Friday, December 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
DC Universe Online Preview(PC/PS3)
I was able to play both the PC and PS3 versions of the current DC Universe Online Beta. The game is great, mostly. The main things I love about the game are the incredible action oriented controls and the fact that the whole game was pretty much made with the PS3 in mind. Which is interesting. As far as I know this is the first MMORPG to have a console in mind when creating it as opposed to the more traditional PC platform.
The PC version IS incredible. There is no pop in and there is absolutely no slow down. What is wonderful about this is that you have complete movement and combat control. It’s amazing to be zipping around on the ground or flying around in the sky and have all this control. This control of course, can only be achieved by using a controller. So even if you play on the PC, your not going to want to use your keyboard and mouse. Unless you feel like playing the game completely out of sync with the way it was obviously meant to be played. However, the PS3 version is not quite as good as the PC version. Why? Well, the beta keeps having unrecoverable lock up. But that isn’t anything I’m going to hold against it. It is a beta after all. But what I do hold against it, are the really bad animations and the game’s annoying tendency to pop in all the enemies your about to face about 5 feet before you need to see them. Which makes some situations a little bit of a pain.
The PVP arenas are a lot of fun and playing as a “Legend” character like Batman, is great fun. I honestly was a little worried these arena modes would be throw- aways but they are incredibly fun. What will be REALLY interesting is when your own hero/villain is maxed out. Then, the real crazy stuff will begin.
Currently this is an incredible game. But I’m not sure what the length and breath of this game is going to end up being. I certainly loved what I’ve played so far and apparently, it isn’t even half way to getting your character in real action. Iconic powers can’t even be earned until level 10. I’ll let you know how that turns out when it happens.
The game shines when you are constantly called upon to do moves to either attack enemies or break free from control or freezing. I really like the constant input the game needs from you to be played. Unlike any other MMORPG out there, there really isn’t any automatic pilot you can turn on even in the earlier levels.
The only problems I have with the game are the clunky menu system and the fact that when you have a quest it is sometimes unclear where you are supposed to go. Also, getting a quest and not being able to easily reach that area even when the quest is activated. I think if you have a quest in another city, you should be able to easily reach that city without having to wander all around looking for a teleporter. I would have also liked to see more different kinds of gear, powers, and archetypes. The game is essentially very limited right now. But once the final product launches we could be seeing a lot more. The basic structure is sound and my problems with the game are minor gripes and even for someone like me who rarely plays MMORPGs without the TV on, I was relatively wholly consumed by the PS3 version of the game not to miss this. I can’t imagine this would have ever happened with World of Warcraft.
I do have to say that my character grew on me rather than me loving him from the very beginning. Hence the limitations that I mentioned earlier. But after much character evolution and a few episodes, I really love my character and I’m going to be sad when I have to dump them when the game comes out. Because I’m assuming the beta info won’t carry over.
While DC Universe Online is not the greatest game ever made it is certainly an AAA MMORPG and I think it will probably, once done, be a serious contender against at least Champions Online anyway. As far as World of Warcraft is concerned; the people who like DC Universe Online will probably not be the same people who like World of Warcraft.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Final Darkmoon Faire Video Unlocked!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Back To World of Warcraft!
I haven’t played World of Warcraft for a year this month. Once I went to Blizzcon however, I some how got lured back in. The sense of community and nostalgic thrill that crept in finally over came me. This may seem like a crazy reason to return to the game. But with this strange confluence; patch 4.0 was also out. Which if you haven’t all ready experienced it. Changes everything. I had five characters on Horde side and retalenting each one of them really changed my attitude toward some of them. In fact, I started playing my Warlock again, which I had basically relegated toward basically a bank and profession alt. But with the new rebalance of talents and such the old specs that were good are no longer that great and over all it seems that the classes are far more balanced against each other.
The only problem I have of course, is I missed the entire endgame content for my Main and my Main isn’t geared anywhere near well enough for Battlegrounds. Which means I’m pretty much on hold with my Main.
I also started a new character, Troll Shaman. So that I can experience all the new Cataclysm content. Oh yeah, I pre-ordered the Cataclysm content. There are certainly plenty of things wrong with World of Warcraft in general and even with all the new updates and innovations the game is far from perfect or where I think the game SHOULD be after this much time. But, World of Warcraft is still fun and currently the only REAL viable MMORPG worth playing. Considering I’m so completely invested with multiple characters over 60. I feel like if I want to play an MMORPG, this is one.
I also can’t wait to play a Worgen. In fact, I’m going to give you all an update about the status of my Worgen progress on a RPPVP server, which I have never been on before. So you can all experience the coolness of the new race with me. I have NO IDEA what class I’m going to play. Hopefully something viable in a Raid but still makes sense with the essence of the race.
I certainly can’t wait for Guild Wars 2 to come out. Whenever that is… I’m guessing sometime at the end of next year. Which I’ll be completely done with all the WoW content by then.
Well, see you all on December 8th for the first WoW update. Oh and read the site between now and then too. Lol.
Dedae Reviews Fallout New Vegas: Cause I'm not going to!
Monday, November 1, 2010
XBOX LIVE UPDATE! IS this what an Extra $10 gets me?
Once again Microsoft is trying to change their image from Corporate Raiders who want to sell you over priced software to a cute and cuddly company that is more like Nintendo or Apple. The difference is that unlike Nintendo or Apple there is very little behind the fluff. And worst of all they are taking down the people who have supported them all these years in doing this.
As with every Dashboard update things have changed. And as with every Dashboard Update since the Avatars were released, not for the better. For some reason it seems that Microsoft feels that their old Dashboard from years gone by was just not soaking up enough processes. So they have, with every update tried to stress the system so that you are seeing more loading screens than actual content.
Best of all not only do you have to download the ESPN add-on and a new Zune Marketplace add-on separately. But the inital setup of the new dashboard drops all your original settings. Thanks, Microsoft that was handy. Perhaps instead up changing the design of the dashboard and Avatars AGAIN! They could have worked on the back end and make everything run more smoothly, have fewer loading screens, fewer errors about content that doesn’t exist, and less time screwing around in menus just to go to other menus. Yeah, but where would the fun in that be? How would that be a good PR campaign. Because after all, ALL these people who are going to buy a Kinect for their living room/gymnasium aren’t going to know the difference. Yeah, that’s too bad, considering those people are probably going to buy two games and never touch the system or any of the the content again. These are people the analytics refer to when they talk about people who don’t use DLC.
Apparently however, everyone wants a piece of the Nintendo pie. Too bad Microsoft, isn’t holding back on the crazy to do it. After all, Sony seems pretty low key about their casual jump and that’s good because the people they are targeting aren’t going to be impressed by marketing or ads. They will be impressed by word of mouth. Unfortunately the only word of mouth I can give this new update is, “rip-off.” I say this because starting in November we get to pay an extra $10 a year for the casual revolution so that Microsoft can pretend to be Nintendo for six months until they realize they aren’t making any money and start on Halo 4.
So thanks Microsoft, good to see my money is going to good use. Perhaps next time, you’ll survey the hardcore before you start throwing our money around.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
All Treats and No Tricks (Costume Quest Review)
The game is a pretty typical RPG style game that takes place on Halloween Night. Yes, ladies and gents, this whole game takes place in one night. You go from sleepy suburbs to a Mall to a even sleepier little farming town. The game does a REALLY good job of transition from one area to the next while allowing you to go back and get any quests or items you might have missed the first time. This game is all about collection. Collecting candy, cards, costumes, quests etc.. If you don’t like collecting stuff this game is not going to be for you.
The thing I really loved about Costume Quest was the costumes. In a game about Halloween what else would make it great? Being able to change into any of the totally awesome and wonderful forms just by changing costumes makes this game wonderful. The combat is simplistic but totally fun. Who knew that real time turn based RPGs could be so much fun. I completed the whole game with every achievement in around six hours. But I did grind a fair amount and I did reach max level which is ten. I know six hours isn’t very long but the game only suffers from it’s limit in that the game IS SO GOOD you don’t want it to end.
While the game is left open at the end for a sequel; I get the impression that it might be in poor taste to look for one. This project certainly shows Double Fine’s talent for making a good, compelling, funny game. Perhaps such a limited scope is what they do best. I loved Costume Quest and everyone who loves a good collection based RPG should check it out. Especially before Halloween, after that, I think the magic might have worn off.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Not a Headshot(Medal of Honor Review)
Medal of Honor is a name that has been in First Person Shooters for all most as long as there have been First Person Shooters. People have been playing these war themed games for a long time. In the good old days these games were based in the conflicts of World War 2. Over time however, these games were surpassed in their quality and ability to represent these conflicts by Call of Duty. Which is, ironic, considering the same people who created Medal of Honor went on to make it’s successor Call of Duty.
Now Electronic Arts, with the help of Danger Close and DICE have decided to make; yet another Medal of Honor. Again, they aren’t working with the people who originally made Medal of Honor. Because THEY are now working for their own company, Respawn. Perhaps they should have consulted on this one.
The campaign component of Medal Of Honor is pretty good. The Medal of Honor campaign is split up into 3 major parts. Which follows three different teams, these guys are both Tier 1 operators and Army Rangers. All of these areas are good, in fact most of the campaign; while very reminiscent of other games of it’s type is very good. The problems I had with it were mainly the very large number of game crashing bugs. Most involved the player not being in the right spot or in some cases the A.I. not responding correctly. They occurred for me around four times in my play through. But given the circumstances of the crashes; I would say they would happen over and over unless the player knew how it occurred and how to fix it.
I certainly enjoyed the story; but I would have preferred they had stick to one team and not worry about trying to show something that didn’t need to be seen from many sides from many sides. The split stories bring little, if anything to the overall game. I guess this does allow the player to decide which story they like the best. But I think a more fleshed out main character might have solved this issue.
While I really enjoyed most of the running single player. I have to say that the Multiplayer was both less ambitious and less interesting. Where the single player has some patchable problems, the multiplayer seems irrevocably worthless. DICE has basically taken their incredible Battlefield Bad Company 2 and stripped out all of what makes it important. The current multiplayer of Medal of Honor is simply Modern Warfare without the long list of perks, weapons, and upgrades. As it stands now, it is not interesting or different. It’s just a bunch of players shooting each other back and forth until one side wins. All of the modes are certainly surpassed in their elegance by Battlefield and in their creativity both in level design and finesse by Modern Warfare 2. For some reason in trying to recreate or out do, Modern Warfare 2 it appears that Danger Close has simply created a poor imitation.
There certainly is plenty of history, both from the old days and from the recent few years. While Danger Close and DICE certainly tried to deliver identical experiences to those that have been delivered recently it seems that some more time was needed to work out the bugs. And perhaps, Battlefield Bad Company 2 should have had a good enough multiplayer for anyone. Let us not forget about Modern Warfare 2 while we are at it; which is STILL the best of all possible modern era FPS games. While this might not all ways be the case, it will be at least for the near future.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Membership Doesn’t All Ways have it’s Privileges..
As I’m writing this I’m literally, waiting in a que for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Beta game session. I’ve only been able to get into 2 games in the passed 2 hours; and people are quitting out of my current session. I’m not sure what’s more infuriating the fact that I’ve only played 2 games or that people are actually going back into a even wider que thinking things are going to be quicker.
This is the exclusive beta that only people who have pre-ordered(I pre-ordered), some PSN Plus Members, or members of the press were allowed into and then only just this week. Before that, t was only European Plus Members and Press.
This is one of two “exclusive” betas that have sprung up for different games in the past couple of weeks and I’m sorry but I think this was a TERRIBLE IDEA! These are multiplayer games, that need LOTS of people to play them in order to test server load, game balance, etc… Considering the time of the year, this probably the second worst time to be holding one of these “exclusive betas.” The first of course, being actual holiday season which in the US starts around November 1st.
The other offending Beta is Dead Space 2 Multiplayer Beta. Which I got into, I guess, because I’m a member of the press and a member of EA Gun Club or maybe one or the other. I don’t know. EA never really explained why anyone got in, the invites just showed up. Also apparently, if you were a PSN Plus member you were in the group to be chosen. Whatever, that actually meant.
I booted up Dead Space 2 Multiplayer around 5 times at different times of the night and I have NEVER gotten into a game. Some of the times, I must admit, I only tried to get in once or twice and then got fed up and left but the other times, I spent upwards of 20 minutes trying to get on. Nothing…
My point is that if your going to make an exclusive test anything, you might want to be sure that there will be enough people out there to ACTUALLY test what your working on. Otherwise, other than a marketing stunt; your beta hasn’t achieved anything. Not to mention the people who pre-ordered and are now thinking the game will be a failure because no one “seems” to be playing it.
Now, I hear that Killzone 3 will have an exclusive PSN Plus grab bag type beta sign up. Great, should I just not bother if I get sent the code? Because if it’s just me, and 101,000 people, then I’m probably never going to get on.
Monday, October 4, 2010
DC Universe gets Delayed! But it’s not all bad news!
“Today Sony Online Entertainment announced that DC Universe Online will be delayed until early 2011….
….SOE has also revealed new details regarding the beta program. Players with VIP key cards and those having registered at the DCUO website will receive access on a priority basis starting as early as next week. As an added thank you, everyone that has already pre-ordered the game, and those who do so by November 15th, 2010, are assured access to beta by November 30th (North America only).
Anyone pre-ordering the game after November 15th will gain beta access one week prior to the launch date and will be able to participate in the special beta ending event entitled Battle of the Legends with the rest of the beta participants. As an additional bonus, all beta participants will be recognized post release with a special emblem for their character when the game goes live. Beginning October 7, 2010 instructions on how to qualify to receive your pre-order beta key will be located here: www.dcuniverseonline.com/betakey.
Those wishing to register for beta without pre-ordering have until 11:59pm PST tonight. This is a general queue and does not assure access.
Lastly, due to overwhelming demand from the community, SOE is pleased to announce that a Collector's Edition for the PlayStation 3 will also be released (North America only), which includes the same items contained in the PC version announced earlier this year – the DCUO Batman statue, the limited edition Art of DC Universe Online art book, the DCUO Legends Issue #0 comic book with a Jim Lee variant cover, the DCUO Prestige comic presentation of the DCUO back-story and the limited edition Jim Lee-drawn poster Version of the Legends Issue #0 comic book variant cover…”DC Universe News.
So that’s the story folks. I’m not surprised considering how everything seemed to be going as far as coverage. Normally an MMORPG has a heck of a lot more coverage when it’s only a month before launch than DC Universe Online EVER had. This game looks great and it’s also wonderful that Sony is working so closely with their dedicated fans and give everyone some serious beta time to chew on while they wait for the game to come out. Can’t wait to play the beta for this brand.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Bioshock Infinite! I Think I'm in Love!
This is absolutely Ken Levine, I can see his stamp all over this thing. I cannot wait to play this game. I have same feelings about this game as when I saw the first Bioshock debut. Except more so. The story looks tight and I LOVE the way the world and the main characters interact. The best part here is that it really doesn’t matter what is or is not scripted. All the player wants to do after they see this trailer, is to find out all they can about it.
I can certainly see the hooks that relates it to the Bioshock series but I can’t wait to see if there are more when we actually get to play the game.
Enslaved by the PS3! Demo on PSN, when it comes back up!
Last night after I got home, late! I dropped on to Playstation Network because I knew that the whole thing was coming down today for maintenance. I grabbed some demos and among them was Enslaved: Journey to the West. There should be a demo coming to XBOX LIVE, eventually… Considering the game comes out in about two weeks, hopefully this is sooner rather than later.
The demo allows you to play what looks like the first level of the game. The first thing you will probably notice in this, Ninja Theory game; is how absolutely amazing all the hair looks. The main character Monkey, who even has a tail. Has some amazing hair, and other protagonist has amazing looking red hair, her name is Trip. Andy Serkis voices Monkey and as much as I like Mr.Serkis his voice is as recognizable as Nolan North which can take you out of the story just a little. Some of the graphics in the game are better than others, but then this is a demo. I’m sure the polished title will look much better. The world itself is a very un-Fallout like future. The world is in ruins, robots that helped create this destruction are still all over the place ready to kill anything that moves. The world has come back in a more natural sense and makes the world look really beautiful.
The gameplay of Enslaved looks to be split into two main parts. Combat and platforming. Both seem to be incredibly well evolved. More than I would have imagined given Ninja Theory’s last game; Heavenly Sword. Which was kind of split between combat and rail shooting. The fact that you are basically jumping from one glowing object to the next is awesome. This is definitely in the tradition of Uncharted 2. Which is some pretty stellar company to be in. What I’m hoping is that this story will be deep and involved.
The most important part of the gameplay that you won’t see in this demo is the interaction between Trip and Monkey. They have to rely on each others abilities to get through different areas. In the demo you are learning Monkey’s basic controls which will definitely be fun to use in the rest of the game. I’m told you do take control of Trip for short instances but these are probably only mini-games or short sequences. Monkey is definitely the main character here.
I wasn’t too interested in Enslaved before this demo. But now, I am honestly very interested in playing this game when it comes out October 5th of this year. But you don’t have to take my word for it, just go on over to PSN, when it comes back up; and download for yourself.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Everything Halo Reach in Video form!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Killzone 2 Move Support Demo!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Vanquish Demo is out! Don't miss it!
Feeding the Gaming Monster: The Price of Gaming in 2010…
I am truly sorry I haven’t posted too much of substance lately. But as all ways other things have been pulling me away. Getting a better job for instance… Anyway, I still DO game and have been trying to keep up with everything that has been going on. I’m all most finished with the PC version of Dragon Age Origins and I am getting a copy of the XBOX 360 version to finish that version. All in contemplation of first Witch Hunt, the DLC featuring my favorite witch Morrigan.
Second, with the new Dragon Age 2 coming out, you supposedly effect the world based on what happened in Dragon Age Origins and Awakening. Well, I have some XBOX 360 playing to do, considering I’m not buying Dragon Age 2 on the PC. Why? More than a year after launch and my Dragon Age Origins still crashes with no warning. So no thanks… But this article is not about my love of Dragon Age.
Perhaps however, Dragon Age is an awesome example of what is going in gaming in 2009/2010/2011. The game began with eight SKUs. Yes, eight: PC Deluxe Edition, Regular PC Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, Regular Digital Edition, PS3 Collectors Edition, PS3 Regular Edition, XBOX 360 Collectors Edition, and XBOX 360 Regular Edition. The Deluxe and Collectors Editions featured free Day One DLC. Then, as with every other Bioware game(good on Bioware by the way), they have rolled out lots of DLC for players to purchase. Also, with Dragon Age players are able to create new campaigns for people to try out. Which is great… There is SO MUCH content coming from Bioware and other companies this year that many of the games are getting ULTIMATE EDITIONS that contain all of the content for one price. This, I guess is if you don’t have internet or a fast internet connection. This crazy amount of content is exactly what I love about this new era of gaming. However, where EA/Bioware is a wonderful universal provider of great content for all tastes. There are other companies who are a little less interested in supporting their products post launch. But this article is also not about developer/publisher dedication to DLC…
I’ve also been really excited over the past few weeks with XBOX LIVE ARCADE’s Summer of Arcade. Where one game comes out every week and these games are supposed to be the premiere titles coming out exclusively to XBOX 360. But just in general XBLA and PSN has been incredible in the past six months. There are lengthy games and the prices usually run from around $10-$15. Which considering the length of SOME of the content this is certainly warranted. Gone of course, are the freebies of E3s, Comic Cons, and PAXs; of the past you know, 2007…. But this matured content of the XBLA and PSN of the present is probably an OK replacement. But this article is not about that either…
Finally, I’ve recently(three months ago) canceled my subscription to Netflix and I went all rental on XBOX 360 Zune Marketplace and PSN’s Video Network. I certainly love the content on both services and their ability to get the content to you faster than most outlets really makes them stand out from any disc based rental service. Good on you folks. But this article isn’t about rental services and digital distribution either. Well, not really anyway…
What this article is about, is the announcement of Sony providing a Premium service called Playstation Plus and XBOX LIve going up ten dollars starting in November of this year. Playstation Plus has been out for a couple of months and the offerings it has provided have been pretty unusual to say the least. Now PSN’s main service was to provide consumers with a way to play multiplayer games for free and provide content for them to download; you know like demos, trailers, etc… Like XBOX Live but free.
Their service was never as good as XBOX LIVE and the small install base for the PS3 in the first couple of years of it’s release didn’t help this too much. If I had a friends list in a game, I would only see those people if I was in that game. I usually, don’t use PS3 for multiplayer games. In the cases where I have, I have found that finding someone to play can be everywhere from excellent to impossible. It’s strange, but even today, it seems like PSN just isn’t quite measuring up to XBOX LIVE and it can’t all be cross game voice chat. If it is, then Sony is making a BIG MISTAKE by not implementing this.
Playstation Plus however, is a content driven rental service. Where the player gets to keep free games and limited time full games for as long as they keep subscribing to the service. Once you stop subscribing, you lose everything. Anything you haven’t actually purchased, you lose. Mostly it’s just like a premium version of the PSN video game store. That’s about all… But you STILL have to pay $50 for the privilege.
Lest you think I have a problem with PSN… Microsoft just announced the following:
“I wanted to let you know that as of November 1, 2010 we are increasing the price of an Xbox LIVE for some members. This price increase only affects Xbox LIVE Members in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom or the United States.
US
Current
1M Gold: $7.99
3M Gold: $19.99
12M Gold: $49.99
Starting Nov 1, 2010
1M Gold: $9.99
12M Gold: $59.99…”From Major Nelson’s Blog
This is insane. Yes, Microsoft has made improvements to XBOX LIVE since it began. But some of that was to compete with Sony’s Free Service. Some of it is useless trash like Facebook and Twitter support. Until you can have all the functionality of those two FREE SERVICES there is little sense in needing to feel like paying for them or even having a use for them on XBOX LIVE. Oh and Last.FM which must be the sole item open during your session. It’s just music and a slideshow but you can’t even browse the Marketplace while it’s playing and it stops all downloads. I’ve used this marvelous free service twice on the 360. All it made me want to do is get it for my PC so I could actually use it while I was doing something else. And the wonderful, incredibly SLOW; new interface of the XBOX LIVE that uses the Avatars and a panel style interface. There is so much graphical background processing going on apparently that many times the XBOX 360 pauses for a minute or two between menus options. Thanks Microsoft, that was an upgrade worth paying for.
Microsoft makes some money off of EVERY PIECE of content that is sitting on it’s XBOX LIVE VIDEO, AVATAR, AND GAME MARKETPLACES. Considering there is more throw away content on XBOX LIVE than ever before, they certainly seem arrogant to feel that they need more money for it. Avatar items, gamer pictures, themes, all essentially worthless pieces of content that are paid for with the same money that people spend on game add-ons or movies. They want us to pay more? Perhaps we should stop paying completely. After all, Sony doesn’t seem to be having trouble providing many of the same core services for free.
I have been a Microsoft gold subscriber for 7 years and I certainly love the XBOX 360 in general. But when someone from Microsoft PR says,
“"Since launching Xbox Live in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same," Hryb wrote. "We're confident that when the new pricing takes effect, an Xbox Live Gold membership will continue to offer the best value in the industry."
I just couldn’t keep silent. The reason they are raising the price is that they aren’t launching a new console this year and Kinect is probably not going to sell very well at $150 so they are hedging their bets. After all, servers cost money and we are in a recession. But don’t tell me you are doing me a favor when I probably spend $50 a month on content on your service in addition to the $50 I all ready spend every year. Why not charge developers more? Well, then they might pull some of their support from XBOX LIVE and we can’t have that. That could COST Microsoft money. So here we are folks. As it is, Microsoft requires companies like Valve to charge for their otherwise free content. Why? Because they want the money and don’t have the confidence in their digital distribution model the way that Valve and Epic do.
I understand that everyone needs to make a living. But in a recession people don’t just cut back on things that are expensive, they give them up. Perhaps Microsoft, didn’t get the memo. But then most of those guys who make their decision probably think cutting back means getting rid of one of your 7 cars.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Story of Starkiller!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Sony Blog reveals Irrational's next Game: Bioshock Infinite!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
GamePro Magazine: A Love Story!
So I know in the past, last year. I have spoken about how much I hated and loathed GamePro Magazine. But this was pre-John Davison… This man has created, not single handedly of course, the BEST VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE TO EVER EXIST! Props have to also be given to Tae K Kim, Reviews Editor extraordinaire. With the new style and design of the review pages, I can’t even believe it. The only magazine that could even be competing with GamePro these days is Electronic Gaming Monthly’s super relaunch. This is only because they have a wicked online component. But story for story, piece for piece; GamePro wins EVERY TIME.
Let me just explain to all you folks who haven’t been reading my site why this is just an incredible turn around and why I am writing about the one thing that could potentially end every other game journalism site and magazine out there. Let’s begin with the beginning. Including mine of course.
These were the days when the 1UP Show was the greatest Internet video game show and every one was still reading EGM every month and maybe slumming with the latest copy of Computer Gaming Monthly(not really, that magazine ruled). But GamePro back then was one step above Nintendo Power. The magazine was a hogpodge collection of screenshots that were a quarter of the size of each page and their reviews often made so little sense that the avid reader would assume that the reviewers didn’t actually play the games they were reviewing. But at that time, there were SO MANY video game magazines that no one magazine REALLY had to hold up the whole of video game journalism. But that magazine would have been Electronic Gaming Monthly and probably the UK Edge magazine.
Then bad things began to occur. No matter what their eventual outcome I am here to say that all the shuttering of all the magazines and websites that occurred over the past two years is something a kin to evil. Once EGM was shuttered most people felt that perhaps this was the end of video game journalism as we knew it. When COOP was born many people felt it wouldn’t last(it didn’t really, but that’s beside the point). All this heartache lasted a few months. While one magazine, after another, tried to pick up the slack. Fill a void that seemed unable to be filled. Finally, one magazine DID pick up that slack. GamePro to the rescue!
John Davison, a man who learned how to write and make content back when both were really difficult to do. You know, before there was broadband. The reboot of GamePro, everything from the cover art to the columns that are so quickly disappearing and/or reappearing in every video game publication these days. By the time this revolution occurred I was starting to wonder if John was reading my site(If you do read it John, please let me know; big fan). What was brought to the magazine was a Computer Gaming Monthly and EGM sensibility. This was something not seen for a long time. Most people felt that Games for Windows was the last magazine that truly embodied these qualities in America. Perhaps, it was EDGE that carried the torch all along. But it would never be a top tier magazine in the US. Any magazine that has a $80 yearly subscription price is probably not going to go mainstream any time soon.
I am a convert, a GamePro fanatic. I buy every single issue. Why? Because advertisers track off the rack numbers much more closely than subscriptions. And my mail is slow; I love this magazine and every one of you reading this should run out and buy the magazine. There is probably no better source for intellectual gaming commentary, reviews, and some incredible insight. I’m not saying they are better than I am, but let’s face it; they are. But I am happy to be aspirational about my abilities in this field. One more time, read GamePro and EGM. You won’t be sorry.