Now it’s been a little while, does 007 First Light just forget about Bond injecting himself with mystery juice at the start of the game?

You used to be able to google the time of the sunset, and Google would give you the exact time right on top every single time. Thankfully, with artificial intelligence, you can now ask Google what time the sun will set and it will conveniently tell you "I don't know."

We call inside jokes “house memes” because that’s what my youngest kid decided they are.

Financial circumstances mean I am available, possibly even a little desperate, for freelance gigs that can use my abiltiies as a writer (Cryptmaster, Valheim, Ironheart etc) and voice actor (Cryptmaster). Anyone who can pump the visibility on this will have my eternal(ish) gratitude!

This is seriously fucked. Like for starters they’re using commercial web analytics that are in no way in line with federal privacy disclosure requirements…

La-Li-Lu-Le-No

It’s weird that IO’s been like this with code. It’s always been confident with the Hitman games and made sure the major outlets can cover it, as well as most of the smaller outfits.

Workers at TheGamer say site's new pay-per-session contract is 'heartbreaking' aftermath.site/the-gamer-valn...

Class move

Bond is a very strong 8/10. Nails what it’s trying to do. Has one of the best playable montages in video games. Absolutely shines when it’s doing Hitman-lite. Driving sections are rubbish.

We’ve got a fun series of interviews on the newsletter now. Sign up for free here: www.gaming.firezidechat.com

I love video game journalism, and to somehow mark the 15th anniversary of my retirement from it, I wrote a feature article about a memorable video game expansion celebrating its own 10th anniversary.

If you were laid off from The Gamer: Killer Inn has a free trial & I want written impressions on it but struggling to find time. If you can do min 800 words on it by 6/30 I will PayPal you $100. I will edit & take care of WordPress stuff & your name will be on it. Email in bio. Questions welcome.

It’d be nice to see PR and publishers draw a line in the sand with this type of behaviour and no longer providing Valnet with review codes, access, etc.

You know what? Next time a client wants a commercial placement, I’m going to advise them against Valnet owned sites. And if Valnet comes to me about placements, I’m going to decline and cite this as why. You don’t have a business without writers. Show some fucking respect.

This is the kind of shit I used to rail against at TheGamer before I eventually left, realising I couldn’t shine a rotten apple. I tried to meet them where they were, removing the human element and explaining it encourages sloppy work. They don’t care. They don’t give a fuck. Fuck Valnet.

Hey, uh... I shit on Valnet a LOT here, and I'm about to do it again. This is cartoonishly evil, and something that will irreparably RUIN a shockingly large number of folks in the online media sphere. They own: - CBR - Polygon - Gamerant - Collider - How-to-Geek And about a dozen other outlets.

If you see any clickbait garbage from Polygon, avoid it If you see anything from Collider, avoid it If you see anything from ScreenRant, Game Rant, The Gamer, or CBR, avoid it Valnet/Hassan Youssef are a cancer to the internet and journalism as a whole. They must be stopped by any means necessary.

Video game website company reveals galaxy brained new plan to play writers nothing if their posts don't get enough clicks https://kotaku.com/one-of-the-worst-companies-in-games-media-reveals-new-plan-to-only-pay-writers-per-click-2000698959

Come for the conversation about making Star Wars and video games, stay for Heated Rivalry gushing and how I probably put myself on a watch list.

This week we chat with @mitchyd.bsky.social about writing for Star Wars and other games. www.gaming.firezidechat.com/p/firezide-c...

There isn’t a massive deal more interaction on this over on Twitter either. The game looks great, but the buzz isn’t there. I’m surprised they don’t want it in the hands of as many critics and content creators as possible.

Yeah

I covered this in my 2022 book, The History of the Stealth Game, chatting with @harvey1966.bsky.social, who said the same thing basically. Buy my book, thanks. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1399...

My latest blog/newsletter is about how we can help media survive while Google attempts to kill it. All shares are greatly appreciated lowpolymess.com/11-what-the-...

I promised you THOUGHTS on Lars Wingefors' ongoing attempt to rewrite the fabric of reality and position himself as a Very Good Guy, actually. Here they are alongside a personal anecdote I've been waiting to talk about for YEARS:

ONE MORE WIN Ridge Racer Type 4 Fanzine Digital / Physical Available now 🔗 www.rocketbooks.shop 📒 40 pages, 7 original essays 🎮 Deep dives into the game's visual design, soundtrack, storytelling, and more 📄 Physical edition printed on 170gsm silk paper stock with a heavyweight 350gsm cover

Too much has happened in the past year and I can’t take the MMO term “transmogged” seriously anymore.

Bluesky

Editors, I’m looking to do more freelance reviews. Unfortunately, work hasn’t paid me for last month and I’m struggling to make ends meet while I wait for that (it’s three weeks late now). I can also help with guides, interviews, previews — anything you need.

If you’re a game publisher, biz or PR, I also do mock reviews. I’ve done them for some of the biggest triple-A games of this year, and I’ve handled dozens of indie games, helping set expectations, solve internal debates, and prioritise fixes and improvements for the day one patch.

If you've participated in a paid gaming showcase (iii, Future Game Show etc) I'd love to chat to you. Please drop me a DM.

Editors, I’m looking to do more freelance reviews. Unfortunately, work hasn’t paid me for last month and I’m struggling to make ends meet while I wait for that (it’s three weeks late now). I can also help with guides, interviews, previews — anything you need.

Remember when we used to get new western RPGs with loads of dialogue choices all the time? I yearn for an Alpha Protocol or KOTOR.

Mass Effect and Uncharted discourse in the same weekend? Next up: is BioShock Infinite racist?

Mixtape was pretty good. Couldn’t really relate, but it was like an exceptionally pretty music video. Gorgeous art style.

The latest newsletter is up, and this time we’ve got New Blood’s Dave Oshry. www.gaming.firezidechat.com/p/firezide-c...

Damn, imagine if every studio defended their women like this 👏

I think @lucyjames.games clears it with the best answer to “what would you have on your gravestone?” in the latest newsletter interview. www.gaming.firezidechat.com/p/firezide-c...

Here’s my Saros review. www.theguardian.com/games/2026/a...

Or, as I wasn't allowed to headline it: long live the unc game www.theguardian.com/games/2026/a...

sometimes I look at dishonored screenshots and go fuuuuck it's so good. fuck. I'll never forgive the gamers for not buying billions of copies of all the dishonored games

God, I wish BioWare said something like this about Mass Effect 3’s ending. I can’t prove it, but that was what slipped us into the bad timeline.

I was able to use my wealth of reality TV knowledge and morbid curiosity about the Amanda Batula incident to unpack a *very* interesting aspect of creator/influencer contracts: the morality clause. Read it here: digiday.com/media/creato...

Looks like right wing moron Calvin Robinson’s site, God is a Geek, has been sold to some iGaming AI slop factory. Meet, erm, Pete Hines?

I don’t know how these big YouTubers do it. I’d be fucking devastated if everyone knew me by a stupid gamer handle I made up before my prefrontal cortex was fully formed.

Man Who Threw Molotov Cocktail At Sam Altman’s Home Claims He Was Following ChatGPT Recipe For Risotto https://theonion.com/man-who-threw-molotov-cocktail-at-sam-altmans-home-claims-he-was-following-chatgpt-recipe-for-risotto/

I see there’s some discourse but my cat just perfectly folded up so he looked like an orb

I went to visit Quantic Dream in Paris in the nadir of the David Cage era, when they were making that terrible Beyond game. I swear to you: the word EMOTION was written on the studio wall in big black lettering