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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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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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

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!

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

modern warfare 2 set to break sales records

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 came out today and according to initial reviews, it sounds like it probably deserves the high sales predictions that accompanied its midnight release. IGN's review goes into depth about the game and awards it a 9.5 "Incredible". I am not really a huge fan of first-person shooters but I'm sure if I was I would be attached to my console of choice at the moment blasting terrorists in the face. Anyway, early forecasts are predicting that Modern Warfare 2 will be the fastest selling video game in history, starting with over 4.5 million preorders ready for pickup. MW2 is also another example of a big-release title coming out in multiple editions: the game by itself is $60, and there are two levels of special edition; the more expensive "Prestige" edition came with functioning nightvision goggles. You also can't forget the (admittedly a great deal if you don't have a 360 yet) limited edition Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 console that comes with the game, two wireless controllers and a whopper of a 250 GB hard drive. So whether or not you play the Call of Duty franchise, expect to hear more and more discussion of this brand new and crazy popular shooter.

'Modern Warfare 2' set to become fastest selling video game

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

250 GB xbox 360 and PS3 bundles on the horizon

Once the dust has cleared after the recent price drops on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 there will be more new bundles arriving on the market than ever, including a reported 250 GB hard drive Xbox 360 that will be released with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for $400, the previous price of the 120 GB Elite. While many gamers buy into the idea that bigger is always going to be better and more space is better than less, some feel that the systems are cheapening what they offer as far as performance and hardware by simply adding more storage space and charging more. This is an interesting argument and it's totally possible that such measures are desperate attempts to keep up with the ever-changing desires of today's gamers. Our systems are a 20 GB 360 and an 80 GB PS3 and while the PS3 does require installing a lot of data, we still have plenty of space although we don't really download much or store music on either system. What will be truly ridiculous will be when the next next generation of game systems is defined in terms of terabyte hard drives. Most likely the PSN and Xbox Live will have seriously kicked into gear with offering more stuff to download by then.

The 250 GB Xbox 360 is a mistake, and it's one that the PS3 should avoid making

beautiful katamari

I mentioned previously that I picked up Beautiful Katamari, the Xbox360 title from the Katamari series originally on the Playstation and now I have become addicted to this strange and wonderful game! If you've never played before, a katamari is a ball that can roll stuff up into it. Any stuff, and lots of it. Why roll stuff up, you may ask? Because the King hit a wicked tennis lob and it tore a hole in the cosmos and created a black hole, and now you as the tiny Prince need to replace all the planets with new stars made from katamaris and ultimately plug up the black hole. Weird, yes, very Japanese, absolutely, but this game has truly warmed my heart. It is adorable, funny, kooky and really addicting, and actually pretty challenging compared to a lot of similarly simplistic puzzle games like it. The game is simple to beat but has a lot of collection achievements and it is pretty fun finding all the adorable cousins who can be swapped out for the Prince for katamari rolling duty. The animation style doesn't demand too much detail and thus everything looks like beautifully rendered lego toys. For fans of the series, there is a new title slated for release on the PS3 in September called Katamari Forever, which will actually feature a few changes in gameplay from the previous titles. If you're looking for a fun and different game on the 360 (which I always am!) definitely track down and try out Beautiful Katamari.

call of juarez: bound in blood review

Anyone who reads here can probably tell I'm not a huge fan of the shooter genre of games but I try to at least stay on top of what's good, what's selling, that kind of thing and shooters certainly are one of the more popular and wider-selling game genres out there. This week will see the release of Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, the followup to the Western-themed FPS from a couple of years ago. As I said I'm not a fan of shooters but I am a fan of Westerns so I've been enjoying watching the development of this game as it gets closer to market. The animation style looks beautiful and from initial reviews it's sounding like it could be pretty cool. This review calls it "a thrilling, wild ride down a road that remains surprisingly less traveled". Could be a fun one to try out sometime.

duke nukem apparently still in the works

If you were ever a fan of Duke Nukem 3D back in the day you may have been paying attention to the never-ending saga that is the development of Duke Nukem Forever, the supposed next installment in the franchise. Well, it turns out that developer 3DRealms is in fact still planning on finishing and releasing the project, which has been in development for years now. The road to finishing the game has been paved with bitter legal battles between 3DRealms and publisher Take-Two Interactive, who are understandably pissed about the decade-long process of trying to get this game to market. Will Duke Nukem Forever ever actually make it to store shelves, and if it does, will it ever make enough to cover what it has cost 3DR so far? I guess only time will tell at this point..

Duke Nukem Forever Still in Development

e3 shows industry's devotion to hardcore gamers

Many outspoken gamers like to criticize the video game industry and major game developers for pandering in recent years to the growing market for casual games and family-oriented gaming. However, this year's E3 convention told a different story with regards to future game development as many of the revealed projects and titles were shooters and action games aimed at the hardcore gaming contingent. Companies may make a lot on "novice gamer" titles but nothing sells units by number like a well-made online multiplayer shooter, as evidenced by the success of game franchises like Call of Duty, Halo and Killzone. So, fans of "traditional" video gaming need not worry as the games they like are still top priority to many developers.

Video Game Makers Keep Focus on Core Market

this game sounds... well, just awful

It's not every day a game manages to come to market at $60 on the 360 and PS3 and at the same time get reviews in scores usually saved for the worst shovelware on the Wii. This is indeed the case with Damnation, which came out last week. Damnation explores the alternate future of an extended American Civil War where both Union and Confederacy have found steam technology and it has drawn out the war another 40 years. This is certainly an interesting concept but apparently pretty much errrrvrything is wrong with this game from the horrible animation to the awful voice work to the shoddy physics and more. I would guess we'll see this one dropping in price like a stone over the next few months. Check out the review at IGN, which gave Damnation a 2.5 "Terrible".

halo encyclopedia to be released

Because clearly the six novelizations of the insanely popular game franchise Halo were not enough, publisher DK and Microsoft are teaming up to release a Halo Encyclopedia later this year. The tome will contain everything you ever needed to know about Master Chief and the Spartans, the bad guys, the weapons, the environments and really anything else ever mentioned in the Halo series. Do you see yourself buying the Halo Encyclopedia when it is available later this year?

left 4 dead sells 2.5 million in stores

Still more cool news out of the GDC - not counting digital copies sold through distributor Steam, Left 4 Dead has hit the 2.5 million mark! Pretty impressive, although when you're talking about a game that appeals mostly to the multiplayer audience it's not hard to imagine normal numbers doubling and tripling. I have to admit I still haven't played Left 4 Dead but I'm happy to see horror/zombie games doing awesomely well and hope to see more and more of them coming out.

killzone 2 good for the ps3

The Playstation 3 has a couple of enticing exclusive titles like LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm and the Metal Gear series along with the MLB The Show franchise and next year's God of War III. Still, most fans of the straight-up shooter tend to drift to the Xbox 360 for Gears of War and Halo. Last month's release of Killzone 2, however, has gamers from all systems wishing they could play it, and SONY is hoping to drive sales of the PS3 thanks to its revolutionary new title. The graphics in Killzone are supposed to look better than any game before it and I wouldn't be surprised if it drives some good numbers for the trailing PS3 in hardware sales.

Will Killzone 2 spur PS3 sales?

nazi zombies!

My favorite buzzword these days. Nazi zombies! Actually though it is totally awesome how zombies are errrvrywhere when it comes to video games these days. Call of Duty: World at War of course features the infamous Nazi zombies while other titles like Dead Space, Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead (more creatively titled games to follow in 2009) have brought the drooling and infectious monsters to the spotlight this year. Survival horror is a truly wonderful shooter genre and has given rise to some amazing games over the years so I'm glad that it remains a strong driver of new games for developers. Also, Hollywood? Make these games into awesome movies, srsly.

IGN: Left 4 Dead vs. Nazi Zombies

mass effect is very cinematic

I really love the blending of movies and video games as well as the coming together of the two industries, which is why I especially love games with awesome plots and great cinematic scenes. That's why I've been enjoying watching my boyfriend playing Mass Effect, an rpg from Bioware, the company behind hits such as Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The battle elements are extremely strategic and take a lot of Marine-like tactical thinking, while the plotline is engaging and freaky with vivid and dynamic characters who are also amazing to look at in HD. Sometimes it feels a bit like Star Wars just from the amazingly detailed alien race characters and the ships flying around. It's the first released title of a trilogy apparently (view inevitable internet debate here) so I'm sure the story goes even deeper than we know yet. I'm not sure this is the kind of game I love playing but I'm definitely enjoying the movie-like aspects of it as a spectator anyway.

left 4 dead out today

Survival horror first-person shooter Left 4 Dead is available in stores today for the Xbox 360 and on PC-DVD. It sounds pretty awesome and got a 9.0 on IGN; full review linked below. Check out the E3 trailer as well, which shows some of the environments as well as the extremely fast-moving Infected! Love the cornfield scenes, and the fatty zombies. Sounds like the real important features in what makes this a cool game are the cooperative gameplay mode which allows up to four players to control the team of Survivors, and the interesting cinematic style given to the levels requiring completion:

Each scenario is presented like a movie, which is a nice touch. At the beginning there's a movie poster showing the cast. If you survive, the "credits" display the statistics for the game, like who killed the most zombies, who inflicted the most headshots, who delivered the most friendly fire, and the like. The final credit shows how many zombies were killed in the making of the film, and a nice touch I really like is that if only some of the survivors make it to safety, the film is dedicated to the memory of those who didn't.

IGN: Left 4 Dead Review