Everyone is a critic

Everyone doesn't say it, but sometimes they show it by how they act. (See above)

I don't know if you know, but I also write for an overseas website in the UK. Well, last night I got a huge wake-up call to what a true fanboy, or fan of a particular game, really is. If you can, recall my blog post on the top brawlers from 35-1. I hope you enjoyed it. I learned a sad truth last night.

People are going to be people. Let me explain. Just like Jim Sterling over at Destructoid talked about people leaving comments on his colleagues' review of Patapon and how whiny they were when it was given a 3 out of a 10; I felt for the first time what it was like for you to put your heart into your passion and people just throw needles into it over and over again.

The article, if you recall, never said this is the 'be all, end all' post. I never stated that people couldn't disagree with me, and I never said I was better than anyone else and that I had all the answers. It was simply my opinion based on some criteria that I decided to lay out. All of a sudden I'm getting crucified for having my own opinion.

Not to get into an argument with just one person, because everyone is entitled to their opinion, but as gamers and game fans, are we really this shallow at times? Honestly, I'm not trying to dog any particular person who loves PS3 over 360, or 360 over Wii or Wii over PS3, we all have our own ways of viewing consoles and the games that come out for them. The problem I have is why can't we have a constructive discussion? Why is it that when a video game journalist, blogger, or writer, writes his opinions for how a preview was, a review of a game, or an opinion on a game or the gaming industry must he automatically cause people to point out how 'wrong' he is?

Look, I'm not saying we can't have an opinion. Hear me on this. I'm not saying that. I'm saying that if you want to give your opinion, give it in a mature manner, don't slay the person for writing it, because just like you have an opinion, so do they. And why are you reading it if you aren't a little bit interested in what they have to say? If you don't like it, don't read it.

As a community of gamers we have to stick up for one another. We can't be bringing each other down with (some of) our over the top fanboy personality. I'm not saying we shouldn't be vigilant about what we like and dislike, it's what makes the community of gamers great. I'm just saying that we need to be respectful of one another and not downplay anything that doesn't agree with our own thinking. This doesn't just apply to video games, but to everything that can have two sides in life.

All I'm asking is that if you disagree with me, tell me so, but be respectful. If I messed up, tell me where I messed up. I would do the same for you. If I felt like you were off on a certain point, I'd tell you, but I wouldn't add that you are lower than low because you don't agree with me. Let's all get along, even in our disagreements. Feel free to leave comments.

-Jeremy aka Adridius

A thank you to yourbeardisgood.blogspot.com for the picture.

Will DLC make developers lazy and money hungry?

Downloadable Content. It's the wave of the video gaming future. We may be seeing a new era in how video games are enjoyed, or we could just be simply seeing a fad. We may be seeing a new way in which video games are given to the general public, or we could just be seeing a test run.

Personally, now that I can download demos of games, there is no reason for me to ever go to blockbuster anymore and rent games for 7 dollars a pop for five days. Gamefly and Gameznflix still have merit in my eyes, but the days of blockbuster game rentals are pretty much over, for me at least.

But the intriguing question is not how the consumers will push toward, or pull away from DLC. The musing I have is how will developers treat DLC. I'm looking at this in two ways.

One way is that the developer will make the best possible game, every time. And to enhance their experience a month, two months, a year after the game is released, they release extra DLC for an already exceptional game. Either they will charge, or give it to you for free, but the bottom line is total customer satisfaction with the game.

The more pessimistic and worrisome viewpoint that makes me think twice about DLC is the fact that developers and publishers might just look out for themselves. DLC can be a slippery slope if developers start to realize they don't need to make the best game, the first time. You might be asking, "Jeremy, now why would developers do that? Why would they purposely slack on a game?"

I'm not necessarily saying they will say, "Ok we are going to just put it out as is and see what happens." But I am saying that after a while, certain aspects of work, or not working, start to creep in if something becomes the norm. Let me explain.

If you know, at your job, that you are allowed to make more than one mistake, you aren't going to try as hard to get it right the first time over time. The key is not that they know they can screw up once and be ok, but they may unconsciously be realizing that the future is inviting their mistakes because it can easily be fixed with a software update or DLC for an entirely new feature.

Please understand, I'm not saying people will purposely slack, but when you get used to a certain way of working over a prolonged period of time, sometimes not giving it your all in terms of creativity, making sure the game doesn't have bugs, and putting all you can put into it becomes the norm.

Furthermore this scares me that publishers may purposely, purposely, tell developers (I can see EA doing this easily) not to put in certain content so that people can pay for it later. I don't know about you but when I pay $60 for a game I want to know that the developer put everything they could put in the game by making it the best it could be. I don't want them holding out on certain content that they know the general public will pay five extra dollars for.

My point is, I don't want the consumer to be ripped off. I want game publishers and developers to always have the idea that they want to give gamers the best possible experience the first time the game comes out. I don't want a publisher or developer to hold back on a game just because they know they can add content later, or fix bugs in the future with software updates.

It is not beyond me to say that developers won't make mistakes and that there will be aspects of a game that need to be updated. This is perfectly fine, I just don't want developers to have it in the back of their minds that they can always 'fix the problem later' because of DLC and software updates.

The optimistic side of me says that this won't be an issue, but I have a huge reality check on how businesses work. The point is to make the most money without spending a lot of time on labor. DLC could be their golden ticket. Besides, we as the consumer won't know the difference between held back content and legit DLC, will we (sarcasm).

I'm a gamer, and if you are reading this blog you are probably a gamer. I support games and the people that make them, I just don't want them taking advantage of us. Just be aware.

-Jeremy aka Adridius

Brawl characters ranked 35 through 1

Who's Number 1!? (I'll give you a hint, it's neither one of these guys).

It's finally here! My list of the top characters in Brawl from 35 (as the worst) to 1 (as the best). Like all lists, I need to give you my criteria for judging the characters. They are judged in this way, though not in this order, speed, strength, versatility, ease of use, and of course the final smashes. Keep in mind, this is MY list, not anyone else's. These are my opinions and if you so desire, please disagree or agree with them. I hope you enjoy it. All right, let's kick off my very first list!! :-D And all controller references use the Gamecube controller.

35. JigglyPuff

Not only do I think Jigglypuff is the worst brawler all around, I think 'she's' the worst character to be put into the game (of those that are already in the game). I would have loved to see Crash Bandicoot or even an easily attainable Nintendo character such as Bowser Jr. being put in. But I've got to give it to 'her', she's been in every game so respect is due. All in all, JigglyPuff is weak and one of her premier attacks, i.e., what 'she' is known for, only makes the opponent helpless for an extremely short time if you haven't worked their HP percentage up. But if you know how to use her and use rest (down b) after using sing, you can send opponents flying. So 'she' does have upside, but not something that the so-so casual player would see. Even though 'she' is at the bottom of the list, 'she' can still whoop you with the right person controlling.

34. Ganondorf

I know. I know. Ganondorf is so freaking strong. But with all that strength comes a horrible downside. He's slower than ice melting in a cold room where it's watching paint dry and grass grow. If you play free for all and everyone decides to gang up on you, you better hope for a final smash or else you'll get creamed.

33. King DeDeDe

Yes, he can float. Yes he can inhale (but not change his attacks like Kirby). Yes he's big so he's strong, but honestly, King DeDeDe is just a poser. He's not really that good of a brawler and his hammer is ok, if you can land it. But overall, nothing too impressive. Plus he's a HUGE target. HUGE.

32. Bowser

(See above). He's a huge target. But, I will give it to him, when he lands some punches, grabs you, or does a down A attack and gets a lot of people in a spin he can be dangerous. But his downside is that he's so big. He's higher on the list than KDDD and Ganondorf because he's faster than Ganondorf and has a better set of moves than KDDD.

31. Diddy Kong

He's nimble. He's quick. He's small. But his array of moves are just not there. His >B attack doesn't do much, and it's hard to land. Throwing a banana peel is great...if this were Mario Kart, and as cool as his final smash is, it's hard to control and aim. He's fun to play with, but you have to be really committed to have him as your main character.

30. Zelda/Sheik

Zelda can be a real asset for someone who knows how to use her, but in the heat of battle some of her moves take to long and don't land. When she changes into Sheik she's more nimble but the moves aren't as powerful. Plus the down B is given up to change. So it's giving up one thing for another. She can be deadly, but she's not near the top.

29. Ice Climbers

"But Jeremy there are two of them!" Yeah, but what happens when they knock the pink one out, how are you going to get back on the platform. Ice Climbers are FANTASTIC during grab the coins. Trust me, I played 3 times against the computer on semi-hard difficulty and they won EVERY time in a four person match, because there are two of them. But they need each other to be effective and if another person is smart enough and gets them separated, bye bye ice, hello avalanche, cause they are falling.

28. R.O.B.

Ok, I really didn't want to put R.O.B. this low, but I had no choice. His laser has to re-charge and when you do his final smash, it sucks. Seriously, it sucks, it's no good, and it hardly compares to some of the other people on the top of this list (top means scroll down, so I guess that's technically bottom, but they are higher up on the number list). He has good smash attacks and a great recovery up B move, but it's not worth losing out on a smash attack.

27. Toon Link

He's here simply because he's not as good as the real thing, and he's lighter. Don't get me wrong, he can be a forced to be reckoned with, I like playing with him, but he's just a spawn off of Link and he's not AS good as some of the other characters on this list.

26. Peach

The reason I have Peach here is because of her ability to float and her ridiculous smash attack when it comes to hitting you with a golf club/tennis racket/frying pan. Let me get something out there, her smash attack sucks. Yes it puts people to sleep, but when they wake up they can eat all her peaches. She is the ONLY one with a smash attack that can actually BENEFIT the competition.

25. Donkey Kong

He's big, real big. But he can be nimble like Diddy Kong (not the same AS Diddy but LIKE), and he's frickin strong with just his regular attacks. Can be hard for beginners to use him, but once you figure it out, DK can be pretty vicious.

24. Mr. Game and Watch

He is deceptively strong. His smash attack isn't much to look at, just like he isn't much to look at, but he'll tear you a new one if you don't watch out. Even though he looks like a pipsqueak, he's pretty strong, for a 2D character.

23. Pit

Pit is fun to play with. He's got some pretty nifty attacks with his sometimes bow sometimes dagger thingy (Palutena's Bow). But really, Pit is not that strong and he's not that quick. He seems strong, and he seems quick, but he's not. He's GREAT for a beginner player because they should absolutely have NO trouble getting back on the platform with his up B attack. But that's just it, his up B attack does nothing to anyone, it just helps him out a heck of a lot by letting him fly across the Atlantic in 5 swoops if he wanted to.

22. Ike

Boy am I gonna get it on this one. Ike is the man. Let me get that out of the way. Ike is so dog on strong, any idiot can see that. But Ike is slow man. Not Ganandorf slow, but it takes a while to lift that strong sword. For the veteran, you could make a case that Ike should be number one on this list and I won't argue with you, but overall, he's just not the easiest player to figure out and use. But he's got tremendous upside.

21. Wolf

I like Wolf because he's got agility, even though he doesn't have speed. And he has power to boot. But as far as his up B attack and his side B attack, pretty much the same. He's a nice intermediate fighter, but doesn't cross either edge into a beginner or veteran category. To use the tired cliche, he is what he is.

20. Olimar

Olimar is nothing without his Pikmin, but in all fairness it's not hard to pull six Pikmin out of the ground quickly with B. The problem is that there's a lot of luck involved with which Pikmin he gets. Sometimes it'll be a powerful Pikmikn to attack with and at other times not so powerful. He does have an upside with how small he is, and his final smash is a surefire hit, but what Olimar gains in size and speed, he gives up in a down B and up B attack. The down B (which calls Pikmin to him wherever they may be stranded on the level) is almost moot since he can get new Pikmin so quickly. It also also allows for a new Pikmin to be put in the front of the line. The up B hardly ever hits anyone and is best used when having six Pikmin so that his "rope" of Pikmin is longer to get back on the level.

19. Meta Knight

This guy rocks. He's quick, he can take on multiple enemies, he can fly and he reminds you of a stealthy ninja. But he's not strong and his final smash doesn't always hit. Furthermore, if you do his up B attack to try to get back on the platform you better have some serious side-scrolling airplane landing skills or else you'll go straight into the -1 column in the brawl bank.

18. Mario

Yes, all you Nintendo darlings, I put Mario at 18. Because that's what he is, he's in the middle. He's a nice all around character. You'll get a little quickness here, a little smash there, a decent final smash over there. But all around, Mario is nothing impressive, he's simply efficient. And that ain't so bad.

17. Wario

Yes, the arch-rival, kinda sorta, is better than the good guy. He can ride a bike into you, use the bike and throw it at you, he walks like he's missing a frame-rate and yet he'll punch your lights out. His final smash doesn't look like much, but he's much stronger. A huge downfall of Wario is what makes him go into his downfall, his up B doesn't have much range.

16. Pokemon Trainer

This is another character I wish I could put higher, but the fact is I can't. The reason being is that even though you can choose between 3 (count it 3) characters, you give up a down B attack just like in the case of Zelda. Now this isn't the end of the world as you have small quick, medium all around, and strong slow to choose from, but switching takes time and some characters strengths are other characters weakness. My favorite out of the three is Squirtle (16 A) because I think he has the best all around attacks and character build. After him is Charizard (16 B) then Ivysaur (16 C).

15. Sonic

And if you aren't grilling me about Mario, you WILL grill me on Sonic. Look Sonic is awesome (now if we could just get him to have a decent solo game), but he's weak. He's the fastest in the game, no doubt, and that can cause some serious headaches for your opponents, but he's weak. His up B attack is great at getting you back on the platform, but he's weak. His spin moves are awesome (even if it seems as if ALL his moves are spin moves), but he's weak. It's ok, he's still the fastest thing alive.

14. Luigi

Deceptively, Luigi is strong. He's not stronger than Wario, and he's not as well rounded as Mario, but he embodies something those other two don't have and final smash, on most levels, is a sure-fire hit. His little dagger punches are pretty darn strong. Don't let his demeanor fool you, Luigi will knock you out.

13. Fox

Fox is so dog on fast. But he's not Sonic fast. His moves however are extremely varied and they embody what Fox is, he's quick, and powerful in short bursts. He won't manhandle you with his strength, but when he hits, he doesn't hit you once, he hits you three times and then darts out of the way and hits you again. Not to mention his up B attack can take all 3 opponents out of the game because it will just encompass them in flames and before you know it, he's gone.

12. Yoshi

Yoshi is big, but not the biggest, fast, but not the fastest, agile, but not the most agilest (wow spell check didn't say ANYTHING about that word, wonder if it means most agile), and because he is all three of those things, that's earned him a top spot. Sure, his up B move is pretty pathetic when getting back on the platform, but his double jump should be more than enough in most cases. Yoshi has always intrigued me because he is easy to learn, but hard to master, and that makes for a great character.

11. Ness

Ness just made it out of the top ten because of one thing. Learnability. Yes, you heard me right, Ness is a little bit harder to control than Lucas is, and his up, down, and side A attacks are quick, but they aren't that great. Don't get me wrong, Ness is a wonderful Brawler, but he had to just squeak out of the top ten because of his learnability with most gamers.

10. Captain Falcon

Captain Falcon is surprisingly strong. And oh my word is he quick. It's amazing, because usually in SSB you have to give up something to be good at another thing, but Capt. Falcon is pretty much one of the most well rounded players in Brawl. Yeah his final smash sort of takes the control away from the player cause you are just watching what is essentially a cut-scene, and sure his special attacks aren't the greatest, but he can pretty much own you with the right moves.

9. Lucario

One of the most intriguing characters in Brawl. His final smash is sick, let's get that straight, and his moves are strong. He can be slow, sometimes painfully when in the arena with Brawlers such as Sonic and Fox, but as he gets hurt, he gets stronger. As a Brawler, it's inevitable that your percentage HP is going to go up, but you give me a character like Lucario and I can make the most of it. Superb.

8. Link

He can be quick, or a little slow, depending on the swing of the sword. I like the new tornado boomerang, and his range is added with his bow and arrow. He's not the flashiest of characters, and his final smash seems to work best if you can get one character, although it's possible to get more, but Link is Link. He's a bad boy, and he's really not that hard to use. The problem I think people may have with him is that he's not as flashy as some of the other characters. But if that's his only problem, then who cares.

7. Falco

Wow. Surprise surprise. No one was expecting this were ya? And if you were, then you know why I'm putting this here. Falco gives me fits, when I'm brawling, when I play on Classic, and when I play on All-Star. He gives me fits because he's quick like Fox, with strength like Wolf. No he's not as fast as Fox, but I would be so bold as to say he's almost as strong as Wolf. Falco fights like a cool person playing 2nd fiddle to Fox is supposed to fight like. He's tough, he's fast, and he embodies everything you need in a brawler.

Samus

If this was Melee, Samus might be lower, but because Samus can essentially change into an entirely different character without sacrificing any of her moves to get there is something magnificent. I was pretty bummed when I found out you couldn't pick Zero Suit Samus from the regular character lineup. But after further review there are ways around this at the character selection screen and also in game without a final smash. All in all having essentially two characters to choose from helps out the character of Samus. Because with all her array of well varied moves and special attacks she is the only character with a true second character to play with.

5. Pikachu

I was brawling with Pikachu the other day and you know what I thought, "Holy Pokemon!" Ok, so I didn't say that, but gracious, Pikachu is a monster. His down B attack is enough to make a grown man throw his controller through a window and hit the neighbors dog in frustration. Pikachu is quick, but he is oh so strong for his size. His final smash is a bit hard to control, but hey, he can't have everything right?

4. Snake

One of the only reasons Snake isn't number one is because it's hard to figure out your strategy with him, i.e., he acts like a beginner character to a degree, but when you start using him you realize you need to know what you are doing. His regular hand to hand attacks are surprisingly strong, and his weapons are even better. But you'll have to get used to the lag to use this Foxhound spy the best.

3. Marth

He is everything Ike isn't. He's got speed people, and his swing of the sword is just right. His counterattack, when used properly can be deadly. I remember one time when I hadn't played Melee in a while and I played a couple of people I knew, both of them chose Marth and both of them whipped my behind. Marth is a force to be reckoned with.

2. Lucas

Lucas looks pretty much like Ness, except he's a blondie. But don't let that fool you, Lucas can Take...YOU....OUT! His Psi attacks are ree-dik-you-las, and they aren't even his special moves. The smash attacks are what make Lucas so good in my eyes. I love using him. Unlike Ness who just uses a yoyo on his up B and down B attacks, Lucas uses a Psi attack that can send your opponent flying. When executed at the right time you can really put the other brawlers on their heals.

1. Kirby

BYYYYYEEEYYEEYYYEE! Don't you hate hearing that after Kirby K.O.'s you. His stupid little taunt. All jokes aside, Kirby is the best all around character. Yes, he's the easiest character to use and some might say the cheapest, but at the same time he has his weakness'. He is light and can be smashed pretty quickly. But Kirby is the epitome of what a Brawler should be, fast, quick, agile, strong, stealthy, and deceptive. Not to mention Kirby can copy ANY one of the Brawlers. He literally is the best all around character.


I hope you all enjoyed the post (for those of you that finished it), let me know what you think, feel free to leave numerous comments agreeing or disagreeing, it's all in fun. It's my first list!

-Adridius aka Jeremy

Upcoming feature and what $250 really adds up to

..Because it's less expensive and very innovative! Booya!!

Just want to let you guys know a couple of things. Nintendo Wii Fanboy is reporting that because the Wii sales have been doing so well this may lead to future next-gen consoles to become less pricey.

It seemed that prices would just keep going up, and up, and up as technology got better and better. And the big two (as far as prices) would just keep their prices skyrocketing until I was expecting to see a $1,000 system in my time. I am happy to report that I am probably wrong. Since Nintendo has been making money starting with day one of blowing away the big two in Microsoft and Sony, those two respective game companies will have to take heed to what Nintendo is doing.

Billy Pidgeon with IDC says this:

The results of this cycle will have a strong influence on the next cycle, in that cheaper consoles will be expected. Microsoft and Sony will attain successful business on this generation, but catering to the early adopter hardcore gamers with a technology leader strategy will be difficult in 2011.

When the Wii first came out I thought it interesting that it was only going to be $250. In perspective, the 8-bit revolutionary NES was only $200. Now carry that over 20 years, and what do you have. Only a $50 increase. With how fast gas prices have gone up in a decade, this is some pretty serious pricing in the consumers advantage. But as Nintendo proved, a less-capable system, with the right innovations can pay much more dividends than a high end system that actually makes a company lose money every time they sell one (See Microsoft and Sony).

And for my second note. I am thinking about writing a blog ranking the Super Smash Brothers Brawl characters from best to worst and giving my reasons. Everyone loves lists, so I'm going to make my very own list (since I've been playing the heck out of this game). Consider that a cliff hanger (even though you know what's coming up next).

Adridius

200 reasons to buy Fallout 3

200. 200. 200. No it's not a new movie about how the Persiasn take over the City of Troy who are destroying the Spartans from gathering in Jerusalem for the annual Rain Dance festival of the gods (shout out to Kratos). No, 200 is the number of endings for Fallout 3, which is due for a release in the fall of this year. Todd Howard has confirmed it on an official Xbox podcast.

I wonder what this will do to games. I wonder if this will just be a one time thing or will more game design companies start to implement the more-than-one-ending-depending-on-what-you-accomplish bit. I don't know.

Ok, before you jump all over me in a violent, "But wait Jeremy, Wait!" sort of rage, let me express that I know there are other games that have had multiple endings before (Silent Hill being one of them). I know this (Kingdom Hearts II). Ok I know, don't jump on me about it. But 200? Seriously, I love games, not a fan, nor a hater of Fallout (but that could change for the better in the fall), but come on, 200 endings? I want to meet the person who actually gets all 200. Seriously, if you plan on getting this game and plan to unlock all 200 endings, I want to be in contact with you. Post a comment, shoot me an email, title it "I'm going to get all 200 endings" I want to be able to say I know that person.

Cause in the meantime, no offense to the Fallout 3 fans, or soon to be Fallout 3 fans, but I probably will still be playing a little game I'd like to call GTA IV. My mind will be so far away from even wanting to see all 200 endings on F3 when I'd rather cause mayhem for the 50th time in GTA by starting a riot and and then using my cell to call the cops. And instead of just watching, I'll get in on the brawl with my gun, bat, or whatever other crazy weapon Rockstar has come up with. Not to mention I'll steal an ambulance just for ironic comedic effect. *Sigh* that'll be the day.

But seriously, let me know, are you one of the people who wants to unlock all 200 endings?

-Jeremy aka Adridius

Sonic Unleashed? Video. "Leaked"

So apparently I was a little too quick to trust. The screens I posted yesterday could, or could not have been Sonic Unleashed (but seriously..what else could it be?). Well today a video got 'leaked' on the internet and I now have it for your viewing pleasure. Since the last good Sonic game, in my mind, was Sonic Adventure I am pleased to announce that Unleashed looks to be taking a step backward. And for the Sonic franchise, that's a good thing. Sometimes you need to go back to what worked, to move forward. Kind of like when Cloud realized who he actually was, he kept having to go back to his past to figure out his future. And if I ruined something for someone, where have you been? Enjoy the video and tell me if you think it's legit and if it looks like it'll be worth playing.

Adridius

Sonic's Unleashed Screens

Sometimes I wish Sonic would stay on a leash. Or rather. I wish the people who make his horrible games weren't allowed anywhere near a development room, computer, or location. I wish they would stay leashed. With all that said, the new screens for Sonic Unleashed look pretty darn cool (see Super Sonic). Let's hope that whoever the 'genius' that made Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic (for PS3 and Xbox), or Shadow the Hedgehog haven't come anywhere near the game. I'm not talking about simply being involved in the creative process, I'm hoping there was a restraining order put on them by Sonic himself that will be delivered via air-mail by Tails and that if these people break this order, Knuckles will give them a fist full of...well knuckles. Enjoy the screen shots. These are just a few that I found to be good, if you want more, go here.

Adridius aka Jeremy

This is how Sonic should feel if Unleashed is as bad as his previous games

I hate that Dr. Robotnic is Dr. Eggman now.

I don't care who you are, this is frickin awesome isnt it?

What's this? Is he turning around? And what's up with the ring energy bar I wonder?

New Guitar Hero Tour peripheral revealed

What in the?....This is so cool...or is it?

I've always wanted to learn how to play guitar. Now I can my awesome skills on the go with the new Guitar Hero Tour. Check out that peripheral. It looks good on the outside, but I have to admit, I fear for people with big hands. Because if I'm worrying about this peripheral making the game enjoyable or hard to deal with, imagine how they must feel.

Nevertheless, IGN's photo should make any Guitar Hero fanatic a pretty happy wannabe musician. I know it's made me excited, even if I'm a little worried it won't live up to my initial hype. What do you guys think? Will it go platinum or will it be a one hit wonder (in terms of just looking cool but not actually playing well).

-Adridius

OpenEducation.net does interview with "Grand Theft Childhood" authors

Mario wants you all to know that he is making history on Gamer-Aid. Not only is he sharing an article with Sonic, but having two pictures in one blog has never happened before on Gamer-Aid. He also wants you to keep an open mind about video games. Mario has spoken (or rather, I have spoken for him).

First of all. I want to give credit to the information in this post to a Mr. Tom Hanson who is the Editor of OpenEducation.net.

For those of you that don't know, Hanson didn't have the most open mind about video games and violence when it came to children's behaviors and reactions. That was until he did an interview with Dr. Cheryl Olsen and Lawrence Kutner, the authors of Grand Theft Childhood. I have read the entire interview, including the prologue, if you will, leading up to the interview. It is fantastic. And it can be a positive eye opener to anyone who isn't sure what side of the fence they sit on when it comes to children and the influence they may receive by playing video games. Here are a couple of key points taken directly from the interview and the blog post by Hanson that I throughly enjoyed reading.

"Q: Lastly, why do you think so many adults (politicians included) are convinced that these games have to be detrimental to the mental health of teens? Is it an aversion or fear of the specific content? Is it a lack of understanding as to why kids like the games? Is it just a simplistic response to try to explain away other societal issues? A: All of those play a role. It’s upsetting to see a group of boys laughing as they watch one game character literally rip the guts out of another. But when you know more about the context, motivations and other factors involved, you may see this differently. Also, for politicians it’s an issue that they can campaign easily on, even if the scientific data don’t support their claims."

The reason I like this answer so much is the last line. Politicians need something easy to target. And video games are an easy topic. But the ironic part is that there are no scientific data to support their claims. I, as a video game enthusiast, knew this, but for someone else with more credibility in that area to say something like this really can be an eye opener. Here's another portion of the post.

"According to Kutner and Olson, the fact is that 'Video game popularity and real-world youth violence have been moving in opposite directions. Violent juvenile crime in the United States reached a peak in 1993 and has been declining ever since. School violence has also gone down. Between1994 and 2001, arrests for murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assaults fell 44 percent, resulting in the lowest juvenile arrest rate for violent crimes since 1983.'"

This is also interesting to me because some people (*COUGH* Jack Thompson) would have you believe that violence among juveniles is increasing because of video games. When in fact, it's peak was in 1993 and it has been the lowest since 1983. 1983?! I don't even think blood like pixels were invented back then. Wonder how Thompson would explain that?

Here are a couple of pulls from the post that I found most interesting regarding school shootings such as the tragedy that happened at VT a year ago.

"Yet another purported myth involves the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech that sought to link Seung-Hui Cho’s violent behavior to video game play. Note Kutner and Olson, “Media darling and pop psychologist Phil McGraw, appearing on CNN’s Larry King Live, stated, Common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they’re on a mass killing spree in a video game, it’s glamorized on the big screen, it’s become part of the fiber of our society….The mass murders [sic] of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.” According to Kutner and Olson, “The official report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel specifically dismissed the purported links between Cho’s use of video games and his extremely violent behavior. In the chapter on Cho’s mental health history, video games are mentioned on only three pages. When he was nine years old, he was enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do program for awhile, watched TV, and played video games like Sonic the Hedgehog.”

"According to Kutner and Olson, 'The U. S. Secret Service intensely studied each of the 37 non-gang and non-drug-related school shootings and stabbings that were considered ‘targeted attacks’ that took place nationally from 1974 through 2000. (Note how few premeditated school shootings there actually were during that 27-year time period, compared with the public perception of those shootings as relatively common events!). The incidents studied included the most notorious school shootings, such as Columbine, Santee and Paducah, in which the young perpetrators had been linked in the press to violent video games. The Secret Service found that that there was no accurate profile. Only 1 in 8 school shooters showed any interest in violent video games; only 1 in 4 liked violent movies.'"

What really strikes me about those two statements is the fact that Cho used to play Sonic the Hedgehog. Wow. And people were really arguing that video games were to blame for the VT shootings. I'll tell you who is to blame, the idiot who pulled the trigger, Cho. Sonic the Hedgehog just jumps on people. Now if we have a school shooting where someone actually doesn't use guns but dresses up in a blue outfit with some red shoes and jumps on people and tries to curl into a ball and knock into them like bowling pins, THEN you call me, ok?

Lastly, the authors of the book touch on video game addiction. They bring up a point that I have been trying to make for years. When I read it, I was excited. Here it is.

Kutner and Olsen say “[A] child plays basketball or plays the piano for four hours per day, we may describe him or her as a dedicated athlete or musician. A teenager who knows all the game statistics and trivia about a local professional football team, and who spends a lot of money buying jerseys and other memorabilia, is considered a true fan. It’s a socially acceptable hobby; in fact, it’s encouraged. But if that child takes the same approach to playing video games, spending hours each day at the computer and reveling in the details and strategies of play, we may worry about an addiction.”

Thank you Kutner and Olsen. Thank you. That has been one of my main arguments when it comes to video game addiction. And I had just mentioned that in a post yesterday. Look, I'm not advocating your child sitting in front of the TV all day trying to rescue the mushroom princess, but it is looked down upon even more if they aren't doing something "constructive" like being an athlete, musician, or book worm. The problem is people do not believe that video games have any educational or societal value other than wasting one's life away. There's not much I can do about that at this moment other than say they are wrong and that they should just play a JRPG like Lost Odyssey or a Final Fantasy to see how wrong they are.

I want to thank Tom Hanson again for sending me the link to his site, OpenEducation.net and I encourage all of you to read all (1) three (2) of his posts (3) that include his interview with Kutner and Olsen.

Enjoy.


Jeremy aka Adridius

MySpace kid scares me..and makes me laugh

I can't help it. I need Shrooms!!

It has come to my attention that a man by the name of Dr. Jerald Block, a Portland psychiatrist, has written an editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry. He is proposing that online addiction, including gaming, and MySpace and internet use be classified as a real addiction that needs psychiatric help.

"Like other addicts, users experience cravings, urges, withdrawal and tolerance, requiring more and better equipment and software, or more and more hours online... people can lose all track of time or neglect "basic drives," like eating or sleeping. Relapse rates are high and some people may need psychoactive medications or hospitalization."

Ok doc, I get it, I've seen the freaky (yet funny) MySpace obsessed kid video. But seriously, people with addictive personalities can be addicted to anything. I still hold that because gaming, or even internet use, is not a mainstream media like TV yet (probably internet more-so because of the scholarly and research side of it) it's not taken seriously as an outlet to be enjoyed. I still haven't heard anyone say that people need psychiatric help for reading too many books, because reading books is known for being an intellectually based activity, and therefore can do no wrong.

Do not mistake what I'm saying here, I'd probably be more comfortable with my kid (I dont have one but you get the point) reading more than playing video games all day, but all the same it all depends on what you are doing to stimulate your mind. I wouldn't want him reading ALL day, but I wouldn't want him sitting in front of the TV playing games all day either, there's a balance.

Plainly put, I don't disagree with what the Mr. Block is trying to say, but I do disagree that just because something is enjoyable that it automatically has to be classified as something bad when done in excess. When people work hard people say they are on the grind. If I say I'm playing video games all day, people say I'm a bum. What if playing video games is my work. Well then that's not a real job. Bottom line, we as a society need to look more at the individual (with some things) more than the activity because we have our stereotypes about certain activities to begin with.

Are people really this backwards?

I should give this game a 10 right? No? But you enjoyed it..errr..thought it was going to be great before it came out..right? Right?!

I have to give a shout out to my boy (well I don't know him, but he's cool) Jim Sterling at Dtoid for writing an editorial about people who whine and complain about video game scores. If I may, I'll add my two cents. Go read the blog post he wrote, he's absolutely right in every facet of the word.

It is amazing to me how people want their cake and eat it too. Although this idiom doesn't make sense to me, because I love cake, and if I have it, I want to eat some, but that's besides the point. People always want both sides of what they aren't sure they even want. Gamers want honest reviews. They don't want people getting fired from Gamespot for an honest Kane and Lynch review But at the same time, gamers want to be included, and they want to be right. I know what gamers feel because, hey, I'm a gamer. When a game is coming out that I highly anticipate and it doesn't get a good score, I get let down. But not because I think the reviewers are butt-holes. On the contrary, I get let down because I think the developers are butt-holes.

See here's the thing, just like Sterling said, one man's opinion is just that, it's his opinion. The problem with gamers (and I can say this because I'm in this community so don't start calling me Jack Thompson here) is that you all think you know what makes a good video game. You play a game, you like it or don't like it, and suddenly you are an expert on it. Do you honestly think the people who review games like Sterling, Shoe, and all the other people who are employed are just casual gamers that just so happened to wake up one morning and say, "I think I'll write about games today."

No, they decided they wanted to write about something they loved. And let me tell you folks, there is a huge difference between liking a game and being able to communicated clearly why you like a game. Most people can tell you a game is good or bad, but can you break it down for me? Can you tell me why you thought it was good or bad. I'm this way with books, I don't know what makes a good book, or even necessarily a good movie. If I enjoy it, that's the point of me reading it, or watching it (The Bank Job, not that enjoyable by my standards, I still need to see Horton Hears a Who). When I play games however, yes I look for the fun factor, but there is a lot more that goes into reviewing a game than just the "fun" factor, a lot more.

And here's where I'm with Sterling 100%, the 1-10 system does not mean that any game that isn't an 8 is horrible. There are scales for a reason. The problem is we've been taught that anything that isn't perfect has huge flaws. That's not true. I gave Brawl a 9 and I thought it was a fantastic game, but there were some things about it that didn't strike me as perfect, or complete if you will. A game that is a 6 can be fun, a game that is 5 can be even funner, and if you get the right people, a 4 game can be hilarious, it all depends on who you are. But to reviewers we have to look beyond the aforementioned "fun" factor and stick to everything that makes a good video game. We have to give you the ins, outs, ups, and YES the downs. If we didn't give you the whole story we wouldn't be very good at our practice.

Who ever heard of a doctor only telling his patient what he wants to hear? Who ever heard of a mechanic telling you everything is alright with your car when your tire is flat? Who EVER heard of a computer technician tell you that your computer should be up and running fine without any kind of fixing when you know you just dropped it into a swimming pool? Who ever heard of a police officer letting you go and saying, "Oh you weren't REALLY going 75, my clocker is broke, have a nice day." When you play sports, do you do EVERY thing right? When a carpenter makes a bad chair and someone sits in it and it's uncomfortable do they lie about it and say it's the best thing since the invention of door stops?

I mean really, no other respected profession just tells people what they want to hear. They tell people the truth and the people want to hear the truth; even if they don't like it. And when it comes to video games everyone's truth can be different depending on what they see as a pro or con. But for the most part, cons are universally accepted as cons even if they are rated higher or lower than one another (as far as gaming goes). You (and I mean the people who want 8.0's on all their favorite games) can't expect us as gaming writers to satiate your ineffable appetite for great scores on all the games you just, "know are going to be awesome!".

Think about this for a minute, why would we purposely review a game badly? If it's a good game do we have an agenda in which we want no one to buy the game? Do we hate our jobs that badly because it's so tiresome reviewing games (please). Seriously, let me know because it's ludicrous. So throw that idea out the window.

And if you really want us to lie and say that all games are good think about what you are saying to us. You want us, to tell you, to go waste your money on what we say is a good game, but then what if you spent your hard earned money and YOU don't even like the game, but we said we did, and you disagree with us. Well now I guess we've just viced the versa and are back to square one.

Adridius aka Jeremy

For kicks here's my 1-10 explanation

10: Perfect, flawless, get the game, won't regret it.
9: Excellent game, will entertain, few bugs here and there, not perfect.
8: Great game, enjoyable, a few more bugs than nine, but definitely still worth your money.
7: High average, good game, fun game, may not last you long, or may be incomplete in a big area
6: Above average, can get some hours out of this game, may not be worth buying maybe rental
5: Average, run of the mill video game, not too inventive, but not a piece of crap
4: Below average, seemed to just be put out just to get money, highly incomplete
3: Did they even try? (the game developers)
2: Why is this on the shelf, maybe a 1.99 bin might be a good buy for a few kicks
1: Not worth the DVD it came on, good to use as a frisbee

Devil May Cry 4 reaches 1 million

Look down the barrel, it says 1 million!

Three Speech is reporting that Devil May Cry 4 is the 9th PS3 game to reach the 1 million sales mark. Personally I haven't bought DMC 4 yet, but I will probably get around to it. Some of the other notables to sell 1 mil on the PS3 are Call of Duty 4, Resistance: Fall of Man, Assassins Creed, and MotorStorm. Frankly, I'm pleasantly surprised that they've sold that many, especially on the PS3 because most people say they prefer Xbox. Me, I prefer my PS3, go Sony! What about you guys, have you played DMC 4? Let me know if it's a legit 1 mil seller or just hype.

Adridius

Brawling like there's not tomorrow

My anticipation level for Super Smash Brothers Brawl was through the roof. When Super Smash Brothers Brawl got pushed back in the U.S. from October 2007 until February 2008, I was disappointed. When it got pushed back again another month until March, I was confused and yet content because I figured maybe they had a few more kinks to work out. I am happy to report that my anticipation level for this game was not let down. Super Smash Brothers Brawl is everything you thought it would be and more.

When you boot up the SSB you will notice that the graphics are a bit sharper than their gamecube counterpart, but at the same time, we aren’t talking Super Mario Galaxy. Yes the game does have an option to choose 16:9 or 3:4, but the graphics themselves don’t appear to be leaps and bounds sharper than they would on gamecube. They are good, but not great.
The game-play really does not differ much at all from the original SSB or SSB: Melee. However, one thing I did notice is that this time around in Brawl there are a lot more levels that require you to be aware of what is going one within the level itself, rather than just being concerned with staying on the platform. Case in point, Wario’s level. This level is taken right out of Wario Ware: Smooth Moves. In the midst of bashing your opponent out of the arena you are given certain tasks to accomplish such as staying dry, taunting, or “Chisel it!” when you are told to do so. If you complete these smooth moves correctly you will be rewarded with an added bonus such as getting bigger (as if you ate a mushroom) or becoming invincible for a time (same as getting a star).

At first, I was kind of disappointed that a lot of the levels didn’t let you simply battle it out. However, the more and more I started to play, I realized that when it came to level design the ‘pay attention’ levels, if you will, balanced with the levels where you could just focus on battling.

When you do finally realize what’s going on in the level you will definitely have to make it a point to get the controls back under you. It took me a few matches to get myself accustomed to the controls again. They are by no means hard if you have played the SSB series, but since it had been more than a year since I played Melee I was a bit rusty.
There are a few ways that you can play Brawl: with a gamecube controller, a Wii-mote and Numchuck, a classic controller, or just the Wii-mote. By far, the easiest of these is to play with the gamecube controller. If you do not have one, I’d suggest investing your money in one. It’s not that the Wii-mote and classic controller are atrocious to play with, they just don’t have the same feel. Personally the classic controller didn’t handle tightly enough and I felt as if I couldn’t pull off a simple smash attack. The Wii-mote by itself is alright until you realize that to block you have to press the B-button, which is hard to push when you are holding the Wii-mote to the side. I give second place to the Wii-mote and Numchuck combo. Motion controls aren’t used so that’s not the issue. But getting used to this combination of controller is actually a lot easier than the classic controller or the Wii-mote by itself. Point being, stick with the gamecube controller.

After you find the controller that is right for you, you have to start brawling. There are a few new features to brawl that will make your experience that much better. Let’s go with the biggest which is the Smash Attack. This is a multicolored orb that floats around in the middle of a match. As it floats you try to smash it open. The first person to hit it doesn’t necessarily receive it. You have to keep smashing it. That can be tough because the orb floats in a seemingly random fashion and sometimes a person can hit it three or four times and not get it. But the person who hit it after them may be able to open it because it was already weakened. Every character has a different Smash Attack. Each Smash Attack is aimed at giving your character a huge advantage most likely resulting in a KO for other characters. For example, Mario’s smash attack is a huge fire blast attack that does massive damage to anyone that is caught in the blaze. Pikachu turns into a ball of electric energy and can be guided around the screen to cause damage to whomever he comes in contact with, thus resulting in a massive amount of damage to the other players. Seeing all the different Smash Attacks is what helps keep the game fresh even after so many hours of playing.

In the midst of all those hours you will definitely spend playing Brawl you will come across different areas of the game that can be played besides your regular free for all. You can do events such as smash the targets, multi-man brawl and home run contest. Along with these familiar events are two standalone modes, classic mode which has you go through various characters before you reach the Master Hand, and a new mode called the Supspace Emissary.
The Subspace Emissary is causing a little bit of buzz in the gamer community. It is a story based aspect of brawl that actually tries to intertwine most of the characters in brawl and have them work together to fight the enemy. For example, Link hooks up with Yoshi because Yoshi just so happens to be sleeping in the forest that Link is walking in. Samus meets Pikachu inside of a spaceship because they are doing experiments on Pikachu’s electrical energy. Or torturing him, I’m not quite sure. And the reason I’m not sure leads me to one of my biggest disappointments with the Subspace Emissary, no dialogue. I’m not saying there is no speech, I’m saying there is not a single word spoken or that you can read in a subtitle period. This is an absolute shame because I would have loved to hear, or read some inkling of what the a character like Fox was thinking when he’s getting dragged away by Diddy Kong so that he can help find Donkey Kong. You can keep up with what each character is thinking without dialogue however, and in this regard I applaud the developers, but seriously would dialogue or even subtitles have hurt? Because this is a story mode within the game, dialogue would have been much appreciated aspect.

Seeing the characters interact is a thing of beauty because it manages to do what the SSB franchise is known for and that is to bring nostalgia and familiarity. This is an area where SSB succeeds so well and why it has done so well over the past number of years. The fact that the Subspace Emissary gives the characters a personality makes playing with them in brawl a little bit more personal. SSB starts and ends with its characters.
I have played Brawl for probably over 30 hours now and I haven’t unlocked every character. I purposely didn’t read the blog posts online that gave away the secret characters because I wanted to be surprised, and so far I have been. The most recent character I unlocked surprised me because he never crossed my mind as a secret character in Brawl. That just goes to show that surprises lie around every corner and that this SSB is definitely not what you may think.
A lot of characters in Brawl are not playable however. These are the supporting characters that come out of pokeballs or that come out of capsules. And all of the capsules have various characters from the Nintendo universe. It’s great to see WaLuigi come out of a capsule and start beating other characters with a tennis racket, but then I think to myself, couldn’t he have easily been a secret character? Maybe that’s just a personal gripe, but as many characters as there are in the game how hard would it be to fit in a few more. Especially when a few of the characters are just spinoffs of each other with a few moves looking different here and there (see Marth and Ike).

Overall, Brawl is what you would expect it to be, it’s fun, it’s pick up and play, it’s hours worth of accomplishing tasks, getting trophies, beating 15-minute multi-man brawl, seeing how far you can hit a sandbag, seeing how fast you can KO your opponent, trying classic mode on various difficulties, doing event matches, and just plain having fun. Brawl is going to be one of those games that should keep you satisfied until the next Super Smash Brothers is released, even if you play a little bit every day. It truly is a unique game because it’s simple, and yet the concept will last you not only for hours or days, but weeks and months. If you can’t enjoy this game, stop playing video games.


9.0/10

Adridius

Update: (possible spoilers)

Maybe it's just me, but I've just gotten done unlocking all the characters and I'm disappointed. I thought there were going to be a few more characters to unlock, notably, Knuckles and Tails, but alas, the makers of SSB thought it just fine to have them running around in the background on Sonic's level, but not put them in the game. (I also thought I'd get Mewtwo dangit!)

Ok, look, I understand making a video game takes a long time, and I also understand that you can't put every character and their counterpart in the game, but for goodness sake your going to give me Mr. Game and Watch over Knuckles? Your going to give me JIGGLYPUFF!!! JIGGLYPUFF!! Game character space is being wasted when you could have inserted someone like Tails, or even Pichu for goodness sake. I don't know who was the genius over at the idea factory that is SSB that decided, "HEY! You know what gamers would really go for?! JIGGLYPUFF!!! Gamers LOVE JIGGLYPUFF!" Hey, guy over there that was smoking and had all his other co-workers high at the time of saying this, not all of us gamers like Jigglypuff enough to have it in a smash and bash game. Well I guess this means I'll have to wait until next time to see if I get Knuckles and Tails. Sheesh...Jigglypuff, give me a break. Kudos for Lucario though.

EA wants to make GTA its own

We will buy out who we can't defeat!


Ok, ok, ok, please wake me up. Please. Because I must be in a nightmare right now. A couple weeks ago we heard that Take-Two told EA to shove it because we all know EA just wants to cash in on the imminent success of GTA IV. I had a problem with that. I started thinking, "Self, even if EA bought Take-Two at least Rockstar would be making GTA, I could live with EA getting the glory (and the money) as long as GTA was still being made by Rockstar." But now I'm hearing reports that EA may want to totally eliminate Rockstar by buying out Take-Two and then making their own GTA!!!! Can someone honestly tell me that EA will make a BETTER or AS GOOD GTA as Rockstar has time after time after time? The answer is no.

I understand EA is one of the biggest cash cows in the video game industry, but that doesnt give them a right to stomp all over the competition by buying them out. You know what this tells me about EA? They are terrified of other game companies (see 2K football series) because they know it's only a matter of time before people wake up and realize that just because you see the letters E and A on a lot of games, doesn't mean that those games are good. And they also realize that people will start to understand that EA doesn't make most of the games, they just publish them. Case in point, Rock Band. Harmonix should get ALL of the credit, but to an ill informed public, some may think EA made it, and they didn't.

I really hope that Take-Two doesn't budge. Because if they do, we might see the collapse of a development company in it's prime making one of the greatest games of this generation in GTA IV. And if EA does manage to shut it down completely, watch out because it probably won't be the last you hear of EA trying to take over a development company that threatens them. Geez, this sucks.

Iron Man plays GTA IV rather than beat up bad guys!?

IRON MAN:I am IRON MAN!...I...wait..GTA IV...that's one BAD game, I'll be playing that...oh you say I can't cause I have to beat some bad guys up that weekend...oh..the choices

Predictors are everywhere. The latest that I'm hearing about (in the middle of my never-ending Brawl life) is that Iron Man, the movie, might suffer from GTA IV, the game, being released so close together. This is an intriguing topic.

If books hated radio because radio took away readers, and radio hated TV because TV took away listeners, and TV hated movies because movies took away sitting in front of the tube, does that mean that movies hate video games because they can get even more action, adventure, comedy, and drama in a video game rather than paying a god awful price of $9 (in some cities) to go see a movie? I think this prediction has merit.

Take for instance how good Halo 3 did when it first came out. It made $300 million in the first week. And remember, Halo was exclusively on the Xbox 360. Now imagine a game that, in some ways, looks as if it could be bigger than Halo 3 (please Halo fans don't take offense) in terms of anticipation. Now, put that game on two major consoles and what do you have?

"A GTA IV 25 percent attach rate to a combined Xbox 360 and PS3 installed base at its April 29 release would imply 5.8 million units sold or roughly $360 million in retail sales the first week of the game’s release."

That is straight from Mike Hickey who is an analyst that anticipates the Iron Man box office to suffer because of GTA IV.

Let's not kid ourselves here, GTA IV is one of THE most anticipated games of the next-gen era if not one of THE most anticipated games of all time. I'm not going to say Jesus is going to come back because of it, but this game has to be in the top 10 list of wide anticipation in gaming, ever. I could very well see why people would rather start on what could be one of the greatest gaming experiences all around of all time, than to go see another super hero movie.

Me, I will be doing both as I am an Iron Man fan and I think Robert Downey Jr. will be a good fit for the part. But, if Brawl is any indication, I don't even want to think how many hours, no, make that, DAYS I will be playing this game.

NFL Tour is Sour (they are spelled the same but sound different lol)

This picture really shows what Tour is. A whole lot of glitz and glamor on the outside, but when you play it you'll feel just like this guy does. Look how bored he looks.


I love the NFL, I start counting down to the next season the day after the Super Bowl. But unfortunately, NFL Tour doesn't do much to quell my anticipation.
At first glance, NFL Tour looks like your regular run of the mill sports arcade game. Therefore, you would expect it to be fast paced, filled with exaggerated moments, and since it’s the NFL, big hits. Sadly, NFL Tour fails to deliver in a lot of areas that make an arcade sports game great.
NFL Tour is all about creating a character becoming the best of the best in the National Football League. The whole goal of the game is to make you feel as if you too could be an NFL star. Starting with the tour mode you get to create your character that you will use in a real NFL team. The create-a-character mode is by no means deep and only has a few customizable options when in comes to face, body type, and clothes that you wear. This isn’t a portion of the game that will consume most of your time as the selection of faces is small. After you create your character you decide where he is from, what his first and last name is going to be, what his nickname is and what position he plays. Then when you have chosen your position you are given so many points toward deciding what you want your characters strengths to be. If you have chosen Wide Receiver, for instance, you already have a lot of points in the catching category, but you may not have so much in the O-moves. After you’ve completed all of this you then choose what NFL team you want to play for. In my situation I chose a WR and played for the Dallas Cowboys. By doing so, I replaced the best receiver on my team.
The tour consists of your team playing through all the divisions and their teams. Every game, whether exhibition or on the Tour, is played 7-on-7 with different players playing offense and defense, unlike NFL Street where all 7 players that you chose played both sides of the ball. If they weren’t going to let offense and defense play both sides of the ball they should have made this the standard 11-on-11 football game. When you are playing on the tour in each division you have different rules. One division may have you just play a regular football game in which whoever scores the most points in the time allotted wins. Another division may tell you that you are not allowed to have running plays and to receive first downs you must go 20 yards with four tries instead of the usual 10. Since there are so many teams, this can get old quickly. And a lot of the monotony comes because the game-play is weak.
When you boot up NFL Tour, it seems as if it’s going to be a speedy, hard hitting arcade football game. When you start playing however you will notice that it is none of these. Madden 08 has faster game-play than NFL Tour, and that’s a shame because this is supposed to be more dramatic. When you put on a juke or are running with turbo, you may feel as if your baby sister can run faster. The overall feel of speed just isn’t there. The hard hits are another area of weakness. They only happen when a player is getting gang tackled. To make matters worse, gang tackles by default happen in slow motion. This can seem cool at first until you realize the hard hit really wasn’t so hard and that the slow motion slows down game-play more than it enhances hard hits. This slow-mo option can be turned off, but then the hard hits look even less-so. What helps out the lack of hard tackling though is the ability to counter. If you are on offense and you get hit slightly, you can time a button press and stay on your feet, if you are on defense and you miss a tackle you can do the same thing to bring down the ball carrier. Out of everything else in the game-play, this works pretty well until you turn off the slow motion option for the counter that gives you a little extra time to time your button press. When slow motion is off you will find out that it is hard to counter because you are mashing the tackle, or break tackle button (which doubles as the counter button) and usually perform the counter too early.
The passing system makes me scratch my head in confusion as well. Usually in NFL video games when the Quarterback drops back to pass the ball to the Wide Receiver there is an icon over the player’s head that corresponds to a button on your controller. EA Tiburon felt as if that aspect of the game needed changing. Instead of having three buttons to choose from that correspond with a receiver you have to scroll through receivers using the O button and whatever receiver has the X on top of it you can throw to. I played around with this for a little bit and let me tell you, it can seriously slow the game down even more because you are scrolling through players rather than throwing to a player instantly. There is, thankfully, an option to switch back to “classic” mode.
Unlike most football games, you can’t move your player at all before the snap, which is kind of frustrating. And if you have an open field toward the end zone after you’ve caught a pass, it’s hard to run straight ahead. You get the feeling that you are letting go of the steering wheel and your car is just veering left or right. It’s almost as if you are being forced to run to the middle of the field when you are trying to run straight on the sideline.
Another area that confuses me is the commentary. Trey Wingo from ESPN was given the opportunity to be the commentator for NFL Tour. The bad part is whoever decided to write his script wrote in all sorts of, “Don’t you hate repetitive video game commentators” jokes. At first, these can be funny, but then you realize, they are not needed at all. I have played this game for a little while now and sometimes I hear new commentary, but I can’t appreciate it because Wingo keeps commenting on how repetitive his commentary is. The commentary has enough lines to keep it from being too monotonous, but his constant mentioning of how repetitive he is creates monotony. He also consistently said the wrong thing. When a player would score a touchdown he would make a comment about how that player needed to step up and play better. And even worse is that he is the only form of speech.
Rarely, and I mean less than 1% of the time, do I hear the players themselves actually talking smack to each other. Again, you would think that an arcade type game would have a lot of smack talk between the players, but this game virtually has none. And that only adds to the monotony that is NFL Tour.
Scenery is another issue. An arcade football game like this creates a great opportunity to spice up the stadiums, to make them look different, to make them have positive and negative attributes. Alas, all of the fields look almost identical. It really doesn’t matter to me if I’m playing in Pittsburg, or New York. The field is always the same color with shades of blue and green, the covering is always the same color with orange and you have side and front-view stadium seating. No creativity, no change of pace. This is also the case with the characters themselves.
In an NFL video game where every character usually wears a helmet you wouldn’t expect the face to be detailed, but in an American football game where the players do not wear helmets you would expect the players faces to be extremely detailed. This doesn’t happen in Tour. One of my favorite players, Marion Barber III who plays for the Dallas Cowboys and is pretty well known in the U.S. to an NFL fan. On Tour he just looks like an average African-American with dreadlocks. This is common among other players who would be thought of as well known. On the flip side some characters are extremely detailed, which makes me wonder why the art team at EA Sports didn’t take the time to detail everyone in their no-helmet game. But I guess I could couple that with the graphics looking the same as they did on the PS2. NBA Street on PS3 looked clean, realistic, polished and detailed. NFL Tour looks blocky, cartoony, and not detailed. Cartoony isn’t a bad thing, but it seems as if they were going for a more polished look and ended up looking exactly the same as they did on a current gen system.
Overall, as bad as this game is, it is good for kids and a nice pick up and go style of play. But it lacks depth and creativity. There are only two extra modes besides just playing football and they are boring. NFL Tour has failed to be a fun fast paced arcade football game all around, but it can be enjoyable in spurts.

Overall Score:

5.6/10

Jeremy aka Adridius

Heavenly Sword 2 Rumors

When Heavenly Sword was announced for the PS3 I was anxious to get my hands on it. The more and more people started to refer to it as the "goddess of war", that only peaked my interest. But sadly, I haven't played more than the demo of Heavenly Sword and it's still my wallpaper background on PS3. The reason I haven't yet started pummeling people with my long red hair and razor sharp big sword is because the game doesn't take more than a day to beat and I couldn't in good conscience pay $60 for a new game that I can beat so quickly. I'm trying to wait it out for a good internet deal.
But anyway, I came across some interesting rumors that PS3 Fanboy picked up. I have to say, aspects that defined the first game look like they might change in Heavenly Sword 2. Here are some of the rumors that they mentioned.

1. Heavenly Sword 2 will take place 10 years after the events in Heavenly Sword.
2. The main character will be a male with martial arts background.
3. The main character will be Kai, but she will be a more mature woman.
4. The game will require you to master different martial arts styles before retrieving the heavenly sword.
5. The game will, instead of button mashing, have controls that utilize an analog stick to go through weapons.
6. The game will have downloadable weapons, characters, and enemies to customize your experience.
7. The game will be more interactive with the environment.
8. The game will have you on a storyline with replayable missions, as opposed to an open world.

So what did you all think of Heavenly Sword? Are you excited if even one of these are true or are you under the teaching of "If it ain't broke don't fix it?" Me personally, I haven't played HS, but I would welcome a second installment.

-Jeremy aka Adridius

Grand Theft Childhood

Hey people,  first off, I do not want to make it seem as if this is a political video game blog, it's not, it's a Video Game Blog, anything and everything that is video game news can be relevant, and I'm hope I'm not wearing you out with my continuous dislike of people who ignorantly make claims about what video games negative impacts are on our youth.  Call it a forum I never had and I'm happy that people are taking into account  my opinion, even if you don't agree, that's fine.   But I just had to write about this.  I am ecstatic to report that someone, with peer reviewed scholarly credibility wrote a book with no agenda toward figuring out what violent video games impact is on our children (I dont have kids, but you understand what I mean when I say "our").  

The book is called Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games.  The reason I am happy about this is because I have done research as to prove why video games actually help children more than parents think, and how video games do not influence violent behavior as much as people think.  The problem is, most of the research has been done by "unscholarly" video game magazines or taken from the internet (and who believes anything written on the internet, I'm being sarcastic).  So to actually have a book, a tangible object to show people and say, "Look, it's a book!  By a Dr.!" That automatically puts my argument into a different bracket of acceptability.  

So no, I'm not going to stand here on a soap box and slam Jack Thompson and his *ahem* misguided opinions.  But I just wanted to share my happiness with you and see if you would be interested in checking this out.  

The book is coming out in April and the co-author's name is Dr. (yes a Dr.! woo hoo!) Cheryl K. Olsen.  The other author is Lawrence Kutner.  So check it out, I know I will be.

-Jeremy aka Adridius

If My parents EVER! did this to me...

A KIDS WORST NIGHTMARE ON CHRISTMAS MORNING...CLOTHES!

I came across a story today that disturbs me.  No it's not another Jack Thompson story, even though I pondered about writing about his newest lame media stunt.  Check out Game Politics for that story.  Anyways, I was going through Destructoid, and game across something that is borderline child abuse (not really but go with me here).  A kid opens his new Christmas present and guess what he finds?  A BRAND NEW XBOX 360!  WOAH! AMAZING! THANKS MOM AND DAD!  Only one catch, it's just the box.  Yes, it's just the 360 box.  Inside are non other than a child's worst nightmare when it comes to birthdays and christmas.  CLOTHES!  The kid doesn't look much older than 12, and he actually looked like he was about to cry.  I know it was a joke, and watching the video is kind of funny, but come on, that is the biggest bring em up, yank em down moment that I can think of.  Don't mess with a kids emotions on their birthday or christmas.  

-Jeremy aka Adridius