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Gamergate – who cares?
Yeah I know I’m a little late on this. Haven’t really cared to keep up with current events since I’ve been so preoccupied with my newborn.
I only just learned about gamergate a few days ago and all I can say is, holy shit, what’s the fuss about? So some chick allegedly fucked someone to improve her position. Like this has never been done before. And it’s not like good reviews haven’t been bought off in various ways before. Since when is journalism about integrity and ethics? I always assume that any review that comes from a reviewer that isn’t completely independent is a paid for review anyway. Someone wants to fuck their way to the top – who cares? The only thing that makes Zoe Quinn a bad person is that she supposedly cheated on her partner, which should remain out of public scrutiny anyway since that in itself has not a god damn thing to do with video games, so ultimately, who cares?
And as I understand it, this became a whole big male vs female thing. Why? Is there some imagined slight that women feel they need to constantly prove themselves as gamers? Or does this really happen? Are guys really such assholes that they can’t offer some wiggle room to allow the girls a shot at the controller? Video games are neutral gender. That’s something that I’ve always enjoyed about them. Why was there fighting over this bullshit? The only fights with video games that ever really mattered are Nintendo vs Sega and Sony vs Microsoft, and even those are complete bullshit arguments. The point of video games and being a gamer is as follows: HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE ENTERTAINMENT. That’s it. That’s all video games need to be about, put as succinctly as possible. And if you disagree, then you’re in the wrong medium.
Can’t contain my hype!
Just over 3 weeks away. This is my #1 game this year. I honestly did not think I would be THIS excited about it. I thought I was tired of the whole Dynasty Warriors formula, but you know what? This really works for me. Digging the heavy metal Zelda.
What I’m even MORE excited about is Square Enix and Sony’s announcement of a limited edition metal slime PS4, which will probably never reach the states.
And of course the announcement of Dragon Quest Heroes! Oh joy of joys! For those who know me, you know I love me some Dragon Quest. Another Dynasty Warriors cross over spin-off, and a first for the Dragon Quest series, stepping outside of their standard RPG style. And will also probably never reach the states.
The Real Reason to Want a PS4
Is it wrong that the main reason I’m excited to get a PS4 is so I can play Octodad: Dadliest catch? Forget The Order. forget Killzone: Shadow Fall. All this new technology, stronger, faster processor, but somehow the thing that stands out most is Octodad. I’ve watched the trailer more times than I watched the trailer for the Lord of the Rings when that was new and I watched that like twice!
If you were to ask me what the point of the game is, I would say, “Point? There is no point! You’re an Octopus married to a human woman with human kids and you’re dressed in a suit. Why in the name of Vishnu’s scrotum would I need the game to have some kind of further point?” And that really is the long and short of it. You’re a cephalopod, (an exclusively aquatic class of mollusk commonly with large heads and a series of tentacles, ie. octopus) trying to blend in with the human world without having your secret discovered. You’ll bumble around your day, attempting to do routinely mundane tasks with your floppy octopus arms and legs without trying to raise too much suspicion.
This was originally a college project, which is available for free to download HERE. However, Octodad: Dadliest Catch won’t be available until sometime in early 2014.
You can check out the trailer below. I love the theme song.
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/AJKtJG7bDME” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>
I was FORCEDTO Point Out This Typo in Bioshock
I know this isn’t the biggest typo in the world and not nearly as huge as Resident Evil: Revelaitons or Nartuo, but I still enjoy pointing out when people screw up. On the back of the PS3 version of Bioshock Infinite, you will notice that “forced to” has been combined into one word. It’s weird that it it only happened on the PS3 version but the other version on 360 and PC are typo free. Hey, why doesn’t someone hire me to be the editor?
PSVita Almost Here
Retail store Vita interactive display
So the Vita is almost available for retail consumption.
I think this is a device that the consumer population does not need. Am I going to get one? Absolutely, but it’s not necessary. Think of all the other devices out there already that do more than what the Vita does. The only thing the Vita has going for it is that it’s a dedicated portable gaming system. But let’s break this down a bit more. Portable? Maybe in the sense that it doesn’t have to be plugged into the TV, but it’s hardly something you could fit in your pocket. Although, the 5 inch OLED screen is the most beautiful thing these eyes have ever seen – it actually makes me feel like my vision has gotten better. But still, the system is just too big. Like Sega Game Gear big, but skinnier. It’s basically a small iPad or a large iPod touch, either of which serve as a multipurpose device to a much greater degree. It does however answer my main complaints about those devices. I always felt that gaming on apple products and tablets was a waste of time. The games available for it are largely casual and can never really be considered viable for the core gamer audience. In addition, the lack of button or a control pad of any kind hinders gameplay. The onscreen control pads are awful. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need my large, obtrusive thumbs getting in the way of the action. And without the direct tactile sense of control, they never are as response as an analog stick.
Now since it is a dedicated gaming system, what does it offer in games? There will be 16 games available on the 15th and another 6 by the 22nd. But are any of them a system seller? Uncharted is just about the only game that would be a must buy, and Sony knows it since Uncharted is the only game with a $50 price point. All other games falling somewhere between $30 – $40. Sony wants to cash in on the one game they know everyone’s going to buy. Here’s the list so you can make up your own minds:
2/15
- Asphalt: Injection
- Virtua Tennis 4 World Tour
- Lumines Electronic Symphony
- FIFA Soccer
- F1 2011
- Dungeon Hunter Alliance
- Michael Jackson: The Experience
- Rayman Origins
- ModNation Racers
- BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
- Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
- Wipeout 2048
- Hot Shots Golf World Invitational
- Ben 10 Galactic Racing
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss
- Little Deviants
2/22
- Ridge Racer
- Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen
- Touch My Katamari
- Army Corps of Hell
- Dynasty Warriors NEXT
- Ninja Gaiden Sigma PLUS
Sony has thrown in a few goodies with the $299.99 3g version, most likely due to the poor reception of the system in Japan. An 8gb memory card and a free game download will be bundled in now, making my earlier prediction on the US getting a price drop on the system shortly after launch seem less likely. I still believe it’s a waste to get the system at launch.
I’m surprised at myself that I’m not giving in to my usual, “I WANT THAT!” impulse when it comes to a new console. The last time I’ve cared so little for a system launch was when the Atari Jaguar came out. But I would never insult the Vita to compare it to the Jaguar that way… even though I kind of just did.
Playstation Vita – Buy at Launch?
So the PSVITA released in Japan this past December to less than even good sales. It’s underselling anything Nintendo has out and even the older PSP is still selling better. Not even a full month after launch and the price has dropped by as much as 20% by Japanese retailers for the 3G version of the Vita.
In America, the Vita will launch on 2/22 with a wifi version retailing at $249.99, and a wifi/3G version at $299.99. Considering that the PSP has NEVER had good sales figures in America, and their game support for the system has been terrible, and add now that the price has already dropped in Japan, I’d say wait to get the Vita. Pre-orders for the system are far below what the 3DS had and Nintendo dropped the price of their hand held by $80 within the year of its release. Logically we’ll see a rather rapid price drop in the Vita after it’s American release as well.
On top of that, I’d wait to see what other options their 3G service might have to offer. As it stands right now, AT&T has secured exclusive rights to manage their 3G network. And it appears they’ll have data plans that run just like their iphone plans – $14.99 a month for 250MB and $24.99 a month for 2GB. Personally I don’t see the need for having 3G on a gaming device. Where are you going to be playing that doesn’t have wifi? Seriously.
Lastly, their only reasonable launch title is Uncharted and they KNOW it’s the only game they’ve got going for them because it’s the only one with an MSRP of $49.99, all the others are $39.99 or lower. So unless you MUST have the new Uncharted game, wait to get the Vita.
I’ve heard of some homebrew and emulators working on the Vita already and that’s probably the main reason I would eventually end up getting one, but I’m not going to spend 250 bucks to play games from 20 years ago.
Voltron on XBOX LIVE & PSN!!!!!!!
Why didn’t someone tell me about this sooner?!
I was checking the weekly updates and I saw this available as an arcade game. I thought to myself, “Oh, it’s probably just some garbage game based on that lame ass new version of Voltron on Cartoon Network. NO! It’s not! It’s the 80’s lion Voltron. The game started up with the actual full intro from the cartoon and I had a fanboygasm all over the place. The menus play the Voltron theme and there’s video from the show between stages and official voice overs during the game.
Even after all my initial gushing over the intro, I was still certain the game would be like any other game based on a TV show – AWFUL! But it’s actually not so bad. It’s got a story mode with local and online modes as well, where you pick from one of the 5 lions, each with their own stats. The game is broken down into 3 different play modes – Lion mode, which is kind of like a SMASH TV game (seems to be a popular trend these days), space mode where you’re playing whats basically a shoot em up style where crap is flying at you from all over the god damn place and then Voltron mode, which I have not gotten up to yet because I was far too excited and had to share this post first.
Voltron is 800 MSP and is it worth the 10 bucks? Probably not, but I bought it anyway. Definitely worth $5 though, so if you aren’t a super nerd like me and you see a price drop, pick it up because it is a pretty good multiplayer game.
Donate for Extra-Life – FINAL WEEK
This is the final week to donate towards this fundraiser. On Oct. 15th I’ll be taking part in this marathon of gaming to help raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. Any donations are welcome. Remember, 100% of your donation goes towards charity. If you don’t think you have enough to donate, just think, even ONE DOLLAR can make a difference. And if you feel you can’t even do that, just pass this along to someone else and ask them to do it. Just click on the picture above to donate. And you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your chair to donate. Credit cards are welcome.
Extra-Life
http://www.Extra-Life.org is a fundraising organization that works with the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. They will be holding 2 events during the month of October to help raise money for kids. October 1st will be G3: Gaming and Giving for Good, being sponsored by XBOX 360. Even if you don’t have Xbox Live, they are giving you a free weekend of gold membership to play games online in support of the fundraiser. The other, the Extra-Life 2011 Marathon, will be held on October 15. The idea is that it’s like a walkathon, but with video games. Play games for 24 hours on your favorite console, or PC. This is being supported by PS3, XBOX, Steam, and Rift. Below are links to each respective events sign-up page.
Everyone is welcome to participate whether you are an individual, team, want to donate, or even just pass the word along. $1 would be better than nothing, and if that’s too much for you, then at least take the time to let someone else know about this and forward this site to them.
I will be joining in on Extra-Life 2011 on Oct 15. Expect to catch me on XBOX Live most likely playing Space Marine all day. In case you haven’t already noticed, I have these huge banners on the sidebar so if you’d like to sponsor me and make a donation, click on them. My goal is to get $100. That doesn’t seem like much if everyone who came across this even gave pennies. Any little bit helps, so Make a Donation!
I get no money out of this. You’re not giving me money, you’re giving money to kids who need medical attention. Even giving next to nothing would still be SOMETHING. You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your computer to donate. Just click on the large SPONSOR ME! picture and it will take you to a link where you can donate. They have preset denominations, but you can select other in put in whatever. You can use a credit card or even paypal! PENNIES! PENNIES WOULD BE AN ACCEPTABLE DONATION EVEN.
Get sum edyookashun!
I would like to take this moment, before you dive into this post at length, to warn you that this is a post of unbridled anger. I’m not reviewing anything or giving my opinion on anything. Call this social outrage if you will, but I am one who believes America is getting dumber. Being what this blog is about though, I’m staying clear of politics and economics, budgets, and what have you, it’ll simply be about business as usual: video games.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution was just released this Tuesday and it’s fueled the burning hatred inside me that’s been building for years. Oh, no, I have no problem at all with Deus Ex. I think it’s a great game. It’s the rape of language that’s related to the title that I have a problem with. There seems to be a mysterious collective group out there that promotes the mispronunciation of various video game related terms. I’ve heard the same mispronunciation from many people in various different parts of the country, so this is far from an isolated event, which leads me to believe that this is an insidious intentional spreading of incorrectitude. Now is incorrectitude a real word? No. But I made it up and I can do that. Making up words in fine, at least I’m not butchering the pronunciation of a word that already exists.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the culprits comparing their correct and incorrect pronunciations, starting with the most recent.
Deus Ex
How I’ve been hearing it: Deuce. And if you can’t pronounce that either, it sounds like GOOSE but with a D. It’s not deuce, that’s a slang term for pooping, which also means number 2.
Correct way: Day-us. Which is Latin for, God or Deity. As in, “Thank Deus that the game isn’t called “Deus Ex Machina” because then we’d have everyone calling it “Deuce Ex Masheena”
Pokemon
Now this one I haven’t heard in a while but every now and then it creeps into my world and it causes me to regurgitate in my mouth a little bit. It’s mostly parents to blame for this one and I just don’t understand what their problem is. Kids will say it the right way right in front of their parents and then the parents still say it wrong. This is why I said earlier that these are intentional. Someone is purposely spreading these verbal crimes. I hear this one pronounced po-ke-MAN. Man?! Where is there an ‘A’ anywhere in that word? Granted it’s a foreign made up word, but we can’t just go injected and omitting letters as we see fit. New England, you are the worst perpetrators of this crime. You know what I’m talking about….
L.A. Noire
At its worst, I’ve heard this one called La Noyer. Sometimes it’s half right and someone will know enough to at least realize there are periods after the ‘L’ and the ‘A’. But then I also get, L.A. No-ire. Noire i’m willing to forgive to an extent. It’s a a french word which means black. Most specific to the game, it would refer to the genre of film called, film noir, which is what the theme of the game is supposed to be. If you don’t understand, think of the movie, L.A. Confidential. It’s a film noir style movie. Hence the game, L.A. Noire. Now you understand the meaning behind the title. Now let’s say it correctly. L.A. should be easy enough to figure out. Noire can be tough, I admit, because we really don’t have this exact sound in our dialect. Don’t think of is as a monosyllabic word like noise, where the ‘O’ and ‘I’ flow into the rest of the word, think of it more like two syllables. It should almost sound like “new-are” but slurred together.
Grand Theft Auto IV
This is simple and quick. This is not Grand Theft Auto Eye Vee. IV is the roman numeral for the number 4. So this is Grand Theft Auto 4. You would hope only young kids would get this wrong, but no. Adults are just as at fault here as well. If you feel your roman numerals are a bit spotty, you can check out Nova Roma‘s website.
Nunchuk
In this instance I’m referring specifically to the Wii Nunchuk. Nothing is more like nails on a chalkboard than this one. I hate hearing people call this a NUMBchuck. There’s no ‘M’ or ‘B’ in this word. Even after hearing the correct pronunciation and seeing the word spelled on packaging, people still refuse to say it the right way. Ignorance at its finest. Maybe I’m spoiled because I grew up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Michelangelo wielded the nunchaku. Which leads me to another point. Maybe I shouldn’t be so annoyed by this. I mean it’s officially nunchaku anyway and not nunchuk, though both are accepted. The nunchaku come originally from Okinawa, and I don’t know exactly how it went from that to nunchuk so maybe we made that up and it doesn’t matter anyway. No! You know what, it’s spelled Nunchuk right there on the box. So they can say it that way.
That’s enough anger for now. If anyone else has got some they’d like to share, please feel free.
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Thanks for reading!
gameblorg 