Thank you for making the DS such a delightful piece of equipment.

I picked up a DS Lite a few weeks ago- the new Ruby Red one, in case you’re wondering (it’s bee-you-tee-ful. A shiny red and stylish black combination that screams awesome)- and I couldn’t be happier with the purchase. It’s perfect for, say, flights to and from Boston, or lunch breaks at work.

The picture quality is quite impressive for such a small device, and I love the touchpad. I don’t have many games for it- New Super Mario, Brain Age 2, and Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney- but they’ve been quality games. New Super Mario is everything I want in a Mario game- interesting and exciting level designs, secret paths and boxes, cool power-ups (although, honestly, the old Hammer Brothers suit was much cooler than the new turtle shell), and has the bonus of two new power-ups: the tiny mushroom and the mega mushroom. Gamers familiar with the Mario Party games will recognize them instantly, but they basically make you super tiny, or mega big. Both have interesting consequences to the gameplay.

I haven’t had a chance to try out the multiplayer functionality, but I’ve heard good things. Long story short: If you’ve been thinking about getting one, and you haven’t yet, you should. It’s tons of fun. Plus, I need someone to try out some multiplayer with. =)

Greetings all! I’ve been a bit quiet lately (between moving, and work training, and general life stuff), but I wanted to give a heads up about a couple of pretty cool games, perfect for the coming Halloween season. Both of these are perfect for medium sized groups of people-You’d want at least 3, but I don’t think they work with more than 6 or 7 (I can’t remember how many players they suggest). You can play Zombies!! with only 2 people, but House on the Hill requires at least 3.

Reviews below the fold…

(more…)

Feminist Gamers is always a source of interesting and important conversations, and this week was no exception, when Mighty Ponygirl put up a thread called Virgin/whore videogames? The part of that post that caught my eye was midway down when she starts talking about the ESRB rating system.

A lot of poeple don’t really know that much about the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board), which isn’t really that surprising, even if it is sort of disappointing.

Ultimately, I don’t really have a problem with rating systems. I think that they’re not particularly well conceived right now, and I think that they’re too subject to commericial pressures, and not informative enough, but the concept isn’t completely pointless. It’s not realistic to expect everyone to play a game before the purchase it for other people, and going online to try to find information about a game you’re thinking about buying is a crapshoot at the best of times. It’s near impossible if you’re someone who doesn’t game regularly and doesn’t know what you’re really looking for.
(more…)

I won (in a very loose sense) Mark’s five movie extravaganza, so round 23 is mine.

So: the rules:

• I’m going to post a screenshot from a movie. If you’re the first person to guess the movie, you win!
• If you win, you have to continue the game by posting a screenshot on your blog with the same rules outlined here (please to the main post as well). The winner of your round will host the next round, and so on.
• If you don’t have a blog (and if you don’t want to start one), I’ll host the next round as well (the screenshot should still come from the winner, if possible). If you do have a blog, but the winner of your round doesn’t, you should host the next round too.
• Once the winner posts their screenshot, I’ll link to it from this post. Each winner needs to link to the next winner, and so on.
• Only movies are eligible. No television shows.
• If no one can figure out the answer within 3 days, then you’ve stumped the internet. If you want, you can give hints. If we still have no winner, then congratulations, you’ve won. Maybe I’ll start a hall of fame or something. Give everyone the answer, and post another screenshot (or pass the baton to someone else, and link them). If you decide to host the next round, be nice, and post an easier screenshot. This game would be no fun if you keep posting random landscapes from obscure Italian films.

Image below the fold. Get guessing!
(more…)

As someone who has friends working within the industry, I have nothing but respect for the idea that game manufacturers should be, you know… paid for their work. I understand that piracy can be a bit of a problem, and I can understand the industry working to take steps to make piracy difficult.

That being said, I can’t help but get annoyed by the more and more outlandish, insulting, and offensive measures that game manufacturers are taking to prevent software piracy.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Bioshock ever since I first read about it. It sounds like a pretty damned awesome piece of software, and yet… even if/when my sys-specs are up to the task, I will not be purchasing this game. This, despite the consistently high marks it’s getting, and my almost overwhelming desire to play what some are calling a near work of art.

Why?

Because of the absolutely horrible DRM that installing Bioshock sticks you with.

Shamus has a series of entries about this, and they’re pretty interesting reading, including some of hte comments:
Bioshock: DRMShock
Bioshock: DRMShock, Bad to Worse
Bioshock: Miss Misinformation
Bioshock: Ken Levine Interview

There are a lot of comments to read there, but, inevitable, there are comments along the lines of “Well, this isn’t surprising, this is normal, what’s the problem?” or “just get the console version” and “other games use SecuROM and nobody complained so they shouldn’t complain now”. There are even a few comments about how it’s software piracy that is killing PC gaming, and so we shouldn’t be bugged by this.

I’m mostly going to echo Shamus’ sentiments here- my issue with Bioshock isn’t that they’re trying to protect their intellectual property- it’s that they’re doing so in a way that serious punishes legitimate users while doing nothing to halt piracy. In fact, in some ways, things like SecuROM encourage piracy.

Their system limits users to a very small number of installations, opens their PC to potential virus threats, and requires online activation for a game that doesn’t have an online play mode. These things encourage piracy, because legitimate users are forced to jump through hoops and put their systems at risk just to play a piece of software that they legally purchased. Where is in the incentive not to pirate the game, when pirated copies have less risk than legal copies?

When I purchase a game, I expect to be able to play that game for as long as my system specs are appropriate for it. I don’t mind that I can’t play the original Warcraft on my new PC because it’s DOS based, and my system doesn’t support DOS, because I can always get an older PC and play it that way. I don’t mind that some games require me to slow my computer down to play them, because I still have the ability to reinstall that software and play.

Systems like SecuROM and online activation are really problematic, though, because it’s more like renting the software than buying. You purchase the software, but you can’t play it unless the company you purchased it from gives you further permission. What happens in 10 or 15 years when those companies no longer exist or have been swallowed up by some other company? I still play 10 and 15 year-old console games, and I’ve broken out older PC games from time to time, as well.

In addition, there’s the issue of what you’re purchasing. If I but a book that claims to be a cook-book, but turns out to be a history book, I can return it and expect to get my money back. People who purchased Bioshock, and discovered that SecuROM would be installed (and can’t be uninstalled), or who found that they couldn’t even install the game because of SecuROM don’t have that option. Despite the fact that the package doesn’t mention that it’s going to install SecuROM, and despite the fact that SecuROM is an intrusive piece of software that can create system problems, PC games can’t be returned for refund in most places. This means that you might spend sixty bucks on a piece of software that you don’t want to install because it’ll screw up your system, and even though you were essentially lied to, you can’t get your money back.

It’s not surprising that gamers are feeling a bit up in arms about this. When you’re treating your customers like thieves and you’re lying to them about what they’re installing, it seems like you should expect a bit of backlash. It’s not software piracy that’s killing PC gaming, it’s crap like this, that punishes legitimate users for being stupid enough to spend money on a game that they want. PC gaming is becoming more and more frustrating all the time. I know that I’m tired of buying games with ridiculously complicated and unstable copy protection systems and online activations that, once installed, need multiple patches because the game is so buggy that it crashes every time you, say, try to save the game.

I mean, really, what’s the incentive to purchase a PC game anymore? You get games that are ridiculously buggy and incomplete, offensively intrusive DRM schemes, online requirements for games without online play, and the constant push for higher and higher sys-specs for games that don’t really push the graphic envelope.

Is it any wonder that I buy at least 10 console games for every PC game I purchase?

I’ve been rather lax in updates, lately, and I aim to correct that. Without further ado, two reviews for you- one video game, and one movie.

(more…)

The rules:

• I’m going to post a screenshot from a movie. If you’re the first person to guess the movie, you win!
• If you win, you have to continue the game by posting a screenshot on your blog with the same rules outlined here (please link here as well). The winner of your round will host the next round, and so on.
• If you don’t have a blog (and if you don’t want to start one), I’ll host the next round as well (the screenshot should still come from the winner, if possible). If you do have a blog, but the winner of your round doesn’t, you should host the next round too.
• Once the winner posts their screenshot, Mark will link to it from this post. Each winner needs to link to the next winner, and so on.
• Only movies are eligible. No television shows.
• If no one can figure out the answer within 3 days, then you’ve stumped the internet. If you want, you can give hints. If we still have no winner, then congratulations, you’ve won. Maybe I’ll start a hall of fame or something. Give everyone the answer, and post another screenshot (or pass the baton to someone else, and link them). If you decide to host the next round, be nice, and post an easier screenshot. This game would be no fun if you keep posting random landscapes from obscure Italian films.

Annnnd… my image!

(below the fold)

(more…)

(cross posted from No Cookies For Me)

Might Ponygirl mentioned the rising controversy surrounding Resident Evil 5. Apparently, the game trailer is… raising some issues on race. I don’t think it should be surprising, when you have a trailer that features a white guy (and, at least in earlier games, a cop) shooting and killing large groups of blacks, that some people are going to stand up and say Hey, this is pretty problematic from a racial standpoint.

Now, I readily believe that Capcom probably didn’t intend for this to be controversial. I’d guess that they never even considered the racial implications (at least, I hope). But, ignorance isn’t an excuse. I think it’s perfectly fair to criticize the content of a game, and all of the social implications of that content. In this case, I think that it’s completely fair to point to the game and say “Look, there’s nothing wrong with having blacks be zombies in a game, but when you have a game where all of the zombies are black, and the hero is a white guy with a gun killing them, it starts to look a little ugly.”

One of the really disappointing, though not surprising, things about all of this controversy, is the way that people have reacted. Rather than taking the words to heart and considering the racial implications and how the game might make people feel, a lot of gamers have gotten really angry about the criticisms and are on the attack. Read through some of the comments in Black Looks post, or at Villiage article. Immediately, people start making accusations of “playing the race card” or how there were “no problems when the ‘inhumane savages’ are white.”
(more…)

The computer I post from has recently decided that it doesn’t feel like playing most of my mp3 discs anymore, and I can’t store music on it, so it’s made the Random Ten… well… less Random.

Still, I put a disc in, hit random, and this is what I got:

<b>Random Ten</b>

1. They Might Be Giants - “Destination Moon”
2. They Might Be Giants - “25 O’Clock”
3. They Might Be Giants - “32 Footsteps”
4. They Might Be Giants - “Letterbox”
5. They Might Be Giants - “Robot Parade”
6. They Might Be Giants - “Spiraling Shape”
7. They Might Be Giants - “Lullaby to Nightmares”
8. They Might Be Giants - “Boat of Car”
9. They Might Be Giants - “Hearing Aid”
10. They Might Be Giants - “Meet James Ensor”

<b>Six Candies I Love</b>

1. Heath Bar
2. Red Hots
3. Fire Bar
4. Sweetarts
5. Nerds
6. Vanilla Tootsie Rolls

<b>Four Favorite Tracks on Guitar Hero II</b>

1. Tattooed Love Boys
2. Rock This Town
3. Message in a Bottle
4. Psychobilly Freakout

I picked up Civ 3 a couple of months ago at Big Lots for something like $6. I don’t know if Big Lots is a national chain, but I’m a huge fan, and if there’s one near you, I’d definitely suggest checking it out. It’s just a close-out store, but I’ve picked up a number of great things there, for crazy cheap. Last month, they had a bunch of award winning foreign flicks for $2.00 each. Awesome.

Anyway, I picked up Civ 3 because I’d heard about how great the Civ series is, but I’d never had a chance to play one. I knew it was a turn based world conquering type game. The impression I got was that it was a bit like a turn based Empire Earth- a Master of Orion set in history instead of space. So far, that seems to be the case. Mostly.

The problem is this: The game doesn’t come with instructions. I don’t know if it never came with instructions or if I just got some weird version that lacked instructions, but I’ve actually noticed this more and more with computer games. What is it about PC gaming that the manufacturers seem to be less and less inclined to include an instruction manual outside of the installation instructions?

(more…)