I recently found out that a close friend of mine has been going through hard times. I've definitely had my fair share. I wanted to dedicate this piece to him:
Dark clouds and grey skies
floating in my bathtub
Waves of raindrops
falling on my open hands
As I bathe in God's tears
soaked in regret
dripping with remorse
Heavy is the pain
engulfed by secret burdens
overwhelmed and defeated
Drifting in oblivion
spinning into the abyss
drained of motivation
Left with no hope
searching for a rainbow
And even so
I lather up
And grab my towel
Not to throw in
but to wrap around my waist
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Smithsonian Exhibit
Just thought this was interesting and relevant to the 5 part piece I recently wrote - Are Video Games Art? Which you can read by clicking the page on top.
The Smithsonian exhibit is set for March 16 to September 30, 2012.
They're asking YOU to help decide which video games to display. They're choosing 80 in total.
Go here to vote. Here's an excerpt from the website:
The Smithsonian exhibit is set for March 16 to September 30, 2012.
They're asking YOU to help decide which video games to display. They're choosing 80 in total.
Go here to vote. Here's an excerpt from the website:
The Art of Video Games exhibition will explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects, the creative use of new technologies, and the most influential artists and designers. We want you to help us select the eighty video games that will be represented in the exhibition. Remember, this is an art exhibition, so be sure to vote for games that you think are visually spectacular or boast innovative design!
Please please please vote for Chrono Trigger in the 3rd era!!!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Reviews for the Recession
If you haven't noticed. I love my video games. In fact, I love my entertainment. I very much so enjoy having the latest technologies. But my choice of entertainment is definitely video gaming, with tv shows coming a very close second.
I'm not by any means a video game "expert". Not by choice, but simply, I haven't played enough games to think of myself as one.
This is mostly due to the fact that I don't have the time or money to keep up. Especially these days, when interesting and worthwhile titles are being released every few months.
A lot of my friends buy games, only to trade them in to GameStop for half, or even less value in return. I've never really liked doing that. I like to see my collection, show it off, and reflect on all of the great (and sometimes bad) games I've played.
Now that I'm married and a homeowner, games have become a luxury. Even though I'm a proud owner of all three next generation consoles.. PS3, Xbox, and Wii.. with plans of having kids in the near future, money has certainly become an issue. But even more so, I find I no longer have the time to finish most of the games I buy.
I remember (and really really miss) the days when I was able to sit down and play games for hours and hours on end. Sometimes skipping meals, sometimes foregoing sleep, and sometimes brushing off friends.. I used to beat a game in no time. I took pride in it. I remember when I skipped a full week of classes in college and finished GTA: San Andreas in a week. That was no easy feat. But it was awesome.
Right now I'm currently working through Final Fantasy XIII, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dead Space (the first one), Mass Effect (the first one), Fallout 3, Splinter Cell: Conviction, with Madden and Black Ops sprinkled in.
Looking at that list above... I can honestly say I plain lost interest in Mass Effect and Fallout 3. I'm forcing myself to finish Final Fantasy, Batman, Dead Space, and Splinter Cell before I buy anymore games. I hate that. I never used to have a problem beating games in a "timely" manner. And always used to buy games I wanted either on or close to the release date.
There are plenty of games I've wanted to play, but have passed up on (so far anyway). Like Fable III, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, God of War III, to name a few.
Anyway, my point is. If you're like me, you like gaming, and you want to game. But for whatever reason you can't. Especially in these economically trying times, that's understandable. The industry might not appreciate my new approach (which I will get into shortly), but hey, at least I'm still gaming. Just now, I'm doing it my pace. Which, frankly, is saving me a ton of cash.
Let's break it down. Games are now $60 a piece brand new (not considering any kind of collector's edition or anything). Generally, a solid game will provide somewhere from 20 - 30 hours of gameplay. So you're basically paying (a very very rough estimate) an average of $3 an hour of fun. Doesn't sound like much right? Right. Unless you beat that 20 hour game in three days and start looking for another one on day four. Then you do that again and you've spent $180 in a week or two. Obviously this only applies to action/adventure type games. Games nowadays try to increase replay value through downloadable content or online play. But if you're like me, you still want to play other games. Like I said, I still play Madden and COD on a continual basis. But a game like Uncharted for example, I want to play for the single player campaign, and though the multiplayer is fun.. I'd rather play COD, and like I said I don't have time to be playing all these damn games!!! AGH.
::takes deep breath::
So, I've come up with a solution. It's not ingenious or anything. I've just decided to exercise something that seemed to have been lost on me before: Patience.
It all started when my roommate and I, upon beating Army of Two, started looking for a similar co-op type experience. So we went to GameStop and found this piece of crap: Kane & Lynch. It was a couple of years old, and was going for $12. We bought it. We beat it. We felt good about it.
The game wasn't very good. Not very good at all. But for $12 it was fine. At least playable. A good time to be had with no guilt for having spent a measly $6 a piece. And so, we tried to repeat this feat, but ended up with Mercenaries 2... which for the life of us, we could not bring ourselves to play...
But nonetheless, this is what I've started to do. Even for highly anticipated games... I wait. I wait for a price drop. I paid $15 for Metal Gear Solid 4. It was a great game. And I felt like it was even more enjoyable because I only paid $15 for it. Especially cause I beat it in four days. But the thought process goes like this...
'Hey, if you haven't played it, it's new to you!' ... I mean, a lot of these games aren't that old. Graphics-wise, gameplay-wise, fun-wise, a lot of them still hold up.
The obvious downside is that you don't get to play it before everyone else does. Or if you have a bunch of friends that play games... you can't necessarily stay in the convos. But, I'm old. So I'm ok with that. The only two games I don't wait for.. are Madden and COD. Only because 1) Madden comes out every year, so I try to get the most of it. And, it doesn't really price drop until the next one is coming out. 2) I only enjoy playing COD with friends online, and COD just doesn't price drop until it's like.. 4 years old.. (ridiculous).
But mostly, I'm referring to those games that I'll play once, and never touch it again. You know which ones I'm talking about.
Anyway, so instead of paying attention to new release games. I've followed "value" games, or price-reduced games much more closely. I thought I'd share them with you. You could sift through all the crazy amount of reviews on IGN, Gamespot, etc... but how would you know which ones to look for? GameStop's website has options in the search to filter for price-reduced, or value games... but they include all kinds of crap along with it...
Therefore, consider me another filter. I'm here to provide games worth a look at a specific price point. I've looked. I can't find anyone who provides reviews with current price in consideration. Perhaps a game got a C (or 70) rating. But maybe for $10 it's not so bad. That's what I'm here to do.
Now, because I haven't had the time to play most of these games. I'll just begin by sharing my watchlist. These are the games currently on my radar at their respective price points.. I've played some, but most of them I haven't gotten around to yet..
(eventually I'll actually review some games I promise... but for now this will have to do...)
(I included the IGN rating)
(not in any specific order)
(I focused only on PS3/XBOX360 games)
(in bold are games I'm definitely getting, either soon, or when the price drops more...)
***Keep in mind prices are subject to change... I pulled these prices off of GameStop's website. Most are for used games. But some prices are for new games. Some prices might only be for Xbox or PS3, but not for the other.. I tried my best to note them
I'm not by any means a video game "expert". Not by choice, but simply, I haven't played enough games to think of myself as one.
This is mostly due to the fact that I don't have the time or money to keep up. Especially these days, when interesting and worthwhile titles are being released every few months.
A lot of my friends buy games, only to trade them in to GameStop for half, or even less value in return. I've never really liked doing that. I like to see my collection, show it off, and reflect on all of the great (and sometimes bad) games I've played.
Now that I'm married and a homeowner, games have become a luxury. Even though I'm a proud owner of all three next generation consoles.. PS3, Xbox, and Wii.. with plans of having kids in the near future, money has certainly become an issue. But even more so, I find I no longer have the time to finish most of the games I buy.
I remember (and really really miss) the days when I was able to sit down and play games for hours and hours on end. Sometimes skipping meals, sometimes foregoing sleep, and sometimes brushing off friends.. I used to beat a game in no time. I took pride in it. I remember when I skipped a full week of classes in college and finished GTA: San Andreas in a week. That was no easy feat. But it was awesome.
Right now I'm currently working through Final Fantasy XIII, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dead Space (the first one), Mass Effect (the first one), Fallout 3, Splinter Cell: Conviction, with Madden and Black Ops sprinkled in.
Looking at that list above... I can honestly say I plain lost interest in Mass Effect and Fallout 3. I'm forcing myself to finish Final Fantasy, Batman, Dead Space, and Splinter Cell before I buy anymore games. I hate that. I never used to have a problem beating games in a "timely" manner. And always used to buy games I wanted either on or close to the release date.
There are plenty of games I've wanted to play, but have passed up on (so far anyway). Like Fable III, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, God of War III, to name a few.
Anyway, my point is. If you're like me, you like gaming, and you want to game. But for whatever reason you can't. Especially in these economically trying times, that's understandable. The industry might not appreciate my new approach (which I will get into shortly), but hey, at least I'm still gaming. Just now, I'm doing it my pace. Which, frankly, is saving me a ton of cash.
Let's break it down. Games are now $60 a piece brand new (not considering any kind of collector's edition or anything). Generally, a solid game will provide somewhere from 20 - 30 hours of gameplay. So you're basically paying (a very very rough estimate) an average of $3 an hour of fun. Doesn't sound like much right? Right. Unless you beat that 20 hour game in three days and start looking for another one on day four. Then you do that again and you've spent $180 in a week or two. Obviously this only applies to action/adventure type games. Games nowadays try to increase replay value through downloadable content or online play. But if you're like me, you still want to play other games. Like I said, I still play Madden and COD on a continual basis. But a game like Uncharted for example, I want to play for the single player campaign, and though the multiplayer is fun.. I'd rather play COD, and like I said I don't have time to be playing all these damn games!!! AGH.
::takes deep breath::
So, I've come up with a solution. It's not ingenious or anything. I've just decided to exercise something that seemed to have been lost on me before: Patience.
It all started when my roommate and I, upon beating Army of Two, started looking for a similar co-op type experience. So we went to GameStop and found this piece of crap: Kane & Lynch. It was a couple of years old, and was going for $12. We bought it. We beat it. We felt good about it.
The game wasn't very good. Not very good at all. But for $12 it was fine. At least playable. A good time to be had with no guilt for having spent a measly $6 a piece. And so, we tried to repeat this feat, but ended up with Mercenaries 2... which for the life of us, we could not bring ourselves to play...
But nonetheless, this is what I've started to do. Even for highly anticipated games... I wait. I wait for a price drop. I paid $15 for Metal Gear Solid 4. It was a great game. And I felt like it was even more enjoyable because I only paid $15 for it. Especially cause I beat it in four days. But the thought process goes like this...
'Hey, if you haven't played it, it's new to you!' ... I mean, a lot of these games aren't that old. Graphics-wise, gameplay-wise, fun-wise, a lot of them still hold up.
The obvious downside is that you don't get to play it before everyone else does. Or if you have a bunch of friends that play games... you can't necessarily stay in the convos. But, I'm old. So I'm ok with that. The only two games I don't wait for.. are Madden and COD. Only because 1) Madden comes out every year, so I try to get the most of it. And, it doesn't really price drop until the next one is coming out. 2) I only enjoy playing COD with friends online, and COD just doesn't price drop until it's like.. 4 years old.. (ridiculous).
But mostly, I'm referring to those games that I'll play once, and never touch it again. You know which ones I'm talking about.
Anyway, so instead of paying attention to new release games. I've followed "value" games, or price-reduced games much more closely. I thought I'd share them with you. You could sift through all the crazy amount of reviews on IGN, Gamespot, etc... but how would you know which ones to look for? GameStop's website has options in the search to filter for price-reduced, or value games... but they include all kinds of crap along with it...
Therefore, consider me another filter. I'm here to provide games worth a look at a specific price point. I've looked. I can't find anyone who provides reviews with current price in consideration. Perhaps a game got a C (or 70) rating. But maybe for $10 it's not so bad. That's what I'm here to do.
Now, because I haven't had the time to play most of these games. I'll just begin by sharing my watchlist. These are the games currently on my radar at their respective price points.. I've played some, but most of them I haven't gotten around to yet..
(eventually I'll actually review some games I promise... but for now this will have to do...)
(I included the IGN rating)
(not in any specific order)
(I focused only on PS3/XBOX360 games)
(in bold are games I'm definitely getting, either soon, or when the price drops more...)
***Keep in mind prices are subject to change... I pulled these prices off of GameStop's website. Most are for used games. But some prices are for new games. Some prices might only be for Xbox or PS3, but not for the other.. I tried my best to note them
(Rating: xbox/ps3) (Game) (Price)
Multiplatform:
9.5/8.2 Bayonetta $18
10 Grand Theft Auto IV $15
8.9 Final Fantasy XIII $25
9.6/9.4 Fallout 3 $10
8.7 Devil May Cry 4 $10
9/7.9 Splinter Cell: Double Agent $10
9 Need for Speed: Shift $18
7.7 Dark Sector $5
7.5 Dante's Inferno $18
8 Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands $20
9.3 Prince of Persia $10
9.3 Batman: Arkham Asylum $23
8.5 Vanquish $33
8 Enslaved $33
7.8 Darksiders $20
7 Singularity $33
9.4 Call of Duty 4 $10
9.2 Call of Duty: World at War $20
8.9 Madden 2010 $10
8.5 NBA 2k10 $13
9 Resident Evil 5 $10
8.8 Borderlands $18
9.7/9.4 BioShock $10
9.1 BioShock 2 $18
8.7 Dead Space $20
7.7/7.5 Assassins Creed $10
9.2 Assassins Creed 2 $20
9.6/9.5 Mass Effect 2 $20 (Xbox Price Only)
8.8 Just Cause 2 $18
9.2/9.3 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion $13
9.3/8.7 Rainbow Six: Vegas $4
8.4/8.2 Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 $10
8.2 Saints Row 2 $18
7.5 Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe $20
8.5/5.5 Lost Planet $10
6/5.5 Lost Planet 2 $25
7.9 Army of Two $10
8.5 Army of Two: The 40th Day $18
9.3 Street Fighter IV $10 (PS3 Price Only)
9 Super Street Fighter IV $25
9.1/8.3 Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 $10 (Xbox Price Only)
8/8.5 Star Ocean: The Last Hope $18
8.7 Dragon Age: Origins $20
8.2/7.9 Marvel Ultimate Alliance $5
7.7 Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 $25
7.6 Timeshift $5
8 Condemned 2: Bloodshot $10
7.3 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed $15
8.1 Stranglehold $7
8.6 Battlefield: Bad Company $10 (Xbox Price Only)
8.9 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 $23 (Xbox Price Only)
7 Nier $15
7.5 Prototype $20
7.3/7 Turok $8
8.8 Far Cry 2 $15
XBOX Exclusive:
8.2 Lost Odyssey $20
7.9 Blue Dragon $10
7.1 Infinite Undiscovery $9
9.5 Halo 3 $10
9 Halo 3: ODST $15
9.4 Gears of War $5
9.5 Gears of War 2 $10
8.8 Fable II $10
8.3 Dead Rising $10
9.3 Splinter Cell: Conviction $18
9 Alan Wake $25
9.4 Mass Effect $20
9 Left 4 Dead $10
8.5 Saints Row $7
9.2 Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter $5
8.7 Condemned: Criminal Origins $7
8.7 Ninja Gaiden 2 $10
PS3 Exclusive:
9.4 Demon Souls $20
9.3 Ninja Gaiden Sigma $13
8.4 Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 $18
9.2 Infamous $25
SKIP IT but give it a whirl if you wish:
(Xbox Only) 6 Darkstar One - Broken Alliance
(Xbox Only) 4 Samurai Shodown Sen $13
(Xbox Only) 6.4 Blood Bowl $10
7.9 Mercenaries 2: World in Flames $10
6 Spider-Man 3 $10
6.7 Conan $5
6.3 Alpha Protocol $25
This list isn't comprehensive by any means. But it's a good start. There are plenty of other games that didn't get the deserved coverage, hype, advertising in the media and hence, are underpriced.. for example Yakuza 3 is often mentioned. I just couldn't possibly list everything.
These games are obviously all price reduced for a reason. Some, it's because they're predominantly online play, and people don't really play it anymore. So be careful and do a little research before you buy. Some are really a good price for the quality of game. But I guess that all depends on what kind of game you're looking for, or like to play. I tried my best to include various genres.
I'll be posting a review on a few of these as soon as I get around to beating them.. Don't hold your breath..
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