As I laid in bed last night thinking of Philly Cheese-steaks and video games, I postulated that there might be a way to bring the 2 together. I sketched out an idea for a quantum computer that would be able to crunch the massive amount of data.

With the aid of a hammer, some duct tape and tin foil, I was able to construct a machine capable of processing the complex equations needed to determine exactly what sandwich correlates best to which game.

Confused?

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Back in my younger days, I swore by genre definitions. I had a very clear idea in mind of what I thought classified a game into each genre. Any deviation from those rules outlined in my head required a subgenre. But as time marched on, I’ve come to realize how incredibly ridiculous all this is.

While genres are a nice way to quickly identify what to expect from a game, I’ve run into quite a few issues with the concept. For one, different people classify genres differently. There’s also the issue of the increasing trend of blending genres. And what about the literal names themselves? Some of them just don’t make sense any more.
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The big budget triple A games can be fantastic. They have huge teams backing them, allowing for the use of the latest and greatest tech. Graphics are slick and always pushing to look better than everyone else. Plus, you know everybody who’s anybody is going to be talking about them in your circle of gaming friends/podcasts/blogs/forums.

Often when I sit down to play one, I will end up spending several hours in front of my TV or computer working my way through it. Sometimes, this can lead to a strange mental block right before I get started. Since I know I will inevitably spend a lot of time playing one of these games once I start, it can be a little intimidating.

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Much like Dragon Quest, the Monster Hunter series is one of the biggest names in gaming in Japan and almost unheard of in North America. Most people over here just don’t “get it”, and many of them don’t want to put forth the effort required in order to really understand what the game is all about. After all, even with more accessible entries in the series such as Monster Hunter Tri, there is still a very steep learning curve to overcome.

Originally I wanted to write a review of Monster Hunter Tri in order to spread the word. However, after over 100 hours of playing the game, I still haven’t experienced all it has to offer. I’ve come to realize, it’s not a traditional review that’s going to spark interest. My hopes are that by sharing the reasons that the series is so engaging (many of which are not immediately obvious to the new player), it will help more people realize the joys that can be found from becoming a Monster Hunter.
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After surviving the giant traffic jam that is Seattle, I arrive at the Triple Door, ready to get my Bejeweled on. I’ve been practicing at home and I can almost get to about half of my wife’s high score, so confidence is high as I wait for the tourney to start.

I stretch out and do mental wind sprints to prepare my mind and my brain for some jewel matching frenzy.

I am wearing a suit in order to intimidate my opponents. They pretend not to notice or care, but I can tell that they are secretly terrified.

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The moment I first picked up a controller, I knew games were for me, firstly because of the way that solid black and red joystick fit snugly into my hands, and then the way the console pumped out those crunchy Atari melodies. My first experience with a video game was a sensory one. Enjoying this new experience, I basked in the frame of my TV for hours, transfixed in equal parts of awe and wonder. I was four years old and over 20 years later very little has changed.

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I really enjoy playing old games. This will come as no surprise to readers that keep up with our Friday Old Games series. But when I do get in the retro mood, I almost always do it on the real console. ROMs, collections, and downloadable releases just don’t feel the same as hooking up an NES (or whatever other system) and playing the game with the setup it was intended for, controller and all.

Lately, this has got me thinking. 20 years from now, will we still be able to experience this current generation of games? And if so, to what capacity?

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"Poorly-Photoshopped Representation"

If you could put your ear to the tubes that make up this internet thing, you would hear thousands of people talking about digital distribution. There is no question that digital distribution is the future. You can already download your favorite songs, books, movies, and thousands of games. In the future, there might not even be discs or cartridges. Everything will just download out of the ether onto some crazy futuristic device.

I am a Steam weekend deal addict. My PSP memory sticks are full of PSP Minis and old PS1 games. I have so many Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, and Wii downloads that I am a little embarrassed. I have nothing against digital downloads, but it seems to me from looking into the muddy waters of the future that a war is coming between digital and physical goods. (more…)

"Looking for treasure... just like the Goonies."

In any given RPG, the wooden sword and cardboard shield you start with aren’t going to be the ones you keep forever. Usually you get rid of them by the time you hit your first town. But when you buy that new set of gear and equip it, only to find your character has only changed in numbers and not in appearance, it is a bit of a letdown.

If you are talking about old school sprite based games, I will concede that it was more trouble than it was probably worth to put visible loot into a game. Re-drawing that many sprites would be time consuming and prohibitively costly. Where 3D character models are involved, there aren’t a lot of excuses left when you are dealing with stat driven games and RPG mechanics.

There is nothing quite as addictive to me as a progressive, well thought out loot system that is reflected on your character.

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As the economy continues to dip as low as Hermes doing the limbo, once thriving businesses are forced to declare bankruptcy and even close up shop for good. And so it went for Gamecrazy and its parent company, Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery.

I am no economist. All the economic theory I know I picked up on the streets listening to the Wu Tang Clan, so I can’t tell you if the the Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery business model was destined to fail as we transition into the age of Netflix and digital downloads. However, I am a gamer and I can tell you the loss of Gamecrazy hurts us all.

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