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[Xander Markham runs a multimedia blog, in addition to writing for movie site Flixist]
I'm a 25-year old English author, recently graduated from university and looking forward to getting out and unleashing my books on the world. I'm working on an eight-part series of character-driven spy thrillers, the second of which was completed in June this year. The first is currently undergoing some revision to make it just that little bit more exciting, suspenseful, sexy and explosive. More information will be forthcoming once my agent in the field has come in from the cold (it's chilly in England at this time of year).
I've been an avid gamer since I was a wee lad, gripping a NES controller in my hands and comprehensively failing to get past those infuriating Hammer Bros on Level 8-3 of Super Mario Bros. I've stuck with Nintendo since then (not for any animosity towards the other console makers of course - Nintendo just make games I enjoy and have grown up with), apart from a brief sojourn with a Sony PlayStation, several woeful attempts to play Half-Life 2 using a laptop touchpad and sporadically wrangling a turn on my sister's beloved Sega Saturn. In addition to burping out the occasional novel, I'm a passionate critic, writing reviews and articles of films, book and games for my school magazine and university newspaper, for which I created and edited its film section. While primarily a film geek, the evolution of the games industry over the course of its short lifetime has fascinated me and provided vast quantities of content for some incendiary pieces of work - perhaps a few more might spring up on here?
My Favourite Games of All Time (because who doesn't love having a few Of All Time lists?) are GoldenEye 007 (which I still play through at least once a year to remind me of its glories), Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Gunstar Heroes, Super Mario Bros 3 (I don't know who told Shigsy Miyamoto-san that raccoons could fly, but I'll love them forever) and No More Heroes.
I hope you find great enjoyment in my many scribings, and please keep an eye out for upcoming news on my novel(s) and website.
Good gaming, everyone! |
Member Blogs
15 Year Anniversary Retrospective: GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997)  |
| Posted by Xander Markham on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 11:16:00 EDT in
Console/PC,
Design
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| Seminal N64 shooter GoldenEye turns fifteen today. This article looks at how its innovations have affected modern gaming culture, and the accomplishments which were lost to time. |
| Read More... | 2 Comments |
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Why Animal Crossing should have been Nintendo's Wii U online hub |
| Posted by Xander Markham on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 07:47:00 EDT in
Design,
Console/PC
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| Nintendo once again struggled to convey a clear vision for the Wii U at this year's E3. Might Animal Crossing have been the answer? |
| Read More... | 3 Comments |
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Deep Into That Darkness Peering: How Eternal Darkness Scares Us To Death |
| Posted by Xander Markham on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EDT in
Design,
Console/PC
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| Eternal Darkness is one of the scariest games ever created. But how did it succeed in unsettling players where so many others have failed? |
| Read More... | 6 Comments |
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Retrospective: Deus Ex (2000) |
| Posted by Xander Markham on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:53:00 EDT in
Design,
Console/PC
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| Sunday marked the eleventh anniversary of Warren Spector's Deus Ex. With a second sequel on the way, here's a retrospective look at the legacy of the original game. |
| Read More... | 5 Comments |
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Why Project Café will struggle in the 'hardcore' gamer market |
| Posted by Xander Markham on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 04:53:00 EDT in
Business/Marketing,
Console/PC
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| Nintendo are reportedly aiming to recapture the core gaming market with their new console. Unfortunately, that task may be easier said than done. |
| Read More... | 38 Comments |
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Does the 3DS bring a new dimension to the gaming experience? |
| Posted by Xander Markham on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 05:57:00 EST in
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| Hands-on report from Nintendo's London 3DS event, with analysis of how effectively 3D is implemented into its early games library. |
| Read More... | 6 Comments |
[More Xander Markham Blogs]
Xander Markham's Comments
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Comment In: Deep Into That Darkness Peering: How Eternal Darkness Scares Us To Death [Blog - 10/31/2011 - 08:00]
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Six times What do you ... Six times What do you get that isn't available from completing the three standard difficulties/alignments |
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Comment In: Super Mario Bros. 3 Level Design Lessons, Part 2 [Blog - 04/20/2011 - 03:22]
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Great read and a terrific ... Great read and a terrific analysis of a very special game. You've reminded me that I need to start blogging again when I have more time |
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Comment In: How Deus Ex: Invisible War Fails to Engage the Player [Blog - 02/07/2011 - 07:01]
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An excellently argued post, well ... An excellently argued post, well done. I agree with your points that there are times when you want to do things for yourself, like inputting keycodes such as in the example you gave, even if it technically slows down the experience. Having the game take such shortcuts for you not ... |
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Comment In: Does the 3DS bring a new dimension to the gaming experience? [Blog - 02/06/2011 - 05:57]
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I had assumed it would ... I had assumed it would just be in the nature of not using glasses for the 3D presumably it has something to do with the alignment of the two images on the 3D screen needing to be viewed from the right angle, but I'm afraid I don't know much at ... |
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Comment In: The Games of the Decade (plus one year): 2000-2010 [Blog - 12/31/2010 - 04:36]
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Legacy was part of the ... Legacy was part of the criteria, but the most important thing was how excellent an experience the game provided. Wii Sports is one of the most important games of this generation and an outstanding multiplayer game, but two of its games baseball and boxing simply aren't very good at all. ... |
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Comment In: Christmas Cookies 2010 [Blog - 12/12/2010 - 11:29]
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Outstanding work, like an early ... Outstanding work, like an early Christmas present. Judging by the look of that Lonely Walnut Island though - has ever a cookie name been more appropriate - you were rating generously. |
[More Xander Markham Comments]
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