Recent content by pparrish

I was born in 17th century England.

Pills Here! Medicine in videogames is practically miraculous; there is no wound so dire that it can't be cured with a handful of pills or a big wedge of pie. Read Full Article

This film is directed and, I think, also written by Joe Cornish of Adam & Joe BBC Radio (and Channel 4 TV) fame. That's likely to either mean nothing to you, or be a guarantee of something pretty interesting. Yeah, like this guy says ... Just coming!

The Devil in Minecraft is that dude who launched a denial of service attack at the site.

The Devil Inside If the game designer is God, then it is you, the player, who is the Devil trying to thwart His plans. Read Full Article

Yes, something I didn't really get space to mention in the article is how much of a homage to JPRGs (Chrono Trigger in particular - which has been quoted as a direct inspiration) Anachronox is/was. Like Barkley, Shut Up & Jam: Gaiden, it takes the formula and does wonderful things with it.

Unfortunately it isn't, and I don't know when it might show up there. Somebody mentioned Good Old Games, who (although they don't have it yet) will probably be the best bet to get it at some point. One problem about getting it out there is Ion Storm went bust (obviously) - and Hall himself...

The Best Planet Companion When playing a party-based RPG, your companions are equivalent to sidekicks, moving along the story and providing color. Peter Parrish tells us of one of the most unique characters in recent memory, the planet Democratus. Read Full Article

It's astonishingly difficult for individuals to make UK tabloids retract stories, let alone get any damages out of them. Only celebrity-level people with enough money to force it through the courts on principle ever really get anywhere (as the Daily Mail has found out on multiple occasions.)...

Technically, yes. Obviously the problem there is getting noticed. You could make a blog or whatever and put up some reviews (of games you've bought of course, as no publisher will send you review copies at this point) but ... who's reading it? The reviews that get noticed are at the major...

Hello! I'm freelance, so I don't have anything to do with Escapist editorial policy (introducing scores and the like.) A few months ago this article was inside my brain - the Escapist issue about "the state of reviews/criticism" was scheduled for late June so that is when it appeared.

This is an elaborate theory and does have some real life examples (I can recall Eurogamer's review of Dragon Age (PC) saying it was "sorely lacking in the things that make a truly great role-playing game, or any game for that matter: vision, inspiration, soul": 8/10,) but it's a bad system if...

1984 Out of 10 A writer blasted reviews for over-hyping titles and giving too much credit to works that were just tripe. Peter Parrish proves that what George Orwell argued in 1936 for the novel is just as relevant to videogame reviews today. Read Full Article

Interviews With the Fandom Let's be honest: Making fun of fanfiction is like shooting fish in a barrel. But according to a few fanfiction writers from The Escapist's forums, that may be missing the point. Peter Parrish speaks with three "fans of fanfiction" about what makes the medium special...

Griefing in Black and White Long before Ryu versus Ken, Scorpion versus Sub-Zero or Mario versus Wario, there was Spy vs. Spy, the videogame adaptation of the long-running Mad magazine comic. Peter Parrish examines what made Spy vs. Spy such a fun (and frustrating) experience. Read Full Article