The Inventory

Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed.

On The Level examines one small part of a larger game.

7/24/18

2:00 PM

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On The Level7/24/18

On The Level7/24/18

Mega Man X's groundbreaking evolution sent it soaring into the skies

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6/7/18

10:00 AM

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On The Level6/7/18

On The Level6/7/18

Fallout’s best vault elected to tell the series’ darkest story

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5/8/18

2:00 PM

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On The Level5/8/18

On The Level5/8/18

Smacking a YouTuber with their own selfie stick is a new peak for video game catharsis

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8/23/17

3:40 PM

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On The Level8/23/17

On The Level8/23/17

How Sonic Mania’s first level sets the stage for a nostalgia-twisting adventure

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1/26/17

1:00 AM

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On The Level1/26/17

On The Level1/26/17

Wolfenstein: The New Order dared to play games with the Holocaust

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8/4/16

1:00 AM

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On The Level8/4/16

On The Level8/4/16

The Walking Dead: Season Two found the best place for a group breakdown

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6/8/16

1:00 AM

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On The Level6/8/16

On The Level6/8/16

When Metroid got too wordy for its own good

Anthony John Agnello

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4/5/16

1:00 AM

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On The Level4/5/16

On The Level4/5/16

Jingle Cats can be as surreal as actually living with a cat

Anthony John Agnello

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2/3/16

1:00 AM

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On The Level2/3/16

On The Level2/3/16

In Final Fantasy IV, the brutality inside a sealed cave sets the stage for loss

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1/20/16

1:00 AM

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On The Level1/20/16

On The Level1/20/16

Monaco steals the crime thriller “twist” and shows the masters how it’s done

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9/16/15

1:00 AM

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On The Level9/16/15

On The Level9/16/15

Super Mario World’s Donut Plains 1 recast Mario as a man of balletic grace

Anthony John Agnello

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7/15/15

10:00 AM

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On The Level7/15/15

On The Level7/15/15

How a bizarre bomb-defusing game hides an object lesson in handling any crisis

Anthony John Agnello

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11/24/14

1:00 AM

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On The Level11/24/14

On The Level11/24/14

Psychonauts enhances the myth of the tortured artist with luchador fights

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10/15/14

1:00 AM

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On The Level10/15/14

On The Level10/15/14

Reality intrudes on Splinter Cell: Conviction’s action fantasy in unsettling ways

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7/8/14

1:00 AM

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On The Level7/8/14

On The Level7/8/14

Kentucky Route Zero exposes the still-aching wounds of the financial crisis

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6/26/14

1:00 AM

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On The Level6/26/14

On The Level6/26/14

Assassin’s Creed IV turns a dull framing device into a deep meta-joke

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5/13/14

1:00 AM

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On The Level5/13/14

On The Level5/13/14

BioShock Infinite: Burial At Sea fixes the series’ most important character

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4/3/14

1:00 AM

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On The Level4/3/14

On The Level4/3/14

Max Payne 3 provides catharsis for a Jersey kid who’s sick of the ridicule

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2/20/14

1:00 AM

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On The Level2/20/14

On The Level2/20/14

The iPhone hit Threes gives you cuteness where you least expect it

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