It takes quite a lot to really annoy me when it comes to PC DRM schemes. One time activation of games before playing isn’t too onerous. I can tolerate Games for Windows Live and its attempts to shoehorn console conventions onto the PC. But one thing I can’t tolerate is Ubisoft’s ridiculous draconian always-on DRM. [...]

Fighting games are, when you get down to it, the original eSport. As such, it’s baffling to some people how the genre hasn’t taken off to the kind of mainstream success as have genres that came along later, like first-person shooters and real-time strategy. It isn’t that fighting games haven’t been represented in big-tent leagues [...]

Coming right out with it, Nintendo and its fans annoyed the hell out of me in the months leading up to the Wii’s unveiling, and eventually its release. It felt like I couldn’t go on a message board or read any bit of gaming news without having this massive gaming “Revolution” shoved in my face. [...]

The surprises just don’t seem to end here in Los Angeles.  Aside from the Lakers winning, we have some titles suddenly being added to our “Upcoming Releases” list. Granted, there isn’t too much known about the 3DS, but we do know now that Star Fox 64 and and a certain timeless classic are being remade [...]

Welcome to the first entry of PadSmashing, a feature on SmashPad that features our staff heading to release parties and gaming conferences across the United States for one thing and one thing only–getting down with the get down. Our first event?  The Final Fantasy XIII Release Party at the Regency Center in San Francisco! Use [...]

[UPDATE: It has since come to my attention that Justin Calvert was not the actual person at Gamespot who reviewed Global Agenda, he only addressed the complaints. Their review has been pulled.] I once knew a guy who said that if he wasn’t into a book by the end of the second chapter, he would [...]

Ever since Microsoft ingeniously infused their games with achievements that arbitrarily add points to an arbitrarily important gamerscore, gamers around the world have feverishly played games long after they had found a powerful item and defeated the final boss. While a big gamerscore can be fun to show off to your friends, are you really [...]

2010 is the start of something fresh for all of us: it is the start of a new decade, new resolutions and more importantly plenty of new games to play.  While 2009 had its fair share of popular titles (Arkham Asylum, Modern Warfare 2) and perhaps one of the busiest holiday seasons of recent years, [...]

It’s all the hairy dudes wearing Rorschach costumes. Poor ventilation. I figured I’d just make a few quick notes after my first day (I walked over, since I literally live about four blocks away). 1. You’re all so happy to be here! Life is beautiful! I speak no English! 2. Why do guys flock to [...]

Yesterday it was all over the news that publisher Electronic Arts had lost a staggering $641 million in their fiscal third quarter. Our reaction? Well, Penny Arcade said it best. But, this was a result of mainly 2 things: EA’s purchase of mobile games platform Jamdat, which cost them $368 million. The second, my friends, [...]