Articles by Blaine Kyllo.

February 3, 2010 - 6:54 PM

The B.C. government has finally decided to support the video-game industry with tax credits.

January 27, 2010 - 3:52 PM

Apple unveils “magical” iPad tablet, along with iBookstore and iWork apps

Priced starting at only US$499—some analysts were expecting a price tag of US$999—the touchscreen tablets will be available worldwide in late March.

Comments (2)

January 21, 2010 - 05:01 AM

Games

Mass Effect 2 raises stakes

By Blaine Kyllo

Mass Effect 2 is dark and intense, a journey into danger and destruction. The stakes are high, but that means the rewards are commensurate.

Comments (1)

January 21, 2010 - 05:00 AM

Games

Trilogy takes dark turn in Mass Effect 2

By Blaine Kyllo

As the middle game in a planned trilogy, Mass Effect 2 not only has to follow up the first game, but must set up the finale as well.

January 7, 2010 - 05:00 AM

Games

Black Box skates on despite Electronic Arts' layoffs

By Blaine Kyllo

Even after staff cuts in the wake of Skate 2, EA Black Box rallied to make Skate 3, which is slated for a May release and has a new emphasis on teamwork.

December 23, 2009 - 05:00 AM

Games

New video games for holiday fun

By Blaine Kyllo

The holiday season is upon us. If you’re looking for ideas for those gift cards you might find in your stocking, these recently released video games are sure to satisfy.

Comments (1)

December 17, 2009 - 10:36 AM

Games

Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier is one PSP game not worth finding

By Blaine Kyllo

At one point, Naughty Dog’s Jak and Daxter games were among the best platformers.

Comments (2)

December 17, 2009 - 00:02 AM

Games

How Mass Effect 2 uses your Mass Effect save file

By Blaine Kyllo

One of the burning questions being asked by fans of BioWare’s Mass Effect is how saved game files from the first title will be used by Mass Effect 2. This sequel will be released by Electronic Arts for the Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010.

Comments (3)

December 16, 2009 - 3:22 PM

Games

LittleBigPlanet PSP delivers handheld delight

By Blaine Kyllo

As with its PlayStation 3 cousin, LittleBigPlanet PSP is a kaleidoscope of delight.

Comments (2)

December 14, 2009 - 12:13 PM

Blog - Tech

United Front Games reveals second video game, True Crime

By Blaine Kyllo

Vancouver-based United Front Games, already hard at work on ModNation Racers for Sony, has revealed that it’s got a second game in development.

December 14, 2009 - 11:40 AM

Blog - Tech

Vancouver's Propaganda Games developing Tron: Evolution

By Blaine Kyllo

Vancouver-based Propaganda Games is developing Tron: Evolution, a video game that will be released late in 2010 ahead of the Tron: Legacy film.

Comments (1)

December 11, 2009 - 1:53 PM

Games

The Saboteur is cinematic but not much of a game

By Blaine Kyllo

Everything about The Saboteur is cinematic. That’s both good and bad.

Comments (1)

December 10, 2009 - 05:01 AM

Games

James Cameron crafts game to accompany Avatar

By Blaine Kyllo

James Cameron is known as an innovator. With his latest project, the 3-D science-fiction movie Avatar, he has expanded into video games.

Comments (3)

December 10, 2009 - 05:00 AM

Games

Avatar: The Game's two-sided mission is based on archaic ideas

By Blaine Kyllo

Not far into the video game based on James Cameron’s upcoming film, I had to choose a side.

December 3, 2009 - 05:00 AM

Games

Cheat sheet to great video games

By Blaine Kyllo

Admit it. Video gamers are the easiest people to buy gifts for.

November 26, 2009 - 05:00 AM

Games

Serious games aim at raising the big issues

By Blaine Kyllo

It’s still unknown whether games about things like homelessness can change attitudes, but creators believe that fun leads to knowledge.

Comments (2)

November 20, 2009 - 5:04 PM

Games

Undead Knights for PSP almost lives up to potential of premise

By Blaine Kyllo

In this hybrid of a hack-and-slash adventure, real-time strategy, and role-playing game, you play the bad guys, in a sense.

November 20, 2009 - 3:16 PM

Games

With 20 games, TouchMaster 3 delivers quick gaming hit on DS

By Blaine Kyllo

While many games claim to fill the need for a quick five-minute gaming hit when you need it, TouchMaster 3 actually does.

November 19, 2009 - 10:38 AM

Games

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time represents return to playable platformers

By Blaine Kyllo

If you’ve been feeling like high-concept platformers have been failing you in the last couple of years, Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time will remind you of why you used to love them.

November 19, 2009 - 05:01 AM

Games

Valve wins by tapping into gamer community

By Blaine Kyllo

The developer and publisher Valve has made itself one of the video-game industry’s success stories by doing the opposite of what might have been expected of it.

November 19, 2009 - 05:00 AM

Games

Left 4 Dead 2 makes horror infectious

By Blaine Kyllo

The concept of Left 4 Dead 2 is the same as that of the original game: up to four people play as survivors of a zombie apocalypse. But the sequel improves on the first Left 4 Dead in almost every way.

November 18, 2009 - 3:54 PM

Games

Half-Minute Hero offers six modes, 30-second missions on PSP

By Blaine Kyllo

It’s a great idea for a video game designed for a handheld system: missions must be completed in 30 seconds or less.

November 16, 2009 - 4:25 PM

Games

Post-apocalyptic Armored Core 3 Portable hampered by twitchy controls

By Blaine Kyllo

Set in a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity dwells underground, the Armored Core series of video games put players in “mecha”, massive, humanoid-looking vehicles that are piloted by a single person.

November 11, 2009 - 10:00 AM

Games

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is an interesting little thing

By Blaine Kyllo

You’ll have to forgive me for assuming that this title would be a throw away because so many games based on existing literary licences are suspect.

November 10, 2009 - 10:00 AM

Games

Art style of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up makes game stand out

By Blaine Kyllo

This latest title starring the mutant turtles trained in the martial arts—by a mutated rat, no less—is an arcade fighting game.

November 9, 2009 - 10:00 AM

Games

Scribblenauts boasts brilliant gimmick but gets old fast

By Blaine Kyllo

The objective in this game is to help the cute li’l Maxwell reach the Starite in each level.

November 6, 2009 - 09:40 AM

Games

Canada's first look at New Super Mario Bros. Wii

By Blaine Kyllo

New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the next game starring the world's most favourite plumber, comes out on November 15, but on November 5 I spent a couple of hours playing it with Nintendo of Canada's Matt Ryan.

Comments (1)

November 5, 2009 - 11:11 AM

Blog - Tech

Smoking Gun Interactive and Douglas Rushkoff debut X, an on-line graphic novel

By Blaine Kyllo

Vancouver’s Smoking Gun Interactive studio, established in 2007 by former Relic Entertainment employees, has been quietly working away on a multimedia, multiplatform project.

November 5, 2009 - 05:01 AM

Games

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's conflict all too real

By Blaine Kyllo

“Lest we forget” is the message we hear every November, but that hasn't diminished the popularity of video games about armed conflict. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is no exception.

Comments (1)

November 5, 2009 - 05:00 AM

Games

Borderlands blends elements from best shooter and adventure games

By Blaine Kyllo

Humans colonized the planet Pandora years ago, but the only reason anyone still inhabits the wasteland is a legend.

November 5, 2009 - 05:00 AM

Games

Dragon Age: Origins more of a traditional role-playing game

By Blaine Kyllo

This game is more of a traditional role-playing game than many of the hybrids we've seen lately that inject more action into the gameplay, so expect longer conversations and deeper skill trees.

November 4, 2009 - 6:07 PM

Games

Aggravating controls for Wii version of NHL 2K10 enough to induce screams

By Blaine Kyllo

While another hockey video game has made a point of simulating the experience of hockey as accurately as possible, the Wii version of 2K Sports’ take on the game appears much more friendly.

Comments (1)

November 4, 2009 - 5:51 PM

Games

Trine delivers simple and fun side-scrolling action

By Blaine Kyllo

This side-scrolling action game is like many that have been released recently that operate in two dimensions—you move the characters left and right, up and down—but are presented with 3-D graphics.

November 4, 2009 - 5:38 PM

Games

New elements make Katamari Forever worth checking out

By Blaine Kyllo

Not much has changed in the Katamari games since Katamari Damacy, the first one, was released in 2004.

October 23, 2009 - 4:27 PM

Blog - Tech

Left 4 Dead 2's Realism Mode made for advanced zombie killers

By Blaine Kyllo

In four hours, I played through about half of the story mode of Left 4 Dead 2, the co-operative first-person-shooter video game about surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Comments (18)

October 23, 2009 - 3:51 PM

Games

Browser-based Journeys allows gamers to enter world of Dragon Age early

By Blaine Kyllo

The release of Dragon Age: Origins is less than two weeks away, but you can step into the world created for the game now, thanks to a free, browser-based game.

October 22, 2009 - 05:00 AM

Games

Fall video games conjure metal gods and cute ninjas

By Blaine Kyllo

This fall isn’t quite as jammed with big video-game releases as the season has been in recent years, but what it lacks in numbers it more than makes up for in quality.

October 20, 2009 - 6:59 PM

Games

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 gives players a choice of story branches

By Blaine Kyllo

The second game in this superhero action series succeeds because it keeps the core of the experience the same.

October 20, 2009 - 1:12 PM

Blog - Tech

Apple upgrades iMacs, Mac Mini, and MacBook

By Blaine Kyllo

Apple revealed today (October 20) changes to its line of iMac desktop computers. The design has been refined, and the new systems are more powerful and cheaper.

October 16, 2009 - 2:19 PM

Games

Toy Story Mania! game lacks clever humour of the films

By Blaine Kyllo

It may feature the characters from Pixar’s popular Toy Story films, but this game does nothing to promote the Toy Story brand.

October 16, 2009 - 12:55 PM

Games

Section 8 is a passable first-person shooter designed for multiplayer

By Blaine Kyllo

Section 8 is a passable first-person shooter set in a future in which humans have taken their wars to planetary colonies.

October 15, 2009 - 10:35 AM

Games

Muramasa: The Demon Blade eschews Wii's motion-sensing controls

By Blaine Kyllo

Many games developed for the Wii have tried—and failed—to make good use of its motion-sensing controls.

October 13, 2009 - 5:33 PM

Games

Bethesda's Wet is a video game that's easy to fall for

By Blaine Kyllo

Its star is the beautiful and deadly Rubi Malone, voiced by Eliza Dushku.

October 8, 2009 - 11:45 AM

Blog - Tech

Vancouver's Hothead Games wants video game testers for DeathSpank

By Blaine Kyllo

Vancouver-based Hothead Games is looking for a few good video gamers.

October 8, 2009 - 05:20 AM

Games

Fans behind FIFA Soccer 10

By Blaine Kyllo

FIFA Soccer has generated more than US$2.5 billion in sales since its debut in 1993, making it one of the best-selling video-game series developed by Electronic Arts.

Comments (2)

October 8, 2009 - 05:10 AM

Games