GameCynic Author Bio

Vitals: 40+, married, with children

Education: more than I need, less than I want.

Work: I've written for a host of publications both mainstream and gamer. I've written reviews, opinion pieces, regular columns -- but it's been many a year since you've seen my byline. Like a few of us, I made the leap from writing about the thing to doing the thing -- I went into game development. Since then I've worked on a number of titles, well-known, obscure, successful or disastrous -- often a combination. I have a different perspective on why game developers made certain decisions. I still love playing games, but have less time to play than ever. Writing reviews of games that interest me is a good way to make myself play, and I'll be reviewing from the perspective of a developer. Sadly, I need to review under a pseudonym -- wouldn't be great if I applied for a gig at Publisher X, and they looked less-than-kindly at some review I wrote of their latest disaster.

Platforms played: All the consoles, not so much the handhelds.

Genres played: RPG, MMORPG, action-adventure games.

Multiplayer or single-player: Yes.

My favorite Top 10 games ever played:

I'll approach this question as a personal one -- not the best games of all time type question -- because the truth is, old games don't stand up well to the test of time. While I loved the original Baldur's Gate, it's a pretty unsophisticated game design compared to the types of RPGs being made today. These games all did something really interesting and memorable. So in no particular order:

The Old Games:

1. Star Raiders
2. Zork
3. Wasteland
4. Wizardry
5. Bard's Tale
The Silver Age:

1. Tomb Raider
2. System Shock (the original, not the sequel)
3. Resident Evil
4. Wing Commander
5. Myth
6. MechWarrior 2

The Modern Era:

1. Half-Life 2
2. Lumines
3. Ultima Online
4. Resident Evil 4
5. Guitar Hero
6. GTA 3

Overrated games: Doesn't mean I didn't like 'em -- just means that I thought the press loved 'em (you know who I'm talking about, Mass Effect reviewers!) way more than the game deserved. Doesn't mean I did like 'em either:

1. Halo
2. Oblivion
3. KOTOR
4. BioShock

Games I'll probably buy next: Drake's Fortune, because my PS3 is so lonely; Rock Band, because who doesn't wanna rock? Mass Effect, because I still want to play a good RPG and secretly hope I'm wrong about BioWare's design sensibility as being overrated.

Games I'm looking forward to: GTA 4, Army of Two, and of course, MGS 4. Fallout in any flavor (RPG or MMO).