Starting Screen archive

Starting Screen | Why I'm Increasingly Drawn to Single-Player Games After a Lifetime of Competitive Gaming

Kat may not have time for competitive games anymore, but her tastes haven't changed as much as you might think.

By Kat Bailey 04/15/2019 8

Starting Screen | When The Conversation Gets Tiring: On Easy Modes, Epic Games Store Exclusivity, and Everything Else

Let's talk about talking.

By Mike Williams 04/08/2019 48

Starting Screen | PAX East 2019 Wrap-Up: From Borderlands 3 to Cyber Shadow, It Was a Busy Weekend for Games

The USG team hit the showfloor of PAX East 2019 to bring you the latest and greatest in gaming.

By Mike Williams 04/01/2019 5

Starting Screen | What We Want From the New Nintendo Switch Models Rumored to Be Coming in 2019

New Switch SKUs are inevitable, but let's hope they learn from the past.

By Nadia Oxford 03/25/2019 9

Starting Screen | What the Google GDC Keynote Could Mean for the Next Generation of Games

Speculating on the potential ramifications of tomorrow's Google GDC announcement.

By Kat Bailey 03/18/2019 12

Starting Screen | Devil May Cry 5 is Proof That We're in an Action Game Renaissance

From Bloodborne to God of War, it truly is a great time to be an action game fan.

By Kat Bailey 03/11/2019 19

Starting Screen | Games Have Never "Just Worked," but They Were Better Than This

There's no reason major titles should be bricking consoles.

By Mike Williams 03/04/2019 25

Starting Screen | The Steady Decline of BioWare

Charting BioWare's decline from hits like Knights of the Old Republic to disappointments like Anthem.

By Kat Bailey 02/25/2019 36

Starting Screen | How Anthem's Terrible Loading Times Let You Appreciate BioWare

Use that dead time to look back at the good years full of great games and fun times.

By Tom Orry 02/18/2019 5

Starting Screen | E3 Needs to be More Than PAX Lite

The industry and community has changed around E3. Can E3 remain relevant in the modern day?

By Mike Williams 02/11/2019

Starting Screen | EA's Bad Reputation Hangs Over Apex Legends' Surprise Launch

Apex Legends has to do its best to outrun the perception of Electronic Arts.

By Mike Williams 02/04/2019 12

Starting Screen | Resident Evil 2 is Another Win for a Resurgent Capcom

Capcom is rebounding after a tough generation, Kingdom Hearts 3 is almost here, and more on this week's Starting Screen.

By Kat Bailey 01/28/2019 15

Starting Screen | How Ace Combat 7's Dog.jpg Brought Joy to a Turbulent January in the Games Industry

Sensing the need for some good old-fashioned dog-based hilarity, Bandai Namco delivered the good boy.

By Tom Orry 01/21/2019 5

Starting Screen | The Emerging War Between the Epic Games Store and Steam is Just the Beginning

The digital ecosystem is undergoing its biggest shakeup since 2005.

By Kat Bailey 01/14/2019 9

Starting Screen | Why 2019 Will Be a Quieter Year for Games Compared to 2017 and 2018

As developers gear up for the next generation, 2019 looks slimmer than recent years.

By Caty McCarthy 01/07/2019 17

Starting Screen | 2018 in Video Games: Less Innovation, More Iteration

STARTING SCREEN | 2018 was a year of big games with a lot of caveats, making this year's end of the year deliberations more varied than ever.

By Caty McCarthy 12/17/2018 8

Starting Screen | The Horrifying Live-Action Movie Sonic Should Have Taken a Few Lessons From Detective Pikachu

STARTING SCREEN | It doesn't take a detective to figure out why the Sonic the Hedgehog movie poster isn't a hit.

By Nadia Oxford 12/10/2018 11

Starting Screen | 2018's Impossible Task: Living Up to the Standard Set by 2017

STARTING SCREEN | How does 2018 measure up among the best years of this console generation?

By Caty McCarthy 12/03/2018 11

Starting Screen | Fallout 76 Should be a Cautionary Tale for Publishers

STARTING SCREEN | Online service games can generous outrageous profits, but their potential for disaster is often high.

By Kat Bailey 11/26/2018 10

Starting Screen | Fallout 76's Reception Has Been Worse Than Anyone Could Have Imagined. Can Bethesda Right the Ship?

STARTING SCREEN | Opinion on Fallout 76 was mixed from the start, but no one could have predicted that it would stumble this badly out of the gate.

By Kat Bailey 11/19/2018 9

Starting Screen | The Detective Pikachu Trailer is a Work of Evil Genius

STARTING SCREEN | The Pokemon marketing machine takes a risk and scores another huge win.

By Kat Bailey 11/12/2018 14

Starting Screen | It's Okay to Feel Disappointed Over Diablo Immortal

STARTING SCREEN | To be disappointed is human, but to keep that disappointment in perspective is divine.

By Nadia Oxford 11/05/2018 23

Starting Screen | The PlayStation Classic's Game Lineup Misses Out on Capturing What Made PS1 So Great

STARTING SCREEN | Licensing issues and questionable choices keep PS1 from reaching its potential.

By Kat Bailey 10/29/2018 24

Starting Screen | Can Red Dead Redemption 2 Avoid the Pitfalls of Being a Prequel?

STARTING SCREEN | Red Dead Redemption 2 will undoubtedly be an amazing looking game. But there are some potential drawbacks to being a prequel.

By Kat Bailey 10/22/2018 7

Starting Screen | Red Dead Redemption 2's 100-Hour Weeks Are Nothing New for Rockstar

STARTING SCREEN | Rockstar has been dealing with these issues for a long time now.

By Kat Bailey 10/15/2018 8

Starting Screen | Fallout 76 Can't Help Losing One Part of What Makes the Core Games So Memorable

STARTING SCREEN | Fallout 76's storytelling is receiving plenty of positive mention, but it still loses a crucial aspect of the core games.

By Kat Bailey 10/08/2018 3

Starting Screen | Games Are Longer Than Ever, and That's Perfectly Fine

STARTING SCREEN | Games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey are longer than ever. And you know what? That's fine.

By Kat Bailey 10/01/2018 25

Starting Screen | It's Pokemon Red and Blue's 20th Anniversary in North America, and We're Celebrating With USG Pokemon Week!

STARTING SCREEN | Pokemon launched in North America 20 years ago this week, and the sensation still hasn't ended.

By Kat Bailey 09/24/2018 6

Starting Screen | Nintendo Switch Online Hasn't Even Launched Yet, and It Already Has Major Problems

STARTING SCREEN | Nintendo Switch Online launches tomorrow, and details are annoyingly scarce.

By Caty McCarthy 09/17/2018 18

Starting Screen | At EA's Jacksonville Tribute: Tears and the First Step Toward Healing

STARTING SCREEN | A community picks up the pieces after an unspeakable tragedy.

By Kat Bailey 09/10/2018 1

Starting Screen | Tragedy Strikes the Madden Community

STARTING SCREEN | A mass shooting casts a pall over the Madden competitive community, and over gaming as a whole.

By Kat Bailey 08/27/2018 5

Starting Screen | ROMs Play a Vital Role in Filling in the Gaps of RPG History

STARTING SCREEN | No ROMs means no way to play a lot of classic RPGs that still don't have legitimate releases (and probably never will).

By Nadia Oxford 08/20/2018 13

Starting Screen | The IGN Plagiarism Incident Once Again Highlights the Strange Place Occupied by Game Reviews

STARTING SCREEN | The IGN plagiarism incident spotlights the odd role played by game reviews.

By Kat Bailey 08/13/2018 26

Starting Screen | Metroidvanias Are Having a Moment

STARTING SCREEN | Hollow Knight leads a fantastically strong crop of recent metroidvanias.

By Kat Bailey 08/06/2018 14

Starting Screen | 2018 is the Year for Games We Nearly Forgot Finally Seeing the Light of Day

STARTING SCREEN | Chasm, La-Mulana 2, and Iconoclasts almost felt like mythical games, and in 2018, they're finally here.

By Caty McCarthy 07/30/2018 10

Starting Screen | Mega Man: Fully Charged Looks Weird and Different and Long-Time Mega Man Fans Will Have to Deal With It

STARTING SCREEN | Weirdly, part of being an adult is realizing stuff for kids isn't meant for you.

By Nadia Oxford 07/23/2018 23

Starting Screen | Why I Got Back Into Pokemon Go

STARTING SCREEN | I tried to escape, but Niantic keeps dragging me back in.

By Kat Bailey 07/16/2018 4

Starting Screen | When I Played Pokemon on IRC and Still More Summer Gaming Memories

STARTING SCREEN | We have more summer gaming memories, look ahead to Octopath Traveler, and more.

By Kat Bailey 07/09/2018 5

Starting Screen | The Crew 2's Cross-Country Sandbox is One American Experiment That Should Probably End

STARTING SCREEN | Why Ubisoft's new racer is hampered by its premise, and all the rest of the week's headlines.

By Kat Bailey 07/02/2018 7

Starting Screen | The Vita Deserves to be Remembered as More Than a Failure

STARTING SCREEN | An ode to Sony's handheld, this week's releases, and more.

By Kat Bailey 06/25/2018 24

Starting Screen | Xbox Ticked the Right Boxes, But Shadows Die Twice is E3's Best Reveal So Far

STARTING SCREEN | The nightmare that is February 2019, Square Enix Avengers is a no-show so far, and more.

By Kat Bailey 06/11/2018 11

Starting Screen | A Wii Tale of E3 2006: The Year Nintendo Shone on Stage and Sony Flopped Hard

STARTING SCREEN | E3 2006 is still an infamous show, and I was there. It was something.

By Nadia Oxford 06/04/2018 4

Starting Screen | Is a Sequel More than a Name: The Curious Case of Rage 2

STARTING SCREEN | If an IP dies in the woods, should a publisher still slap a 2 on it?

By Caty McCarthy 05/14/2018 11

Starting Screen | Happy Anniversary to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, the Best Successor to Symphony of the Night

STARTING SCREEN | The humble Game Boy Advance follow-up to Symphony of the Night managed to live up to its predecessor—and even exceed it in some ways.

By Nadia Oxford 05/07/2018 13

Starting Screen | Happy Anniversary to Persona 3 FES, Which Needs a Remaster More Than Ever

STARTING SCREEN | Kick off your week with Persona, Knuckle Sandwich's free demo, and Avengers: Infinity War.

By Kat Bailey 04/23/2018 21

Starting Screen | Shenmue Remains a Cult Classic and a Cautionary Tale

STARTING SCREEN | Shenmue's dueling identities, Rampage, and more.

By Kat Bailey 04/16/2018 17

Starting Screen | Persona 5: The Animation Has a Chance to Right the Wrongs of its Predecessors

STARTING SCREEN | The Persona series is one that's built on deep character development, which is not a short-term anime series' strong suit.

By Caty McCarthy 04/10/2018 17

Starting Screen | Happy Anniversary to Final Fantasy VI, Square Enix's First RPG for Adults

STARTING SCREEN | The older you get, the easier it is to appreciate Square Enix's 16-bit RPG masterpiece.

By Nadia Oxford 04/02/2018 18

Starting Screen | Fortnite Battle Royale Won by Capturing the Minecraft Generation

STARTING SCREEN | Tomb Raider's ongoing success in the movie theaters, Ni No Kuni 2's excellent soundtrack, and more.

By Kat Bailey 03/26/2018 5

Starting Screen | Finding Value in Supposedly Outdated Games

STARTING SCREEN | On what we can learn from Age of Empire's new release, Ni No Kuni 2, and more.

By Doc Burford 03/19/2018 6