Game Quality Diminishing?

Is it just me or does it feel like the games of today are complete crap? Not all of them, but the majority that get churned out are just mediocre at best. And if they aren't complete crap then they simply feel like retreads of games we've already played a million times before only now with prettier graphics? When you plop down $65 bones do you ever feel like the joke's on you and that you've just become the punchline of some big wig executive's joke? I do. Which is why I don't do it anymore. I don't know if I'm just getting jaded or if games today really do lack that certain spark that used to well up inside me in years past.

I've been noticing a drastic change in my attitude recently towards video games and the direction the industry as a whole is going: Namely today's games don't get me excited like they used to. I'm not talking about graphics since I think those are phenomenal, but graphics don't make a game. And the more and more I play the less and less impressed I seem to get.

I actually remember only last gen getting really excited about a new game coming out. That feeling has all but disappeared this gen. So I ask myself is it just me, or do other people also feel this sense of monotony in games today as well. Combine that lack of enthusiasm with console systems that are becoming more complicated and trying to do everything in addition to playing games when they really only have to perform one function: Playing games. Not surfing the 'Net, not updating your Twitter feed and not posting on Facebook. Believe it or not there is still beauty in simplicity.

I think developers are just plain lazy today what with the ability (read: luxury) to patch broken or buggy games. Sure, I can see the benefits of that but that's also my point: Back in the day they didn't have a chance to "fix" a game, and the work they put into a game was the definitive version. If they screwed up they suffered for it so it behooved them to get it right the first time. Not so in today's world where now if they screw up they figure it's no big deal because they can just "patch it" and everyone is happy.

DLC and microtransactions are the BANE of this industry. Please, don't try to justify greed. Just don't. I don't believe these developers when they say they didn't have time to include additional material, or there wasn't enough space, etc. There is plenty of space and they have plenty of time; they simply don't want to. They'd rather nickel and dime us further by slowly releasing content that, again, back in the day would have been included on the disc from the start. If you think that DLC and microtranasctions are somehow the best thing that's happened to this industry you're just foolish. You wouldn't get excited if they pulled that crap in other industries so why should it be anymore justified with video games? Would you buy a book that charged you per chapter? How about a CD that charged you per song AFTER you bought the entire thing? No, I didn't think so. Yet video games somehow get a free pass in this area and everyone seems to think it's the bee's knees.

Add to that fact firmware updates, security threats to online servers, obnoxious, cheating, loud mouthed bigots that play online and think it's cool to harass you because they sit comfortably with the security of anonymity and it's becoming increasingly clear to me that this generation is going to be my last. It's just becoming too much of an ordeal and literally I can't afford it anymore. If I'm going to plunk down $600+ on something I'm going to apply that to buying gold, silver or some other asset that appreciates in value over time and doesn't depreciate like video games/systems. How much do you think next gen systems are going to cost if this current gen is any example to go by: $600 for a PS3? $400-$500 for a 360? Jesus Almighty. It's too much. It almost feels as if they base the price not on what the system does, but what it can do in the future except you pay that cost up front now.

Technology -- Or the "Dumbing Down" of America

Technology is both exciting and frightening at the same time. Last night I bought and downloaded my first music album completely through my phone from Amazon.com. And while that action may not sound particularly unusual, it is when you take into account that I'm one of those holdouts that still buys the occasional CD and enjoys having a physical copy of the thing that I bought. Hell, I even still own a few cassette tapes (yet oddly enough not a cassette player). But I have to admit the idea appealed to me especially since this particular album I probably couldn't find in a brick and mortar store, not to mention the expense of gas traveling to said store if I could find it.

If you didn't already know Amazon has a cloud storage feature set up on their site where you're able to down/upload MP3s for free, as well as being able to stream those files directly from that storage. This feature also automatically transfers any new MP3s to your iTunes or Windows Media Player where you can then transfer them to a mobile device to take with you.

Am I the only one that is still amazed by this? I remember when the most you could do on a cell phone was change the date and time and THAT WAS IT! Not to mention the monochromatic color scheme and Tetris-sytle fonts. And this wasn't that long ago; we're only talking roughly fifteen or sixteen years. Now you can literally run a small business through your phone, not to mention all the extra-curricular activities you can do.

Some times I wonder if technology isn't moving too fast for its own good. Think about it: We have access to information 24/7. We have Internet enabled "smart" phones that allow us to instantaneously find the answer to a question if we don't know it; all you have to do is "Google it" and in less than two seconds you can find what you need. This ability to find out anything you want on the fly never ceases to amaze me, and the ease with which you can get an answer to a question is scary. Even writing this blog is an amazing feat because I'm able to address people that I would otherwise never even know existed if I didn't have the Internet to connect with them.

I'm surprised libraries still exist. Does anyone remember how to use the Dewey Decimal system; that is to say if you even know what the Dewey Decimal system is. It's been a while since I've been in school, but when I was I clearly remember being taught those things. What are kids being taught today now that they have the world in the palms of their hands?

Is the teaching profession becoming unnecessary? Will there be a day when schools are abolished in favor of students learning in the comfort of their own home strictly through computers and A.I. programs? You may scoff at this notion and say no way that could ever happen, but the scary part is it already is happening.

Where? College. As more and more people get connected online colleges are offering more online classes for students. What's the difference between learning in a classroom and learning through a computer at your house barring the social aspect? Nothing. So what's to prevent this practice from further descending to the lower ranks of the education system? Computers are already an integral part of many schools today, and the duties of teachers is slowly being phased out as they are not actively engaging in teaching as much as they once were. In some cases it's so bad that a teacher's role has been reduced to simply maintaining order in the classroom and to clarify instructions. Beyond that it is left up to the student to figure things out relegating the role of teacher to that of a mere observer. And while I don't think the teaching profession will ever be "officially" removed as much as their duties and responsibilities as facilitators of learning will be drastically reduced in light of more do-it-yourself approaches which, when you think about it, basically exist already in schools.

My point is all this dependence on technology should be tempered with caution. Sure it's all well and good when it works, but what happens when the power shuts off? And I'm not just talking about a few hours but more like years. Do you realize if we were hit by a massive solar flare it would knock out our electrical grids for good, and it would take a long time to get everything back up and running just for basic systems. Think about how much we depend on electricity in just one day. You probably don't even realize how dependent we are until it's gone.

"Poppycock," I hear you say. "That'll never happen!"

Yeah, well, they also thought the Titanic couldn't sink either.

Technology needs to be respected and not taken for granted. And it doesn't hurt if you know how to do things that don't include plugging something in or waiting for something to download. Just because everything is kosher now doesn't mean it will always be that way. We shouldn't blindly put our faith into all these gadgets and gizmos that are all around us. They're certainly nice to have, and they make life convenient, but too much dependence is a terrible mistake that we should be aware of and not allow ourselves to be swept away by complacency.

TV Shows That Would Make Horrible Video Games Part 2

6. The Bachelor

Take a reasonably good-looking, blue-collar guy, dress him up, tell a bunch of attention starved sluts that he's an heir to a multi-million dollar fortune and wackiness ensues! In The Bachelor - Check Your Self-Esteem at the Door you select from a pool of shallow, superficial and sycophantic "hotties" that are the very definition of "banal," and you have a recipe for a tremendous waste of time. Featuring an unprecedented character create system, all you guys out there can create your very own pretty boy, or if you have a Live camera or Sony Eye Toy you can take your own picture and upload it onto an avatar as well. Interview up to fifty gold diggers "ladies" as you slowly weed out the fakers and phonies to find "true love." Once you start narrowing your choices down you can start to engage in different mini-games such as advancing through all the bases, and getting to know her trivia with such heavy hitters as, "If I pick you, will you quit your job at the local strip club?" and "You had your first kid when you were how old?" And guys, don't forget about the unedited sex games once you narrow it down to those final three.

7. Dancing with the Stars

What do celebrities do when they find themselves no longer relevant and their career is dead? They get put on needlessly created reality TV shows because quietly fading in to obscurity wasn't dignified enough, so they thought this was a good idea. In Dancing with the Stars: Please Remember Me?! the qualifications are so low that you really don't need to be a true "celebrity" to qualify to get licensed in the game; just knowing someone that knows a real celebrity or even being a back-up dancer in a some crappy pop music video from the '90s is good enough. The game sports two-player online and four-player co-op offline, so if you manage to convince whatever friends you have left after telling them you bought this game, you can battle each other in your own personal competitions. The game even supports recording and uploading your dance sessions directly to YouTube so you can do your part in flooding the Internet with even more useless captured video game footage that nobody gives a damn about.

8. American Choppers

The next time you kids out there feel your parents treat you unfairly, then you need to play American Chopper: Traumatized Childhood. See what's it like to start your day from the minute you arrive at work to get chastised, blamed and cursed at for minor grievances. Gamers get the full AC experience as they attempt to design and build authentic OCC bikes in a hostile environment. Step into Paul Jr.'s shoes as you'll feel what it's like to never measure up to your overbearing father as he constantly hounds and berates your every action, thought and decision. AC:TC offers several unique challenges: "Biker Build Time-Trials" has you attempting to meet a deadline for a high profile client, but you get interrupted every five minutes by an insecure father who sits on his ass in an office all day and only emerges to yell at you about how you aren't getting any work done. "Create a Bike" has you attempting to create your very own custom OCC bike, but you get interrupted every five minutes by an insecure father who sits on his ass in an office all day and only emerges to yell at you about how you aren't getting any work done. And finally "Biker Build-Off" has you challenge your inept, know-it-all father as you attempt to completely undermine and usurp his delusional perception of authority in a shop where no one respects him any more. And let's not forget the colorful banter of Paul Sr. you'll hear ad nauseaum liberally peppered throughout each gameplay mode. Featuring a script with more beeps than you'd hear while being stuck in traffic in downtown Manhattan. Paul Sr. is the epitome of class as long as you remember to leave off the "C" and "L."

9. Whale Wars

Did you ever feel ambitious enough to join a real-world cause to help change the world? If you answered with a resounding "Hell no!" then congratulations, because you'll fit right in with the crew of the Sea Shepherd in this hit Animal Planet channel series turned in to this part sim, part "action" RPG game with Whale Wars: What a Joke. Yes, you too can waste precious man-hours and millions of donor money as you fart along for six months in the South Antarctic breaking numerous international shipping laws and terrorizing the Japanese whaling fleet while not completing one single, solitary goal you set out to complete the whole time. You take direct control of the captain as you make half-assed decisions some of the time, or leave it up to the incompetent A.I. First-mate most of the time to decide what's best for the ship and crew as you run back to your cabin away from the prying lens of the camera and confused looks from your ship’s crew when the situation gets hairy. And when the shit really hits the fan, do what any experienced captain of the seas would do by finding a scapegoat to pin the blame on publicly to make you look good while at the same time encouraging complete dissent from that crew member. Then hold a crew meeting down in the galley for three hours extolling the virtuous mission you are on while feeding your insatiable ego when God visited you in a dream as a whale and commanded you directly to save them. But the best part is you never actually save any whales because the chain-of-command is so disorganized that you spend the majority of your time navigating through lines and lines of written text arguments over where to steer the ship and who's in command when the captain is "indisposed," all the while you watch helplessly as the Japanese whaling fleet slaughters hundreds of whales right before your eyes.

10. Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares

So you think you can run a restaurant, eh? Gordon Ramsay tends to disagree and you'll get the chance to eat lots of humble pie in Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares: Are You !@$%ing Kidding Me?! A restaurant sim game that makes you responsible for failing. Choose your downfall in three exciting rolls: "Manager," "Head Chef" or the ever-challenging "Owner" which encompasses both of the former roles in to one neat, suicidal package. Hours and hours of pure agonizing hell await as you are offered only two choices: 1. Spend every last penny of your life's savings to open a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and watch it fail, or 2. Spend every last penny of your life's savings buying a previously closed restaurant and trying to turn it around for profit...and watch it fail. The challenge is increased tenfold when you don't have any previous experience in either culinary arts or owning your own business. Hire complete losers and drug-dealers that are just as clueless as you are in front or back-of-the-house operations, and who actually help drive your dream project into the ground even faster than you can! Sometimes the game will generate a competent manager, chef or owner A.I. to help you out, but you'll never have both at the same time. Feel what it's like to suffer a complete mental breakdown and contemplate suicide as a viable alternative rather than continue on with a failing business model. And don't forget Gordon Ramsay as he goose-steps around your kitchen grilling (no pun intended) and traumatizing each of your staff members about why they chose to work in the restaurant industry, telling you over and over that your food tastes like shit and looking absolutely stupefied at every response you stutter to him to excuse the piss-poor quality your restaurant is in.

Peer Pressure and Gaming

We all know what peer pressure is and all of us, in some degree, have fallen victim to it. It's only human nature to have the need to "fit in" with the crowd. Even so-called loners congregrate with other loners because they understand each other.

If you grew up during the '80s then you no doubt remember the D.A.R.E. program which attempted to steer young kids away from drugs at an early age so hopefully when they got older they wouldn't try them and get addicted. Well I consider the D.A.R.E. program at my elementary school to be (as the kids today say it) an EPIC FAIL; even the "smart" kids did drugs in my hometown no doubt succumbing to pressure by their friends to appear cool.

Peer pressure never goes away it simply changes form. When you get older the types of friends you have influence what kind of person and what type of possessions you buy/own. Gaming is no different albeit less harmful to your health than being a crackhead (and cheaper too).

This is evident because we tend to socialize with those who share our common interests. In games we tend to stick with the same genres either consciously or subconsciously. So when your friend tells you about a game that he liked you generally tend to think you'll enjoy it as well. So what happens when a game your friend talks about ends up not impressing you on the same level?

My best-friend is a hard case to crack when it comes to what he enjoys in a game. It seems that despite us knowing each other since we were 5-years-old and practically being brothers, our tastes in games is very different but alike at the same time. Almost every single game I've ever recommended to him he ends up declaring "It sucks!" or nitpicking all of its flaws that I sometimes sit there in amazement to think he derives enjoyment from ANY game. Needless to say I stopped recommending games to him a long time ago.

Take the latest game to undergo his intense scrutiny, The Saboteur, which we finally beat tonight. To hear him talk about this game you would think it was the worst game ever made. And while I agree that it is very repetitive and it can get monotonous in the long-term, I am not turned off by this game yet my friend was so happy after we completed it 100% and HE got the platinum (not me yet it's MY game but that's another story) that he wanted to hurry up and eject it from his PS3 because he (and I quote) "never wanted to see it again." Ouch.

Now I'll be the first to admit the game is by no means perfect, but it wasn't a bad game it was just monotonous. Our end time was 50½ hours. The game wasn't unplayable; the mechanics weren't broken; the graphics weren't atrocious and there were generally no glaring problems with the game other than it was repetitive. Sure we experienced the system freezing up a few times, and some oddball glitches here and there, but again no game is perfect and aside from the rare freezing issues (that occurred only three or four times during the whole 50 hours we were playing) nothing was game breaking about it not to mention it was an easy platinum!

My friend just seems to view games very differently than I do and tends to be way more critical over things that really don't bother me. I can definitely see the flaws in this game but not to the extent that he does. I can play this game again whereas my friend would rather take this game and use it for target practice. He hated it that much yet he kept playing it.

Hence back to the point of this blog about peer pressure: Have you ever felt or been put in a situation where you "liked" a game but your friends completely and utterly destroyed it and they couldn't fathom why you felt the way you did? The differences between my best-friend and I over this game are just superficial and mean nothing in the end; this doesn't affect our friendship at all and it actually provides us for some good ribbing.

On the same token I find myself feeling "weird" (for lack of a better word) because I really don't mind this game despite its flaws, and I simply can't agree with my best-friend over his carefree lambasting of it and questions of "How can you stand this game?" While there's no direct pressure from him towards me to not like this game, I can sense there is this underlying disbelief from him towards me that I don't hate it as much as he does.

Thoughts?

TV Shows That Would Make Horrible Video Games Part 1

We all know the sordid history that movie-to-game tie-ins have in the game industry, and while rarer yet no less uncommon, there is another tie-in associated with games: TV shows. Every now and then, for reasons only Satan can surmise, a TV show gets the green light to be developed in to a video game. CSI, Prisonbreak, 24, Family Guy, Futurama, etc. are just a few popular TV shows that tried to capitalize outside their familiar medium and, for the most part, weren't very successful except to only the most devout--and no doubt after playing them--forgiving fans. Nevertheless this occurrence will no doubt continue in the future. So I got to thinking about some other "popular" TV shows and came up with this list which I present to you. Please note I did not number these in any specific order. Here are the first five games (the remaining five will be posted later on) that most certainly should never have a game made out of them no matter what the circumstance.

1. Dog the Bounty Hunter

Now you can feel what's it like to live the exciting life of a bounty hunter married to a woman whose breast size rivals that of a small planetoid. In Dog the Bounty Hunter: Hunt with the Dog Pack you play Dog, and you track down unfit mothers on crack as they cry to you about how they swore they were going to turn themselves in but you just happened to find them before they got a chance. Or the neighborhood meth addict with no teeth left in his head but you stop at McDonald's anyway to buy him a cheeseburger on your way to jail. Or everyone's favorite: The blonde haired, blue-eyed, all-American girl who was tragically turned to a life of crime by her environment. She shouldn't be treated any differently but she's made out to be the "victim" and you find her oddly attractive in a depraved sort of way which you use to justify as a reasonable excuse to add her to your Spank-a-Dex with the likes of Kim Kardashian and Courtney Love. The game includes up to four-player, split-screen co-op so you can fill your outlaw hunting ranks with the rest of the crew as they tag along on Dog's coattails to attain mediocre success (just like in real life).

2. Girls Gone Wild

What's better than trashy young college whores downing Jell-O shots till they puke and bearing their female parts to complete strangers? Creating a trivia style game which actually justifies that abhorrent behavior and gratuitous nudity, of course, with the release of Girls Gone Wild Trivia Edition. Less proper TV show than late-night infomercial pandering to 50-year-old divorcés who think they still "got it." Now you too can participate in the debasement and devaluing of today's impressionable female pysche. Pick from a variety of topics that are sure to stump the most wasted of college co-eds such as: "Words that Contain Vowels," "Basic Math Skills," "Colors of the Rainbow" and "Things My Mother and Father Will Say After Seeing Me on This Show." Sure, each of these chicks is in denial concerning the daddy issues they clearly have going on upstairs, but it's sure to provide hours of entertaining gaffs and foibles for you and your family as you teach your children valuable lessons about how not to act when they grow up and go off to college.

3. The Golden Girls

Now your kids can experience what it's like to grow old in a society that doesn't give a damn about its elderly in The Golden Girls: Help, I've Fallen and Nobody Cares Anymore edition. You too can slip silently into senility as each day you partake in simple, every day brain training exercises such as remembering to turn the stove off, combing the obituaries to recognize someone you knew, traveling to the local grocery store and then forgetting what you went there to buy in the first place, as well as walking aimlessly outside in your underpants while calling for your pet cat that died ten years ago and possibly inadvertently committing a felony by indecently exposing yourself to neighborhood children in the process. Other favorite activities include trying to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world, calling loved ones and yelling at them for no particular reason, re-writing your last Will and Testament to not include that bitch of a daughter-in-law that married and "corrupted" your son, and everyone's favorite, dying while still holding a grudge. Friends can join in as well with completely random drop-in and drop-out online co-op as the game attempts to replicate what it's like to have Alzheimer's and either signs in another player on its own regardless if there really is someone else wanting to play, or it drops you unexpectedly if you already signed in.

4. Chappelle's Show

You too can feel what it's like to experience enormous success…and then crumble under the pressure as you undergo an unexplainable, life-altering crisis that forces you to travel to another country to join an obscure tribe as you attempt to "come to grips" with having the #1 rated comedy show in cable history. Chappelle's Show: Head Case is designed more as a sim-style game than anything. You guide Dave Chappelle's funny yet unnaturally short career as you spend time crafting a funny prime-time sketch comedy show to the top of the ratings and then mysteriously bail out on everyone that depended on you leaving them to wonder what the fuck just happened. Super powers include: Magically disappearing from the public eye for months at a time; handing out pink slips in mass quantities to a bewildered cast and crew; the power to resist $50 million to continue your show; and the most incredible--seemingly able to grow a conscious from thin air. Game ends abruptly and without notice to push home the level of realism of what it's like to get completely fucked over in show business.

5.The Biggest Loser

In The Biggest Loser - This is Considered Entertainment? players get to choose from a stable (yes, stable, get it?) of pre-rendered fatties and guide them forcefully through cardiac arrest inducing specific challenges all in the name of fifteen minutes of fame. In America, the land of the exploited and litigious, it's only natural that a game should be based on a show based on violently humiliating obese individuals to millions of TV viewers and forcing them to near death scenarios every week all in the name of sweet, sweet vanity. Watch as your selected fatty must endure painful and strenuous workouts that amount to nothing more than a slew of QTE prompts on-screen. See the irony in that? A game that emphasizes working out yet doesn't require the player to actually do anything but press buttons in between chugging 2-liters of Mountain Dew and gorging on countless bags of Funyuns.

"The Saboteur" Review

The Saboteur

I think Brad Pitt’s character in Inglorious Basterds said it best when he said:

“…we're gonna be doin' one thing and one thing only...killin' Nazis.”

For the most part this is apropos for what you will be doing in Pandemic’s The Saboteur. However, unlike Tarantino’s remake the game may fail to keep you entertained for the duration, and you just may find yourself giving up the fight not long after you begin.

You play as Sean Devlin, an Irish Bruce Willis protagonist who you'll quickly find out is one marshmallow short of a full box of Lucky Charms. Sean would rather spend his time getting drunk off his ass and banging dirty French whores than get involved in a war that doesn’t concern him or his country. But like most game clichés a certain tragic event happens to Sean which leads him to his inevitable involvement in good ol’ WWII.

One night as he is wallowing in self pity over said tragic event and about to curl up in a bottle of whisky, he is approached by a member of the French resistance who calls him out for being a coward because Sean chooses to drink over choosing to fight. Surprisingly, instead of decking Frenchy on the spot Sean takes the stranger’s words to heart and starts on his path of resistance.

Contacts are presented GTA-style with letters appearing on your map to represent story missions. Once accepted you’re free to carry out the mission any way you see fit which basically boils down to just two options: Stealth or guns blazing. While the latter is certainly more action packed it can rapidly devolve in to a chaotic mess often leading to a quick death. Most of the time the best course of action is to sneak your way in which usually involves going undercover in a Nazi uniform. Generally you are able to sneak in wherever you need to go, but getting out usually consists of hauling ass or fighting your way to freedom.

The stealth elements are handled fairly well as you can knock out any Nazi soldier or officer and don their attire. Once Sean is disguised he can carry his weapon out in the open without raising suspicion (which you can’t do when you are dressed in civilian clothes). You can bypass a lot of curious looks and raised eyebrows from any nearby Nazis provided you don’t get too close. If you do get too close no doubt the Guinness sweating from every pore of your body would be enough to tip them off that you are not a native from the Fatherland, and your alarm rating starts to rise. Raise it too high and you set off an alarm and, much like David Blaine’s career, the disguise you were wearing magically vanishes and you’re back to civilian clothing.

The ease of escaping the five levels of alarms is relative to the severity. All you need to do to escape is get outside of the alarm radius (think GTA IV) or find one of the many hiding spots which are conveniently placed all over the city. However, the bigger the alarm the larger the radius grows and, thus, the harder it is to escape quickly. Each progressive level of alarm determines how aggressive the Nazis are towards you. Level 1 is the easiest and least threatening compared to level 5 where they basically send half the German army after you including tanks and machine gun strafing aircraft. But the strategy is always the same: Escape the alarm radius or find a hiding spot.

The game initially starts out in black and white with select items highlighted with a splash of color to give it a visually striking presentation. Successfully completing certain missions brings color back to that part of the map, and also liberates that section from overt Nazi oppression. This is one novel concept of the game that is pretty cool in both concept and execution. The color flooding back in is an obvious inspiration from the 1998 remake of Pleasantville. Unfortunately Jeff Daniels and Tobi “Call me Spidey” Maguire do not make a cameo in the game.

Outside of the core story missions there is a lot to do in The Saboteur and that is no exaggeration. In the game you use contraband to buy new weapons, ammo, repair vehicles, etc. on the Black Market. In order to get contraband you have to complete side missions (called “ambient freeplay events“) such as blowing up enemy sniper/guard towers, anti-aircraft guns, radar sites, missile sites, fuel depots, et al. and generally pissing in the Nazis’ Cheerios bowls every chance you get by causing havoc and mayhem wherever you go. You perform these freeplay events at your leisure and can freely roam around the entire map tackling them at will.

Normally the inclusion of side missions isn’t a bad thing as it allows the player to break the monotony and tunnel vision of completing story mission after story mission, but The Saboteur takes this concept and runs with it. Many times the freeplay events mimic the story missions just on a smaller scale (i.e. go here and destroy this target or assassinate this general, etc.), but you’re essentially performing the exact same tasks all the time. So when you play the freeplay events as a “break” from the story missions you’re really not getting a break from anything since the freeplay events are microcosms of the story missions themselves. And here’s the best part: Someone at Pandemic thought it was a good idea to include over 1000 (1338 to be exact) of these freeplay events to complete all over Paris. Joy! I don’t care what you’re doing, but doing 1000+ of anything can get boring really fast.

If The Saboteur does one thing right it’s killing Nazis. The game comes across as a combination of various games that borrows heavily from a veritable “Who’s Who” of third-person games before it: Grand Theft Auto III, Assassin’s Creed, Uncharted, Hitman and Mercenaries just to name a few; the last of which should not come as a surprise considering that Pandemic developed Mercenaries as well. And while the game handily cherry picks game-play elements from all of those strong franchises, the sum of its parts amounts to little more than moyenne (that’s French for “average”). There is nothing wrong with the execution of all of these elements which combine and work flawlessly in the game, but you can’t help getting a strong sense of déjà vu while playing it to one of those other games mentioned above. The narrative tries to pull you in--and to a degree it succeeds--but more often than not the repetitiveness will start to whittle down the resolve of even the most ardent completionist, and it might start to overrule any fun you are having.

In the end The Saboteur ends up sabotaging itself with its overabundance (and over reliance) of ambient freeplay events. What should be used to help break up the monotony of the game ends up being the most monotonous part of the game instead. While it’s by no means a bad game, doing the same freeplay events over and over can start to feel old after a while. It’s no wonder the developers included a trophy for climbing up and subsequently jumping off the Eiffel Tower -- because that’s exactly what you’ll feel like doing after completing this game 100%!*

(*Please don’t jump off the Eiffel Tower. That would not be good.)

Summary:

All-in-all The Saboteur is a good game for what it offers. The wealth of things to do outside of the core story missions is plentiful almost to a fault, and it will keep you busy long after the main story is over. It’s really up to the individual to decide when they’ve had enough. The game-play and mechanics are pretty solid and work together very well from the loose stealth options to the rooftop parkour and the many fire fights you will engage in. Plus, who doesn’t like killing Nazis? This game is definitely recommended to open-world, sandbox enthusiast as well as third-person shooter fans.

Essential Facts:

-Lots of ambient free play challenges to complete will keep you gaming long after the story ends
-Unique artistic presentation really gives the game a distinct look that really fits the theme of 1940 era Paris
-Liberating sections of Paris and infusing color back in to the world is satisfying and a stylized mechanic
-Tight, responsive controls
-Trophies are relatively easy and mostly require investing time to earn
-Voice actors’ accents often sound fake and sometimes clichéd

This game is definitely recommended for open-world, sandbox enthusiasts as well as third-person shooter fans and gamers looking to score an easy platinum.

PSN Down - Gamers Need to Unite Not Segregate Further

Like many of you and the gaming world, I have been watching this whole fiasco of PSN vs hackers from the sidelines. I haven't really commented on it because up until now I thought I didn't have anything to say that every gaming site and gaming blog on the 'Net hasn't already. But as I was replying to a fellow member and friend's blog here at 1UP (YariX) I found my voice on the issue.

All I've read so far are people complaining about how Sony is to blame, or people complaining about the hackers. And then my personal favorite: Xbox 360 zealots coming out of the woodwork heralding this criminal act as somehow a "mighty blow" to Sony and those dirty PS3 lovers.

I just have this to say if you fall into that latter category: Grow up.

Zip up your fly, put the measuring tape away and be mature for once in your life.

This is one of those rare moments when gamers, regardless of their allegiance, need to COME TOGETHER and SUPPORT each other rather than using this as a cheap way to brag about how their system is superior. Stop acting like a spoiled little brat and show some solidarity for your fellow gamer instead of ostracizing and condemning them as lepers.

It just absolutely sickens me that people are exploiting this event and twisting it in a demented way to add fuel to that universal waste of time pissing contest also know as "console wars."

The fact is I don't care WHAT company this happened to it's NOT cool. If nothing else I hope we can at least agree on that much. The fact is this was a heinous and criminal act that has affected GAMERS. This should serve to bring all of us gamers TOGETHER collectively; not to help further segregate and expand the petty rift between us.

This is not politics. There are no political parties in games. There are no devisive topics that keep us from seeing eye to eye. For God's sake, 99.9% of the time we play the same games but perhaps on a different console. We all love to play games. The system you own or prefer is inconsequential beyond that basic, rudimentary fact because playing games is WHAT MATTERS not the name of the console you play it on.

"Now is not the time to play the blame game."

So please, if nothing else just stop a moment and think about the over-arching consequences this will have on the industry as a whole. Now is not the time to point fingers and play the blame game. There will be plenty of time for that later, and the individual(s) responsible will be brought to justice. Until then now is the time to stand together in solidarity as gamers and show support for one another and the company that is affected.

"Paranormal Activity 2" Review

I finally had a chance to see this movie last night and all I can say is "Ugh." I thought it was horrible. I admit I liked the first if for nothing else than the effects; the spontaneous burning Ouija board, the footprints in the baby powder, and the many shadow figures that truly made it feel creepy and as if a demonic presence was really there.
But this movie was hardly inspirational except in name only. Compared to the first I just didn't like it at all. For one the premise was exactly the same, as well as the character "development" right down to a "T," except this time instead of BF/GF the two characters were married. Wife tries to convince her dick husbad that there is something going on in the house. Dick husband calls woman crazy and denies anything is going on; same exact premise as the first. At least in the first movie the actors came across more sincere. Here it just felt like the actors were going through the motions and were just playing the part and they knew it. The effects were so-so and relied more on big bang moments to scare you rather than the more subtle moments from the first.

The only slightly redeeming quality of this movie was how they linked it to the first by having the main characters be sisters, and how it took place roughly two months before the events in the first film happened. Other than that if you don't see this movie you're not missing much.

I rate this movie 1 out of 5.

Back in the Swing of Things

Welcome to the (second) grand opening of this blog that I created years ago but just kinda let it die mainly because I didn't have any readers. So why continue writing when there is no one there to read it? Then it just boils down to me essentially talking to myself and that's crazy!

So I'm back and will start blogging more frequently. Think of this as a sort of online public journal. Here I will talk about various topics and even myself so you can get to know me better for those who already don't. So let's start off small.

I'm 29-years-old. I'm a student going for my B.A. in "Hospitality, Tourism & Event Planning" which is a mouthful, I know. Basically it's a degree in the hotel/restaurant industry. As some may know I graduated from culinary school back in 2004, and after working in the industry for 18 months decided it was something I did not want to continue doing.

"Then why are you back in school majoring in it?" Good question. I had no choice because the college I'm attending would only accept my transfer credits if I majored in something similar to what I already got my degree in at the Art Institute. The closest program they offered was the HTE program so I got stuck back in to a field I have very little to no interest at all. But in this day and age I could have majored in underwater basket weaving and it doesn't matter; as long as you have that piece of paper that's all that matters.

Let's see, I'm very interested in Japan and I hope to travel and live there one day once I graduate. I'm learning to speak Japanese but as of right now I can read it better than speak it, and even at that half the times I don't know what I'm reading because I don't know a lot of vocabulary...but I can read it!! =D I love sushi and I just find their entire culture fascinating.

I love to write and I'm excellent at English. I hate math but only because it makes me feel so stupid because I don't understand it. So don't ask me to help you on math, but if you need a document proofread or spell checked I'm your man! Now it's funny because even though I love to write I haven't actually written anything of worth. I've written about a dozen or so video game reviews but that's about it. I did write a short story once but I can't find it and it's really pissing me off because it was good! The hard drive I thought it was on turned out it wasn't, and I know I printed out a hard copy a loooooong time ago but God only knows where the hell that is if I even still have it. Yeah, so I'm a little bit pissed at myself and my irresponsibility about that.

Hoo boy! All right, I'll stop there since I have a tendency to ramble. Welcome again to my blog and I hope you find me worthy enough to spend some of your time reading what I have to say about this crazy world we live in and my even crazier life!

Ciao!