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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i support all girl gamers

I mean it when I say that. I don't care if you play the games I play, you love sports games, ultra-girl-oriented games. I'm just glad that girls play games. Which is why I was slightly tickled (if not, to use her words, annoyed) to find a mention of my lil' blog at a new video game blog called OneGirlGamer. As I said, I'm happy to see anything out there about games from a girl's perspective but apparently she doesn't quite feel the same way!

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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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desperation much?

Wow, this is really sad. MLB 2K10 came out today and in what is clearly a desperately ploy to get PS3 gamers to buy it instead of its major competitor (and generally considered better franchise) MLB 2010: The Show, 2K Sports is offering a million-dollar prize to the first gamer to play a perfect no-hitter game in the 2K10 title. Players have from today until May 2nd, 60 days, to be the first player to reach this achievement in order to score.

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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!

assassin's creed lineage

With the holiday season rapidly approaching (and me thankfully no longer working retail) it is hard not to get caught up in the giant marketing campaigns of all the great games coming out over the next few weeks. Still after being hit over the head with banner ads, facebook fan pages, and slick television spots, when a game's marketing team serves you up an innovative way to learn more about their product, it's kind of refreshing! That's how I feel about Ubisoft's release of Assassin's Creed Lineage, a prequel short film offering insight into the story of the upcoming Assassin's Creed 2. The movie provides plot elements to introduce the game's new hero and adds in parts of the story that were left out of the original Assassin's Creed, which launched in 2007. Where TV commercials and banner ads might get the point across in an invasive or annoying way, Assassin's Creed Lineage lets the interested user explore further into the game's universe and learn more on his or her own time. The short films can be viewed on YouTube or caught on gamer-friendly TV channels like SpikeTV.

Assassin's Creed Lineage - Now This Is What We Call Marketing

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

xbox live or playstation network?

With last month's console price drops for both the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360, the debate of which system to go with rages on. The PS3's new claims of "It only does everything" are, well, kinda true. At the same time, the Xbox offers a highly populated online gaming community that the PS3 hasn't really developed as well (yet anyway). For a price of course. This article goes into both sides of the next-gen console debate in a lot of depth, including the differences in the online services as well as the hardware advantages to both systems. So if you're considering taking the plunge to buying a new $299 gaming system, check out this article for the lowdown on both options.

Xbox Live or Playstation Network, the Facts

anti-violent gaming advocate sues facebook

You may have heard of Jack Thompson, an activist who has taken a stand against violence and sexual themes in video games, speaking out publicly about the dangers of games like the Grand Theft: Auto series and other violence-heavy game titles. He notably responded after a case where a kid killed several people and cited the GTA games as inspiration, which Thompson called a "murder stimulator". Well, people on Facebook apparently don't like Thompson too much and called for all kinds of mean actions directed at him, and he has now taken legal action against the 300-million-users-plus social networking site. It's an interesting case that involves a lot of digital media and the questionable legality of censoring a site's user comments. This should be an interesting case to follow as Thompson proceeds with his efforts to get Facebook to halt what he finds to be threatening and harmful messaging directed at him and his efforts.

Jack Thompson Sues Facebook after Video Game Backlash

this is kind of an outrage

Nintendo is probably my favorite of the Big Three game publishers but I'm a little pissed off this weekend after discovering two pretty annoying slights that they've pulled with regards to Wii Sports Resort and the MotionPlus Controller. First, don't get your additional MotionPlus at GameStop (as we did of course); turns out Nintendo is pricing the controller add-on at $25 at GameStop whereas every other freaking retailer is selling it at its MSRP of $19.99. Hella lame. Second (and more grievous in my opinion) offense: when we bought our copy of Wii Sports Resort, it came bundled with one MotionPlus and we bought one extra for the above ripoff of $24.99. Now, not even a month later, there is a "limited" Wii Sports Resort bundle for $60 with TWO MotionPlus controllers. As it should have been originally considering that WSR's true value definitely comes in multiplayer mode. So being the loyal Nintendo brand fans and Wii players that we are, we dropped an extra $20 overall on our purchase of WSR and the MotionPlus add-ons that supposedly will be an important feature of tons of new great Wii games. So anyway, like with many other annoying life-isn't-fair moments, lazy gamers who don't want to support new innovative products are getting rewarded for holding their money until the companies have a chance to respond to the dumbass decisions they made in the first place. Hella. Laaaaaame. Boo on you, Nintendo, I hope this isn't a trend you're adopting.

wii price drop?

The rumor mill is grinding away as busily as usual and it's only going to get crazier with the impending 2009 holiday season looming ahead of us. One of the latest (and greatest!) claims on the internet these days is that the Nintendo Wii is going to follow the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in receiving a price drop before Christmas. Scanned images of circulars for several major retailers have leaked online (see Target's for the week of 9/27 at right), indicating that Nintendo's game console will most likely be dropping $50 off its pricetag and hitting shelves at $199 starting in October! I for one hope this is true and think it is a great move on Nintendo's part... the Wii's sales have slowed to a crawl and with the 360 Elite and the PS3 Slim priced only $50 more than the Wii, something for sure has gotta give. Personally I think Nintendo would be very smart to rebundle the Wii with a MotionPlus controller add-on and a copy of Wii Sports Resort for $250 - I mean, who really wants Wii Sports these days? Anyway, if you've never had a Wii before, consider investing in one at the reduced price as there are a lot of great games coming out, some of which should use the fantastic MotionPlus technology.

console price drops abound

Hot on the heels of Sony's announcement of the new PS3 Slim model priced at $299 with a 120 GB hard drive, Microsoft has made its official announcement regarding its own video game console price drops this month. The $299 Pro system, equipped with a 60 GB hard drive, will be dropped to $249 and subsequently phased out while the $399 120 GB Elite system will be reduced to $299. The no-frills Arcade system will remain at $199. Also, there are no plans for a competing Xbox 360 Slim model in response to Sony's slimmer console, according to Aaron Greenberg, the Director of Product Marketing for Xbox 360 and XBLA. So, if you've ever considered taking the plunge into console ownership, now might be the time since for $299 you can have your pick of the 360 or PS3, both with a monster 120 GB drive.

Microsoft confirms price cut, denies "Xbox 360 Slim" rumors

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

natal is cool but still questionable

At last month's game developer's conference Game Convention 2009 in Germany, the Microsoft team working on Project Natal for the Xbox 360 revealed a bit more on the topic of the innovative motion-camera-controlled game system first unveiled at this year's E3. Now IGN has brought the new information to its readers in a Project Natal Preview that highlights the promise of new and interesting gaming as well as the uncertainty of how much Natal will catch on. I have to agree with the cynics that are wondering when the real appeal of Natal as a gamer's gaming console will appear - "Ricochet" seems like a cool and fun Wii Sports-esque game that definitely exhibits the Natal's range, but I definitely doubt the application of this system into real games that people want to put a lot of time and effort into. The description of using imaginary wheels and pedals and pumping fists to control Burnout gameplay sounds just awful and I really don't know many gamers who want to continually make such crazy motions as opposed to sacking out on the couch with the convenience of a wireless analog-stick controller. Plus when it comes to driving games, you need only compare Mario Kart 64 (one of gaming's great masterpieces, in my opinion) with the Wii version to see the importance of a steering stick and tensile control.

I would love to hear from anyone who has first-handedly tried out Project Natal at this year's conferences about whether the control system is as mind-blowingly cool as most people seem to think, and whether the applications into "normal" games will expose Natal's weaknesses or strengthen its argument for new control schemes in gaming. Especially if you have photo evidence of yourself flailing around while playing Ricochet!

microsoft's mmorpg "advertars"

I will admit that I have very little experience when it comes to online gaming and MMOs. I prefer my gaming to remain in my own controllable universe - the Sims, for example, would be far less enjoyable to me if I knew other people were controlling parts of my game experience. Still, I recognize the huge following of games like Lord of the Rings Online and World of Warcraft. Not surprisingly, these games are often used as platforms for advertising that takes advantage of the in-game trade or finance systems and reaches outside the game's realm to generate revenue from its popularity. This article highlights a new presence in MMOs: "advertars" or corporate-created playable characters or NPCs that walk around in-game environments and promote products. Examples given include MP3 player promotion and buzz generation for upcoming movies by characters straight out of the films. I consider this potential just another reason to avoid MMOs altogether. It really doesn't bother me to see McDonald's or Audi (or even GameStop itself) logos here and there in realistic game environments - it's a cool way for game developers to get more budget for their projects - but when characters in a game start targeting online players in game environments to "talk" about products, I think that crosses the line into intrusion in my game experience. Maybe in free-to-play games I could see this working out but if you're already dropping a monthly subscription fee, you should not have to deal with random NPCs spouting crap about Microsoft products!

Going too far? Microsoft creates advertars for online games
*on a side note, this blog Set on Stun has a ton of great discussion about video game marketing, if it's a topic you're interested in reading more about.

mental health benefits of video games

Most gamers will tell you they've known this for years but a recent study has concluded that video games can help people with certain types of mental disorders like depression and stress. The research was done after it was brought to PopCap's attention that some of their hypnotic puzzle games like Bejeweled actually had the ability to get people to a "zen" state of mind during sleepless nights or bouts of depression. Apparently type A folks have trouble switching their brains off and the repetitive challenge of puzzle games actually serves to relax such brains. I am totally willing to believe this as nothing destresses me more than zoning out while rolling stuff up into a katamari... but I digress. This article also discusses the possible benefits of using video game simulations to teach soldiers in the military how to self-regulate their heartbeats and stay coherent under stressful circumstances. Cool stuff for sure!

Researchers Explore Mental Health Benefits of Video Games