I started compiling a list of the upcoming games that I'm particularly excited for in the upcoming time frame. If you haven't heard of some, then for gods sake go take a look. Hellgate London (PC): Hellgate London appears to be the only attempt to take Diablo to the next level by making it skill based instead of twitch based, and adding a psuedo-modern feel to it. Swords are still there for the swinging, but now there are guns! Among the newly minted screens that gamespot christened, a particular favorite has a fellow with a nasty looking assault rifle sticking it to the hordes of the damned. Excitement to follow. The plot basically follows the invasion of hell beasts on Earth and the resulting fight between the zealots and the beasties. It's a pretty flimsy plot as most of these things are, but dang it looks tasty. Sporting some smooth multiplayer options like coop (which is all it needs), this game definitley looks like a hit. Tekken Dark Resurrection (PSP): Tekken Dark Resurrection does the humane thing by kicking street fighter alpha max 3 in the balls. It looks great, it has a ton of options, and looks to be pretty much perfect sans a real online multiplayer setting. Eddie Gordo ftw. Bioshock (PC): Holy Christ, from the people who brought one of the creepiest fps games ever comes another creepy fps. Bathed in sci-fi mumbus jumbus, Bioshock takes place on an underwater facility around 1960 or so. The plot follows a hapless character to goes around to take a look see and stays because his sub is destroyed and there are a lot of beasties trying to kill him. It has some splashes of rpg elements in npc interaction as well as character upgrades. Expect life to be good in 2007. Final Fantasy III (DS): I don't think this really needs an explanation, it's the only final fantasy never to reach the US. Now, courtesy of our friends at Squeenix, it looks much nicer than a straight nintendo port. Woopie. Huxley (PC/Xbox 360): A progressive online fps/rpg akin to Battlefield? Wait for it... Huxley promises something for everybody, and a flexible system that allows newbies to play with oldies without upsetting the balance of power. The rocket launcher won't make you a king. Check this guy out, it's going to be a winner. Parfait Station (PC): You've never heard of this game, don't pretend you have. It's a korean mmo by the same guys who did wiki and whatever else they did, but this one looks sweet in the gameplay department. Basically, wasd moves your character from an overhead perspective, and the mouse aims where you want to put the hurt. It sounds pretty simple, and it is, but the gameplay vids look enticing. The downside: the FBI is going to knock on your door, all of the characters are little girls. Knnnnnnnyu. Sony (PS3): It's not actually a game, but I'm soooooooo damn curious how this one is going to turn out. Whenever I look at the games I think to myself "Hmmm, this really doesn't look that much better than a Xbox". They don't seem to have a killer ap, just a bs Killzone video. It's expensive as all hell. And yet it seems to me that Sony is right where it wants to be... So that's my list of goodies. Show me yours.

One of the executives at Nintendo made an interesting comment that I've been mulling in my head for some time, and that is that games have become too long to hold peoples interest. Though I agree that some games take a bit too long to cmplete, saying that completion time is bloated is a farce to be discussed and analysed. The game I am currently playing, Monster Hunter Freedom, has an unbelievable amount of content that lasts people over a hundred hours. However the vice of this game is you have to stomach the negative aspects of the game, such as the poor controls or lack of online multiplayer. Capcom knows how to make monster hunter games because they've done it before, and are currently making sequels, but do gamers know what kind of forumula they are looking for. In juxtoposition to Monster Hunter Freedom, Half Life Episode One recently came out to critical acclaim and commercial success. Though the experience lasts less than 10 hours, gamers have expresssed admiration and excitement at the quality of the content, though are bitter regarding the rather timid length of the adventure. Size seems to be widely contested as a price of admission amongst my peers, though the exact nature of what satisfies in this department seems to depend largely on the quality of the other characteristics of the game, such as story, gameplay, etc. It isn't an exact science per se, and I don't have the tools or knowledge to create a measurement, but I'm sure that this kind of taste can't be quantified. Largely, after reading this, you should be left with the question of how much length of a game affects your purchase, and what length you're looking for?

Recently I recieved a letter of interest from the fellow who runs the website GameXC for me to come and write for him. The job is probono for the moment, and if I show potential and whatnot he'll send me new games to review, which is absolutely worth the price of admission. The experience and the opppertunity I have now is something I've wanted since I can remember, and now that it's fallen into my lap, I'll be damned if I'm going to squander it. Check out the website for some of my work, so far I've only reviewed Otogi: Myth of Demons, and it should be posted shortly.

So Italy won the world cup over France in penalty kicks. It was a pretty good game with some amazing moments, like when Zidane headbutted the other guy, can't remember his name, or the offsides goal by Italy. In my opinion the ref really didn't do a good job. Aubris was molested the entire game with almost no calls on the Italians, and there were a number of calls I didn't agree with as well as moments I would have made calls on, but I enjoyed watching the game, and I can't wait for next time when Brazil wins.

I'm seldom more irritated with a game than when I know something should have happened, a punch should have connected, or a computer can't build anymore units, and on and on, but the computer continues to evade or build more units, or whatever it is that has me grinding my teeth in frustration. Recently I bought Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max Hyper Turbo Tournament Fighting Squid Harbor +EV: Third Bout for the PSP, and it was good for the first 10 minutes. I like street fighter, and this is the best portable version I've ever seen. Of course, capcom had to screw it up by sprinkling an unhealthy dose of bs. The computer can pull off moves they can't, avoid mine by standing in the way, and generally being a douche bag. It's irritating being a street fighter fan for so long all of a sudden to have a level one computer suddenly kicking my ass even though I'm punching their face in. It's not just street fighter either. Empire Earth II is a pretty entertaining game, and has cooperative. I'd enjoy it a lot more if the computer didn't pile on the bs, like having the ability to destroy your units at random, or suddenly creating a horde of their own. There are a ton of other interesting "abilities" the computer has, and they are all equally annoying. Everybody has their own stories, be it Quake III or Red Alert, where the AI's difficulty is artificially inflated by giving them an unfair advantage. Is it really so difficult to program more complex AI routines to follow? It seems like it wouldn't be so hard to stop creating retarded AI programs and follow the example of games like Halo or Half-Life, where the enemies adapt to your tactics and whatsis. It should rationally be the expectation of gamers everywhere that if they buy a game that doesn't offer any online form of gameplay, that the AI should replace human opponents by offering the same level of difficulty, not shoveling out the bs on what could potentially have been a good game.

For all the US folks on the gs boards, happy Independence Day. I'm celebrating by having a bbq with my good friends and family. No fireworks though, because they are both expensive and lame if legal.

I had a very interesting discussion with my brother who read an article concerning the industries constant rerelease of older games on newer platforms. For those not paying attention, Street Fighter II Turbo is going to be arriving on the xbox 360 shortly through the live arcade. This game is about 9 or 10 years old, and god only knows how many incarnations of it have been transfered around. I personally think that this can be a great idea as it allows newer gamers to enjoy the classics without being forced to purchase an older system and game or play it through Roms, which are not only illegal, but also unreliable and don't have a joystick. The flip side of this business practice is that the industry is constantly milking the cash cow so to speak, releasing the same games whenever the oppertunity arises with little or no effort put into the release. Guess how many entries there are for Street Fighter 2 without looking. The apotheosis of this article which my brother referred to was that this act of unrequited cash whoring actually discourages any sort of innovation in games, leading to an unconsciounable amount of clones, sequels, prequels, spin offs, and generally uncreative games that people play because they need a fix. As a reference, look at the games out on the psp. I own Street Fighter 3 Max, Syphon Filter Dark Mirror, Monster Hunter Freedom, Winning Eleven 9, Wipout Pure, and Lumines. Only one of those is an original title, can you guess which one? The PSP is essentially acting as a way to port games from the playstation and playstation 2, with titles like Valkyrie Profile, GTA, and Socom. The GBA acted in much the same way for the Super Nintendo. It's always fun to see a classic come out, and enjoy its nostalgia while it lasts. Eventually, game companies are going to abuse this blatant commercialism, and when the bubble brakes, progress can finally proceed unrequited into the next generation. Street Fighter 4 anyone?

I seldom appreciate gamer cinema, and yet there is truth in this recent gs article found here. Enjoy. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6153238.html

There are some games that have the illustrious honor of becoming the platform for an even greater experience. Though copies are sold and developers sucked off, the efforts of the modding communities have produced countless hundreds of thousands of hours of playtime, and here are the top 5 best mods ever made. 5. Alien Swarm (Unreal Tournament 2004): Alien Swarm is a pulse pounding cooperative mod that finally allows the player to scream, "MARINES, WE ARE LEAVING!" and feel satisfied. A top down shooter, Alien Swarm boasted a class based game that had the players moving through corridors and catwalks trying to complete objectives before the Aliens got them. The gameplay is tense as players choose items and weapons kits to complete the mission, because there is never enough ammo...EVER! What really held this mod back was the lack of players online, but the offline never dissapointed. 4. Natural Selection (Half-Life): An rts fps you say? Intrigue... Though there were some quirky bugs, Natural Selection was an absolute blast to play. A humans vs. aliens showdown on a small environment, both teams attempt to out shoot and out think the other. It was a lot of fun if your team didn't suck, but generally the Humans always had a crappy commander. 3. Desert Combat (Battlefield 1942): Desert Combat was what Battlefield 2 wishes it was. The combat is quick, the vehicles are fun, the weapon kits are strategically designed, and god how I love those helicopters, took skill to fly those. The fellows who designed this mod are making a game for the Playstation 3, so I hope it turns out as well as this one. 2. Counter-Strike (Half-Life): If you haven't heard of Counter-Strike by now, you probably hit this site through google search, just click the back button. Copied, tweeked, reformulated, copied again, and played to death, Counter-Strike featured an insatiable mix of near realism gameplay. It was an amazing accomplishment for the creator, Gooseman, who is now very pleased with his platinum hos. For a bit of trivia, did you know that CS has become an arcade game...IN JAPAN? I'm sure everyone who started reading this expected CS to be number one, so for all three of you, here is a kick in the pants. 1. Team Fortress Classic (Half-Life): The cream of the crop, TFC started as an experiment at Valve to test the ability of the software development kit, and ended up killing Half-Life multiplayer. Though it's popularity waned in the presence of Counter-Strike, TFC's gameplay is delicious and strategic. Honorable mentions are due, as I have a few mods that I kept near and dear to my heart. Tactical-Ops (Unreal Tournament): Counter-Strike without the mad dash to the camp points, Tactical-Ops added a more action oriented style of play with real world weapons. Don't expect the Desert Eagle to roll you with one head shot. The most recent release is a piece of garbage, but before it went commercial, it was classic beyond classic. The Opera (Half-Life): The Opera featured the kind of Gun-Fu that I have yet to see replicated in any other game. The moves all felt satisfying, because you couldn't just dive and shoot, THERE WERE RULES! Diving actually made you feel like you were diving, restricting your movement and making it harder to shoot. Rolling on the ground was a desperate attempt to not be shot, but when you killed, the style could never be replicated. I had heard the mod was coming out for Unreal Tournament, but I think it collapsed. Pitty. Desert Crisis (Half-Life): I don't know why I liked this mod, the developers were jerk faces, the community were jerk faces, the weapons were unbalanced, the gameplay was awful, only a few of the maps actually worked as intended, and yet there was something lucid about the process that kept me hooked. Still, it blows, and don't touch it. Firearms (Half-Life): Firearms was the game that military buffs jerk off to before they go to sleep. Way to realistic for the average fan, Firearms featured a metric ton of guns, bleeding, breathing, stances, and an rpg system that was pretty nifty. It was a difficult game to play starting out, because the uniforms looked almost exactly identical. Infiltration (Unreal Tournament): Though it wasn't particularly as realistic as Firearms, it introduced the concept of using the iron sights to aim a gun, and gun collision, meaning that if your gun hit the door, you had to back up, making smaller weapons ideal for indoor environments. It was an interesting game, and a lot of fun to play offline.

I’ve played World of Warcraft before as I am an avid mmo enthusiast, and I found my experience comparable to getting raped in the anus by a pack of clowns; yes I paid a great sum of money for a game that I didn’t enjoy, but it was kind of funny. The paramount problem was the fact that once in contested territory, players will spare no expense to come and kill your character, and then camp you for hours on end. Really, it was a question of patience, as I’m sure everybody had similar experiences, but I wasn’t willing to pay 15 bucks a month for the privilege of having Billy Everyteen set up shop and hate 3 hours of me. My friends weren’t willing to switch servers so I quit. Now we role on a PvE server, Moonrunner, and I have never been happier. I see an alliance guy running around every once in a while, but it’s alright because now he can’t gank me when I don’t want him to, which is always, so I’m never being ganked. If people want to go do PvP, they can run over to the battlegrounds and get some honor or whatever makes them feel good. I think this should have been done in the first place, but it brings up the larger issue of the tension of what could happen rather than what will. I appreciate why the contested areas were put in, certainly it’s a great idea, but Blizzard never seemed to think it through. My experience in Ashenvale was largely about 10 minutes of getting things done, and then about a half hour of getting corpse camped by the pain monsters. There really wasn’t a way to progress without moving into those territories, so suffice to say I was soured. My friends experienced the same problems, and switched over to the PvE servers recently and rolled some new characters for the same reason. I’m sure we aren’t alone, and that Blizzard has lost a number of customers who simply don’t want to start from scratch. Larger than World of Warcraft, I began to think of situations similar to what I experienced that heighten gameplay, and there was one that really stuck out. In Band of Brothers, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and every other WWII shooter that has a parachute sequence, it seems that there is always one unlucky plane or two that gets shot up by AA, and promptly blows up; what if this were the case in games like Battlefield 1942, in which a level had players hopping in by planes only to have the crap shot out of them? Would that heighten the tension and enjoyment knowing that you could be nailed before you ever had a chance, or would it just piss players off? From what I’ve seen of World of Warcraft, looks like a bit of both.