Music videogames...

It seems like every time I go on any of my video gaming sites I see something about Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Enough already! I bought the first Guitar Hero for my wife when it came out. We played it a couple of times and then put it back in the box. Where it has stayed every since. It was kind of fun the first time, but I just don't get the lasting appeal. Sure of lot of us who enjoy music have had the fantasy of being in a band. And that is what videogames do--they let us pretend to be different things whether it is in a rpg, fps, etc. I get that and enjoy gaming. What I don't understand is why people would continue to play the same game with just some new songs. There are too many really good videogames out there. Move on people. And instead of paying for all the "new" songs why not try what we did back in the day--karaoke and air guitar. It is a lot cheaper and just as much fun...

First gaming experience...

This came out a few days ago. I read it and did not think much about it at the time. But today as I was browsing the latest issue of Game Informer magazine I started thinking about it again. Not so much my first video gaming experience. If you are over a certain age I think the answer to that question is obvious. For me it was Pong. I never owned the game myself. My friend did though. I can still remember all the hours and hours we spent playing that game in his basement. His three brothers and I would take turns to see who was the best. Funny how I don't remember who was the best. I guess that means it was not me. Video games have come a long way since Pong. From there I bought the Atari 2600. More hours of my life gone. I moved from the Atari to the Colecovision. My best friend at the time had the Intellivision so we would take turns playing both systems. NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, PS One, PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, DS, and 360 have followed in my video gaming journey. Somewhere in the depths of debris in my basement I believe I still have the Colecovision and NES. At least I know I never traded those in for new systems. The PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, DS, and 360 I still own and have within easy reach with the 360 and DS being the systems still getting the most of my playing time.

Back to why I started to write this post. I was wondering if it matters at what point your first video gaming experience happened? Is it necessary to have started at the beginning with Pong? How about brand new gamers whose first experience is Bioshock, Halo 3, Mass Effect or Call of Duty 4? Which gamer has the advantage? I feel that having been through the whole development cycle lets me appreciate just how far we have come and just how amazing the games of today are. New gamers take for granted 3-D environments, amazing graphics, lighting/shading, multiplayer, and all the things that are ubiquitous today in games. Can they really appreciate what they have if that is all they have known? Does it really matter? In the end of course not. For all gamers--young and old--this is a special time. 2007 was truly one of the greatest years of gaming in history. I can't wait to see what the future will bring...

MMOs the lazy way...

I have avoided MMOs so far. Part of the reason is I don't want to go up against other players who have way more free time than me to level up their characters. It seems I am not alone in that. Unlike me though some people take the lazy way to get a high level character. I know level grinding can be a chore, but this is just too stupid. You want to play a game then play it! Don't just buy a character already maxed out. Where is the fun in that? The weird part of all of this is these companies have so much competition now that the price for a high level character has dropped quite a bit. At least the free market system is working...

"Hurry, Mr. Bubbles! I can see angels dancing in the sky."

Yes, I finally finished Bioshock this evening. It took longer than it should have since I was limited in the time I could play. If you have an Xbox 360 this is a game you need to play. The best game ever? Nope. It does rank as one of the best 360 games for me. Best game from these designers? Nope. System Shock 2 still wins here. I did have a lot of fun playing it though. I may even play through again to try and get some more achievements and use some of the plasmids I skipped this time. I did have some minor quibbles with the game. I HATED the escort mission near the end. Why do designers still insist on putting them in games today? Who ever though they were fun? And what was up with the end boss? I was able to beat it the first try with little effort. I can't remember the last game where the final boss was so weak. The wife and I both just looked at each other and couldn't believe that was it. I still highly recommend the game. It is well worth the time to play through. I just wish the finish was as fun as the trip...

Manhunt 2 and Rockstar...

I never played the first Manhunt game and until now had no reason to play the sequel. After seeing this video I definitely won't be playing this game. I can see why the ratings board had problems with these scenes. I am all for the first amendment and would not have a problem if these scenes were kept in. That does not mean I would ever buy or play the game. Or would I recommend it to others. At least games like God of War do the killings in a over the top stylistic way. These killings are just brutal and add nothing to the experience for me. I avoid things like this in games or movies--Saw for example. I just hope this is not the trend of things to come...

Addendum: Apparently Target has pulled the game from it stores over the violence and bad publicity. They have not pulled violent movies like Saw however. And they are selling the game online. Talk about hypocrisy...

Handhelds Rule the Day...

This is just amazing. Think about that. 1 in 7 people in Japan own a DS. Throw in the number of PSPs sold (GBAs, micro GBAs, etc.) and it is obvious Japan is crazy about handhelds. No wonder Microsoft has not been able to make any inroads in Japan. It just boggles the mind. I would venture that the number of people in this country that own any game system has to be less than 1 in 7. So are we behind the times or are the Japanese just wacky...

Hardcore or Casual...

So which are you? When I was younger I was more of the hardcore gamer. I would spend hours and hours leveling up and trying to get 100% in the game. Today, not so much. There are few games today that suck me in for 50+ hours anymore. Elder Scrolls III and IV are two exception. Dragon Quest 8 also had me hooked. Maybe it is a time thing now. when I was younger I had no problem spending hours on a game. Today I have other things to do. And video game designers still have not figured out as a whole that not letting players save at any point hurts the game! I don't have big chunks of time to play anymore. I have 15-30 minute blocks where I would like to play, but to often the save points are so far apart that it is impossible for me to get from one to another in such a short time period.

Which leads to making choices. Do I keep playing a game to finish or do I put it down and go to the next one? I have a LOT of games sitting here that I have started and not finished. Some because they just were not that fun to play. Some that started out great and then just dropped off. Some that had too steep of a learning curve and did not reward me enough to keep playing. Some that just pissed me off that the designer needlessly put in an insanely hard section either in the middle or more likely at the end of the game. And some that the final boss battle just was to hard. I have noticed that my skill level has deteriorated over the years. FPS's and Platformers that I used to ace are not as easy for me today. Maybe more practice on my part, but again how much time do I have? I have other games sitting here that I have not even started yet. I rarely buy new games anymore. I get them used and sometimes the deals are so good I pick up more games even though I have too many already.

What I do want to do is make more of an effort. I have some great games to play. I just have to rearrange my schedule and play them. And make an honest effort to finish. In reading I go by the mantra never finish a book that you don't like. There are too many other books out there that are better. It is the same with video games. Never finish one that you don't like. And don't feel guilty about it. What I do need to do though is play long enough to make an informed choice...

Dead Fantasy 1...

Very cool mash up of the Final Fantasy and Dead or Alive series.

clipped from www.youtube.com

Taken to an Extreme...

I am a big video game fan too but...

clipped from bestpicever.com