Montreal

In Montreal, vintage cigarette machines sell indie art

MONTREAL--For the first time in maybe 20 years, I got a new cassette tape.

It's a bitchin' mix of 1970s funk tunes and it sounds delicious on my car stereo, which fortunately is old enough to be able to play it. But the best thing about this tape is that it came out of a vending machine.

Distroboto is a nonprofit network of machines in Montreal that have been retrofitted to sell works by independent artists. They spit out music, literature, and accessories, all for $2 a pop. … Read more

EA 'streamlines operations' by laying off workers

It seems like Electronic Arts is still reeling from its recent leadership shakeup. The gaming company today confirmed that it is laying off an undisclosed number of employees.

"EA is sharpening its focus to provide games for new platforms and mobile. In some cases, this involves reducing team sizes as we evolve into a more efficient organization. These are difficult decisions to let go of good people who have made important contributions to EA, and whenever possible we retrain or relocate employees to new roles," a company spokesperson told CNET. "Streamlining our operations will help ensure EA … Read more

Assassin's Creed Revelations: Cut from a familiar cloth

Perhaps one of the overlooked accomplishments in gaming is what Ubisoft Montreal has been able to do with the Assassin's Creed franchise.

For the fourth time in five years, the team has put out another title in the series that doesn't necessarily change the combat and gameplay formulas, but pushes Assassin's Creed's historical fiction lore into a more comprehensible and ultimately tighter narrative, all while humanizing the main characters more so than in previous entries.

For me, that's always been the series' Achilles heel; its difficulty in presenting its complexly layered storyline in a cohesive … Read more

Deus Ex: Human Revolution: More human than human

Eleven years since its original inception, the Deus Ex series welcomes a new entry in the form of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. In a world where human augmentations have been commercialized by big business, human beings have the option to upgrade not just their bodies but also their minds. Such an ethical hot topic has created passionate factions on each side of the argument forcing players to find a balance between the two.

A franchise known for mixing RPG and action elements all while giving the player the freedom of choice, we've been anxiously awaiting to see just how such an ambitious collection of mechanics play out on current-generation consoles. Taking a special look at the game on PC is CNET Senior Editor Rich Brown.

Jeff: After just surviving a summer drought of games like the one we just experienced, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a very welcome light at the end of the tunnel. It's an incredibly deep and layered game with a cerebral storyline that will charm even the most jaded cyberpunk enthusiast--a true complement to the game's great Blade Runner-inspired art direction.

The best way I can describe Human Revolution is a cross between Metal Gear Solid and Mass Effect. The team at Eidos Montreal borrowed the best elements from each of these franchises and made it their own, successfully weaving a game that lives up to its series' legacy of giving the player ultimate choice. This concept applies to almost everything Adam Jensen--the game's main character--does, from interrogating a person of interest to infiltrating a testing laboratory.… Read more