Hello everyone, and welcome back to an overdue blog entry of Ramblings Of A Game Collector. Its been a long month for gaming, with both game releases and news coming in a constant stream. Some of the news Gamespot has had coming through includes EA's Black Box having to lay off 1,000 employees during the Christmas break, not to mention the latest Console Comparison, now including PC. And finally, the latest racing game on the Nintendo Wii, Mariokart Wii, gets a review. Not here, obviously. Just an overview.
Now, you don't have to be a genius to figure out that the world's economy is currently suffering from what we like to cal in the business, a stuff-up. Many people have been fired from their jobs across the world, including 1,000 staff members of Black Box, a smaller company owned by Electronic Arts, who received the bad news through the mail during the Christmas break.
During these financial times most people can understand this situation for EA, but what makes it seem worse is that it is partly because games such as Mirror's Edge and NFS: Undercover are not selling at the rate EA had expected them to, which makes me feel kind of sorry for Black Box.
It makes me feel guilty for owning Mirror's Edge because it is really a fantastic game, and it should be selling faster than Chocolate at a Weight Watcher's meeting. But everyone has their own personal taste, and you can't change what other people think about the game, most of the time anyway. But when people are being fired because no one is showing any interest in their products, it really lowers company enthusiasm. If 3 is a crowd, what is 1,000 then? Still, I think I speak for most people when I say that whoever was fired from Black Box, we wish you the best of luck finding a new job... Ok, now I sound like EA's President.
Ok, now obviously people have been taking notice of the Console Comparison articles lately for the never-ending war between Playstation and Xbox. Well, PCs are now being brought into the fight as well, now very well turning it into a three-way war. Lets take a brief look at the competition.
First, you have the PC, which is part of a duo because Xbox is run by Microsoft and considering most people are using Windows to run their computers (Including me), this would make a 2 on 1 war now if you completely forget about consoles and just consider the brands. The PC has the obvious strength to upgrade with graphics cards, sound cards, any enhancement you can think of, and is home to most games available today.
Next, the Xbox 360, or the winning console graphics and picture today, which is kind of awkward considering the PS3's superior hardware. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, just unusual that an Xbox 360 and PC are keeping up with Blu Ray, a cell processor and some of the best games available only on PS3, such as, dare I say, Resistance 2: Electric Boogaloo (Not the real name, in case you are confused).
And finally, the PS3. Until of late it seemed to be the best performing console available, and the Playstation Network is coming along nicely as well. Not that I think it would not, it would just be because that Xbox Live was a huge change for what could be done online. But, as of late, everything from ports to... Well, not really pushing the PS3 to its limits.
So, who will win? Well, as said before, the Xbox 360 is winning between both the PC and PS3 in my opinion. However, I have a feeling that PS3 and PC will be the final two, which would be a battle of latest technology VS. upgrading technology. I'd pay to see that.
And so now we finish off with one of the most interesting games on the Wii, Mariokart Wii. Quite simply, its good. Real good.
It is one of the most good looking games available on the Wii, has some of the most innovative controls in a game, not to mention some of the most recognisable faces in the Entertainment Industry today. If you have a Wii, racing games do not come as fun, or strangely realistic (Apart from throwing shells and dropping banana peels) games ever made.
The review will be coming soon, and from now on, I will be posting links on my blogs to the reviews so you don't have to track them.
Thats it for this weeks review. If news has shifted during the time I've been away, then... Well, not my fault. Or problem. Hey, it's still a blog!
See You Around
Ethan
Wildboy124
Link to Mirror's Edge Review:
Link to Far Cry 2 Review:
(If there is no link, just copy and paste)