No, this isn't about the ole' strap problem that's to do with the Wii-mote but this is of something which I must say, I didn't really care until people started to really drive a wedge down the pants of Nintendo and its fun factor. This is to do with their graphics, I know about the Graphic Issues of the system and that I've already covered this in Gaming Graphics a few weeks ago, but it seems like there just so many pant on head retarded reviewers out there that I feel like, with a small unknown amount of followers, I just pretty well insult them all and get away with it in the public domain.

I must stress this out, which is better; only just good visual, only just good sounds, only just good gameplay or something which is about average in all those areas. Well, for the knuckle heads of the reviewers and their publishers, they might as well go for the average all-round due to the fear of hearing nails on chalkboard, back to the 4-bit era of gaming and/or controls which do crazy things when they don't want it. As for me, I don't care about graphics which even remotely going back to the Gameboy days even though they are just 1 or 2-bit colours depending on how you look at it, and I'd call it 1-bit as there's really two main colours, black or background green. As for sound, well, do they really fear midi? Is it ever possible to hear nails on chalkboard easily on a midi? I haven't tried it personally, but hell, that's a challenge for all you readers out there and you know how to contact me, tell me if it is even possible for midi to properly play a sound resembling to nails on chalkboard. I'd imagine a big fat no due to the format issue and the purpose of the format being to record instruments not exactly for nails on chalkboard. Finally gameplay, well, have you ever played a game where buttons don't really make sense and they end up having a mind of its own? Please don't mention about the shoddy design of a steering wheel as I am thoroughly fed up with poor excuse of a design, but besides that, I haven't met a game that the controls are so complex, it is like banging your head against the TV just to tell the character to move.

So what have reviewers got to fear about all 3? I can still live with my Gameboy with its shoddy sound and graphics, only if there's even games worth playing for it. Some reviewers just have no guts venturing back into time and dust off their trusty ole Gameboy and start plugging into a title worth playing, such as Tetris. Believe me when I say it, but hell, that game has such good music and gameplay that still rivals the current-gen versions of tetris, as for graphics, well yeah, it is deemed to be kinda basic, but that's how you play the game, plus you could easily tell the blocks apart, not a lot of clutter on display but hell, look for the game and you'll see why it is still loved. Don't call it pre-loved as it isn't a raped title by the USSR government.

Now, to the reason for my venting of anger. In pure and short, many of the reviewers are comparing the graphics of the Wii against the pure power of Xbox 360 and PS3. I mean come on! The Wii is not only lite, portable, costs less, a bit more reliable, uses less power than those beasts, has revolutionary controls for current-gen console, has smaller and lighter controls with rumble and a speaker in the controller (omfg!), with the possibility of being able to wave both controllers in your hands like a raging maniac... Okay... now... does someone want to trade their Wii for my Xbox 360 and my titles? Anyways... its shortfalls are the pre-dated graphics, audio and way-ward excuse of a controller, but hell... it is fun!

Though, there's just one hell of a tosser's excuse of a reviewer(s) to of called an exclusive title to have "pre-dated" graphics as compared the 360 and PS3. I honestly don't see how it technically actually works. It is like comparing the taste of a high quality banana from a really cheap store to a high-end one. The big difference is in price, but the quality of the cheaper one might be higher in quality than the expensive place, but the presentation of the expensive place doesn't always make the taste even better, not even with a small spray of Channel No.5 on the banana even entice me to go for the expensive one. In short, a banana is just a banana, even in price, the way it is presented and in smell (for those that might want to counter state me for not including it). Even after eating the expensive, the perfume might stick to your hand and trying to pick up girls with a perfumed hand will cause you grief yet, if are after guys, well, you'll just have to test that one out won't you?

As for me, I pretty much just enjoy the way I play my games with easy to understand controls, decent visuals without glitches and decent audio without nails to chalkboard. Next review to take another bite out of the best console ever conceptualised for the current-gen deserves a flying rotten banana to the pelvis whilst I'll just enjoy the good ones to myself.

From teh USSR with love :)

One of the most underestimated game in the beginning and has become quiet popular, even I got the power and influence of Guitar Hero wrong, mainly due to some of the music tracks, which then became very catchy, which may explain its popularity.
For those who don't understand about the whole Guitar Hero phenomenon, in clear and short, it is a guitar game which players match button pressing with stumming and it is a lot more easier than it seems. If you press the wrong button during a strum, there is an annoying *kink* (I would try to use another word, but apparently, it is quite impossible) sounds and the guitar notes won't play if you miss your strum.
Its raise to fame isn't because of the guitar, or because it is a guitar game, just check your local arcades for a game called GuitarMania, but it lies in the pop culture of the music tracks within the game. Some songs which people may not associate with, some people do and there are some which are just down right damn good. These tracks range from 70's to the modern ones, from the Rolling Stones to Bloc Party and The Killers. You may call some of the tracks to be off-key and down right unpopular, but try playing the game and attempt to clear the song. It is in the game for a reason, not because of difficulty, but because of the movements which must be pulled off in order to accomplish a 5-star for the song. one major example of this is DragonForce's Through The Fire & Flame, where it is not only rampantly difficult in expert, but those new to the game and tries to attempt it on easy, will have difficulties playing the track, I even have problems if I try to do it when I've been playing the game on medium, it down right made me keep focus, and damn, that is one brilliant song too!
Though, some of the negatives would be the catchy nature of the game and how much distraction it causes to you and how much of a headache it can provide when you are working and just want to 5-star bloodrape a track or a boss battle, which was introduced in Guitar Hero 3. Other than that, there's the cost of downloading new tracks, roughly $USD2 per track, some of the tracks in Guitar Hero 3 isn't that good; but only few are just top notch; the guitars from Guitar Hero 3 doesn't work in Rock Band, which is a fusion of guitar, bass, drums and vocals in famous track titles; rampant difficulty in the new version and advertising within the game.
On the mention of Rock Band, it isn't by the same "makers" but the same "co"-maker of the Guitar Hero series before Guitar Hero 3, where so many of the tracks were beyond brilliant, over 50% of the tracks were down right great and Guitar Hero 3 has about 20-40% good tracks titles there. Both makers from Guitar Hero 1 & 2 are now competitors and with the release of Rock Band in the states (damn you greedy tarts for pushing the release date of the Aussie version of the Rock Band back for months on end!), the phenomenon of the casual colour matching games is truly a new era in home entertainment where the previous technological phenomenon was the eye-toy (don't correct me about the Wii as the Wii came right after the Guitar Hero and I know about the popularity of the Wii as I had problems looking for one in the stores, explains the raise in popularity of the PS3...) and even though it wasn't ported to the Xbox, it still was a popular focal point of the Playstation 2.
A few months ago, the same developers of Guitar Hero has Trademarked the name "DJ Hero", so we may be expecting a new branch of casual colour matching games, main problem they may face is the fact that there is something similar of that nature in the game arcades already, decked out with a scratch kit and 5 buttons; 3 on the bottom row and 2 on the top. But there may be a major change from this approach, we'll just have to see.
Though possible titles which we may see may be Drum Hero, for those Drum addicts (all in if it comes out!) and Piano Hero, for those who loves their classical music.

This week has been replaced with 50 Gamer Grunt Stabs and the long and short version can be viewed on my MySpace Blog and I've chosen to only publish my long version here

There may not be a lot of people who are affected by this, but for a general majority, this is a major problem and it is something which is very hard to avoid, that being Region-locked games.
The major consoles does this but the handheld is clear from this, thank goodness. If you belong to a certain region, like in Australia, the chance of being able to play American games is like using a bow and arrow to hit a target from a good distance away. You won't be able to hit is unless it is by chance, how what you are doing or have been proper training in the field to know about it.
Sure there maybe region-free games, such as some of the shoddy ones and less important titles, but I'm taking about the must games for systems. I know they "will" eventually come out, but we don't want to wait 4-6 months (at least)! If it like we are in a backwards country and being penalised for living in a region with better resolution television. Honestly, rather than waiting for it to arrive, we import stuff, such as games, but thing is, region-locked due to the television format, feel sorry for those who are using SECAM television sets.
But once we start importing those games, that's one less game for that country and eventually, this may cause a crazy stir within the export and import country. Right now, it is cheaper for Aussies to start importing American games due to the exchange rates, mainly because we are paying double the price it is here than in USA (explains those Aussie piraters). Don't need to mention about the shipping and cartages, since chances are, it may not be printed and manufactured in the same country and require a double importing.
Apart from costs and the wait, there may be a game which are exclusive to a country, such as Zoids (I personally never played the game as someone had to use my eBay account just to get one). It was exclusive to USA and Australia was left out of the release schedule all together. I personally regard Australia to be the greatest place to live are we aren't constantly being greeted by gun totting hoons wanting to loot us for our wallets and a crazy president who doesn't know what to say, but hey, everyone has their preferences and wouldn't want to move to America due to the privilege of getting games earlier than Australia. We could also import the systems, but that means that we have to constantly import games, make sure our television sets can handle it and pay for importing charges, as nothing is ever free in the world.
Now, the playing field is changing due to the insurgence of High-Definition television, but it is causing everyone headaches as there is no "one" certain HD format, instead, we have a choice of 26 (at least) and this is due to increase. To those morons who can't make up their mind, just settle on one as this is causing everyone to live in the stone age of High Definition television for more than 8 years. Hell, it took less time to invent NTSC, PAL and SECAM in total, hell, they even made a wad load more cash at the time.
Honestly, a system which doesn't have a region-lock on games, which includes movies and other viewable stuff, it would really do wonders in sales and countries which tries to profiteer at least three-fold in comparison to a bigger country (such as USA), can go take doped up $100 notes, at least a mil worth and shove it up their arse!

Portable gaming which can fit in your pocket or just barely doesn't fit... but they can either be bucket loads or fun or something which you regret having set your eyes on. Either way, both of these current gen handheld entertainment systems have proven their worth and is great in their own respects. These systems are the Nintendo DS (Duel Screen) and the Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable). Each have its downsides and upsides, or maybe it isn't.
Upon release DS: The DS was chunky and may of had problems with screen brightness and was only made to play games, nothing more but it can not play Gameboy games, can't forget about those grey odd chunkish cartridges (not grey depending on some games). The system doesn't require constant updating in case some game required more function as whatever is on the system is what you get without a question of any possible optional goodies. Isn't very powerful, but hey, they have the best reputation when it comes to battery life!
Upon Release PSP: Kinda wide, but no that chunky as the original DS, can play music, movies, surf the net, play games, view pictures, connect to the computer for file transfers and more! Built as a device close enough to a PC, but in a really portable size!

--Rants--
DS: When I saw it first come out, I saw very little of it and didn't think much of the touch screen and called it something to avoid. Not because it is a bad system, but because of the possibility of personal enjoyment. Nintendo does really well in terms of advertising as rather than advertise about what you can do with it, they let you try out each functionality as you come across it rather than telling at there's a mic, slot to put in a Gameboy Advance games, use the touch screen to interact in the game, having the possibility of one unless screen during a game and shoddy music quality.
PSP: First thing I did when I got the PSP, I was only interested in testing out all those neat features I was advertised about and then check out the game collection, big problem being that there weren't a lot of games which caught my attention (oops!). Then resorted mucking around with the PSP a bit only to of realised that the amount of hype surrounding the system was a false pretence. I know there are many PSP fans out there which absolutely call it a godly device, better than the DS, but hell, I couldn't really enjoy myself with that system with the exception of watching video clips on that damn thing. Other than that, it is just collecting dust in my drawer as we speak, even contemplating letting someone borrow it for a few months since I haven't touched it. The controls were shoddy to bits, after playing for a good long while, my neck was hurting for hours, it was very awkward in my pocket and bag, discs were annoying to carry around, speakers weren't loud enough, infrared was unless and was dead weight. In plain short, the surrounding advertising and mass hype, was greatly disappointing.

--Praise--
DS: After playing the DS for hours, I kept checking both the top screen and bottom, reducing neck cramps after play, cartridges were small so it reduced loading times, but it very fragile in return, but at least it is very light! The touchscreen is hella easy to understand, even giving it to someone who hasn't touched a DS in their entire life, will get the concept straight away (tried and tested), the device doesn't have real weak spots unless you really have a go at the touchscreen and buttons down to understandable logic. The DS is just like the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) controller with the exception of two screens, bugger loads of power, much more smarter (for all those electronic geeks, don't flood me about the oxymoron there) and you can carry it anywhere and play it without looking like an idiot!
PSP: Play music, watch movies, watch TV episodes, watch whatever you want, play games, look at photos, set your own wallpaper (on the PSP), browse the internet, play WiFi or Ad-hoc with someone else in the room, wide mini screen, same buttons as the Playstion controllers was the exception of an R2 and L2, with other buttons to set whatever on that thing.

--New Spawns--
DS: Fits in your pockets better, can make the screen a lot brighter, lighter in weight, had lots of plastic surgery, face lift, some off features placed elsewhere, comes in many more colours than one the original realise (six colours now I believe, and custom tats to the special ones), no unless bits (as always) and two and visible lights, one for charging (off if finished and on if charging) and the other to indicate battery life (red for bad, green for good).
PSP2000?!?: 7 years too late, would anyone still care about that year? Anyway, it is lighter, thinner, but it doesn't mean that the screen will be smaller, no infrared, smaller battery with same life expectancy, button issue fixed, still uses UMD, just like the PSP but less. It is like the system went anorexic! Does the same damn thing, is the same system, feel like the non-rexic version, does one extra thing, still tries to slap abusers across the face.

--Judgement--
DS: Hell, the games are great, I don't need to constantly update my system to do new things, I'm always playing with it , or as much as possible, OMG, it is actually fun, hardly crashes (expect if you try to cheat too much), good homebrewers around, Mario is still around and hell, I haven't ever suffered a cramp at all when I'm always playing the system! If you own one and hardly use it, try playing some casual games or some game that allows constant saving of data. Chances are, you'll come back to it a lot more
PSP: Sony just has scandal after scandal after scandal, just not a good launching platform for promoting the PSP and does anyone even bother with the UMD movies on the system? I mean, if you at least had a cheapskate side within you, you'd figure out a money saving way to avoid the UMD movies and tried to experiment a bit. Right now, I've not no real use for it and doubt I'll be using it any time soon. First there weren't a lot of good and interesting titles to my liking and don't tell me about GTA about being on it as it ain't my type even though it is a FPS, I prefer FPS on my computer than something which isn't that powerful. If something isn't deemed "fun" would you touch it?

--Future--
Before Gameboy Advance, you have a very "very" small market of Neo-Geo Pocket fans out there playing and then it was reduced to just one, which, of course, is the GBA (I know about the N-Gage but has been seen to be an absolute joke). Possibilities on the horizon beyond this current Gen. The new Nintendo device will have a Wii like interaction or six-axis, possible names, 'Nintendo Shift', 'Nintendo Move', 'Nintendo Tilt' or 'Nintendo Shake' (aka Ninten-quake).
Nice try to the PSP and a system which I hardly enjoy due to so many un-interesting titles which I don't really fancy myself playing, though, I've been meaning to get my hands on Locoroco and some weird music game, I'm up for guessing a foldable screen to fit in the pocket a lot better, like splitting the widescreen in half. One side holding the UMD and the other side for the battery. Along with the fold, the D-pad and analogue will on one side with the other having the standard four buttons. With the folding feature, there is a click in so it seem like there really isn't a fold in the middle of the system, though, the neck problems will persist. Dibs on 'Playstation Fold!'

I'm not just going to end it there, I'm guessing a possible three more players which many enter into the handheld war!

Sega may choose to re-enter the race, either to compete or assist. There has been a question mark over their head in regards to the reserving rights to Dreamcast 2. My bet is on a handheld. Their Game Gear wasn't an absolute flop, just pulled out at the wrong possible time, that's all.
Apple may also enter the race with their iPod being able to play games on it. With many iPod users chucking on their solitaire or some other homebrew program as a bit of time killer of boredom. This must be something which Apple must be considering since they have realised the Macbook Air, which is hyper thin, even thin enough to compete against the DS or PSP in the thinnest model awards.
Discounting mobile phones as a proper handheld entertainment device as they are on a league on their own, but there's a possibility of a return by Nokia with round two of their N-Gage. I was suppose to go with Microsoft, but with the failure of their Zune, I doubt they will attempt to fight that market unless they choose to tag with Nokia by supporting them with games, which may actually boost both their egos.

Keep the good titles rolling to build interest otherwise it would of been cheaper to of dumped the cash into a country which doesn't even need it, like Monaco.
If a handheld isn't made to be enjoyed, where's the personal enjoyment in that?

Gameplay reviews are just the person's personal opinion about games and that'll never change no matter how hard you try, it'll always be biased, even though people attempt to make it unbiased as possible, it'll be be achieved since, like I mentioned before, it is someone's opinion.
First off, it is based on the timing of the review, the comparisons between the things being released at the time of review and the evolution which the game was released.
Take a look at Forza 2 for instance, it is visually advanced, mechanics very complex which tries to accommodate for variance within performance by the parts being offered in game and accounting for any possible mishaps within parts such as damage received and where it occurred to. This is then impede on the car's performance negatively and ultimately, may cost you the race at the end. Thing is, it stretched the system to its physical limits and this may of costed Xbox 360 in terms of the demand of the system due to this, which no one would of say coming, not even myself, reaching the height of the console's physical demands within two years of itself without making people curious as to the possibilities of the machine. In forcing grunts out of the system, it inturn to be judged in a period where it would be demanding on reviewers around the world when trying to dissect and prodding random numbers into it in terms of a number they think would properly suit the game.
I'm not trying to attack them, or am I agreeing with them, but I'm just stating observations here. Imagine yourself judging something which is deemed to be too advanced for the system to handle and then saying that they wished that they could of done more but couldn't because the system could not handle it. That's what Crysis is also stating due to poor sales, or that the buggers who've been ripping the game say that they unloaded an entire clip into an enemy and they'd still wouldn't fall, even at the range of 50m and then told that the proper game doesn't actually do that. How'd you feel when reviewing the ripped game only to be told that the real version isn't like that? Well, the review will say that the engine looks great and very advanced but damage is unrealistic because of the event just stated. Oh noes, j00z dun dum. Even with the real thing, just like what reputable game reviewers would say, they'd try to break everything with the game and try to be stupid and see how fun it really is but they'd still give the same store as those who played the cracked version. So, who has been playing which version of the game now?
Both Crysis and Forza 2 were and still are one of the most advanced games to of been released yet received not so high reviews due to their advances in performance grunting. Yes, I know there are a large number of reviews which state that Crysis is within 95-100 scores. But at the end of the day, when we see those games to be our yesterday not the brackets of our tomorrow, we would see them to be either breathers or doesn't compare to the games which maybe the games of the period in retrospect. I know people will slander me for these comments which I'm making, which is the whole point within itself. Thing is, all we ever have in review of games is people opinion as to what random number they'd put on a game and then tell that to everyone who comes across. If it is a low number out of a game which is ranked as revolutionary, people will take a closer look and inspect why they are shooting the game with a bebe gun instead of shooting it with their love within strings attached.
Let's just say now, we review Super Mario Bros the game right now and rate it in comparisons to today's standards if you've never touched it in your entire life. You'd call it an almost too simplistic version of Sonic the Hedgehog game series, out-dated graphics, has an unreal charm and basic to its core. Sounds are somewhat catchy even though they are rustic in sounds as if from generations before. For the charm and simplicity. Graphics 4/10, Sound 6/10, Gameplay 9/10, Overall 8/10
I just tossed random numbers and stated quick fact in comparisons to standards being set now. You would of noticed that graphics and sound were low and gameplay was a near perfect mark but even with an average mark, it doesn't make an 8/10. Thing is with numbers, people can give number for either the right or wrong reasons and there's no one which will correct some scores even though many people will deem it to be wrong in the first place. There is no perfect way to safeguard the a certain will stay that way for the longhaul regardless, so my suggestion...
Visual ?/10 + Audio ?/10 + Gameplay ?/15 + Longevity ?/5 + Positives/Negatives ?/10
I know they add up to 50, so it can be doubled. I know gameplay seems to be biased in terms of rating and Longevity seems to be something unheard of, but would you play a game which could get boring as time wore on? In short, maybe not, but if there's a certain charm to the game which catches your attention, then it deserves to be mentioned. Reason as to why Gameplay getting 5 extra marks than Visual and Audio? Well, at the end of the day, it comes down to what the game can do to you and your response to it rather than the sway of the gloss and/or 320kbps music brilliantly composed forms of art which will keep its charm. Yes, I know Nobuo Uematsu brilliantly composed game music, but it is also the charm of the game which also made it a big success. If there was a really good track or a number of good tracks in the game, rather than doing boring stuff, you'd either buy the Original Soundtrack to the game or download it off the net. As for visual, well, you can also printscreen and admire the gloss, glistening in your eyes. Gameplay is how you play and game to which a player may either enjoy or attack furiously with all your might and rain all hate for the rest of its life in the gaming circle, but hey, it is what keeps players there essentially. If there's only one aspect in gaming which I can only choose to play my games, it'll be Gameplay outright. It is like playing tetris on the Original Gameboy, with horrid music (this is a hypothetical), then I'd turn off the music on the gameboy and put some good music as a backing track to make it a personal touch to personal enjoyment in gaming. Hell, even in pure silence, it is a great game.
Positives/Negatives will be a list of pros and cons of the game and if the cons outweighs the pros, then by all means, let the marks go the otherway in the way of adding a minus to it. Visual, well, how the stuff on screen presents itself to you and Audio, how well the music track and/or noises within the game interacts to how you play the game.
Whatever mark is given to each of the areas, requires an explanation as to why it was awarded so it doesn't create some sort of bias. The Positives/Negatives can be compared with 5 additional persons to give an overall score of 100 or create a average percentile in scoring and create a balance in scores.
No mark will ever be consistent and correct as they are all personal opinion or trying to catch your attention as a way of enticing you to visit their site to view their review. Even an average of marks in games won't be consistent as one off-scale mark can create a question mark over the person and site's integrity overall as a reviewer.
A game maybe too perfect for people or too stupid to be considered to be made into a game, chances are, the fun in the game is our personal discovery of potentials which the game may require to attract us towards it in the first place.

PS. I may just start reviewing whatever games I have and see what venues would be available to place my type of reviews. Depending on how my schedule runs with my life, I hope to be able to do one the same time I do my blogs. Watch out for the "50 Gamer Grunt Stabs"

As we progress into a real-life counter part of us but in the fashion of total realism on our computer screens, there are a number of things which people must trade off in order to obtain the new limits in computer graphics.
Wheel back a decade and people were wooed with the 32-bit image, a few years before that, it was 24-bit, but it was just picture quality not in gaming. Around that period was the Playstation period with the 8bit 3D games such as Final Fantasy VII (later with 24-bit graphic games) whilst Half Life went to 16-bit, focusing on future tech. Both of which were very big and significant title for the period. Playstation was constricted to the 320*240 (640*480 max) screen size whilst half life was 640*480 (1024*768 max), but that was due to restrictions in processor power in the system at the time. Now, the screen resolutions must be 1920*1680 to catch every single detail and to make sure that you can account for every single moving pixel to make sure that you don't give away an advantage to someone, mainly from Counter-strike.
Thing with these modern games is that they take so long just to produce, then creates extra work to everyone in the team not just for the 3D modellers and map designers, so then comes down to everyone else to pull the chain to keep up and make sure that they don't fall behind production schedules as 3D modelling takes a good majority of time. Then, the programmers have to make sure that there are a range of conditions and parameters which the game must perform under and double check for 3D modelling glitches, push the production back more.
As games attempts to break through the barrier of perfect gaming graphics, there's the hitch of noticing with problems within the 3D model such as lips, weight in objects, eyes, model clipping issues and so on, they reach the area in graphics commonly known as the "Uncanny Valley". There are some games which have reached to the stage where models are far too farfetched to be believable in real life. Take a quick look at Crackdown. Plain looking ordinary character with super extraordinary skills later on such as ginormous leaps of faiths and learning how to make weapons do more damage. Make prob would have to the look of the character in terms of the face, hair, facial hair and so on. Knowing about quick shortcuts to hide problems, there will be small hard to notice problems within the game and you'll see them sooner or later.
Now with games only being accepted only if it has really good graphics, such as Gears of War, Call of Duty 4, Crysis and Bioshock. Those games do look good and have gone beyond the normal conventions of the limits within graphics and processing power on their respective systems, there are many games which don't recieve such a high score but requires other areas in review to compensate for it, which are sound and gameplay. Take Super Mario Galaxy for instance, the game's graphics were rated lower than the modern games, but its overall performance as a game matches or better its rivals.
Later in the future, maybe 5 years down the track, people will look back on the "pretty" games of this era and look down on them and call them horrid. That's the ever growing bar of perfection in the graphics business.

Computers Games, Video Games, games, enjoyment programs, call it what you want but computer games and video games are the two popular names forewhich they are called. This is commonly debated by these two main groups, even though they mean the same damn thing. Computer Games: Because games like Crysis requires processors in systems in order to having the game fully functional. Not just that, many games which displays pretty pictures and constantly moving images but requires input from the player and the use of the input device to change the overall development of the game as the processor tells the program what to execute, and requires semi-intellectual input. Computers are suppose to be dumb and follow orders blindly. AI is simply a set of instructions set down by the creators and/or player. A good example of this would be Final Fantasy XII with the player being able to tell the other character to perform what and when if a set of conditions are met. With with the simple use of a processor inside a system, a requirement for all game systems (eg. PC, Xbox 360, DS, Wii, etc), that's why half the people call the games Computer Games rather than Video Games. That's one side out of the way, now, the other. Video Games: With the popularity of home entertainment, especially with devices which can be plugged into the TV and played, just like a VCR or DVD can, it is usually called a Video Game. Though it isn't like a video and input can be given and/or commanded, the cinematics within the game then gives the player a small tunnel into the progression of the game. Though, competitions such as Counter Strike tournaments can be enjoyed as being a spectator sport than just being a participatory sport. The observation of the game then becomes a linear participation than an open field of chance. With nower day consoles, such as the Xbox 360, the device isn't restricted to being a game device, but it can also be used for watching DVDs and/or listening to CDs on the system (the latter I haven't tried on the Xbox 360 yet). As with the surge of the Home Entertainment devices, so does the need for the game consoles to do more than just one or two things. With the want to keep things simple and games being played on systems no longer dedicated to themselves with constant streaming of images on the screen like a video or VCR did before the DVD, people love to refer to as being Video Games than Computer games. Either you call it one or the other or some other far off thing even if they mean the exact same thing, you'll soon relise than you call a computer game if it is for the home computer systems (aka. PC) and Video Game for systems mainly occupied by home entertainment needs. Side Note: I'm trying to keep this sort short as I've killed my triceps a few days ago and is still recovering. I've decided to these blog entries as "Gamer Grunt"s for ease of searching. Peace Out!

From here on out, I will be publicly naming and shaming/rewarding games. I know that it is a tailspin on my normal way of dealing with things, but it is time to bring on some changes to get things just right.

Those breakthrough titles were big back then, but are they still relevant today? There were so many great games back then, but if you were to re-introduce it today, would it still stack up to today's population?
Forget about those games that are just top sellers, because most of them won't live on long enough to fully reap the fruits of what was planted ages back. Just like in agriculture, depending on what you plant, they take time to develop, take time to harvest and they can either sell a lot or not a lot, dependingly. But those plantations may continue to regrow without the need to replant but requires reharvesting.
Take a look as games which have received the "Platinum" title or something similar to. There are some titles which becomes irrelevant as time wears on. Even though the idea is great, it could be the flaw of popularity or a sequel/contintuation of the series, then again, there are some which do become great as time ages on. One example of the negative of the Platinum title would be SSX. Sequels have some out for the game, but the big question lies with why place it in a Greatest Hits section. Yes, the game sold plenty, yes, the popular was popular for the time, but question remains, is it now? The best example of that would be Final Fantasy X. Yes, there are plenty sold, and it did have sequels and a spin-off game with it, but remains popular due to the game franchise having different game mechanics every sequel. Most popular to date is Final Fantasy VII with the Materia system, Final Fantasy VIII having the Guardian Fiend with slot support, Final Fantasy X with the sphere grid system and the list goes on. Those are the main ones I know, even though I have played others, those stood out better than most. They are popular regardless of age mainly due to the fact that gameplay isn't duplicated as sequals are made and allows great number of variations during play.
The big question now is whetheror not we still call those platinum titles something which defines our time of gaming. Take a look at Perfect Dark Zero, you see it being listed as a "Must Have", yet it is being traded in and there are so many second hands for the game, which questions the must have status of the game. To simply make a quick buck?
There are so many titles out there which deserve the must have title but tends to be shon upon. Take a look at Halo 2 and see if you can spot the Must have title or some of the popular titles which do deserve something higher than just a past good title. There have been so many great titles in the past, yet isn't properly treated. Just take a look at Marvel vs Capcom 2. Great game, great concept, strong cult status and now, it is hella expensive and just hunting for it is becoming a great pain in itself. Unless it is because it is out as a multi-platform, we honestly need to have a proper website to list in ****c titles of our time. Super Mario Bros, Pong, Super Mario World 3, Super Smash Bros and the list goes on. We know in our minds that they are great titles, but then comes those which have never heard of the game and played the spawns of those games.
It is about time that games which have defined our age should have an engraved recognition as a way of giving people understanding how far gaming has come.

As there is a problem with putting a copy of this week's blog here, it can be found at Myspace.

http://blog.myspace.com/nighthawkraven