May 6th, 2008
by Robert Starvation
First, let me preface this with the caveat that operating a motor vehicle is irresponsible and dangerous; in some cases, that irresponsibility can be fatal. No one under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or being too old and confused to figure out how to set up an email account should drive in those states of being. Period.
That said, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers are off their fucking rockers if they insist on being the thought police for a generation of gamers.
Video games are interactive escapism, pure and simple. They allow the player to perform actions they would never do in real life without the harmful consequences. Indeed, there are indications that sustained immersion in simulated violent scenarios make one less prone to violence.
Does playing Rugrats Studio Tour make you Tommy Pickles? Will playing God of War II cause you to slaughter hundreds in obsessive pursuit of the godhood Zeus robbed you of? No more than playing drinking and driving in Grand Theft Auto 4 will make you drink and drive in real life.
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Posted in The War on Some Drugs, Video Games | No Comments »
May 1st, 2008
by Sam Pagan
You know you’re an ultra fanboy when you have a pair of these shipped to your mother’s basement.
That’s right: Wiimote cuff links.
I wasn’t even aware that there were business-savvy nerds who would require such an accessory, but evidentially I was wrong. So very wrong. Great, soon they’ll be walking around with Wiimotes hidden in the soles of their shoes (”just in case”) while still ranting about the Marty McFly Nikes.
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Posted in Video Games | 2 Comments »
March 28th, 2008
by Sam Pagan
Gender and gaming has always been a touchy subject for me, as is evident here. Girls who play the games that were most likely marketed towards the male gender can receive a lot of flak for it, both good and bad, and this article at The Guardian by Jess McCabe touches on the subject of virtual gender bending: Girls who play male characters or pretend to be male in order to avoid numerous forms of harassment.
The idea of online gaming is being able to hold on to anonymity while at the same time enjoying a game with people from around the world. What you get are guys with varying personalities: either trying to prove whose balls are bigger, or guys who actually respect the game and want to take it seriously, but still able to enjoy themselves with occasional chat to fill in the downtime between story arcs or missions. I’m not trying to say that there are only these two types of guys that play online games, but it’s the two that I’ve encountered during my time online.
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Posted in Video Games | 2 Comments »
March 26th, 2008
by Sam Pagan
If you haven’t read about Dexter from Re:Generator’s Best Of 2007 Television, haven’t seen the show, or don’t even know who Michael C. Hall is, this may not interest you.
But for those of us who eagerly followed each episode on Showtime (and had to catch up via On Demand), devouring the internal monologue of everyone’s favourite serial killer with his own peculiar morals and basking in the wondrousness that is Michael C. Hall - oh, and if you happen to like video games - this will be interesting news.
A Dexter-based video game is in the works for all known consoles. Am I dreaming? Darkly dreaming, perhaps? No, it’s the real deal. Gamers will be able to become even more immersed in the world and minds of characters from the darkly amusing TV show inspired by the books written by Jeffrey Lindsay.
At the helm with Showtime Networks is Marc Ecko Entertainment. Ecko is mainly known for fashion, but emerged onto the gaming scene with 2005’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, which I have never heard of. It seems it was released on the PS2 and original Xbox, combining graffiti tagging with street fighting…? Sounds like Jet Set Radio Future gone urban, if you ask me. At any rate, reviewers gave it mad props, which could be testimony to Ecko’s ability to produce quality games - which in turn is good news for Showtime Networks.
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Posted in Video Games | 1 Comment »
February 26th, 2008
by Sam Pagan
Rule #1: Don’t Cross The Streams!
Are all the gamers out there ready for a nostalgic trip to the 80s? If you haven’t heard by now, then you’re in for a treat: Slotted for this fall, actors and comedians Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis are coming together to create the Ghostbusters video game! Along with the voices of Janine (Annie Potts), Winston (Ernie Hudson), and even that jerk Peck (William Atherton).
I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am for this game. When I first heard about it sometime last year, they weren’t even sure if Bill Murray was going to sign on to do Venkman’s voice, which is what I was holding out for. Because you just can’t have a Ghostbusters game that is written by the original writers of the movies without the classic sardonic vocals of the real Peter Venkman. Oh sure, with the cartoons we had to bite the bullet and accept the sad parodies of each actor’s voice (including Lorenzo Music dubbing for Pete Venkman), but that was a given being a franchised cartoon. There was no way that these actors could do something as immersive and time consuming as a cartoon series.
But a video game, now that’s something!
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Posted in Entertainment, Video Games | 6 Comments »
