Resident Evil 5: Is this even a zombie game?

After watching a "viral" ad for the new Resident Evil 5 video game I had a few questions buzzing around my head. Mind you that I am not a Resident Evil aficionado:

1. Is this even a zombie game? There are "zombies" shooting crossbows etc., performing complex tasks. This series seems to be leaving its roots behind for the more run of the mill shooter.

2. I'm guessing this Chris person is the character from the game? Where is Mila Jovovoaovovovitch?

3. Why live action again?

4. How many games does it take to sink a franchise?

5. Where is Dennis Hopper?

Dear Lord, please give the police and media a brain! (Parents too!)

Dear God, Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and The Wizard of Oz:

Today I am writing you because of a very important issue. Here in America, there has been an increase in the amount of people shooting other people up in public places. There was the crazy Virgina Tech shootings, the Halo 3 Killer, the Mortal Combat killer, Columbine Shooting, and now this...you get my point. Have mercy on the killers and all, but that's not why I'm writing today.

Today I am asking that you give a brain to the media, police investigators, and some half-wit parents who can't seem to understand that children can be mentally unstable. (By Children I mean anyone under the age of 18.) Being a teenager can be hard. They think that their life is the center of the universe, and that no problem in their life will be more important than anything they have to deal with now. Some times, kids can't cope with their drama trauma and they steal a gun and shoot a person.

But how come the cops, the government, the parents, and the media all want to find a scape-goat and not blame the fucked up children? We are so quick to judge these days that we don't really look deeper than the surface. Sure, that dude shot up Virginia Tech, but he was a basket case. It was't because he played Counter-Strike for 30 hours a day. He played counter-strike because he was fucked up in the head(everyone knows Counter-Strike players are weird fuckers). Joking aside, before we jerk our knees into our faces, lets actually look at the facts. There are millions of well adjusted teens playing video games all over the nation. These kids aren't shooting anyone but their friends' digital avatars. Most kids know when fantasy ends and reality begins.

If you read the news articles, you will see that the 24-year old killed him self at the end of the shooting spree.(I'm speculating he had some issues.) It also said that he was quiet and stuck to himself. Referencing back to the movie anger management, (paraphrase) "there are 2 types of people, explosive and implosive. Explosive is the person yelling at the casheir because their coupon expired, and implosive people keep their emotions bottled up until they burst, shooting up every thing in the store."

For me, video games are a release. It allows me to blow stuff up in a controlled environment, so I don't act out my aggressions on my wife, my coworkers, or random people at a night club.

So, whom ever may be listening, please let the authorites, news media, and lame ass parents, find a brain, wether it be used, new, or somewhere in between. Let them see that Video Games are not fucking up our children. The answer lies deeper than you think.

Absolute Power

If anyone has been living under a rock the past few days, read this. For the rest of us, Illinois Gov. Rob Blagojevich is now back to work after posting a "signature bond" for 4,800 dollars. Corruption, Corruption, Corruption is all over the news. There seems to be something about these corruption cases that has caught my eye in recent hours. After reading a GamePolitics article, a weird idea popped into my head.

Why are Governors who support violent game laws getting busted for corruption? Mr. Spitzer was busted a few months back for paying prostitutes with government funds. Now, Mr. Blagojevitch is in the process of getting nailed for trying to sell Barack Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder. Both men who either supported or were propents of laws banning violent video games. (Both happen to be Democrats.)

There seems to be something about this mentality, a "Holier than thou" if you will, that doesn't compute. They want to save us from ourselves, yet they are living on the edge. Absolute power corrupts absolutely as they say. What makes these douchebags think they are above the law.

I hope this serves a reminder why the people hold the power in this country. If anyone tries to trample your liberties, Democrat or Republican, tell them to get lost.

Remember kids, Do as I say, not as I do!

Just Aweful...

Alright parents. Get your shit together. Put on your common sense caps and read this story. Two children, 6 and 7 years of age, stoned and hung a kitten by the cord of a video game controller after playing a session of GTA.

What is wrong with this picture. Psychotic children? Maybe. Violent Game? I'll give you that one. Under the recommended age for such game? Definitely. Parents? No where to be seen. Again and again we see children playing violent games who shouldn't be playing them. If the government wants to regulate something, how about bad parenting.

Such a heinous act perpetrated by children under the age of ten. Throwing rocks at a small animal and then hanging it by a controller is just sickening, even for an adult to do. GTA you can kill cops and hookers, but animals? These are some fucked up times we are living in folks.

According to the reports, it doesn't say that the game inspired them to do this, but you have to have some sick fucking ideas already implanted into their brains. One of the mother is an undocumented illegal and the other is on a work visa so it makes it hard to prosecute, and according to state law, children under 8 cannot be tried for crimes.

I don't know what to say. This fucking makes me sick...

Sessler Says It!

Adam Sessler has a great rant on his Soap Box.

The DRM Conundrum

Well, it seems big GabeN over at Valve has made some waves in recent days talking about his stance on DRM. Gabe always offers some great talking points! Mr. Newell stands with most gamers' saying that DRM is "dumb." He says that the focus should be to add value to a product, not take it away.

All this comes to light as the hotly anticipated GTA 4 launches on the PC. GTA 4, as reported before, uses the controversial SecuROM copy protection software. However, Rockstar has allowed users to have unlimited machine activations so gamers don't have to worry how many times they can uninstall their game.

To me, this all seems kind of rediculous. DRM is something that should be on the forefront of the PC Gaming Aliance's agenda. Something along the lines of what Stardock's Gamer's Bill of Rights looked like. Since the dawn of the platform, PC Gamers have enjoyed backwards compatability (when Windows will allow it) and could play games 10 or more years old. DRM schemes on SPORE and Mass Effect only stymie the consumers ability to use their product.

Why wouldn't a company allow for unlimited installs? If you have online activation it really doesnt matter. I mean, how successful was EA's attempt to control their digital rights? Well, SPORE was on a torrent days before its official North American release. It's not the average consumer EA needs to worry about. Just pulling numbers out of my ass, I'd say that 99.99% of consumers are not taking their copy of "insert game here", cracking the DRM and puting it up on a torrent for people to download. Whoever these people are, get their hands on it before hand. Using draconian DRM only isolates the gaming public, and shows that EA is on a trend to kill the PC as a platform.

I've never had any problems with DRM before. It's never killed my computer disabled a game. I think it's within a developers rights to try to protect their investments, but not when you infringe on a consumers right to use a product/service thats been paid for. There has to be some middle ground both developers and consumers can agree on. I think we will see this relationship grow with independant devs such as Valve, Id Software, Stardock because they only answer to themselves. Bigger firms such as Microsoft and EA have shareholders and bottomlines to worry about. If the consumer is unhappy with a PC game, so be it. You can't return open box PC games to most retail stores. Either way "insert large corporate developer here" gets your money and doesn't have to give it back. I feel that independant devs are more intouch with their player base and usually keep them in mind when creating games, and for the most part are sympathetic to the gripes and complaints of their community.

As for now, Rockstar's use of SecuROM is just fine with me. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Gentlemen, leave my mother out of this!

Ah yes, nothing is more soothing than the dulcet tones of a pre-pubecent male screaming racial epithets at your mother. There is just something about it that makes me think of home. It's almost like Frank Sinatra or Elvis singing Christmas songs when you are sitting by the fireside.

The folks at 1up have a nice little feature on the Top 10 Things Learned from Xbox Live headsets. Screaming and yelling at idiots has become common place when playing games over the net. It's a quick read but a good one. Definately goes well with the companion Top Gamer Tantrums.

In other news, we got our Christmas tree up. Along with the tree goes about 40 boxes of decorations and other garbage ornaments. I'm hoping the wife will see how much crap she has and throw some of the hand-me-downs out. My garage is breathing a sigh of relief now that the boxes have been moved out, but now you can't use the living room. Thank goodness for the "Bat Cave."

Is There A Difference Between Democrats and Republicans

Today, I just felt the itch to write. This is something that has been nagging at me for a long time now. In the United States, we pretty much have a 2 party political system. You are either right or left, and never anywhere in the middle, so it seems. We always hear people screaming "the democrats are this" or "the republicans are that." The constant yelling never seems to end, fueled by the 24hour news networks and talking heads who have to dream up garbage to fill air time. I have recently come to the conclusion that we are under a 1 party political system with vocal nutjobs at the extremes of the spectrum. Nothing sparks my ire like the talk of violent video games, we will use this to demonstrate my point.

The Democrat party seems to be the party of "bleeding hearts" and socialists. I countless debates democrats talk of socialized medicine, safety nets for the poor, and other high dollar social programs on the back of American tax payers. That's all fine and dandy on paper, but we all know how the eastern block ended up. Anyways, from my experience the Dems want to protect you from yourself. They want heavy gun control so that guns can't harm anyone. They want to provide you with health care so that no one goes sick. If we look at the government track record, government pretty much sucks at doing every thing but nation defense and keeping a national currency. The Democrats want to enact a Nanny State that keeps everyone safe from harm.

Republicans on the other hand are stand for "Pro-business", "Pro-life", and "Traditional Values." Or so they think they do. The Republican party prides itself on "traditional values' something that is touted in every election, and spewed by pundits on Fox News. Now, I have nothing wrong with their stance, but when you start trying to legislate morality, you really hit the breaks. Trying to pass a law saying that "gay people cannot get married" or "creation must be taught in schools" is pretty much ridiculous. First off, marriage should not be a government function at all. It should be between you and whatever church or God you believe in. If you want to teach "creation" in school find me some hard evidence to back it up. Schools should be a place of fact and truth, not a place where religious ideas are forced on children. If you teach Christian creationism, shouldn't you have to teach Hindu, and Islamic, and Native American creationism as well? God, forbid that your child's eyes are opened to a wider world view.

Anyways what I'm getting at here is that both parties want to nanny you one way or the other. Whether its telling you who to give your money to or who you can pray to, both parties want the same thing; control over you! For the video game industry, this is a big issue. Both political parties see violent games as a harbinger of death for youngsters. States around the country are trying to ban the sale of violent games to minors. From the outside, "knee-jerk" reaction it sounds pretty good. No more school shootings, no more bullying because kids aren't subjected to the extreme interactive violence video games provide.

Scientifically, there are varying reports saying that violent games affect/do not affect kids. However, I will not argue that a 10 year old probably shouldn't be playing Mature rated games (17years +). As with movies, mature rated games have profanity, violence, and some times adult situations. However, this should fall on the parents to make sure their children aren't playing these games, NOT THE GOVERNMENT. The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) has voluntarily enacted the standards board that rates all movies released in the US. The government has no involvement with this, nor does it enforce any of its regulations. Then why does the government feel the need to enact laws against video games?

Parents and prospective parents, you need to sit down and think about this for a second. You want more government in your lives because you are too much of a lazy ass to watch what your kids play on a Saturday afternoon? People cite the school shootings as an example of what video game violence does to your kids. In the case of Columbine, the shooters were making Pipe bombs in one of the boy's bedroom. Holyshit, if I was making pipe bombs in 9th grade, my parents would have known. You're going to blame that on video games? I call BULLSHIT on you sir. I call out all you shit-for-brains parents who are so wrapped up in your own social lives you can't spend a few minutes with your children. Here is a FUCK YOU for blaming your mistakes and failings on something else.

Creating a nanny state ultimately removes personal responsibility from our society. Evidence?: trillions of ridiculous "I spilled coffee on my lap, sue McDonalds" lawsuits. I guess that's alright if you want to go around living with your head in the sand for your entire life. For the rest of us, keep your personal bullshit out of politics, I won't bother you if you don't fucking bother me.

P.S Ban all the guns you want! Criminals don't get guns legally anyway. That's why they are criminals. You're only limiting the means of protection for the average citizen. But thats another story.

ESRB Descriptors

So for this holiday season, parents and other video game buyers can now go to esrb.org and search a database of rated games. Along with the very easy to understand rating system, parents and guardians now have another tool at hand, content descriptors. The ESRB has unfolded their new scheme aimed at stopping democrats from stuffing red tape down the industry's throat. These new descriptors summarize types of profanity, violence, and situations that you may want to keep from your precious offspring.

The idea is all well and good, however you can't stop a freight train when the conductor isn't watching the tracks. What I mean is no matter how many tid-bits you put out to parents and guardians, it will never work unless they start looking at the ratings. There is a disconnect between how some parents see video games as a medium, and how the game industry sees itself. Most parents, from my seat, see a kids hobby and nothing more. Gone are the days that video games are like Megaman or Super Mario Bros; harmless side scrolling ports of crude arcade games. The game industry now covers as much, or more ground than the movie business. Gamers range from 9-35, maybe 40 years old. The market is a diverse place, and lets face it, as a 30 year old gamer, you don't always play your "Leapster" or Wii sports.

Parents need to understand that video games aren't just for Little Jimmy on Christmas Eve. If Jimmy asks for "BloodGuy 3" maybe you should look at it before throwing it into your shopping cart. If you shop at Wal-Mart or most of the big box stores, you have to buy your games from behind glass. That makes it a bit tough to read the back of the box. So I guess the descriptors are a good idea. However, this takes pre-planning, something a lot of parents lack these days.

Either way, its a step forward. It feels more like a C.Y.A move to me. If the game industry, publishers, and developers actively took arms against retailers who sold M rated games to minors, maybe we wouldn't have to worry about the Senate or Congress fucking us over.

I've noticed a trend lately that doesn't seem to help this either. Places like 7-11 and other quick-stop stores sell games. Some how I doubt that the caliber of employee that is hired at such an establishment is willing to take the time nor is paid enough to want to check an ID for a "stupid video game." Thus allowing little Jimmy to go get a Icee and a copy of GTA 4 with out mommy and daddy. Although, when I was still under my parents control, I never had 60 bucks to go blow on a damn video game.

If the ESA and ESRB want to keep government regulation out of their industry, they are going to have to start taking proactive measures with retail outlets at the forefront of the battle. Work with retailers to educate employees and shoppers that games are just like movies. Some are for kids and some are not. If the MPAA can enforce the same sort of rules without government intervention, the video game industry can do the same.

Is Retro Really Better?

My last entry was touting the wonders of days long passed. There is something to say for a nostalgic look into the past. However, one should not remain there and dwell upon what has happened. However, this seems to be a more and more popular trend among movie studios and video game developers.

I can understand that it is a very expensive undertaking to make new games. Ideas, designs, engines, marketing, etc. In a shaky economy with a fickle market, not every game is a sure bet.

This in mind, not taking risks can also be a bad proposition. Sticking to the safe bet can also lead your fan base to rise against you for desecrating something sacred. What brings me here today is the new Punch-Out trailer that was released. You can check it out here. Not only is Nintendo re-selling you your gaming past, but they are repackaging old ideas in new boxes. Along with this revelation, we also hear that they plan to release Pikmin and Metroid on the Wii. From what it sounds, they will be Wii ports of the original games. ( Wii consoles let you play Game Cube games) On the Xbox 360 we have an example of this. Bionic Comando: Rearmed. A 2D game made with 3D graphics in a 2D perspective. Sigh. I guess the same could be said for my baby TF2, but somehow I don't think it fits well into this paradigm. Not to unfairly pick on nintendo, but the 300 Mario Games. Paper Mario series, Pokemon, only to name a few.

I think what is happening is that developers, probably more so publishers want to have every game hit it bigtime. So, inorder to have success, they have to bank on ideas that were successful before. I think if this trend continues, devs are going to have to start giving us something else to chew on. Spice up the same-old same-old with new gameplay elements, I don't just mean adding RPG elements to shooters. I think the EA Sports franchises suffer from this quite a bit. But then again, how do you make the yearly purchase of Madden worthwhile? I sure as heck don't want to spend another 60 dollars to see Bret Farve on the Jets instead of the Packers. Then again, I'm not a crazy fantasy football jock either. (Go Niners)

Use your brains, think of some creative ways to incorporate neat little minigames or quirks into the old gameplay. Paper Mario on the gamecube had retarded turnbased action, where in Super Paper Mario they added a 3D sidescrolling (if you can call it that) platforming element. Better yet, do what Valve does and really critically look at what game you want to make, and move to a cycle of constant improvement. This is where strong business leaders can make a difference. Implement kaisen or the like philosphy into your teams, let them try and try again. If it worked for Honda and Toyota, I'm pretty sure it can work for game developers.

We like our old games, but we also like new and interesting ideas. I think as the majority of gamers grow older, they are looking for more visceral games. Gone are the days of the mindless shoot-em-up. Shooters today have stories, characters, and (to me) some emotional attachment (HL2). You can only use gimmicks so many times before the vail of pretty graphics is lifted. I think story telling will be the next big leap for video games in the next 3-5 years. If devs and publishers spent more time thinking about what they want to make and how to innovate rather than just pushing out garbage as fast as possible; people would buy your new ideas, and quite possibly, like them.

The Definitive LAN Party Guide Part 1

Hello residents of the interwebz! Today is the beginning of a 3 part series about LAN Parties. With the DSL generation in full swing, many people today forget their fond memories of a LP past. If you want to get your party on, here are a few tips from LAN Party Pros. I'll tell you where and how to throw the best shin-dig around. Topics range from Games to Girls, Pizza to Players, and many many more topics. Sit back and get ready to take notes.

TOPIC 1 - Getting Started

• Set Date and Time
• Date of Party and Begining/End time important
• Where da party at?
• Tables and Chairs
• What should we bring?
  

First thing to do is to decided to have a LAN Party. If you live with roommates and/or parents, please discuss with them before having a party on the premesis. Next would be to decide when to have the party? Should you do it on a weekday, weekend, holiday? For me, having it on a Friday/Saturday or a Saturday/Sunday usually works the best. Everyone is off work, its a weekend so noone has obligations to fill. However, holidays work good if you want to come up with a fancy name for your LP. We like to use "LANsgibbing." Thats trademarked BTW so don't think about using it. So now that you have decided what day your party will be on, now its time to choose a time. Choosing a time is not as important as the date, but it still can give you a tactical advantage by choosing a good start time. Now, I don't know your friends, but if they are anything like mine, they don't like to wake up early or show up on time. So here are a few tips when setting your start time. Tip1: Schedule doors open around noon. If you take your friends into account (mine for this instance) 12noon gives us plenty of time to set up in the morning/evening before, late enough not to have to feed anyone, and early enough to get the slowpokes playing by 3pm.

Where Da Party At? How do you let your fellow gamers know you are having a LAN Party? Lets discuss some ways to get the word out about your party. We can start by the most obvious methods: E-mail, IM, and Hand Out Fliers. Fliers are good when you need to get the word out to massive amounts of people. This is good if you are having a very large LP at a school or a public gathering, not so much for your living room LAN. For most of us, E-mail and IM are going to be the easiest and safest alternatives. You should email your cohorts approximately a month before hand. This will give them time to talk to their boss/employer to take time off, clear their schedules of other crappier things to do etc. I suggest Email first with a list of things to bring, general rules, and an RSVP date. If your friends are like mine, noone will RSVP to the email, but everyone will RSVP one way or another. The RSVP makes it easier to do a head count for pizza or for our next step, securing tables and chairs.

Once you have the people taken care of, now its time to secure the seating arrangements. For me, its easy since I have all the equipemnt. I have long tables purchased from Staples and HomeDepot for approximately 30-75 dollars. Square tables allow you to maximize players in a given space. In the early days of LAN Parties, everyone had a CRT so monitors were a concern for table owners. Now, most people use LCD flatpanel displays so that is no longer an issue, and helps to allow more gamers per table. Chairs can be purchased at Staples/HomeDepot for approximately 9-15 dollars. If you can, try to secure enough seating/tables for a 10% overflow population (I.E uninvited guests, boyfriends/girlfriends of attendee). The more the marrier.

Ok, so you have your seating arrangements situated, now its time to focus on the food. What to eat, what to drink, who brings the beer, who brings the chips and salsa. Alright, all I can say here is Pizza. You can order alot of it at one time, it can be delivered, and its not that expensive. We have tried BBQ LANs, we have tried just about everything under the sun, but Pizza always turns out to be the easiest option. If you don't want to be out the money for pizza, put a cover charge on everyone who attends. Usually between 7-10 dollar will cover the pizza option plus any expenses that you incurr while planning the party. Just a tip, there is always someone who doesn't pay, make sure you have some extra dough on hand to cover for a douchebag. Party-goers should be encouraged to bring snacks and soda to share with other gamers. This way there should be something for all tastes.

Media Attention: Scape-goat Journalism Discovered

Well, I've been looking for something to write about, and I finally found it. With the recent NIU shootings, the violence-in-games debate has started to roar. Finally, MSNBC puts Faux News and Jack Thompson in their respective places.

"On Friday, police were still struggling to figure out why a seemingly polite, well-respected graduate student named Steven Kazmierczak had shot and killed five students at Northern Illinois University and then turned the gun on himself. But Thompson had it all figured out. Faster than you can say wild speculation and reckless sensationalism, he leapt in front of Fox News cameras and suggested that video games were to blame.

Click Here to read the entire article. I think its about time someone starts asking questions and pointing out sensationalistic journalism.

CliffyB Defies his Master, PC Gaming "Secondary"

This seems like giant slap to my face. In a day when gamers should stick together, CliffB, the Unreal dude, says via MTVMultiplayer

"I think people would rather make a game that sells 4.5 million copies than a million and “Gears” is at 4.5 million right now on the 360. I think the PC is just in disarray… what’s driving the PC right now is ‘Sims’-type games and ‘WoW‘ and a lot of stuff that’s in a web-based interface. You just click on it and play it. That’s the direction PC is evolving into So for me, the PC is kind of the secondary part of what we’re doing. It’s important for us, but right now making AAA games on consoles is where we’re at."

There you have it. Cliff Bleszinski doggin' his home court, giving PC gamers the cold shoulder! What gives Cliffy? You're game not selling well? Get a hot spark in your eye? From an economic standpoint, I can see where he is coming from. As one of the few independant developers in the US, they must sell units to put food on their plates. However, "sims type games" aren't the reason PC gamers still use the platform. Its diversity of Genres that exists. The inharent multifunctional nature of the system makes it great. I have yet to see a decent RTS on the Xbox. What about MMO? I think what Cliffy is seeing is the fact that gamers (on the PC anyways) expect much more from an app than some console kiddie. The PC has plenty of shooters. Shooters with guns, bigger guns, cars, trucks, bigger trucks, tanks, rockets, chainsaws, etc, gamers are looking for something that pushes the boundaries, not just last years game packaged with new graphics and fancy Special Edition DVD bullshit. It is what divides the true "hardcore" gamers from the "I got this for Christmas" gamers.

CliffyB, I hereby challenge you to start bringing your innovation to the table. Keeping such a corporate mindset will disorient you and stifle the creative process. Personally, I think Unreal Tourney has been the same game since the 2002 iteration. What else have you changed besides the look and maybe a few game tweaks? What "new" or "bold" content have you added; and by bold, I don't mean "HOLY SHIT HEADSHOT" with the crazy announcer voice.

I think developers are starting to wallow in the financial advantages of the console war. A stable platform for witch all the games can use the same engine till the end of time. Collect royalties from other developers when they use your product. Well, untill Microsoft recoups their R&D costs and makes another Xbox and then all your games are...well...useless.

We will talk then CliffyB.

WASD

A Frightening Trend in Modern Journalism

Thinking back to my highschool days as the Editor in Chief of the school news paper, we learned the principles of journalism. We learned of yellow journalism being credited for the Spanish-American war. We learned that journalists should dig for the truth and not interject his/her own opionions into a story, or simply journalists should not editorialize a story. That pretty much sums it up in a nutshell.

Ok, with that said lets look at todays blunder. A local news affiliate out of Omaha Nebraska is reporting that a recent "study" says video games, even non-violent kiddie games increase emotional arousal and agression. This "study" did brain scans of kids who played a non-violent game and comparted it to scans of other kinds who played violent ones. Now, I'm not going to say that this is or is not true, however, what about kids who play competitive sports? Football or basketball, do thoes increase agression and emotional arrousal? A hundred bucks bet they do too.

My qualms aren't really with the data, but how these journalists interpret and depecti the data for the sheep watching the TV news. Just like Fox news, this local afflilate grabs some "expert" to rant on about how video games destroy our children. Later on in the article, Joe Blow Mr. Payne says after his kids are done playing a game all they have on their mind is Kill Kill Kill. However, the artlicel goes on to state that Mr. and Mrs Payne have not seen any signs of increased agression or violence. Some how that just doesn't sound right. Maybe Mr. Payne hates his wife for cheating on him, and some how projects that on to his kids. I'm not sure.

It's a sad sad time when junk science is so easily gobbled up by "journalists" and slammed into the piehole of middle America. I think its about time people start usuing their brain. It's amazing what human intellegence is wasted on.

Worst Gaming Temper Tantrums

I think this is why I will never play the Xbox 360. Anywho, Here is a collection of the top 5 gamer tantrums available on youtube. I saw this on Gamerhelp.com and couldn't help but pass it on. ROFL is all i can say. Make sure to watch "chocolate milk kid."

TF2 Getting New Game Modes and Unlockable Weapons

Team Fortress 2 has been, to many, a suprise hit (maybe not). However, Valve's commitment to consistant improvement should be the talk of the community (talking to you Digital Illusions C.E.). The announcement made in late January via the PC Gamer blog, sheds some light as to what will be included with the new update due some time around the end of February. Starting with the Medic, Valve will gradually release unlockable "load-outs" after the player has completed a signifigant amount of new achievements. According to the blog, these unlocks will signifigantly change the way that the class is played. Read the blog for more details. Lets just say that these improvements will allow for a variety new techniques to be used in game.

Along with the unlocks, a new game type and 2 new maps will be included. The new game mode that will be similar to a VIP escort map in the original Counter-Strike. In a series of map fragments (ex. dustbowl and hydro), a team must escort a train car to the opposing teams base.

I don't know about you, but I'm foaming at the mouth over this. The possibilites are endless, adding more playability to an already awesome game.

Vindication of Sorts

Well it looks as if gamers everywhere have fought back. See my previous post. After being severely smitten by the unresearched musings of Fox News' Live Desk and Cooper Lawrence, gamers everywhere took to Amazon.com and smeared Lawrence's new book by posting scathing reviews of the book, thus making the book rating plummet to 1.5 stars. Some reviewers even stated that they disliked the book even though they did not read it. Much the same statement as Lawrence made on the "Faux News" program reguarding Mass Effect.

Now, I'm not condoning the actions of gamers, but I do feel vindication in a "karmatic" sort of way. Unsubstanciated claims, especailly when false, hurt everyone. I guess Ms. Lawrence is feeling the effects first hand.

Fox News; You're on Notice...

I'm a conservative and an avid video gamer, and to me this is abhorrent. If you have ever taken a journalism class, you would be familiar with "yellow journalism." It basically boils down to selling news. Just like the tabloids, Fox News uses sensationalistic headlines and stories to get ratings. It just goes to show you what kind of journalistic integrity Fox News has. Anyone who has Jack Thompson as an "expert" on the VT shootings shows no credibility what so ever. It just makes me sick to think that other conservatives eat this crap like candy.

What I want to know is why are parents buying kids a Mature rated game? Is it OK for your child to watch SAW 3 or Boogie Nights at 12 years old? For most kids; probably not. Obviously there are some cases where children are well adjusted enough and mature enough to understand causality (cause and effect). However to blame video games as the sole corrupter of youth is ridiculous. Movies are more violent now than ever before, but video games are killing our children.

Furthermore, uninvolved parents should be flogged, publicly. Buying a mature rated game for junior is ridiculous. Do some research; look into what your kids do. Be A Parent, not a friend. What happened to personal responsibility? This isn't just a "right wing G.W. Bush thing." Both the left and right sides of the istle are just as guilty of perpetuating this stereotype. These blatant lies only become fodder for politicians trying to promote their nanny state.

I think people in America, especially the Baby Boomer Generation ,are failing to adapt to the new technology. To paraphrase Adam Sessler, this is today's modern day comic book, and it will corrupt the youth. Today's games aren't like Pong or Pac-Man. The medium has grown up with the audience, and older folks are failing to see that.

It just makes me so mad I want to burst.

Best Half Time Show Ever

Battlefield: Remembered

Wow, has it really been over three years since Battlefield 2 was first released? Shit, I still vividly remember playing the demo. It's been a long standing fact that the Battlefield franchise is doomed. After the first installment of BF1942, things just started to go down-hill. I can talk until my heart explodes, or I'm blue in the face, but that still won't change the fact that our favorite game was abandoned in the middle , no, the PEAK of it's life cycle for another game exactly the same based in a future that is totally "stupid" for a lack of a better word.
Every time I think about this subject, It makes me mad. How a very popular game could have the rug pulled out from underneath. But when it boils down, one can only see the true reason why such an atrocity could occur. Money. We as consumers should know this by now. A company's main objective is to turn a buck, make money, collect mullah and please stock holders. Small developers can enjoy working on their own schedule, producing quality products, never having to sacrifice their vision.

As of March 2006, EA (Electronic Arts, of Redwood City, CA) acquired Digital Illusions CE (DICE) the makers of the Battlefield franchise. EA is known around the industry to strong-arm developers into their corner (I.E NBA Live series' exclusivity contract with the NBA, now more recently gobbling up Bioware and Pandemic Studios). Superficially, this isn't a bad idea for the independent guys. "Hey, lets get bought out by EA, they have resources, top notch development studios, and best of all we don't have to worry about money." However, I think Benjamin Franklin put it best: "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither." Let us think about this. Independent developers create their OWN games. They live by their own rules, and are free to make whatever game they wish to make. Sacrificing their freedom by choosing to hide under the security blanket called EA only weakens what sovereignty they had. I know that sounds a little redundant, but here is the fall out after March 2006. DICE releases the "rumored" final patch to BF2 because EA is forcing them to produce another game to make a quick buck. So, now we have a game that is barely 2 years old, still riddled with bugs, that is now abandoned for another game, basically exactly the same with 1 or 2 minor changes to the game play mechanics.

Because EA so hastily released BF2142, the same bugs plaguing BF2 show up. Not to mention poor quality control with patches. Releasing half-baked patches, only to make gamers uninstall the entire game to re-patch with their new Beta patch. They are too lazy to hire professional beta testers that they must release Official Beta patches to the public to test, then come out with a Official Official patch. What a load of crap.

Now, with 2142 maturing at an unusually slow pace, most of the Battlefield community has moved on to other games. This quick-shifting business model totally destroyed the Mod community. It took almost 3 years for the first full figured mod to even be released. The mod scene for BF2 looked so bright, then 2142 came out and took away the player base, and by the time the next crap-tastic installment, Bad Company, is released gamers will be so jaded that only the console nubs will buy that garbage.

Maybe DICE and EA should stick the the console development cycle. Release a half baked game and you never have to worry about patching it. Plus, they can rip gamers off even more with the $60 dollar price tag attached to the next-gen games.

It's down to us. We are the ultimate decision makers. We have to tell these big publishers that we will not stand for this shit. Use your dollars, don't buy DICE or EA products. Support independent devs. like Valve or Blizzard. Don't fall for the sequalitis. Let them know that half-baked games are not ok, and that pulling support for games in mid-life doesn't do anything but hurt the end users.

Exercise a little more caution when mommy takes you to Wal-Mart to buy your M-rated games. Bah-Humbug!