Simple Games, Simply Fun

With my recent desperate boredom of most games, I have turned to replaying classic games from my childhood. Which have surprisingly yielded much entertainment.

So my friend was recently in town from his boarding school and was practically in love with my Alienware computer. One thing he proceeded to do was download a Gameboy emulator on my computer and few Pokemon games. This worried me, I did not want to get sucked into Pokemon games again. Despite the fun they are, their just not very cool or complex. So I made a mental promise to myself if I was going to replay these games I was going to do it my way, plan everything out from the beginning and just destroy everyone with strategy. This entailed using the emulator’s built in Gameshark to capture the team I wanted very early on. And if I couldn’t get that to work I wouldn’t play.

At first I couldn’t get the codes to work, but, for better or worse, I persisted and eventually got the codes to work. And that is the story of how I got sucked into playing Pokemon games again.

What do you think of Pokemon games? Do you think they’re incredibly lame, or that their simplicity makes them great? let me know in a comment!

Nintendo’s New Console the Wii U!

Nintengen.com

Nintendo’s new console the Wii U was announced at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) earlier this year and thus far it has had a very mixed reception. A while back I posted my review of the original Wii, which you can read here, and overall I gave it a relatively positive review. That being said, it is hard to say if this console will be anywhere near as successful as the first Wii.

In my opinion, the most important upgrade from the original Wii is graphical. The new Wii will be able to support full 1080p hi-def graphics, which may not seem like a big deal but if you recall how poor the graphics are on the original Wii it is easy to see the importance of this update. Along with a graphical update, the controller has also been modified. The Wii U will feature one “home” controller, which has complete control over all of the parameters in the game and will also have a screen attached to it for increased control and varied styles of gameplay. When a player is playing single player they can view information on the controller’s screen such as tutorial information or H.U.D. data, leaving the TV screen fully available for gameplay. In multiplayer games the player in control of the match setup will have the “home” controller which has more parameter options, while the rest of the players will have standard Wii controllers.

A wide variety of games of been announced for the Wii U, including a new Zelda game which I am personally very excited about. Other than new games and improved graphics, this new console does not seem extremely appealing to me. It is hard for me to say weather or not I will buy it when it comes out next year. I am not completely blown away by Nintendo’s upgrades and it seems that they are failing to keep up with the competitive nature of other gaming consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation. I know that the Wii is meant to be more of a family console and is less focused on the serious aspect of gaming and more focused on the community aspect, but I just can’t see myself really wanting to buy this console.

That is just my opinion on the Wii U. What do you guys think about Nintendo’s new console? Will you buy it when it eventually comes out or are the new features just not worth it? Let me know in a comment!

Registered Sex Offenders Banned from Online Gaming!

TechSpot.com

As of Yesterday, the state of New York has officially taken the initiative to protect young and vulnerable gamers from dangerous sexual predators in the world of online gaming. This action was named “Operation: Game Over,” and was an arrangement made between New York state officials and the major gaming companies in the U.S., including Microsoft, Sony and Apple as well as many other content creators. Because most major gaming platforms require their gamers to submit personal information when they sign up for their services, such as their email address, billing address and other key information pertaining to their identity, these gaming companies can cross reference this information with the record of registered sex offenders in New York and then ban confirmed accounts linked to offenders.

Since this operation took place, 3,580 gamers online accounts have been banned. This event is significant because it is the first occurrence of the law interfering with online gamers directly when concerning the safety of the players in real life. Although this is an overall improvement for the general gaming community as there are so many young kids who play games online and who need protection from possible predators, this may end up negatively changing the way the gaming world operates. If the government can step in whenever it wants and censor online gaming, it could cause a chain reaction that might put the freedom of the whole gaming world at risk.

What do you guys think about this event? Is the law overstepping its boundaries by enforcing restrictions on online gaming or is this an important step towards maintaining a safe and enjoyable online environment for gamers of all ages? Let me know in a comment!

The Possible Release of a New Xbox!

Kitguru.net

After nearly 7 years, rumors of a successor to the Xbox 360 have finally surfaced. The Xbox 360, the sequel to the Xbox Original was officially released in November 2005, and since then gamers have been eagerly awaiting the release of a next generation gaming console from Microsoft. As of Monday, rumors from the depths of cyber space have surfaced saying that this might soon become a reality. Although Microsoft has not officially released any statements regarding anything about a new Xbox, it is possible that it will be released in time for Christmas 2013. Although this seems far off, you have to keep in mind that the Xbox 360 has already been around for 7 years so one more year is really not all that long on the timeline of Xbox release dates.

Although this new Xbox is exciting, it may not be everything that everyone hopes it will be. Some rumors say that this console will force gamers to register their game with their console. In order to do this, Microsoft may also have to force players to be connected to the internet through their console, even if they do not plan to play online. This would completely end the resale of used games because once a game is registered to a console it cannot be played on any other console. Companies such as GameStop would lose a huge portion of their profits, which are generated solely from used games, and companies such as GameFly would completely go out of business.

Also, this new Xbox might end support for older Xbox games. Although the current Xbox only supports certain games from the original Xbox era, the new one may drop this feature completely. This would mean that if you ever get tired of playing new releases, you won’t be able to scavenge your shelf for that old Harry Potter game you used to play as a kid and waste countless hours finding your away around Hogwarts in the land of 2004 graphics.

It is important to remember that all of this is still only rumored, but it will be interesting to see if Microsoft makes a move to confirm or deny this information in the near future. I personally think that a new Xbox would be great, but with the current limitations that it is rumored to have such as no support for old games or used games, I don’t know if it will really be an upgrade or a downgrade from the current Xbox.

So what do you guys think about this new Xbox? If it really is as limited as it is said to be, will you still buy it? Let me know in a comment!

My New Skyrim Character

Switching over to PC definitely breathed new life into Skyrim for me, which has been exciting. Especially since I could really plan out my what my character would be like before I started this time. I decided to go with a Necromancer type build, but not necessarily a typical one.

She is practically a warrior who specializes in dual wielding swords, bow and arrow, and raising the dead. Her name is Desiree. I believe the main thing that has appealed to me about PC gaming has been the opportunity to modify the game. Most of the mods I have installed have been re-texture mods, and quest adding mods. I need to be careful though, because I don’t want to ruin the game for myself. That’s why I don’t install very many weapon or armor mods, because I don’t want to make the game too easy. I have a lot of plans for my future characters and I can’t wait to get started.

What do you think about Skyrim, or character builds? Let me know in a comment!

So Much to Do, So Little Time

I have really been at a loss of what write about as of late. Due to the fact that I simply have not had enough time to play games as much as I may like to. This mainly stems from my recent conscious decision to prioritize homework before video games, but ironically, this decision has hindered my ability to complete some of my homework. Because these blog posts I do are technically homework, but with this being a video game focused blog it has been hard to come up with topics with my reduced amount of game time.

Between homework, theater, family, driving practice, learning Italian and friends, the best I have been able to get in is maybe half an hour of Skyrim here or there, but certainly not enough to actually get anything done. I’m not so much complaining, as much as I’m just recognizing it. It is actually kind of refreshing, because at the height of my gaming life video games just about dominated my free time. It feels good to have many other things happening in my life, but it is also exhausting . I guess now I’m just trying to find the balance.

how do you manage your free time and work time? Let me know in a comment!

The Grand Theft Auto 4 Multiplayer Experience!

 

GamerVision.com

Yesterday I found myself in the extremely unpleasant predicament of not knowing what game to play. I ended up throwing in Grand Theft Auto 4 only to remember that I had already completed all of the story mode, as well as the side missions and I was not in the mood to spend my time mindlessly killing civilians. I ended up deciding I would try out the online multiplayer. Although I have played GTA 4’s multiplayer mode in the past, I have never really been able to get the hand of it. I find the match making system to be awful and slow, and I rarely could find a lobby worth staying. The host system is a bit of a disaster as well due to the amount of power over the game type and parameters given to the host.

Despite these flaws I still love the game so I wanted to give it another shot. To mix it up, I entered into a racing match. It took considerably less time to find a race than it has for me to find a deathmatch in the past. The first match I entered was a helicopter race around Alderney. I did not exactly win… but I found it to be extremely fun. I ended up playing many more matches of different racing game types. Needless to say I played way to late and had to force myself to get off to go to bed. I plan to continue to play more online GTA 4 in the future and hopefully I will continue to find it fun and exciting.

What do you guys think about Grand Theft Auto 4’s online multiplayer? Do you like it or is it just to bazaar to really play seriously? Let me know in a comment!

Dear Fallout New Vegas, You Make Me Look Like a Dork

I say this because just about every time I am talking about Las Vegas, I say New Vegas instead. Normally this Only frustrates me, for none of the people I talk to know what Fallout is, but it is a mistake I make all too often. Especially since over spring break I will be spending time there, but hopefully my time there will stop me from miscalling it so often.

Angry Fans Protest the Ending of Mass Effect 3!

Shocknews.com

As many of you have probably heard, the infamous Mass Effect 3 did not exactly go as expected. Specifically, I am referring to the story’s ending. If you are a fan of the game or have been on any gaming forums recently, you would know that players of the game were very disappointed with the ending. Without spoiling the game, I will just say that the decisions you make throughout the story have practically no effect on the outcome of the game.

Angry fans ended up making online petitions requesting that BioWare, the creators of the game, change the ending. Although, at the time, it seemed as if this was just a waste of time, as it turns out BioWare may actually be considering changing the ending. They released a statement saying that they were seriously considering their fans concerns and that they will look into make a change to the ending.

I think that it is incredible that the fans were actually able to sway the decision of a huge company such as Bioware. It really shows that the power is in the consumer’s hands and not the company’s. I don’t really have an opinion on the games ending as I have only spent a small amount of time playing the game, but I am very interested in following this story and seeing what comes out of it.

So tell me what you guys thought of Mass Effect 3’s ending? Did you mind the way the story concluded or are you one of the thousands of gamers who added their name to an online petition requesting that Bioware change the game? Let me know in a comment!

Blast From the Past (And Also the Future)

Back when the only means of playing the Halo: Reach multi-player was through the beta Sam and I made a little video for I got a perfection on powerhouse. You can tell this was when the game first came out, because we talk about very obvious information regarding the game. Anyway without further ado here is our commentary of my Game-play.