• 3Dec 07

  The End...

  
  "Your GameSpot Total Access subscription has been successfully cancelled, and your membership will not be renewed."

  And you all know why.

  • Posted Dec 3, 2007 5:08 am PT
  • Category: Opinion
  • 4 Comments
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• 19Aug 07

  On-line, On Vacation, On Fright...

  I've been having withdrawals from Xbox Live, the community that I hold in such high regard (in many ways literally, others sarcastically). This has led me to pursue a number of different avenues to quench the thirst for online gaming satisfaction. The deprivation began when I moved (for the month of August only) to my parents house in order to save some cash (and spend some time with my family) before I go off to the Land of the Rising Sun for four months. [more on that in subsequent blogs, as I'll be attending Tokyo Game Show! ]

  Anyway, the parents have a decent intarwebz conexshon but my room is somewhat of a far cry from the router, so I go wireless. Considering that I do not quite yet want to shell out $99.99 for the I'm-sure-its-amazing -I've-read-the-reviews Xbox 360 Wireless dongle, (Love that word, dongle) and I do have such a thing for my once-spectacular -now-very-decent PC, that is what I'm choosing to work with.

  So for the first two weeks of August, in between the trip to Catalina (a small island off the coast of Los Angeles/Orange County) with the lovely girl and the weekend get-away to Palm Springs (a large patch of desert in Southern California once famous as a crooners retreat [think Frank Sinatra, etc.] now famous for its lavish hotels and ample pool square-footage) with the sibs and mother, I decided to mess around in Azeroth for a bit. That, as well as Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, held off the deblilitating hunger for the time being.

  Now, lo and behold, appear the final details for a game I anticipated yet was somewhat unsure of, Bioshock. The key word here is was. At this point it has really come to, "Should I get it for 360 or PC?" Apparently a large change has taken place in my mind. Here's why:

  Scary Games Scare Me: Call me whatever you like, I love scary movies, but games are a medium that I really put my entire psyche into. Case in point, when I owned a Gamecube a year back, I also owned Resident Evil 4. One of the greatest games in history, right? Yes! but, for me everytime I had my head cut off by happy-Mr.-Chainsaw, I felt as if my own was being lopped off. (Disclaimer: this does not work from the other perspective, e.g. when shooting someone, I do not feel as if I'm really shooting someone, nor do I feel as though I ever could. Truth be told, I'm afraid of guns in real life.)

  That is not to say I now think Bioshock is a scary game (though I did think it could have turned out to be one). Yes, it is intense and at times startling, but not in the grotesque or traditional sense of the word. Here's the difference: Ever notice all the scary children in movies these days? Well, in my opinion, the scary children in movies such as The Grudge or The Ring differ from those in Bioshock in that the Little Sisters' main role is not to incite fear, but rather call out to her Big Daddy if you try to harm her. In addition, it is now clear to me that this is standard for most characters in the game, they're raving madwomen, wallowing masked fools, and overall a distraught group in the same situation the main character is in. In some cases I would consider pity a relevant emotion to feel for these virtual individuals.

  Okay so let's compare this game once more but the with pop-gaming-culture icon, Doom. Why do the spiders and demons and strange malformed creatures attack you? Well, because they're evil. Wait, that's it? On the other hand, why do Bioshock's denizens of Rapture attack you? Too many reasons to list. Scary? No, I think I like this. How about you?

  • Posted Aug 19, 2007 11:25 pm PT
  • Category: Opinion
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• 22Jul 07

  Breathe in some AIR...

  

  ...but breathe it in through your eardrums.
  
  As you may or may not know, my absolute favorite music artists are a small two-man group from France, who go by the name of AIR.
  
  These musical geniuses, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel, have been soothing my ears and soul for years. No matter the mood I'm in, if listening to AIR, I can breathe, and be swayed into its electronic paradise of both symphonic and simple sound. Pure delight.
  
  So if you're living a stressful life or living any life for that matter, I suggest you pick up an album, any album by these fantastic formulaic Frenchmen.
  
  For more info, check http://www.pocket-symphony.com/

  • Posted Jul 22, 2007 1:26 am PT
  • Category: Music
  • 5 Comments
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