Archive for the ‘Editorials’ Category
So you wake up, grab some breakfast, and fire up your console of choice to get some gaming in before you start your day. You load up some Dragon Age: Origins and laugh at the wacky antics of Shale, the stone golem with a hatred of all things chicken. After killing a few darkspawn you still have some time to kill so you swap discs and go online to play some Tiger Woods with a friend. You cap it all off by jumping into Mass Effect 2 to try out the controls of the new Hammerhead hovercraft.
Or maybe you don’t. You see, you’re a money-conscious gamer who can’t buy all of your games brand new on day one, so you picked up these games used at GameStop. And everything I just mentioned — the Shale DLC, online play in Tiger Woods, and the “Cerberus Network” of free DLC in Mass Effect 2 — is free only to those who bought the game new.
+Continue Reading
(You may recall a story we posted a couple of months ago concerning the DRM in EA’s Command & Conquer 4, where a constant internet connection is required in order to play the game. In what will likely become a regular segment until EA, and others, come up with a solution to pirating that doesn’t hinder the consumer, I present to you with a harrowing tale straight from my own life, centered this time around EA’s ever popular Sims franchise. Enjoy.)
My girlfriend loves The Sims. Though it’s a statement that certainly ranks somewhere in the “Top 10 Most Commonly Stated Sentences of All Time,” the truth and validity of it remains unwavering. Most anytime we are parked on the sofa watching TV, she is simulating God on her laptop. If she is not, you can almost sense her desire to be doing so. And since her game of choice doesn’t hog the TV or require her to use the high-end PC in the bedroom, she gets to spend a lot of time playing it. There are many nights where she is only half-there on the couch watching a movie with me; her consciousness somewhere else, watching over numerous little lives.
This was all well, until one morning when we awoke to find her laptop refusing to power on. It was probably time for an upgrade anyway, so we drove to our nearest corporate megastore in order to pick out a young new laptop to take home. We found one that she liked and that was well-priced, but it didn’t include a DVD drive of any kind. Though I had prepared my speech on “Cloud” theory and how owning physical media would be dead as soon as we entered our species’ Enlightened Years, I instead assured her that we would have no problem getting The Sims 3 on her new laptop.
This, I later learned, would be no easy task.
+Continue Reading
The lead-up to Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory‘s release was, personally, a frantic one. I distinctly remember having finished Pandora Tomorrow and being disappointed, earnestly pining for Ubisoft Montreal (the creator of the Splinter Cell franchise) to return to the series.
Late one night, news broke of an off-screen ‘Splinter Cell 3′ gameplay video and I spent the evening desperately hunting for a glimpse of the game. I did everything from registering at Ubisoft’s forums to refreshing my Google search every 5 seconds. Finally, my eyes met the shaky-cam footage of the best-looking game I had ever seen. I showed my friends, my enemies, and my parents. My excitement simply couldn’t be contained; after all, who wouldn’t want to grab an enemy while hanging upside-down or yank him from the edge of a building?
Unfortunately, the title’s November 2004 release date was postponed. My heart sank. I had no desire to play any other game that year, not Halo 2 nor Half-Life 2; not even the impressive Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I didn’t buy any game that year, nor did I receive any for Christmas. My soul was set on Sam Fisher’s newest exploits.
+Continue Reading
Yesterday I was prepared to give in to my once-a-year habit. Yes, every 12 months I feel that familiar itch. Work seems to stretch on longer; my favorite foods taste bland. Life is agony, and the only way I know how to set the world right is with a fix; with renewing my Xbox Live Gold Membership. Yes, the days feel complete again knowing that I have ensured another year of all the great features Xbox Live provides.
Though, as I slid my credit card from its well-worn slot in my wallet, once again ready to drop $50 like it were, in fact, hot, I happened upon a news story. I rubbed my eyes, convinced that they played jest at my expense, yet the text reemerged just the same: the PS3 was going to begin streaming Netflix movies. I placed the card upon my desk, and began to ponder these events.
+Continue Reading
As the NPD numbers once again begin their monthly hibernation, the most talked about news from September’s sales data remains the PlayStation 3’s rise to the top of the home console market. With a new design, cheaper price, and strong ad push, the PS3 Slim beat out the Wii and Xbox 360 by moving nearly 492,000 units.
+Continue Reading
However, not all gamers feel like using their powers for good – there are many, many more who feel their energies are better channeled down other paths. Dark paths paved with tears, internet flames and lots and lots of butthurt.
By now, I’m sure you’ve all been made aware of the backlash over Valve’s announcement of Left 4 Dead 2 at E3 2009. A vocal group of Steam users have formed a petition, wanting to block the release of L4D2 by claiming that Valve is just looking for a quick money grab by releasing a sequel only one year after the first entry. Despite assurances from Valve’s Chet Faliszek that they still plan to support the first L4D with updates (one of the chief complaints from the boycott group) the protestors continue to claim that Valve is somehow the puppy-raping, mother-kicking Anti-christ.
If you just want the news, there you go. If you want to hear a rather angry, semi-editorial rant, head under the cut. You’ve been warned.
+Continue Reading
Rob Thomas
Rob Rich
Sage Knox
Beki Sutcliffe
Dustin Stevens
Jason Smith
Scott Thompson
Aubrey Klanecky
Zuri Grimm
Loading ...