Sons of The Atom-Games

PSA: Game of the Year

2012-12-20T19:52:00.004-08:00

Real quick, I will be posting my game of the year article January 3, 2013. I want to make sure and get good time in with a few more games before I make my final call.

Wii U Owners, Back Away from the Ledge!

2012-12-20T19:32:00.003-08:00

My brother called me in a panic today, he thinks the Wii U is going to be a terrible system and it is going to waste away in his living room. So, like a good brother I talked him away from, the cliff he was standing over and take a deep breath. It was while I was talking to him I realized what his problem is, in fact I think it is the same problem Wii U owners have. They want Nintendo to be something they aren't anymore. The days of Nintendo being at the forefront of console technology is long gone, they just don't want to do that anymore.

The Wii U launch has been under a microscope, as units have not sold as well as the Wii. Stories of people being able to walk into a store the day it came out and it not being sold out. Or just a few days after, stores being stocked with them. In fact a week after the launch I went into a local Target shopping for other things and I saw they had the basic unit in. I asked if they had the deluxe version, I was told that they are keeping them in the back. I knew why they were doing that, but I asked them why? The response was the exact one I was thinking they would say, simply put by keeping them in the back, people think they are sold out. If people think they are sold out they want one even more. That tells me that the system is not selling and people in general do not care about it.

Now I am not going to go into all the reasons that people think it is not selling, I have my own ideas on that. I will say this, if you are a Wii U owner that knows the system is not sold out and possibly is not selling well, what do you think about your purchase? You might be a little bit worried right? My brother falls into that caragory, he is worried. So I asked him a simple question, "if it was sold out everywhere, even with all of the issues that you have heard about the system itself would you be as worried?" His answer was a simple "no." It's psychology, you want to be a part of something that everyone wants, not as many people want that so you are afraid.

Another topic that he brought up was with the next generation of consoles from Microsoft and Sony. He wanted to know if the Wii U would be able to compete with those new systems. This is where our conversation got interesting.

The answer to that question is no, the Wii U will not compete with the other systems. Reason being, Nintendo does not want to. They have no interest in spending money on newer, expensive to buy, expensive to build and expensive to R&D machine. They are a video game company only, they have nothing else. They make systems and games, that is all. Where as Sony and MS have other things they do, gaming is just a part of a bigger picture for them. Having said that, Nintendo is not in a position to loose money on a new system like the other two are. So pushing high tech equipment is just not what they want to do.

Also, they feel they compete on a different level. It is a business philosophy, there is a sea of red and a sea of blue. Nintendo sees the red sea as Sony and MS trying to one up each other. Where Nintendo sees the blue sea where they can make a system that is unique to them and not have to compete with the other two. Think about it, the question the first two or three years was which do you buy a 360 or PS3. The general public saw those two machines too similar. They knew that buying a Wii was it's own thing. To Nintendo's credit it worked well for them as they sold a lot of units. They did loose the trust of "gamers" in doing so, but for a business move it was excellent. This is where my brother and people like him are going to have to start asking themselves questions about what they want from Nintendo versus what Nintendo is.

See, this is emotional for us. We grew up playing the NES and owning every single Nintendo system that has ever come out, handhelds included. We want Nintendo to succeed, we have an emotional attachment to that brand. Some of our best memories came around playing something on a Nintendo. Why do those have to change? They change in our minds because we want them to. We think that Nintendo will fail by not keeping up with the other systems. We start to think that without third party support Nintendo will die. I say this, Nintendo only wants key third party support and they use what makes their system different to get it. I also say that Nintendo has not lived on third party support for over ten years, that started to along side the Nintendo 64 and became official with the Wii.

Look the history is there. When the PlayStation came out Sony moved to a disk based system. They held more information and were less expensive to manufacture. Nintendo decided to stay the course with cartridge based games that were more costly to make than CD based. Nintendo also stuck to their family approach that they started to adopt in the SNES era, so while the demographics of gamers were changing Nintendo did not. Nintendo moved away from a standard controller as well. All of those things pushed third party developers away as well as what started to become known as "core gamers." Those "core gamers" not only wanted the best games but they became more focused on tech as well. Nintendo just lagged behind. These things did not hurt Nintendo, they sold systems and did alright.

Then move into the Game Cube era, which Nintendo saw the gap widen between them and their competition. Now, the PS2 and XBOX moved into DVD-Rom while Nintendo stuck to their own format. This started the shift from game consoles to becoming centerpieces of the living room. When one box could do more. This generation also saw XBOX Live and some sort of online play on the PlayStation side. Nintendo did not come to the party then either. The lack of a standard controller from Nintendo was also very apparent, as the two other dominate systems had two analog stick, a d pad, four face buttons and four shoulder buttons. Third parties shifted even further away from Nintendo. But with all of that Nintendo survived and they kept going.

Now you have the current generation. Again Sony and MS stepped up their games with systems designed to be in the living room to fill a families entertainment needs. They beefed up their online services as well. Now gamers were connected to each other and playing games in a different way, connected from home. Those systems were designed to be ahead of gaming PC's to last 7-10 years. Most importantly, those systems coincided with the HD generation. In the case of the PS3 it ushered in Blu-Ray, the format that won the HD wars. They were built to last and give entertainment options that we had not seen before on a mass appeal level. Then there was Nintendo.

Their entry into this generation was the Wii. Which basically was a re skinned Game Cube. Nintendo came out of the gate five years behind. They did not have a robust online friends network, many games did not take advantage of the limited amount Nintendo had to offer. Nintendo, guessed wrong in thinking that HDTV would not take off and it did, right around the same time the Wii came out. From a tech standpoint, they came to the party dead on arrival. They went way out in left field with their controller which was the biggest point of success and contention for the Wii.

The success being, that made the Wii different. That alone sold systems. And it sold them a lot of systems. It was easy for people to understand point this at the screen. The barrier to entry for video games decreased with the Wii Motion Controller. It made video games accessible to a lot of people. But at the same time, people like me got left behind. I don't use motion control I hate it, I won't ever use it. And there are a lot of people like me, that play like me, that think like me. I stopped playing that system, I stopped thinking about buying games for that system, even the big games that came out. I just didn't like to play games that way. Now at the end of 2012 we have a dying console generation and Nintendo comes in the the Wii U.

Nintendo would like you to believe that the Wii U is the first next gen system, it is not. In fact under the hood it catches up to what the current systems are doing. Knowing full well that this system will not have the horse power to compete in a year from now, I can see why people are worried and upset. But this is when I tell you that it is your own fault. Look at Nintendo's history over the past 15 years, what have they done to make you think they were going to go balls to the wall? Please tell me I would like to know. History doesn't lie.

No what Nintendo did was they gave into a standard control scheme because they had to. Third party developers basically told them they had to, so they broke down and did the smart thing. That alone has be back with them. They introduced their newest gimmick with their control pad, which who knows where that goes. There are so many pros and cons with it. They now have joined the HD era. So you have a standard controller and HD graphics. Those are great things, but Nintendo is so painfully behind in other key areas, namely online community. Too far behind in my mind to even make a dent. But this is what Nintendo does, they don't want to compete like that so they go a different direction.

As a Nintendo fan, you have to understand that. You have to look at the big picture. Look at what they have done in the past and what they continue to do now. Again you want them to have amazing tech, they won't do it. You want them to be something they are not, something they have not been in a long time. Does that mean the Wii U is going to suck? No, I think it will be great. But it will be great for what it is. If you buy this system you are buying to play games that are impossible to play on another system, period. You guy it for Nintendo first party games and anything pretty creative third party developers do. There is nothing wrong with that. In my mind there is nothing wrong with spending money on something that you will get hours, days, weeks, months out of. This is not going to be the system that you buy Call of Duty on, no people are going to be on XBOX Live or PSN, that's it. But that system is not a failure for that, it will just be different. And in my book there is nothing wrong with being different, but you have to accept that Nintendo is different and that's what they bank on and you should too.

Bold Predictions 2013: Next Gen

2012-12-10T21:03:00.002-08:00

You can quote me on all of these things. You can also pay me for every time I am right.

The Next Generation started in 2011 and the consoles will finally come out in 2013. It is no secret that we have been waiting for this for about a year now. We are in a world where third party developers are stuck. They know that their games will sell better if they come out on consoles, but the console tech is outdated. Their solution has been simple, they are not longer developing with consoles as their lead platform. Basically, third party developers have moved on to the next generation by making a high end PC their lead platform. The result has been mixed in my opinion as console games do not perform or look anywhere close to their PC counter parts. The games I play are highly optimized versions of a game made to run on 25% of the technical horse power. It's time to move on and Microsoft and Sony know this.

What I am looking for is updated CPU and GPU, obviously as that is pretty much what will make these systems more powerful. The question then becomes how far do each of them go? I think they are going to opt for a more inexpensive GPU but giving developers access to more RAM they know what to do with. My call is 8-16 gigs of RAM on both of these systems, hopefully 16 as that would be way more than they would know what to do with and give the next generation a nice long tail.

Blu Ray will now be the standard optical drive for both systems. Sony owns it and the PS3 helped them win the HD wars after the HD-DVD bowed out the day after the porn industry said it supported Blu Ray. Oh yeah, Blu Ray was a huge selling point for the PS3, which allowed them to say that they had a huge install base of Blu Ray players. The problem with the first generation drives was that they were really slow. While the good is that a Blu Ray drive can hold so much more information on the disk itself. This has been a problem on current generation systems. On the 360, games are becoming too big, so you are starting to see a lot more games come with two disks, one of them pure data that you will have to install. On the PS3 side, because the drive has a slow data transfer rate you end up having to download a lot more onto the systems HHD. So it's a lose lose. That will corrected as current BRD are much faster.

I expect MS to continue their amazing XBOX Live service, going for small tweaks to the service. While Sony is going to overhaul their entire system. In a lot of ways they are going to be playing catchup with Live, but I think because of this they are going to work on improving the service right out of the gate. I feel this is extremely important for Sony, not as much for MS.

I believe that each system is going to come out between September and November of 2013. Each will have two skus at launch, one for $399.99 and the other $499.99. I fully expect each system to had at least one TB of HHD space, more than likely the HHD size will determine the price point of the sku. Sony wants to be first out of the gate this time, so I look for them to push to get out at least one month before the next XBOX.

If you are skeptical that either of these systems are coming out next year, I urge you to look at the games that are coming out the second half of next year. Go on I will wait...Alright, now that you have come back to find that there are not any, that is usually the biggest sign of a new console coming out. Publishers are being held back by MS and Sony to not announce anything until the system is announced.

I believe that MS will announce their system first at an event before E3 while Sony is going to try and swing for the fences and announce the system at E3. MS will not announce any third party games for the system as they will wait fo E3, instead opting to be vague when asked about the games. They will focus on the tech of the new system and the bells and whistles. Sony, is going to flat out try to win E3. They want it badly, as they went from being the kings of video games to basically a sinking ship. They play their cards right and during their press conference they will show a ton of games first and third party alike. They are going to look amazing but they will not tell you that those games are for their new system. They are going to wait until the end of their presser and say something like this "Oh and by the way, all of those games that we have shown you tonight will be for our new system, the Playstation 4! It will be available Winter 2013, more details to follow!" then walk off the stage. It will be amazing.

The Wii U, while I would say is not next gen will factor in because of the short amount of time it has been in the market. Sales will be a lot slower than what Nintendo thought, I say that by the end of 2013 world wide sales are less than 4 million. If I am right on that one, that will all but kill Nintendo. But fear not Nintendo fans as I predict they have a new proper Mario game coming out next year. Not only are they going to have that they are going to blow everyone away with their secret project, a new twin stick version of Metroid Prime! In addition to that, you will be able to buy the HD version of Skyward Sword! If those at least two of those games come out next year expect the Wii U to have close to 10 million units sold and the world is saved.

Sony finally figures out what to do with the Vita, and that is to make it a companion to the proper home PlayStation. It can do everything that the Wii U controller can do except you can take it on the road with you. Sony finally makes their mark with that system. I fully expect games to have Vita companions to them. Maybe not the full game like you can get now, but added content. Imagine a RPG where you can do mundane actions with on the go to level up your character? That would be sweet. Added, again anything the Wii U controller can do, you Vita can also do. So you will see it being used a lot more as an optional controller Also, because of this, the Vita will have a redesign done to make it feel a lot more like a Dual Shock. They will also sell a retro fit case for the old model Vita.

MS uses Smart Glass, just like the Wii U and Vita. Advantage to that, everyone with a smart phone or tablet can use it. Disadvantage, you will be very limited with the gaming experience on it. But this will be a huge focus for MS in the next gen.

The new PlayStation will not be called the PlayStation 4. I would like them to do that just because it is easy to understand and explain. And let's face it, if either MS or Sony can learn anything from the Wii U it's that you have to make sure people understand what it is.

The next XBOX will be called XBOX 720. They won't rick the boat, MS bot killed last generation, licked their wounds and came up in this console cycle. They do nothing but strengthen their loyal fan base and get them to convert over. Plus the name is kind of cool.

Gran Turismo 6 will be a PS4 launch title. Shocking the world by actually coming out with a game before they give us a 3 year warning. It will be great. Also, I say this because racing games sell a lot of units, they also sell years after they come out. The GT series is Sony's most successful first party title and they will use that as their system seller. It will also be the first game that uses their new interconnected Vita PS interface.

Their will not be wide spread supply problems. One thing that I do know is that competition will be fierce between these two companies, the last thing that either of them wants is to not have any units to sell. They will be stocked very well. The first shipment will sell out for sure, but I expect stores to get shipments once or twice a week.

And finally I will camp out for both of these things, risking divorce in the process. I am very excited for the next generation. We have not had anything new in a long time. I am starting to get the butterflies now!

The Walking Dead: The Game (of the Year?)

2012-12-10T10:28:00.000-08:00

I am not trying to troll, I swear. For months now i have been hearing nothing but great things about The Walking Dead game, culminating with Friday's Game of the Year win at the VGA. This is not the game of the year, period. Reason being, it is not five years from now.

I am so conflicted by this game. On one hand the econmics of the game are great, there are five episodes in the season and each episode is $5. So the barrier to entry in terms of price is very favorable. Also, this is a game that you can pretty much play anywhere on anything. So don't feel like you need to have a 360 or PS3 to play it. Nope, if you have an iPhone you can enjoy this game as well. So yeah, go for the game, buy the first episode and see what you think and keep buying them. A pretty simple solution the $60 video game dellema.

But my problem with the game is not price, quality or inovation, my problem with the game is me. The story is great. In fact I have never played a game that I was so invested in the relationships between the characters and what was going to happen. Shaking my head after episode 4 wondering if there was something I could have differently, but I knew that there was nothing. I knew way back in episode 2 that the choices that I am making really do not matter at all. This was the story that the writters wanted to tell but they were very smart about it.

What this game does better than any game I have ever played is give you the illusion of choice. It makes you think that what you have chosen is going to impact the story. But it doesn't, what was going to happen was going to happen, regardless of what you did or who was with you. It didn't matter. So here inlays my problem, knowing this effected my enjoyment of the game. In a game about choice that the choices are ultimately superficial what then do those choices matter? In my mind they didn't.

This is not to sat that this game wasn't excellent, it was. The story is top notch and extremely emotional. I will not hold the game play against this one, but I will say that Telltale Games will really have to step up their game in the game play department. In short I didn't really enjoy PLAYING the game but that was not the point of the game. So now we have Game of the Year and this one just walked away with one of the biggest prizes in the VGA's. But was this game really better than anything else I played this year?

I started off this post by saying that The Walking Dead: The Game is not the GOTY for 2012. I will stand behind that opinion. I do not think there was enough game in it, or at least good game in it to warrant the title. This game is one of the best expereinces I have ever had with a video game, in fact no it is the best expereince I have ever had with a video game. But is that enough? For me no, it's not. I will say this about this game, it's just the beginning.

When I said that this will be GOTY five years from now I meant it. This will be the game that we all look back on as the vanguard of change in video games. The illusion of change that they were able to achieve, the story, the emotional connection to everything you are doing cannot be matched by anything else out right now. But that is the one big take away from the game, in fact I would argue that is the only worth while thing that you can take from this game. It is the most revolutionary new mechanic in video games in years, and that will be the thing that will live on from this game.

The story and illusion of choice will be borrowed and put into pretty much every other game coming out in the next two years. It will also be put into games that are bigger and more robust than what the Walking Dead is and probably ever will be. Was Halo 2 the game of the year in 2004? No it was not but it had the most revolutionary thing in it at the time, which was competent good online multiplayer on console. Something that was taken from them and spawned into something much bigger. Just like Halo 2's online multiplayer, The Walking Dead is revolutionary. And just Like Halo 2, you will be playing parts of The Walking Dead in almost every game that comes out in the future.

Syndicate

2012-12-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

Syndicate is the game that inspired me to create this Blog. Going back to when I was a kid, when I had no income of my own getting or buying a game was incredibly important. It was always the best gift, my brother and I would always get excited when we got a new game. Only to be on occasion into tears. We always through of ourselves as educated "gamers" having played games since I was 7 (I am 33 now), reading magazines like EGM and Nintendo Power. We loved and still love video game. But buying a bad game really sucks! Knowing that I spent my hard earned money on games like Street Fighter The Movie for the Sega Saturn still burns the piss out of me. Even worse, when my Nani would buy us a game that was really bad and we would lie to her and tell her how amazing it was. Knowing that the game just sat there, and is probably still sitting in my garage, because I don't get rid of games.

So when I said that Syndicate is the game the inspired this blog, I mean games like Syndicate. The difference between now and back then, is your are really hard pressed to find a game that is flat out bad. More often then not you are going to find a game that is just so painfully average that it feels like a waste of money and time. I would even argue that a really bad game, is actually one that I would buy just for the collection. But I look at Syndicate and ask myself why?

For starters, I am into Cyber Punk and this game takes place 50 years into the future, so the setting got me. Second, I was in the mood for a FPS and it looked pretty competant in that department. Third, I had read that it was fairly short and I wanted to get it off of my plate when talking about Game of the Year. And finally it was on sale Black Friday for $15 bucks on Amazon, sold!

The thing is, I needed to play this game because I just wanted to see for myself. Maybe this was a diamond in the rough, that was cast off earlier this year. Maybe, this could be a game that blew me away or at least made me feel cool for playing it. The fact of the matter is this, it's not great. Notice I said 'great' and not 'good' I meant that. The game I believe is good, but that is no longer enough to warrant spending money on a game. We have way too many options out there that are great that the good games become mired in average scores and get lost in the shuffle.

A game like Syndicate, everything works for the most part. There are no glaring issues aside from a total lack of story and some cheap boss battles. The gameplay is very standard, they offer almost nothing new aside from three special powers you get. All in all, it's just a game that you can buy.

Syndicate.

Snake, SNAAAAAAAAAAAKE!

2012-09-02T00:38:00.001-07:00

Wow, wow, wow! That is all I can say right now after seeing the Metal Gear Solid Ground Zero footage. Guys, I usually don't get blown away by anything, this footage totally knocked my socks off! If you are a Metal Gear fan I urge you to find it, you will not be disappointed. If you are too lazy I will give a very quick run down.

The game looks to take place after Peace Walker, were you play as Snake (Big Boss). The demo that was shown was mostly cut scene, no surprise there if you are a fan of the series. The last few minutes however went into game footage, holy cow! From what I can tell, the transition from cut scene to game play was seamless with very little degradation in graphical fidelity. So yeah, it was basically the best in game footage I have ever seen in my entire life (33). The game is also is said to be taking place in an open world environment, so you can imagine the game play possibilities.

According to reports, the game was shown on a current PC, which could mean a lot of different things. Personally I think it was shown on a pretty high end machine. After the trailer and footage was shown, you can clearly see the PS3 and Xbox Live logos on the bottom. I seriously doubt that this game will be for the current gen and if it is it must be on 4 disks for the 360. Also, I don't put it past Kojima to be able to pull off such an amazing looking game on this generation. I still doubt it though. No release date has been set or even mentioned, stay tuned!

Now List This!

2012-08-21T09:42:00.002-07:00

Every year the IGN PlayStation team puts out their list of the top 25 PS3 games of all time and every year you get fooled. Ask yourself something while you are taking a deep breath, do you know how they make their money? If you don't that's not a big deal, not everyone does. They get paid buy selling ads, the more clicks they get, they more people go to the site, the more they can sell their ad space for. Do you know what moves the needle? Lists! That's right lists move needles, because everyone hates them!

Hear me out for a second, while I educate you. One, I read their list, in fact I like IGN, I like PlayStation team a lot. Do I agree with them? No, I usually disagree with them, but I read their work and listen to their podcast, because I do recognize they have a lot of fun and crazy passion for what they do. Second, do I agree with their list? No, I do not, out of their 25 games, I would only have a maybe ten on my own list. And yes, MGS4 is the reason I own a PS3. I remember standing in the midnight line for the special edition PS3 with MGS4 packaged with it. I believe that MGS4, is in fact the greatest PS3 game of all time. But here's the catch, they know most PS3 owners feel the same way, or at least the most vocal of them do. So what dd they do this year? They let the game off their (key word) 25 best PS3 games of all time. How do we respond? By doing exactly what they wanted us to do, go to their site, and comment like crazy.

That is why you are being fooled. You probably don't realize that they are making a ton of money buy making a list. They are also smart enough to know that MGS4, moves the needle big time with PS3 owners. So not putting the game on a list that was already going to be talked about? You basically had gasoline with the list itself and the match in MGS4, now you have an explosion, which I am sure they are happy to have. Now by no means am I saying that they left the game off of their list just for the sake of this. I am saying that they have an opinion which they have every right to express. But they also know that no having this game on the mean that next year, their sales team will be charging a lot of money for ad space just for this list. Why? Because we all go there.

Now ask yourself this if MGS4 was in the top 5, would it be that big of a deal? I didn't think so. Think about it. Also, everything that they have ever said about this game has been that it is their least favorite in the series. And, neither of them reviewed the game and reviews are just opinions with a score.

Gamescom, Sony's time to shine?

2012-08-21T09:15:00.001-07:00

This past week in Germany, Gamescom took place and while many other sites were going gaga over Sony's press conference, I am not. I will point out Am I the only one that will not give credit to Sony for doing something so basic in the consumer business, listening to their customers? Unfortunately, I probably am.

E3, the worlds biggest video game conference held annually in Los Angeles was home to one of the most criticized press conferences ever, Sony's. Two months later they are now being revered for their Gamescom presser. How does something like this happen? And more importantly why are they getting so much credit right now? I will give you my thoughts, and point out what I feel are the most painfully obvious fallacies that I have yet to hear about in regard to the PlayStation presence in Germany. Again this all starts off with their E3 presser.

They were bashed and bashed pretty hard. Wonderbook, a new games that is compatible with the PS3 Move and has a tie in with JK Rawling was shown for 20 minutes. This sent the crowd into tears of boredom. Oh yeah, the Vita. The Vita was basically not talked about at all. A new hand held system released in North America earlier this year, with a small but dedicated fan base news had not been good. E3 was supposed to change that.

Every Vita owner and more importantly potential Vita owner was looking at E3 and the starting point. The system is out, and praise of the tech has been fairly universal, but one thing was lacking from this game system, games. They did announce a new Assassin's Creed game, built for the Vita, bundled with a special edition white Vita. The problem with this being it comes out on the same day as Assassin's Creed 3, one of this year's most anticipated (not by me) games this year. The pundents, including myself feel that the game for Vita, will not have the immediate wow factor. This game will be lost, They should just hope for the game being good, and having legs in the sales cycle. The Call of Duty game, where the only thing that was shown was the games logo, things looked comical at this point. So while Sony stumbles all over themselves around the world with this system, E3 was going to bring it all back. We were going to get new games, new reasons to own a Vita if you no longer have one, reasons to not cry over wasting money if you do have one. All this is what we were thinking, what we wanted, the problem is that it never came.

So Vita, get ignored, people are afraid, vendors are afraid. You have Wonderbook, which I would make the argument for it being there, maybe they could have cut down the time. That will be an important game, it's not for me nor is it for anyone reading this, but it will be important for Sony. They do announce a new game Beyond: Two Souls, which is the new Quantic Dream game and looks pretty good. A new bundle for the Vita. Also, a really cool drop the mic moment after the Last of Us demo. But right after the show, everyone questioned what Sony did. Or what they didn't do. Fast forward a few months to Gamescom in Germany, everything has changed.

To juxtapose, Sony had a very strong Gamescom. They focused on their new offerings, the Vita, new games for PS3, new games for Vita, Wonderbook again and most important to me cross buy. If you don't know what cross buy is, simply put, if you buy the PS3 version of a game you get the Vita version for free. While this will not be for all games, do some research first, it does bring up a really good point. The PSVita, was designed to be the PlayStation experience on the go. Now it looks like for the first time we will get that. It will be cool to go back and forth between the same game on two systems and transfer saves. That is what I wanted. I can now watch TV with my wife and make progress on a game.

They showed more Assassin's Creed, they announced two new holiday bundle, one with Little Big Planet Vita and the other with Call of Duty. So now you get to the point of over kill, what bundle do you buy? Beggars can't be choosers at this point, so I am happy that they did something. They also showed footage from the Call of Duty game. In hindsight, they probably should not have because it looked like...well bad. You had a new Killzone game, which looked a little heavy on the touch pad. A WiiU like function where you can control a PS3 game with the Vita, having it add extra features. Sony at this point in on top of the world, neither Nintendo or Microsoft showed up, Sony had this in the bag. But hold up.

Read my previous article on who won E2 2011, you will note that I had Sony as the looser. One of the reasons was they let Nintendo beat them to the punch. Sony, never showed off that the Vita and PS3 would work together. They basically could have killed off one of their competitors that day, but let them live. Imagine, if people saw that the Vita could do the same thing as the WiiU, why would people buy a new Nintendo system? They could get the same thing in a less expensive easier to understand way. Now they have to deal with the Vita not selling and the 3DS kicking butt.

Am I the only one that will call Sony out on something. In fact, no I am not going to call Sony out on anything, I am going to call out everyone who is giving them credit for this. Yes they did have a much better show compared to E3, but don't insult my intelligence. All Sony did was one of the most basic functions of consumer relations, they listened. They listen what everyone said was wrong with their E3 presser, what all of us fans were disappointed in and they catered to us. No credit for doing what you are supposed to do.

Shaping Frustration...Sound Shapes

2012-08-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

I am not sure why, I really am not trying to hate this or be different but I seem to be on an island all by myself. I do not like Sound Shapes! That's right I said it, and I am the only one that I know of that has said it, some people might be thinking it, but I am the only one saying it. In reading reviews of the game, I just have a vastly different take on it.

While most people marvel at the game's integration of sound track, platforming and art style. As a game, Sound Shapes doesn't work for me. I feel that those three elements put together feel disjointed and opposed to each other, especially the game play itself. So while there is a good sound track and art style for the game, I don't get solid kick from the sound track and art working together. When playing the game the nuances get lost on me because playing the game is a chore. Not a challenge, a chore. So while two of the three elements of the game work very well together, at the end of the day you are still playing a game. The platforming in this game does everything it can to take you out of the good parts of the game.

By comparison a game like Journey, very simple and to the point. While not long, all of the elements in the game worked to support the other part. While Sound Shapes seems conflicted, in either wanting to be a very casual game, with great art and music, or a tideious platformer that made me want to break my controller. I addition to those issues I have with the game, on a basic function side I still cannot get the cloud sync to work.

The Vita!!!!?*#$%&^%$

2012-02-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

The last time Sony launched a new system was 2006 when they introduced us to the Playstation 3. A system that followed at the time the most successful home console of all time. This time Sony is going to market with what they call a "game changer" with their new portable system, the PS Vita. I have gotten my hands on one thanks to the early release bundle and I have thoughts on the system, so here is a review, kind of.

The first thing you are going to notice about the Vita is how cool it looks. The system has been designed to mimic the PSP system, with some added weight, a second analog stick and both rear and front touch screen capabilities. The system looks slick, there is no doubt about that. Added when you turn it on, it looks even slicker, as the front screen is bright and vivid, the Vita has the immediate wow factor when you turn it on. Compared to the 3DS and PSP, the Vita dominates both of those systems hands down in terms of the screen size and the overall fidelity. Also, outside of either the iPhone or iPad, the Vita has the most responsive touch screen I had had my hands on, it is really impressive. The Vita also has two cameras, one on the front and one on the back, both of them are well below current phones and even behind the 3DS camera. If you were looking for this device to take good pictures, it doesn't. and finally the Vita uses SixAxis, which I don't use all that much but I gave it a try and it works far better than the PS3 and I can see it being used. But as soon as you turn it on, you get to start in with the UI, which as of right now is not as good as it should be.

I found setting up my Vita to connect with my PSN account to be a little bit of a chore, which if you are familiar with Sony you know what I mean. But once that got set up, it was good to go. Although playing around with the Vita and the PS3 I did notice something unusual, when you are playing on the PS3, friends that are playing the Vita will not show up on your friends list. Also, trophies that you earn while playing the Vita do not show up while you are playing on the PS3. This is something that I find odd, seeing that the Vita is really supposed to be a portable Playstation experience. You would expect the device to connect seamlessly to you PSN account and share information, it does not at least as of right now.

In terms of the home screen and how to navigate through the system, games and apps, it works but it could be better. Maybe I am spoiled by my iPhone or at one time and Android based phone where the navigation between programs and apps are done better, the Vita as of right now I find lacking in this department. When you open up an app, a screen will open and you then have to click to start it. Well, I pressed the app I wanted to open, it should just open shouldn't it? Albeit, this is a small complaint on my part, but it is a complaint. To close out an app you will then have to press the PS button and swipe the upper right hand corner of the app diagonally down and to the left to close out the app. I have not tested how many apps you can have open at one time, but I have had three of them open for sure.

I have also had a bit of struggle with the system connecting to my WiFi at home. I would expect the system to turn off the 3G when I am near a registered WiFi spot. From my experience the system either doesn't do it or does it so slowly that I end up having to go into the system settings, turn off 3G and press the WiFi I want to connect to. This is kind of a drag and it gets worse when playing games. I have found that on some games, Super Stardust Delta to be exact will disable online features even after connecting to my PSN account. I find this to be terribly annoying, but I think it might have to do with the game rather than the system itself. Now on the other games I have played and any other apps I have used that you can connect to the PSN I get this, "connecting to PSN." Every single time I start something I get the same thing, well I am already connected to the PSN the system and the game I am playing should know that. Again, a small gripe but it does annoy me that I have to go through that all the time.

With all of the things the system does have, the one thing it doesn't have is on board memory. To remedy this, Sony decided to use a proprietary memory card which is very small and very pricy. They have four different options as of right now 4GB (19.99), 8 GB (29.99), 16GB (59.99) and 32GB (99.99) you will need a memory card. I will say that again, you will need a memory card. You will need one not only if you want to download games but maybe games that are out that you purchase at retail will require a memory card to save your game. This only hurts because existing SD technology is far less expensive, and it seems that the route Sony has taken is the Vita is the loss leader and the memory cards are where they are going to make their money. Because of the memory card prices it basically prices the system out for most people.

Two different models are available a WiFi only version for $249.99 and a WiFi/3G version for $299.99 which for a system with this much power it almost understandable. But when you through into the mix you will need a memory card, and my suggestion is to go with the 16 or 32 GB card that could increase the price of your system to $349.99 or $399.99 depending on the model and memory card you buy. And this is before you even buy a game! As you can see the system will quickly become expensive and you have to know this before you decide on what you are going to do. I would also suggest buying a carrying case, as the screen is plastic and can scratch, and I have to say it one more time the screen is amazing! Also, you will want to protect the back touch and the two analog sticks that do stick up, you might be able to find a bundle that has this included with the system or you can buy it for $19.99. Needless to say the barrier to entry on this system is very high.

With all of that other stuff out of the way, this system is made for two things, connecting gamers to each other via apps like "Near" which I have already generated friends from. In a nutshell where ever you are you turn on Near and you can see up to 10 gamers around you, see what they are playing, compare trophies etc. I have been able to find local gamers and added them as friends, which has been cool. Now Near, is the one reason I would recommend getting the 3G version of the Vita. Yes, you will have to go through AT&T for service, but you can do what I did, but it as I need it. Since most of my gaming will be done from home, I don't need it but if I go on the road it might be nice to buy a plan for 30 days, it totally up to you. The Vita is also decidedly more connected and more social than the PS3. It looks like Sony has been looking at the 360 and the fact that is has capabilities to be more social than the PS3 and learned from it. You can now party chat with your friends much like you can on the 360, which I think is cool. And chatting is made a whole lot easier with the touch screen keyboard. My one complaint about this again comes down to me being spoiled by phone. When you do get a message or a game invite, you will have to back all the way out of what you are doing to get there. I wish there was a way that you can click an onscreen icon, have what you are doing pause check it out and go right back.

Now for the games, my impressions are as follows. Most games right now are proof of concept for the Vita. I am having the most fun with Stardust ($9.99) and Lumines($39.00, way too expensive BTW). And for a system that has been touted as the Playstation experience on the go, the only real game out thus far to come close to that is Uncharted. The rest are either very expensive mini games that you can find on iOS or console ports of games you already have. So having such a "strong" launch line up, I find the games to be rather weak. I am not saying that they are bad, they are just not as good as I expected them to be. All games that will be coming out for the system will be available to download, which is nice. You no longer have to go to a store to buy the newest game, just download it. And from what I have seen so far, retail games are about $5 cheaper if you download them as opposed to buying them at a store. But the catch there is you will need to have a memory card big enough to house not you’re your games, but any music, pictures and movies you put on the system. You could use your computer as the hub for all of your media and transfer data as you need it. Also you can use s PS3 to house all of your games, or even delete games that are taking up space and downloading them again. If you do the latter watch out, I believe you will lose all of your saved game data.

Having said that, I will say this system shows a lot of promise and potential. I can see some really great games being made for this system, and once developers learn the system as well as how to use the features of the system better, the sky is the limit. I am really optimistic for the future of this system, but I can see with the high cost of entry it might scare a lot of people off to buying the system. Most of the issues I have with the system I can see Sony patching as they really love doing to fix it, which is why right now they are small gripes as opposed to major issues. In fact I see only two major issues with this system, one is Escape Plan, a terrible, terrible game and secondly how they are going to market with their games. This system can have a tiered system for games like never before. You get a portable machine that you can game on, and potentially you can get some really fun and cheap iOS style games. And if you are a gamer tell me you would rather play with virtual buttons, I didn't think so. And you can go with the higher priced blockbuster games. Because of the Vita Sony can really cut into the potable gaming market in a big way, they just have to be smart about it, which is why I am worried as Sony seems to do dumb stuff all of the time. Also, don't make me pay twice if the same game can be played on both the PS3 and Vita, one price please. The idea should be to get the Vita in people's hands as much as possible and let us really take the Playstation experience with us at all times.

Overall verdict, a beautiful system with a ton of potential that has not been seen yet. You are just going to pay through the nose to get it if you want it right now. And if the sales of this machine do not get better in another 6 months expect a massive price drop ala the 3DS and if that doesn't work, do you remember Beta Max?

The Next Box

2012-02-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

With all the early excitement of some rumored specs of the newest XBOX system came later word that said system will not be coming out this year. However, all signs are pointing to this system being revealed this year. We know too much as it is right now to not think Microsoft won't at least show this system. But is it the right move to announce a system and not release it for what will probably be another year (Winter 2013)? The answer to this question is 'no' and here are my arguments and my warning in doing so.

First and foremost, the 360 still sells. In fact it sells a lot. Since first coming out in 2005 the 360 has sold over 65 million units. Added to the fact that Microsoft says that it sold 950,000 units for Black Friday in 2011 alone, you have a system that still carries a lot of weight and can move. By announcing a new system now you risk killing the momentum that you have built with the system. People may rather buy a PS3 instead of buying a 360 knowing one is so far out. And with world wide sales of the two systems very close to each other, Sony standing tall on their "10 year plan" (bullshit) Microsoft does not want to lose any ground or money.

Money is an interesting thing to talk about as well. Both Sony and MS lost a lot of money when their current gen systems first came out. With high production costs and the need to sell a machine for gamers that will sell. After all the selling point to buying a console is that you can spend a few hundred bucks for a good experience or spend thousands on a PC. The market for years has dictated a video game console has to be in a certain price range. Now given that most of the 360 sales have come later on in its life, production costs have gone down sales have stayed strong, MS is now making money off of the 360. If they are still selling why would you stop that?

This generation of systems still has life in them. Yes I am just as impatient as you. I have been gaming for 25 plus year, I love new tech and toys just like you do. But the bottom line is that games in this generation are still good. Even developers says they can still get more out of the 360 with some more creative engineering and programming. Has PC gaming passed home consoles? Yes, they have, but at a cost that a lot of people are not going to be able to afford. Also, any time you put something that is stand alone and cannot be changed it will be passed up sooner rather than later.

Now I know that the PS2 had a pretty long life, in fact you can still buy them new! But the video game world has changed and the PS2 is the exception to the rule. The market is saturated now. iOS and Android games have cut into the market, albeit not a lot on the console universe but as game systems. Tablets are also on the rise, and with iOS being integrated on both iPhone and iPad you know have more options. PC gaming is on the rise, you know when the next generation of consoles are coming when more people are playing on PC, but that market with its basically download model has seen a nice spike in the past year or so. OnLive and other game streaming services that have started to pop up too. I will also mention the Wii U in this as well. Nintendo as a brand still has a lot of weight behind it, now finally they are getting into the HD era. Whether or not they are going to succeed is another question. But if you are gamer, you grew up with Nintendo and now you can finally play all your favorite game franchises in HD. I know I will be buying one just for that reason alone. Added the PS3 is still going strong and time will tell if it is in the middle or end of its life cycle and they are the biggest completion for the 360.

As you can see there are more ways than ever for a gamer to get their fix. There are more ways than ever to access different media and services in your living room. Why compete with yourself at that point? What we call it in business is cannibalization, and it's something that you run very far away from. You have enough to deal with from the outside completion, why add another one even if it's you? In fact in many ways when you compete with yourself it is worse. You will fight over assets whether that be money or people. You will always loose the battle you have against yourself to get to your customer base by basically confusing them, opening the door for your competition to grab the market you were trying to get.

So yes I want new systems, but is what I want the best business decision? Absolutely not! So here is my fix to this whole thing, wait. Yes, MS just wait. Let developers get their dev kits in with plenty of time to make good launch titles for the system. As gamers give us reasons to buy it right away and those are games. What I say is this, announce the system the same year that it will come out. Don't give people time to think about what they should buy, tell them what they should buy and that if you want to XBOX experience then it will be on the new system. Give the 360 a quick death or try make it the new PS2, sell it for $100 and whatever happens with it so be it. Don't push it or try to sell (via marketing) it after the new system comes out, it is just there. Put all your money into the new and move forward. If you want this to succeed don't start slow and if you are going to go for it, go for

PSA

2012-01-10T09:16:00.001-08:00

It looks like Ghost Recon has been delayed until the "first quarter of fiscal 2012-2013. So it looks like you will have to wait until Spring or Summer for this one.

Game of the Year 2011

2011-12-28T12:28:00.000-08:00

I have been gaming for well over 25 years. I still remember on my 7th birthday I got the NES, my life changed and I never looked back. I have owned pretty much every single major system except for the Genesis and the Sega Master System. So I have a lot of game playing under my bleat and motherfucker, this was a year in gaming that I will not soon forget. Holy shit, were there a lot of really damn good games that came out this year, my wallet is sore from it. To say that this year was hard to figure out what will be Game of the Year is an understatement. Perhaps even harder was ranking the top games of the year. Seriously a lot of these games were so close that numbers 3-12 I could make an argument that they could swap places. But I had to show some ball and put these games in the order I thought was most appropriate.

12. Uncharted 3

Hands down the best looking game I have ever seen on a console and the third game in two of the funnest games I have played this generation. What the Uncharted games offer you is a chance to be Indiana Jones. A great movie like story and set pieces that constantly exceed what you have seen before. And when you think you have seen it all you see something even bigger and better. This game has wow all of the time. What is doesn't have until the patch came out were good controls. This games controls were seriously a mess to the point of being unplayable. I love when I head shot a guy and they don't die. I love when I aim at a place and the bullet doesn't fire where I aimed it. Yeah those things are not good to have in a game where you shoot a lot of people.

11. Skyrim

I know a lot of people are very into this game. I am too don't get me wrong, this game is great. This game is also huge. The world produced in this game and just the staggering amount of detail and options they were able to put into this game are astounding. In my 25 plus years of gaming I have never seen anything like Skyrim in terms of just its size and ambition. However, there are a lot of glitches that I experienced (PS3 version played) that included crashing and deep frame rate drops that hurt the game play experience for me. In addition to that the combat still doesn't feel quite right, and since this game is a combat based RPG it helps when you have a solid combat system. This game does not.

10. Deus Ex Human Revolution

Did you ever want to play Bladerunner? Well now you can. Deus Ex Human Revolution was the first big blockbuster title to come out this year and really ushered in the Christmas season with its late August release. This game has everything you would want in an Action RPG. It has a very deep leveling system called "augmentations" because you are a cyborg that enhance your abilities. The athletics of this game are amazing and breathtaking. The art direction and sound design, this game is art and you can tell that is what they were going for. You can play the game any way you want, if you want to be a tank and just kill everything or be a hacker that doesn't want to kill anyone, go right ahead and select the augmentations you want. If you like stealth game play, this game has some of the best since MGS4. The developer succeeded in almost every way possible with this game. However, I can't ignore the one big flaw of this game.

This would have been in my top three for the year, but I just cannot ignore just how shitty the boss battles were in the game. And when I say shitty, I mean frustrating, controller throwing and questioning why it was even a part of the game. They are very bad, in fact they seem a whole lot worse when you compare them to the rest of the game. Now that I got the bad out of the way let's talk about the good because there is a hell of lot more good than bad in this game.

9. Super Mario 3DLand

If you have a 3DS like I do and you have had it since it came out you might have sat there for six months wondering if you just wasted you money. Well the answer is still yes until there are more games but let me will not be a waste of your money, Super Mario 3D Land. Wow is this game good, really fucking good as a matter of fact. Not only do you get a damn good Mario game, because we all still love them you also get a game that makes good use of the 3D. This game justifies owning a 3DS, and no it isn't Ocarina of Time, I have been there twice before, a third is useless. This game is what we love about Mario games!

8. Rayman Origins

A HD platformer that is fun to play? One that can justify the $60 retail price? One that has four player local co op. An art style and bright colors that remind you why we are in the HD ear? If you answer yes to all of those questions you should stop reading this and go buy Rayman Origins. This game is great all the way through. A simple story and great platforming, wrapped up in a package that includes very tight controls (the reason Little Big Planet 2 is not on this list), colorful visuals and an art style to match this crazy wrold. I have waited a very long time for a game like this. It has the old school sensibilities that I grew up with in the HD era. This game is a real winner.

7. Saints Row theThird

If I gave out awards this game would win for the biggest surprise of the year. This game is just dumb fun. It knows what it is and doesn't take itself seriously, from the giant purple dildo the fact you want to do bad things. Just think of this game as the GTA you want, the game were you can do anything you want and it pays to be bad. Also, because of its cartoony nature you don't feel like a slime ball for any of the bad things that you do. This game did a really good job of not taking itself seriously at all and consistently brought a smile to my face. And of course no game would be good unless it was fun and easy to play, I am happy to say that this game controls pretty tight which only makes it more fun to play. So while this game is not perfect, there are physics and graphics glitches all over. There is nothing that ruins the experience you will have. Go buy this game, but be prepared to show your ID it earns the M rating.

6. Crysis 2

The best FPS shooter I have played since Bioshock. That should be all you need to know. But I will tell you that this game is one of the best games you will see on this generation of consoles, it looks amazing. The game play is great as you are put into situations that you can use tactics. Yeah I said it, you can use legitimate tactics thanks to the games strength, the Nano Suit. You can go into predator mode and not be seen or full on armor mode and take a beating or just the regular suit that makes you an overall bad ass. The level design really plays to the strength of how the game is to be played. Yes, there are a few occational AI issues but nothing that would break the game. Let me just say this. This game came out in April and I think about it all the time. If you are a fan of FPS and you don't care about multiplayer (it is average at best in this game) you need to add this game to your collection.

5. Catherine

Talk about out of left field! When I first heard about this game I pre ordered it, then I heard more about it and canceled that pre order, only to end up just saying fuck it and buying it. Another good choice on my part. You will not find too many games like Catherine, probably ever again. The game play is pretty basic, solve Q-bert like puzzles. Oh did I mention that those puzzles are on fucking crack and harder than in inmates dick when he sees a girl for the first time? Aside from that the game is about something most of go through, what choice to make and why is it the best. With that the morality system in this game works great, especially since it involves relationships. It never tells you are wrong, it just keeps going. And the subtlety of the choices you make turn the story ever so slightly that it makes it worth you playing again. The anime style is also very welcome and really works for what this game does.

4. Gears of War 3

I am surprised this game is not on a lot more lists, at least higher on a lot more lists. Yes this game is very bro-y but who gives a shit? This game is very tight and you can tell the love and passion the developers put into the game. This all coming from a guy that basically hated the first two games in the series. What sets this apart from other games this year and from the other two games in the series is that I figured out how to play it. When they say this game is a "bro" shooter, play with your friends not against them. Once you go that you will fully understand the games meaning and just how to play it. The "single" player campaign is broken down to perfecting when playing with a full set of four friends. The other online modes promote team work and communication. I must say one of the funnest games I played all year.

3. Batman Arkham City

Well we did a whole podcast about this one. In fact I think this was the only game that all of us played this year. Straight up, this is a damn good game. When you make a game about Batman you had better damn well make me feel like I am Batman, this game does it very well. This is a game for everybody and in a year when seemingly every game had to have some sort of multiplayer throw in the mix, this game says no to that. More importantly this game is proof that if you know what you are doing you can create a ton of replay value in a single player game.

2. Portal 2

This was a hard call for me, but I had to put my nuts on the line and pick one game. It isn't Portal 2, but second place especially this year is pretty damn good. And when I say second place I mean to say that for three weeks I would go back and forth in my head which game was number 1 and which would be number 2. It was clear to me from all 35 or new games that I bought this year, these two were in a class by themselves.

Now what makes Portal 2 so damn great is just how simple this game is. This game is proof that a simple idea executed to perfection is all you need and that is what this game did. It doesn't hurt that the games writing and voice acting were spot on, fresh and funny. The puzzles are challenging but not too bad, you can play with a friend for even tougher puzzles as well. All in all, this game is simply amazing in every possible way!

1. Dark Souls

This was very close with the number 2 game of the year, but it won. Just like it won me over from the moment I played the game. This game is not for everyone, let me get that out of the way. And when I say that it is because you might not get it. I heard about how hard the game was and all that shit and I was about to stay away from it. I am glad I didn't! Dark Souls is our game of the year because it does something that you almost never get in a game, you have to pay attention and be there every moment you are in the game. The high level of attention you need to give this game made me a part of the world like no other game that I have played in a very long time. And for those that say this game is hard, yes it is. But it is only hard because the game has a serious set of rules that you have to play by. When you stray, you die. When you die, you learn. When you learn, you feel rewarded for what you have done.

2011's Biggest Gaming Blunders

2011-12-10T00:52:00.001-08:00

2011 has been like every year before it, full of disappointments. Here is my list of the biggest disappointments for the year.

Killzone 3:

The third entry in Sony's "Halo" killer series turned out to be the worst. Holy shit was this game back. Not only was it bad, it was very forgettable. Added that this was also the first big first party release for the PS3 in what should have been 'the year of the Playstation' and it basically fell flat on its face. And yes I am aware of Little Big Planet coming out before Killzone 3, but that is a niche game.

Killzone 3 did everything it could to take as many steps backwards as possible. Graphics that were worse than Killzone 2. A story that left you wondering, why do I care. The only redeeming quality of this game is you commit Genocide at the end of it. And if you are down with Genocide then, well you belong on this list as well.

L.A. Noire:

Cool face animations! Nothing else.

The 3DS Launch:

Well it came out many months ago. It also had no games worth buying, a battery life that lasts slightly longer than my morning shit and had the modest price tag of $250. After months of sitting on shelves and nobody giving a shit about this system at all Nintendo basically admitted they fucked up and lowered the cost of the system by almost $100, gave people like me a bunch of free games that were basically useless (I would have rather had them cut me a check). Several promises that are still being worked on. m Nintendo's launch of the 3DS will forever go down in history of what not do when launching a system. Everything that could go wrong did. Nintendo bowed down to their investors and came out with the system before it was ready.

PS Vita Delay:

Cancel Christmas! With the earthquake that hit Japan hurting production Sony had to make a call. That call was to delay the North American and Europe release of the Vita into early 2012. My fiancee is very pissed because now she doesn't know what to get me. And to be honest I don't know what she could get me.

RAGE:

This makes the list not because it was bad. But at the same time this game is by no means any good. No this game makes the list because of what it could have been. Playing it makes me feel like they wanted this game to be so much more but settled for what it is. An open world FPS that isn't open world. A loot based questing game that really only has superficial elements of the two. It might not even be the game's fault, but if it's not because of the game it is because of marketing. Which seemed to promise us a lot of something we were never going to get with game. Just play Borderlands, you will have more fun.

Sony:

Correct me if I am wrong, but 2011 was supposed to be the year of the Playstation right? Damn what a huge missed opportunity for the PS3. Seriously no joke here. I love the Playstation, I own over 75 retail games for the PS3 alone. But damn you have got to be kidding me. The PS3 had by far and away the most first party games of any of the consoles, and it wasn't even close. The problem with all those good games and Killzone 3? Nobody bought them. It was to the point of being a joke.

Let's not forget that the PSN was down for over a month due to it being hacked. Oh yeah, it was hacked and Sony knew about it, they knew about personal information was compromised and they said nothing for days. In fact it came out that they knew they were hacked and still said nothing at all. Then when they did the backlash against them was huge. Not because they were hacked, that wasn't their fault, but damn you have to tell people this stuff so we can protect ourselves. Sony lost a lot of loyalty.

They keep pushing shit that nobody cares about down my throat. No, I don't want to use move. No, I don't want to wear a pair of 3D glasses on top of my regular glasses. No, I don't want to buy a 24" 3D TV for $500! Guys just stop it, nobody wants these things, but it just seems like they want to put all of these things in a game to push and sell 3D TVs not because gamers want them.

Batman: Arkham City – More of the Same, For Better or Worse

2011-11-10T21:29:00.000-08:00

So a month ago I was raving in the Sons of the Atom podcast about how Arkham City was going to be game of the year. I also warned against having high expectations of games. Oh the irony. While Arkham City meets expectations it fails to break new ground in a litany of other ways.

Arkham City mastered a concept few studios have yet to even grasp: they didn’t fuck up a good thing. The combat system is identical to Arkham City with the exception of a few new gadgets, moves and combo moves. The novelty wears off pretty quick. After one assimilates the ice grenades and and pulse cannon into the flow of attack they become more of a prerequisite to gain a higher score. Yet in spite of this stagnation the game has still managed to innovate off of what worked. While I must admit that traversing the Tenderloin of Gotham and needlessly beating up baddies is a hell of a hook its hardly anything to write home about.

The predator mode has changed more so but still fails to add anything fundamentally different to the gameplay. But boy am I glad that stealth rooms offer not-completely-fucking-retarded enemies. You can only get away with doing a silent takedown on one or two guys before the rest catch wind and become alert. Predator mode makes a marked improvement on its predecessor

The story is by far the weakest ingredient of this game. I know what you’re thinking: “but how else could you have such a diverse array of rogues in one game?” The answer is “you can’t”, as in “DO NOT FUCKING DO IT!” The story is so clearly the product of a failed writers meeting wherein they discussed imminent deadlines and multiple, half-finished story arcs. “What if we just added them all?” one asked. “That’s… GENIUS!” proclaimed another. What really breaks my heart is how any one of these story lines could have been at least passable given that said writer fleshed it out. Instead you are left with a hodgepodge of half completed stories stitched together with nothing more than the bogus theme of ‘a city of crazy villains’. The main story is too short and flimsy to carry them all. Of, course most people will disagree because more fan service is always better than less.

Any villains that didn’t make the cut wound up as a side mission somewhere in Arkham City. Let’s be clear: this game really only needed the Riddler. Batman would actually have a reason to run all over Arkham/Gotham, beating up thugs and running into random baddies if he was the main villain. “Riddle me this, Batman: Who is made out of clay and also has a face, which is consequently made out of clay?” It’s the perfect foreshadowing! While the riddles are complete tripe (which landmark stands out from all the gray shit?) the trophies might be the only important side quests since they actually test your knowledge of the mechanics (along with the AR simulators).

The other villains are just fucking lame. It’s not because the villains themselves bring little to the Batman mythos but rather because the game fits them in so poorly. They wanted to have Deadshot in the game. Super. But every tracking mission is initiated by randomly stumbling across his victims. Well, I guess that makes sense. But once you actually find him it just cuts to a stealth sequence where you creep up on him. And he’s just as apt as any thug with thermal gear. And the game glitched out when I went for the silent takedown. And fuck this shit. The side missions are nothing more than a trivial way to fit more Batman properties into the game, thus bolstering the ‘authenticity’ to trve kvlt Batmien. The worst part is that the developers clearly spent more time thinking about how to assimilate the villains into the Arkham Asylum formula than they did on actually innovating the game for the rogues gallery. The game understood this with Ra’s al Ghul and no one else. The ninjas are a great addition to the game because they add something new to the combat. You might have hated the Bane fight from the last game because it pegged a super genius into the meathead role, but it established the kind of enemies you would face throughout the game. If Arkham City had a reason to put its chosen villains in the game it would have made the story infinitely better.

One small issue is Catwoman. She deviates from Batman in some ways but is really a clone with less range, more stun, and a weak arsenal. I didn’t level her up because her chapters are such a small part of the game. That being said, it is extremely annoying to fight thirty guys without any upgrades. In truth, some upgrades that Batman gets are shared with his counterpart, but it hardly makes up for the tedium of Catwoman’s missions. Her chapters should be skippable or ideally removed from the main story altogether.

I think my greatest mistake when approaching Arkham City was the fact that Rocksteady only had to remake Arkham Asylum to appease me. But games, like all art, are always a work in progress. This is why you get fifteen director’s/extended cuts on DVD releases and why you can never fixate on your favorite band’s last good album. I’m not really too stoked about the DLC because its just strawberry icing on an otherwise rehashed recipe. But the game is like pizza: even the shittiest kind is still somewhat enjoyable. Arkham Asylum didn’t backtrack from the Batman experience but it certainly didn’t add anything of substance either.

Review of Reviews

2011-10-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Another day, another video game review that is causing a gamer riot. First it was last month’s GOW3 review, most notably the reviews done by Eurogamer and Destructoid. Today it is Rage’s turn. No sooner than IGN’s exclusive review went up the message boards filled up with the dreaded 8.5 score. Many fans of the game are upset that the game did not get the elusive and seemingly default score for a AAA title these days on IGN of 9.0. They didn’t get what they were looking for so they are now upset. Oh did I mention that the game is not out yet? Yeah I probably should have stated that before hand. But I will do you all a favor and outline the fundamental problems with video game reviews and that you are going to have take them with a grain of salt.

The first problem with reviews are not so much the reviews themselves but rather there are so many of them out there now. As a person who likes video games and that keeps up with what is going on multiple times a day I can tell you that I have variety. I can go to IGN for one opinion and then go to Destrucoid for what is usually the opposite opinion. Within this you will get a lot of people that review games each with their own opinions and the sites which they write for have different standards for reviews. This lends for dramatically different scores from site to site. Now when I say different standards, I mean that they have different scales in which they base their reviews on. I am pretty sure no sites out there get bought out and will write a review just to get paid. And to that if the review is well thought out and the score is justified I am alright with any score given.

That issue aside I see a much bigger problem with video game reviews and that is us. That’s right, you me and everyone else that reads reviews. Well most of us anyways. One, game sites almost always have a commenting section which then leads to nameless faceless people wanting to bash and bully. And reviewers can say that those comments don’t effect them but they do. It is a simple fact that every thing we do and every person we meet will have some sort of impact on us. For a gamer reviewer that has to listen to stupid fools bashing their work it will start to effect them, trust me.

Another simple issue is we are not educated enough. No I don’t mean you are a group of people that carry around GEDs while I sit high and mighty with my college degree. No what I mean is that we don’t know how each site is going to base their reviews. We assume that the person doing the review is going to see and feel the game exactly how we want them to. That is just not the case. I will say to that, go look at other sites and read reviews by people who have done some gamers you thought were great and games you thought were shit. You are going to find that you will find a reviewer or two that shares a common interest with you. Read that person’s reviews because you have created a common ground with that person.

Added to that we are all looking for truth. But there is no such thing. That’s right truth is only relative to you. So we all look at video game reviews as if they are the truth about the game. That’s just not realistic at all. Games like movies and music are a personal thing, not everyone will like a game. Added video games have the unique stress put on them because they have to control well, have a story, have good sound and look great. Movies and music, more so music do not have to have those things. And with games we generally take control of a character which then separates it from the movies. So when you want a truth about a video game you are going to have to play it for yourself.

As for scores, listen a 7 is a good game, it is well above average. You wouldn’t know it now because everything is getting a 9 and the shit will hit the fan if a highly anticipated game does not get at least that. We have changed our perception of a review score to the point that it is now the most important thing. In fact I am willing to be that people will go right into the score and not even read what the reviewer said about that game. So now we all overreact on the score not knowing what went behind it. Read the reviews is what I am saying, understand why the person gave the game that score.

I am fine with any score that is given. To the person that has reviewed the game that is what they felt about it. As long as the score represents the body of the review it is fine. We are never going to get a perfect system, there are just too many people out there. So before you go and start complaining just sit back and relax, read a few reviews and see what they are saying. Oh yeah, don’t comment on a fucking game that you have not played either. You just make yourself look like an even bigger fool waving your GED around like it’s your 2 inch flaccid dick.

2011-09-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of good stuff happening right now at the TGS and in honor of Seamus I have added some new video for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3! Enjoy them. Oh yeah, follow our Youtube page. We make it really easy for you, just click the link on the right hand side and it will take you right there!

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2011-09-09T16:28:00.001-07:00

Hot off the press from Capcom comes the newest teaser trailer from Street Fighter X Tekken!

Oh Yeah!

2011-09-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year Crysis 2 was released on PC and consoles to pretty high praise. Matter of fact, for the longest time that was my second best game of the year. If you have not pick it up, do so, especially if you are a FPS fan. Crysis 2 is simply one of the best FPS I have played in a long time. At the time people questioned if Crytek, the developers of the game watered it down to work on consoles because the orignial Crysis was a beast. They did water the console versions down a litte bit, but hey Crysis 2 is still the best looking game on any console to date. But this left the door open to people like me.

See I don't game on PC so Crysis is just kind of like a white whale to me. It's out there but I will never get to play it. I will never get to know why people think it is one if not the best FPS shooter ever made.

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Crysis - Exclusive Debut PS3/Xbox 360 Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Oh my, I just got hard.

How to get people to HATE You.

2011-09-02T14:52:00.001-07:00

Every year the editors at IGN come up with the top 25 games for a particular platform. Earlier this week the Playstation team came up with their list, with results that seem to have pleased nobody except the editors that put the list together. I do respect the opinions of anyone that does a game review or create a list like this, especially to those who dislike something and have a reason for it. By the same token people are going to like something that others do not. Also, ranking games is very hard by contrast reviewing games I feel are easier. In either case you will not make everyone happy, nor should you try. Having said that, when you do put a list together or review a game, people are going to talk about it whether they agree or disagree, the latter being the one that is now seen the most. Again I respect their opinions and the list that they have come up with, I do disagree to a very large extent their list. To me the biggest problem with their list is who made it. If you follow IGN's Playstation team and listen to their podcast, you will know that the list is biased. Which again since it is their opinion I will not tell them that they are wrong. With that being said I thought it would be a good idea to look at their list and comment on the games that shocked me the most. If you would like to read their list it can be found here. And again, I will do my best to keep off the positioning of the games and focus more on if the game should even be on the list.

25. Burnout Paradise

I would have liked to see Grand Turismo 5 on the list instead but Burnout is a fun game.

24. Demon Souls

A very unique old school game that is a PS3 exclusive title. While this game is not for everyone I feel is does deserve to be on the list.

23. Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time

I have not played this game personally, so I have no opinion on if it belongs or not.

22. Resistance: Fall of Man

This is where I start to have my problems with the list. It is well known that Colin is a big fan of this franchise and that is probably why it is even on this list to begin with. He argues that because it is a launch title and starts off a good story which has its third proper sequal a week away it belongs. I will say that I played this game at launch and I didn't like it then. Compared to other FPS it felt behind the times, it controlled poorly to other games in the genre and it looked far worse than Halo 2. I recently played it again and my mind did not change from my original opinion. While it was a good launch title, it has been passed over many times by other games.

21. Borderlands

A great game, is it top 25 worthy? Yes it is. I do like the art style that they chose for the game which some people did not. It also has the very open feel of Fallout 3 but felt more like a FPS.

20. Valkryia Chronicles

One of the best games for the system. I have zero problems with this game being on the list. If you like RPG and RTS games pick this up!

19. Fallout: New Vegas

This game should not be on the list because it is too similar to Fallout 3. Added the fact that the game doesn't run very well at all it dilutes the overall experience of playing in the Fallout universe.

18. Metal Gear Solid 4

By far and away this game has created the biggest stir in the IGN community. Not because the game is on the list but because of how far down the game is ranked. While I do agree with many of the people commenting on the game via message boards as I do believe this is at least a top 5 game. It did make the list so there is that and you can debate where it belongs all day long, but just like religion and politics you probably won't get very far.

The community points out that the game was given a perfect 10 and that it is the only game that was given that high of a score on the list, so it must be number 1. Colin and Greg who created the list have pointed out that they did not review that game and would not have given it a perfect 10. They have also said the game doesn't hold up very well. I do disagree with that, I still feel this game is great and if it had trophies there would be another reason to go back and play. This game doesn't and it doesn't bother me. I have played through it 3 times and every time I like it more. I do feel that it has held up over time.

17. Dead Space 2

This is a really great game. If you have not played it, play it. The best part about it is you can pick up the first one for $20 and part 2 is selling for $40! Two really good games, with part 2 being the better of the two. This deserves to be on the list.

16. Infamous

Eh. That is my one word answer to this game. It was fun to play, albeit a little bit longer than it needed to be. But I never got the feeling this was the end all of games. While it is fun and I do recommend the game, I do not feel it belongs on the list. I feel that the game had too many technical issues when it came out and was the PS3 version of the original Crackdown and it did not live up to that game in any way.

15. Vanquish

I am really glad this game made the list. It was one of the best games to come out last year and Colin is right, nobody bought this game! You can now find it for $20. Buy it and have fun with it.

14. Catherine

So far this is one of my game of the year contenders. I have no problem with this game being on the list. Much like Demon Souls this game is not for everyone, but it is a new fresh idea. You just have to realize what this game is before deciding to buy it.

13. Bioshock

This is my favorite FPS of all time! But it does not belong on this list. The reason I say this is because the game runs terribly on the PS3. I have both the 360 and PS3 versions, the 360 version is the one to get without a doubt! Because there is such an overall graphic fidelity drop on the PS3 I do not think it belongs on the top 25 PS3 games of all time. I am sorry but this game suffers a similar fate to many other games that were ported from the 360 to the PS3 in the early days of the PS3, they don't run nearly as well. This game is no exception.

12. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

One of the finest games for the PS3 and it belongs on the list.

11. God of War III

A total of 5 GOW games exist, two for the PS2, two for the PSP and GOW III for the PS3. Say what you will about the main protagonist Kratos for being a lopsided one dimensional character, I will not disagree. Even with a very unlikeable main character, all of these games are awesome! It belongs on the list.

10. Grand Theft Auto IV

This game does belong on the list, I would argue that it shouldn't be this high but that would be splitting hairs.

9. Little Big Planet 2

Ah yes, Sackboy! A fun cute character, a great community and tools to create amazing levels and share them with everybody are really what makes this game great. This game is worth it and it does belong on the list. I would say the controls and physics give me trouble from time to time, but eh it's still a great game.

8. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Amazing game!

7. Infamous 2

Where I said Infamous should not be on the list, Infamous 2 should be. It corrected many of the technical problems of the first game and took a great concept and turned it into a great game.

6. Red Dead Redemption

My game of the year in 2010, this is the finest game Rockstar has ever made. Yes, this game should be on the list.

5. Heavy Rain

IGN's PS3 game of the year in 2010, this is another game where you will only find it on the PS3. It is also another one of those games that is not for everybody. You have to know what you are getting into with this as the game play is a series of quick time events. What will hook with this game is after you pass the first two hours of it and you realize there is a great story that you are playing. I would say yes this game belongs on the list, and for all of you L.A. Noire fans, play Heavy Rain, trust me this is the game they wanted to make and could not.

4. Portal 2

This is my early favorite for 2011 game of the year. Truth be told I wasn't going to buy this game, I just didn't think I would have any fun with it. I was very wrong! The story is pretty good, but the writing and banter that goes on is exceptional! The game might almost be worth it for that. Being a FPS shooter style puzzle game it will take some getting used to, but once you do you are going to have a blast. Also the Co Op is really good, just play with a friend.

3. Fallout 3

I understand why this game is on the list. As I stated before Fallout games are not my favorites, but the score and what you get out of it are tremendous. I don't have a problem with this game being on the list, however I do with New Vegas.

2. Mass Effect 2

A very good game, in fact IGN's 2010 Game of the year. If you know games you will know about this one. Yes it does deserve to be on this list no doubt about it.

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

I can argue the position of this game being number 1 on the list but I cannot argue the game being on the list. A truly great game and one you will only play on the PS3

There are a few games I would have liked to seen on this list, Super Street Fighter IV should have been on this list for sure. After all it basically brought back a dead genre and it is a lot of fun to play. Gran Turismo 5, it does have its issues with a shitty menu system, but damn is this game good! And I am sure the Deus Ex: Human Revolution will crack this list next year and have a very high position. The game just came out last week so I will give them that.

Now if you have listened to the podcast where they have gone through why they made the list the way that they did. You will know that personal biases did come into play. And when you do something that is very opinion oriented you are going to open up a debate. And these types of things are designed to be debated. I will only say if you are going to debate, debate if you want things to change talk about it. I personally would like to see more than two people do the list for IGN next year.

Stop Game Stop

2011-08-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

To be fair I am going to start off by saying I do not shop at Game Stop. In fact, they are always my last resort when buying a game and I have never bought a system from them. Also, I have never sold any games to them, ever. With the news that came out this morning I am glad I have always stood behind my anti Game Stop stance and if anything they have made my case even stronger.

For those of you that do not know, the first big title of the second half of the year dropped this past Tuesday. That title of course is Deus Ex Human Revolution and has received strong review scores from many sites. So as a gamer you probably know about this game if you weren't already excited for it. The game was released on the two major platforms and also on PC, the PC version is where Game Stop had its issues with. Square Enix, the publisher of Deus Ex Human Revolution very quietly announced right before the game came out that if you buy the PC version you will get a free OnLive code so you will be able to access it there. So what did Game Stop do? Well they opened the brand new PC versions of the game and took out the OnLive code!

You might be asking yourself why. Well Game Stop a few months back announced that they were going to start an online streaming/download service and by having the PC version of this game include a competing product they felt like that had to open the box and take it out. There is a ton of competition in the world of video games right now, you will have to deal with it and adjust, you cannot go around and make your own rules. There has been chatter as to whether what Game Stop did is in fact legal or not, but all of the arguments seem to be focused on the contract between Square Enix and Game Stop. I am here to bring the debate back to where it needs to be, to give the consumer a lot more agency then what the media is giving us credit for.

So you want to debate over a contract that we may never see between two companies? I say screw it, because Game Stop has an implied contract with its patrons. Namely you me and anyone that would shop there. If you have been into one of their stores they do it for you so clearly, they have news unopened games that you can buy at MSRP price or you can buy clearly labeled used games. Where what this does it fall in between the two, I am sure that employees did not open up a bunch of DEHR PC games and play them. They just took the codes out before they sold them. So the game is technically not used but it not new either. And when I say it's not new, it was opened and tampered with from how the manufacturer distributed the product to be sold to consumers. In my opinion those two companies can work out there legal mess but what about us? After all we are the ones everyone fights over.

When I go into any store and I buy something I need to have the belief that what I am buying is what the manufacturer says it is. Any retail outlet is just a vessel to move the manufacturer's product. It's a win win for all of them. The manufacturer competes against their competition to have the best product and back end service, while the places that units are actually being sold competes with their peers to get the most consumers in the building to buy. It works and it has worked for years. The same thing can be said that both of those parties are usually very careful to not piss each other off for that same reason. Now with video games it can be a little bit different.

Game publishers now are looking at digital distribution methods for their products. It cuts down their bottom line and makes the game makers more profitable. But at the same time, retail and actual hard sales still has the lion's share of the business and it probably will for a long time. Regardless as to when, it will happen more and more, but publishers are working with the Game Stops, Best Buy's and Amazon's of the world in order to keep that relationship going. At the same time publishers send games out, they advertise them, they are the ones that usually create the majority of buzz for the games coming out. So when they have an offer to the consumers, the 'carrot' the retailers need to follow that. Think about it another way, pre order games. The big trend right now is to have different retailers offer different pre order items for games that you buy. So retailers and publishers work on who gets what, at that point the retailers are fighting over the consumer because they want to best pre order item.

Publishers and retailers at this point are partnerships, but it is one that favors the retailers. Publishers you have the power, you make the games. As a consumer I have many different options to buy products. I don't have to go to Game Stop. In fact as I mentioned before I do not shop there and by my massive collection of games I am getting by just fine. If you come out with a program to benefit the consumers stick to your guns, don't do what you just did. Game Stop will be allowed by Square Enix to return all PC copies of the game, why? Very simple, Square Enix says this is their fault because they did not inform Game Stop that they will be putting the OnLive code in the game.

Talk about bowing down completely to one retailer. News flash, who cares if you didn't tell Game Stop? In the grand scheme of things they are bad for business. They continue to bully consumers and retailers and we all let them. We give them the power to. They sell used games, in fact push used games very heavily, that hurts the sales of new games. Also, really where is the value of going in and seeing a new copy for $60 bucks and a used one for $55? Nothing really considering the fact that a used game sales and profit goes right to the retailer, not a dime goes to the people who make the game. Which ultimately means some small publishers and developers that make a really good under the radar game that suffers poor sales, will most likely never be heard of again.

Again, I have options, you have options and Game Stop should no longer be one of those options. I refuse to bow down to one company that thinks they are bigger than the whole. But I know what will happen, people will go back like sheep. Single moms looking to impress their spoiled fat 10 year old son will wonder in to one of those stores and be sold a used copy because they don't know any better and life will move on. And Square Enix, find your fucking balls. You are trying to be a good partner, but Game Stop doesn't want to be. Tell them to go fuck themselves and sell at oh I don't know Best Buy, Target, Amazon or sell them on your own ecommerce site!

The Best PS3 games under 30 Bucks!

2011-08-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

So my brother called me today and asked me is I was going to get the new Madden game, my answer was no. Then he started telling me that there is nothing coming out until a few more months and wanted some new games. I told him to buy some older games that are really good because you will get more for the money. So here you go, my list of full retail disk based PS3 games to buy on the cheap.

Metal Gear Solid 4 $20

Batman Arkam Asylum Game of The year edition $30

Assassin's Creed 2 $19

Vanquish $20

God of War 3 $30

God of War Collection (two great games!) $20

Valkyria Chronicles $25

Dead Space $20

Eternal Sonata $30 regular price, on sale now for $15.

All of those are in my opinion some damn good games. I got all of the prices from Amazon, just so you know. Also, there are a lot of really great games for about $40, but I wanted to keep the list under $30.

If you have anything to add to this list, go for it, just add to the comments down below!

Review: Shadows of the Damned

2011-08-19T08:06:00.001-07:00

Designer Suda51 who has been responsible from some of the oddest games in recent memory has done it again. Shadows of The Damned is good game but it's not at the same time. Writing this review has taken many months and multiple drafts. The reason for this is because I both love and hate this game. So when I would sit down to write a review of this game depending on my latest experience it went anywhere from a 2 to a 9. Then this morning after waking up for a conference call for work that didn't happen it hit me, write a review about both sides!

SOTD takes place mostly in a hell like world and you play as Garcia Fucking Hotspur. You are a demon slayer and you are so good that the king of the underworld has decided to take your girl friend hostage into the depths of hell. Not thinking twice you jump in after her and then the fun begins. As soon as you get to the "highway to hell" you meet the other character, Johnson, a former demon turned flaming skull that also turns into your guns. Oh yeah, I forgot, if you like dick jokes you are in luck because everything in this game has something to do with cock. And when I say everything think about it, your companion is names Johnson, you have a gun called the Big Boner and when you die you fall on the ground and hold a stick on your crotch like a huge penis.

The story is fun but the atmosphere is better. Suda51 has done a very good job of creating levels that are unique to this game but at the same time unique within the game. All while paying homage to classic Grindhouse, B Movie and camp horror films that have come out in the past 40 years. So if you are into that you will be into how the game looks and the aesthetic it was going for, I am a fan of this style so I really did enjoy it. Just to give you a taste of what I mean, there are levels that looks like you are in a zombie strip club and one that is a total ode to Evil Dead 1 or 2. So for me this was a lot of fun.

So the story is the typical save the princess story, simple with a lot of tricks. The games aesthetic is great if you are a fan of old school horror, but I have not said anything about the game play. The reason being is because this is where is gets bad, not always but just enough for you to want to punch a hole in your TV. SOTD is a third person shooter at its core made with the Unreal Engine, so you kind of know what you are going to get graphically. Although it definitely is lacking in taking full advantage of the engine, there are some weak animations and textures. All in all the graphics don't wow you, some of the cut scenes are cool but they aren't cool because how they look. They are cool because you are told your bullets have no "penetration."

But yeah the game play. What can I say, it doesn't work all the time. Remember when I told you about the level that is an ode to Evil Dead? Well I played that fucking 2 minute level for over two fucking hours. Why? Well because the sprint button doesn't work all the time and in that level you have to run your ass off. The aiming mechanic is basically shit, it is slow and when you have demons flying at you in every direction it tends to be a bit frustrating. The boss battles are all basically the same, shoot red gems on the bosses or any stronger enemy as a matter of fact and that's it. But then again you will have to engage in a lot of 30 minute plus boss battles. As a matter of fact just to show the guys what I was talking about with this game Sean played it, not even a level boss and we were watching him run in a circle for 45 minutes trying to beat and easy enemy. Just watching it made us all stress out. And while wars of attrition still work on a very rare occasion in a video game, it really does not in this one.

The issues with the controls, boss battles and some occasional really fucking annoying shit you had to do like run away with a broken sprint button really took away a lot of the fun from the game. It just made it stressful when it didn't have to be

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Shadows of the Damned thanks to the wrapped mind of Suda51 is a fun game. If you like old school horror and camp then you will really appreciate what Suda was trying to do in this game. I had fun with it but thanks to bugs and shit controls my enjoyment of the game was cut significantly. It took a game that had stressful moments like a lot of games have now but made then so much more stressful than they needed to be. If they ever made Shadows of the Damned 2 and fixed the control issues, the game would be a real winner, but unfortunately it's not a sequel.

BUY IT: if you really like shit controls and a cool horror atmosphere, or if you relate to Garcia and had your girl taken by a guy with a massive penis and you know you will never be able to fill her gap again

SAVE YOUR MONEY: if controls and solid game play are your thing. No matter how cool the game looks or its intentions if it plays like shit, it is shit.

OVERALL RATING:

6.5

Capcom Just Nutted in My Face

2011-07-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

I feel like a total moron right about now. Yesterday Capcom announced Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will be released in November of this year. While many are happy with this announcement I for one am fucking pissed. Do you not realize that MvC3 came out earlier this year and that the new version will be released in the same year? Also, that's an extra $40 to $60 bucks you will have to spend on a game?

The game will have a total of 12 new characters 9 of them I don't give a shit about and some new balancing issues. Now balancing issues only cause more balancing issues. In addition to that it will have a few more online features. If you don't know what I am talking about or want to see the character list go here. But I really can't see the justification of coming out with basically the same game twice in one year. This reeks of $$$ all the way, which I usually don't see Capcom that way even though all signs point to it, I just refuse to accept it.

I mean in the old days they would wait at least a year before coming out with the new edition of the most recently numbered Street Fighter game. Hell just a month ago they came out with the newest version of SSFIV, the difference is I could buy a $15 download to get the game. I know that there is a lot of information to download with UMvC3 and that probably isn't possible. But can you at least hook a brother up and sell it to us for $15 buck? Oh I didn't think so, let me get my knee pads I'll be right there.

The Rumors are True, Duke Nukem Forever is a Giant Piece of Shit!

2011-07-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

I will admit, I am not a Duke Nukem fan and really I never was. I just remember playing it when I was in High School while other people were having fun (having sex and drinking copious amounts of beer) while I would sit with my friends all weekend long playing some sort of video game. Duke 3D was one of those games we played a lot and quite honestly I don't remember it at all. Aside from the bullshit one liners that were amusing at the time, I always found it to be an alright game. It's charm was that it stole from anything it could, but they did good job of making it work. Fast forward 14 years…

I am glad to say that the only thing that has changed is now I do drink copious amounts of beer and I have sex, the video game thing has remained a constant in my life for 25 years. The other constant in my life was the possibility of a new Duke Nukem game. For years it was teased until it became some sort of sick joke and finally 14 years later, we got it! Too bad it fucking sucks, badly.

Now I usually buy games, this is not one of them. I never even thought about buying this game but reading so many articles and listening to podcasts that were basically universal in their hatred for this game I had to try it. so I decided to do something I never do, I downloaded the demo and invited fellows Sons, Sean and Seamus over to in real time experience the horror together!

Not to spoil it or anything but the most utterly useless part of this whole fucking thing is the fact that during the trailer they blurred out tits and Duke didn't say fuck. However, the trailer has the word fuck written in it and the demo of the game which is played before you get to the trailer didn't adhere to the same rules. Really this demo is just like the game it makes no sense at all and to be honest if I knew a person that owns it I would think less of them.