this game to come out that seemed like an epic mixture of being Bourne and Terminator. The game finally arrived. Reviews were pouring in. 10, 9.7, 9.5. The critics agreed. 50 positive reviews on Metacritic, and not a single “Mixed” or “Poor” one to be found. It was awesome. I got the game. I played it. I was… disappointed?!

T&T: Uncharted 3

Tips & Tricks: Beating Uncharted 3 on Crushing Difficulty
Written by Philip
Dedicated to my brother and his wife, two people who believe that you CAN use "Team Deathmatch" and "date night" in the same sentance.

Looking at the trophy list, Uncharted 3 seems a bit daunting to try and platinum. But the truth is by the time you beat the game on Crushing Mode you'll already have 70-80% of the trophies. And trust me, the hardest difficulty has a mean bark but not much bite.

Review: Back to the Future

Review: Back to the Future (PSN)
Mediocre Scott!
Written by Philip

The only reason I tolerate movie based games based off films from the 80's is because they're usually better than the movie tie-ins released for new flicks. The Ghostbusters game a few years back actually wasn't all that bad and created an excuse for you to play through classic Slimer moments. And even more remarkable is that these games aren't accompanying some marketing ploy about the 30th anniversary Blu-ray set. Nope they just seem to spawn from some video game producer catching the movie on a Saturday afternoon on TBS or AMC and thinking, "Huh, I bet I could make that into a B grade video game with a limited audience." And thus it is with Back to the Future: The Game on PSN.

Opinion: Vita Thoughts

Opinion: I Touched the Vita

But I did not touch the deputy

Written by Sir Philip

The video game gods have smiled upon us.

I have been on the Vita bandwagon since it was revealed years ago as the NGP (Next Gen Portable). Two sticks? Finally! PS3 Graphics? Yes please! 3G? Not necessary but thank you anyway! I haven't actually bought one yet, but I frequent the Best Buy and Target down the street each day so I can play around with the Vitas they have on display ("Yeah honey, we're out of eggs again I swear! I'll run to the store and grab some!"). Why am I so enamored with this steroid pumped PSP? And if I love it so much why don't I marry it? Read on my friend.

Field Trip: To Where the Writers Are

Field Trip: Where have Philip and Donnie Gone?

Playing Games of Freaking Course!

Written by Philip and Donnie (it's one of those group efforts)

The two most obsessive gamers who write this awesome blog have seemingly disappeared for a few weeks now. What happened to us? Well when time is short and we have to decide between playing games or writing about games the answer is obvious. But we’ve cataloged our efforts to see the best way to play games when the clock is against you.

We both have an average of 45-60 minutes a day to play. Here’s how we’ve spent our time.

Opinion: Wii is Irrelevant

Opinion: Why the Wii was never relevant and why the Wii-U is fighting an uphill battle

Happy dogs waggle tails, happy gamers don’t waggle controllers

Auth’d by: Donnie Fewkes (Most Handsome Analyst 3^rd Runner-up 2007)

I once gave a presentation in a crowded room about the role that innovation has played in the gaming industry. I specifically spoke about the great strides that were made by Nintendo in capitalizing on the largely untapped ‘casual gamer’ market with the Wii. To prove a point, I showed the audience a blackened out silhouette of just the Wii console sitting on a stand. Old and young alike immediately recognized the familiar shape and everyone in the room knew exactly what it was (unless they were scared to answer incorrectly- like how I would raise my hand during hearing tests when I saw other kids do it). Nintendo has done the impossible by capturing the market segment containing people that introduce themselves as “Jason” more often than “CODfiend1977” (old people….seriously), and like me on a first date, Nintendo has largely misinterpreted their intentions.

Review: Arkham City

Review: Batman: Arkham City (PS3)
Become the Caped Crusader again
Written by: Philip

This will be a flash review to give my two cents on a game that everyone will undoubtedly play (if you haven’t already). And this week Best Buy stores are going to make sure of that by selling Arkham City brand spanking new for $29.99. Still too much? Buy their Gamer Magazine in the store and find a coupon for another $20 off the game. That’s right, you can own Bat’s newest adventure for only $9.99. They should arrest everyone who walks out of the store with this game for highway robbery… also for jaywalking.

Opinion: Skyrim

Opinion: Skyrim Isn’t Worth Your Time

Game of the year. An award? Or a time commitment?
Written by: Philip

2011 was a record setting year for video games. Not only did it have the greatest year of games this planet has ever seen, but I was actually able to play most of them. When I started this blog my dream was to appeal to the realistic gamer: people like you and me who love games with every fiber of our being but are forced by this cruel world to grow up and be adults, resulting in minimal time to ever play anything engaging. Donnie and I wanted to get a taste of what was out there, so we could relay the news to you of which games your precious time and money is best spent. Then after you’ve gotten home well after rush hour traffic, you’ve had dinner with your wife, and the kids are finally asleep, you don’t have to waste the 35 minutes of freedom on the wrong game.

Link's A Lefty: REVELATIONS

Site Update!

Add this to your "Gee Wizz" file.

The names of our two writers have been revealed! I know, I know, it's very exciting, but just keep calm and only send 5 pieces of fan mail a day so that our poor mailman Jenkins doesn't get too overwhelmed. 

Dark Link turned good and is Philip W. and Skull Kid stopped the moon and took his mask off to reveal his true identity as Donnie Fewkes.

Keep up with us on Twitter, Donnie is @Captain_Skaggs and Philip helms the blog's tweets @linksalefty. Follow us and be our friends so we can have a feeling of pseudo popularity.

You can also hold L1 to aim and press R1 to shoot us an email at linksalefty@gmail.com

Review: Uncharted 3 (PS3)

Review: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)
All men dream… of games like this.
Written by: Philip

If you’re not already on the Uncharted train, that’s okay, because the plane hasn’t left yet (see what I did there? See, in the second one you’re on a tr… never mind). By now you’ve probably heard that Uncharted 3 is pretty good with multiple perfect scores and an overall Metacritic rating of 92. So is it just hype? Or is this third time around truly a masterpiece? If you ask me, Drake’s Deception is the new standard I will hold all new games to in terms of presentation. Even if you’ve played the previous two or if you are new to Nate’s story, I urge you to pick this one up. Whether you play video games to go on an adventure, enjoy a new experience, use your mind, or just to shoot stuff, Uncharted 3 does it all, and does it well. 

Top 5: Greatest Gaming Moments (Part 2)

Top 5: Greatest Gaming Moments
Part 2: Philip's

Spoiler Alert: This article will have more spoilers than downtown Tokyo. You’ve been warned.

T&T: MW3 Online Play

Tips & Tricks: Call of Duty: MW3 Online Strategy

Taking the Battle Online... to 12 Year-olds 

Written by: Donnie Fewkes

 

It’s literally bigger than anything you’re likely to have ever participated in. Remember the movie Avatar? Aside from being a rip-off of the Disney movie Pocahontas (and Ferngully, and Dances With Wolves, and Battle for Terra, and Delgo and...), its sales revenues exceeded a billion dollars. Yeah, this is bigger than that. Ever heard of a little series of movies called Star Wars and Lord of the Rings? Its revenues beat out both of those blockbuster’s box office receipts. I’m talking about a game you may have heard of, a game that has broken almost every entertainment record to date, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Top 5: Greatest Gaming Moments (Part 1)

Top 5: Greatest Gaming Moments
Part 1:Donnie's

Spoiler Alert: I’ve written thousands of words about games that range from decades old to months old. If you want to remain particularly spoiler free for a game that you haven’t finished yet, don’t read that paragraph and move on to the next one.

Review: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (PS3)

Review: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (PS3)
Hack 'n Slash then Shoot 'n Bash
Written by: Donnie Fewkes

This review is not from someone who is intimately acquainted with the characters and lore of the Warhammer universe, but instead is a look through the eyes of an avid gamer that has never had any 40K experience. My very first exposure to Warhammer came when I was much younger and had traveled to my local hobby shop to buy my latest Pokémon CCG booster pack. I saw the posters of Warhammer figures and although I was never into table top type games, I was sorely tempted to buy some Space Marines for my own fun times. My next encounter with that universe came in the form of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine for the PlayStation 3 – a fun and enjoyable game that ultimately offers little more than an opportunity to cruise and bruise through countless waves of identical enemies in a world that you may (or may not) be familiar with.