http://www.laserlemming.com/2013/05/20/resident-evil-revelations-review/

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Personally, I would prefer that Nintendo of America and those opposed to it declare truces with each other, back off from their stances and sweep the issue under the rug until it rears its ugly head again - hopefully until after the unlikely event that human civilization as we know it no longer needs money.

(I wish that I was completely joking about that, but I am digressing.)

If they still want to be at loggerheads with each other then, then they, and anyone with a stake, such as the "Let's Play" video-making folks, should compromise and go for the win-win solution of sharing revenue.

That is because any other outcome (barring that everyone just drops the issue and goes on business-as-usual) has everyone losing.

IF THE OPPOSITION GETS ITS WAY...

Before going further, I would remind people that the notion of property is one of the oldest lynchpins of human civilization. If the newer aspects of modern civilization, namely freedom rights, are allowed to trump it, then we are going backwards, just like we would if property is to ascend above freedom rights.

That said, Nintendo is certainly thinking that it is entitled to revenue that is generated by YouTube videos that feature its properties. A legal argument against this will be terrifically difficult to formulate, but if litigation is pursued anyway, then we run the risk of having Nintendo harden itself, and a hardened Nintendo will very likely be an ugly Nintendo.

You may want to be reminded that Nintendo of America had signed the letter to the Congress of USA in support of legislations that protect IPs. There is not any strong evidence that Nintendo had thrown its weight behind SOPA or withdrew support from it, but it just might think of having a more blatant official stance if the likes of Lamar Smith brings that bill out of the shelves again or creates a new similar bill while Nintendo is contesting a legal challenge against its attempts to claim all ad revenue for said YouTube videos.

In other words, we risk having this issue being blown into something bigger if it escalates into a legal battle.

If Nintendo loses, there is of course the old-but-difficult-to-dismiss expectation that a Nintendo bereft of a potential source of income becomes weaker and lousier at making games; money is how the likes of Nintendo gets the resources and ideas to make games after all. A weakened game-maker is rarely a good thing for anyone with a stake in the gaming industry, the people who make those Let's Play videos included.

Of course, one can just say "f*ck Nintendo", but not everyone hates Nintendo, is it? We can look elsewhere other than Nintendo, but such antagonistic scenarios are likely to repeat with other game-makers instead of Nintendo until the involved parties learn to hand figurative olive branches to each other.

IF NINTENDO GETS ITS WAY...

That would be awful, because it would turn into a lose-lose outcome for certain.

To elaborate, there could be a boycott of Nintendo's properties by YouTube content-makers, since they don't get any income from making videos featuring Nintendo's properties if Nintendo gets to eat all the advertising revenue. Barring die-hard Nintendo supporters, they have no incentive to make videos on the game-maker's products, especially if they depend on the ad revenue for their livelihood.

Nintendo, and any other game-maker that has similar plans, can forget about being paid for marketing work that it does not fund.

However, the ones that would lose out most are game consumers who are doing research into possible purchases. They may well lose the sources of information that those YouTube videos featuring games could have provided.

In addition, such an outcome may well stall the advent of a new kind of career that is being formed in this Age of Information, namely that of people making a living making videos on the Internet.

I am aware that some of you have more than enough scorn for such people to utter statements such as "Get a real job!" - among other far less courteous remarks - but some of us actually like seeing new kinds of careers coming into being.

A COMPROMISE: SHARING REVENUE

If Nintendo has any wisdom, it may want to consider proposing the sharing of revenues. It is more than likely to run into opposition anyway, of course - there will always be people who believe that they are fully entitled to all of the revenue from the advertisements that accompany their videos, as well as those who believe that Nintendo should be reamed.

However, I like to believe that most of those opposing Nintendo's move to attempt to claim the ad revenue in their entirety would reciprocate if Nintendo was to propose sharing of revenues.

If they could shake hands and work out the proportions of their shares, this agreement can even turn into a partnership of product promotion, e.g. Nintendo gives them preview builds of games to make videos with and such. That would give the likes of Nintendo more partners to highlight their products with, in addition to the established gaming sites.

Most importantly, the regular game consumer would benefit from this, as there would be richer sources of information on games, upcoming or existing.

Here's hoping that Nintendo and the opposition would come together for the win-win.

P.S. My account is still afflicted with one of the glitches that have been reported here, so I won't be able to reply in any way in the LiveFyre thread below.

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Further to my previous blog with the promo marketing stuff (i.e. crap I give away to help promote the name but didn't really expect people to buy) I've now started selling shirts/clothes.

I've just release 4 so far to gauge interested. I only make a couple of bucks per shirt but it's money for nothing and every bit helps so I thought I'd see how they go. 

Here's what I've done so far:

Shirt 1 - The C117 Games Logo

http://www.redbubble.com/people/c117games/works/10342891-c117-games-loco-pollo-logo-tee

Nothing too exciting here. This is just for me and the other staff to wear around PAX. Doubt anyone'll know who we are but hopefully the loco-pollo (chickan) catches peope's eye and makes them wonder. Better get myself to the top of the Google search engine by PAX eh?!

Shirt 2 - HIVE Playable Characters

http://www.redbubble.com/people/c117games/works/10351289-hive-4-square-characters

As the title suggests this is a shirt showing the four playable characters in HIVE. I chose to eliminate smoothing in the hope that it might appeal to the retro hipster crowd. This shirt is a sure indicator that I've done NO proper marketing research in my life... if I had there'd probably be something to indicate what the shirt related to! Oops, not even a reference to C117 or HIVE.

Shirt 3 - King Nick

http://www.redbubble.com/people/c117games/works/10351359-hive-hail-to-the-king-maybe

If any of you ever played Nick's Quest (my first "proof of concept" game) you'd be familiar with King Nick. Based on Nickosaurus-Rex from this very sight he's a perverted sort of chap who has a tinge of the stupid. He's has a cameo in HIVE too however he's been bumped back to Duke because of what happened in Nick's Quest. Anyway this is a shirt about him. 

Again... no reference to C117 Games or Nick's Quest. :S

Baby Growsuit - Future Chickan Slayer

http://www.redbubble.com/people/c117games/works/10342925-c117-games-future-chickan-slayer

Last but not least is this idea I had at 1am. Put it up for a laugh and, so far, it's been the only thing to sell. Lol. Bet these people don't even know what a chickan is! 

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http://wiiudaily.com/2013/05/nintendo-lets-play-controversy/

Personally, I feel Let's Players should be left alone.  I don't think copyright law particularly applies to this situation, as I see it differnently than animated music videos or recut films.  For a song artist, they can potentially lose a sale of their song because someone can hear it off of YouTube.  For a movie, someone can watch it off YouTube.  For a game... you can't really play a game off of YouTube.  And honestly, if someone just wants to see the game played without playing, they're still not going to buy the game, regardless if the LPer gets ad revenue or not.

Let's Plays are valuable sources of information.  Not only do they demonstrate a game being played to help out a person struggling through a specific level, but it's also a resource that a consumer can use if they're researching a potential purchase.  Stealing away an LPer's income source for making these videos is akin to charging writers for reviewing their games, or for writing FAQs and strategy guides.

Should Major League Gamers be charged for training on a publisher's video game?  Should a portion of the prize money be allocated to, say, Capcom because someone won a tournament playing Street Fighter X Tekken?  Now, I know what you're thinking.  "No, because they're sponsored." or "No, because it's promotional; they're advertising the game."  Well, Let's Players are also promoting these publishers' games.  The publishers don't have to pay these YouTubers to talk about their games, but instead are stealing their income for doing so.  This is like CBS signing over checks to Square-Enix every time a GameSpot employee talks about Tomb Raider.  

Here's an interesting thought.  Why not Sony charge whoever plays the game that's being shared to them over the PS4?  Why should some guy on the other side of the country be able to play someone else's game for free?  "That's unfair!"  Right, and so is taking ad revenue from LPers, who BOUGHT the game in the first place!  And in case you don't want to read the article I linked, I'll just pluck a quote out of it. 

"Theyre [Let's Plays] a great form of advertising and sadly, the way Nintendo is punishing people for playing their titles is going to do more harm than good, when it comes to exposure for their games. YouTube personalities will be less inclined to make lets play series based on Nintendo games since they get no revenue, which decreases exposure. Word of mouth exposure has always been one of the most premium forms of advertising for games."

Exactly.  The only difference is that these LPers are making a few dollars doing it.  They're taking time out of their day to spend playing YOUR game, which they BOUGHT, and spreading the word.  If you as a publisher are really bothered by that, then how about you pay them instead?  You didn't play the game for them, so how dare you take away what they earned?  

I know this is a grey area, and I can see exactly how copyright law would apply to these situations, but that doesn't mean I think it's right.  I don't like the way it works, and I think it needs to be reformed.  It also sucks for me personally, because I was thinking about doing this in the future.  Now, not so much.  If I really have to agree with this copyright law, then I figure I how about 100 different publishing houses money, because I earn a living shelving their books in my library. 

Bonus Content: Rich's take on Nintendo's claims. 

[ Watch Video ]

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Ugh. As cringe inducing as much of this is, I still can't say that I like being that guy, the "jaded hardcore gamer" who will meanspiritedly rag on the various ineptitudes and supposedly poor taste of the younger generations of gamers. I can't seem to find it within myself to blame them 'too' much, most can't help but carry on the bad habits that many of their games have unfortunately conditioned them to fall into. It's just how things have always been. No generation comes and goes without its own fair share of quirks, and despite what anyone will claim otherwise, all generations have certainly played their part in turning gaming into what it is today.

But while I really don't have much interest in playing the generational blame game or claiming superiority of my own, that doesn't mean I won't still poke some harmless fun at yet another generation that seems so eager to provide ample opportunities to do so. It's safe to say that's exactly what I enjoyed doing and then some when reading about this through the forums this morning (well, after the wooziness of the initial facepalm wore off at least). It was all just too much to pass up.

To me, the mental laziness and impatience that led so many to quickly cave to their dependence on online walkthroughs and complaining after only playing SM for a few moments sums up the less endearing aspects of this generation of gaming as well as any online tantrum from adolescent FPS players. The screenshots from the aftermath say more about this than I ever could.

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Rise Of The Guardians (XBox 360)

Hardest and/or Highlight Achievement

Completed May 15, 2013

29th Game Completed in 2013

5th Game Completed This Month

262nd XBox 360 Game Completed.

152nd XBox 360 Retail Game Completed.

Trueachievements.com ranks this game as my current #182 out of 255 games in terms of getting achievements completed on the 360.

TA Score

1.140

Rise Of The Guardians (XBox 360)

(1000)

Here are my top 10 completed

its listed by trueachievement score , name of game and in brackets actual gamer score

5.153 Game Room (1,000)

2.851 World Series Of Poker 2008 (1,000)

2.620 Outfit (1,000)

2.440 Your Shape Fitness Evolved (1,045)

2.416 Blacksite Area 51 (1,000)

2.400 You're In The Movies (1,000)

2.292 Texas Hold 'Em (200)

2.254 Need For Speed Prostreet (1,000)

2.180 All-Pro Football 2K8 (1,000)

2.163 Race Pro (1,000)

easy but long game

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http://dropanchor.bandcamp.com/track/pulverized

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Zelda: Wind Waker - The amazing graphical prowess of 2003 gaming

A lot of change happens over ten years. The internet didn't really become pevasive on mobile devices until 2010. In fact, I didn't even have a cell phone when I first registered at Gamespot. At the time, therefore, sites like Gamespot were both the primary source of information and news for video game enthusiasts as well as the only real social outlet we had. I registered because Gamespot offered downloads for many PC games, including patches for said games, and a reliable source for downloading was desirable. There were competitors, but every site had its own culture and the heavily moderated Gamespot community ensured that there was a bit more maturity relative to other sites. And no, I'm not saying that the average Gamespotter was mature, just more mature than competing sites.

It wasn't until 2007 I started writing and publishing content to my Gamespot account. I'm not sure why, but I needed an outlet at the time. I had transitioned to a new city, leaving behind familiar surroundings and college friends. It was a bit random at first: Some complaints about Sony here, and a couple humorous blogs there. Then I wrote a blog for consideration by the site Editors for the Gamespot "Soapbox." At the time, this was a much desired emblem, since it was both rare and there were few emblems to be had overall. More importantly, anyone holding the emblem could post directly to the front page of the site simply by categorizing their blog entry as an "Editorial."

I garnered the Soapbox emblem with the Editorial, "I've killed you, and no, I don't feel bad about it." At the time violence and video games were a big topic of conversation, for no particularly good reason. It's still a fun read six years later.

Once I gained the exposure of the Soapbox I started receiving hundreds of views and comments. I started writing in earnest; it was a bit convoluted at first, but eventually I sorted my thoughts into columns of popular topics. I did a "Geek to Chic" series, which were basically tips for nerds not to stand out quite so much. I had a slew of humorous entries, personal finance, and tips on PC building. I tried a "Gamespot Cribs" series, but it never gained traction. An index to some of the better entries follows the end of this blog

There was an elite cadre of user-writers that formed unions around various topics to support blogging to the Soapbox and quality user reviews. I became a moderator for a time at Jody's behest, though that was rescinded after I made a blog entry about a topic deemed a bit too adult for Gamespot (and in retrospect, rightly so). Still, it was without question, Gamespot's peak in terms of user-generated content and participation.

Then Jeff Gerstmann reviewed Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

That singular event resulted in an upheaval of users that rallied behind Gerstmann, relieved from Gamespot due to his critical comments on a game that had been heavily advertised on the site. Gamespot lost many, many great bloggers, union managers, volunteer community managers, and employees after his dismissal, and has never fully recovered.

There were additional missteps from a user standpoint. The launch of Gamespot FUSE to capture and integrate social media with Gamespot was a massive undertaking, but essentially bifurcated the community. You had some users migrating to FUSE, and others that preferred the persistent format of the traditional forums and user blogs. Gamespot abandoned the Soapbox for a time, dropping it from the front page and alienating some of its contributors, most notably GabuEx. Livefyre replaced Gamespots comments system in there somewhere, though this was a good move, in retrospect.

In the past two years Gamespot has made great strides to recapture the magic of 2007. They brought in Synthia Wieres to help Jody Robinson with community management and social media. The Soapbox was rebooted and the staff have interfaced more directly with their community on an ongoing basis. They introduced "Rangers," users that are not moderators so much as site cheerleaders, which has been a very good thing, and which I've been a proud participant. Finally, CBS Interactive picked up Giant Bomb, bringing Jeff Gerstmann and friends back full circle, and reintroducing many old users to their former stomping grounds. I still miss many users, and wrote an homage to said users in 2011 (link), but there have been quite a few great users filling their shoes, as of late.

I've seen friends I've met through Gamespot go on to become hired and subsequently move on from Gamespot, as was the case with Donklejohn. Danny O'Dwyer started off blogging just like yours truly before picking up an actual Gamespot paycheck, and there he's been making entertaining shorts about some of the most random things I've ever seen. It's a far cry from his Bioshock game footage days. It was great to meet several of the staff at PAX East 2012 and put real faces to their digital replicants.

Danny O'Dwyer doing what he does best. I'm just not entirely sure what that is.

It's strange to think of how much time and energy I have allocated to Gamespot in the past decade. Ultimately, though, it has been a rewarding online community filled with wonderful people. I have been frequently absent the past twelve months due to volunteer work, my family, and career monopolizing every free moment of my life, but I do hope to once again contribute to Gamespot in some meaningful way in the coming months.

Thank you, Gamespot staff, for creating a rich and vibrant community. For giving me the opportunity to be heard, to improve your site, and to support its ongoing development. I wish nothing but the best to each and every employee and member over the next ten years.

Index of Editorials
Index of Newbie PC Builder
Index of Personal Finance
Index of Geek to Chic
Index of Advice & Recommendations
Index of Humor

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As Promised I have finished My Elizabeth Drawing, this one was my toughest Drawing Ever! I've spent A week for It, I really gave It love to make It as best as I can! and here It goes hope everyone like It:

The Original Picture Is 7K resolution, 1gig, and 234MB TIF version Couldn't Upload It but Have Uploaded some Good JEPEC Versions for Web So for the best Image check out my DevianArt Link and Also you can Add me there If you are member of that Site : Elizabeth High Res Picture

And Here Another Version:

High Res Pic for this one

And I hope It brings Smile on your faces I know It will bring Smile on Scott Face Right Buddy? lol

Right Now Time Is 2:29 AM and I have Spent one Week each day more than 5 hours working on this Concept Art So really I am out of Energy to go deep and talking about this Game, All I can say Bioshock Infinite Is a true meaning of Great Game and you will enjoy It, If It wasn't I really wouldn't spend this much time and Energy to show my love and Passion about It! well of Course everyone has their own taste some people may not like It We Respect All

Beside Game Spot has some really Great Videos that Talks about It In good Details go check them out If you didn't.

I Like to do some Fan Art Drawings for my Favorite Video Games, They are good for Practicing and making good Artworks, I will Write some new Blogs Later On about Games I have finished and more stuff.

Well I guess That's All I have to say , Thanks everyone for Reading and up coming Comments lol

_Makan

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And who remembers me?

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Updates:

Random yet important news: my chia pet is done growing. I named it Billy the Bird. It's quite hairy. I dropped him off of a balcony though, so he's starting to grow bald. Poor Billy.

I'm reading the Aeneid in school right now. The translation sucks majorly and makes a cool story totally boring. Trust me, I've read it in the original Latin, so I know that it's the translation's fault. I'm also reading Dante's La Divina Comedia in the original Italian. It's pretty good too, also butchered by horrible translations. That's on my own though, not for school.

Oh, and I totally sabotaged a famous author's Youtube video. He did a thing where people could ask questions and he would randomly draw 20 of them out of a hat to answer in a video. So I asked what the weirdest name Crayola's named a crayon color, and guess what? It got picked. Among all of the other boring questions like, "Where do you get your inspiration?" or "How much research do you put into your work?" Lame-o. What's even more lame is that his answer was black. Three-time NYT Bestseller, people, and all he could come up with was black. (That's not the first time I've been a dork and been weird for contests and stuff. I also did a Q&A contest thing with a famous guitarist and asked what their favorite super villain was [I know, dumb question, the answer was Poison by the way. I'm not sure if they were referring to Poison Ivy or Venom though.] and I won a poetry contest held by a famous author by writing a poem about why pirates wear such huge floppy hats. I won the first draft of her new book, which is totally worthless. :/)

Also having to do with writing, I just reached 30,000 words on a book I'm writing. I'm only about a third of the way through the story, though, so it's gonna be a lot longer. Meanwhile I've made a bunch of friends on wattpad from uploading chapters and my professional-editor grandma is fixing up what I have so far.

Guess what? I got all As on my report card!! Ok, not really. I got a B- in Physics. But everything else: A. Woo-hoo!

Ok, that's it I think.

P.S. Has anyone tried those new Lays chip flavors? Like, the Chicken&Waffles flavor and stuff? Ewwwww!!!

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Since Sony is going to possibly announce the PS4 this Wednesday and I hear about 720 rumors I might as well talk about them.

PS4 to have streaming for PS3 games

Looks like PS4 will allow you to play PS3 games after all...through streaming. You need to be online at all times to play PS3 games on it. Might as well own a PS3 in that case for full control and avoid connection issues though it's more convenient to play them on PS4.

PS4 might have a screen on controller

There have been prototypes of the PS4 controller to have a screen on it. I wouldn't mind it as long as it's done well.

PS4 to be 400 bucks

I'm fine with that, though I don't buy consoles at launch, only later.

PS4 to make you pay an online pass when buying used games

Eh, as long as I can play the game used...

720 to have 500GB hard drive, Blu Ray and Kinect

I'm fine with the 1st 2 but they need to improve Kinect for games, Kinect is mainly a success in sales, not in high quality games though.

720 to block used games

Probably the most insane rumor of them all. I don't see it happening and if they go for it I would be shocked. There's so many things wrong with it, like:

Can't find that rare game new since used copies don't exist

Makes renting games impossible with not enough copies

This will make it so games won't drop as fast, longer to wait to get that game you want for a reasonable price

Allows devs to exploit their practices

Killing the used game market

Yeah I don't see this happening. Can't wait until Wednesday though!

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

In January I finished 2 important games to me for the PS Vita.

One I have already talked about which was Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, which I am still obsessing about. But another one which I didn't expect the finish at the end of the month was Persona 4: Golden.

I fell absolutely head over heels for Persona 4 it was just such a great experience. The ending just = mind explosion. It really did just suck me in. I got 7 social links maxed out but was unable to max out Marie's because I didn't know how to take our to the outside world Didn't find out until the hospital scene. Feel so silly, so I'm going to go back to it with the new game plus and start again soon. I really want to experience the new dungeon

So those were the 2 games I finished in Jan, shame because I bought 5 games to go into the Shame Pile List too and these include:

Suikoden IV

Suikoden V

Atelier Iris 3

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

And some Final Fantasy stuff - but mainly Chocobo Racing

Kefka also thought it'd be a nice touch to stick her head through the hole for the Tactics game - she wouldn't leave it be.

There was also one more thing that I picked up but chose not to put it in my Shame list because I won't be playing them for a very long time and that was

I picked up a SNES which also came with Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - the same seller had Final Fantasy II up for sale and he took $30 off the price for me and I bought that too, I was so excited that I also purchased Super Mario All Stars and Super Mario World which were dirt cheap (all boxed too). I use to have a SNES when I was 4 and I still have it today, only problem is we bought it in London so when we brought it back to Australia none of the sound worked. My sister would play for hours (we have an 8 year difference between us) and I would watch and try to join in. But now to have a SNES that works and has sound it's just great.

So the month of Feb has begun and so far I've only bought 1 game which I've had on preorder for months.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch I've been looking forward to for quite sometime. Everyone that knows me, knows I am an avivid JRPG lover so of course this was a day one purchase. It got delayed till 31st of Jan which I was unable to pick up due to working back but then on the 1st of Feb, my partner surprised me with the game and guide book in hand despite not paying off the guide book on my preorder he did that for me.

I've yet to play it though because my PS3 is at his place but next week I shall start straight away.

I've finished 2 games this month so far (first week which is doing good)

Braid was one of them. I got Braid back in April of 2011, so it's been nearly 2 years now since I got the game and only 2 nights ago I finished it. I got stuck and gave up, and I just never really went back to it which was a shame because the ending was truly one of the best I've ever experienced in a game - it was extremely clever. So that's great that this is now done and dusted.

I also dusted off Luminies on the PS Vita. Didn't really get into this game as much as I thought I would which is a shame but at least it's gone. If I feel like playing something like it again atleast I know I have it.

I started 3 new games so far and one is a bit of a hit and miss while the other 2 I am really enjoying.

So I got Gravity Rush for Christmas along with my PS Vita and I really wanted it after hearing so many good things about it. After playing Zero Escape and Persona 4 I thought I would continue the bandwagon of great games and try Gravity Rush only to feel rather disappointed with it. I just can't get into it which is a shame because the game is quite beautiful. 
I'm hoping the game picks up it's pace soon but lately I've been feeling I have to force myself to play it rather then wanting to get my hands on my PS Vita to play it non stop.

On Wednesday after defeating Braid I went through some other of my Arcade games (because I was too lazy to search for a retail game I had) and I remember I bought this during the 12 days of Christmas sale. I read some pretty **** reviews on Gamespot and IGN about this game but after I watched some gameplay trailers I thought it looked quite cool and a good idea so I decided to purchase it. After playing the first level and defeating the first boss I was instantly hooked to the game and managed to get through another level and boss last night. It's quirky, charming and can be quite gross - can't wait to play some more.

The last game I decided to whack into my console yesterday was Asura's Wrath after hearing some people's impression of the game. I went to a preview night where Street Fighter vs Tekken, Resident Evil Racoon City and Asura's Wrath was playing the demos. The demo did not give Asura's Wrath justice, although it has a bunch of QTE's the games charm is through it's story. I'm only up to Episode 2 and the story has already exploded into something so amazing and tragic. I am disappointed that there's a lot of DLC out for it and it's for additional story content - wish they just added that into the game instead.

But other then that I haven't really been doing much else, I hope to get Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit done and dusted by the end of the month because I know the beginning of March I will be purchasing Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 because I absolutely adored the second one, Tomb Raider and Atelier Ayesha - so if I can atleast get 2 - 3 games down I will feel accomplished

Oh yeah I've been working on a YouTube video as well (finally!) My top 15 games of 2012. Hoping to get that started soon as I've finished the script. I played quite a bit last year and there was some real hidden gems tucked away there.

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On the one hand, people always complain about an unwillingness by the media to ever speak negatively about a game or game company, regardless of what they may or may not have done.

On the other hand, whenever someone dares criticize an industry figure, especially one of the industry's sacred cows, the feedback received in response is almost always a solid block of blind defense by those incensed by the mere idea that their idols might be imperfect.

It's an interesting spot for games journalists to be in. The audience has made its desires clear, but the desire itself is confusing: Be critical, but only of things that we have already decided to hate. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but that just sounds bloody boring. I always wanted people to challenge my preconcieved notion, not out of a desire for controversy at all cost, and certainly not out of a blind allegance to ideology. I believe that looking at facts in an objective manner and coming to a point of view, even debating it (in a polite and constructive manner) is critical to creating interesting, entertaining and thought-provoking content.

Now I'm not going to deny that gaming media is sometimes shady as all hell (notice I said sometimes). We all have witnessed the worst of it, even if the details would only emerge years later. However, I have to wonder, does the gaming public help? Do we send mixed signals?

I honestly think we do. Any time someone says something that gamers may not agree with, they're almost certain to be overrun with enraged replies, no matter how well-thought and tempered the commentary may be. At the same time, accusations of favoritism run rampant, with many convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that the industry is bought out.

However, what if it's not the game companies that the media is afraid of, but the fans? Games journalists need an audience as bad as they need games access, and it's just easier to be positive than negative.

Personally, I welcome Tom McShea's content and his insight, and not just because I agree with him in this case. The man has things to say, and he's not a snarky tool like Alex Navarro about it. There's NOTHING wrong with having an editorial opinion, as long as it's clearly marked and doesn't insult the user. I hope more people learn to tolerate opposing viewpoints that are presented in a constructive manner. Lord knows debate is lost.

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I've heard lots of speculation about what was shown, but I don't think nobody noticed one interesting tidbit. In the Wind Waker HD stills, both times you see Link, Tetra is there with him. They said they were planning on making a couple changes to Wind Waker. I wonder if they're adding multiplayer.

Think about it.

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Like the past five Januarys I am currently on a paid six week vacation. I typically use this time to catch on the gaming that I miss throughout the year when I'm killing myself working 70 hour, 6 day weeks.

The first game I bought to catch up on was Max Payne 3. I never had played any of the previous entries but I know how Rockstar has done some mighty fine stories in the past (Red Dead Redemption) so I thought it would be a good entry point before I completed gave myself over to another game. Bottom line: YAWN.

Don't get me wrong, the story was great. Voice acting, animation and camera effects all lead to a nice coherent story that had it been a movie I would have totally finished it. As a game? No dice.

Why did I not care? It's the world the story occupied. The world of modern corrupt Brazil just didn't do it for me. Maybe it wasn't enough escapism. Without really being able to put my finger on it that's about as specific as I can get.

Now, contrast this with two games that I have really gotten into in the past month.

Star Wars: The Old Republic went free to play not to long ago and while its definitely not as polished as WoW and its completely robbing their f2p community (that's for another blog) I've found myself completely engrossed to the point where I even subscribed to the game.

Ask me the story of The Old Republic... couldn't tell you aside from the specifics of each class story I don't know what the overarching narrative of the game is. Now, what's the world that story is set it? Star Wars! I grew up in the Star Wars generation (born 1979) so I'll overlook a lot of things in a game if it lets me occupy the Star Wars universe.

So, once I grew tired of Max Payne 3 I went off to Gamestop and traded it in for Far Cry 3.

Far Cry 3, like Skyrim (from my last vacation) is this vast open world with a story that I get. Far Cry 3, you're on some kind of grownup spring break, your friends get kidnapped by drag traffickers/ pirates and you have to save them. There's your story. On top of that story, it takes place is this magnificant world of two tropical islands.

You can do as much or as little of the other stuff the game offers if you so choose. The tropical islands are your oyster. Want to go boar hunting? Knock yourself out. Find ancient treasure? Yes, indeed. Kill bad guys? Of course.

The story is quite straight forward and almost simplistic compared to Max Payne 3's intrigue and betrayal but I'm much more entertained by it.

The next two games on my list are also there because of the world they offer and without much knowledge of the story: Dishonored (with its dystopian future) and Sleeping Dogs (Asian crime underworld). I can't wait.

Hopefully more games can not only create a great story for their games but a future component of that story has to be setting it in a living, thriving world. Alas, there seems to be hope with the future launches of GTA V and Bioshock:Infinite which seem to have these amazing worlds waiting for us, the gamers to conquer.

In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying what you're playing. Also let me know what you think. Do you think that big world a game occupies is as important as its story? Is it more important? Should it matter?

laughlyn12

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