author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 16, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Steven L. Kent
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jan 23, 2003
Nintendo lights up Game Boy Advance
There is no mistaking it anymore, Nintendo does better in the United States than in Japan. Nintendo sold more than twice as many Nintendo 64 game console in the United States than in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jan 16, 2003
LucasArts gives till it hurts
I have not finished the game "Star Wars Bounty Hunter," and I doubt many people will. But that doesn't make it a bad game.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jan 9, 2003
Not your grandma's ninja
Sega first introduced "Shinobi" as a harder-than-average arcade game, and the name became synonymous with ninja -- the stealth, star-throwing warriors.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Dec 26, 2002
Arcade gem returns to glory
This is the time for bringing games back from retirement. Sega came out with new a new "Shinobi." Konami has a new "Contra." And Tecmo has brought back two great blasts from the past: "Ninja Gaiden" and "Rygar."
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Dec 19, 2002
Ride a dream wave
Kelly Slater is a real surfer -- the high-profile world champion credited with helping reform the sport's image. But "Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer," a new game for PlayStation2, Xbox, and GameCube from Activision, is not about real surfing.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Dec 12, 2002
New on DVD: a family-friendly list
Christmas blockbuster movies don't only show up in theaters. Most of America's big box-office hits are timed to be released in the summer and roll into stores on DVD and VHS cassette just in time for the Christmas shopping season.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Dec 5, 2002
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... dull
"Superman: Shadow of Apokolips," a new game from Atari for PlayStation2, is an utterly forgettable 3-D adventure game in which Metropolis' man of steel vanquishes familiar foes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 21, 2002
Beware of twists ... and shouts
One chestnut some claim to be the shortest complete piece of fiction goes like this: "The last man on earth sat in his room. There was a knock on the door."
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 14, 2002
Oooh no! There goes Tokyo!
Who can resist a game with a campy, self-effacing sense of humor? People like it in movies, and they like it in video games.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 7, 2002
PlayStation stays ahead of the pack
When it comes to video games, Sony is the company that does no wrong.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Oct 31, 2002
The spy who tickled me
"No One Lives Forever 2," a stylish PC game from Fox Interactive, provides tense moments and lots of laughs. As a first person-perspective shooting game revolving around spies, it has loads of guns and enemies; but it also parodies both spy movies and its own game genre.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Oct 24, 2002
Namco puts up a fight
In 1990, fighting games really came into their own, as Capcom's "Street Fighter II" lit up video arcades like they hadn't been in nearly a decade.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Oct 17, 2002
Honor (and fun) among thieves
American-made adventure games do not typically hit the Famitsu top 10 rankings that determine what's hot in gaming in Japan. "Donkey Kong Country," a British-made Super Famicom game, was Japan's all-time best-selling foreign-made adventure game.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Oct 10, 2002
Disney lives in 'Kingdom Hearts'
"Kingdom Hearts" may be old news in Japan, where more than 800,000 people already own it, but it's new to the United States.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Sep 26, 2002
Mario milks aesthetic basics as a baby on Yoshi's Island
Mario is usually the star of Mario Bros. adventures; but in the case of "Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island" for Game Boy Advance, the little plumber literally comes off as a crybaby.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Sep 19, 2002
Shine on you crazy plumber
Mario, Nintendo's world-famous plumber/mascot, may be the oldest active character in video games, but he's certainly not washed up. Neither is "Super Mario Sunshine," Mario's latest adventure.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Sep 12, 2002
Super Monkey's on my back
You'll have to excuse me if this week's column is a bit short. Sega has just released "Super Monkey Ball 2" (SMB2) and I am having a hard time tearing myself away from the television.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Sep 5, 2002
Blinx gives Xbox style
Nintendo is all about platform games. Since Mario, Luigi, Banjo-Kazooie, and Donkey Kong specialize in platform adventures, GameCube owners have plenty of this ever-popular genre.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Aug 29, 2002
'Dead to Rights' feels like John Woo with a joystick
Forget all the moralizing. "Dead to Rights," a new game for Xbox from Namco, is a mature game that earns the right to have strippers in thongs, dogs ripping out men's throats and more shootouts than Charles Bronson and Arnold Schwarzenegger saw in their entire careers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Aug 22, 2002
When violence isn't enough
You know how moths like to fly into lights and fires, or how whales beach themselves. How about lemmings . . . those adorable creatures that follow each other off cliffs? You wouldn't think the American video game industry would fall into that category, but it's looking that way.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality
Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER