Kat Bailey

Article

You're a Loose Cannon: The Challenge of Making a Good Police Game

Why developers have struggled to make police games that go beyond the cops and criminals fantasy of Battlefield Hardline and company.

Dec. 31, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

How the Dutch Game Garden Helped Remake Video Games in the Netherlands

Video game development as we know it barely existed in the Netherlands a decade ago. Here's what changed.

Dec. 31, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Day the Dreamcast Died

Fifteen years ago today, Sega ended production of the Dreamcast. We talked to some of the people who witnessed its rise and fall firsthand.

Dec. 31, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Making of Fallout: New Vegas: How Obsidian's Underrated Sequel Became a Beloved Classic

From its beginnings at Black Isle to classic DLC like Lonesome Road, we dive into the history of one of the best RPGs ever.

Dec. 31, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

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

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

Dec. 31, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Finishing God of War Has Left Me Trapped Between Admiration and Frustration

Kat has finally wrapped up God of War's latest chapter, and she has some thoughts.

Dec. 31, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Press Start to Continue

A look back on what we tried to accomplish at USgamer, and the work still to be done.

Dec. 31, 2020 Kat Bailey

Review

NHL 21 Review: This Year's Entry Struggles to Light the Lamp

EA's hockey sim includes a long-awaited update to a classic mode, but legacy issues drag it down to the ice.

Oct. 22, 2020 Kat Bailey

Review

FIFA 21 Review: One Final Shot

EA's soccer franchise tries to score one more goal before full-time is called on the current console generation.

Oct. 10, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Baroque Beauty of Valkyrie Profile, Tri-Ace's Greatest RPG

Now 20 years old, Valkyrie Profile is one of the PlayStation's finest RPGs.

Sept. 25, 2020 Kat Bailey

Review

Madden NFL 21 Review: A Few Stumbling Yards Forward

Solid improvements to the gameplay are marred by subpar single-player modes and a huge number of bugs.

Aug. 28, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Madden NFL 21's Seann Graddy is "Actually Quite Proud of This Generation" as Next-Gen Approaches

Executive Producer Seann Graddy talks about Madden NFL 21's brand-new mode, franchise mode woes, and the road to PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Aug. 21, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Why the Dreamcast Still Matters

Why the Sega Dreamcast still resonates with game enthusiasts on its 20th anniversary.

Aug. 16, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Inside California's Secret Arcades

COVER STORY: With the arcade scene long since dead and buried, hobbyists are building private arcades of their own. We visited one.

Aug. 12, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Expat Game Dev Story: Inside Japan's Foreign Game Development Community

There are more western developers than ever in Japan, and they're doing everything they can to help Japan's indie community succeed overseas.

Aug. 12, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

FIFA 21's Battle With Lag, And What EA Has to Say About Other Longstanding Gameplay Problems

"FIFA 21 is the most responsive game we've ever made," EA says.

Aug. 4, 2020 Kat Bailey

Review

Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxi Boost On Review: Just Communication

Bandai Namco's arcade port is an odd but wonderful anachronism.

July 31, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

StarCraft 2's Rollercoaster Decade, As Remembered By Its Developers

Reflections on StarCraft 2's early success, the impact of free-to-play, and what Blizzard might have done differently.

July 30, 2020 Kat Bailey

Review

Othercide Review: My Immortal

A tactics game that taps into our inner goth rock fan.

July 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Case for Fallout 4

We reexamine Fallout 4 in the wake of Fallout 76's release and find that it holds up better than you might think.

July 20, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Remember When... Xbox 360 Tried to Conquer Japan?

Microsoft's attempts to win over Japanese gamers, and why it ultimately failed.

July 16, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Marvel's Iron Man VR Shows How Far VR Has Come… And How Far It Still Has to Go

An unexpectedly sophisticated VR game.

July 2, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

An Oral History of Diablo II With David Brevik, Max Schaefer, and Erich Schaefer

The battles with Blizzard, the year of crunch, and the shower ideas behind one of gaming's most enduring pillars.

June 26, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Before Rogue One: When Games Were Filling in the History of Star Wars

The veterans who worked on X-wing remember when Star Wars was still a relatively blank canvas.

June 15, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Top 25 RPGs of All Time #24: Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

One of the greatest tactics RPGs ever outshines its better-known successor.

June 13, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Top 25 RPGs of All Time #14: Pokemon Gold and Silver

Pokemon Gold and Silver aren't just the best games in the series, they have an argument for being the best Game Boy games ever.

June 13, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Top 25 RPGs of All Time #25: Final Fantasy 5

We begin our list with an underrated classic.

June 13, 2020 Kat Bailey

1 comment

Article

Why Zelda is an Unexpectedly Great Proof of Concept for the Switch

Plus: Music from Night in the Woods, Logan's success, and a little survival horror game set in 1960s Taiwan.

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

What Do You Do When Too Many Great Games are Coming Out at Once?

Strategies for keeping your sanity amid the rush of Zelda and Mass Effect. Plus: Metascores, obscure RPGs, game music, and more!

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Why Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is Already the Fastest Selling Game in the Series' History

Why Nintendo's racer is more important than your typical next-gen port. Plus: Morrowind's 15th anniversary, American Gods, and more!

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Was This the Right Time for the Switch to Launch, Middle-Earth Shadow of War, and More

The USgamer team comes together once again to get your week started right.

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Owning a Console is More Complicated (And Expensive) Than Ever

The PS4 Pro and Scorpio are obscuring some of the traditional benefits of owning a console.

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Mass Effect Andromeda is Coming Out at Exactly the Wrong Time

There's never a good time for a bad game to come out, but this month is worse than most.

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

How Exactly Did Destiny 2's $250 Collector's Edition Become the Accepted Norm?

Collector's Editions are the perfect winning scenario for publishers. Plus: Japanese April Fools Jokes, more obscure RPGs, and all the rest.

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Call of Duty: WW2 Needs More Than a New Setting to Refresh the Series

Strong sales belie the franchise's creative rot.

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

After This Weekend, Splatoon Already Has One New Fan (Me)

Discovering one of the Wii U's gems on the Switch. Plus: Destiny 2, StarCraft HD, and more obscure RPGs.

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Why I'm Still Playing Gradius 35 Years After Its Original Release

On its 35th anniversary, the Vic Viper lives on.

May 29, 2020 Kat Bailey

Review

Overwatch Review: Cheers, Love. The Cavalry's Here

We dig into Blizzard's first foray into the first-person shooter genre.

May 14, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Baldur's Gate 3 Being Turn-Based Was "Never Really a Question"

We go in-depth on Baldur's Gate 3's battle system, its branching narrative, and more.

May 5, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The 35 Year Quest for the Perfect Video Game Lightsaber

Tracing the history of the iconic weapon from the Atari 2600 to the present, and all the ways that it's influenced gaming.

May 4, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Countdown to Final Fantasy 7 Remake

We count down the final weeks to Final Fantasy 7 Remake's release with a series of features, essays, and podcasts.

April 6, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Developers Tried to Avoid Playing Favorites With Tifa and Aerith

Co-Director Naoki Hamaguchi and Producer Yoshinori Kitase tell us about giving Tifa and Aerith equal time, how their vision for the remake evolved over time, and more.

April 2, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Studio Behind the Messenger Is Trying to Kickstart Its Dream RPG in the Midst of a Pandemic

We talk to Sabotage Studio about its vision for Sea of Stars, and the nightmare of unveiling its dream project in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 19, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Top 25 RPGs of All Time #22: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

It spelled the end of a great RPG studio, but Vampire: The Masquerade lives on.

March 18, 2020 Kat Bailey

Review

MLB The Show 20 Review: A Baseball Fan's Balm for a Painful Spring

Opening Day may have been delayed, but The Show must go on.

March 17, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Ninja Theory Opens Up: Its Barbecue With Rare, Overcoming Doubts About Bleeding Edge, and Avoiding Crunch

"Oh my god, we have a brother-sister relationship with another studio in the UK."

March 6, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

The Case for the PlayStation 2 Being the Greatest Console Ever

Why the highest-selling console of all time is also the best.

March 4, 2020 Kat Bailey

News

With Baldur's Gate 3 Coming to Stadia, Larian Reacts to the Platform's Struggles

"We of course follow the news, and we know what players are thinking and why they're thinking that."

Feb. 27, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is "Three Times the Scope and Scale" of Blind Forest

We talk to the devs at Moon about delays, growing up as a studio, and success on the Switch.

Feb. 26, 2020 Kat Bailey

Article

"Outriders Isn't Games as Service:" People Can Fly on What Makes Their Next-Gen Shooter "Old-School"

Where we're going, we don't need roadmaps.

Feb. 13, 2020 Kat Bailey