About Christopher Gates
Christopher Gates
Christopher Gates is a Los Angeles-based writer and pop culture critic. In his spare time, he watches too much baseball, reads too many comics, and drinks too much beer. You can find him on Google+
What Can We Do to Preserve Gaming’s Past?
November 23, 2018 | Christopher GatesGaming has a nostalgia problem.
Not nostalgia itself, of course. There’s plenty we can still learn from older titles, and fun is fun no matter how old a game might be. That’s why, when the Internet Archive launched The … Read More
Games about games, 2014’s hottest trend
November 17, 2014 | Christopher GatesSunset Overdrive. Bayonetta 2. Super Smash Bros. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. What do all these games have in common?
For one, they’re some of this fall’s biggest releases. Also? They’re all part of a growing number of video games about … Read More
With Mario Kart 8, Nintendo gets DLC right
November 12, 2014 | Christopher GatesThis week, Nintendo rolls out the first of two downloadable content packs for the Wii U’s Mario Kart 8. The release marks the beginning of a new strategy for the Kyoto-based game maker: instead of a steady stream of … Read More
This War of Mine: More realistic than Call of Duty?
November 4, 2014 | Christopher GatesYears ago, a friend was telling me about Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The multi-player was great, he said. Just like “being there.” When I told him I don’t really play shooters — I’m terrible at them and just … Read More
News
Does Fortnite Need a “Classic” Mode?
October 14, 2019 | Matthew Byrd
Fortnite is more than a video game. It’s a cultural phenomenon that elevated the battle royale genre and captured the attention of older and younger gamers alike. It was even featured in the highest-grossing film of all-time, Avengers: Endgame.
Why Destiny 2 is Gaming’s Most Successful Failure
October 1, 2019 | Matthew Byrd
It’s strange that success and failure are often treated as two opposite things when most people and things you’d consider to be a success probably had to fail at least a few times to “make it.” It’s just the … Read More
Why The Last of Us Part 2 Needs a Multiplayer Mode
September 26, 2019 | Matthew Byrd
2014’s The Last of Us is best remembered for its incredible single-player campaign. It told the story of a man with little left to live for who must escort a young woman who could very well be humanity’s last … Read More
Articles
PlayStation 5: Five Possible Launch Games
October 8, 2019 | Matthew Byrd
Sony recently shocked absolutely nobody by confirming their next console will be called the PlayStation 5 and that it will release late in 2020. Now, though, questions regarding the console turn to some of the more interesting specifics.
With … Read More
It’s time to bring more Zelda to the Switch
October 4, 2019 | Robert Endyo
After an enjoyable journey through the classic The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, I realized that it would be nice to revisit more of the games between A Link to the Past and Breath of the Wild – and … Read More
Where Do Games Go When They Die?
September 28, 2019 | Robert Endyo
As we trend ever deeper into a world of games that require servers maintained by the developer or publisher, we see more and more games disappearing from the world. What was once a fate reserved for MMORPGs like The Matrix Online, … Read More
Reviews
Rage 2’s use of Open-World design does not work
June 4, 2019 | Robert Endyo
Recently, I finished Rage 2. I set out in the game with the hope that it would deliver something reminiscent of the magnificence of Doom while drawing some of the enjoyable open-world aspects of an Avalanche developed game. I … Read More
PlayStation Now: Does it Need to Change to Survive?
March 25, 2019 | Matthew Byrd
In many ways, PlayStation Now is shaping up to be Sony’s biggest missed opportunity of the PS4 era.
PlayStation Now sounded like a pretty exciting service when it was first revealed in 2014. At the very least, it offered … Read More
Crackdown 3 or Anthem: Which is More Disappointing?
February 21, 2019 | Matthew Byrd
February 2019 was supposed to be one of the biggest months for games in recent memory. Headlined by titles like Metro Exodus, Crackdown 3, and Anthem, many gamers were left wondering just how they were going to play all … Read More
Opinion
Does Fortnite Need a “Classic” Mode?
October 14, 2019 | Matthew Byrd Fortnite is more than a video game. It’s a cultural phenomenon that elevated the battle royale genre and captured the attention of older and younger gamers alike. It was even featured in the highest-grossing film of all-time, Avengers: Endgame.
The Blizzard You Knew Is Gone
October 8, 2019 | Robert Endyo
Sometime around 25 years ago, I first picked up a CD-ROM that contained Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. At the time, I was a little too young to be particularly good at it, but I slowly made progress. Eventually, I … Read More
It’s time to bring more Zelda to the Switch
October 4, 2019 | Robert Endyo After an enjoyable journey through the classic The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, I realized that it would be nice to revisit more of the games between A Link to the Past and Breath of the Wild – and … Read More