Just a friendly little heads up for our XBOX Live subscribers; According to slickdeals , Circuit City will be selling Xbox Live points at a significantly reduced price: 1600 points for under $15. Many XBL Arcade games cost around 800 points so you can get 2 good games out of this deal (I highly reccomend Bomberman Live btw) or stock up on DLC (downloadable content), say extra songs for Rockband. Rock on!
Recently, I have noticed an uproar in the gaming community over inflated review scores for GTAIV and Konami's upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4. GTA4 currently holds a solid A-score on metacritic's weighted average while MGS4 has been getting 90-100% scores before even being released to public. Interestingly, GTA4 has an "only good" B-score for user submitted averages. This shows that professional gaming editorials are handing out scores higher than what the general public may agree to. Many gamers are afraid that the same thing is going to happen with MGS4: Getting a 100% rating is highly unusual and people will point to editorial-publisher relationship ethics; this is a whole different issue altogether. What I want to delve into is the fact that Nintendo seems to be immune to these allegations. I have heard the argument that GTA4 does not deserve an A+ score because while it is a solid game, it doesnt really add anything new to the formula. Well geeze, have you played the latest Pokemon or Mario Party? It's pretty much the same thing as the previous iteration except with some tweaks and a new paintjob (and in the case of pokemon, it barely even improves on graphics). If that isn't the very definition of milking a franchise, I don't know what is... and Nintendo commits this act on ALL its franchises. Somehow the fact that the new Mario Kart adds support for motion control (which is horrible compared to a traditional gamepad might I add), it is innovative enough in the eyes of nostalgic nintenboys to hunk over $40 for the same game you played 3 years ago.
Sony is often cast in the light as the big evil corporate entity that steals your hard earned money with over-priced hardware. Well, no one is forcing you to buy a new limited edition PS3 . However, I see people plunker down cash year after year for another revision of the gameboy (an ingeniously milked design btw: gameboy pocket, gameboy, micro, gameboy advance vs sp? come on now) or the 20 different fruity colors of the DS and Wii. Apparently its okay to be nickle and dimed when you have a smile on your face while day dreaming of your childhood playing duckhunt.
Now, don't get me wrong here, I am a firm believer in the classic adage: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I eagerly looked forward to every reincarnation of Super Smash and thoroughly enjoyed saving princess Zelda from Ganon for the 30th time. I am just saying that if you are going to be critical of an inflated review score for GTA4, then you gotta use the same metrics in judging games from your favorite 1st party developer. I don't think GTA4 deserved a 90-100% score, but I could also say the same for a handfull of titles with the word "Mario" in it.
(gameh0lic's favorite past time is playing Ninja Gaiden 2 and Super Mario Brothers 3 on the classic NES)
I know Wii Fit is getting entirely too much attention so I'll keep this short and sweet. If you have a girlfriend, get her Wii Fit...this video tells you all you need to know.
Recently I played guitar hero at a friend's place (I don't own the game, nor would I ever be compelled to). While doing so I heard my friend give me a few complaints that have lead me to create a list of reasons of why Guitar Hero sucks.
1. "Why aren't you using your super bar" Super bars are usually a good invention... in fighting games. I have never seen any music game really "utilize" a super bar in a way that makes sense. If anything, it's like a crutch for retarded people to delay the inevitable failing of a song. But wait, I know people who argue that the point of the super bar is to double your multiplier and get more points. To which I say, "Bullshit." The objective of the game is to simulate music, not to get points. Yes, DDR and other Konami inspired music games have a point system, but in the end it's how well you do hitting the notes rather than your points. When people talk about how well they did on a certain song, they say how many notes they hit (and in DDR/Bemani inspired games, perfects/greats or Flashing Greats/Greats), not their points.
2. "This sounds like shit" I've passed many a song on expert, but the retarded picking scheme of the song made most of it an opus of plinks and plonks and weird grunt sounds instead of the actual song. Again, this is MUSIC SIMULATION. If most of the time I’m not really even hearing the music, what's the freaking point. Of course, there are those idiots who spend every waking moment learning how to play Dragonforce's "Through the Fire and Flames" and can make it sound like something respectable, but for the rest of us normal people, that's not going to happen. Konami of Japan had the better idea of saying "you play it late, the sound will show up late and will suck as a result."
3. "Let me play" If this is a game to be played with other people, there shouldn't be an ever-increasing queue just to play one damn song. A 4-6 minute song is nice, but if I’m to share, give me some nice short songs so we can all play.
4. "What the hell are these notes" I do not want to spend 4-6 minutes on a song that has a 2-3 minute intro and then jumps into a retard inferno of pointless key mashing. Nor do I want to learn how to do yoga with my left hand, trying to stretch and reach all the notes for a song. I was amazed at how fast guitar hero reached the "bullshit level" of note charts compared to any other music game out there. DDR took it's sweet time of 6 mixes before introducing us to MAX300,MAXXUnlimited,Paranoia Survivor Max, and whatever the hell retard stuff they decided to come in. It's also worth noting that despite these hard versions of songs, there were still plenty of other options of respectably hard songs that you could play while ignoring the extremely hard stuff. In guitar hero (AND ROCKBAND) you only get a handful of "challenges" that are so retarded hard that you might as well say good-bye to social life before really playing it well.
5. "Gee I sure wish they added _________ to this" I can understand the need for Rock Band/Guitar Hero. It's to pretend like you can really play some rock song w/o really knowing how. But honestly, 90% of the music out there (or on Guitar Hero) is easy to play, so PICK UP A DAMN GUITAR AND LEARN. Stop sitting there whining about all the songs you'd like to see on guitar hero and just learn how to play it for real. This is probably an unreasonable complaint, but it gets pretty annoying to hear a bunch of people sit around talking about the songs they'd like to see on guitar hero when the time spent waiting and learning how to play it on a video game could have been spent towards actually learning the real song. Yes, downloadable content exists and it's a wonderful way to pacify the addiction, but in the end, you're still just sitting there with a limited play list of songs that you probably don't care about.
6. "We’ve already played that before" I can only hear "Dani California" so many times before I decide that I don't want my ears anymore.
There are so many flaws in Guitar Hero compared to anything Konami of Japan has made. If the developers of Rock Band and Guitar Hero just spent more time understanding how to add new ideas to how the Japanese did their versions of the games, I think we'd really have a game worthy of the hype that it's been getting. Hell, they pretty much copied Guitar Freaks and DrumMania for inspiration, so why didn't they just copy it all the way? Until then, I’m waiting for this "Guitar Hero craze" to blow over the same way it did for DDR back when people thought it was the new way to lose weight.
Time to dust off your toga and load your roofies in that special pocket because beer pong and other frat games are coming to the Wii! Developer JV Games will deliver Beer Pong in June, available for download. Vice President Jag Jaeger said, "Beer Pong is quickly becoming a worldwide sensation, from high-stakes competitions being held here in Las Vegas to more and more establishments creating Beer Pong environments to attract new customers."
Indeed.
Personally I think this is a great idea. Beer pong is such a messy and unsanitary game. In the game of beer pong, one bounces a ping pong ball off the table's surface trying to get it in one of several cups full of beer (which you are inevitably going to drink). A real ping pong ball is bound to fall on the floor several dozen times, picking up dirt and dust and hair and all sorts of nasty stuff in frat houses these days...and then you try to put that hairpongball in a cup so you can chug the liquid in it? Gross.
Leave it to another Wiinovation to bring us a healthier, cleaner way to play beer pong. Plus, the tournament stats will be tracked by a reliable machine so you can get your drink on. Ingenious. This is supposedly the first of a "Frat Party Games" series. I wonder how they'll pull off Wii Keg Stand?
New screen shots of Microsoft's “Halo Wars ” look seriously bugged. Not game glitching bugs, I'm talking about the backyard bunch. The Halo series has cashed in on a creepy insect milieu with the Covenant species and creature-like designs for vehicles and architecture. Halo Wars will be more bug than you can handle.
It will definitely out-bug the rest of the series, because Microsoft switched the gameplay from First-person shooter to real-time strategy. From a third-person perspective, the armies are going to look even more like ants, scorpions, and grasshoppers. I think someone on the development team has a serious bug fetish.
In a response to a 10-year old girl who was called "fat" by the game Wii Fit, health pundits have jumped into the discussion. The girl was reportedly in perfectly healthy condition, but the Wii Fit fatness gauge went off when it took her measurements. It should be noted that Wii Fit does use standard BMI (Body Mass Index for you laymen) values - the same system used by health professionals and high school gym coaches everywhere. The way I see it, Wii Fit is pretty much your high school gym coach. He can't get you into shape without your own willingness to work at it, but if he is around enough to call you a fatass enough times, maybe you'll actually get off your fat ass and do something about it.
Anyway, some obesity expert said we should spare the children of the world's feelings and stop them from playing Wii Fit for their own good. Nintendo even issued an apology for offending fat kids, citing that the BMI values are standard. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, people who calculate their weight health should differentiate BMI between adults and children. Does Wii Fit take this into account? What's worrisome is the possibility that these "obesity experts" will keep the game from the kids who truly need it.
1. The GTA games aren't that violent (have you been to the movies or watched TV lately?)
2. GTA doesn't turn kids into criminals (bad parenting already doomed your kids to a life of crime)
3. GTA's detractors are wrong (umm...GTA is a reflection of society?)
4. GTA is good for you (car jacking and hookers are therapeutic, didn't you know?)
5. GTA gives you freedom (what happens in the game only gets as bad as you are...)
6. GTA = GG (it's a good game, guys)
While I agree with most of these points, most of these are microcosms of the age old "violence in video games" arguments. Can we finally lay to rest that Night Trap doesn't make you more of a stalker than you already are, and that Mortal Kombat doesn't make the average person want to uppercut people into a pit of spikes? That being said, the GTA series is still one of the more controversial mainstream franchises , and although it's "just a game," its environment and content shouldn't be ignored by discerning consumers - especially parents. Antista makes some very compelling points, but I completely disagree that kids of ALL ages should be playing GTA. There's a reason it gets an "M" Rating, but ultimately parents need to use their discretion when dealing with what's appropriate for their children.
Would you let your 4 year old browse your porn stash? How about let them play the latest virtual Hentai sex game ? There isn't a 4 year old on the planet that NEEDS to experience these things, and while we can debate forever about whether playing GTA IV will make them a car-jacking, cop-multilating, acid-tripping, sex-crazed maniac one day, we can hopefully agree that there are many other games more appropriate for the 4 year old age demographic.
Recently, I have noticed an uproar in the gaming community over inflated review scores for GTAIV and Konami's upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4. GTA4 currently holds a solid 
Time to dust off your toga and load your roofies in that special pocket because beer pong and other frat games are coming to the Wii! 
In a response to a 10-year old girl who was called "fat" by the game Wii Fit, health pundits have jumped into the discussion. The girl was reportedly in perfectly healthy condition, but the Wii Fit fatness gauge went off when it took her measurements. It should be noted that Wii Fit does use standard BMI (Body Mass Index for you laymen) values - the same system used by health professionals and high school gym coaches everywhere. The way I see it, Wii Fit is pretty much your high school gym coach. He can't get you into shape without your own willingness to work at it, but if he is around enough to call you a fatass enough times, maybe you'll actually get off your fat ass and do something about it.
