Selected Game Reviews
Portfolio
I worked as a reviewer at IGN for many years. My last review, and perhaps my most popular, was for Triangle Strategy. I also reviewed the superb experimental role-playing game Wildermyth, giving it one of my highest scores. Previously I had been extremely skeptical of the launch version of Stellaris, and also got in early on Marvel Puzzle Quest.
Other major reviews include grappling with the entire Mass Effect trilogy for Vice’s Waypoint, Total War: Three Kingdoms for GamesBeat, or Diablo III: Reaper of Souls for Ars Technica.
Game Criticism
While I’ve done a lot of work on reviews and previews, much of my best writing, and the writing that demonstrates my range of interests, is more general criticism. For example, with Kotaku, I wrote about my modded NBA 2K13 campaign that I played for years. At Polygon, I wrote about how Overwatch used annoyance and skirmishing to create a fascinating multiplayer experience, or about how BioWare’s focus on open-world trends was ruining their games.
I also have some longer-term game history projects I’m self-publishing. One is a running update of the Most Important Games Of All Time, which I’ve done twice (and probably should update for 2024 at some point soon). I’m also slowly putting together ranking and understanding of Metroidvania (or search-action) games, a project which may take the rest of my life.
Podcasts
I am a regular panelist and organizer for the premiere strategy games podcast, Three Moves Ahead. Two of the episodes I’m proudest of were ones organized by me to take note of a couple of emerging subgenres: the survival strategy game like Dwarf Fortress or FTL, and the tactical management game, like XCOM or Darkest Dungeon. Other great episodes include our classic therapy session on Total War: Rome 2, or more recently, our 2023 In Strategy Games episode.
I also have a science fiction and action film podcast, TOTAL MASSACRE. Some of our best episodes include Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Stephen Spielberg’s AI, and our Sight & Sound-like vote for the best action movies of all time.
Assorted Other Writing
In addition to my work in video games, I’ve also worked as a pop culture critic, particularly in television and speculative fiction. Much of my work was for The A.V. Club in its heyday, such as reviewing Babylon 5 and Veronica Mars for its TV Club Classic section. I also did a Gateway to Geekery on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, and examined American TV’s obsession with British soccer announcers.
I also built much of career about writing on Game of Thrones, including a book on the subject.