Question #8

What is Bioshock about? That's the next question. I thought that this question might be a bit tricky. How could I possibly explain Bioshock and avoid spoilers whilst doing so? I thought. Well, as it turns out it's actually quite easy since Bioshock is not about it's setting in a city at the bottom of the sea, it's not necessarily about the characters you meet during the adventure there. It's not about the action and gameplay either. All of those things are merely the tools for telling the story. So what is it about then?

Friday Favorites #2

Sony's PlayStation division has always had a rather inventive approach to advertising their product. I have always been highly entertained by the adverts they create, even if they are completely bizarre as many often were. Just take a look at the PlayStation 3 "This is Living" campaign. With the recent lauch of the new PlayStation Vita Sony had some more marketing to do. The new campaign for the PSVita, "The World is in Play"does not disappoint me at all. It got me thinking about Sony's past campaigns and the adverts that captured my interest and imagination.

Friday Favorites #1

It kind of goes without saying already that videogames are among my favorite things in the world. As well as my family of course. My wife and son, so before my wife does read this and ask me "Why am I not there listed in your favorites?", mockingly in jest of course but it's no less of an awkward moment having to explain that actually yes, they are my my favorite thing. It's just that  this is not about them.
So what is it about? It's about favorite things of mine. Perhaps it will be my favorite brand of tea to drink (it's Lipton) or my favorite place in the world (that would be the place I consider home, which is not where I currently live). I intend to post a favorite something of mine here every Friday. Friday seemed appropriate because it's a pretty cool day of the week and only a day away from my actual favorite day of the week, Saturday. Also, the word Friday starts with the letter F just like favorite does. I already stated that videogames are among my favorite things and that is what I will begin with.

First impressions of Street Fighter IV from a Tekken fan. (originally posted 02/07/2011)

Ok, I'm a Tekken fan but curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to play Street Fighter IV to see what all of the fuss was about. I had not played any Street Fighter since SFII in the arcades way back during my college days. I did give a SF game a try on the PS2 about 8-9 years ago but I was not impressed at all with it so it was instantly binned and I have not bothered with SF since. 

My brain seems to be permanently wired towards video games.

It had been a horrendous week at work. One of the worst weeks I had experienced in my current job. My faith in humanity had been depleted even further than usual and hope for any kind of future, let alone a bright one was gone. But, that week was over. It was the weekend and Saturday being the only day of the week that I do get to spend with my family was marred slightly by the rotten headache I awoke with that persisted throughout most of the day. I did of course try to make the best of that time as it is rather precious. Modern life affords us far too little time nowadays and time is the only thing in this world that cannot be replaced when it is gone.

Uncharted 2. Revisiting a modern masterpiece. (originally published 26/06/2011)

I recently decided to revisit Uncharted 2 multiplayer after an absence from the game for some considerable time. Jumping straight back into it was not as easy as I had expected but was inevitably worthwhile. Here is how it went.

No PAIN, No Gain! (originally published 19/01/2010)

Hit the doctors fingers to break them off making
some crude but humorous scenes.

I have finally managed to get the "Harder Dicks Balls" trophy for the PSN game, Pain. I don't know why but I became obsessed with getting this trophy and even though I have uncharted 2 sitting in a drawer unplayed and ratchet and clank ACIT half completed, Pain has been the only game I have played in the last few days. I purchased the game a short while after it was put onto the PS store and I found it highly amusing for two or three plays at best. Once the initial charm of the game had worn off I quickly grew tired of it and browsing through the trophy list I found that most of the trophies involved purchasing further content from the PS store and the ones that did not were particularly difficult, especially for a game that was not holding my interest enough for me to commit myself fully to the challenge. I ended up slating the game thoroughly to friends and on the forums and even got into a couple of arguements over the game on gaming forums. The game
just sat idly on my hard drive for months until one Sunday afternoon when I had some spare time and decided to give it another chance.

I Am The Wolfman.

I am the Wolfman. You know me, I am the Wolfman. My spit is corruption and my home is a stinking purse of wretched cocks! I am the Wolfman, homo-wolfus. My rocket is made from pure carbon and smashes through planets. I am the Wolfman! I hate being bored and I can punch suns. I am the Wolfman, a huge rancid dog travelling at five thousand miles per hour. Wolf person, Dog boy! I am the universe! I am the brilliant dog!

Schools Get in The Game. (originally published 03/06/2009)

Brock delivers his seminar

“Ok, it’s time to submit your school reports. Did everyone play Mario Kart at the weekend? Good. Let’s begin with group discussion, what is the premise and objective of the game?”
This may sound a little strange but for one Minneapolis teacher video games have become learning tools for his class of sixth to eighth graders.  Brock Dubbels of Seward Montessori in Minneapolis designed his ‘Video Games as Learning Tools’ class to span a three week period, requiring children to create detailed multimedia presentations from video games played in groups. He explains that the children are not just learning from the games content but also gaining key skills from playing and studying the games. Dubbels, who has a background in cognitive psychology, goes on to say “It connects to their lives. Research shows that children want to perform where they have competence.” Brock Dubbels spreads the word with training seminars and online courses designed to show other teachers how his three week course works.

Gaming is an Art. (originally published 02/06/2009)

Opinions of gaming and gamers are starting to change but the popular stereotype is still that gamers are nerdy, daylight starved kids with all the community social skills of a brick. We know that's not true of gamers and there are some of the rest of the population who see it that way too but not enough. We want people to see gaming for what it really is and gamer's as the real people that they are. This is understandably difficult given the rocky road the industry has travelled in terms of publicity through various media. "Videogames rot your kid’s brains" has quite a ring to it and sticks in the minds of concerned parents. Hundreds of articles in the newspapers about the horrors portrayed within these games and that they not only promote violence but encourage it. Causing the hapless, feeble minded social outcasts who play videogames to go and act out the brutality they have just witnessed from their games console. This, unfortunately, is the first impression modern gaming gave to Joe public and even though it is fading slowly we still need to fight it back.