women, combat and COD: guest blog

Hi readers! It seems disingenuous to apologize for my lack of posting lately because to be honest I have been super-busy with a new job that is AMAZINGLY AWESOME. So you'll forgive me if my humble little hobby blog is a bit slow these days. With that said, I'd like to present the first ever Paranoid Emdroid Guest Blog! Please enjoy.

“Women in Combat” by Wolfgang Hammersmith

Women in the US Military: New Status?

Contrary to general public knowledge, women have served as active warfighters in combat in the US Military since the formation of the United States.
In many cases, their heroic participation was kept from the history books but recently there was an announcement by the US Military that women will now be considered as standard US combat personnel. This is odd as something old is being called “new.”

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the sims medieval looks spiffy

I have to admit I haven't read much about this newly announced title and actually just heard about it recently but I am pretty excited for The Sims Medieval! It's hard to tell at this point what kind of game this will be. From the footage in the promo video on the website (just about the only thing there so far) the Sims look pretty, um, similar to the Sims 3 peeps but I'd venture a guess that there are some additional gameplay styles thrown into the mix.

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my sims 3 ambitions follow-up

I posted awhile ago (original post here) about enjoying Sims 3: Ambitions very much but having a couple of criticisms about it. I have to post again and say that after more time spent with the last Expansion Pack to have been released, I truly think it is a perfect EP.

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sims 3 ambitions

The latest Sims 3 expansion pack, Sims 3 Ambitions, has been out for a few weeks now and I have to say that for the most part I am really loving it. Sure, I've got a few criticisms here and there but overall I think that this new career-themed EP has a lot to offer and enhances the base game and the previous expansions.

First of all, I love the idea.

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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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wii fit plus

Last year when Wii Fit Plus was originally announced it was going to include an "improved, updated balance board with better measurement metrics". This turned out not to be true, and of course I had already decided to sell my Wii Fit on Craigslist in preparation for the new game complete with new board. Fast-forward to Wii Fit Plus getting released and of course it has the same old board, AND they release it as a just-software option for like $30 if you've already got the board.

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finally played new super mario bros wii

Thanks to GameFly we've gotten to play tons of games we never felt like spending money on, and the latest of these has been New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

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sims 3 ambitions!

The next Sims 3 expansion pack has been announced and is getting pimped all over the online community, and with good reason - it looks awesome.

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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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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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sims 3 high end loft stuff!

The first (of many, I'm sure!) Sims 3 Stuff Pack is coming out tomorrow. High End Loft Stuff promises to "transform your Sims' homes into sleek, edgy lofts" with "sophisticated furnishings, must-have electronics, and cutting edge fashions". Translation: if you like your Sims to be hooked up and tuned in, you'll love this Stuff Pack. I know I will.

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mass effect 2 is a huge hit

Not that that was unlikely to be the case or anything! EA and Bioware's latest Xbox 360 exclusive title, the follow-up to its 2007 space-based shooter RPG Mass Effect, is posting great sales numbers in its first week on shelves, especially compared to the first title's release sales numbers. Mass Effect 2 has topped the UK sales charts for this past week, beating MAG, CoD Modern Warfare 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Fans of the original Mass Effect game get the added bonus that the sequel lets you carry a completed game file over from the first game, giving the player access to their well-developed Commander Shepard character from the original story. IGN gave Mass Effect 2 a 9.6 "Incredible" and it currently has a metascore of 96 and a user score of 9.0 at Metacritic. If you are a fan of the RPG genre and never played Mass Effect, you can pick it up used for... Wow, I was going to say like $18 but apparently the used price has jumped again, surely based on the success of the sequel. Well, $23 is not a bad price to pay for the original if you've never played it I suppose. Anyway, Mass Effect 2 seems good enough that playing through the first before taking it on will be worth it. Anyone playing it and loving it yet? I know my boyfriend is itching to pick up a copy but is practicing discipline and playing through the first one again before starting the sequel.

UK Video Game Chart: Mass Effect 2 the new No. 1

finger physics

Mobile games come and go; some are crappy, some are mildly entertaining, some provide fun for a little while, but it is truly the special iPhone game that holds my attention long enough to not be deleted within a week or so. I have discovered another one of these special games in Finger Physics, a fun little game from Press OK Entertainment. The premise of the game is simply stacking blocks into stable structures, with different puzzles based on the conditions applied to the blocks. For example, there are magnetic levels where blocks interact like polar magnets with each other, there are underwater levels with floating and sinking blocks, and there are your typical blocks that explode when they touch each other. The game is very tightly programmed and animated so for the most part it stays true to its claim of using real physics to affect the blocks' movement. Occasionally here and there you'll weasel your way through a level thanks to a glitchy count or some other small bug, but it hasn't been anything really bothersome. All in all, this game is a great deal at $0.99 (and they just added 18 new levels), plus I think it is actually free today for some reason, so if you haven't tried this one on your iPhone or iPod Touch, it's worth picking up!

mirror's edge for the iphone

I have not played Mirror's Edge although I watched many gameplay videos at the time of its release and it always seemed like an interesting premise with a lot of promise with regards to the control system. The acrobatic flips and tricks that your character Faith flies through the levels performing made for exciting time trial competitions and a solid replay value. This is why I think this game is an ideal candidate to be made into a mobile game, and apparently Electronic Arts thinks so as well as they are in the process of making it. The game will apparently be 14 levels long and while it will incorporate Faith's artful leaps and flips, the gameplay will change up a bit as this handheld version is a 3-D sidescroller. I would imagine there will be some incorporation of tilt controls - at least there should be! More information regarding a release date and pricing will surely follow closer to this game's release on the App Store.

Mirror's Edge Running Straight to the iPhone

sims 3 world adventures

The first expansion pack for the Sims 3 came out this week and I have to admit, I am really enjoying Sims 3: World Adventures so far! I was skeptical at first - we've seen vacationing before in Sims 2: Bon Voyage and while it was well done there, I was worried that World Adventures would seem like merely a reinvention of the new stuff introduced in BV. Not to worry! World Adventures is in fact a really cool addition to the many already cool and new features of the Sims 3. For one thing, there are three new locations to visit, replicating China, France and Egypt - your Sims can visit these locations as vacations for a small fee and spend time without advancing time in the normal game. There are new skills to acquire - martial arts and photography - and several new personality traits that can influence your Sim's behavior and lifestyle. I have only played through some of the new stuff but overall I am pretty impressed. Also, this could totally be a coincidence, but I have to say that my game has been running waaaay better than it ever did before World Adventures and the accompanying game patch, so that's something for sure. All in all, there is a lot of cool new game content and gameplay details to be had in World Adventures, plus registering it on Sims3.com gets you a free 1,000 points to put towards downloading new hairstyles, outfits and furniture. If you're a big fan of the Sims, I don't think you'll be disappointed with World Adventures. I look forward to exploring it further and figuring out all the cool new things I can do with this first expansion pack.

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

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