Once More, Into the Breach (Onward and Upward)...

Yes, I'm back. Not quite where I'd like to be, but it's a (re)start. The primary goal of DAF is to shake things up (gently, most of the time) in the way video games are reviewed while nudging you, dear reader, into appreciating more of what's out there. The title of this blog is more an elbow to the ribs than a call to arms; a sort of a "Now that I have your attention" just to get you reading (and hopefully, responding).

For the past few years, I've felt that many major game review sites seem to have lost a good deal of their critical eye, focusing too heavily on bigger-budget, highly anticipated titles while ignoring or completely disrespecting smaller developers or games they feel don't warrant as much attention. The problem with this is too many great games (that don't have multimillion dollar advertising budgets) never get the praise they desire until they end up as bargain bin specials and small groups of gamers embrace them, too late for anything resembling decent sales.

Changing this trend won't be easy, but that's the plan. I'll be taking a look at lots of lesser known releases while also commenting on some of the major games for all platforms. Yes, we're platform agnostic here at DAF since system bias only keeps you from enjoying more good games. In 37 years of gaming from pinball to current gen consoles, I can safely state that I absolutely do not have a favorite console - it's always been about the games for me, period.

Some of you may be familiar with my work from my fanzine, Continue?, or websites such as VGBlogger, Ace Gamez, the late, lamented BonusStage and Gametour sites as well as a few magazines here and there. Heck, if you own a copy of La Pucelle Tactics for the PlayStation 2, you may have even seen my name in the manual under 'Special Thanks' (that's a cool story for another time, however). Anyway, a few hundred reviews, previews and a couple of in-depth interviews later, I found myself having to drop out of the scene for health reasons (mine and my father's). During all this, I never stopped playing games and can in fact, state that thanks to a relatively steady diet of assorted console, PC and handheld games, I'm feeling a lot more energized and thankful for the support I've gotten from more than a few industry contacts I've made over the past ten-plus years.

But enough of the "world's smallest violin" music playing in the background - I'll be back later today with a review or two. Stay tuned...