Killer Kittens from Mars

image by thumbcramps: Okay … I’m going to get a...

Sun, 05 May 2013 02:29:00 -0400

image by thumbcramps:

Okay … I’m going to get a little personal here so bear with me. I am overweight. I weigh 160 pounds and I’m 5’2” So I’m pudgy.

This bothers me as a gamer and as an all around geek because I have always wanted to cosplay. However, due to what you see in this comic I’m too scared too cosplay.

I’m too fat to actually look like the characters that I like. I can’t be Commander Shepard. I can’t be Lara Croft.Or Zoe Washburn. I can’t be Dovahkiin. Or Alyx Vance. I’m too fat.

Maybe it’s geek culture’s fault, for not being supportive and tearing down people with weight problems, especially women. Maybe it’s Americas culture of fat shaming. Could it be the fault of the people that make our games and comic books? The people that expose us to unrealistic levels of beauty, and tell us to expect all women to look like that.

All I know is that none of the women I listed above would put up with this shit.

This is one of the few things that make me ashamed to be a geek. This makes me ashamed to love the things I love. So lets fix it.

Any ideas?

Would you get Mario Kar 7 for the 3DS or Roller Coaster Tycoon for Mac?

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:21:08 -0500

Personally I would get Mario Kart 7, but it really depends on what you prefer.
Are you looking for a game where you can get hours of enjoyment alone through micromanaging and perfecting your amusement park?
Or are you looking for a game to play with friends and get lots of replay by trying to unlock secret characters?
They are both awesome games and either one would be a good choice, but I can’t spend your money for you :) Let me know what you decided!

edwardspoonhands: This should be a YouTube...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 23:41:39 -0500

edwardspoonhands:

This should be a YouTube show.

…….. I love this man.

edwardspoonhands: adlegend21: heyhowiee: Stop for a moment...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:33:25 -0500

edwardspoonhands:

adlegend21:

heyhowiee:

Stop for a moment and read this headline on Fox News’ website.

What is the first thing that comes to mind?

Being a journalism major I can tell you that this headline was written extremely well. The phrasing is impeccably planned and deliberate in its purpose to deliver both a factually accurate message, along with a not-so-subtle false one.

You see, Obama did in fact make a phone call to thank the Libyan president following the attacks and deaths at the U.S. Embassy. The gratitude delivered to him was that resulting from President Mohamed Yusuf al-Magariaf reaching out and giving his condolences, his remorse and disdain for a few extremists that reside within his nation, and his full support in investigating this tragedy.

But Fox News knows that the majority of its viewer and readership won’t read past the headline. In fact, journalists know that a well-written headline should convey the core topic of the article, to catch attention and immediately make a statement without the reader having to read any of the actual article. What Fox News has done with this headline is purposefully sway readers into beleiving that our United States President made a phone call to THANK the Libyan president for the attacks and deaths of our fellow Americans. Crazy right?

Not. The scary part is that most people who see this headline are going to think just that. Regardless of the facts. Regardless of what should be common sense in that our own President would NEVER thank anyone for damage and death caused to his citizens.

This is irresponsible journalism, just one example of thousands of poor decisions that Fox “News” makes on a daily basis to feed its own fire and to steer its ignorant and ill-informed followers in whichever direction they see fit. But why not just call it what it really is?

Legal brainwashing and defamatory propaganda, not unlike that of Nazi Germany (Godwin’s Law or not) or Middle Eastern terrorist groups.

American terrorism, right here, right now.

^Perfectly explained.

It should be noted that “Fox Nation” is not a news organization, it is a blogging platform. Fox Nation allows any nutbag to post any headline and any article they want to. It encourages true nutbaggery by promoting the articles that get people the most “fired up.” That, of course, leads to all sorts of crazypants deception and lies and people writing opinion pieces as if they are news.

The fact that it is difficult for me or anyone else to differentiate Fox Nation from an actual news site is disturbing and wrong, but this is not a news article written by Fox News, it’s just a wacko nut job trying to get the equivalent of Reddit karma by “firing up” other wacko nut jobs.

This upsets me and angers me so much. As a journalism student, as a independent, and as a (hopefully) intelligent human being. The average person, or casual viewer won’t take the time to even note that this isn’t a real news site. I just, ugh… my chosen profession can be so full of suck.

The Walking Dead Episode 1: A New Day

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:58:19 -0400

The Walking Dead is a different type of zombie game. You don’t charge through the zombie horde firing a shotgun, shouting one-liners, and doing other things that are likely to get you killed. Instead you focus on surviving, protecting those you care about, and getting along with other survivor in an infected world.

Not to say that the game doesn’t have action oriented moments. It does. It has it’s fair share of pulse-pounding, terrifying, “Oh my god we’re all gonna die” moments. These moments are usually press a button, or aim quickly so that you don’t die. These quicktime events are few and far between, but when they occur you grip the controller and madly try to save your life and the lives of the other people in your group.

The majority of the game isn’t quicktime events though, it’s played out through conversations. You make decisions, effect what other people think of you, and change the story through conversations. To keep the pace of the game moving, most conversations have a timer on them. You are given four choices. If you wait for the time to run out the answer is chosen for you, and it might not be what you want.

Having replayed the episode a few times I didn’t really see my decisions impact anything. Except for maybe who died, which characters liked me, and which were waiting to punch me in the face. Hopefully my multiple playthroughs will be very different by the third chapter.

This game is worth buying if you are into zombie survival games, but are tired of super hero protagonists who kick ass, take names, and through realism out of the window. This game is very conversation heavy so if you don’t like talking and the occasional slow moment then don’t play it. The other thing I wanted to mention is that this game is cheap each episode is five dollars and there are going to be only five episodes (in the first season anyway) so this game will give you a ton of bang for your buck. I would definitely recommend this game.

Slender is Painful to Play (in a good way)

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 23:09:38 -0400

I started playing Slender after having seen a couple Let’s Plays, so I knew exactly what was in store for me. Still the first time I played it I picked up one page, before screaming like a girl when the music started and immediately pausing the game. I really wanted to turn it off. However, I ventured on, thinking of how badly I needed to post another article before my “summer hiatus” became blog death.

Earlier I mentioned that I picked up a page, that is really the entire point of the game. You are trapped in a forest with the scariest mo-fo ever, (at least according to the internet) Slender Man. You must collect eight pages to escape and if you stay still too long or look behind you too often, he’ll get you. If you stare at him too long, he’ll kill you. If you stop to flip him off, he’ll kill you.

The reason that this game is scary isn’t that it’s about Slender Man, but it’s really the game’s atmosphere. The game is set in pitch black woods surrounded by a fence to keep you in the play area. You are equipped with a flashlight that swings to the ground if you run. Without the flashlight you can’t see your hand in front of your face.

Every time you grab a page the music picks up and Slender Man gets closer to you. Then you run. You run through the woods to the next page. You search desperately for it as your pulse races and you know that he is right behind you, or maybe hes behind that tree, or around that corner, whatever you do don’t look. If you look he’ll definitely be there. I have played three times and I’ve never got past five pages before Slender pops up (and he literally pops up, one second he isn’t there and the next he is) and ends my game. I refuse to play it again guys, please don’t make me.

The only gripe I could imagine someone having would be with the graphics, which are not great. However they are perfect for the mood they are trying to convey. You are sucked into the game play so much that you don’t even notice that the graphics are a little out of date, you just know that if you don’t move you are going to die.

All in all I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who looking to be scared out their wits. Now excuse me while I turn on every light in the house and hold my teddy bear extra tight.

5 More Great Games That Are Completely Free

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:01:45 -0400

Last September I posted an article called “5 Great Games That Are Completely Free”. In that article I offered some good free games that would help kill time until the holiday season while also keeping your wallet from feeling like a teenage bulimic. Although the holiday gaming rush is over, some of us (namely me) are still very broke. So here are five more free games worth spending some time on.

Unmanned

I am fascinated by artistic games for the same reason that I read Sci-fi books. I love to enjoy myself while gaining a new perspective on life. Unmanned does exactly that.

It’s a day in the life of man who works for the military. You pick his inner monologue and preform his daily tasks. You help him sing in the car, talk to his son, and decide whether or not he’s happy in his career choice. It gives an interesting perspective on a fictional life, and perhaps a new perspective on aspects of your own life.

Do Play If: You can multitask, you have an open mind, you like Queen, you like to replay a game after you’ve beaten it.

Don’t Play If: You don’t like art games, you are easily frustrated, you can’t stand differing opinions

Space is Key 2

This game is evil. Pure, unadulterated, ridiculously addictive, evil. The only key you use is the space bar. Levels are fast paced and you have unlimited lives. You’ll die on a level ten times before you figure out the correct timing and manage to actually do it.

Do Play If: You like a challenge, you like timing based games, you dislike complicated controls

Don’t Play If: You are easily frustrated, you are easily bored, you have homework due soon.

Axon

An Axon is a part of a nerve cell. That is literally all I knew about axons before I played this game. This game (loosely based on actual science) puts you in the role of an axon competing against other neurons to form more attachments.

What I found the most fascinating was that the game doesn’t force any knowledge on the player. You can play the game get a high score and be done with it, or you can go to the science tab and find out more about the brain. It’s a nifty exercise in tangential learning that lets the player decide how much they care to learn.

If anyone cares to know, my highest score is 17089 which is a nigrostriatal neuron.

Do Play If: you like playing for high scores, you like science, you have some free time

Don’t Play If: you prefer story in your games, you’re bored by science, you don’t like to learn things

Traitor

At first this looks like an old school space shooter. Then you are on a typical mission when a message flashes across the screen. “Please do not attack us”. You are given a choice. Either continue on with the game and attack these enemies or don’t attack them and see what happens. It’s definitely worth your time.

Do Play If: You like space shooters, you like open worlds, you like a good story.

Don’t Play If: You don’t like reading, you don’t like space shooters, you like short quick games.

This is the Only Level 3

This is the third game in this series that challenges you to think not only outside the box but also in a parallel universe where the box looks exactly the same but gravity is reversed. Each level looks the same, but isn’t. It’s definitly worth your time.

Do Play If: You like a challenge, you are creative, you enjoy mindscrews

Don’t Play If: You are easily frustrated, you hate repitition, you don’t like elephants

These are five great games that are completely free and each is a blast to play. Why not give your wallet a break and give these games a try.

Learning Through Games

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:55:00 -0400

Have you ever learned from a video game? Your automatic answer may be no, but that’s not really true. Assuming you have played Mario, then you know what to do when you see a Koopa. You jump on that bitch like a arachnophobe on a spider. This is either wired into your head either through muscle memory or known through an abstract understanding of the concept. Although the knowledge of jumping over or onto Koopas isn’t usable in the real world, some knowledge learned from games can be much more useful.

We already understand the concept of learning games. I’m sure that you’ve even had to play a few “educational” games. If you need some examples of educational games you can go here. Sadly, most of games of this type aren’t any fun. They focus entirely on the concept of learning instead of on enjoyment. This can lead the casual observer to say that games can’t be both fun and educational. However there are games out there specifically made to implant knowledge without player consent or awareness. These are called propaganda games.

So how come propaganda games can make learning ‘fun’ and educational games games can’t? Well, for you to get the full effect from a porpaganda game, you have to enjoy it. If you are enjoying a propaganda game, then you aren’t thinking about what information it’s presenting you. You aren’t considering whether that information is biased or not.

Another aspect of these games is that unlike educational games they don’t portray themselves as what they are. If a propaganda game comes out and says “I’m here to show why you should hate this political group”. Then it becomes less effective. The same goes for educational games. When they come right out and say, “I’m here to teach you how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions”, they lose the gamer’s interest.

So it’s important that these games are fun and that the educational aspect is hidden, but how the heck do you do that? Somewhere in your mind, you already know. Think back to the very first game you played. You were rewarded for your efforts quickly either through a nifty new gun or a musical cue when you beat the level or killed a monster. On the other had when you died or failed you went back to the beginning of the level or you lost something. This is called Operant Conditioning, which is conditioning in which you are rewarded or punished for your actions. Operant Conditioning is just one of many different types of learning that is already used in recreational video games.

There is also Classical Conditioning. What happens when you hear this?

What about this?

Each of those videos has an associated response to it that you learned from playing the game.

Alright, it’s possible to learn from games, but what are the potential benefits? What can kids learn from a game? First of all any game from Mario to Mass Effect will teach you how to problem solve. It does this by presenting a problem, like a jumping puzzle, and encouraging the player to experiment with solutions. This allows the player/student to think around the puzzle as opposed to just being given the solution.

Gaming can also show that such challenges are fun. Dr. Gee, a professor and an expert on learning through games says that “They’re selling stuff to kids that are complex and hard … it’s virtually addictive”.

Finally video games encourage students to take risks. The ”cost of failure is made lower” allowing students to play without fear of a dropping GPA or the ominous hint of failure. Dr. Gee goes on to say that, “[w]e should use the learning built into good video games in and out of schools”.

What do you think? Should we encourage gaming in children? Should we make more educational games? How would this affect the gaming industry? Drop me a line and tell me what you think.

For more about how games are good for learning: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/02/ten-surprising-truths-about-video-games-and-learning/

For more info about propaganda games: http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/propaganda-games

For more info about tangential learning a specific type of learning: http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/tangential-learning

IMHO - That is Ultra Gay

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:36:00 -0400

Now that games are finally recognized as an art form everyone is reading more into the meaning behind them. On one hand we have theories that Mario is a Kafka-esque struggle toward an unobtainable goal. On the other hand we have a bunch of assholes saying that video games are a vehicle for the gay agenda. No, I’m not joking.

A Florida group (most likely the Florida Family Association) has started a letter

campaign against EA. They claim that EA was pressured into including homosexual content in both Star Wars:The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3. The letters also call out BioWare staff for regulating hate speech on the game forums. It goes on to claim that these games are made for children.

Starting backwards, the claim that the game was made for children is erroneous. It’s rated M as in for Mature. The ESRB website explains this rating as, ”Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.” I don’t think that seventeen year-olds qualify as children.

The letter claims that children are “forced as a captured audience to participate in homosexual content”. The problem with this is all the homosexual content is entirely OPTIONAL. Meaning you must choose to engage in it. As was said in GameIndustry’s interview with the VP of Corporate Communications, ”This isn’t about protecting children, it’s about political harassment”.

That’s one lie, but what about Bioware snuffing out free speech, is that a lie? Yep.
Their new code of conduct says, “These forums are for BioWare, video game and related topic discussion and are to be engaged in a pleasant and fun manner”, that they “reserve the right to edit or delete any content found on these sites”, that “[t]here is a zero tolerance policy on any form of abuse towards staff, moderators or other Community members”, and finally, “[u]sing these forums is a privilege, not a right”. BioWare is stating here that they will not tolerate hate speech, not that they won’t allow civil and polite discussion.

Alright that’s two lies. Were they at least pressured into adding LGBT content? Well yeah, sorta. They weren’t pressured by LGBT groups, but they were pressured by reality. Gay people exist. They are on the news, T.V. shows, video games and *le gasp* even in real life. As Matt Kane from GLAAD said to GameIndustry, ”A lot of game makers are realizing that in order to create a believable universe it has to be a universe that is very diverse”. That means that gay people will be represented in games, and there is nothing that homophobes can do about it. Well nothing except write some angry letters that EA, and anyone else with half a brain, will call out for being untrue and ignorant.

Holy Crap! It's an update!

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:00:05 -0400

Let’s start with an explanation.

For the past couple months I was working on a website. That’s why I haven’t been updating my bliggity-blog. I was working at a site called Jablu. I encourage you to visit them if you are a big techie.

Excuses out of the way, I will be trying to update this thing every week if I can swing it. At this point in my life college has to come first. I already have a few ideas for articles and I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you.

Charity sees the need, not the cause - German proverb

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:00:05 -0400

Say what you will about the Mass Effect 3 endings, the protest that has come from them has been one of the most positive out there. They don’t flame BioWare, they use humor instead of anger, and they even send the developers cupcakes. They help others while showing the good side of gamers.

Instead of being rude to the game’s develpoers, fans have some up with better ways to protest. They’ve sent in letters and emails. Most of these letters state that they loved the Mass Effect series, but hate the endings. Some players sent in the N7 patches that came with the collector’s edition of the game. This was a way of turning in their badges, so to speak. Other fans sent in a more delicious and friendly message of discontent. They paid for four hundred red, green, and blue (the colors of the games endings), vanilla flavored cupcakes. These cupcakes are colored so that the developers had the illusion of choice, but not any real change. They will be sent to BioWare on the 30th. As creative as that is, my favorite way of protest has been the charity drive.

Just a couple days after Mass Effect 3 came out, the Retake Mass Effect 3 movement started up. With the ultimate goal of changing the endings, they started a donation drive and made 80,000 dollars for Child’s Play in two weeks. Child’s Play is charity that gives video games to sick kids to help make their hospital stays bearable. These gamers would have kept giving if the people at Child’s Play hadn’t asked them to stop.

But fans of the game didn’t stop. They decided it was time to start a group called FullParagon and donate to ‘Kids Need to Read’ a foundation that hopes to end childhood illiteracy. The name comes from the Mass Effect Morality system. In the game you had the choice to be either Paragon or Renegade. Paragon being “compassionate and heroic” as the Mass Effect wiki says. FullParagon is definitely being both of those as they have managed to raise over 4,000 dollars for the charity, a fifth of their $25,000 goal. They have also labeled this their current charity, meaning there may be others in the future.

All of this came from some fans upset about the ending of a game. Today I am truly proud to be a gamer and a Mass Effect fan. As they say on the forums, Hold the Line, Help the Kids.

Why the ending of Mass Effect 3 just doesn’t work

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:39:00 -0400

Note: Donate to Child’s Play in the Name of new endings here .

There has been a great deal of articles about this topic, some for the original endings, some against and some neutral. I just want to add my voice to the fray.

Over the course of the three games there has been an aura of hope. Shepard has always found a candle of hope in the darkness of the reaper invasion. This is shown best in the endings of the games. They show this in a simple structure.

The first phase is up to and when the fight begins. You go into the phase feeling badass and ready. This is the initial fight on the citadel in Mass Effect 1. You give the crew an epic speech then go off to kick some geth butt. Mass Effect 2 had the beginning of the suicide mission, Shepard gives a rousing speech and they go off to kick some Collector butt. Mass Effect 3 has the beginning of the Earth 1 fight. Hackett gives an impassioned speech, you go off to kick Reaper butt.

The second phase is the darkest moment of the game. This is where all hope seems lost. Mass Effect 1 had this with Shepard’s apparent death. Mass Effect 2 had it with the overhanging thought of losing a team member, and the occasional crew member death. Mass Effect 3 had it with Harbinger’s strike on the ground team.

The final stage is the eventual moment of triumph. This is where against all odds Shepard manages to pull a victory. Mass Effect 1 had this with Shepard coming out of the rubble and the ensuing congratulation and discussion. Mass Effect 2 had this when you tell off the Illusive Man and see your surviving team mates look at you with respect. Mass Effect 3 does not have his moment.

The tone of the game and the series goes hard to port at the last half-hour. The series has always been about overcoming adversity and kicking ass no-matter what got in the way. The idea that if you work your ass off then you can make everything come out okay was even in the developer’s remarks about Mass Effect 3. However, the tone of the game’s endings is hopeless and fatalistic. No matter what your crew is stranded and beloved members are going to die of starvation. No matter what you do the mass relays are destroyed, stranding the combined force of the entire galaxy in the sol system. No matter what choices you made over the course of the three games, none of the choices affect the ending.

The game changes entirely in those last moments and not for the better. The opportunity for an amazing franchise to become legendary was destroyed in that last half-hour. I for one was extremely disappointed in the series and hope that the company will fix this in future DLC.

Galaxy at War (Mass Effect 3 review)

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:23:00 -0500

This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Commander Shepard has been telling the galaxy for years that the Reapers (a sentient Machine race hell bent on destroying all sapient life) are on their way. Now Shepard’s Cassandra truth has shown itself, and the galaxy must band together to survive. As Commander Shepard you must pull all the races together and save all species from annihilation. Does Mass Effect 3 live up to its predecessors while providing a satisfying end to the trilogy? Read more to find out.

The first thing you may notice is that combat is much improved in Mass Effect 3. It ends up feeling much more like a run and gun shooter than the previous two games. It gives you the opportunity to do combat rolls, and has a better cover system. It even integrates with the Kinect to allow you to verbally tell your squad mates what to do. Not that they need telling, often they work well on their own. The enemy AI is smarter as well and the varied enemies all work to their individual skill sets. For example enemies with shields will move to prevent you from flanking them.

Although the combat is much better, that’s not the reason most people play Mass Effect. Most people play for the characters and the story. The characters are just as interesting as they were in Mass Effect 1 and 2. Your relationships with them can develop further, depending on how you treated them in the previous games. The only thing to watch out for is a couple bugged dialogues and a few characters that seem to forget (I’m looking at you Liara) that your character committed to them in the past two games. The dialogue with them is awesome, as dialogue always is in BioWare games. It makes the characters feel more realistic and much more human. The only problem is that there is a great deal of dialogue which the player has no choice over. Shepard just says some things no matter what. There are also a couple conversations where you only get to make one choice at the beginning of dialogue, after that you just watch Shepard talk to the character.

The most important part of any Mass Effect game has been, and should always be the story. As I said before the Reapers are finally attacking. Shepard is forced to leave Earth while it is under siege to gather reinforcements and War Assets, without which it will be impossible to win. The Commander will have to settle thousand year old grudges and cut through deep seeded speciesism to get the disparate races of the Galaxy to work together.

The games side quests involve getting at least a certain level of War Assets. War Assets are anything that can be used to help beat the Reapers. They can be a Turian Flotilla or a missing scientist. These assets are gathered through turning Shepard into a space delivery service. You are told through ambient dialogue of a system where something can be found. You go there, do a scanning mini-game, launch a probe, return to the person you overheard and they’ll give you access to a War Asset. The other type of side quest is called a N7 mission. During N7 missions you get more plot and more fighting. The reward for these is also War Assets.

The main missions focus on the individual species. You have to earn the respect and trust of any species that you want help from. This is where choices from the first two games really shine. Your experience getting some species help is different depending on the decisions you made in the past. There is even an entire species that may not exist if you killed them off in Mass Effect 1. The main missions hammer home all the choices that you have made and really give the game a feeling of finality.

The biggest problem I have with the game is the conclusion. It keeps up the heat and keeps your adrenalin pumping all through the climax, but the ending leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. This is especially true if you play the game more for the characters and story than for the gameplay. I’m not going to give away any spoilers, but the ending is very vague and provides more questions than it answers. It also puts some beloved characters to horrific fates, invalidates all your hard work, pulls a few overused tropes, and does a great deal of other horrible things. I would suggest playing up to the ending cut scene and then turning of your platform of choice.

All in all this is an excellent game, up until the last half hour. I would suggest playing it, but I wouldn’t suggest finishing it. 80/100

Killer Kittens From Mars Episode 3 Streamlining

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:31:31 -0500

Killer Kittens From Mars Episode 3 Streamlining:

An in depth look into the streamlining of RPG’s with your host Samantha Dragon. Joining us as always is William Dragon and returning guest Mason Neilson. Our Newbies this week are Stefan Shure and Morgan Mock. This weeks song is “I Want You” by Buskerdroid.

Killer Kittens From Mars Episode 1 Skyrim

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:21:00 -0500

Killer Kittens From Mars Episode 1 Skyrim:

Our very first podcast! We talk about: the graphics, the quests, the alchemy, some pro-tips, obscure and pop culture references, we compare the game to Oblivion and decide if we like it.

GOTY? We think so.

Obscure References:

Penny Arcade’s Comic

Memebase’s Butterfly

Song: Like A Dead Pixels by LukHash

Not only do I like your blog (haha I found it) but I also am OBSESSED with you secretly. Ok here we go.. I got this idea from a Tumblr spam I got once lol.. I think you like me too and you were always too shy to admit it :3 go to crushmatches(dót)com (wtf it wont let me link regular) and make an account there. Then look up the profile 'gottagetme19' (me obviously) I left body pictures.. if you can guess who I am hit me up and we'll hang soon. You need a C C but its free

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:26:00 -0500

… seriously?

Why do we like scary games?

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:46:00 -0400

“The thing under my bed waiting to grab my ankle isn’t real. I know that, and I also know that if I’m careful to keep my foot under the covers, it will never be able to grab my ankle.”
― Stephen King, Night Shift

Why do we like the things that make our hearts race, our palms sweaty, and our muscles tense? These aren’t exactly pleasant reactions, but people who like horror games go actively looking for them. We get excited when Dead Space 2 or Dead Island games come out.

Is it that we like to see people punished for their sins? A lot of villains in horror games have committed some sort of sin. Let’s look at Dead Space 2. (MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW) Hans Tiedmann is the primary antagonist in Dead Space 2. He is a murderer and a zealot. By the time you get to the point in the game where you can kill him, you really want to. The game itself gives him the most death scenes of any character (besides Isaac), allowing the player to have that visceral pleasure. The game knows some people play to see the bad guy get it in the end.

Another theory is that these games act as a right of passage. When I talk to someone about the Silent Hill games I often hear phrases like, “I made it through it”, along with the old standard of gaming, “I beat it”. These phrases imply dominance over the game. The first implies that the game was a trial they made it through. The second implies that they fought the game and kicked its ass. This is often followed by saying how freaky the game was, but how they weren’t even scared. In this sense it’s our sub-cultural test of bravery.

The last theory I found is from Stephen King himself and is more about the horror genre in general. He says in Danse Macabre that “we take refuge in make-believe terrors so the real ones don’t overwhelm us”. Playing these games gives us an escape from reality to a place that is much worse than our lives. So that when we come back to our normal lives they don’t seem quite as scary as they used to.

What ever reason you play scary games, you obviously get some sort of pleasure out of it. So tell me, what do you like about scary games?

Devil May Cry Tenth Anniversery

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:16:00 -0400

My favorite memory of Devil May Cry is pouring tons of hours into the third game. I lost so many hours that when I closed my eyes I could still see the HUD. Every time I got close to falling asleep, Dante’s health would dip and I’d jerk awake to save him. I loved that game.

So when they announced today that they are realeasing an HD collection of the first three Devil May Cry games, on the PS3 and the 360, I jumped for joy. It’s going to be realeased in early 2012 for $40.00. If you like hack’n’slash and have not bought this game, you should punch yourself in the face. Then you should get your pre-order ready for this great gaming classic.

When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the island

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:13:27 -0400

Dead Island is like Borderlands, except with more zombies and less humor.

That is to say it is a sandbox, it can have 1 to 4 players, has RPG elements, and a fun loot system. The game isn’t as depressing or as artistic as the trailer implied, but trailers always lie anyway. That doesn’t mean that the game isn’t fun.

The game’s plot is pretty straight forward. You and three others are immune to the zombie plague so you must try to help everyone else. You help other survivors in exchange for money or loot. You escort people to safety, help rebuild cars, and generally get things working. All while trying to find out why the plague has occurred.

The side and main quests are a lot of fetch and carry, spiced up with the occasional escort mission. To get to the quests you end up running or driving very long distances. Hopefully either enjoying the scenery, enjoy running over zombies, or playing eye-spy with your online friends.

The weapons degrade as you use them and through out the game there are benches that you can use to repair, upgrade, and modify them. If you are smart you’ll use your weapons as little as possible. Kicking an opponent will knock them down, even some boss zombies. Once they are knocked down you can just keep punching them until they re-die, thus keeping your weapons for the hordes and specials.

Like Borderlands, there are challenges to beat that give you extra experience points. Most of these challenges amount to kill x many zombies with y weapon or collect all of z. They they offer some replay-ability and can be something to hold over your friends heads.

When you start out you will notice some minor problems. First, the characters handle a little awkwardly. The melee quickly degenerates to you just swinging wildly, and the mini-games are rarely explained. This means you have to figure some things out for yourself.

I mentioned earlier that the game can be played with one to four people, the catch is that the multiplayer is all online. If you are looking for a game you can play with your friends while on the same couch, then look elsewhere. However, finding people to play with online is not difficult. Occasionally an icon will pop up on your screen and tell you that there is a player close to your level nearby. From there, all it takes is a couple button clicks and you can be playing with strangers.

At the title screen you’ll hear the song ‘Who do you Voodoo, Bitch’ which is apparently by Sam B. one of the four main characters. The background music is creepy, with a definite horror movie tone to each song. The songs are often broken up by the sound of zombies screaming and huffing as they run towards you. The part that makes this the most scary is that the zombies don’t always scream. Sometimes you’ll just be walking around and they’ll come out of nowhere. Other times they scream and you can’t find them or their actually far away. Another sound that will haunt your dreams is the sound that the ‘Thug’ zombie makes. It’s a lower pitched scream and isn’t scary on it’s own, but after you fight you first ‘Thug’ you’ll be listening for it and the other special zombie calls.

The voice acting is pretty good. Most of the time the actors properly convey their terror and sadness. The main characters start the game sounding confused and freaked out, but by the end they are shouting one-liners and kicking ass.

When wandering the island I encourage you to take a moment and stare at the scenery. Everything from the beach, to the city, to the zombie charging at your face right now (seriously, run!) is beautiful. The zombies can get a little gross with all the blood and guts. Certain weapons cut the skin or limbs of a zombie in great detail. Each zombie is different and they all have different wounds. The horde doesn’t look like the same guy attacking you over and over again.

I know I should be tired of zombie games by now, but I really like this game. It started slow and the first twenty minutes are kinda of boring. However once it picked up and I started looting and leveling I became addicted. If you are ready for a zombie game that is challenging and ridiculously fun this is the game for you.

Get it if: You want another zombie game, you liked Borderlands, references to zombie movies and games make you giggle, you don’t mind zombies that level with you.

Don’t get it if: You don’t like weapon decay, you are tired of zombies, you are easily scared, you don’t like menus.

It's dead

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 09:36:10 -0400

‎’E’s not pinin’! ‘E’s passed on! This computer is no more! He has ceased to be! ‘E’s expired and gone to meet ‘is maker! ‘E’s a stiff! Bereft of life, ‘e rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed ‘im to the perch ‘e’d be pushing up the daisies! ‘Is metabolic processes are now ‘istory! ‘E’s off the twig! ‘E’s kicked the bucket, ‘e’s shuffled off ‘is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-COMPUTER!!
… just in case you are wondering why I’m not posting any updates, I think this pretty much explains it. I’ll try to update from school, but no promises.