Alex Fitzgerald, GiN Staff

Alexander Fitzgerald is a professional poker player and published author who lives in San Jose, Costa Rica. When he's not rap battling, writing, or running his physical therapy clinic he can be found playing first-person shooters on his Playstation 4 with his sound system set to "deafen."

Recent Posts

Rocky Wins by Knock-Out

There are few series that ended as terribly as the Rocky series. Bad acting, Sly not even fighting, and a Don King look-alike? Sylvester Stallone said he was thinking of making a Rocky VI, but I don’t know how he could top the crap he showed me in the series’ 5th outing. The series one blunder and my jokes about it aside, the Rocky movies were some pretty good stuff. Though on the surface it looked like just showcases of some intense boxing action, in moments of the movies excellence they could unbelievably raw views of the human spirit at … Continue reading Rocky Wins by Knock-Out

Good and Cheap

There are times when a peripheral’s only purpose is to be a cheaper alternative. Such is the case with Phoenix Xbox controller from Gamester accessories. The controller is a carbon copy of Microsoft’s Controller S, featuring a nearly identical button layout, grip, and joystick/trigger functionality. Of course, being a third-party peripheral, all of this is offered at a slightly smaller price than Microsoft’s Controller S. Is the Phoenix Game pad worth your gaming dough? Shaping itself like Microsoft’s Controller S, which was specifically made for people with smaller hands, is it any surprise that the Phoenix controller is small? Nevertheless, … Continue reading Good and Cheap

Robotech: Battlecry is Anime Action

Revival is a word becoming more and more common in the game industry. TV series that have gotten canceled are continually seeing their stories continuing through the art form that is video gaming. Such is the case with Dark Angel, the Fox sci-fi series that got the hook unfairly some months back. It’s getting a game continuation of its storyline. A similar case has been speculated to happen with Farscape, another sci-fi series that suffered the same fate as Dark Angel. There is currently one Farscape game on the market, though many people hope there will be a story-based sequel … Continue reading Robotech: Battlecry is Anime Action

Bubbles Everywhere!

The puzzle genre is to video games what the horror genre is to books; both are fading fast. Like horror in literature, at one time puzzle games were big business. Games like Tetris were popular with gamers because of their addictive nature, and how new and innovative those games were at the time. As time went on though, a lack of innovation in newer puzzle titles led many gamers to get bored with puzzle games. Gradually, the puzzle genre lost so many fans that it went from being a huge genre to what it is now, a niche genre. While … Continue reading Bubbles Everywhere!

Commandos 2 Die For

Real-Time Strategy games rarely appear on consoles. Though the games are huge successes on PC’s, the genre has never really successfully crossed over to the console format. Attempts have been made of course, but the only one that ever really sold well was Starcraft for the N64. Despite all of this, companies still periodically make attempts to bring RTS’ to the console format, as is the case Eidos’ latest offering, Commandos 2. The game, developed by Pyro Studios, is a great entry in the RTS genre, although it is plagued by many of the same things that have held console … Continue reading Commandos 2 Die For

Egg Mania is Eggcellent

Puzzle games are one of those genres that has decreased in popularity over the years. Like fighting games, puzzle games used to be a premiere genre back in Tetris’ heyday. Now though, a constant stream of copycat games and a general lack of originality in the genre have made the genre much smaller than it once was. With the ushering in of the 128-bit era, puzzle games have become even fewer in number. In light of the new technology, it seems that companies have been more intent in putting their money into graphical showcases that will grab public’s attention, rather … Continue reading Egg Mania is Eggcellent

College Ball Touchdown

Football is one of the most difficult sports to participate in. Aside from the obvious reasons (how many of you had mothers who wouldn’t let you play?), there are several other reasons football is one tough cookie. Having played on a football team for eight years, I can tell you from experience that some people just can’t take how rough the game is. Fortunately, for you people who couldn’t join a normal team for whatever reason, EA has come through to offer you NCAA Football 2003. Don’t worry about not being able to play football though, because NCAA Football 2003 … Continue reading College Ball Touchdown

Freekstyle is Motorcycle Madness

Back when the PS2 launched, many were disappointed by the lack of quality to be found within the game’s launch titles. One of the few exceptions was EA Big’s revolutionary snowboarding game, SSX. Since that time, EA Big has churned out many fast-paced extreme sports games much like SSX. Some, like Sled Storm, didn’t live up to expectations. Others, like SSX’s follow-up title SSX Tricky, were simply astounding. The latest in this string of EA Big titles is Freekstyle, an SSX-style game with motocross as the main sport as opposed to snowboarding. Freekstyle’s main mode is Circuit. Inside Circuit mode, … Continue reading Freekstyle is Motorcycle Madness

F1 2002 is Bood, But Not New

Electronic Arts has always been praised for its great sports lineup. Starting in the Genesis days (when EA was exclusive to that platform) games like Madden and Bill Walsh football ruled the day. Sales were so good for these games in fact, that many believe EA’s support of the Genesis is one of the main reasons that system succeeded like it did. Now though, here in the year 2002, a lot has changed. EA is no longer exclusive to Sega, as Sega no longer are in the hardware business. Further more, EA no longer limits itself to just football games, … Continue reading F1 2002 is Bood, But Not New

Gentlemen, Stop Your Engines

Monster Truck events are very enjoyable. There’s just something entertaining about watching a vehicle the size of a house run over a tiny Volkswagen. As the sport has grown in popularity, gathering a devoted cult audience, the demand for a good Monster Truck video game has increased. Hoping to appease this audience, developer Inland productions, along with publisher Ubi Soft, have released Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction. Unfortunately, the game’s many problems prevent it from being anything above mediocre. Monster Jam’s main mode is Season Mode. Inside Season Mode, you’ll have to pick one of three game modes (Death Match, Cash … Continue reading Gentlemen, Stop Your Engines