Monday, June 2, 2008
GRID
Well back to the game. It looks beautiful. The graphics are well done and clean for the most part. The AI is pretty good too. Instead of the noraml static figures that make up the spectator crowd these guys will actually have reactions to what is happening For instance, when you run into the wall the specatators behind the wall will actually turn away and try to shield themselves from the collision. Pretty cool.
You have a pit crew that will talk to you during the race to let you know what is happening. They give you info like who the leader is, how far away from him you are, how close you are to at least making a podium stand, how badly you have damaged your car during wrecks and collisions, etc.
One of the bad things that Gary is having trouble with though is the controls. they seem to be quite touchy. We are unsure at this time if it is the game or just the controller he has but he is unable to control his speed. It seems to be go or no go with the gas pedal. The realistic yet annoying thing with the controls is that as you damage your car it will translate into how well your car handles. If you bend that wheel axle at all while driving then you will have a hell of time trying to finish the race and place.
GRID does have a pretty good physics engine though. Gary at one point when playing around with the game was doing donuts on the sandy part of the track and kicked a regular dust storm! Fun times. Also part of the physics engine would be the damage caused by crashes and collisions. There is no bouncing off and getting back into the game. Crashes and collisions cause real damage to your car, the track around you and the other cars that you are racing against. It makes the replay of the race look like you are almost watching the real thing.
Overall it is a real nice game. Like previous racing games you get a garage with cars to choose from for each race. With placing on the podium at each race that you participate in you earn access to upgrades to your vehicles. You will not find cutesy cars here either. These are real muscle machine type cars that have serious racing in mind. Gary is enjoying it and a happy husband makes me happy too! :)
Memory Mayhem

Okay here’s the deal. I finished GTA IV last weekend and a friend wanted to borrow it. So reluctantly I handed it over and moved on to my next cellophane wrapped game Lost Odyssey. I know I’m a little behind on this one but I’m a busy man goddammit and Niko needed me.
So I start playing and I absolutely love it. It’s an RPG much in the same vein as Final Fantasy and while I am not an uber otaku fuck fanboy of the series I do enjoy the games. The presentation reminds me a lot of FFX and the story is passable. The graphics are pretty good but slowdown is evident at some points. The dialogue is at times laughable; although, Jansen is the greatest comedic relief character to come out of an RPG since Morte in Planescape Torment.
And then I got my first memory and promptly started jabbing needles into my leg to make sure I wasn’t delusional. Let me explain.
You get a memory at certain points in the story when the amnesia ridden main character (because that’s fucking original) sees something that triggers his memory. Okay fair enough. Then you get the option to skip the memory or to look at it. I made the mistake of looking at the memory.
And I do mean look. I shit you not, music plays and pictures occasionally change in the background, but you “experience” the memory by reading the goddamn thing on the TV.
And then on top of that my screen is smallish in size and not high def so I find myself sitting two feet away from the damn thing squinting to make out letters and getting cancer of the eye. Bullshit.
This is the 21st century and you couldn’t do voice? My goddamn computer speaks fluent Japanese and you can’t take the time to put this shitty writing to sound? (If anyone knows the setting in my control panel to make my computer stop talking to me in Japanese let me know.) This game is on the X-Box 360 and they couldn’t pull some guy out of the fucking mail room to V.O. these things? Your game is on 4 DVD’s for fucks sake. So it couldn’t be a space issue.
The only good fact about this shit is that they do let you skip the memories. And I use that feature frequently. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying the game. But this memory shit has got to improve or go.
So you Want to be a Model?

Peter Molyneux and Lionhead Studios are looking for art models. All you have to do is head out and take a picture of yourself and send it in. Just follow this link here and check it out.
Spore Creature Creator Going Live
The best part about the creature creator? It isn't useless. You can begin creating and sharing your creatures with friends in anticipation of the games arrival. Unfortunately it seems as though there will be two flavors of the creature creator. A free version which will contain about a quarter of the full capability of the game, and a pay version which will have the full capability of the game.
My only fear is that it will end up like Black and White did... great concept but boring execution.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
GTA IV First Impressions
It feels a bit odd, but in a good way. The first thing that I noticed was the characters. They are actually dynamic. Niko himself is fantastic. His history and his personality shape the way you will view Niko. Mission after mission you will learn more about him. This has even impacted the way I play the game. Unlike other GTA's I did not go running into the street with Niko killing everyone I saw. I cared about Niko's character.
Other memorable characters include Niko's cousin Roman, the stoner Little Jon, and Niko's "comrade" Dimitri. All of them are interesting and all of them will surprise you. I even found myself feeling bad about a throwaway character that I was forced to kill. There aren't bad guys in this game. Only people.
The other striking feature of GTA IV is the story. The cutscenes provided at the start of missions and sometimes in missions are longer than in previous games but they provide a more in depth story. Story is also given to you by characters who are riding in your car.
The graphics themselves are beautiful and I expected nothing less. Although I was surprised how good the weather effects were.
The last thing I will say before I go back to playing this game for review is that make no mistake, this is GTA. It's just GTA evolved to the next level, and maybe then some. It feels good to be back in Liberty City.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
My favorite horrormeister speaks out on video game violence legislation
There have been several atempts to do this in other states and they have all failed to pass stating as protected under 1st Amendment rights. Currently there is an attempt going on in the Arizona state senate. As stated on the Video Game Voters Network MySPace blog - "HB 2660 aims to circumvent the Constitution by penalizing video game developers and blaming them for society’s ills. This bill punishes individuals who produce or distribute so called "dangerous" materials. The bill defines these materials as anything an accused individual might claim "drove" them to commit a felony or act of terrorism. "
So if you are in the state of Arizona or know someone who is please have them contact their representative and let them know your feelings on this matter.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Unreal Tournament 3
My first argument is that Epic had a great game with UT2004. The load screens and times were fair. It was user friendly in many ways and all in all a nice game to play and look at. With the new engine I can understand some changes coming but did you really need to frell up the basics of the game?! What the frak!? Just to get past the basic menu selections are a chore. How many times do I need to say that I want to play a frelling game?
Your server history also only holds so many servers before it just quits showing any more. So if you have met your limit and you get on the great server that you actually love to play on, you are unable to save it to favorites because you can only do that from the server history! You can only access your friends list from the community area which you have to go all the way back to the main menu to get to. The in order to add your friends you have to not only know exactly what their name is and how to spell it correctly but then you have to ask them and they then have to respond and then they have to ask you and then you have to respond top them! WTF?! I miss the simplicity of "right click-add to favorites" and "right click-add to buddies" . Why couldn't that have stayed?
I mean, the game is beautiful and has lots of potential (when you can get pass the frakkin' crashes and .dll errors). When I first put it on my system (which significantly exceeded it min. req's) I had to clean boot my system in order to run the game. No support was given to help me figure out why after multiple posts to forums. There are huge long threads in the Unreal Forums about others having problems with this and no solutions given. Not a single patch has helped and some even made it worse! A change in my OS ended up fixing whatever was wrong before.
This leads also to another issue I have (this is a rant, duh), after spending $50 on this game and finding out that I couldn't get it to run normally on my system I had no choice but to keep it anyway because you cannot return opened computer software to retailers! ARRGGHHH!!! If I am responsible and know my system specs and have run the demo with no problem and decide to buy the full version of the game to take it home , install, and try to run and find out at that time that it doesn't work - I should be able to return said merchandise without grief from the frelling store! I get the whole copying and getting money back thing and whatnot but why should those of us with legitimate issues have to pay the price when the cost of games are so excessively high? I mean if I really wanted to get a game without paying the full price for it I wouldn't bother with buying and returning the game I would get it from one of my many friends around the world who will generously let me have for no cost what so ever. Games I really want I buy and if I am unsatisfied with a product I should be able to return it, period.
Well I think I am tired out now. We can only hope that UT games run the gambit like Star Trek films with every other one being great. I am just pissed that I had to find out the hard way that this is just not what we expected from the pre-release hoopla.
More Final Fantasy Goodness coming to the DS
Also if you are into to RPG/Strategy on the DS make sure you check out Atlus games. They tend to do the US versions of lots of interesting games from japan.
Hunter
P.S. Uwe Boll has another box office bomb coming out. The trailer for postal has launched on www.ign.com and I have to say it looks like he was trying to offend the maximum possible number of people with that movie.
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Now playing: Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
via FoxyTunes
Friday, April 11, 2008
Mildly Amusing
You realize you can just not watch these movies right? If you stop watching he goes away.
Stop Dr. Uwe Boll Petition
(Note to self... Dr? What the fuck is the little prick a doctor of? Answer: Literature Maybe he could write for me when he retires.)
Bully Banned in Brazil (Now repeat 5 times fast)

The reason Bully was banned? Because it is set in the school.
How the hell could this ruling come out of a county like Brazil. Does Portuguese not have a word for Irony?
from Joystiq
FF IV coming for DS
I must say I enjoyed the release of FF III on the DS. I bought the system primarily for the old style RPG's and now it seems Nintendo is finally starting to catch up.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Not an April Fool's Gag
Bah, I'll do it as I've always done, wing it and see what goes over best.
But I'll be dropping in on occasion with a little of the 'slice-of-life-in-Japan' that I can offer, especially since my time here ties very closely in to my love of games anyway. My 'expertise' industry-wise begins and ends with the systems I own, and I always seem to be a generation behind. Still, I can talk a little about importing, and a lot about life in Nintendo's (and Sony's and Sega's and SquareEnix's and and and...) homeland.
Anyway, looking forward to sharing what I can. For tonight, I leave you with the following homework (especially those of you who've been wasting the past few weeks/months/years on Rock Band or Guitar Hero): Bemani. Look it up. Learn it. Love it.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Welcome
I'm sure all of you have noticed the influx of other authors into this blog. I would like you to welcome them all. I currently have three of my old college buddies (all with English or computer degrees) Robbie, David, and Hunter.
Also Marci, a friend and co-worker of mine has joined. I feel that she will be able to add a lot to the website.
And finally Josh will be joining us. He's an old friend of mine who's currently living in Japan.
All of these people and more in the future will be working and volunteering to make this site the one stop gaming source on the web.
Thanks all.
Yet another Introduction
Well to start things off I am viewing games from the perspective of a girl gamer. Yeah, I'm a chick! All that aside, I love the first person shooter gametype, along with rpg's, adventure, and trivia/puzzle solving (i.e. Myst, etc.). I started console gaming with the Atari 2600 in my early days and fortunately was able to move onward and upward. Currently I have 5 different consoles in the house (not a single 360 or ps3 though), including the Wii. A large majority of my gaming does happen on my computer though. I have 2 of those, one with XP and one with Vista. Don't ask me why I have Vista it was the hubby's idea. Fortunately it is only on one machine! Well I think that is me in a nutshell (Shawn will testify that a nutshell is fairly accurate too). If you can deal with me rambling as well as ranting you just might actually get something from my posts. Now I just have to think of something decent to write about :)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Amazon and Rockstar are teaming up

It's not a bad idea. As the line between games and the real world becomes skewed by increasingly complex technology these types of crossovers are simply the next evolution in games.
Some people will say that this degrades the immersing experience but it is executed nicely. When you hear a song you like in the game you just dial a number and it will text the artist and song name to you, or if you sign up for it, e-mail a direct link at amazon's store.
I would probably be more leery about this if it weren't for the fact that this deal was with Amazon's store. I have found their prices and quality to be far better than other services of the like. And the fact that the music is DRM free is all the better.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Introductions and Mount and Blade
Here is a game that has been getting a bit of buzz around the internet, but I figure all the publicity it can get the better.
MOUNT & BLADE:
This game is all about the fun part of playing. It has elements of FPS, RTS, and RPG. It was made independently by a married Turkish couple. Two words are what grabbed me from the start--mounted combat. This game has the best mounted combat system I have seen in any game, not that it is hard considering the massive amounts of games that actually offer it; however, it is fluid and there is just something to say about being able to ride in on a horse full speed and impale someone with a lance. You can't call yourself a medieval enthusiast if that doesn't create some saliva for your destructive taste buds.
You travel around a semi-large map where you will come across cities, towns, and roaming war parties and bandits. You will be able to level up your character in various skills that fall under a few basic groups: archery/ranged weapons; melee weapons; riding horses/fighting on horses; monetary use; leadership; and healing/advancement. Another big aspect of this game is choice. You can build the heavy armored knight on the best steed you can find, or the almost naked berserker with the huge axe running on the ground.
This game has been in beta for awhile and Pardox Interactive has recently picked this game up for production. The graphics are not the highest end, but I do believe the actual fun of the game more than makes up for it. Mount and Blade is still not in it's final form, but is still finished enough to have an enjoyable gaming experience. Another good option is that the makers allow for a free trial (always a good thing for a game to have) so you can see if the game is for you. You can play up through level 6. I've played the game with a character now at level 30 and have enjoyed every minute of it. If you like the type of game that leads to believe, "just one more battle and I'll be done for the night" then check it out.
Even more about in game ads
I am not much of a word smith so I am just gonna give you the straight skinny on advertising in games.
Short Version - It don't work, so it will stop on its own soon enough.
Long Version - It has been shown in published scientific studies[1] that no one can remember anything they see in games. If the game is at all fun/engaging around 13% of random players can remember ads they looked at in the game. If you just look at experienced players the recall numbers drop even more. That means as the companies figure out that advertising isn't worth it they will stop using it. And hey if the game isn't fun(which does help with remembering ads) then why are you bothering to play it and seeing the ads?
Now that we have that we have that out of the way its time to talk up two wonderful games.
1. Sins of a Solar Empire - This is a great strategy game with excellent support from its independent dev team. It has one of the best conquer the galaxy mechanics I have ever seen. It looks great and plays great on reasonable hardware. Defiantly a must buy if you like RTS games.
2. Super Smash Brothers Brawl - This one was a surprise for me. We picked up a copy for the lab with a throw in a few dollars pool and ever since it arrived it has been played several times each day. Its probably the best looking Wii game I have seen(not that high a bar to jump admittedly). This game basically doesn't have a plot, you just pick your favorite classic game character(Link, Zelda, Pit, Snake, Sonic, Marth, Shock Rat, Lucas, Samus[with and without suit], and a ton of others) and then stomp the stuffing out of each other. Last one left standing on the platform wins. The trick is you don't have health per-say instead you have a damage percentage which the higher it goes the easier it is to knock you out of the world. Single player is very lackluster just beating on computers, this game shines in its multiplayer. You get 3-4 people around it and it just grabs ya and you don't let go. If you have people to play with this is a must buy wii game, if not you can probably pass on it.
1 - Google "Dixit Youngblood" and you will find the study I obliquely referred to earlier.
Fake Leaked GTA IV Starting Cinematic on the interwebs
This one's more than likely a fake, and 1up has the trailer as well as some really good reasons why it is a fake here 1UP.
While I agree that it is an obvious fake, it's still pretty cool to watch. Coming from the standpoint of someone eagerly awaiting this title it's fun to see this type of thing done. It helps build up the hype even more.
The games official website has also been updated with even more goodies.
GTA IV Official Site
Thursday, March 20, 2008
On the topic of in-game advertisements
With regards to the recent news about the future of in-game ads, I feel the need to offer a dissenting opinion. EA's recent deal to allow downloaded advertisements in sports titles may not seem to be that big a deal, and even might lend towards a sense of authenticity: How often do you see a halftime report that isn't "Sprint's Super Awesome Half Time Report"? Even stadiums are named after the corporation that donates the most money; see the Carolina Panthers' "Bank of America Stadium".
However, I don't think ads can infiltrate games without breaking immersion to an extent. Sports games allow a lot more in that regard, but it isn't just sports titles. I purchased Crackdown a few months ago. It's a near-future game in which you play a supercop that can jump 50 feet and throw cars, among other talents such as shooting people. The game is fun, but one thing that always drove me nuts is that despite the nanotechnology in my character, despite the fictional "Pacific City" having underwater tunnels leading to a hundreds-of-stories-tall private police force fortress in the central sea of the city, and despite all the stupidity and high-technology around, there were billboards for the 2007 Dodge Nitro.
As an informed consumer, you will likely be aware that your new game downloads ads. This knowledge alone will ruin any sense of immersion immediately upon seeing a real-life product in the game. Why? Because you know you are being sold to. You know that some corporate suit is getting a dime every time you score a touchdown, because it's not a touchdown; It's a "McDonald's i'm lovin it Touchdown, courtesy of Starbucks".
I know people like making money, but there is no way for real-life advertisements to exist in games without ruining the escapism. I'd like to call for a moratorium on this practice. Making money should come second to keeping games fun and immersive, and I'd love to be able to convince EA and Microsoft of that.
Sadly, I don't have the money.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
EA Cuts Deal with Microsofts Massive Inc. Emperor Palpatine Pleased
I stick by my convictions that as long as it does not detract from the immersing experience of a game I have no problem with it. However, give EA's empire-like tendencies recently how long do we have before we have cheerleader pushing products during halftime?
I Feel Dirty Now
It's nice to have Downloadable content for free, but at what price? As long as they keep it away from the immersing experience of the game then they can do whatever the fuck they want.
Bad Month for Geeks

Clarke was an author ahead of his time who took his love for science and space out of his novels and into real life where he helped fuel the drive to the stars.
Clarke was the last of the three fathers of modern science fiction, surviving both Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein.
On a personal note, I grew up reading his fiction among others. They helped to shape the ideas and dreams I have today. As a student of the literary arts and a proponent of scientific reason, I can say that Arthur C. Clarke and his contributions will be missed but never forgotten.
I can only hope to live to see half of the goals that Clarke envisioned for humanity.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Green Lantern to have a Cameo in Upcoming GTA IV

DJ Green Lantern will have his very own station in the upcoming GTA IV game.
Lantern will be creating all new tracks exclusive for the game.
Considering the free form nature of the game I see no problem with this. The more radio stations in the game the better. I personally haven't heard any of his works but if you don't like it another station is just a click away.
Mortal Kombat 17ish...
Windows 7 Release date Confirmed (Kinda)
Mass Effect Franchise in for Changes

Greg Zeschuk is talking to MTV (of all places) about the future of the Mass Effect franchise.
Mass Effect, one of my personal favorite games of all time, suffered from some problems that kept it from becoming the greatest game ever made. One of which being the repetitive and often unnecessary side quests that drew the player away from the immersion of the main storyline and into the realm of monotony.
Zeschuk, in talking with MTV said
"Side quests can sometimes be left on the side, so to speak. Pardon the pun. But a lot of times it's even just getting that whole game done, that whole first shot [that is important]. We look at Mass Effect 2 as incredibly exciting. Just the amount of effort and knowledge and know-how that went into building the technology for the first one is huge, and [we now have] the chance to actually make things a little bit richer."
Given Bioware's track record of improving their titles in sequels I look forward to this next installment.
Atari Tries to Gather Steam

With Atari's ongoing business crisis could this be the boost it needs to stay in business? I doubt it, but it might just generate enough buzz for a possible buy out. A la...Infogrames
Oops
"Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience."
Oops.
EA needs to work out hostility issues

According to joystiq and substantiated by other news sites, EA today has begun their hostile take over of Take 2 Interactive
They have put a public offer for 26 dollars per share, above the current value of the company.
Whether this newest move by EA will be successful or not will be decided by April 11th, the closing date of this offer, unless they extend it.
One thing can be certain, if EA succeeds in this, 2k games will be no more. Who knows, maybe they'll keep the people from 2k games and madden might actually be playable.
How much is enough? Really EA, you already have a bad rep from your previous business practices and now you come out of the games with this. This may be good business but it's shitty PR and gamers hold grudges.
As for the fate of GTA, that remains to be seen.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Interlude part I

Despite the rise of video games and other electronic forms of entertainment D&D and other roleplaying games will always have a place in the market.
I have been apalled by what I have read on the internet. Jokes all over the place about D20's, and elves, and dwarves.
Seriously, what the fuck people? Now is not the time to make jokes at the expense of geeks and especially at the expense of Gygax's legacy or his family. Remember the man as the creative visionary he was, and as the caring man who treated his fans as his friends.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Who the Fuck are you?
This blog will cover games and gaming in all aspects of the industry. It is a place for reviews, previews and private thoughts on games. There will rants and raves about the industry and all of it will be unfiltered. Conversation topics and controversy will surely abound.
I will start by introducing myself. I am a gamer, a very cynical, skeptical, ranting, pissed off gamer. I have been playing games since the days before Atari fucked themselves and became a minor game studio praying that their next game will save them from going bankrupt. I'm sorry guys it won't...deal. I also have a degree in English which isn't good for much other than writing and playing Jeopardy. Since Alex Trebek hasn't returned my phone calls I figured I'd start this blog.
I will make you some promises with this blog
1. I will post at least once a week minimum: no exceptions, no excuses.
2. I will post the raw unadulterated truth as best as I know it and will not knowingly lead you astray.
3. In keeping with rule two I will make all attempts possible to research the accuracy of the topics that I will cover.
4. I will cite my sources and never take their work as my own.
5. I will listen to my community.
6. My reviews will be my own. I will never write a review based on a review or hearsay.
These are my promises to you. Stick with me, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Shawn out.