Spore is a multi-genre "massively single-player online game" by Maxis and designed by Will Wright. It allows a player to control the evolution of a species from its beginnings as a unicellular organism, through development as an intelligent and social creature, to interstellar exploration as a spacefaring culture. It has drawn wide attention for its massive scope, and its use of open-ended gameplay and procedural generation.

The full version of the game was released on September 4, 2008, in Australia and the Nordic region, but Australian stores prematurely broke the street date on September 2, 2008. The game was released September 5, 2008 in Europe, Japan and South America, and was released on September 7, 2008 in North America and Asia Pacific territories. Spore is also available for direct download from Electronic Arts. A special edition game, Spore: Galactic Edition, includes, in addition to the game, a "Making of Spore" DVD video, "How to Build a Better Being" DVD video by National Geographic Channel, "The Art of Spore" hardback mini-book, a fold-out Spore poster and a 100-page Galactic Handbook published by Prima Games.
System requirements:
System requirements PC/Mac
PC: Windows XP/Vista, 2.0 GHz P4 processor or eq., 512 MB RAM (768 for Vista), 128 MB video card (Pixel Shader 2.0 support), 6 GB HDD. Internet connection. (For computers using built-in graphics chipsets: Intel Integrated Chipset 945GM, 2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, 768 MB RAM)
Mac: Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard, Intel Core Duo, 1024 MB RAM, 4.7 GB of hard drive space, plus additional space for creations NOTE: This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) Macs (PowerMac), nor Intel Mac Minis or pre-2008 Macbooks. (For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, Intel Integrated Chipset GMA X3100, Dual 2.0 GHz CPUs, or 1.7 GHz Core 2 Duo.)

The excitement being generated by journalists over Spore  (out now) sounds reminiscent of what happened over Black and White where you had your own creature with which to lead a tribe by use of terror or nurture. With Spore the idea is that you are the invisible hand in the evolution of the species, from a single cell through to colonizing space. Civcity meets Sim City - with the brains behind the later, Will Wright involved. Whether Darwinists or Creationists will look beyond gameplay and try to be offended by the game concept we shall see in due course. All I want to know is will this game actually play well and entertain - the bottom line for any game.

The Economist life magazine intelligent life (which featured Richard Dawkins here) warns of the monster willies people created in the run up programme to the main game called Creature Creature. The idea of players creating scenarios, characters and tribes is not new on the Internet for PC owners. However Playstation 3 owners will soon be doing just that with Sackboy, voting for favourites. In essence some artificial selection will be going on in both games to see what new content proves to be the survival of the fittest. Though EA will frown on the creation of penises and giant breasts, as much as it welcomed the publicity this generated.

However, better get all this gaming in while you can as on the event horizon is the turning on of the

Large Hadron Collider (this Wednesday coming). Particles being slung at 0.00001% off the speed of light, in hopes of understanding more about the fabric of the universe, looking for that particle and conditions which explain the universe. Though people, perhaps having played Doom in their youth fear gateways to other dimensions being opened or a black hole swallowing much of Europe if not the world. The only thing we have to fear is people getting the willies.

Meat eaters may consider the end of the world, because if we are all still here  the UN climate chief says you should eat less animals to reduce climate change. Said the Compassion In World Farming ambassador:

"Surveys show people are anxious about their personal carbon footprints and cutting back on car journeys and so on; but they may not realise that changing what's on their plate could have an even bigger effect."

Though watch out for food intolerance causing methane leakages - not good for the planet. And remember you will need your greens to fight the invasion from the other dimension from Wednesday, or least get some Vitamin A if you are staying in playing computer games.

--------

shodan: . o O ( <Lurker> We smart drudges! The floating ones teach us to be strong! Teach us to be fast! Teach us to open doors! )
shodan: . o O ( <Lurker> Teach us to file our own income taxes using the long form, and properly optimize deductions! )

--------

shodan: heh, reminds me of taking deb to the dires.
shodan: <shodan> There's a Gold Wasp ahead. Now be careful, because they're extremely powerful, and-- <debiana> *plink* <wasp> *bzzzzz* <shodan> Oh. Nevermind.
shodan: <shodan> Behold, the fearsome Drudge Ravener! This will take a lot of careful planning and-- <debiana> *plink* <ravener> Wauug! <shodan> .. Yeah.
AB: <shodan> Now, be warned. These Vorous Shreth are very dang-- <Jihad> *WHAMWHAMWHAM* <Shreth> *urgle* <shodan> Right.

--------

shodan: heh, ash gromnies are notorious for trying to jump on heads.
shodan: One of 'em landed on me and got confused. Just spun around on my head while I dealt with his friends :)
AB: Heh.
AB: . o O (<Gromnie> . o O (Egad! The human is kraphty! But I *know* he's around here somewhere!))
* shodan pictures the gromnie’s Leet Monster AI Targeting System reporting shodan being 0.0 feet away, in all directions
shodan: . o O ( * gromnie quickly runs to.. er.. over to the.. uh.. )
AB: . o O (* gromnie spin)
AB: . o O (* gromnie spin)
AB: . o O (* gromnie spin)
shodan: . o O ( <gromnie> wtf? )
AB: Heh
* AB pictures a scene from behind the eyes of the Gromnie, as the Leet Monster AI Targeting System pops up a HUD like in "The Terminator."
* shodan nods :)
AB: <cue lots of moving lines, scrolling text, coordinates, statistics, etc>
shodan: . o O ( <grocery lists, ebooks, stock tickers...> )
AB: . o O (<pr0n>)
shodan: . o O ( <scrolling messages from alt.gromnie.personals> )
AB: Heh
* AB --> create newsgroup
shodan: . o O ( <alt.fan.bael-zharon> )
AB: . o O (alt.fan.gromnies)
shodan: . o O ( <alt.asheron.die.die.die> )
AB: . o O (alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.lugians)
AB: . o O (alt.support.gimps)
shodan: . o O ( alt.support.powerleveling.victims )
shodan: . o O ( alt.humor.drudges )
AB: . o O (alt.shodan-xi.gimp.gimp.gimp)
shodan: . o O ( ! )
AB: . o O (alt.shodan-xi.ranged-combat.innate-superiority.mock.mock.mock)
shodan: . o O ( alt.lugian.SMASH )
shodan: . o O ( alt.lugian.SMASH.discussion )
shodan: . o O ( alt.mites.aralairaggaharrahliarrhharjjarhrjakljrhfdafaiee )
AB: !

--------

AB: . o O (* Iron Golem runs up to Debiana)
AB: . o O (<Iron Golem> SMASH PUNY HUMAN!)
AB: . o O (<Debiana> Erm. Could you hold that thought for *just* a second?)
AB: . o O (* Iron Golem stands in confusion while Debiana fletches a few Greater Acid Arrows)
AB: . o O (<Iron Golem> WHAT DOZE TINGS?)
AB: . o O (<Debiana> These? These are fletching components. I'm making Greater Acid Arrows so I can kill you easily.)
AB: . o O (<Iron Golem> PUNY HUMAN KILL GOLEM! HA!)
AB: . o O (* Iron Golem claps Debiana on the back in appreciation of the joke, indadvertently doing 47 points of Bludgeoning Damage)
AB: . o O (* Debiana finishes fletching)
AB: . o O (<Iron Golem> GOLEM SMASH PUNY HUMAN NOW?)
AB: . o O (<Debiana> Sure thing, big boy.)
AB: . o O (* Debiana one-shots the golem)

--------

AB: Armorer Xao Fen tells you, "I heard that this was once where a failed Aluvian community stood. But I don't believe it."
AB: . o O (Armorer Xao Fen tells you, "I mean, really, those round-eyed gaijin couldn't find their ass with both hands. Much less build a community down here, failed or otherwise.")

--------

AB: . o O (* shodan wanders the south dires and revels in the complete and utter lack of other players)
AB: . o O (* shodan looks at the sea of sandstone golems and thinks "Mine! ALL MINE!")
AB: . o O (* shodan buffs his sword and prepares to charge into the golems)
AB: . o O (<47 archers and 23 UA/Life players appear out of nowhere and kill every monster in the area within 7.2 seconds>)
AB: . o O (<shodan> Grp!)

--------

* shodan pokes AB
shodan: Dungeon crawling! You know you wanna!
AB: ...
AB: You mean, like, go down into a dungeon where I might die in an inconvenient spot?
AB: What, are you nuts?
shodan: Actually, no, not with me as your guide
shodan: I know that dungeon like the back of my hand, and.. * shodan peers at the back of his hand <shodan> Woah! Neat! I never knew it looked like that!

--------

AB: Panumbris Shadow cast Feeblemind Other V on you
AB: Shadow cast Vulnerability Other IV on you
AB: Shadow Lieutenant freezes you for 79 points with Frost Bolt V
* AB runs blindly through the south Direlands shouting "WOO WOO WOO WOO" like Curly from the Three Stooges.

--------

AB: You graze Granite Golem for 24 points of bludgeoning damage!
AB: You graze Granite Golem for 20 points of bludgeoning damage!
AB: Your Ebony Quarter Staff is out of Mana.
AB: You graze Granite Golem for 4 points of bludgeoning damage!
AB: You graze Granite Golem for 4 points of bludgeoning damage!
AB: . o O (Thus endeth this evening's excursion)

I have mixed feelings about Rock Band, the video game. On the one hand, it is a really fun rhythm based game, featuring some of the best rock songs you'll ever hear (though it is missing AC/DC), it's good for small parties, and great for annoying the down-stairs neighbors (the drums are at least). On the other hand, Rock Band feels kind of plastic-y.  If you've ever played Guitar Hero or Rock Band--or seen the South Park episode making fun of Guitar Hero--you probably understand what I'm talking about.  And the guitars are kind of not really musical instruments--they're just glorified controllers to mash buttons on.

Flimsy guitars aside, the drums are super loud.  Our neighbors have in fact complained, and we have had to ask friends to "take it easy" on the drum heads.  I wish the drums were quieter, seriously.  But, lo, I lift up mine eyes to the hills... And what is this?  Looks like Harmonix, the makers of Rock Band (and also the original makers of Guitar Hero), have answered my prayers, by releasing Rock Band 2, featuring an incredible amount of new songs, quieter drums, self-calibrating guitar strummer, and wireless everything!

Of course now I'm feeling like a jilted early adopter, left to either trade in the current Rock Band instruments towards the yet-to-be-released RB2, or to stay put and keep getting complaints from the neighbors.  I'd like to just upgrade the drums...  Don't know if there's going to be a drum-and-game only option, but it looks like Harmonix thought of the possibility of folks trying to be cheap; now you have the option of spending nearly $500 on a video game!  It seems Harmonix decided to tempt the ultra-hardcore, ultra-affluent fanbase by offering a $300 stand-alone electronic drum kit (seen below) that can be played with Rock Band, or just used on its own as a real drum set.

In case you're wondering, I am in fact planning on collecting a "love offering" for Rock Band 2, and yes you can totally play the drums first if you want.

(Crowe will be in Holmes) - Russell Crowe could be playing the villian in the sherlock holmes movie, that would be so cool to see robert downey jr vs. Russel Crowe that would be soo cool to see.

(Germany hates Tarantino) - some dude think germany is going to hate Tarantino based on hs new film.

(Spider-man 4 is on and maybe 5 or venom ?) - well raimi and Maguire are coming back for spider-man 4/5, and i am a person who loved spider-man 3 so this will be cool and also talk about a venom movie they have to recast venom.

(white story got a date ?) - looks like over in Japn land they will get it December 4th or something like that but when will America and Europe get it ?

(del toro has woork till 2017) - has a lot of work lined up for years to come like the hobbit but i am more interested in his remakes of Frankenstein i would love to see his take on it, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and H.P lovercrafts movie. i am looking forward to these.

(No PS3 Trophies for Fallout 3, Bullshit) - this has to be crap to ever PS3 owner out there, more games eed trophies if they are going to work so a good game like fallout 3 isn't going to have them, they better patch them in.

(Clive Barker hate PG-13 horror movies) - i do and i like remakes to so he is a legend.

If you have ever found yourself unable to sleep at night because you couldn't stop thinking about one of the above questions, this mildly informative Halo 3 Mythbusters video is for you. The grenade sequence in the beginning drags on but if you can make it through that, the rest is fairly entertaining. Besides the fact that I now have the urge to play baseball with a gravity hammer and missile pod, the best part of the video was that I didn't have to turn my speakers off. The myth that all Halo videos have completely unbearable crappy ass music? Busted! They just have barely bearable crappy ass music, that's all.

Collectors club alert! If you love Megaman, and it's righteous music, as much as Retail Gamers love Megaman, and its rediculously rad music, you'll probably want to check out Play-Asia.com for the Megaman 9 Soundtrack! It is no surprise that the hype machine is starting to accelerate towards the September release of Megaman 9 on XBLA, Wiiware and PSN. The soundtrack for the game will release on September 12th for the very puzzling price of $23.90 (plus shipping). The soundtrack is officially called Rockman 9 Original Soundtrack due to the fact that Megaman is called Rockman in Japan! (Learning is fun, huh kids!?) Frank Johnson has yet to commit to this purchase but is very tempted... Any of our regular readers picking this gem up? If so, head over and pre order quickly! The last collector's item of Megaman offered on Play-Asia was the R20: Rockman & Rockman X Official Complete Works which sold out very quickly due to its extreme amounts of ass kicking bad assery! Retail Gamers will definitely be supplying more Megaman news and updates up to the release of Megaman 9!

-Written By Frank Johnson

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Pac-Man and related characters are © Namco Bandai.

"We're suffering from what I call Batman blowback. The [MPAA] gave The Dark Knight a PG-13 rating and basically sucked Warner Bros. c*ck," said Moore in regards to his attempt at securing a PG-13 rating for the Max Payne film. "The MPAA changes their rules willy-nilly and it depends on who's seeing your actual movie at the time. It's very difficult to get a hold on what's acceptable. The only thing you can use is current standards. So I go and see The Dark Knight and I say, 'Gee, that's pretty gnarly for PG-13,' but I felt good about Max Payne after coming out of the theater. I thought Max wasn't going to have a problem. And that's not the case. They're coming down on us pretty hard."

i really want a R rated max payne what is this guys problem  ? man he needs to see max payne is a R rated movie but who knows it could end up with a PG-13 rating

[1up]

Spread the word and question your master

http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/6524

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/28/lawsuit-questions-obamas-eligibility-for-office/

infowars.com

The first Mercenaries game, for the original Xbox, was notorious for making the gaming environment a "Playground of Destruction" (hence the subtitle).  Almost all of what you remember from the first game is lost and forgotten in "World in Flames".

The sequel lets you play as one of the three mercenaries from the first game: Chris Jacobs, Jennifer Mui, and Mattias Nilsson.  My review is based off my experiences playing as Mattias Nilsson.

The Good:

• Destroying everything around you is fun, but you will lose money for any collateral damage.
• Peter Stormare (famous for his roles in The Big Lebowski, television series Prison Break, and Constantine) provides the voice for Mattias.
• Hijacking the enemy tanks looks awesome and is fun to do.

Swedish mercenary Mattias Nilsson in the process of getting his own tank.

(Can I have your tank please? Thanks! Bye!)

The Bad:

• The game didn't feel finished, with many of the bugs and glitches unfixed.

a) The cutscenes, as well as the gameplay, have messy and disappointing graphics.

b) While driving one of the motorcycles, I crashed right through a tree at full speed without being hurt or flying off the motorcycle itself.

c) Cars, barrels, and other objects seem to disappear seconds after being destroyed.

d) Apparently if you're hit by a semi-truck, all it does is push you to the side...

• The AI in the game is pretty lame.

a) The enemies in the game have worse aim than the bad guys in an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.

b) Two guards talked about life as I engaged their buddies in a firefight.  I'm not kidding...one guard was telling the other "take some time off, you should get away for a little bit."

• Unrealistic.

a) You can dodge bullets, sometimes too easily.

b) You can run fast as hell, and never get tired.

c) Sometimes it can take up to 10 bullets to dispose of an enemy.  Why waste your bullets, when you can just run up to them and kill them with one punch to the face?

("You do know that you won't survive this punch to the face, right?")

• The environments are pretty lame, as well.

a) You can level a heavy gate with C4, but will fail to destroy a simple wooden door leading into a house.

b) You can run into clunks of debris and move them around easily.

Final Say:

I couldn't help but think that I was playing an unfinished version of the game.  I feel very let down mainly because I was expecting the same elements from the first game, but even better on a next-gen console.  I liked to cause countless amounts of destruction in this game, but it was way more fun and looked 100 times more awesome in Battlefield: Bad Company.  Sorry guys, you might want to avoid this one.

(Grade - 5/10)

Matt Hontanosas

Amig@s lector@s, aprovechando que hace tan solo unos dias fui tocado por la mano santa de nuestro redentor, este dia, quiero aprovechar mi estado de casi dios, para traeros un mensaje divino, para salvar vuestras almas y vuestra integridad fisica, este post va dedicado especialmente a mis queridos amigos Paco, Leyendan, que son fan@s de los Pokeperros, a Lazaro y Marta, que son fan@s de otros juegos de video, y en general a todo aquel que me lee, que tiene cierta aficion a las consolas ( notese que dije consolas y no consoladores, Chaka te quedas por fuera esta vez  ) como la DS, Wii, PS, PSP, Xbox y demas que no me las se, mirad con atencion este video y luego leed lo que tengo para deciros.

Nintendo es del Diablo

Amig@s, casi herm@s, os pido desde el fondo de donde tengo flores, que dejeis de jugar a esas cosas, las lineas magneticas y electronicas del nitendo, por la velocidad de ellas, cuando le hacen chus chus, causaran epilepcia, ceguera, sordera, ya lo dice el , en los tiempos de Cristo, el ninyo suicida qu ese tiraba al fuego y al hielo, usaba gafas y se pasaba el Mario con las patas, solamente usando la parte izquierda del cerebro, y todo porque? por las epilepcias causadas por el nintendo.

Pero lo peor es lo que paso con esos pobres 700 ninyos que convulcionaban y vomitan espuma en Japon, todo porque? si amig@s, por eso mismo, los Pokeperros ( minuto 4:45 del video ), los malditos Pokeperros, el Pikachu, el Tuiki Tuiki, ya lo decia yo, eso es del demonio, el principe de las trevas los creo y los mando para destruirnos. Pero esos ninyos herma@s, mas que epilepticos son campeones olimpicos de salto de altura, que esos ninyos saltaban del suelo al techo, vaya talentos, 700 ninyos, saltanto 3mts, asi sin mas, record mundial.

Pero tambien hay buenas noticias, las consolas no os hara maricon@s, no amig@s, podeis jugar tranquilas, que no es como el pollo criado en Chernobyl, dos piernicas y sois maricon@s, el nintendo solo os hara mas cercan@s al demonio y escupir baba blanca ( escupir y no comer viciocill@s ).

En resumen amig@s entre las enfermedades causadas por el nintendo podemos contar, cancer, epilepcia ( de las 2, la que solo te convulsionas, y la otra que te pones como la mismisima Regan, la cabeza os da vueltas, la cama os vibra, los ojos se os ponen blancos, si, casi un orgamo, pero no, es una posecion demoniaca ), ceguera, sordera, mudez, tumores varios en el cerebro izquierdo, en el derecho no, lepra, ladillas, gonorrea, sifilis y muchas otras.

Pero como sois osad@s, intrepid@s y os gusta tentar el peligro, sois despempiadad@s, podeis jugar a estos juegos, que recomende en mi seccion de la DS en la que ofrezco resumenes y trucos de los juegos

Imagina Ser Prostituta

Imagina Dietz

Que tengais un@ buen@ doming@ y un@ buen@ inici@ de seman@.

]]> http://angirach.wordpress.com/?p=43 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:45:05 +0000 angirach http://angirach.wordpress.com/?p=43 Since I've been playing Halo (3, going on 4 years) I've been plagued by a lot of issues namely from non gamers who really believe, deep down in their hearts that video games have contributed to violent outbursts in children/young adults.

Now. I'm not saying that video games haven't upped the exposure of violence but like with movies and music, games do come with a rating. If your child is under 18 and playing a rated M (Rated M for Mature), then it's not the fault of the Game Makers and they should not be held accountable when your underage child plays a video game and acts out (Children sometimes can not tell the difference between real and fantasy and the lives maybe blurred), what I'm trying to say is check yourself.

Example 1. If you child drinks underage, gets drunk and gets alcohol poisoning, would you sue the beer company? Example 2. If your child sneaks and gets into a movie that features cursing and your child starts cursing, do you sue the makers of the movie? Same logic applies here.

I'm tired of the blame game. The latest strand of idiocy arises from this article: http://www.wdtimes.com/articles/2008/09/05/news/news3.txt. There's a couple of things wrong with this article and I'd be delighted to point them out.

1. An 11 year old boy decided to skip school and there was no one to do anything about it.

2. He owned a .22 calibre rifle

3. He plays halo, a game that's rated M17 which means for mature audiences, recommended for ages 17 and up.

4. He owned a gun, but was not taught how to properly use a gun. He took the magazine out but did not eject the round that was already in the chamber.

I can not believe that journalists and even the parents are even encouraging and goading the media and the community at large by stating that he skipped school to play halo and was continuously playing halo. Uh, the parents shouldn't have allowed the game and should have paid a bit more attention to the gun they had lying around in the house. The kid could have been trying to recreate what he saw with his parents while they were casually shooting around.

I'm tired of people using video games, music, movies and everything but themselves as an excuse for why they are not good and attentive parents. I'm not saying that my mom knew everything I did, but if it was something as intense as playing a video game, she made damn sure she did her research, she would have spent an afternoon at the gaming store finding out everything about the thing before it even set foot in the house and it would have never set foot in the house since I was underage anyways.

We need better parents, more initiative and to follow the ratings. Stop scapegoating! I'm sorry that your son passed away, but don't play the blame game.

I am, going to play some halo tonight. Anyone getting on Live?

P.S. for entertainment purposes only: http://www.break.com/index/blame-halo-3.html

Anastasia R, gamer girl

We finally broke down and bought a Wii.  We were in the store today and I saw one on the shelf.  I almost didn't tell Andrea about it, because I knew I was weak and she'd talk me into it.  But she walked over while I was looking and saw it.  Next thing you know we're walking out with a Wii, Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, and an extra controller.  Ha ha!

It's been fun, sitting there, creating Miis, getting the WiiConnect24 up and running.  I'm really excited about the virtual console, although I'm going to wait a while to download any games, as I think we've spent enough money as it is!

So if anybody wants to come over and play Nintendo, just let me know.  Now I've got all of 'em!

P.S. I got Wii Fit the other day after searching in my state, Connecticut, and Florida!

Stay tuned as we are soon to be breaking down exactly what both games are bringing this year in depth in the coming few days. For now though, you can browse all of our NHL 2K9 & NHL 09 coverage right here.

This was really fun to watch! I am happy that two Hip Hop artists could come together to have a little fun and raise money for charity! (Well I hope Bow donates the money! I'm sure he will). I would like to see a tournament with rappers, actors, and athletes to raise $1,000,000 for a charity!

Check after the jump for a pregame interview with both rappers!

And Check WSHH for more extensive video footage!

Shouts out to WorldStarHipHop and VladTV

Over these part two years, however, I have been re-introduced into the world of video games with my particular favourite being Guitar Hero.  My brother Jared got a Wii from my parents (ironic?) as a birthday gift last year and since then I have discovered a new appreciation for video gaming.  We usually only use it for downloadable Nintendo classics like Super Mario Brothers or Legend of Zelda - but a few months ago he, myself, and my girlfriend Jenny pooled some money we made off of craigslist (selling old furniture and stuff) and went out to buy ourselves Guitar Hero 3.  

This game is addictive and quite a bit of fun, as I'm sure almost everyone under 35 knows by now.  It involves a guitar-shaped controller where one must simultaneously hold down different coloured notes and strum.  There is even a whammy-bar to make you really feel like you're playing the songs.  It's full of classic rock music that everyone knows and also tons of songs that are hidden gems that I would have never heard of if it weren't for this video game.

There are 4 levels of difficulty that you can attempt each song at; Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert.  Since owning the game, I have beaten every single song on expert - including all bonus songs - except 2.  The two I haven't beaten are:

"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - a guitarist battle against Satan himself, and

"Through the Fire and Flames" - by DragonForce

This game is a big-time distraction in my house which has no doubt largely impacted my procrastination habits.  Embarrassingly, I love the game so much I actually got a tattoo.   

Being a "game reviewer" is impossible, so why bother? No approach to game criticism can please everyone, but a panel of experts will discuss ways to avoid losing your mind when you're writing and critiquing games.

Writing for Quiksave as I do, this naturally drew my attention. I sat there and twiddled my thumbs for about 15 minutes while the room filled, and the panel experts drank from water bottles and shuffled papers and chitchatted.

On the panel were Chris Kohler (Game|Life blogger for Wired), Karen Chu (PlayFirst), Gus Mastrapa (The Onion), and Patrick Klepek (MTV).

Chris opened the floor, and stated amazement at the number of people interested in the topic, especially with the "unusual" name. He elaborated and expanded upon it, expressing his own definition of game criticism as the following: A critical analysis of games at any stage of release.

This is a definition I'll happily agree with, as critical analysis begins whenever we find ourselves faced with a rumor, a leak, a trailer, a demo, or a fully-fledged release. Naturally, the level of criticism and the pertinence of any remarks made about the game varies depending on how much you have to go with. Inferring too much about the final product based on demos and trailers has been a plague on unprofessional game review for some time now, just as Amazon.com-alike reviews from well-meaning but uncritical consumers can confuse an interpretation of a game's 'worth'. (Something which I talked about through the Martlet last year.)

Chris also defined what is meant by "new" game journalism. It's an unabashedly subjective form of critique, closer to review, in line with "gonzo" journalism. He lamented the unpopularity of the old game journalism, a more stalwart and thorough critique from what I could understand.

Like in literary review, there are varying schools - more than two, I imagine - which can sometimes coexist and sometimes will go at loggerheads. I find myself wavering between the schools, as each has something useful to offer, but not necessarily if you include all forms in one review. It's like the old dichotomy between the E.M. Forster, or the British school, which tries its best to draw its conclusion to answer the unspoken consumer question: Is it worth the money? And the art-for-art's-sake review that cares little for economic value and consumption, only a game's inherent worth in the context of its genre.

Because of this tug-of-war, Chris said that expectations for game reviewers are inhuman, and the first step to good review is simply accepting that you can't please everyone.

To be continued...

definitely rock band 2. rock band 2 is where its at. my friends and i spent allllllll last night rocking out.

A little while ago, I went to the Counselor's office at school to request a schedule change. I wanted to switch around my first two classes, because they were back-to-back classes where I stayed in the same room and sat in the same chair for two hours, and I really hated to have to go through that every morning.

Unfortunately, my Counselor told me something much more than just a simple "no".

It began when she asked me, "How can this be? How are you in these classes?". I responded by saying that I qualified for them because I had completed their requirements the year before, in Sophomore year.

"But you only have 7 credits."

"What?"

"Did you go to school here last year?"

"No, I went to Primavera Online High School."

"Oh crap."

So began my wonderful adventure to my current situation. Lemme give you a background check on my education.

I went to Mesquite High School for my Freshman year in high school. I completed one out of two semesters there. Somewhere near the half-way point through the second semester, my mom's dog breeding business started to expand and my grandma and her weren't capable of running it by themselves, so I volunteered to drop out of a real high school in favor of taking up a full-time online education.

Unfortunately, this did nothing but screw me over. I hated the online classes.

You should know this, but in case you don't, I'm a very social person. I love to meet people, talk to people, and sometimes even debate with people, as long as no ones feelings get hurt. But through online schooling, there's absolutely no interaction with anybody. No friends, no teachers; just you and your computer.

Nothing's real. The Internet, in all of its un-seriousness, is truly no place for school.

I suffered through an entire year of that crap. Come Junior year, I decided enough was enough and enrolled myself back at Mesquite High School. My mom's dog breeding business failed miserably through the course of my Sophomore year anyway, so I didn't really have much point in staying with Primavera.

But then came the day when I asked for a schedule change.

"How can I only have 7 credits?"

"I don't think we take Primavera credit here."

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure. I think it's a district policy."

"So it's like I didn't even take my Sophomore year then, huh?"

"Come...come back tomorrow and we'll sort this out."

I come back tomorrow and I get an ultimatum. Mesquite High School won't take my Sophomore year credits and I have three options.

"I've been sitting here for an hour and you can graduate high school by 2010," my counselor begins. My face brightens up significantly. "But, in actuality, you really have only two options, as graduating by 2010 would require a ridiculous amount of work."

"Like what?"

"Well for instance, you'd have to take summer school, 0 Hour classes, join  clubs, and get a job. Even after all of that, you would graduate in the summer of 2010, after the graduation ceremony."

To me, special moments like proms, graduation ceremonies - once in a lifetime things; they mean a lot to me. So, doing a ton of work just so I can get my diploma in the mail? I ruled that option out.

"What's my other two options?"

"Well, you can take your Sophomore year over again and graduate by 201...or you can go back to Primavera."

And here I am today. Enrolled with Primavera again, not making any new friends or socializing, just typing away on the Internet. This was not how I envisioned high school and this isn't right. But then again, what's a brotha' to do? I can't possibly do the insane amount of work, let alone get a job, just so I can graduate in the summer of 2010, nor am I taking a year I already accomplished over again because no Arizona district wants to take my credit. This is just what I have to do.

If you're wondering why I wrote this blog...well, I don't really know. I just needed to vent I guess. I also felt an obligation to explain to you why I haven't been blogging much.

My education woes aren't the only reason you haven't seen much blogging from me though. I'll write another blog later on my latest project: Manila.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

In a recent interview, I heard Sean Williams describe Star Wars: The Force Unleased (available September 16, 2008 for major consoles) as Star Wars: Episode Three-Point-Five. The storyline content of the game covers the part of the Star Wars timeline between Episode III and Episode IV, effectively bridging the gap between the classic trilogy and the new trilogy.

This highly-anticipated title should be a rollicking good time, and it's definitely a must-play for the XBox 360!

Also, if you watch the interview, you catch a view of a new Jedi - an attractive new addition to the cast - whose name is Maris Brood. She is voiced by actress Adrienne Wilkinson, who is stunningly attractive. I'm particularly intrigued by Maris Brood because of the lightsabres she wields, which are very unconventional compared to lightsabres we're used to seeing in the films. I can't wait to see how those are utilized - to devastating effect, no doubt - in the game!

The review / preview of the product on Amazon.com included the following interesting information regarding the technical innovations used in the new game:

With The Force Unleashed, LucasArts not only introduces a new chapter in the Star Wars saga, but also two completely new and innovative technologies -- Digital Molecular Matter by Pixelux Entertainment and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd. These groundbreaking technologies combine with Havoc physics to create true next-gen gameplay and the Force like it's never been seen or experienced before.

Clearly, this is a landmark game for LucasArts, and I really think it's going to get a fair treatment by the console gaming consumer market. I'm expecting a response similar to, if not more positive than, the response Knights of the Old Republic got.