Nearly 2 weeks after the game is released they finally spit out a review and this is what it looks like?!
Dark Messiah Review

What a pathetic review! The game Isn't good but a 3.0? This is seriously the last straw for me. As of this reading, videogame reviews officially hold no water, whatsoever. Not only is this review poorly written ("worthier" wtf, is that even a word? If it is...don't use it.) but it's totally exaggerated! Was "todd" just in a bad mood the day he finally sat his lame @ss down to write a review or something? Like Todd lol, who the heck is that anyway? What a loser! This game may not be good but the review is even worse! This game deserves at least a 5.0, 1-2 comments of praise and consideration for what is actually is! and by that I mean, it's not a f'n RPG! For cryin' out loud, it's an action game! are you retarded?! I just can't believe it takes 2 f-ing weeks to write this cr@p.

I came across the Screw Attack review of Conan for the 360. It was the worst review I have ever seen. The dude was straight up lying. That site is so down on anything not using a wiimote, its like watching fox news. The graphics in Conan were fantastic. As an artist I scrutinize the visuals of a game heavily and I can honestly say that I was, from level to level, consistently impressed with the graphics in Conan.

I hate how reviewers are so harsh to B games. People complain and expect every game to be a 10 because they cost 60 bucks yet they will mindlessly throw away 10 bucks, at the box office every weekend, on films they know nothing about. Your average film might take a couple months to film and the budgets are massive. games on teh other hand take significantly longer to produce, provide way more enjoyment for exponentially longer periods of time and for fractions of what it costs to produce a film. Also, don't forget that films also appeal to a much greater market, affording them the ability to charge much less. Not every game has a 2 million dollar budget and yet we all expect 2 million dollar presentation and polish. If developers were actually making as much of a profit as most people think then we wouldn't see as many clones or rushed games as we do.

A Madden game that is puked into the scene every year with virtually no upgrades often sells more copies than a game like Conan because reviewers say that it is a clone! It's totally hypocritical. or the enemy ai didnt cause you a frustrating death every 3 seconds. For a site like screw attack which is known for its love of old school games and nintendo to critisize a 360 game for graphics is complete BS. I actually thought he was joking at first saying that the game was blocky. there isnt a blocky model in that entire game. the AI was great and the enemies were varied and (bottom line) fun to fight. wait let me say that again.. the game was FUN. the ai issues screw attack experienced must have been if he was playing the game on easy or some rare occurance. I was never able to just drink a health potion while enemies stood by with out gettign my ass handed to me. Sometimes I get the impression that they just like to rip on games for comic effect by saying that the ai is "just plain retarded" wow what a thoughtful way to describe it. especially when you have an obstruction between conan and the enemy...can people not lend credence to the fact that a computer is not gonna just clip through an object if its not programmed that way, regardless of how good the AI is...it's as if he's just deliberatly trying to make the game screw up.

Being similar to god of war is not a fault. 360 will never see a GOW game because its an SCEA title. It makes sense for them to have at least one clone. No one ever knocks call of duty for being a doom clone or any other number of comparisons...conan was created in the 1940's and when I first played gow my first impression was of how kratos is just like conan oh and dont forget even gow is a complete rip off of devil may cry everything from the combos to the weapon level-up, even some story elements. Dircetor David Jaffe even once commented on the similariteis between Kratos and Conan.

What a brainless review. OMG this game reminds me so much of this other good game that I just can't stand it...what a clone!!! screw attack boasts that they will allow you to make your own desicion yet his review is anything but objective. Not exactly reading rainbow material. but you don't have to take my word for it.

Once upon a time I was playing Half Life on the PC and I started to feel really dizzy. This feeling hit me suddenly and I thought "I need to lay down" So I did and felt better. I went back to the game later and sure enough started feeling dizzy again. I figured it was because the look/turn speed was too fast so I took it down a few notches...but still nausea persisted. Same thing happend with HL2. Even on the 360, the orange box had the same effect. It just seemed like every valve game made me dizzy. I've never had problems with any other FPS, I've played countless hours of Call of Duty, Oblivion, you name it, with no issues.

Recently I picked up Dark Messiah and I started feeling dizzy?...How could this be? Well...I checked online and sure enough, Dark Messiah uses the same engine that all those other Valve games used. I did some further research and it turns out that many others have experienced the same problem...but only with Valve's Source engine. What is it about the source engine that makes people nauseus? Some say it is the focal angle which is set at 70 degrees instead of the typical 90 degrees. On the PC, users can alter this angle by changing a script in the game but unfortunately 360 owners will be stuck taking dramamine.

And so it is written, Seek not the Red Ring my friend.

Such a wish shall yield a horror greater than all the fury of hell.

Seek not the Red Ring lest the hammer of evil befall upon you.

F#ck ye not with the Red Ring or thou shall verily recieve many

coffins enfleshed with grim white armour

steady to take hold of possessions most prized.

Seek not the Red Ring of Death my friend.

Seek it not...

 

:arrow: I can't possibly be the biggest SOTN fan out there, so how is it possible then that I seem to be the only one to notice the following:

• 1. All of the FMV's have been removed from the XBLA version of the game.
• 2. The items menu background is fragmented into bands of a color spectrum that range in different values from dark to light instead of a smooth transitional gradient like the original.
• 3. Some of the sound effects are distorted
• 4. The music is lacking treble
• 5. the colors in the game are over-saturated which makes otherwise smooth gradients turn into stark contrasts.
• 6. Many of the images are over-sharp and grainy looking as a result of emulation making the "enhanced graphics" feature nessecary. :roll:

All criticisms aside..I have to say the achievements system and leaderboards were done very well. The ability to compare time attacks with friends on live is great. :P

 

 I graduated, had a birtday, had some x-mas, vacationed in NY, had a brief excursion to trailer life, came full circle and now I am back at home looking for a job. The highlight of the past 2 months has definitely been playing my new 360 and lots of it.

Started by beating Gears of War on every difficulty and honing my multiplayer skills from noob to valuable team-mate, then moved on to delve deep into the massive dungeons, beautiful cities and spawling landscapes of cyrodil in Oblivion. Both games served to compleely re-make what a game could be in my eyes and provide levels of immersion, that I never thought possible.

I later beat my way through Condemned with blunt force trauma. Again, an experience I'll not soon forget. It seems like every single game I play for the 360 is the best game I have ever played. Later for a few dollars I dabbled with Burger King's Sneak King and got some enjoyment (and achievements) from that.

I am still hooked to all of these games and play them with the same level of enjoyment as I did when they first graced my TV screen because of one word: LIVE.

Looking back on times spent playing an unconnected console seems so unfulfilling that I have pretty much relegated my older systems to collect dust. The feeling that you could play your favorite games forever and always have them seem fresh, supported and constantly updated with new content is awesome. Don't get me wrong, without live, there is still much replay value packed into games, but multiplayer, achievements and downloadable content adds replay value that make a $60 purchase seem like a dollar store bargain.

On my mind today:
IGN had a review for God of War II yesterday and for some reason gamespot has nothing. Also, No Wii Play review...because I'm sure what will really help everyone decide if they want to put these games in a shopping bag is another episode of button mashing.

...But they do quench my thirst for games. Here is a list of some of my favorite gaming links. Feel free to check them out and add them to your own favorites/bookmarks.

:arrow: These are part of a running list of quality game-related websites. If you know about a good site that isn't on my list; tell me about it.

http://www.1up.com
http://www.1980-games.com/us
http://www.4colorrebellion.com
http://www.addictinggames.com
http://www.bizarrevideogames.com
http://www.capcom.com
http://www.castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com
http://www.konami-data.com/officialsites/castlevania
http://www.cheapassgamer.com
http://www.classicgaming.com
http://www.us.codejunkies.com
http://www.computerandvideogames.com
http://www.ebgames.com
http://www.everyvideogame.com
http://www.fightersgeneration.com
http://www.fileplanet.com
http://www.g4tv.com
http://www.gamasutra.com
http://www.gamebrew.com
http://www.gamecrazy.com
http://www.gamedaily.com
http://www.gamefaqs.com
http://www.gamefly.com
http://www.gamesindustry.biz
http://www.gameinformer.com
http://www.gamejew.com
http://www.gamepressure.com
http://www.gamerankings.com
http://www.gamespy.com
http://www.gamestop.com
http://www.gametrailers.com
http://www.gamevideos.com
http://www.gamewinners.com
http://www.gamezone.com
http://www.gamespot.com
http://www.hardcoreware.net
http://www.ign.com
http://www.joystiq.com
http://www.konami.com
http://www.metacritic.com/games
http://www.mdb.classicgaming.gamespy.com
http://www.mygamer.com
http://www.nintendonow.e-mpire.com
http://www.onthexbox.com
http://www.pcworld.com
http://www.penny-arcade.com
http://www.playstation.com
http://www.us.playstation.com
http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com
http://www.screwattack.com
http://www.speeddemosarchive.com
http://www.the-mario-opera.com
http://www.thewsvg.com
http://www.totalvideogames.com
http://www.videogamecritic.net
http://www.vgmwatch.com
http://www.videogamevoters.org
http://www.vgcats.com
http://www.vgmaps.com
http://www.vgmuseum.com
http://www.vgmusic.com
http://www.watercoolergames.org
http://www.wickedgoodgames.com
http://www.xbox.com/en-US
http://www.zelda.com/universe

I want Gears of War. Check out this quote from IGN:

Gears goes a little further in instilling the brutal videogame killer in you by giving you a shotgun that rips off opponent's heads. The visual effect shows the head literally exploding, with gobs of syrupy blood covering the scene and the chunks of flesh splattering across the ground. Needless to say, the gore is heavy in Gears. HEAVY.

Call me twisted but... I want a game with gobs of syrupy blood. I havn't wanted anything this bad in a long time.

Here are just a few of the most anticipated games from my gaming past:

• Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)
• Street Fighter II (1991, SNES)
• Castlevania: Symphony of  The Night (1997, PS1)
• Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)
• Lunar: SSSC (1999, PS1)

The wii looks really nice. I played excite truck at EB for a lil bit and I got this dvd from target that basically tells you everything about the system (it's long) the combination got me really excited about the wii. It looks nice and fun but I still want to play mature games so i think its gonna be the wii 360 combo for me.

I should have a 360 in about 2 weeks. I have my college graduation Dec. 16th, birthday Dec. 19th, and x-mas Dec. 25th coming up so...I'm pretty sure I can work a free 360 in there somewhere hehe:twisted:

That's all for now. Here is a hilarious article to send you on your way. http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/games/manifesto.html

I am dying to get a 360. MS has made me so happy with the way that they have been doing business and sticking by their consumers. I can’t really break this down into a list of points that have swayed my loyalty from Sony (there are way too many things) but I’ll list as many as I can before I get too pissed to keep writing.

This gen. is supposed to be taking a step closer towards a more fully immersive experience not a step backward. MS has paid their settlement with immersion knowing that it would be important to include haptic technology. This has effectively made things easier on them in the long run by owing up and being responsible this makes their system more attractive and pleases the consumer's desire to be more fully engaged. Sony has essentially screwed over the consumer. 90 mil is nothing. Xbox lost over 4 billion dollars... those damn bastards and now I like them. What makes it even worse is that sony lies about it. How long did it take them to make the sixaxis...4 maybe 5 minutes. MS has listened to their consumers and garnered 3rd party support from every top developer. They have even released 1080p support and HD DVD player. The losses they take on every system will install a loyal base of consumers. This sacrifice will surely pay off. I get the sense that MS has really listened to what the consumer wants. It makes sense; after all, it will ultimately make them more money. Virtually everything that was bad about the original Xbox has been taken into consideration. Devil May Cry is just not worth it....well maybe shadow of the colossus or god of war will make me want a ps3 some day but right now I don't see it.

The worst part about all of this is how much I loved Sony and so, to feel constantly #ucked over as a consumer really makes me just hate them. Why would anyone lay out 700 to play a game that got an 8.2, on a buggy system with no vibration, that you can’t even get, with lousy 3rd party support, which developers hate to program on? God I'm f’n pissed. #uck Sony. This blog is done.

All these years as a gamer and I never thought I would really do it. I was playing DARKWATCH (great game btw) on one of the last levels and I'm trying, literally, 50 times to beat it. I was really determined to win but sometimes, for no apparent reason, I lose the ability to throw dynamite when I need it most. Finally, I was just about to conquer the level. The sweet smell of victory was in the air. I was shooting these skeletons who charge you with explosives and even though I'm shooting them from 50-foot distances, the blast somehow kills me. However, only seconds prior to this, I killed another "kegger", as they are cutely titled, at the same distance and the blast radius did not affect me at all! This kept happening about 4 or 5 times in a row. I became increasingly frustrated and snapped the controller in half. This was actaully quite satisfying. Then I spent about 10 minutes exploring the insides of my dual shock 2. Those motors are pretty neat.