So Manhunt 2 has received an AO rating from the ESRB, much to the delight of groups like the CCFC (as stated in the news article). As the debate rages on over whether or not the game deserved such a strict rating (IMO, yes), and whether Sony and Nintendo's refusal to allow a game with an AO rating onto their consoles constitutes censorship (IMO, no),I'd like to call attention to what I feel is the biggest problem with this situation: the complete and utter collapse of parental responsibility in our society.

I am a father of two sons, four and two years old. My older son is now really starting to enjoy playing games, both on his own and with myself or my wife. Now, I closely monitor what games he is playing, whether or not I am playing them at the time as well. What games does he enjoy?Cars, Shrek, Ice Age, Wii Sports. Now, when he is in bed or away, what do I enjoy? Shadow Hearts, Saint's Row, Gears of War,God of War, etc. What's my point? I actively monitor what my child is playing, watching on TV, reading, etc. Now does this qualify me for any Parent of the Year Awards? IT SHOULD'NT! It is the responsibility of any and every parent to monitor their children's media exposure and to make and enforce decisions regarding what they deem to be acceptable for their family. But instead, politicians and special interest groups have convinced nearly an entire generation of parents that the fault lies with companies producing media that may contain age-inappropriate material. These parents have come to believe that they should be able to blindly purchase anything that their children ask for without questioning the content; and if that content should prove to be inappropriate or, dare I say, harmful to their children, then the fault lies with the manufacturers rather than with their woefully lacking parenting skills.

This should go without saying, but apparently it needs to be said. When you choose to have children, you are making a committment to take an active interest in all aspects of your children's lives, REGARDLESS of whether or not all of the activities interest you as an adult. That means, even if you have never touched a videogame in your life, you have to put down your romance novel, turn off HGTV, go into the other room with your kids once in a while, and actually observe or take part in what they are doing, watching, or reading. I don't care that you worked all day, that you want some "me time", your wants became secondary to your parental responsibilities the moment you went off the pill or took off the condom. These children are YOUR responibility; not the governments, not the CCFC or Jack Thompson's, not Rockstar's or Take-Two's. What we have now is a society of people that want all of the joys of parenthood without having to bother with the responsibilies.

When your children ask you to buy a game (or movie, cd, book) look at the rating on the box and the content description on the back. If it is not appropriate for your children, grow a set and tell them NO. If they go behind your back and get it from someone else, TAKE IT and PUNISH THEM. That isn't cruelty, it isn't abuse, it is parenting. If you can't do that then don't blame corporations or politicians or society for failing your children. Instead take a long hard look in the mirror: YOU failed them.

Well, I guess I cannot complain about the customer service at Microsoft.  Two weeks to the day after mailing in my 360 for repair, I received a package containing a brand new console and a polite letter explaining my new warranty with the replacement console.  I must say, the new console is much louder when running, but since my old console was launch hardware, and many of the problems with them had to do with overheating, I will assume that their is a beefier fan in this one than the previous model.  No big deal; I will probably spring for the Nyko add-on cooler anyway after the holidays.  Now I just need to find a way to drag myself away from FF XII long enough to actually play my 360.  And then I need to get to Christmas without buying any new games for myself to make it fair for anyone that is shopping off of my wish list.  I hate waiting ;)

Well, it was great while it lasted.  I picked up an original PSX at launch, and it was still working when I traded it in; never had any problems with it.  I have an original launch day PS2; it is still hooked up to my tv, never one single problem with it.  I have a PSP I picked up on launch day; not one dead pixel.  And it seemed that the story would continue with the 360 that I preordered before launch and have had for almost a year.  Never one overheat, lockup, nothing...until last night.  Last night, I started playing Enchanted Arms, got maybe 2 minutes into the game, BAM!  Froze solid.  Turned it off, rebooted, BAM.  Tried Oblivion, tried Call of Duty, tried just scrolling throught the menu blades; same result every time.  Disconnected my HDD, disconnected and reconnected all the cables, no effect.  By now, it was freezing while the boot screen was just starting.  Called MS support ( who had me do everything I had just done again while I was on the phone with them...sigh) who finally informed me that if the problem was occuring without the HDD on, then it was an internal hardware problem that I would have to send the console in to have fixed.  So today, I am boxing her up and shipping her off, and in 5 - 10 business days I will (theoretically) have a repaired or replaced 360 to set my HDD back onto.

I suppose that I have had rather good luck all in all...still, it really sucks when it finally happens to you.  Oh well, I still have my PS2.  And I seem to vaguely recall picking up some obscure game for it that just came out...what was it?  "Final..." something or other...Maybe that will keep my busy.

So, I got myself a new notebook over the weekend, seeing as how my two sons have decided that our tower should be destroyed piece by piece.  And it is always nice to be able to write off a portion of it as a business expense to help offset the cost.  I'm not too heavy of a PC gamer, but I have been thinking of finally picking up and trying WoW. I know that some people really despise that game, but with two kids under 4 I don't have enough time to devote to some of the more intense MMOs like FF XI.  I know, I tried.  So if anyone out there has any other ideas for an MMO that is a little easier on solo play and being able to miss a few days here or there, please drop me a message and let me know.  I have been tempted by RO as well, so if anyone has played it let me know if it would fit the bill.  Later!

Alright, has anyone out there played Legend of Heroes on the PSP?  Now, I have to say, I really agree with the rating that GS gave it; I like the combat system, the graphics are well done if simple.  But one thing that I cannot seem to find mentioned in most reviews of the game is the laughable job that was done on the games translation.  I'm not just talking about capitalization, puncutation or spelling errors either; I understand that those can happen merely because of typos.  But the actual translation itself is in the "so bad its good" category.

For example, when a character levels up and learns a new skill or spell, why not change the bland "Avin learned the Water spell" to "Avin was Aqua Splash mastered."  I mean, lets face it, Avin didn't really learn anything right; Aqua Splash is just allowing itself to be used by Avin.  Oh and why not spice up the little blurbs that the party shouts out during battle by making them, I don't know, non-sensical.  "Calm water, show your power with crazed anger!"  And you have to love a character that, prior to using his most powerful ability, yells "My skill as an adventurer is OK!"  I like it; the guy isn't an underachiever, but he isn't aiming too high either; it is a refreshing acceptance of mediocrity that most games shy away from.

Seriously, Bandai, I wasn't expecting Shakespeare or even Sqeenix quality work here, but when I have a hard time following the story, not because I wasn't paying attention but because I have no idea what the hell my characters are tallking about, it is a sign that something in the localization process has gone horribly wrong.  I'll still probably pick up the sequel, but I hope a little more effort went into the translation (any effort at all would be a good start).

Well, I've had enough.  I've tried and tried, and no matter how much I try, I just cannot make myself play FFXI anymore.  Not because of the game itself mind you, although I do find it a little frustrating that it is almost exclusively designed for full party's past about level 15.  No, the source of my exit from Vana'diel is a little closer to here; specifically other gamers.  Not all other gamers of course, but unfortunately, a majority of them on the 360 beta of FFXI.

I have mentioned before how immature, abrasive, intolerant and prejudiced many of the members of Xbox Live that I have encountered have been.  While I have also met some very decent people via Live as well as FFXI for 360, I can no longer stand logging in only to listen to a bunch of barely literate, homophobic, racist (bashing people from Japan does NOT make you cool, you little idiots; it just shows your inherent insecurity that the Japanese are simply better gamers than you) sexist jack offs.  If I want to play online with some of the great gamers and great people that I have met through Live, then I will stick with a game that lets me weed out the large masses of losers out there.  And FFXI, unfortunately, is not one of those games.  It's too bad, really, and it just proves an old adage; a few bad people really can ruin a good time for everyone.

So I am playing the free Beta version of Final Fantasy XI, getting back into the game after a seven month hiatus.  Now, when I got my 360 at launch, the first thing I did was sign up for a year of Xbox Live, excited to be a part of this great online gaming service that I had missed out on with the Xbox.  Now, while I have run into a few very nice and polite gamers so far, by and large I can honestly say that I have never encountered a bigger group of immature, infantile, homophobic jerks in my entire life.  If I won't party with people starting at level 2, I'm gay.  If I won't give gil away to whoever asks, I'm gay.  If I won't give away all of my best equipment to people, I'm gay.  If I won't drop what I am doing to go try and kill a NM that I know I cannot beat for someone, I'm gay.  Emotes that run the gamut from "...lick my balls" to "Soandso teabags Jag" etc. are constant.  All I know is, I will be very glad when SE starts charging for the retail version, because I cannot think that most of these losers will pay a monthly fee simply to be jackasses.