tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52945184952046399622024-12-19T14:15:48.238+11:00This is my blog thing. I post things here. Some things here are old which I've probably long forgotten about. Others are more recent and probably better. Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mario__Bones Check out my current project: http://gta-online-extended.tumblr.com/ Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-51535539274521534822014-09-26T13:05:00.000+10:002014-09-26T13:04:51.397+10:00

Welcome, internet traveller, to my humble blog. You must be weary from your journey so take a seat, make yourself at home. This blog is where I really started getting into games writing, and as such you can follow my work from when I first began, up to more recent content. As such, there'll be a range of quality here- I don't delete old posts, even if they're cringeworthy upon a re-read, but

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-55623410863072741402014-09-26T13:04:00.000+10:002014-09-26T13:04:17.820+10:00

I've been posting any game analysis assignments from uni on my blog as I get through my degree, and I've just had another one marked which means it's safe to post here now. This one was for a 3rd year unit, so the level of expectation is a lot higher. I managed to get a Distinction mark though, which I'm happy with. We had to pick one of the early course readings, and tie it into a game of our

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-40760041985048052392014-02-05T20:17:00.000+11:002014-07-23T12:51:58.479+10:00

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Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-38229581415541810662013-10-10T15:34:00.000+11:002014-07-23T12:51:53.473+10:00

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Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-425501971938654822013-10-10T00:23:00.000+11:002013-10-10T00:23:28.710+11:00

I'm scared. I'm afraid to face my responsibilities. I fear that I've done something horrible that I just can't accept. I've abandoned my Animal Crossing town. I couldn't help it. I started missing occasional days, as I'd done most of what I wanted to do in the game, so each daily visit to the town of Scone was just a pleasantry, a chance to mingle with the residents, my wards, my friends. Then I

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-7741156024194440922013-06-25T16:56:00.001+10:002014-07-23T12:51:37.990+10:00

After the positive response to posting a DayZ essay on my blog that was done for a uni assignment, I figured I'd keep posting any game-related critiques/essays that I do throughout my degree. This was an assignment that was essentially a review, where we had to critique a game on what it does well and not so well, but more from a design point of view than a typical review (we were also told to

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-51252845810698318842013-04-29T10:28:00.000+10:002014-07-23T12:51:31.093+10:00

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Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-34510550074679262312013-04-16T12:48:00.000+10:002014-07-23T12:51:23.980+10:00

I was playing some games this week (big surprise, I know!) and was thinking about how I'd rank the games I've played so far this year in terms of quality. I thought I'd keep a Top 5 in my head and change it around as the year progressed, and that would be my GOTY List. I was having a bit of trouble remembering all the games I'd played so far, and had an awesome idea. I could keep a ranked list of

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-38627774241844047492013-04-12T21:57:00.002+10:002014-07-23T12:49:31.886+10:00

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Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-21485399644285001962013-02-01T13:57:00.000+11:002013-02-01T13:57:37.414+11:00

[View the story "Sim City Beta Experiences" on Storify]

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-45323916945006931392013-01-07T20:18:00.000+11:002014-07-23T12:49:22.506+10:00

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Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-44254774499162129432012-12-18T21:48:00.000+11:002014-07-23T12:49:18.238+10:00

At the end of one of my uni subjects this year, we had to write an essay about a topic related to a game of our choice. We were only allowed 1,500 words (give or take 10%, not including citations, captions or footnotes), and were told we could write it in the style of 'New Games Journalism', but were warned that this would be harder to pull off well. I decided to take the risk because I felt this

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-20861715578837587302012-11-20T13:37:00.001+11:002014-07-23T12:49:12.614+10:00

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Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-52738216031585773372012-11-15T11:22:00.000+11:002014-07-23T12:48:42.510+10:00

From November 15th-18th Guild Wars 2 will be having a Refer-A-Friend trial period in celebration of the Lost Shores update and event running from the 16th-18th. This allows people who've purchased the game to invite three of their friends to play the game for free during this period. But, luckily for you, if you've got an access code you can still join in on the fun! And I have 3 of those very

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-57187028312878280512012-11-08T12:36:00.002+11:002014-07-23T12:48:34.729+10:00

In a surprise reveal today, EA have said that their Origin service is partnering up with streaming service Twitch in order to provide in-game streaming of your Origin games to your Twitch.tv account with the upcoming beta update for Origin rolling out this week to those who have opted in. Bringing up the Origin overlay in the middle of a game brings up the above menu, allowing you to set the

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-14174382523927096682012-10-23T12:18:00.001+11:002014-07-23T12:48:23.836+10:00

Update (9/11/2012): The final boss has been confirmed to be Polygon Man. Much more fitting, I believe. It seems everything about this game has been leaked, so it was only natural that someone would discover the game's final boss, who up until now has been kept secret. GameFAQs user rumbalumba seems to be that person. Rumba has uncovered various files from several of the latest betas for

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-76025544322549728252012-10-20T21:29:00.000+11:002012-10-20T21:29:23.734+11:00

[View the story "Super Happy Fun PlayStation All Stars Tweeting" on Storify]

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-6071249572381236592012-10-14T21:12:00.000+11:002014-07-23T12:47:59.585+10:00

So the winners of the Battlefield 3 map pitching contest have been announced, and unfortunately I wasn't among them. And like any loser of a contest I'm a bit sore because I think my entry was a bit better than some of them (not to mention the fact the judging wasn't actually handled how the terms and conditions outlined it would be!), but what's done is done, I'm not gonna cry about it. Publicly

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-42375740312715585592012-10-08T10:02:00.002+11:002014-07-23T12:45:16.299+10:00

I was lucky enough to be able to go to the EB Expo on Saturday, and got to play some really cool new and upcoming games. I wasn't allowed to record footage of them all, but I'll be posting the footage I did get over the next couple of days. Update: All my footage is up, enjoy! For my thoughts on the Nintendo games I played, head on over to Nintendo Nation where I got to write a guest post :)

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-50132978999690361562012-10-07T17:57:00.001+11:002014-07-23T12:47:26.984+10:00

<!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]-->Update (18/10/12): I'll be posting my thoughts after the new public beta. I'm really conflicted about it at the moment but I'm trying to not judge it as rashly as last time. Edit: Check out my thoughts of the new beta here <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-17143622392551667492012-10-03T22:59:00.000+10:002014-07-23T12:45:29.470+10:00

So yeah, haven't posted in a while, not that anyone's a frequent reader that would notice, lulz. I've got a job writing for a games magazine (LevelUp Times, you should totally check it out when it releases ;) ) so I guess it's made me not really bother with posting stuff here. I've posted news on my Twitter pretty frequently though, so make sure you check that out too. But I've got a voucher

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-34974661611408665812012-09-25T11:54:00.002+10:002014-07-23T12:45:36.153+10:00

It was rumoured for a while that the Wii U would be showing up at the EB Expo in Sydney this October, but there was no official word on it. It had been teased by EB higher ups saying to wait for future announcements, but now it's official. Well, not technically official since this is more a leak than anything, but the Wii U is going to be playable at EB Expo! I checked my emails this morning and

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-35903826443183725972012-09-20T14:50:00.001+10:002014-07-23T12:45:51.024+10:00

The NPD Group Australia have confirmed that Darksiders II topped the Australian sales charts in its launch week beginning August 16th! Congrats to THQ, it's a great game that really deserves the attention it's getting. Sequels that actually change and improve upon their predecessors should be commended. If you haven't bought it yet, check out my Darksiders II review which should hopefully

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-43669733521843691722012-09-14T22:44:00.003+10:002012-09-14T22:44:47.834+10:00

Long story short, I fixed up some problems with my bank account and now I've monetised my blog and Youtube account :D Just making this post to say that if there's a particular ad that's offensive or causes some sort of trouble with the layout or something, just let me know, and I can add it to the block list :)

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5294518495204639962.post-50302448369216104822012-09-14T12:46:00.001+10:002012-09-14T12:51:03.434+10:00

The Tekken Youtube Channel updated with this video today, showing off some of the exclusive content in the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2. This includes a mode in which Mario mushrooms are scattered across the fighting arena, causing effects to those who bump into them, for example the Mega Mushrom makes them gigantic while a Poison Mushroom shrinks them. In one section of the

Mario_Boneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571110120369405941noreply@blogger.com0