http://kotaku.com/more-then-anything-ive-read-this-is-the-deal-breaker-511778528

Yes, it's Kotaku. But well, they're reporting everything that everyone else is reporting, straight from the horse's ass...er...mouth.  Yes, MS has finally confirmed everything that we've all been hoping for was just rumors and bullsh it.  Well, now it's just sh it.  MS may not issue used games fees (hurray?), but we'll most likely see publishers themselves try it. This is actually where I'm hopeful they won't, considering EA's thrown out the online pass.  There's ridiculous restrictions when it comes to giving games, and trading games will be practically impossible. Oh yeah, and if I want to GIVE you a game, you better have been a friend of mine for at least 30 days... This is ludicrous.  Oh, and the rental market is now fuc ked. 

And then there's the final confirmation.  The one that's the deal breaker for everyone that I've heard against the Xbox One.  The 24 hour connection check.  Oh, and if you're playing one of your games on someone else's system, that goes up to an hourly connection check. 

Let me just address this one right now before someone posts it. 

"But, if you have the Internet to complain about the Xbox One, you have the Internet to play Xbox One."

True, but the difference is, I care about the gamers who DON'T. I don't support this kind of jackassery. There are MILLIONS of gamers WORLDWIDE without the necessary 1.5 Mb/s connection MS requires to utilize Xbox One online. They won't be able to enjoy Xbox One as a result of this. The reason why you're hearing perfectly enabled gamers complaining about the mandatory connection checks is because we're exercising something called sympathy.  It's a powerful emotion that helps keep us from devolving into nothing but a bunch of greedy, selfish uncaring jerks. Do you REALLY need the Xbox One that badly that you would support such unfriendly business decisions? Do you not care that MS is basically pissing on your consumer rights?  Will MS even have games good enough to justify this?

So, this brings me to my blog title. Will the games be good enough?  Right now, the only game that comes close enough to generating any interest into the system is Quantum Break, and that's only because of the pedigree of the developer. Now, I hear that DICE has something in store for us at E3, and it's been rumored - and I stress rumored - that Mirror's Edge 2 will be Xbox exclusive and if this is the case, it will test the limits of my resolve, because I REEEEEEALLY want that game. To put it into perspective, the only game that I want more than Mirror's Edge 2 is The Last Guardian. I do not want to back down, cave in and buy a machine that I'm strongly against just because of a few choice titles. I also want to own them if I ever would buy them, but MS has made it clear at this point they no longer want their customers owning anything they buy. 

Let me just go back to the "I have online, so I'm not affected" bit. You don't know that.  You have no idea what kind of things can happen that can disrupt your enjoyment of the Xbox One. Your router could fry as a result of power surge. Your ISP could down, or you lost your job and had to cut back on montly expenses. Your job has relocated you to a remote town where there is no Internet, or at least BB. Some construction worker severs a fiber optic cable leaving you without net for several days. Something may happen that will cause you to say, "Fu ck, why did I buy into this?" It may never happen, and you might enjoy the Xbox One without a hitch for years. But why do you want to game under a Damoclean Sword? Why aren't you bothered with the fact that MS will be watching your every move, making sure each person playing isn't some kind of pirate? 

So, no. I don't care about MS's offereings this E3. I don't think there's one single game that's going to be amazing enough for me to be able to look the other way on the DRM issues and the 24 hour connection check and the trading and loaning restrictions. It's not going to happen this year. It may not happen next year.  If it will ever happen, it will be when MS's cloud is long dead and powered down, which will be the only way you'll be able to play the Xbox One completely free of an Internet connection.... or will it?  

Will any game be good enough to buy, knowing you'll never be able to play it again in the future? To be rendered a worthless piece of plastic only fit for a coaster? NO game is good enough for that! 

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Wow. This is something else.

You see, Microsoft has really done something I've never seen before in my entire history of gaming: they've developed a product with such an overwhelmingly negative reception that you are literally seeing even the most devoted of Xbox 360 owners start to question their loyalty toward them.

Today we got some answers, and boy, were they the wrong ones.

Microsoft announced that you will be required to "check in" with them in order to use your Xbox One offline. 24 hours on your own console, 1 hour on another owner's console. Doesn't this seem wrong to you? This is like having to call your mom every day just to "check in." It's something with an unquestionably high inaneness quotient. Is Microsoft this untrusting of its consumers that they need to make sure that we're online all the time?

"...because every Xbox One owner has a broadband connection..."

And this isn't something that you say to a potential consumer either, because I can guarantee without a shadow of a doubt that this is not true. This is false. False. Every Xbox One owner will NOT have a broadband connection and basing a majority of your reasoning of this form of DRM on this falsehood is something that will follow you for a long time. I'm sure you all remember the rather embarassing Xbox Live outage we all received a few years ago. You know, the one that we sat through for days, only to receive that crappy Undertow game as a consolation. Microsoft's track record on online security and stability doesn't fit with their always-online mantra. There WILL be internet outages somewhere. There WILL be people who don't have stable enough internet connections to be online all the time but still want to play Halo. There WILL be exceptions and Microsoft is not accomodating this rather large number of exceptions to their own ridiculously constructed rule.

Oh, and the used games. This is something that blew my mind; despite supposedly having the "answer" to used games, we're still wandering a murky fog of ambiguity and confusion. So, Microsoft will only allow Xbox One games to be traded in at participating partnered stores? While the fact that you can access your game library through the cloud is generally interesting, this used game policy just seems to be putting up bars in the windows of the bank, for lack of a better analogy. And this is also a one-time trade, and your friend must have been a friend for a minimum of 30 days. Perfect. A way to alienate the gaming audience further by putting restrictions on something as intimate and light-hearted as loaning a game to a friend. Yes, this is supposedly coming after launch, but that's not something that we should have to wait for. That should be a standard, something that we shouldn't have to jump through hoop after hoop for just so we don't sidestep these ridiculous policies.

The whole Giant Eyeball in the Living Room (aka Kinect) deal is still something that lacks clarity and assurance. Microsoft reiterated that Kinect's camera and mic can be deactivated, but we also heard that Kinect is required for the console to function. So does that mean that if the Kinect malfunctions that the console itself is done as well? Doesn't that sound like another Microsoft hardware issue that many of us have experienced so many times before?

People get on Nintendo's case for staying in the past with many of their decisions, but Microsoft is doing the complete opposite. They're stuck in the future, a future where they make the rules and the artistic and consumer freedoms are barricaded behind intrusive DRM, obnoxious peripheral requirement and an overarching lack of trust with the people who actually buy Microsoft consoles.

I'm going to make a rather big comparison here: Microsoft's actions with the Xbox One are not unlike those instated by those legislators who developed the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Yeah, you remember SOPA. The proposed act said to destroy online freedoms? The act that Wikipedia and many other sites shut down in protest against? Yes, Xbox One is the SOPA console and here's why:

When SOPA was brought to light, the supporters aimed to stop piracy by delivering strict regulations on online users. Though legislators and CEO's of major conglomerates loved it, there were many who didn't and not just Wikipedia and Google. Musical artists, online publishers and TV personalities were against it. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, MGMT, the members of SNL parody artists The Lonely Island: they hated SOPA. The very people SOPA was aiming to defend were against this act. Why? Because they valued artistic freedom and integrity over industrialized commodity. They didn't want legislative protection. They just wanted people to see and hear their works.

Aside from the consumer backlash, look at other developers who are against the Xbox One functionalities. Tim Schafer (Double Fine), Steve Gaynor (Bioshock Infinite), these developers have made high quality games, but they also value the consumer experience. They don't want protection from a major company; they just want to make great games and show avid gamers what they've made in the fastest, most efficient and most assuring way possible.

Microsoft is losing this fight before even showing up to the front lines. I've never seen a console so vehemently despised so early in its birth. I can't imagine a world with so much disapproval, but the joke's on me: this world is now.

P.S. 200th blog. Way to go, me.

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I know most these sites,magazines and such give virtually the same score to virtually sport games like soccer/football every year, I play them and go eh same as last year why am I wasting my money on this rubbish. I don't use certain reviews as a guideline. If it has an interesting concept or I am a fan of a particular series I will play it and judge it for myself.

I mean I didn't throw a 10 at Mass Effect 2 because all the sites were doing so. I did it because it was an amazing experience with an excellent camapaign and brilliant characters. I have given games like Killzone 2 a right bashing because it bored me to no ends and I even went on end to say L.A Noire was dissapointing even though people didn't agree I don't care they are not me and it's my opinion.

Also I don't throw high scores at Mario or Zelda games because I am biased. I think most in the series are excellent games. I mean I gave New Super Mario Bros 2 a 7.0 and Paper Mario Sticker Star a 6.5. I gave them those scores because they were forgettable I didn't give them those scores because IGN,Gametrailers,Gamespot or EDGE gave them that same said with Mario Galaxy,Uncharted 2 and Resident Evil 4.

I am just here to clear things up and say that who cares what these sites/magazines give these games they are not us and it shouldn't put us off buying certain games either.

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- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - ACIII was 2012 Game of the Year, though I was slightly disappointed by it. I'm hoping that the pirate theme takes the many great things from ACIII while correcting its flaws. I'd like to have many options as to how to assassinate a target; I do NOT want to be told what to do and how to do it. I expect this game to be the main attraction at Ubisoft's conference with a live demo.

- Batman: Arkham Origins - From one Game of the Year follow-up to another. I LOVED Batman: Arkham City as a big Batman fan and as a gamer. It's truly one of the best games I've ever played. That said, I hope that Arkham Origins plays it safe. With a new developer and the same engine, I'm not expecting this game to be better than Arkham City. However, if the new development team sees what made BAC so damn good and decides to simply offer more of the same while maintaining the same quality, Arkham Origins could wind up being similar to Fallout: New Vegas (which would be excellent). I expect a huge gameplay reveal at either Sony or Microsoft's conference. I also want to see a floor demo of the 3DS/Vita spin-off Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate.

- Battlefield 4 & Call of Duty: Ghosts - I did not pick up Battlefield 3 or Black Ops II. After the excellent Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and the awful Modern Warfare 3, I found myself very tired of military shooters and online gaming in general. In fact, I've probably only played near 4 hours of multiplayer since the start of 2012. I want that to change; I miss quality online multiplayer dearly. When I purchase my PlayStation 4 at launch, I want to buy one of these two games with it. Similar to 2011's MW3 vs BF3, they will fight for my $60 (I hope its $60). I expect live demos from both but I'd be really interested if either show off their multiplayer.

- Beyond: Two Souls - With Sony's focus obviously on the upcoming PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, I do expect them to show some love for the PlayStation 3 and how "they have big plans for the PS3 moving forward" and all that crap. While I already pre-ordered the game and want to see as little as possible, I do want to finally see the game in action.

- Destiny - I'm not sure what to make of this game. It's an incredibly ambitious idea from Bungie, but I fear that it will be lost in between the two generations. I want to know more about it. I hate MMOs, so if it does turn out to be just that, I will probably not be interested. However, I do know that Bungie is a trendsetter in the gaming world and believe that this game could have some really unique ideas. I'm interested to see just what the hell this game actually is aside from some concept art.

- DriveClub - I've recently spent a lot of time with Need for Speed: Most Wanted, which somewhat rekindled my love for racing games. I might be open to the idea of purchasing a racing game with my purchase of a PS4. With DriveClub, I know that the developer behind them (of MotorStorm fame) is very talented and capable of creating one spectacular racing game. I do not know much more else about it and I do want to know more. I expect a gameplay demo and a slew of information about it.

- Grand Theft Auto V - Can we please get some gameplay?

- Killzone: Shadow Fall - I never played Killzone, I played and enjoyed Killzone 2, and I have Killzone 3 in my backlog. The reason why I haven't yet played KZ3 is because it just looks very generic and similar to Killzone 2. I'll get to it eventually (hopefully it will prove me wrong), but from what I've seen of Shadow Fall, the game looks very, very different from what the franchise has been in the past. It looks less linear and it looks like an Uncharted-esque adventure game with some platforming included. We know that it will launch with the PS4, but we do not know much about the plot. I expect to see a lot of this game at E3.

- Knack - From the team behind the Ape Escape series (which was sadly absent from the PS3), comes a very intriguing platforming game that I couldn't be more excited about. Aside from Sly 4 and two Ratchet & Clank games, the PS4 completely ignored a genre that was so successful on the PS3: 3D platforming with cartoonish characters. From the gameplay and overall details revealed at the PS4 Reveal Event, it looks refreshing and intriguing. I need to see more of this at E3.

- Madden NFL 25 - Hate all you want, I'm a massive American football fanatic (Go Bills!) and I buy Madden every year. After a slew of sub-par editions from 2006 to 2011, Madden NFL 13 finally tried to introduce some new ideas and features. It turned out to be somewhat of a "bitten off more than they could chew" situation (while not completely failing). It wasn't great, but it was a step in the right direction. If they can correct some of the issues with the new physics engine while adding the impressive, new gameplay engine showed at the VCR reveal, we could finally have a decent Madden on our hands for the first time in nearly a decade. I expect EA's conference to focus heavily on their robust sports lineup of NHL, Madden, FIFA, NCAA Football, UFC, and NBA Live.

- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - Before I start, allow to me brag about being 100% accurate about the game's title. Seriously hough, I am extremely excited for the follow-up to MGS4, which is still one of the best games available on the PS3. I want to see everything about this game, I'm that excited. I want to know more about it, I want to see it in action, and I want to see how Ground Zeroes is related to it. Konami's Pre E3 event revealed that David Hayter is indeed not returning to voice Snake, but that Kiefer Sutherland did the performance capture and voice. This is causing all sorts of uproar, but I am completely okay with it. Konami is obviously trying to make the game visually stunning by going for a performance capture similar to L.A. Noire and Beyond: Two Souls. David Hayter does not fit that bill, Kiefer does. Moving on.

- Pokemon X/Y - Gotta catch 'em all, this time in 3D! Gamefreak is completely overhauling the Pokemon series with 3D gameplay instead of the classic grid-walking. I'll no doubt miss walking in perfect squares, but I am very excited to finally see Pokemon taking a bold step. I want to know more about the new region, new Pokemon, and I am interested to see if they incorporate an interesting plot similar to Ruby/Sapphire and White/Black.

- Super Mario U & Super Smash Bros. U - It's do or die for Nintendo. They need a new 3D Mario and Super Smash Bros. and they need them to be exciting, high-quality, and fast. This triangle of needs is always an interesting complex for video games. Very few games have all three, but if there's one company who can do it, it's Nintendo. They need these two games to sell Wii U units to avoid it becoming niche. I'd hate to say it, but it's becoming a scary possibility that they could become a games-only company similar to Sega. Expect both of these games to come out swinging.

- Watch Dogs - The game looks incredible and I can't wait to see more at Ubisoft's conference.

- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - I never played either of the Witcher games and it has been assured that that will not be a problem for new players. From what I read in the GameInformer reveal, I'm pretty damn excited to see the game the has what it takes to put Skyrim to shame.

- The Witness - An indie game that caught my eye at the PS4 reveal event. I really want to see more at Sony's conference and it seems to be a huge possibility given Sony's massive support for indie games with the PS4.

- inFamous: Second Son - Last but first, in that this is the #1 game I am most looking forward to see at E3 this year. I loved all three inFamous games on the PS3 and I am certain that Second Son will be just as good and offer plenty of new and exciting features. The new protagonist, near-future Seattle setting, smoke powers, and distopian concept are all very, very interesting details that I would love to know more about. But I also want to know how the game relates to Cole's adventures, which other powers the protagonist channels, if player choice will remain a huge aspect, and I want to know more about the antagonist(s). It's THE game of E3 for me and THE game that will certainly put a dumb smile on my face when the lights dim.

Now for the games that I am (again) getting my hopes up for without talking about them. These are the games that will put a tear in my eye if they are revealed:

- Fallout 4

- Jak & Daxter 4

- Kingdom Hearts III

- Red Dead 3

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Expect a Post-E3 blog with my top 10 games of E3. Thanks for reading and please comment with which games you are excited to see at E3 this year

- Dylan

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No, it's awful; just plain awful. If I went back to my PS2-playing self, and explained to me what would happen, I'd probably lose all respect for Sony, and then my lunch. Are you still not understanding it? Here, let me explain it: the PS4 is focusing on games from dozens of developers; the games are next-gen; next is the person who goes after you in Monopoly, which is also a game; gen is the generation of people who were hurt by the people who played Monopoly the most; those people were: the Nazis! Hitler was a huge fan of Monopoly, and played it while he sicked dogs on escaped Jews; dogs will be in the new Call of Duty game, releasing on PS4. Unfortunate Implications, indeed!

Turns out the Nazis did in fact outlive the French Empire.

But wait! Hitler had a brother named Ricky Martin. Ricky Martin was in a band called Menudo, which is a type of soup. Tomato is a type of soup. Tomato tomato Bob the tomato! A character from the Christian cartoon, Veggietales. Spongebob Squarepants is a cartoon, which has a character named Sandy Cheeks, which is from Texas. Texas, of course! Why didnt I think of it before? Zack Hawthorn lives in Texas. Zack is also the name of a character from Suite Life. In the episode The Ghost and Mr. Martin, he finds a long-lost compass for the ghost of the steam vessel, Jesse Belle's captain, Entineel. Ghost! Ghosts? Call of Duty: Ghosts, a first person shooter which is releasing later this year on, what else? The PS4.

As you can deduct from the evidence I present here today, not only is the Xbox One a more entertaining and viable choice, its also a less deadly one. Do you possibly have a argument to counter my allegations? No? I rest my case.

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Admittedly, I am starting to lose faith in my Playstation Vita.  Nearly a year into owning the device, I'm feeling disheartened at the lack of the kinds of games I was looking forward to playing on the system.

This morning I downloaded a new free 'game' on the Vita starring PS mascot Toro, "Toro's Friend Network".  It is basically Facebook for the Vita, and it sucks.  But it's just one of many games that seems like a waste of time and effort on the Vita.

Today I noticed 3 more games were announced for future release on PSN - Project Diva F, Fieldrunners 2 and Stick it to the Man.

At first, I was happy to see that more games are coming to the Vita, and one of them is even a localization of a game that Japanophiles have been going crazy about.

But then I looked at the facts.  Project Diva is another rythm game, and it stars a fictional Japanese singer who sings a bunch of obnoxious J-Pop tunes - this one will really only appeal to people who probably already import games.  Fieldrunners is a tower-defense game, and while it looks like the most fun of the three games, tower-defense has been done to death over the last few years and now I can't help but associate them with casual gaming devices like the IPod where they thrive.  And I feel...  Nothing, absolutely nothing at all, about the announcement of Stick it to the Man.

This is because, aside from the release of Soul Sacrifice a month ago, all Sony has been giving to us Vita owners this year is PSN games.  Very brief, very simple PSN games.

The other month I downloaded Jacob Jones, and while stylisticly it is cute and all, the game isn't very good - in fact it kind of sucks from a gameplay perspective.  I didn't mind it so much because I figured that would be the only cheap, simple title Sony would give us for a while.  I turned out to be dead wrong, by several times.

Even more discouraging is that what's left of game options on the Vita are ports of older games, games that you can also play on a PS3, and really short games that aim high but only partially fill the gaming void like Soul Sacrifice and Gravity Rush.

Not to mention that Phantasy Star Online 2, a game that maybe could have redeemed the Vita a bit, a freaking MMO for crying out loud, is still nowhere to be seen and has been tossed carelessly onto the backburner by Sega.  But Sega will give us Project Diva F.  Let me ask you all, unbiasedly, which of those two games do you think would have more mass appeal?  I reckon it would be PSO2, without question.

That's pretty sad.  This handheld is going toward the crapper, and its fate is being sealed by dozens of mediocre downloadable titles.  The Vita shouldn't be a casual game dump, but that's what it's fast becoming.

Things are getting so bad with these 'demi-games', that I am becoming turned off to the idea of PSN entirely.  At first they were off to a good start with Tales from Space, Super Stardust and Escape Plan.  Now...  Not so much.  It's as though someone at Sony thinks pumping out trillions of microgames will do as a sufficient replacement for the system's lack of games.

And though Tearaway is on the horizon, and looks like it could be a very good game, I honestly don't think one game is enough to save the Vita anymore, this late in the game.  Killzone Mercenary will have to be one very good game when it releases, because if it disappoints even half as badly as COD did, I think it will ruin the chances for any future FPS game ever seeing success on the Vita.

Even with the hopefulness of E3 nearing us, I am beginning to feel like I have little to show for my Vita now.  Media Molecule alone can't keep this thing afloat.  And I'm not getting console-sized experiences on a handheld, which by this day in age should not be that difficult to re-create.  I'm not even asking for modern console-sized experiences, just console-sized experiences!  But instead of vast area to explore, we get restrictive arenas.  Instead of dozens of hours of story, we get a handful.  Bite-sized is almost not worth biting into at all.

Why can Nintendo fans get games with deep strategy like Fire Emblem Awakening, and games with hours upon hours of game play like Pokemon X & Y, but we Vita owners with more powerful games and tech can't get much of anything out of our Vitas except bite-sized demi-games?

I don't understand it.  And for right now, I don't know if I want to continue to support the Playstation Vita.

~ Ovirew

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Lob a bag of these critters onto a bad guy and his entire body will be devoured in seconds, his tortured screams will terrify any nearby enemies so much that they may fire randomly into their own ranks which is very handy for that black-clad troublemaker chuckling in the shadows. At one point I managed to terrorize a guard so much that he backed off a platform and fell to his death. Even better was that the plummeting body landed at the feet of a second guard who then opened fire onto three of his buddies in pure panic. Pure bloody mischief never felt so good.

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And this is not even the most retarded thing about my brain. But seriously, try some acid or at the very least get hit really hard in the head by a baseball bat (it's really not that bad; don't even have a scar from it FFS). Anything but Rez or Dyad. Or even Lumines...

Oh, here's what I'm talking about. I almost forgot; my brain is such a dick:

http://www.laserlemming.com/2013/06/06/the-aesthetic-redundancy-of-synaesthesia/

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My review of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. 

A worst-to-best episode countdown of the most recent season of Psych (feel free to point out any spelling/grammatical errors I made, I wrote this at like 3:00AM a few days ago).

E3 is only a few days away! YEAH! I think I'm-a get up at like six in the morning to get ready early, watch the Nintendo Direct at seven, then probably get up to LA to play some E3 games! YAHOO!

Burn Notice starts its seventh and final season tomorrow... Bitter-sweetness...

I finally saw Le Miserables last week. Fantastic film! I loved it. I'm only sad I hadn't seen it sooner, it would have made my top films of 2012 list for sure. It was definitely the best "Oscar-type" movie of 2012 in my opinion. Javert is totally my role model.

I've recently started visiting OC Remix again. Man, some of the remixes these people make are so good... I've been getting a total nostalgia trip of 2006/2007 when I used to listen to these remixes all the time. Within the next few days I hope to start figuring out Garageband so I can do some remixes of my own. I don't expect I'll make anything as good as what some of the people on OC Remix do, given my limited technical knowledge of music. But hey, I have things buzzing in my head, why not try to bring them to fruition?

I recently bought the soundtrack to Nights: Into Dreams on Ebay, and should arrive by the end of the month (it's from Japan). This will be the latest addition to my ever growing collection of video game soundtracks. So far in 2013 I've already bought the soundtrack to Ocarina of Time (3DS version...it has an additional track), Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario & Luigi: Original Sound Version and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. I don't know what it is about video game music that resonates with me so much, but I've spent years and a lot of dough building up my collection. I have the nerdiest (yet greatest) iTunes library ever!

I started playing Ico for the very first time. It's very good in a lot of ways, original, artistic, engaging. But it admittedly shows its flaws more than Shadow of the Colossus. Namely, combating those shadows can get frustrating. But a great game nonetheless.

And finally, I've been working on the sixth episode of The Wrestling Dead. It should be done in...a few days. I should be able to stick with my plan and end it after the seventh episode. I already have a plan for a created story in the upcoming WWE 2K14, but I won't say what it is just yet.

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US Start Time: 7:30 PM PST 
Platform: PC

Just as a friendly reminder, tomorrow night at 7:30 PM PST we will be getting together with some GSPN members to play some Team Fortress 2!

We are going to be playing on both the PC and on the X360 (Special thanks go to Chicknfeet for setting that up).

If you're interested in playing, be sure to sign up here.

I'm also looking for a volunteer to stream the game as well. If you are interested in taking on this task please let me know at your earliest convenience.

If we get 50 people to sign up to play I'll award a TF2 emblem. 

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I have 27 games on my NES wish list. Mostly from my childhood. Either games I once owned, games my aunt owned (she had a great collection), games my brothers and I rented, or games I always wanted to play. My goal is to create the ultimate retro collection. (Ultimate for me. I'm not going to turn into the AVGN here.) With that in mind, any suggestions are appreciated.

Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers
Darkwing Duck
Duck Tales
Duck Tales 2
Galaga
Gyromite
Gyruss
Kid Icarus
The Legend of Zelda
Lolo
Lolo 2
Lolo 3 
Marble Madness
Mario Bros.
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Punch-Out!!
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
TMNT 2: The Arcade Game
TMNT 3: The Manhattan Project
Tetris
Yo Noid

Edit: Added Gyruss to the list.

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Got some new albums as well.

Overall, it was a pretty good birthday.

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Thanks to Resident Evil 5 offline co-op, I asked my girlfriend to come over my house to so we can play and beat Resident Evil 5 together She was more hyped than me! Of course my girlfriend haven't had the chance to play it before, but the thing was that she didn't wanted to stop And she got into the controllers more quickly than I did also, maybe she is more a gamer than I am Oh well, I just wanted to tell this to you guys, and a update of my relationship with her We're doing fine

Thanks for Reading

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[ Watch Video ]

So now you have watched that you know that the first game we are doing is Far Cry 2, and you know why we picked it.

It's a divisive game that neither of us has really played, and it is known for being ambition, interesting and potentially a failure in many regards. We are playing through it now and towards the end of the month you will see our blog in which the video itself is posted. Before then what we want is to hear what you have to say, either play some Far Cry 2 this month and get back to us with your opinion of the game or just sound off in the comments about how you feel about the title. We will get to your comments on the video itself and include you in the discussion as much as is possible. Also feel free to suggest new Game Club titles, the criteria being that it is an interesting game to discuss and that I preferably have access to it on PC (for recording purposes).

Game on!

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In the last few days I have been enjoying my latest game, GRID 2 on the ps3. From my playtime so far it is a very good racing game that excels in both career mode and online. It has got me thinking about different racing game series and which is my favourite. In terms of 'serious' racers I'd have to say that Codemasters Race Driver series, which GRID belongs to is the series I enjoy most. The pinnacle being Toca Race Driver 2 on ps2 which was the best racing game I've ever played. Aside from 'serious' racers, my favourite is of course Mario kart. Overall the Mario Kart series is the best racing series I've played. Back to 'serious' racers and I do like the Formula 1 games and Motorstorm Apocalypse is also decent as something different. I can't stand Gran Turismo though and GRAN Turismo 5 is easily one of the worst racing games I've ever played. It's cars all handle like tanks, the lack of damage and limited number of tracks are major drawbacks and the loading times even when its installed are horrendous.

So what are your favourite racing series. Kart racers like Mario Kart? Realistic games like Formula 1, Forza Motosport and Gran Turismo? Or something in between like Race Driver, Need for Speed or Motorstorm?

Thanks for reading.

pigfish2

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In a recent broadcast, X-Ray argued that said developers 'were not playing by the rules' when marketing mobile games to children and claimed many were specifically targeting the naivety and inexperience of younger gamers. The report comes after many parents discovered their children were unwittingly spending anywhere between a several hundred to several thousands of pounds on mobile games and gaming apps prompting the Office of Fair Trading to launch an investigation.

X Ray's report focused on gamers in Wales where the average child spends over 9 hours a week playing games on their mobile telephones contributing to an overall industry worth close to  3 Billion.

One particular game under scrutiny was the Top Girl fashion app, a virtual modelling game where children can dress up characters and were soon asked to spend real money to keep their character's boyfriend happy with virtual gifts. One mother stated her child had run up a bill of  196 after one hour of play.

A focus of the Office of Fair Trading investigation is the marketing of games as 'free to play' without making young gamers aware of potential additional costs for certain game elements. Many mobile games are released with time limits which prevents continued play unless real money is spent. Such tactics are certainly nothing new in the games industry but Rob Angell, an expert from Cardiff University, argued that such marketing directed at younger gamers constituted a form of exploitation. He stated that while adults have the discipline and maturity to stop playing after their time has expired, 'children will be more impulsive and will make the purchase.'

Another subject of X-Ray's report was 'emotional blackmail' being employed by developers. The Simpsons: Tapped Out was accused of charging  500 for an in game magnifying glass. Refusing to purchase the item resulted in the message 'Congratulations! You made a baby cry!' Angell stated 'Children should not be made to feel guilty for not making the purchase. For me this causes some conflict with this game.'

X-Ray also spoke to parents who accused developers of chicanery when asking children to hand over real money for in game purchases. Many stated that prices for items are often displayed in the form of GBP rather than with a pound sign which one parent argued kids would not understand.

The Office of Communications (Ofcom) has since advised parents to disable in-app purchases on mobile phones and to remember that 'free to download' does not necessarily mean 'free to play'. The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment has stated they take the protecting of young gamers from marketing exploitation very seriously and is asking developers to install password protection software on future games.

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I'm a big fan of Intelligent Systems, which is why I included them in my lost of my top 50 favourite developers, but Fire Emblem is a series that I've never touched before Fire Emblem: Awakening. A few years ago, when the GameCube and Game Boy Advance were Nintendo's current hardware line up, I saw advertisements for Fire Emblem and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance in Nintendo mags, and instantly wanted to play them. But once I read they were tactical RPGs I changed my mind. Tactical RPGs were something I didn't touch back then.

But my tastes have greatly expanded since then, and now I'm itching to finally give the sub-genre a try. Despite an aching feeling to play Shining Force and Disgaea, Fire Emblem was always going to be my first port of call when it came to the genre, simply because I showed interest in them back when I was younger. As soon as Fire Emblem: Awakening was announced for the west it was on my radar, and I finally got my hands on it a few days ago.

At first I considered playing the casual mode, but after careful consideration I chose classic mode instead, because none of the other games in the series offer a casual mode, so I may as well get used to playing the series for what is it. I just have a strange feeling I will be resetting my 3DS fairly often, as I hate to see characters die permanently.

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Crawling through the murky tunnels of the Russian metro system never ceases to terrify. Growls and footsteps echo through the deafening silence as darkness enshrouds the area, keeping you on constant guard. Monsters lurk all over, always stalking you extensively before striking. A flashlight and lighter are your only means of illuminating the shadows, their paltry shine a small comfort against the horrors that prowl.

Based off the series of novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky, Metro: Last Light from 4A Games depicts a post-apocalyptic Russia after its citizenry was forced underground following a devastating nuclear war. Society barely holds itself together, factions fighting over what scraps remain in the metro, whilst mutants run wild on the uninhabitable surface and through abandoned halls. Its a treacherous world out there, but a fascinating one to explore.

Continue reading at Entertainium >>

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