Well, this was a fun day. You know what’s better than visiting the Vicarious Visions studio? Nothing, that’s what. Six and a half hours flew by as we ate, played games, ate, toured, ate, interviewed the staff, ate and played more games. And at the end of the day, Matt had to drag me away – because I could have done another day or three-hundred and sixty-five very easily (that and I ate twice my body weight and couldn’t move – but we’ll get to that later). And seeing as my good time at VV borders on unhealthy obsession, Matt has seen it fit that I give you a verbal taste of the day in my own A.D.D. riddled fashion.
So here we go!
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Ladies and gentlemen, I have a problem. No, not that problem, the other problem. No the OTHER problem. Know what?! Stop guessing, it’s starting to piss me off. Anyways. I cannot seem to stop playing GTA:Chinatown Wars. I’ve concluded the storyline – I’ve found most of the secret items sans one golden lion. So what the hell is my problem?! I’m not gonna tell you in the first sentence. What’s the fun in that?!
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It was one of the worst kept secrets of the year that turned into a full blown leak today via Qore. The PSP Go looks to spice up Sony’s portable lineup while leaving the current PSP model on shelves, similar to the situation Nintendo created earlier this year with the DS Lite and DSi. For Sony, though, the model refresh won’t have anywhere near the impact in either sales or product innovation. Read on to find out just why this is the case.
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Well folks, it’s been a while since anyone has read a solid amount of writing from me these past few months. But having no internet will do that now won’t it?
But that’s all in the past. My internet has been restored due to some good friends moving in my building. So you will all be reading a considerable increase of my writing. You poor bastards. And you’ll most likely be seeing me pop up in our ‘Game with Loot Ninja’ nights. So watch your asses.
If anyone’s up for a Street Fighter IV match or two let me know also yeah?
I suppose I could have written some long winded ‘I’m back, whoohoo” speech. But having woken up at 6:30 am for the second time in a row, I’m lucky that I can form words that other bipeds can understand. So instead I’ll keep it brief.
Damn, it feels good to be back.
Oh and if you’re one of those people that hate my writing I have something for you too.
Haha. Suck it.
Meh!!
Last week brought about some interesting quotes from game industry folk. Specifically, Mr. David Lau-Kee stating things along the lines of piracy is good, traditional publishers are bloodsucking leeches, and the PS4 and Xbox 720 will be browser based. All of these comments and more thanks to a panel in London which I was lucky enough to attend called, BAFTA Presents: Digital Distribution hosted by GamesIndustry.biz.
It was a nice insightful and entertaining talk on the impact of Digital Distribution in the gaming industry with some key people. The panel was comprised of Simon Oliver, the creator of Ronaldo on the iPhone. James Brooksby, Studio Director from Doublesix Games. David Lau-Kee, co-founder of Criterion, former EA VP, current Kerb Games director, and Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive, all hosted by Phil Elliot of GamesIndustry.biz. Hit the jump to find out what all the buzz was about and what was conveniently overlooked.
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Sometimes when things come together, it is a truly beautiful thing.
As some of you know, I am moderately obsessed with Street Fighter IV. Many of you may not know that I have what they call ‘hitchhiker thumbs’. As a result, using a D-pad does not involve the tip of the thumb, rather the inner part of the joint. The problem in this rarefied condition is that while using the D-pad for a fighting game, the width of my thumb constantly hits the PS3 thumb stick – canceling out any previous action from a split second earlier.
This is massively annoying, especially so when I realize that the PS3 D-pad is far superior to the standard Xbox 360 fare. That’s why I got the PS3 version of SFIV in the first place. For god’s sake.
Click the link to continue reading my senseless ramblings.
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There are a lot of reasons we each choose to pick up and play video games, be it to escape, because we refuse to read, to hit the pause button, or maybe to compete. For me, it’s the chance to go outside myself and do things I can’t do on a daily basis. From being a professional athlete to picking up a hooker and stealing a car, games offer you the opportunity to be someone else, if only for a minute.
Inevitably for most of us, what we wanted to be when we grew up doesn’t quite coincide with our adult lives. When I was little, I had aspirations of becoming an astronaut and a professional baseball player. While I did have a shot at the latter before blowing out my knee, I can still strap on the virtual cleats in many of the MLB games that have come out through the years. Because of my fondness for the sport, it’s still a way for me to live out my dreams on a daily basis without actually being on the field.
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I picked up a nice non-shiny black DSi yesterday and couldn’t be happier with the purchase. As a fairly avid DS player, the new system offers enough features to justify the cost of admission. If you enjoy the portable too, it’s well worth the upgrade.
The first thing that grabbed my attention after unpacking the DSi is the new matte finish. It feels must sturdier in your hands now, whereas the DS Lite’s gloss finish sometimes made it feel a bit slippery. The buttons all received a similar new finish as well which gives everything a nice texture while playing. The new power button location is nice, as is the volume buttons instead of the slider.
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To many young gamers, the name Interplay is not one they are too familiar with. You actually have to blow some dust off the history books to find their last major new release. The only way some people may know of Interplay is their legacy titles which have recently been re-released or reborn, such as games like Clayfighter, Earthworm Jim, and Baldur’s Gate. All classic titles which personally ate up many many hours of my life, and that doesn’t even begin to break the ice on Interplay. They have released many famous and great games like Descent, the flight simulator which I used to play until I got motion sickness or until my computer unceremoniously crapped out giving me the blue screen of death. Descent went on to spawn its own sequel and spin-offs in Freespace, an award winning title which has been repeatedly modded into high quality award winning mods. Alone in the Dark you should at least be familiar with, it’s fifth installment was recently released in late 2008, now from a different developer/publisher, but it was the original that set the tone for the horror genre and serving as inspiration for titles like Silent Hill and Resident Evil years later. Interplay also managed the Star Trek franchise for something like 7 titles. Earthworm Jim was a hit platformer that became a TV show. Baldur’s Gate is a classic, award winning RPG, which was the start of the series under its namesake and other spiritual successors.
But the crown jewel in the Interplay coronet all started with a little RPG called Wasteland. A survivor of a nuclear holocaust wandering the Wasteland, the title turned out to be considered one of the best games of all time and was heavily influential on another hit for Interplay… Fallout, now I have your attention young ones. Yes, you may recognize this title if you put a “3″ at the end of it. Interplay is the birthplace of Fallout.
At a quick glance all indicators point to a kick ass, highly successful game company, right? Dead fucking wrong. Yes Interplay has rocked some amazing titles which have taken more hours of my life than I care to count or admit, but they have been something of a shit show behind the scenes which disqualify them from being considered a highly successful game company. Now as a heavy disclaimer, I am not criticizing Interplay or it’s management. It is not easy to run a business, or turn one around, especially in this day and age and in the industry we hold so dear. I actually hold Interplay and it’s team in high regard for keeping the ship sailing where many others would have sunk. Now that is out of the way I’m sure some flames will pop up, but oh well, onwards.
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Let me start off by saying that the PlayStation 3 IS THE BEST SYSTEM EVER AND DESTROYS THE 360 WITH LARGE STICKS!!!
No wait.
THE XBOX 360 IS THE DEFINITIVE CONSOLE OF THE GENERATION AND MAKES PLAYSTATION 3 OWNERS WEEP WITH THE SLIGHTEST THOUGHT OF ITS AWESOMENESS!!!!!
No, that’s not what I wanted to say either. What was I thinking? Oh right. What I’m driving at is that IT DOESN’T MATTER!! PEOPLE SHOULD JUST GET OVER THIS WHOLE STUPID ARGUMENT, PLAY THE GREAT GAMES THAT BOTH SYSTEMS OFFER AND STOP ACTING LIKE SCHMUCKS!!!!!
Seriously people. We gotta knock this lame shit off. Think I’m an asshole? Fine. Think I should shut my mouth? Fair enough. It’s a free country. Think I might be onto something? Click the link and see where I go with this.
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