I'm not going to play it tonight because I am sick.

I'm also interested in Bioshock infinite but I think I'll wait for it to drop in price a bit before I get it but I want to play it because it will likely receive one of my personal game of the year honorable mentions or maybe even an award.I am interested to see how the concepts of 'racism' and 'racial supremacy' are used in Bioshock Infinite's story because in it's Gamespot video review it had people in the game saying some extremely racially derogatory remarks about blacks and Asians so I'm assuming there is a very good story-related reasons for this because this is a very sensitive issue.

After experiencing darker-style stories and atmospheres with Shadow Hearts Covenant and Bioshock,I think the next game I will move onto will be Paper Mario Thousand Year Door because I want to play something colorful and charming next.I'm still midway through Tales of the Abyss which is quite a colorful JRPG but it's story is a bit intense and I want to experience a story that's charming and lighthearted.And I still want to find time to play through Wild Arms 4 too and this doesn't even count the 2013 releases I want to play(Lightning Returns,Soul Sacrifice,Remember Me,Project X,A Link to the Past 2,Bioshock Infinite and Bravely Default if it gets localized).

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May 14, 1:03 AM. I, PeterDuck of Rivia, beat Witcher 2 on Insane difficulty after approximately 3 months of trying, 14-15 failed attempts and 173 hours:

1. Finished Roche's path.

2. Gave Anais to Temeria.

3. Let Letho go (hope to see him in W3);

4. Saved Sile (hope to see her in W3

5. Killed Henselt (don't want to see him in W3)

I have 6 more Steam Achivements to unlock which I intend to get before W3 comes out.

Super pysched. Got all my saves ready for import, got my Gerald statue, all I need to buy is a Witcher T-shirt and the silver medallion

p://i41.tinypic.com/e6um50.jpg

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I bring this up because recently I was talking with one of my non-gaming friends, and she had asked me what I did over my week-end. Knowing that she wouldn't be very interested to hear about my pixelated adventures, I answered with the vague phrase "video games," to which she replied, "How can you enjoy something thats all about killing people?" I was taken aback when she said this. She never asked what video games I played or what those games were about, just about how I could possibly get a kick out of killing people. I had been playing Bioshock Infinite, which albeit does involve a lot of guns and killing, but that was not my main reason for playing it. I was offended that she assumed that all video games showcase murder as a form of entertainment. Of course, I could have explained that not all video games are about shooting, mass murder, and death, but instead I started thinking about how the non-gaming world sees the gaming world. In the non-gaming world there thrives the idea that video games are just a pointless form of entertainment that advocates blood, gore, and violence. Though there is good reason to believe this, especially since the Call of Duty franchise is among the best-selling and most popular franchises of all time, there is also good reason to see video games in a different light. Take Bioshock Infinite. The driving force of Infinite is not its gameplay, but its narrative. When I turned on my PS3 to enter the world of Columbia, I did so to experience Booker and Elizabeth's story. Although its gameplay focused on the guns and shooting that this generation has become so familiar with, Infinite's main attraction is its story, characters, and setting. It breaks my heart to think of all the people who would take one look at Infinite and automatically assume that this narrative masterpiece was just Call of Duty in another form.

Why is it that video games can't be taken as seriously as other forms of entertainment like movies and books? In my opinion, video games are better. They allow people more control of their experiences. Increasingly, video games are giving people the chance to mold their character how they want. Games like Mass Effect, The Walking Dead, and Dishonored present choices that impact the story and the player's character. Being given the opportunity to mold my own experience gives me more enjoyment than the linear stories of movies and books. However, even linear games provide more enjoyment than movies and books since linear games still give people control of the protagonist. So even if a video game has a linear story like a movie or book, it still gives people more satisfaction by allowing them to control the character that drives the story forward. When I watch a movie or read a book, I feel like I'm a passenger. But when I play a video game, I feel like the driver. Even with this opportunity for a more involving experience, video games are still viewed as childish by the non-gaming community.

Perhaps if more people played video games the industry would join the ranks of films. But getting non-gamers to actually play a game is a challenge itself. Video games are unfamiliar to non-gamers. And this unfamiliarity might actually be why non-gamers view video games as mostly violent and juvenile. Instead of seeing the multifarious worlds that are offered through video games, such as Rapture, Hyrule, Dunwall, Columbia, the Citadel, and countless others, people choose to ignore them. They can only see video games as variations of Call of Duty because that is what is familiar to them through coverage by the media and what is heard by the "bros" of the world. Obviously Call of Duty isn't the only household name for video games. There are games like Mario, Pac-man, and Zelda, but the increasing market for shooters is drowning those names out. The massive financial success of yearly Call of Duty's has not gone unnoticed. Because of the popularity of first-person shooters, developers have been flooding the market with Call of Duty "clones" to try and mimic its success. This market saturation of FPS's has affected not just the gaming world, but also the non-gaming world. The most vocal members of the gaming community also happen to be the biggest fans of these FPS's. Also, recent events have caused some media to put the blame on violent video games, which increases the amount of negative exposure of video games that non-gamers get. As a result, most of what non-gamers hear about video games is about violence, shooting, guns, etc.

I don't mean to put the blame for how non-gamers see gamers solely on Call of Duty, but more on the bro genre as a whole. I think video games need to be taken more seriously as the industry continues to grow. Developers are creating experiences unique to video games and for their work to be properly recognized, the non-gaming community needs to forget its current generalization of games. When the connotation of the phrase "video games" shifts from being juvenile to being unique, then I believe the industry will have reached its goal.

Questions, comments, concerns (maybe even compliments)? Show me some feedback/other opinions in the comments!

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I have so much to catch up on, it's ridiculous. Gaming news for example. I have a gap in my head, it spans from about Nov.1 - Now. lol. I don't know how long it will take to catch up with all that, I'm not used to feeling so out of the loop!! Oh, and get this- I'm using one of my other gaming rigs right now- becaues the one I'm usually on has to have the hard drives replaced. Yep, you guessed it, I have to dl all those programs, games, music etc. back on there- why? because I procrastinated and didn't get the external hd's I've been 'meaning' to get for who knows how long and do the backup. UGH! I had such a cool high level character on Skyrim too, and close to 100 mods lol. Start all over now, oh well- serves me right.

I also have to get a new TV stand- I got one right before the world went sideways for me but didn't put it together yet, box was just sitting in my floor, well, recently my mother's TV finally kicked the bucket so naturally I was the one who had to pick out a TV to bring her into the modern era lol. Well, the stand I bought for my soon to purchase TV I gave to my mother for her new TV so I put it together w/her assistance (all blk.metal/tempered glass), and then set up her new HDTV/players/satellite, gave her my nice new surge protector and my snazzy hdmi cables for her hookups, so now I have to replace these things lol.

Well, this week I'm going to work on replacing those things and get my stand put together while I still remember it fairly well (it was 'fun' enough getting the box in my car the first time- rain didn't help either!). The HDTV I'm getting is 1080/120hz/3D/Internet/PC connectable/47" -I couldn't go any bigger than that because I'm setting it between 2 long windows. The windows in the front of the house are maybe 3" from the floor to almost 1.5ft. to ceiling. My baby blues are very sensitive to light so I got some of those black out liners to go under the curtains and they're great, I could make it dark in the middle of the day, plus they're also helpful with privacy and cutting your a/c bill. Also have some bd/dvd stands to put together, will be getting the hard drives dealt with & probably get the ext.hd next month. It also wouldn't kill me to detail my car, it's under that pollen somewhere lol.

When I'm not doing one of those things, I'll be trying to catch up on gaming/PC news. I tried to pick up a PC Gaming mag. when I could but it's not enough here and there to stay in the know. I did buy a few games and look forward to trying them but the first thing I'll probably jump on, that I've had an itch for is Hard Reset Ext.Ed. -after I first played that, I replayed it again when the ext. ed. came out, and then replayed it all over 'again'. Also been wanting to play the first Witcher E.E. (I like to play it with the music cd that comes with it with songs by different bands -anyone else do that?). Those 2 popped in my head and won't go away. They're a good starting point.

Anyhow, I need to get going. Picked up a little bit from my local electronics store today -love getting new hardware/software. Got a new HD camera at the beginning of the year on sale that I've not had time to use- I have a lot to do and look forward to. **Well, what are the rest of you playing when it's game time?

**Who played Bioshock Infinite and liked it? Disliked it?

**Who wants to list maybe the top 5 gaming/PC stories from Nov. to now? LOL ouch.

O.K. I'm out of here. Brain's fried, I've about had it for the day. If I'm reallllly lucky, maybe I'll get in bed before midnight. (doesn't happen a lot lately). Game On.

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Recently, David Cage, the boss of Quantic Dream, stated that yearly sequels such as COD and Madden gets in the way of the creative minds of developers. I can understand his frustration; however I don't like how he worded it. His statements looked as if he was partially blaming the gamers for this loss of creativity. Gamers have the right to choose what games they like to follow. The developers are the ones who make the decisions for their game, not the gamer. To me this problem extends beyond yearly games; therefore it should be a level of concern. I am going to list a few reasons why sequals are desirable to developers.

1. Sequels for successful games has the potential to generate high profit.
2. Sequels may not require as much time to make.
3. Sequels can bring back a specific crowd.
4. Some games require yearly sequels due in part of the type genre it is in.

Sequels are a part of gaming; however I understand that sequels could get in the way of creativity especially if the sequel is for a very popular game. Sequels usually result in high expectations. And most hardcore fans of a series doesn't want the game to drastically change, because they deem such changes as unneccesary. There are developers that fear making too many changes could minimize the chance of success; because fans of a franchise would no longer like it. The phrase if it ain't broke don't fix it seems to be a commom practice. It would be nice to see more developers move away from that philosophy more.

For instance, over the years, especially now, there have been quite a few divides due to drastic changes to a favorite series. For example, there are SF fans who prefer Street Fighter 4 over Third Strike; because they didn't like the inclusion of the parry system. I can admit that I like SF Third Strike more; because of the art style, the speed, and the fact that the returning characters actually had a decent array of NEW moves. To me SF 4 went backwards instead of forward.

There is a simple solution to solve this problem. Developers should stop worrying about negative press and make their own decisions despite disapproval from fans. I am not saying to undermind suggestions of gamers; but developers need to figure out where to draw the line in terms of letting developer creativity shine. Developers shouldn't let gamers dictate everything developers need to do for a sequel. Developers are the ones who make the decisions; therefore the developers are the ones responsible for the lack of creativity.

It is kind of unfair that David Cage targeted only yearly games; because some genres warrant similarities to previous games. For instance, sports games mostly spend every year updating rosters and adding a few things here and there. There isn't much you can do to revitalize traditional sports games. Games that are made to be more realistic doesn't give you a whole lot of room to really let your creativity explode. However, it would be nice to see new ways to play yearly games as long as the ideas they come up with actually work well. Despite the fact that Madden games didn't make a ton of changes other than the roster it did come a long way. Maybe what yearly games like Madden and COD need is some creative competition to go against them in order to force them to find new ways to ensure dominance of their respective genre.

Yearly games shouldn't be the only focus when it comes to this matter. Every type of game is at risk. For example, Resident Evil and the reboot of Devil May Cry (DmC) are two games that caught a lot of unwanted attention due to gamers who wanted those games to be more of the same. However, instead of bending to the will of the gamer Capcom and Ninja Theory stuck to most of their guns. Risk doesn't always lead to success; however making changes to games adds new life to franchises that have gone stale or is close to losing its momentum. Plus, developers could also choose to move on to new projects if they want to use more time to find more interesting ways to bring a sequel to life.

Resident Evil didn't do so well, but Ninja Theory's attempt to breath some new life into Devil May Cry might payoff due to the occurence of more positive insight as the game gets closer to launch. Trolling DmC with parody pictures of the new Dante like the one above is still going on, but over the course of this week I actually noticed that some Devil May Cry fans that originally opposed the reboot is showing signs of interest. I am a fan of Devil May Cry and not a fan of Ninja Theory at all; because I don't really like their games. But, I do respect their effort and sticking to most of their guns when it comes to their vision for the DmC reboot. I questioned Ninja Theory in the beginning; but after playing the demo for two hours I actually liked what I saw so far. I do believe this game will be Ninja Theory's best selling game.

Lets pretend Ninja Theory made DmC actually the same as the previous games. Personally, I wouldn't buy it, because the game wouldn't be good. If DmC is going to be exactly the same as the other DMC games; then I would prefer the original creators of Devil May Cry to step up and make it a hundred times better than every other Devil May Cry game.

All developers have to do is make games so good that gamers will make the effort to leave their comfort zone. It would also help to get more feedback from gamers to see what changes are more sensitive, so that they can make more careful decisions if they plan to make more drastic changes to sentitive areas. It would also help that developers remember that they can't please everyone. Making a good first impression in the video game industry is more critical than you think. I think that Ninja Theory probably would have had a better start if they asked the Devil May Cry fanbase to point out areas that are risky to change, so Ninja Theory could try to make adjustments that could make both sides feel more comfortable. However, it is up the Ninja Theory to draw the line that will determine how much they will compromise.

I believe sequels is not the problem; because creativity is all up the the developer. The developers are the ones who decide to keep things the same. Creativity requires risk; therefore if developers are not willing to take a chance, then the path to creativity is compromised. Sequels can be different; but are the developers willing to take the risk and bear the burden of the consequences that come along with it?

Please provide your own thoughts about the creativity problem.

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I wanted to write about this subject last week, but I had so much work to do on my Master's research.

I know that this subject will cause a lot of controversy. Please remember that this is my opinion, you may like and you may not, either way let me know what you think.

There are a few games and franchises, which I think are overrated or over-hyped. I am going to list them alphabetically and will state my reasons as well.

1- Bayonetta: Totally overrated. Weak story, poor graphics, and ugly voice acting. The action in this game is so fast that sometimes I had no idea what was happening on the screen. I didn't like it at all.

2- Brutal Legend: Poor graphics, tedious gameplay, annoying sound track and an unbelievable story. Totally overrated.

3- Call of Duty (franchise): Don't get me wrong, I loved Modern Warfare when it first came out, but since then, every call of duty is the same. The same engine, the same mechanics and even the same plot over and over. What bothers me the most, is that reviewers use COD as a standard for comparison. Every FPS is compared to COD in some way, and every time COD has to win. I am telling you COD is not even that good. Many FPSs were underrated because of it, andthat is wrong. I know the game has a massive multiplayer mode, but that's it. Battlefield and Medal of honor are better franchises in my opinion.

4- Dead Rising (franchise): Poor concept, repetitive gameplay. You kill zombies and save civilians. That's it. Overrated.

5- God of War (franchise): This franchise is so overrated and over-hyped. I know, I know, God of War III was a technical achievement; the graphics, the scale, but that's it. The other games in the franchise are the same, the only difference is the boss encounters. Why would reviewers compare every action game to GOW, I have no clue. Why is it considered as a standard, I have no clue either. In my opinion Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and Dante's inferno were better than GOW3. Both were compared to GOD3 and then underrated.

6- Prototype: Where do I start? I don't think this game belonged to this generation of consoles. It should have been released on the PS2 and the XBOX. The concept of the game is very good, but it was delivered poorly. Graphics belong to the past generation, gameplay is tedious and confusing.What really bothers me is that inFAMOUS was compared to it in many reviews, while there is a huge difference between both games.

I would like to continue, there are many gmes that I would like to mention but Idon't wantthe blog to be long and boring. If you liked this blog and would like to read more about overrated games,please let me know.

Please remember, this is my opinion. Some of you will agree, many will not. Either way, please let me know what you think and why?

Are there any overrated "over-hyped" games that you would add to this list?

Thank you for reading.

Peace!

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Let's begin this entry with what to expect about the consoles itself, be it Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft:

- Individual Console Tendencies:zing

As most gamers know, Nintendo supported mostly casual players and innovative gameplay methods, Sony focused on hardcore gamers, and Microsoft somewhere in between those markets and adding support with other microsoft products, like Windows. Looking at charts and polls, Sony is likely to become more friendly with casual players, since they represent a good parcel of buyers (just look at Zynga's fortune because of casual games), and probably adding more alternative ways of gameplay instead of being restrict to the normal controller and PS Move. As of Nintendo, no surprise they'll continue to innovate new gameplay methods with the Wii U tablet controller and compatibility with 3DS for an even greater array of control possibilities, and of course, now adopting full HD visuals. For Microsoft, probably it will focus on improving Kinect's abilities of motion capture and voice commands/recognition, hopefully for online gameplay with Kinects, and support for more Microsoft products like tablets, Windows Phone and use of Windows 8 interface.

- More memory, HD space and Faster processors.

Needless to say, in all game consoles (and portables) transitions, all those aspects improves. I'd be as far as to say next generation consoles will have built-in 100+GB of HD space, over 2GB RAM (for those thinking that's little, Playstation 3 and Xbox360 Slim have 512MB RAM) and 4 to 5+ GHz processors (divided in how many nucleus they seem fit). And I'm only guessing in a more cost-compatible viewpoint, since extrapolating much would easily rocket consoles prices over US$500,00, thus reducing sales since USA and Europe are still recovering from their economical crisis.

- Internet Dependency.

The best way of combating piracy is, indeed, internet connection and constant preventive upgrades against new cracking methods and algorithms. No, not constant internet connection like on Driver: San Francisco for PC, but instead, what EA is trying to do with Mass Effect 3, requiring a one-time only online "authorization" using Origin and then play the game normally, be to play in single player or not. Honestly, families that buy a $250 console just for entertaining CAN pay for an internet connection of a few megabytes. 8th-Gen will surely require internet connection for almost anything, and even single-players will have no excuse for not having to connect online, even without subscriptions on services like Xbox Live, Netflix, Skype and Steam (that hopefully will support consoles in the near future).

- Portable-Console Interfacing.

Tablets and Android-powered cellphones are the fever of the moment, so why not exploit this chance? Console controlled by tablets, different gameplay methods, local linking, data sharing and exchange. The possibilities are almost endless, and all I noted was already tested, and it all can go even further. And with AR technology becoming more and more advanced and flexible, it's a good call game consoles will have that kind of support interface (what Microsoft is doing right now).

- Graphics and sounds...not that better?

Yes, the current generations have awesome graphics, and full HD 3D support is even better. Unfortunately, it won't be likely that 8th-Gen will have better graphics than that, or at best, just some polishing on quality by supporting new image-rendering technologies. Thing is, better image quality exponentially increases building costs, and pricey consoles at times like this won't attract that many gamers. Plus, newer image quality technologies like 1440p images and Quad-HD are mostly unknown, have little support, and, on domestic use, don't imply in big increases of quality. Same thing with best sound technologies, like 32bit sound quality, only notably better than Dolby Digital's 24bit TrueHD sound quality on ridiculously big spaces with more than 8 audio channels. As a side note, TrueHD audio can be improved with better-than-bluray disc quality, like HVD, so there's still ways to improve just by changing the game disc's space, but that topic is for another blog entry.

- Region Lockout and No Backwards Compatibility.

Nintendo's Wii U already confirmed backward compatible with Wii games. Next Playstation probably will be backward compatible with PS3 titles, but only in its "native" region and Xbox is likely to not be backward compatible with current generation consoles' games. Also, it's most likely (except with the next Playstation) that region lock will still be present. It is a fair speculation. Why? News flash: 8th-Gen WON'T be an expensive console/game generation, as I mentioned on the first aspect. Region locks eases production of certain games, prevent piracy and regulates pricing of games worldwide (see Wikipedia for more info), not to mention being backward compatible with games from different regions also implies different processes to run before playing the game, thus requiring more processing power for older generation games and increasing production costs again. Simply put, since Xbox 360 and Wii are region locked, their successors will most likely be region locked too, and the next Playstation will be just like PS3 is now when playing PS2 games (region-locked backward compatible, but region free for its own games).

And there we have it, my forecast about 8th-Gen consoles. On the next part, we'll talk a little more about the 8th-Gen game forecast. See you then!

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What did you expect ??? It's summer time and Im about to get a 2nd Job. . Got things to do Plus its the best part of the year to partyy

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This is a game which I can't wait to come out. Finally people at Team 17 have heard the cry from their fans and are bringing out the good old 2D Worms. Hell, it's about time, I say, and not only me. Many fans have complained on the 3D version of the game, even though I must say it wasn't that bad, but not just the good old Worms Armageddon. So finally it's here, and my expectations are high, sky high to be exact. Counting down the final days till release

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""

Ofcourse you would know of moderation.. wouldn't you? There is a growing alliance among those with certain.. privileges.. that would surprise you.

Remember..

All your blog are belong us

""

He's trying to ban me by down-thumbing my blogs. WTF!

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Want a chance to stop this? Send me a PM

BY THE WAY DON'T POST ANY COMMENT ON THIS BLOG, PM PM PM MESSAGES PLEASE

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