Bah.

Sometimes, unfortunately, life gets in the way of gaming.  Sadly the most gaming I've done lately is a playthrough of the previously reviewed Crystalis, an hour or two of the old adventure game, The Longest Journey, and a new masochistic project in Minecraft.   Nothing really worth blogging about, sadly.  But expect an update by wednesday, promise.  

RETROAWESOME: CRYSTALIS

We're all dead now, apparently. 

FAVORITE PLACES - PSYCHONAUTS: LUNGFISHOPOLIS

Picking a favorite place in Psychonauts is almost futile.  Every single level in the game is memorable and unique, as each one is the mind of a different character.  While I'm not as big a fan of say, the 60s acid-trippy Milla's Dance Party level or Stella's Theater (although the play is hysterical), I will never forget the brain-twisting Milkman Conspiracy or the artsy-cool Black Velvetopia.  Even as I was trying to narrow it down, I had trouble choosing between Waterloo World and Lungfishopolis.  The mighty Goggalor won out.

OH, YAHTZEE...

Of all the game reviewers out there, only one continually earns my respect and actually holds any sway over my purchase of a game.  Yahtzee, that irritable British-turned-Aussie curmudgeon from Zero Punctuation, almost always seems to echo my thoughts on games we've both played, and can usually predict exactly how I'm going to feel on games I haven't.  Never before have I found a video game reviewer that feels exactly how I do, with his utter loathing for multiplayer and JRPGs, and his ability to see through the bullshit and call the games on it.  We like a lot of the same games, and we hate a lot of the same games.  I nearly wept with vindication when he spoke the words "Even if we concede to the fanboys that a Zelda game can only be judged alongside other Zelda games, Skyward Sword is the worst Zelda game I've ever played."

Though, I've noticed that whenever we disagree on a game, we disagree hugely.

RESIDENT EVIL 6 TRAILER UNLEASHED

Fuck.   YES.  

Resident Evil 6 Official Trailer

This is the first time I've really been excited about a Resident Evil release.

WAIT, SO WHO'S THE PIRATE?

I totally get the fight against online piracy.   I've been an online pirate since I was copying my neighbor's Secret Of Monkey Island discs back in 1993, and have never stopped.  But from the companies' standpoints, I totally get it.  I know damn well I'm doing something immoral and illegal.  I don't justify it.  I don't pretty it up.  I'm just a cheap bastard that doesn't like paying for shit, I admit it.

DEAR GOD, PLEASE LET THIS BE THE NEXT STAGE IN GAMING

Spotted on Reddit today, this is an absolutely mind-blowing physics engine being developed for movies and gaming.  I don't honestly know that this engine could even be applicable to the NEXT generation of gaming, but holy shit is it beautiful if you're into this kind of thing.

Lagoa Multiphysics 1.0

CHILDHOOD GRUDGE

It's funny how we all have little tiny hidden rage triggers in our minds.  Just a simple word or phrase that sparks some old wound from your past that immediately sends you into a fury.   As it turns out, for me those words today were "Nintendo Power Hotline".  Fuck those guys. Seriously.  I never forgave them for an incident when I was in elementary school, when the original Legend Of Zelda came out.

GAME INFORMER, I AM IMPRESSED

Things have been hectic at work, it's been tough to update.  But I had to share this.   This painting comes from a recent Game Informer article about gaming's most interesting characters.  

This is absolutely amazing.

DIRGE FOR A FADING GENRE

It came out of nowhere, shocking us.  Thrilling us.  Uniting us.  And the idea took off like wildfire, dominating the industry, firmly implanting itself into the pop culture subconscious.  It burned brightly, breathing new life into the video game industry like no one had seen before, forging an alliance between the two warring camps of Casual and Hardcore gamers.  But its star burned too fast, and companies tried too hard to milk its seemingly neverending teat, until nothing new could be drawn from it.  And now, the beast is dying.

I speak of course, of the music/rhythm game genre.

NOTCH, YOU ROCK.

Still writing my wednesday update, will be up tomorrow.  In the meantime, I wanted to share this.  Notch, developer of Minecraft, is known for being a really cool, laid-back guy.  But this is just awesome.

FAVORITE PLACES - HALF LIFE 2: THE BRIDGE

This is just an idea for a segment, kinda feeling the waters.  We all have those points in certain games that will always stick with us.  It could be a cutscene that grabs us, as they're designed to appeal to us emotionally.  But our main interaction with a game isn't watching, it's playing.  Experiencing.  Sometimes it's a whole level that enchants us, sometimes it's just a segment of one.  Sometimes it's a sub-area, since games nowadays tend to eschew the concept of "levels".  Whatever the scope, we all have parts of games that made us go "Man, you remember when you get to that part where..."

MICROSOFT, YOU ASSHOLES.

There are a lot of angry people out in the video game world who hate DRM (Digital Rights Management).  Entire message boards dedicated to the bashing of Origin, SecuROM, etc. have been around for a long time.  Hell, antipiracy methods have been raged against for decades.  To be honest though, I've never really had an issue with any DRM, beyond finding it a very minor inconvenience.   Well, until last night.

BRIEF IMPRESSIONS: L.A. NOIRE

Just nabbed the complete edition off of Steam for $13.  I have to admit, I've been on the fence about it. It's getting great reviews, but it just didn't seem up my alley.

I've been playing for two hours now.  It's....interesting. 

NOW THIS IS A TRIBUTE

This video has gone viral all over the internet, even with non-gamers, but I still had to share it.  

RIP, "Macho Man" Randy Savage.   This is truly the greatest tribute a man could possibly receive.  The boots and the hat really make the mod.

Skyrim Macho Mod 

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

So I've been spending a lot of my time gaming lately, but in the back of my mind I've been thinking about what kind of things I really want in this blog.  I have said I'm not going to be a review site or a news site, specifically, but I definitely want to have content that people will want to read.  So what can I do to really make things interesting?

INDIE ROYALE NEW YEAR'S BUNDLE IS OUT

Indie Royale has released their New Year's Bundle, a pay-what-you-want collection of indie games very similar to the Humble Indie Bundle.  Unlike the HIB, this one does have a minimum amount, but it's only $3.50 at the time of this posting.   All that for four games - Nuclear Dawn, Max & The Magic Marker, Fractal, and Super Crossfire! 


Indie Royale - New Year's Bundle

MY GOD...IT'S....IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL...

The Elder Scrolls games are known for being incredibly moddable...Bethesda even releases toolkits specifically for modding.  So since Morrowind came about 10 years ago, mods have been coming out that enhance the game (which sadly, did not age well).  Plenty of these mods have made graphical tweaks here and there to make it prettier.  But this...this is absolutely breathtaking.  They may as well have remade the entire game.  Check out the screenshots and weep at their beauty.

The Morrowind Overhaul

2011 INDIE ROUNDUP

Every site has done their Best Of 2011 reports by now.  Hell, most of them did theirs before the year was even over.  And most lists are the exact same list, maybe shuffled around in order.  My problem is, this has been a rough year financially, so I haven't gotten to play all of the AAA titles, or I'm just now getting to them at the end of the year. 

But I do play the shit out of indie games.  Between the Humble Bundles, the Voxatron Bundle, and the ubiquitous indie sales on Steam, my year has been flooded with indie games.  Some have rocked my world, some have filled me with loathing.  Here are some of the highlights:

THE ELDER SCROLLS ARE LIKE, DEEP, MAN...

I found this recently.   Blew my mind completely.  I've been playing TES games since Morrowind, and have sunk hundreds of hours into each game.   I knew that they had some serious history and lore, but I had no idea that it ran this deep.  This is some uber-geeky stuff, delving into the lore and philosophies of the game and cracking it open to get to a theorized gooey center.  It's very long, but very fascinating, and you might have to use some sort of illicit mind-altering drug to really get it.

GABEN, YOU'RE SUCH AN ASSHOLE

I've decided to use my first post on this new blog to address an issue that is currently really bothering me. This holiday season has been marred by a lot ungrateful, entitled people getting bent out of shape because they received free stuff, but apparently not good enough free stuff.