By Adam Paris

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Crossword Solution - 04/30/2013

Why 'Bioshock Infinite' and other big-name games are still appealing

Expectations breed discontent. Oftentimes no matter how artfully a development team delivers on their original vision, fans will be dissatisfied with the final product. That's not unexpected. But what's frustrating are bandwagoners jumping on this spiraling vortex of Internet backlash against a well-received game by virtue of more in-depth critiques.

Previewing Amazon’s new online pilots

The race to pump out compelling, original video content online is in full swing. The time-sucking behemoths known as Amazon, Netflix and Hulu are grappling to see who can first destroy productivity on earth as we know it. With “Arrested Development” looming on Netflix, Amazon has taken the novel approach of presenting eight different comedy pilots for its users to review.

Guacamelee! game review

It's sad to admit the extent of my Lucha Libre knowledge comes from "Nacho Libre," Jack Black's stirring tale about a fat cook turned mildly less fat luchador. So I entered the world of "Guacamelee!" expecting a robust education about the world of masked men. From what I've gathered, luchadores can not only enter the world of the dead, but also transform into a squawking chicken.

‘Mad Men’ returns for its sixth season

There’s an odd stench in the air at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. No, it’s not the billow of reefer stemming from Don’s creative team. No, that my friends is the debilitating odor of death. The office is no stranger to death, but this season seems a more macabre meditation on mortality.

‘Bioshock’ flies high above the rest

When I first read “Watchmen” in sixth grade, I enjoyed the mysterious plot and eclectic characters. When I finally read it again in high school, I discovered the deep levels of moral complexity and folly of believing in real super heroes. Playing “Bioshock Infinite” this past weekend elicited the same feelings. While my 12-year old self would’ve enjoyed the bombastic FPS action, my mildly more mature college self reveled in a title rife with nativism, ideological battles and a world almost suffocating in its stark realism.

Adam P’s TV Guide: ‘Community’ not the show that it used to be

When Pierce Hawthorne proudly stood before the Greendale student body last season and shouted, “Let’s burn this mother down,” nobody realized the blundering racist was actually semi-prescient. Only two weeks after Pierce’s riot-inducing proclamation, NBC fired “Community’s” creator and quasi-deity Dan Harmon.

New Metal Gear fails to meet high standard

More than any other genre, superb action games are analogous with rhythm. At their best, when players are landing a dizzying flurry of combos in a rhythmic trance of gore, action titles generally require several hours for players to grasp the extent of their complex combat systems.

Should gender matter in video games?

Last year “The Walking Dead” by Telltale Games launched to nearly universal acclaim, garnering many game-of-the-year awards in the process. This effusive praise was warranted, the title belongs in the upper echelon of video-game storytelling. Although I have lukewarm feelings on the game as a whole, this column isn’t meant to be a review.

TV guide: suburban Soviet drama

In the wake of “Mad Men’s” critical success, period pieces on TV became en vogue faster than Don Draper could throw down a bottle of scotch. This wave is fairly ironic considering the paltry but devoted viewership “Mad Men” garners.