• 14Oct 09

  Hardcore Gamers

  I've seen it way too much recently, too many people who claim to be hard-core gamers, those who think they know what makes a good game. These people have no idea what a hardcore gamer is. I think there are certain requirements for one to be a hardcore gamer.

  1. Must be of LEGAL age to play all the best games (17+).I played games when I was a kid, and I did play the more violent games before I was 17, but my parents made the responsible choice and waited until they knew that I was mature enough mentally to not take those games too seriously. Also, back then, there was no online gaming (at least not how it is today). Today's young gamers are not only over-exposed to today's violent HD games, but they are exposed to the rude and crude talk of the older generations that could easily poison the mind of today's youth.

  2. 16-Bit or less. If the first game you ever played wasn't in 16-bit graphics or less, don't even talk to me thinking that you are a hardcore gamer, get a few more years and games under your belt and then you can say something, until then, you have no credibility.

  3. Toddler days... If you are one of those people who played video games before you even set foot in a school setting, or before you could form a coherent sentence I salute you. I've been playing games since I was four years old, and my first game was the original Mario/Duck Hunt combo that they had for the NES.

  4. Know your Roots.NEVER forget the first games you ever really liked and played. I've seen it too many times where people think that newer is better and they keep forgetting their classic heroes. On the other hand there are those who say things in reference to this "all time greatest hero" debacle: "people are just voting for (insert classic game character name here) just because he/she is older?" No, people are voting for those characters because they are truly great characters such as Link who is an older character, but he is also undeniably a great hero whom (if you have been around since 8-bit) has seen many adventure and many top-notch games. In all honesty, people are overlooking this fact and putting their recent games ahead of the best classics, Link should have NEVER lost to Freeman.

  5. Don't be a Fanboy.I can't stand fanboys. These are the people who have had one system and one system only because they think its the greatest, and they say the others suck and yet they have never owned that system or even played on it. If you only own one system you are a fanboy and are not a hardcore gamer. Personally, I've never been completely loyal to one company, when a new generation of consoles comes out, I make sure I own every one or at least try it. The past 3 generations I have accomplished this.

  6. Game time. Also known as Gaming Marathons or whatever else you wanna call it. Every hard core gamer has risked starvation and sleep deprivation for their favorite game that they just had to finish. If you started playing to see the sun set, and didn't finish until you saw it rise the next morning or for it to set the next evening, kudos to you. Gaming is a hobby and a commitment with no reward but knowing that you beat that one game or got the highest score.

  7. Dont forget that its only a GAME. Some will argue with me on this one, in order to be a hardcore gamer, you must not forget that its only a game, you are playing it for FUN. No game is worth getting all stressed out about, there is no reason anyone should ever take a game so seriously that they are willing to do some radical in real life to someone else. Win or lose, gaming is meant to be fun, and never forget that.

  8. Multi-player. Online gaming is HUGE nowadays, and with the internet being what it is today, there is no excuse for anyone not to play online with other people. Even before online gaming, you could always play with your friends on split-screen or something. If you never play with others and don't experience what the multi-player side of the game has to offer, you are not taking that game to its full potential.

  That's all I can think of, and I'm open to suggestions. Oh yea, I got this picture too that can be found on ( http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php) its a picture of the commandments of gaming which I really think applies in this situation and I am a huge fan of the Ctrl+Alt+Del comics by Tim Buckley.

  

  • Posted Oct 14, 2009 5:04 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 19Aug 09

  My take on the Gaming market

  Sony has too much ground to cover to catch up to the 360at this point(not going to mention Wii, I don't consider that thing a gaming console anymore). I have both systems with all the best exclusive games and I have to say that I am not impressed at all with the PS3. I think the biggest edge that the 360 has over the PS3 is the online service. Xbox live is just miles ahead of PSN at this point. Yes, XBL is $50 a year, but I believe that it is money well spent to help Microsoft bring us a superior online interface. Today the Internet has just become something that people see as being essential and having something well-designed for people to make use of the Internet really helps move things along. When I turn on my PS3 I always feel like its something I will regret, the interface just seems so spread out and it always makes me think that I may not find the option I am looking for. PSN is free, which is nice, but I cant help but think that because of that they are losing money every day (as if theirfinancialissues weren't bad enough with the money they are losing for each unit they put on the market). I know there are a lot of people who complain about the price of XBL, and realistically, people just need to freakin' realize that $50 a YEAR ($4 a month)isnt that bad at all in exchange for a superior online experience.

  The next drawback that Sony has against them is their game selection. When I bought the PS3 thereweren't that many exclusive games at all that I saw as interesting enough to waste my time on. Obviously I had to get MGS4, I thought about getting LBP until I got to play a demo which changed my mind real quick. Killzone 2 came out, I bought that game and played about half of the story before I got bored and put it down for good (highly overrated in my opinion). I also bought Resistance, Heavenly Sword and SOCOM. The most common drawback I saw with every game I played was the motion controls, they pretty much try to jam that crap down your thought. The motion controls on the PS3 are lacking precision and they just seem to always make things worse, if at all possible, I turn that feature off. The 360 just seems to have the better exclusives that are so much more adept at drawing a crowd. Although I hate to admit it, Halo and Gears have a pretty tight grip on the vast majority of new gamers and those who don't know any better (personally I hate both games). Other than those two, the 360 has other games such as Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising, Mass Effect, Fable etc. The PS3 does have some good games coming out soon that I am definitely gonna get (God of War 3 for one). As far as games go for either system, if something comes out that's for both systems, I will most definitely be getting it for the 360, there is no point in buying any non-exclusive games for an inferior system. I will say one thing though, since I bought my PS3, I haven't bought a DVD (unless the flick I was looking for wasn't in BluRay), so my PS3 will always have a place on my entertainment center as a BluRay player which is truly what I initially bought it for, 'cause it sure as hell wasn't for their game selection.

  Overall, Nintendo will most likely stay on top for a long time(still not a gaming system in my opinion), they have just created so many games and such that appeal to too many people for them to fall behind. But other than that, I don't see Sony overtaking Microsoft anytime soon, they have just made too many mistakes, and Microsoft has been making a lot of good moves to ensure their spot on top for years to come.

  • Posted Aug 19, 2009 10:06 pm GMT
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• 16Jan 09

  My top 5 of '08

  Well, since there are plenty of games this year winning game of the year that have no buisness winning GOTY (**cough** GTA IV, MGS4), I'm posting my own list.

  5.) Call of Duty: World at War - Finally the COD series broke away from the European theater of WWII (COD 4 doesnt count, talking about WWII here, I really enjoyed playing the campaign and the multiplayer was awesome as is true with most COD games.

  4.) Metal Gear Solid 4 - I know I mentioned this game before, I never said it wasnt a good game, just doesnt deserve GOTY or a 10 score. Anyway, great game, clocked a lot of hours on this game, the main thing that turned me off about this one was the cut-scenes. There is just a point when somethin goes from being a game to an interactive movie, luckily you can skip the cut scenes.

  3.) Fallout 3 - I was really sceptic when I first bought the game, didnt seem like my type of game. I never really liked Oblivion and I always thought it was overrated, but Bethsada did a really good job on Fallout 3. I clocked at least 3 days worth of play time on this game (if not more).

  2.) Fable II - AWESOME game, I played though this game 6 times (that includes all the side stuff you can do). Despite its minor flaws, this is still a great game and I do agree with X Play for giving this game GOTY, it was well deserved, and they were completely correct when they said those who say the game is short or anything along those lines didnt play the game, there is plenty of stuff you can do outside the main story line. Kudos to Lionhead.

  And my pick for Game of the Year.....

  1.) Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - I LOVE this game, of all the games that came out in '08 I have played this game the most. It got crappy reviews that were undeserved. Everyone says it was the same as the first Vegas, but as far as I am concerned, if it isnt broken, dont fix it. There was no reason for Ubisoft to change a game that was already perfect. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the best shooter out there, great cover system, weapons, character customization and so on. This game tops any shooter ever created (with the exception of Goldeneye, you just cant beat the classics) and that includes Halo 3 (most overrated game on the market as far as I'm concerned).

  Honorable mentions:

  1.) Left 4 Dead - Great game, just didnt like it as much as the other 5, but its a close 6th place, almost made it tied for 5th.

  2.) Soul Calibur IV - Where I was dissapointed with this game (****** took out the chronicles of the sword) it was still good and is worthy of praise.

  Well, thats it kids, my top games of the year. Flame me if you want that I didnt include GTA IV or Gears 2, I really dont care, those games are completely overrated and dont deserve any game of the year awards. If you think I should include more reasons for my picks, whatever, I can if ya want.

  • Posted Jan 16, 2009 3:04 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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