syberia review

I just finished playing Syberia and I can honestly say it's been awhile since I've had the pleasure of playing through a game that was so enjoyable and challenging throughout! Syberia is a true classic point-and-click adventure game and I constantly found myself comparing it to what I consider the pinnacle of adventure gaming, the Gabriel Knight series.

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red dead redemption is out

The long-awaited followup to Rockstar Games' western shooter game Red Dead Revolver (for PS2 and XBOX) has finally arrived and it is receiving the top-tier reviews that most have been expecting. Hitting shelves this past week, Red Dead Redemption appears to have achieved what many major title games in its wake these last few years have been trying for but haven't reached.

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mlb 2010: the show

The latest installation of the Playstation-exclusive baseball franchise, MLB 2010: The Show dropped this week and while it is still the same great game that baseball fans flock to, it also introduces a couple of new features and different gameplay elements.

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heavy rain WAS effing awesome!

Haha. It's sad that it's been long enough since I last posted that I am able to respond to my last post from like 3 weeks ago. Oh well, being busy sucks. Anyway, we got Heavy Rain like the day it came out from GameFly and I have to say it was pretty much as impressive and awesome as everyone has been saying.

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heavy rain sounds effing awesome

Wow, this game is just looking cooler and cooler the more I read about it. Heavy Rain, by French game developer Quantic Dream, is due out later this month but has been generating buzz for quite awhile.

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no wii HD on the horizon

Those of us out there that try to defend the Wii as a valid gaming console have less hope for near-future advancements now that Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has denied any rumors of an HD Wii in development. In his mind, the addition of high definition graphics capability would not be enough to make a new Wii console stand out and sell successfully.

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friday gaming rant

It's been a crazy few weeks for me lately, I am in the process of moving on top of taking on full-time hours at my job so sadly I haven't yet been able to keep up with my resolution to post more often here. That doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about gaming on the regular though! Playing games is another story at the moment. It's been weeks since I've played a game other than Sims 3 and it's been days since I've played that! Bah, boo moving!

...Anyway. I have been in the car way more lately than I like to be and have been thinking a lot about the state of gaming and video game development in the last few years. I won't go too crazy ranting here... yet... but I wanted to introduce a new topic for discussion which is: What the fuck has happened to gamers' expectations?

I mean really. Maybe I just don't get the genres of games that sell in numbers today, but everything just seems so... dumbed down. The top games that get the best review scores and the widest demand just seem so... similar. All of them. You watch pretty cutscenes, you run around with one analog stick and control your camera with the other, and you hit a variety of buttons to kill stuff or blow stuff up. Different enemies, different weapons, different map textures, higher resolution... this is what is touted as depth in games today it seems like. I can be impressed by more advanced AI that games use to ramp up the challenge, but ultimately there is just nothing to video games anymore past shiny graphics, shooting control schemes and item/weapon collection. Now and then a game with a great plot comes out that manages to sell but for the most part the plotlines and story of popular games are just... not important it seems.

I've already gone farther than I meant to right now but I would be really interested in what anyone (anyone? Bueller?) might think about this topic. I know franchises like Halo and Call of Duty have hordes of followers that are happy to defend them but I'm just saddened by the way smaller, deeper, BETTER games just aren't getting made anymore. And when they are, no one buys them!

Future more specific topics on this theme will include:

• What Ever Happened To Adventure Games?
• Just Because I Don't Have A Dick Doesn't Mean I Want Games About Babyz and Ponyz*
• Why Video Games Are Not A Good Replacement For Socializing With Friends In Person
• The Lack Of Puzzles That Make You Think At All
• Don't Make Movie-based Games, Make Movie-LIKE Games!

...and more. Don't touch that dial! But in the meantime if you read this blog and have an opinion on the matter please elaborate in the comments.

*Note: I might actually enjoy a game about Ponyz. But definitely, definitely not Babyz.

bungie and halo 3 help haiti

The digital age we live in has made fundraising for global purposes a much more efficient machine than many could have ever imagined - the money and donated goods pouring into Haiti since the earthquake there is astonishing. This cause has allowed groups not often associated with doing good to contribute in new technological ways. One of the best recent stories out of the tech realm in my opinion is Bungie's decision to donate to Haitian relief funds via a unique method: gamers who decorated their Halo 3 avatars with a red heart are participating in a donation drive where every 1,000 players equals $100 donated, up to $77,000. This is a really innovative way to let people donate indirectly through spaces they are already spending time in and by contributing only their concern. I hope to see more charitable movements like this in the video game industry - and, really, it would be nice to see efforts like this before the major disaster hits. There is a lot of need in the world and with the global reach the gaming industry has achieved, it is certainly a big opportunity to get large numbers of gamers involved.

Gamers Doing Good: Play Halo & Help Haiti

If you're interested in other ways to donate to the relief funds helping Haitians in the aftermath, check out Google's excellent comprehensive guide to helping: Google Crisis Response: Support Disaster Relief In Haiti. Just another reason to love Google!

hotel dusk: last window?

If you read this blog at all you know I love point-and-click adventure games more than any other genre. I'm always on the lookout for great games that I missed in the past as some of the best adventure games are older titles. Still, occasionally new games come out that make me jump for joy because of their commitment to preserving the wonderful tradition of point-and-click. One company whose game I have really taken a liking for is Cing, who developed Trace Memory and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for the Nintendo DS. Imagine my surprise and thrill when my boyfriend clued me into to recent development news on a Hotel Dusk sequel! Apparently titled Last Window, the DS game is not strictly a sequel but does star my favorite video game anti-hero Kyle Hyde in a plot that occurs a year after the events of the original Hotel Dusk game. Last Window will also make reference to characters from the previous game. Gameplay elements will likely be very similar with a few changes including rumble-pak support. As a huge fan of the first Hotel Dusk game I will for sure be pre-ordering this one... whenever it gets a North American release date, anyway!

Last Window DS - New Details

dragon age: origins

The boyfriend just finished his first playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins, the latest party-based RPG from developer Bioware, and it was a pretty epic game. This fantasy RPG is a pretty awesome, full game that certainly is reminiscent of Bioware's Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic, and this first playthrough at least took over 70 hours. Considering there are six different character class origins to start with, each with a unique storyline, I think this speaks highly for the replay value of this game. If you liked KOTOR or Mass Effect in recent years, Dragon Age: Origins may be up your alley. The combat is pretty typical if you've played Bioware games before. The characters are very cool and despite the game's similarities to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, they are more deeply developed and offer more of an emotional distinction from character to character. One big issue I have to take with this game is its graphics and presentation. While it runs smoothly, it looks like crap and seems like not much of an engine upgrade from KOTOR - I would believe it if I read that it was the same game engine at work here. Considering the leaps and bounds taken by other current-generation games with regards to animation, this game seriously disappoints in that realm. Luckily it is pretty much the only area in which this game suffers, so as long as you are not too much of a graphics snob (and are planning on playing it on an Xbox 360 - can't speak for how much worse it might look on a PS3) you will most likely still get some serious enjoyment out of this game. Looking forward to experiencing different characters and plot elements in the second (and other future) playthroughs!

halo: reach will debut at spike awards

Some guy from GameTrailers.com has announced via Twitter (Of course! Is there any other way to announce anything these days?) that the Spike TV Video Game Awards will be held live this year on December 12th. One of the more major news stories going along with this revelation is the announcement that Halo: Reach will have its official world premiere during the Video Game Awards. Reach is of course a first-person shooter slated to be the last game in the Halo franchise developed by original game developers Bungie; future Halo games (you know it's not ending any time soon, hello Spielberg movie?) will be handled by Microsoft game subsidiary 343 Industries. With all the awesome titles that launched in 2009 it should be a cool year for video game awards, with Batman: Arkham Asylum, Left 4 Dead 2, CoD: Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2 and Assassin's Creed 2 all receiving nominations for Game of the Year. Sounds like this year's VGAs are worth catching, if only to see which of the many deserving game titles ends up running away with GotY this year.

World Premiere Halo: Reach at Spike Video Game Awards

atari finds a new way

Most people associate Atari with clunky black cartridges and antiquated systems with 20 buttons on the controller, not giving much consideration to the fact that Atari is in fact still developing games for current consoles. Granted, they may not be releasing groundbreaking games today when compared with other modern competition, but one thing you can say for Atari is that they understand the importance of reinvention. Where others focus on how to develop games in new ways, Atari is setting its sights on new strategies in game marketing. The process of developing and selling a video game is a long and expensive one - Atari's idea is that streamlining presentation can better highlight important aspects of games during the selling of games to interested buyers/publishers. With considerations to conference calling rather than in-person presentations and using HD video tools to better show off the impressive elements of a game's design process, Atari is definitely thinking smarter when it comes to game marketing and development.

Polycom Telepresence Changing the Game for Atari

hey kids, history IS interesting!

Lately it seems like video games that deal in historical plotlines or recreate monumental events from history are growing in popularity. This is of course not a new development; game designers have been delving into the past for game ideas and story lines for years. Having majored in history in college, I find myself drawn to genres of games I wouldn't even normally play if they appeal in a plot-based way to an interesting part of history. Still, with the video game industry growing into the billion-dollar machine that it has, representing an entertainment option to a much more mainstream demographic than ever before, people have started to notice when a video game manages to be rooted in historical substance and yet still catch the attention of today's jaded and disconnected youth. The American Library Association has established November 14th as National Gaming Day in U.S. libraries and recognizes the benefit of adding video games and interactive activities into the suite of learning tools that libraries offer to help kids learn. More and more game developers are picking up on this interest as well and tailoring their games to be not only historically interesting but also accurate:

Gary Keith Brubaker, a lecturer in game study at The Guildhall at SMU in Texas, said historical games always have to try to balance accuracy and fun. "Just as movies about the past adapt the story to medium, so do games. However as limited as this history is, it can be a gateway for further exploration and interest for players," said Brubaker.

Academics hope history in video games spurs interest

modern warfare 2 controversal leaked footage

Gameplay footage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (launching on November 10th) has hit the internets and has incited more controversy over the presence of realistic violence in popular video games. You can check out some of the footage here courtesy of Game Trailers. Modern Warfare 2, the follow-up to Infinity Ward's insanely popular first-person shooter fourth installment of the Call of Duty series, apparently opens with a disturbing scene of heavily armed terrorists killing unarmed civilians in a setting that looks suspiciously like Los Angeles' LAX airport. Thanks for that comforting idea right before the start of the holiday travel season! The game's developer defends the scene saying that it establishes the true evil of the Russian terrorist group that the player ultimately must defeat to win the game. A game like this is bound to get some people riled up but this does seem a little... overkill? I mean, every day we wake up to new reports of deadly attacks and terrorist scares - aren't video games where we go to escape that scary reality? I guess some gamers get their kicks taking on the role of our country's military defenders; me personally, I find comfort in fantasy universes, colorful and vivid world depictions, and rolling a giant katamari ball around picking crap up. Then again, that is the beauty of video games - there truly is something out there for every gamer's interests!

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 leaked footage set to ignite controversy

has uncharted 2 made all other games obsolete?

Personally, I don't think so. But apparently some people do, as the follow-up to one of the best PS3 games, Uncharted, has set new precedents for awesomeness in gaming after its release last week. Uncharted 2 brings the badass-ness in its action-adventure elements, its environmental puzzles, its totally awesome graphics/animation, its well-acted and professionally-voiced characters, and, well, a lot of other supercool aspects of the game. Plus it has an addictively challenging and fun multiplayer mode, adding more substance to the Playstation Network's online community. So I can understand why some people feel that Uncharted 2's developer Naughty Dog has brought the gaming industry to a standstill when it comes to innovative and new gaming territory.

GamesOnSmash: How Naughty Dog Killed the Gaming Industry...

uncharted 2 is awesome

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves came out for the Playstation 3 this week and it is really living up to the glowing reviews it's been receiving for weeks now. The graphics are truly beautiful and the game moves along quickly with slick controls and an engrossing plot. The sequel to one of the Playstation 3's best exclusive titles, Uncharted 2 brings the action suspense in a way that few games achieve. The pacing gets your heart going and sometimes the timing is so close that you can't believe you made it through whatever adrenaline-inducing scenario the game has thrown at you. The character acting is great and the voicing is well done. All in all, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a great new title out for anyone with a PS3. Definitely worth trading in some boring old games to pick this one up!

this potential wii game sounds cool

So I randomly came across mention of this game called Sadness for the Wii recently and although it doesn't have a release date for the US that I could find, it does sound pretty cool and I would love to try it if I could. It looks to be a survival-horror style adventure game with a story centered on a Victorian-era woman and her blind son in turn-of-the-century Russia. Claiming to make you face your greatest fears, the game deals with themes of paranoia, schizophrenia and nyctophobia, a.k.a. fear of the dark. The game uses the Wii's nunchuk and wiimote controllers as the character's hands, giving the player a sense of immersion into the plot. The latest news on this game is from over a year ago so who knows if this title is languishing on some developer's desk somewhere. IGN has some pretty cool images that look like concept designs more than anything else, but they do look scary and cool. The game is in all black and white and would be a nice addition to the small but growing library of Wii games aimed at older gamers.

cursed mountain

I got a chance to play through a bit of Cursed Mountain, a 2009 survival-horror Wii title by developer Deep Silver and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! The reviews that were out for this game were mostly of the "meh" variety, citing a cool story but shoddy motion controls and outdated gameplay. I love games with a good story and this one definitely has a cool one, supported by findable notes full of useful information about your goal and the setting around your character. The animation is also very cool to see on the Wii and shows that the Wii is a lot more flexible with realistic (but not ultra-realistic) graphics than some developers seem to think. I only played for a few hours but found the controls pretty intuitive, fairly tight and not annoying. The fighting system is kinda cool and involves a variety of strategies to beat the ghost enemies that haunt the mountain village where your journey begins, and of course the cursed mountain itself. If you're a fan of scary-supernatural plots in games then this may be one to try out.

the 3 types of game store customers

I've got to preface the article I'm going to post here by saying that I really do enjoy my job selling video games at the retail level to customers - it isn't my life's aspiration but I'm pretty sure I've got time to work on that. Interacting with appreciative customers and helping people find the stuff they're looking for and make smart buying decisions is actually quite rewarding. Still, I have to say I completely and totally agree with the three types of customers outlined in this article. I would add a fourth column of "doesn't mess up your day" because really, there are plenty of them. Maybe I just get lucky in that I'm a pleasant, polite female and people don't usually mess with me too badly. But I have for sure seen my share of the following three types of shoppers and dealing with them truly is one of the greater challenges of video game retail work. The article I'm linking may be old but it is in no way outdated - I'm lucky to deal with mostly confused and bizarre and less angry but they show up in every store and sometimes it does make you wonder how these people get through life on a daily basis. Anyway, here are Something Awful's three types of GameStop shoppers:

The Confused

"By order of the We Hate Retail Employees Organization, these people are never allowed to directly answer questions like "Any idea what you're looking for?" or "Would you please stop drooling all over the carpet?" Instead they must stagger around the store with the precision and grace of a pregnant hippopotamus while leaving a trail of knocked-over display boxes, misplaced games and crying employees in their wake."

The Angry

"Under no circumstances should you attempt to combat his insane ramblings with logic, because doing so carries a significant risk of making the Angry Customer level up and evolve into his upgraded form, the dreaded Really Really Fucking Angry Customer."

The Bizarre

"These can range from people who stare at your nametag and then proceed to call you by the wrong name, to people who make some very specific and strange requests when looking for games. 'Hello, do you carry any games where you grow larger with food upgrades from three-legged Eskimo fairies while speeding backwards through Atlantis on a giant piece of cheese?'"

Something Awful: Working at GameStop

bridging the online-offline gap

Seattle-based startup company Smith & Tinker has announced its plan to launch a line of interactive toys and computer games that will seek to bridge the gap between online and offline play, at least when it comes to 7-to-12-year-old boys. Apparently toy companies are freaked by the prospect that more and more kids are putting down actual toys in favor of video games at earlier and earlier ages, so of course bridging the gap between toys and online games has become a target goal in new product development. The Nanovor game system (which reads a lot like a Pokemon ripoff) features digital monster pets and accessories that game users can buy with Nanocash (surprise, you pay for it with real cash!). The game can be played online on a PC or with other players via handheld game machines that actually connect together so your Nanovor can fight with the Nanovor of others. Sounds a little like Cube World. I guess only time will tell if this kind of integrated toy offering will tempt kids who are currently completely addicted to solo-player and online video games.

Start-Up Plays Offline