Breaking Windows

But oh, what's this? You invited the capable Geoff Keighley on the show to combat the embarrassingly uninformed opinions of one Ms. Cooper Lawrence (loving that book cover, Cooper), a "developmental psychologist" who literally laughs at the mere prospect of playing a video game before flapping her gums about it on national television. Sure, they don't give Geoff enough time to get as many punches in as we'd have liked to see, but that double dose of "that's completely incorrect" is sure to leave a mark in the morning.

I talked about this debacle on last week's Multiplayer Chat radio show (Townhall.com seems to have taken the entire article down, deleted it from their system. but you can read about the "virtual orgasmic rape" because of Google Cache -- the first page anyways).

Well now this video from FOX News just has to be the worst bit of mainstream media I have seen covering video games. Ever. It is just appalling to watch. But just like a train wreck, you cannot look away. Props to Geoff Keighley for trying to set things strait. When Ms. Cooper Lawrence laughed at the question of if she had played the game, I just lost it.

For those who are not in the know, allow me to spell it out for you:

Mass Effect has NO full frontal nudity.

The game is labeled Mature and it is not the governments job (or media) to be the parent and monitor what their kids have access to. Ironically enough. It is the parents job.

You cannot have sex with anyone you wish in Mass Effect.

If you do not develop the relationship, you could play the entire game without the sex scene. Sounds like real life, no?

In the sex scene, you see the side of a boob, blurred, and a small portion of a butt. Again, there is no full frontal nudity in Mass Effect.

I could pick apart line for line what these FOX talking heads had to say, but I will lave you with this: FOX News needs its head examined, not the ESRB. At least Jack Thompson does his research.

Note to the always intelligent (sarcasm) Major Nelson readers/Xbox Live users. Metal Slug 3 should not be 400 points because it's "retro." The damn thing came out in 2001 and probably has more frames of animation than some 3-D titles. It's not retro because it's 2-D, and it could not have been done on the SNES. The slowdown isn't there because of "frame rate issues" or because the coding is sloppy. It's always been there and makes the freakin' game possible.

Read some of the other whiney, hilariously uneducated thoughts on this 100+ comment piece.

I think someone at Criterion Games got a little hot under the collar. Lovingly disguised as a Merry Christmas post, Alex Ward hits on multiple points that gamers have had with the Burnout Paradise demo.

I guess he would not like my take on the game, then. See, I was thinking of a snarky subhead for a Blogcritics review of the game: Burnout: Need For Speed Paradise Unlimited.

Thats not to say I do not like the demo (the jury is still out on that), it is just that Burnout has never been able sandbox game play. And now it is. And it is weird. So Alex, people are going to take issue with that. Deal with it.

I downloaded both the PS3 and the 360 versions of the demo (because I can) and have played them both now. Without seeing the game side by side I do not see a big difference. I do not know what makes the PS3 version look so much better, as I have seen many people say.

A well written column from Slate that you should read: Sleater-Kinney's guitarist tests out the new video game Rock Band.

The Rock Band commercials are pretty funny. But they show zero game footage. That is, in my opinion, pretty dumb considering kids are going to be asking their parents for a $170 game.

Sure, the kids have seen the game and possibly played it at Best Buy or something, but showing some game play so that mom or dad sitting at home could see the game wouldn't hurt.

Or maybe it was a choice not to show game play as four people jumping around a living room playing a video game would just look silly in a TV commercial.

This might take some explaining for it to really sink in. I know, it is funny already. The Guitar Hero III Companion Pack CD comes with three songs you can download and play in Guitar Hero III. See, now that is sweet irony.

The final song? The Devil Went Down To Georgia. Here is the version that will be in Guitar Hero III, as the final encore. Now picture playing that, and cry.

This past Monday bore witness to a horrific event, when a Virginia Tech student killed more than 30 other students and professors. Such a massive and sudden loss of life in a setting intended to be one of safety and growth is absolutely worthy of personal reflection and sorrow. Unfortunately, this tragic event, like others in the past, has also been seen as a prime opportunity for politicization.

Good read, I highly recommend it. Actually, I think it should be mandatory for one Jack Thompson.

Here is another clueless network affiliate out for ratings and attention. And its not even sweeps week! WFAA has an article on porn on the Wii and PS3 web browsers. Don't miss the video either!

There is one very good point in this piece, it is buried, and should be the lede of this piece. This could have even been turned into hard news, had the reporter gotten ahold of Nintendo.

In his "The Political Game" column this week, Dennis talks about Bully. It is a good read, be sure and check it out.

Also be sure and read Jason's full review of Bully.

Yes, I meant to post this when it was written on October 20, but I am just now filtering through stuff.

Bethesda has been outdone by Volition with this new "Funky Fresh Pack" for Saints Row. Costing 100 MSP, you get:

Clothing
Fake Tuxedo Shirt
Short Sleeve Tropical Shirt
Spiked Leather Jacket
Leopard Skin Underwear
Tiger Stripes Underwear
Leather Chaps
Crazy Bunny Slippers

Accessories
Samurai Helmet
Eye Patch
Skull Ring
Row Medallion
Saints Row Wrist Band

Hair
Full Spikes
Curly Gent Mustache
Ladies Man Mustache
Split Goatee
Sharp Edge Mutton

Tattoos
Panther
Rattlesnake
Biohazard
Ankh
Spider

This is just as bad as the horse armor in Oblivion, and should be free.

If Sonic creator, Yuji Naka, knew that this is where SEGA wanted Sonic to go, it's no wonder he left the company. The Sonic demo, if you haven't played it yet, is bad. Really bad. Believe me, I am a Sonic fan. I write for 360 Fanboy it's true, but I am a SEGA fanboy at heart. Thus, it hurts me even more to tell you that the demo is just not very good. It's not unplayable, but parts of it are close.

Its not just me.

Lets not be kind. The new Sonic demo that came out today is just shit. The camera is horrible, the cheap deaths are at an all time high, did I mention the camera is horrible? It makes the game unplayable, period.

Matt agrees with me, Jason agrees with me, Andy agrees with me (this has to be a first). Rob, on the other had -- the largest SEGA fanatic you will likely meet -- sees no problem with the camera.

My hope is that this is an old demo. The camera should not feel like it has "weight" to it when you try and swing it around. It makes it impossible to see enemies shooting at you. The camera also makes it quite hard to hit a number of the enemies in the demo.

I am not even going to go into the cheap deaths. They are really bad.

Oh, and for some reason, Sonic now skates as much as the players in NBA Live 95, while on grass. When you turn, Sonic skates! He used to slide, and this is normal behavior for a hedgehog, but skating? No.

I don't like hockey games, I never have. But I do like to see what realism developers can bring to any game based on life.

I thought the ice in NHL 2K6 looked good. 2K Sports outdid themselves yet again, the ice in NHL 2K7 is even better.

Nick Hurm was up from Cincy to help layout the paper last night. After that he and I headed over to the local Waffle House for some well needed nourishment.

He asked me what my favorite game of all time is. While Super Mario Bros. springs to mind, Arkanoid takes top honors in my book. I first played Arkanoid on an Amiga, but mostly played it on an Apple IIGS, then later on the NES, Game Boy, and SNES.

Why is it my favorite? It is simple and addictive. The game has not aged a bit since it was released 20 years ago.

The worst game of all time is obvious, E. T. for the 2600. Why? Because it sucked. It was doomed from the start, and ultimately became the biggest failure in the industry.

So, what is your favorite game of all time? And what do you think is the worst game of all time?

Today was not the day to write an op-ed about this incident. I started and restarted, edited, and edited, and then had to add more. I *think* all the news of the day is out. You can read my op-ed that is published on Blogcritics.

You may also wish to read Next-Gen's Ten Reasons for E3's Collapse. It has some good points.

I am not sure what to think about the 5,000 people small show in a hotel in LA. I am going to wait for more news from the ESA. Is the "new" E3 a way to salvage a show without the big names (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, EA) and is Lowenstein spinning this "evolution"? I have no idea. But I want more solid answers first, before I form a hair-brained idea.

The tumble weed-slow months of June and July are behind us today. Sure, there were a trickle of games worth buying in that time, but not enough!

Why doesn't the gaming industry spread these releases out? August, September, and October will see the release of some really hot games. Then the holiday rush starts in November.

The launch of the Wii and the PS3 will not help me at all, as their are titles I want for the 360, PSP, DS, and even the PS2 in that same time frame. This is an expensive time to be a gamer, that is for sure.

The only thing that really bothers me about the game is how slow it is. Not the actual game itself, but trudging through the menus is absolute hell. This was accepted in an arcade cab, but not now that we have a Start button on our controller.

Starting a game takes forever, and restarting a game after you die takes even longer.

You do not see this in Frogger, for example. It is annoying when we are used to instantly loading games on the XBLA, it does not matter if this is an arcade port or not. They have already modified it for the 360, they could have addressed the in-game menus as well.

Today Sony released version 2.8 of its firmware. PSP owners the world over look at upgraded firmware as either a blessing or a curse. I stand firmly in the "blessing" camp.

Adding the ability to subscribe to video podcasts is great. You no longer need to use arcane syntax to name video files either. It also appears that Sony no longer requires the PSP video "wrapper" as videos formatted for the iPod (MPEG-4) work just fine, with no transcoding required.

I am glad to see a sequel to Mercury, and the Mercury Meltdown demo is a lot of fun. The art design is a total shocker, but the real suprise is the additional game play elements introduced this time around. Check out the trailer on YouTube.

No.

Both Kotaku and Joystiq are reporting on a new ad Sony is running for the new (if you live in North America) white PSP. Of course both of these upstanding social institutions started the FUD off right with well written headlines.

They say "offensive" (Kotaku) and "racially charged" (Joystiq) but I say "bull shit." Of course hundreds of commenters hash out why or why not the ad has racial connotations to it.

The dominance card just doesn't fly, considering the third image. Not to mention that the symbolism that black and white PSP equals black and white human being is so plane and simple -- and quite frankly, brilliant marketing.

The people who are racist here are the people writing the articles and commenting on them. If you cannot understand symbolism then I am not sure you would understand racism to begin with.

Of course these are the people who say that Loco Roco is racist, because it has black (OMFG!) bad guys in it.

Chill out people. If you go looking for a black eye, you will likely find one.

Warning: The following is an angry rant. You probably won't like me when I'm angry, but I only rant when I know I'm right.

As such, the following piece would likely come up in a Google search when you're looking for certain types of porn (especially in Njiska's case). It should not be read by children, animals, or sponges. Especially not sponges. Those things are scary.

That disclaimer aside, let the ranting begin!

Editor's Note: This is a Point/Counter Point discussion between Matt Paprocki and Ken Edwards on the backwards compatibility of games on the Xbox 360. You can keep up with the entire discussion at Blogcritics. I encourage you to read the other articles in this series.

Microsoft will provide what their customers want. They will bend over backwards, especially in Japan, to get an Xbox 360 (and a nice Samsung HDTV) into your living room. Granted, they are working against an unknown (the PlayStation 3) but until Sony drops to Number 2 in the market, Microsoft will always need to match, and exceed Sony any way possible.

The Xbox 360 is a different piece of hardware. Backwards compatibility is an issue because of this, and the cost to implement new emulators for games isn't cheap. Ken's right to say that newly released titles for the original Xbox should be ready to go on the 360 when they launch.

The Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is, without a doubt, a big selling point for the Xbox 360. Some people might not look at it this way, but it has been one of the best reasons to own the system.

Far be it from Microsoft to turn "hard-core" games into "casual' gamers, but that is exactly what they have done. Xbox Live Arcade appeals to both hard-code and casual crowds, and is also a big reason for its success.

Microsoft has been in an uphill battle since before Day One of the Xbox. They need to sell consoles. And right now the Xbox 360 is again facing an uphill battle, this time against the PS3. They might have been first out of the gate, they might have the software right now, but Sony is not going to give up their market share without a fight.

This week, Microsoft's Vice President of their video game division Peter Moore made a statement that sent video game fans, specifically Xbox 360 owners, into a frenzy. He stated the company was done with backwards compatibility for the Xbox 360 as there was no interest in it. While the emulation team designated to develop the software to run Xbox games on the new hardware stated they were still working on this aspect of the system, it's time to step back and realize Peter Moore is right.

How can anything in our political system pass when its reasons for existence are nothing but lies? Louisiana recently passed a bill, thanks to Rep. Roy Burrell, to keep video games out of the hands of minors. Obviously, the debate on whether or not that's our government place is other issue entirely. The problem with this bill is HOW it passed.

After last years keynote that barely qualified as a sneak peek, Nintendo brought everything out this year. It was apparent from the start that they were out push the proper inviting mood. Having Shigeru Miyamoto open their session while conducting a virtual orchestra with the Wii controller was a brilliant move, setting up everything that was to come.

Sony never needs to worry about development costs. They let other companies do their work for them. After last nights E3 press conference, the internet lit up with heavy and harsh criticism for video gamings leading seller, and all of that still isn't enough to give them what they deserve.

Note: This piece is a direct response to Rob Faraldi's Gaming: A Stagnant Puddle of Mediocrity.

It's one of those stories that causes a cringe from anyone who follows the video game industry. From last years Grand Theft Auto "Hot Coffee," we have a current situation with Bethesda's Elder Scrolls Oblivion," which has been hacked to expose female nudity and will be given a stricter rating. Nudity in games is becoming far too hot of an issue, though this current concern is different. There isn't a single source of blame here, and the reactions from those parties have caused this story to spin in directions it shouldn't be spinning.

It's amazing how finicky the die-hard gaming public is. Actually, it's not amazing at times; it's embarrassing. A recent item for Bethesda's Elder Scrolls title has caused controversy, the type that makes you sit back and shake your head while you reflect on other hobbies you'll be taking up.

The item in question is armor. Horse armor to be specific. To reiterate:

Horse armor. For a horse that doesn't exist. Armor.

Lately I have a ton of new games to play. Some are new, others are just new to me. During my latest eBay exploits I nabbed Virtua Tennis for PSP, Bust-a-Move DS, and Outlaw Golf 2 for Xbox - all for less than $50.

It's hard to say this for a lot of people, and many of them won't admit it, but Marc Ecko is right. The media has latched onto a recent quote from the fashion designer about gamers. The single line is as follows:

"I would say there are gamers that have a predisposition to have a bug up their ass for anything urban."

To say the past week has been a wild, insane, and completely absurd for video gamers is an understatement. While no particular story stands out as big as "Hot Coffee" did last year, combined they take a toll. The games may seem like they're most important part of the industry, yet the attacks against them are becoming far more serious.

The Xbox 360's Operating System, otherwise known as the Xbox Dashboard, is a vast improvement over what the original Xbox had. The four "Blades" are organized pretty well. There are, however, a few things that should be improved. I don't see why they cannot upgrade Xbox Dashboard like they upgraded the original Xbox. There have already been small updates to the Xbox Dashboard since Nov. 22, 2005 - but I am proposing some major overhauls in terms of usability.

Note: Although this column may seem a little old - it was originally penned in December 2005 - the subject matter is surprisingly (not really) still relevant today.

It is always nice to get linked to by other sites. Sometimes the usage of said links is a little odd. The Anniston Star linked to the article Matt and I wrote about the Best Games of 2005. They even have a great intro graph for it:

It’s always nice when people who like video games and people who don’t like video games agree, and this year they agree on “Resident Evil 4.” The Family Media Guide said it was the most “ultra-violent” video game of the year, while a loose consortium of blogger-gamers said it also was the best of the year.

There's something funny about the "hardcore" gaming crowd. It's tough to pinpoint what that is unless you've been around message boards or hang out with a group of them. The specific sector of gamers being discussed here are the ones screaming for originality in an industry that supposedly lost its way. At least, that's what many of them will tell you. That's where the problem lies:

They're horribly, blatantly, and impossibly hypocritical.

Rather oddly, the video game version of Peter Jackson’s $200 million dollar remake of King Kong is barely anything like the movie. The only thing it has in common is a giant ape that ends up in New York and climbs a building. Everything in each major hardware change is played out different, and depending on what system you’re playing it on, even the games themselves vary greatly.

Sure, we can call it the best year for gaming ever. That's possibly true. However, no year is perfect, and the industry as a whole provides numerous opportunities to have fun. So, instead of those typical, boring, and cheaply planned out best of lists, let's hand out some awards for the "less fortunate" people, places, and things from the industry we love… some times.

We all know how bad Madden 360 is by now. But this is the best post I have seen on the subject. NickySantoro360 writes:

After more play time with Madden 06 for XBOX360, I have noticed even more missing features/bugs. This list is sure to continue growing. This is a list of stuff that has either already been in Madden on previous gen systems, or was in the competitions' game LAST YEAR or sooner:

It's pretty much official. This has been the biggest year for video games EVER. Yes even bigger than last year. Not surprisingly, a lot of the big software has hit in the past few months. Even still, we at Blogcritics.org are going to make sense of the software that's hit over the entire year. No, we haven't played every console game this year (though if someone would like to send us a set, that would be nice), but out of what we've played, these are the dozen titles that stick out from the pack.

One of the great new features of the new and improved Xbox Live on the 360 is a downloadable demo. Not only demos of the fun and addicting arcade games, but demos of full 360 games - the games you will be spending $60 on.

So far you can download a demo of: Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Kameo: Elements of Power, NBA Live 06, and Madden NFL 06. These downloads range from 400 MB in size to almost 900 MB. It takes the better part of an hour usually to get one of these. But when you think about it, this is time well spent.

I have a huge amount of respect for Roger Ebert. Many people have a hard time understanding why he has become rich stating his opinion. They don't understand how educated that opinion is. At least, we should expect his opinion to be educated. In a recent response to reader mail (third letter down), he's drawn the eye of many gamers by failing to give due respect to the medium.

For 10 years now, video gamers have been subjected to the mainstream media reporting on the National Institute on Media and the Family's video game report card. This biased, ridiculous, manipulating, and sometimes even funny document needs to be dissected just to view it in the proper light. That's what will happen here.

Reports are everywhere, as they always seem to be, about problems with launch day Xbox 360s. Overheating, melted hard drives, games crashing, graphical glitches, and Xbox Live problems are all being reported on message boards. There's only one question I have: Who are these people?

Like a 12 year old waking up at 4:30 in the morning of Christmas to open his presents, I bolted down to my local video game retailer today. And when I say bolted, I mean it. I did not just walk on the sidewalk, I ran. Yes, I am a grown man. This is what a new video game console can do to a person.

The Xbox 360 (360) has more pizzazz behind it this time around because it is the first to market in the “next-gen” crowd. Sony and Nintendo have no tangible wares to show us. Even at this year’s E3, Microsoft had the competition beat with many more playable games.

November 22nd is here at last and most of the Xbox 360s shipped to the US have been put on sale at midnight.

As it turns out, the rumors of a Xbox 360 (360) shortage were true. We all thought it was going to be a problem come launch, we just wanted to remain oblivious to the situation.

Crunch time hit and Microsoft cut its original shipments by half, or worse. The store I purchased my 360 from was originally receiving 20 units. They now have only five to sell. Many stores, including Electronics Boutique, GameStop, Sam Goody, and the like have an unusually height number of pre-orders and not nearly enough 360s to go around. Someone screwed up and who are you going to blame? Microsoft.

As far as history is concerned, what's about to happen to the video game industry can only be described as broken. Of course, I'm referring to the Xbox 360 launch, which at this point is nothing short of disastrous, and it's not even out yet. The majority of the problems lie with Microsoft.

IGN has an article on the new Xbox 360 integration of Xbox Live and Xbox.com. You can also drink the official Kool-Aid from Xbox.com itself.

Sure you can turn it off (I think) but in the next generation, everyone is going to know what games you play, how well (or poor) you do, and what parts of games you have unlocked.