Game ratings VS Idiots (8/07/2008)

Moved from Myspace...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKzF173GqTU

Stupid Fox News BS again...

I have played at least part of Mass Effect (I have an issue with finishing one game before starting another so gonna have to replay as soon as I get through Lost Odyssey). I am a 26 years old female, so far from the "average" player as they stated in the story. I have also been noticing a trend of gamers getting older and as such it seems games are maturing along with us.

The game is rated M for Mature 17+. The reasons include: blood, language, partial nudity, sexual themes, violence. It also supports family settings (aka locks), It is all right there on the box before you purchase it. There is no hidden agenda to get kids hooked on sex and violence. The ESRB rated the game as such, for the reasons stated, and as such it's pretty freakin obvious if the game is one you would want to buy your child.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Whatever happened to a parent telling their child they can't play a M rated game or see an R rated movie? Why is it up to the government and the entertainment industry to bow down and change the way things work? It is NOT the fault of the gaming industry that some parent couldn't say no to their child and bought them an M rated game. The parent had the game information available to them and could have been an educated decision. Instead, they buy the game and then get offended that there is a side shot of some alien woman's boob (which you only see if you end up with that scene based on decisions you make through many hours of game play... it is not even a "main" game sequence). Ummm... hello "PARTIAL NUDITY"? What part of the rating is so hard to understand?

I am so sick and tired of people blaming everyone else but the person responsible. If some kid plays a game and decides to go on a shooting rampage then there are other issues at hand. If it was the GAME then we would have a heck of a lot more instances of this happening considering the gaming industry is a billion dollar industry. There are millions of gamers out there who have played games such as Mass Effect, GTA (while not one I will ever play, I have no issue with adults playing it), Halo, or Half Life. Yet as soon as something happens, BAM it's the games fault. Not the fault of the person who committed the act, not the fault of the parents who bought the game, not the fault of the years of depression and the fact the person had come off their medications... no, it's only the fault of the game (or the music they listened to or the movie they watched).

The DRM mistake (9/13/2008)

Moved from Myspace...

I, like many others, had heard about Spore a long long time ago and couldn't wait to see the final product.

Now I, like many others, am greatly upset at what has come to be with the game. This is clearly shown based on the reviews on Amazon: Spore. As of this writing there are 2,217 reviews of the game... 2,017 of which are Amazon's lowest rating of one star. Could the game really be that bad? Well, it's not as clear as it seems.

You see, what most people are complaining about is not the game itself. It is actually the use of Digital Rights Management on the disc (DRM for short). The use of this product has made a huge impact among both consumers and in the media. You may still be asking what this has anything to do with the game... well, what Electronic Arts does not tell you is what they are really installing on your systems and what it means for you.

Lets start with the simplest of the problems. Spore will only allow you three installations of the game before it locks up on you. Three installations... I mean, really. Does EA not understand how this all works? It is not an issue on how many computers one wants to install it on, it is an issue of how the real world works. Hard drives crash, Windows has to be reinstalled, computers have to upgraded and/or replaced. Three installs is really not many when you look at the larger picture. There have also been reports in the past that DRMs will even register an upgraded video card as a "new computer" and thus a new installation. Now, if you require a fourth installation then you can call EA and plead your case and hope you have enough information that they will grant you that installation. However, you would need to call a non toll free number and hope you get someone who cares that your computer had a catastrophic hard drive failure and who is nice enough to grant you that fourth install.

The next problem is that the game must be activated in order to be played. No big deal, a lot of games are like that. However, Spore required the game to check in every so many days of play. So, if you play "offline" after the first activation, after so many days the game will just stop playing. Thus, you are required to have an internet connection to play what is really a one player game with extra player made content. Nowhere that I could find within the requirements found online or on the box does it state that an internet connection is required to make the game work. Now, one could say that you can find that information out if you look around... but I would say many people who may buy this game would not know that they would have to do this. They would expect the box or at least the official website to mention something about it.

The DRM also installs itself in a way where it hides itself on the drive and can not be uninstalled. It is there for good and it does not just sit there. It communicates with EA without your consent, sending them information on your playing habits and your computer whever it wishes to. This is, by definition, Malware. I personally do whatever I can NOT to end up with Malware and Spyware on my computer... so why would I want to install it on purpose? It uses up my hard drive space, my processing power, and sends who knows what sort of information back to EA.

As you can see, this DRM is something to be worried about and many people are based on the information available on the internet. So why did EA make the decision to add this on, even though they knew the consumer would not like it (The Motley Fool)? To stop piracy of course! So, is it working?

No.

Simple as that. It didn't help. "As of Thursday afternoon, "Spore" had been illegally downloaded on file-sharing networks using BitTorrent peer-to-peer transfer 171,402 times since Sept. 1" (Forbes). The game was online to be downloaded without the DRM issues at least 4 days BEFORE it was even released in the United States. Someone please cue the fail music. The DRM, which is supposed to keep pirating of the game at bay, has failed and is only hurting the one person EA does not need to be hurting... the people who paid good money for the game.

But don't complain about it... or EA will call you big bad names like they did to spin the complaints that are piling up on Amazon. These include "petulant children", "flash mobs", and "angry pirates". Maybe it is just me, but I am thinking making fun of people who have a valid concern is not a good buisness strategy.

A bit of Video Game fun (11/26/2008)

Also moved from Myspace...

So today I was spending some time with the significant other and we were discussing video games. We went over some of the best and the worst we had ever played and the urge to make a blog about it came over me. Why not come up with a few catagories and post what I think are the best and worst within each and then ask those reading for THEIR opinions?

Now let me preface this list with a bit of information on where my thoughts are coming from. I am mostly a console gamer with a few computer games mixed in. I have a PS2 and Xbox360 for my console systems and a decent computer that I mostly use for MMOs. I am currently playing Fable 2 on the 360. Hopefully once I finish it I will remember to blog about it as it is a really interesting concept and game.

Best Boss Fight: Luca Blight in Suikoden 2... the need to have 3 parties fully geared and leveled gave it something a bit more then the boss fights I was used to before this. Plus, it was challanging fight without making me say many a bad word... except when Vicki decided it was a good time to mess up and cast her uber damage spell on my party instead of Blight. I will never forgive her.

Best RPG Series: Suikoden... no doubt about it. Even with the issues with Suikoden 4, the rest of the series makes up for it. Suikoden 2 and 3 are my personal favorites, but 1, 5, and Tactics are all great games as well. I mean, how can you go wrong with these games?

Best Graphics (Current game): Lost Odyssey is the best I have seen recently. The graphics are smooth and I have noticed very little slow down. People look like people and move well.

Best Voice Acting: Lost Odyssey again. The voices seemed to fit the characters and no one was super annoying. Plus, I really enjoyed how the characters would talk over each other as it seemed so natural and realistic.

Worst Voice Acting: Final Fantasy X-2. I mean, they actually said "teehee".

Best First Person Shooter: Mass Effect... it was a fps with a really good story line that actually kept me interested.

Best MMORPG: Everquest (original)... it was the first real MMORPG that made a big impact on the gaming world. The fact that it is still going so many years later with a pretty decent populations seems prove that it really has something.

Worst MMORPG: Star Wars Galaxies... I admit, I never personally played it, even as a huge Star Wars fan. However, some of the decisions Sony made when it came to this game pretty much destroyed it. It really had a chance to be a huge game, but it was killed off.

Best Single Line in a Game: "Badass Freakin Overlord" from Lord Zetta in Makai Kingdom... The whole game is filled with great lines.

So this is just some of my list. I hope people will be willing to not only post their thoughts on the ones I made, but also add their own catagories.

Twilight Movie Review (3/27/2009)

Moving this write up from my old Myspace account...

So, I finally got my hands on a copy of the Twilight movie. I have read all the books multiple times and feel like I have a good grasp on the story, the characters, and the mythos…

So what happened to the movie???

Did the director even READ the books before she made this thing? Did she realize that not only did she leave out extremely important scenes (such as the blood typing in biology class) and discussions, but she took great liberties in adding scenes (dinner at the Cullen’s and the attacks from James’ coven) and changing the order.

Now I have always understood that the visual medium is very different then the written medium and that changes have to be made, however, some of the changes in Twilight were unnecessary. There was no real reason to add in the scenes where James’ coven kills two people. Some may say that it helped explain that these were “bad” vampires but in reality it didn’t. The discussions about real (non vegetarian) vampires that Bella had with Edward did a good enough job in the books to get the idea across. It simply became unneeded action to "liven up" the story.

So, when it comes to the movie versus the book…. Well, it is no contest. The book was MUCH better, which usually happens.

Let’s look at the movie by itself then, as separate from the book.

It was an okay movie, not great, but not the worst I had seen. The first half while Bella is trying to figure out what is going on with Edward was a bit slow and awkward. It really seemed to drag on with way too many voiceovers. From the Port Angeles scene on it really seemed to pick up. The actors seemed to finally fit their characters and it didn’t feel as painful to watch. Over all I would give it a 6 or 7 out of 10 and only because there were a couple character and scenes that I LOVED.

Let me break it down into the best and the worst:

-Best Performance: This is a tough one as some of the performances were really up there. My favorites were Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen, Cam Gigandet as James, Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria, and Billy Burke as Charlie Swan. All of these people seemed to have a feel for the characters they were asked to play.

Gigandet had James down to a science. He was able to make the viewer feel like they were the ones being hunted and you could feel the fear he would inspire in his prey. I am truly sad that the character of James was killed in Twilight now as I would have LOVED to see Gigandet portray him again.

Burke created a very lovable and believable Charlie. You could feel his love as a father for Bella and his worries/concerns for her. He also had some of the BEST lines of the movie! There were times I was laughing out loud (in a good way) at the lines as he delivered them. “I’ve heard that before” after Edward promises to take good care of Bella before they head to prom is a great example. The line may have fizzled with any other actor saying them, but Burke had Charlie down pat and you believed this is how the character would have sounded.

It will be very interesting to see how the other actors grow and evolve with their characters and I think we will see great things from them in New Moon.

-Worst Performance: Easy, the main characters, Robert Pattinson as Edward and Kristen Stewart as Bella. I couldn’t help but laugh every time Edward was upset about something because Pattinson looked like he had smelled horse shit. I felt like singing “How could this happen to me?”. Kristen was just as bad, but in another sense… she never looked like she felt anything BUT confusion. She constantly had this dazed look on her face, no matter what the scene called for.

-Best Scene(s): Vampires playing baseball… need I say more? Great effects with a great set of actors. It was great to finally see that visually as it was also one of my favorite scenes in the book. I also really loved when James’ coven arrives at the clearing… you could feel the tension. It was without a doubt the best scene in the whole film and if the whole movie had been as well done, it would have been amazing.

-Worst Scene(s): Anything at the High School, but especially the scenes at Biology class. These were some of the worst offenders of Pattinson's funny faces and the most boring of conversations.

-WTH: I have agree with many people when it comes to the effect of Edward's skin in the sunlight. It really did just make him look sweaty. I expected better from ILM.

I’m really looking forward to New Moon and I hope that the new director can do a better job then Twilight’s did. I am excited to know that Taylor Lautner will be back as Jacob and that Dakota Fanning will be playing the role of Jane. I think Fanning it the perfect choice and I know she can pull off the creepy vibe that Jane gives off. I am also excited to get to know the Wolf Pack and have them become a real part of the series.