• 15Dec 09

  Pardon Me, Gaming Press. I Respectfully Disagree.

  That tears it. I'm not going back to IGN. From this point on, my gaming news will come to me via GoNintendo and maybe a little PS3 Joystiq on the side. I don't even read the news here at Gamespot anymore. I come here to add games to my list and to write and read blogs.

  You know what I just don't get about the majority of gamers and even some gaming journalists? The fact that they can't just live and let live. I'll let you all in on a secret. I don't like Microsoft. I never have. I consider them monolithic and greedy and I have no intention of buying their products, 360 included. But do you see me trying to discourage anyone from buying a 360 or Windows 7? No. When I blog on Gamespot, I talk about what I like. And what I like is generally Nintendo.

  I could tell people exactly what I dislike about Microsoft and their XBox line. I could wax all afternoon about achievements and how it's just a system put in place to make shut-ins feel like they've accomplished something. Or the racist, sexist, homophobic bile that pours out of the faceless mouths of 12 year olds on Live. Or DLC and how it's just the company who created the game, now anal raping you. But guess what. Doing that wouldn't accomplish anything. It would only add more fuel to a fire that has been burning 3 years too long. The system wars. A brilliant form of viral propaganda, forged in the fires of hell to create fanboyism.

  

  As I've stated in previous blogs here, I stick with Nintendo because the games on their consoles suit me more than what the competition offers. Shooters, both sci-fi and modern day, racing games, horror, it seems like every genre that is successful on the "HD Twins" is one that doesn't interest me. I like the Trauma Centers of this world. The Little King's Stories, Rune Factories and Henry Hatsworths. And I'm a gamer, not someone's grandma. I'm proof that gaming is a diverse market and should be treated as such.

  And so we arrive at IGN, who, in their latest podcast, .. well.. if you didn't click the link above, here it is again. Thank you Sean Malstrom. IGN is a big site. They have a Playstation team, an XBox team and a Nintendo team. If their Nintendo team can't be professional and keep their ragingly immature and fanboyish opinions to themselves, then IGN needs to hire a team that can. Because as it stands, IGN's Nintendo team isn't doing it's job. They're not meeting the news and editorial standards that the XBox and Playstation writers give their market.

  Maybe I'm expecting too much. Maybe I should listen to that voice in the back of my head that says "They're gaming journalists. You end up a gaming journalist after doing nothing but playing Turok in your parent's basement all the way through college. Can you really expect professionalism?" But I think you can. I think as long as you're paid to do a job, you should have standards to uphold.

  So, after all this rambling, al I really have to say is this: I'll be seeing far less IGN and far more Sean Malstrom. Here's to 2010, where the gaming press can suck it.

  (That was my original title. "The Gaming Press Can Suck It." Seems internet filters have issue with that. )

  • Posted Dec 15, 2009 2:18 pm PT
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• 9Dec 09

  Mega Man 10. Not X.

  Mega Man 10's a-coming, boy! This is the game I thought was coming 16 years ago, when I saw a listing for a game called Mega Man X in Nintendo Power. X of course did not end up representing 10. Which would have been odd because we'd only just gotten Mega Man 5. Instead that x became the harbinger of doom for the Mega Man series.

  Oh well. Mega Man 10 baby!

  • Posted Dec 9, 2009 4:51 pm PT
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• 6Dec 09

  Don't Look Back - Atari 2600 at it's finest

  Anyone who ever owned an Atari 2600, or played the old Space Quest or King's Quest PC games back in the day, or generally loves indie games that borrow retro styles.. you really ought to check this out.

  Don't Look Back

  This was just incredible. I suppose it's largely the nostalgic factor, but I thought this game was brilliant. Without spoiling anything, there's a story told in this game without the use of text, cutscenes or any other modern gaming tactic. It's told like many stories were told way back in the dark ages of gaming: Through atmosphere and suggestion.

  And it's not a cakewalk either. Ah, I feel like it's 1988 again.

  • Posted Dec 6, 2009 8:59 am PT
  • Category: Games
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