The Ten worst gaming peripherials/add-ons OF ALL TIME!!!

The 3DS thumbstick add-on looks terrible, and it will probably be terrible until it's actually incorporated into the next iteration of the hard ware. But frankly, it's hardly the worst thing companies have come out with. Here are 10 far worse ideas that probably shouldn't have gone past the pitch phase....

#10. The Sega CD: Some may argue that this is actually a system, but I'd argue otherwise, since it you cannot play it without the Genesis. Expensive, not heavily supported and a seemingly half-assed attempt to beat Nintendo out the gate before their  CD add-on that never really materialized was supposed to launch. Filled with craptacular ports and terrible FMV games (not there's ever really been such a thing as a good FMV game) the only redeeming thing about this was that there were several genuine classics on the system such as Sonic CD, the Lunar series and the definitive version of Eternal Champions.

#9. The 32x: Much like the ill-fated cd, the 32x was Sega's half-assed attempt to offer gamers 32-bit gaming without actually being 32-bit. It required the Genesis to use so again not a full console, was a bitch to setup and was really lacking in anything that would constitute a solid library, with tons of terrible ports and nothing that really seemed to true 32-bit.

#8. The PS2 Eyetoy: This just may have been technology that was ahead of it's time, what with Wii, Kinect and Move all doing to a greater extent. Doesn't mean it doesn't suck though. Support again was pretty much nil, and really not one of the titles was memorable. The only reason the PS3 version isn't a complete failure because they just integrated it into Move.

#7. The GBA E-reader: This bulky piece of junk was how you played overpriced old Nintendo games on the go. It was a stupid unnecessary format, But even worse was the add-on content, where it actually required another GBA and a link cable in order to download things like additional levels.

#6: Wii Wheel: It's a couple cents worth of plastic that does absolutely nothing, yet many casual gamers were convinced it was necessary, so tons were sold. Nearly any plastic add-on for the Wii would belong on the list. but the Wii Wheel was the most successful, so it pretty much represents the whole range.

#5:  R. O. B.: ROB has sort of a cool retro appeal these days thanks to his surprising appearances in the occasional video game, but those old enough to have actually owned one remember it was basically a highly-hyped POS with only 2 incredibly craptacular games ever even released for it. Some people claim it was part of  a "trojan horse" strategy by Nintendo so people would think the NES wasn't just another video game console, but I don't remember one kid who enjoyed ROB and many skipped the practically useless robot altogether.

#4: Sega Activator: In concept, this might have sounded kind of cool, fighting games were all the rage at the time, and actually being able to kick and punch your opponents seemed like a great idea. The execution was where this truly failed, as everything was needlessly complicated and worked terribly, with things like  high ceiling or a chandelier causing massive interference.

#3: The Super Scope: The NES zapper was pretty awesome, it worked surprisingly well and had a decent amount of solid games. The Super Scope by comparison only had a handful of games, none of which were very good, and also had issues even working properly. It also was constantly expensive, requiring a whopping SIX AA batteries to operate.

#2: The Power Glove: "I love the Power Glove" it's so bad. Truer words were never spoken. This might be the absolute worst controller ever made. Only 2 games were ever released for it specifically, and they were terrible. It was compatible with other titles, but good luck getting it to work even if you could figure out the controls.

#1: The Gameboy Camera/Printer: Most of these previous ideas listed at least have some logic behind the idea. The Gameboy Camera has none whatsoever. Sure it might have been one of the most portable "cameras" at the time it came out, but who the hell wanted monochrome low res pictures that you couldn't even tell what the pictures are of? This is absolutely the worst idea for a peripheral/add-on ever, no contest.

Ok that's it for today, with a little luck I should have another post up by Tuesday, until then, here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

Well it's not like Sony has their act together either...

So the 3DS lately seems doomed to fail, right? Poor sales, gimmicky atrocious add-ons, and a constant promise of of a killer library that has yet to materialize. Surely Sony has seen these mistakes, not to mention learned from their previous ones and will completely destroy Nintendo's stranglehold on the handheld market with Vita right? Clearly you have not been pay attention to Sony.

One of the biggest complaints about the PSP was it's shitty battery life. You were lucky if you got more than a few hours out of the damn thing. People have had similar complaints about the 3DS' battery life, since it's considerably shorter than the DS'. So surely Sony would fix that issue this time, right? Nope. The Vita has at best the same battery life as the 3DS. Sony of course is offering "optional" extended batteries.

The other big issue links to Sony's bone-headed insistence on proprietary media. Virtually everything these days uses an SD card, including the 3DS (hell it comes with a 2 gb that seems like it'll cover most of your needs).  And it's a relatively cheap storage medium. The Vita has no internal storage and has no memory included. While Sony has stated you'll be able to save games on their own cards, virtually any additional content such as movies, music or dlc will pretty much require it. And of course it only works with their cards, which are more than double the cost of  comparative SD card.

So throw in the shitty battery life, seemingly necessary extended battery and ridiculously overpriced memory cards the Vita just seems like the clusterfuck that was the PSP all over again, just with slightly improved graphics and front and back touch pads. Yay. Maybe I should just give in and start saving for an Iphone/Android....

Ok that's all for today, hopefully I should have another post up Sunday. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Crystal Story

Just when you think it can't get worse...

So Nintendo's big conference was mostly a lot of nothing. They announced a new Monster Hunter title, a Pink 3DS and that Kid Icarus, which probably should've been  a launch title, was delayed yet again to next year. That wasn't enough to impress investors, as the stock dropped 5%. They didn't talk about the controller extension at the presentation, quite tellingly, they just revealed it on the show floor, and it's not just a second circular pad, it actually adds several buttons, which seems at least on the surface to add too much functionality to offer games that are merely compatible, which is worrying if for no other reason I doubt a lot of current owners have much intention of buying it. I mean seriously, maybe $20 for the add-on itself is mildly justifiable, but it also requires a separate battery, with no word on how long that lasts. Really? Another battery to deal with? Why is the 3DS so half-assed? Honestly if this becomes a forced add-on that all games require, I don't really see myself keeping my 3DS, but I don't see how anybody buys this thing separately in any significant amount unless it becomes mandatory or Nintendo offers it in a way that nearly everyone will end up owning it (i.e. packing it in free with a major title that uses it or possibly even several major titles). I really think Nintendo is in a no-win situation here, they may just have to admit they fucked up and dump the whole thing.

Ok that's it for today, sorry it's a little later than planned, but I've been a little under the weather the last couple of days, should have another post up either tomorrow or Saturday. In the meantime, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: We Bought a Zoo

State of the Mushroom Kingdom address...

Ok before I get to talking about the Big N's pending press conference I did promise I'd say some stuff about Disgaea 4. I'm several hours in so far and enjoying it quite a bit. Everything seems a lot tighter and more refined than the somewhat lazy third entry and the new features like the cam-pain HQ make sure there's always something to do to take a break from the overall grind. And sure there's plenty of grinding, but the battles are lots of fun and very dynamic. I highly recommend it to any rpg gamer, especially with the severe lack of rpgs out for home consoles this year.

Now tomorrow is a big Nintendo conference specifically about the 3DS. They will most likely be showing off the holiday releases that will make this system a must-own such as Mario Kart, Super Mario 3D, Kid Icarus, etc. along with hopefully a look at some future titles (such as Monster Hunter G). They might officially announce the second circular pad, and frankly they better come up with something to offer the current install base. At the very least if the circular pad is real, it should be offered free to any current owners. But frankly given how bulky and ungainly the thing looks, current owners should probably be given a free voucher for the new design. This isn't like the original DS compared to any later iteration-nothing added in those designs drastically changed gameplay options or cut off a significant portion of owners from enjoying the games because they had an earlier design. I think Nintendo knows it really has to blow the doors off the the hinges tomorrow, so hopefully that's exactly what they will do. Otherwise they may soon find themselves relegated to the inconsequential 3rd place they were in the last couple of generations...

That is all for today, I should most definitely have a post up by Tuesday specifically about Nintendo's big press conference. Until then, here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

Yes, because creating a huge divide will save the system...

Nintendo seems to be in desperation mode with the 3DS still. I'm not completely sure why, the system hasn't even gone through it's first holiday season. But they've massively slashed the price and are now supposedly adding a rather drastic re-design that adds on another analog stick. Fair enough, dual analog sticks have been the norm for  long time now in controller schemes and should help immensely with control issues (also might be a big step towards porting Gamecube games, which has been rumored and would be awesome).

But what about those of us who already bought the system? Well like most things Nintendo brings out that add functionality, we can get one for our current system. Because that worked so well with the Motion+ add on and the small handful of games that even bothered to support it. Much like the Motion + the second analog is being touted s a good idea that should've been in the original design to begin with, but it instantly creates a significant portion of the audience who won't have this thing and won't buy it for a number of reasons, the main one probably the feeling of being screwed over just for buying the system early. And then you have developers, which Nintendo has a history or more or less leaving to their own devices when making games for the system, who certainly won't want to cut that portion off. If Nintendo wants this to work they will most likely have to mandate that all games actually use this second analog stick. But given Nintendo's history with third parties I don't really see that happening, plus it would absolutely look like a huge fuck you to anybody who bought the system prior. It's really starting to look like Nintendo is a rudderless ship here, and for their sake I hope they fix it at lest by the time the Wii U launches.

That's it for today I should be posting again tomorrow with thoughts on Disgaea 4 and maybe a couple other things. In the meantime here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Super Type

MMO'S Square, you're doing it wrong...

Dragon Quest is one of the biggest series in video game history, even if its not a gigantic hit here, in Japan, the nation practically shuts down when one is released, so it's a huge coup for Nintendo to be the one getting all the DQ games lately. And hey, the series has never relied on graphics to impress(IX could've been done on a SNES), so it's not really something that'd even necessarily benefit from being on the PS3 or 360 normally. Dragon Quest X is one of the few reasons to actually hold on to your Wii beyond this holiday season really. But possibly not anymore. Dragonquest X is indeed coming, but in a drastic series departure, will be an online MMO. An online MMO on the Wii? Surely you must be joking? Apparently not.

Though hey, Monster Hunter Tri did at least decent numbers despite the Wii's lack of anything resembling a coherent system. And it is slated for Wii U at some point so maybe this can almost be seen as a test run. Get the kinks worked out before the Wii U version hits and maybe it'll be something that helps differentiate Nintendo's online from something else. The big issue is that they plan charging a subscription fee in order to get online. Now of course this is not completely unusual for an MMO, but it seems to be a really poor idea with the trend for MMOs these days not only being free to play, but that Nintendo's online reputation is a joke at this point, and they'll need to come up with something really impressive to get anybody to really go online with their system. The Wii is already long a lost cause in this area. We've been promised whatever Nintendo has planned for the Wii U will be better, but without any real evidence of such so far. DQX could be a huge way to get Nintendo fans online and a jumping point for a strong online portfolio, but having a subscription fee for an unproven online iteration on a system who's online functionality is already suspect long before its out is the wrong move. Hopefully Square will fix this either before the release or not long after it's out, or I think they'll have missed out on a huge opportunity.

That's it for today, I should be back tomorrow or Thursday with another post. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Blackthorne

Let the game avalanche begin!

Now that we are pretty much at the end of Summer, it's time for gamers' wallets to get very, very afraid. Even with many big titles such as Mass Effect 3 & Twisted Metal pushed back to sometime next year, we still have a gigantic deluge of titles coming in the next few months, especially for those owning multiple consoles, and it begins here.One of the most exciting zombie games in a long while, Dead Island comes out, and we'll see if it lives up to the amazing trailer. I'm not a huge fan of zombie titles, but it certainly looks compelling and IGN describing it as "Fallout with zombies", sounds promising. The 3DS gets another N64 classic this Friday with the release of Star Fox 64, which much like the 3DS iteration of Ocarina of Time, is shaping up to be the definitive version, making the number of must-own titles for the system double to a whopping 2 (though that should increase shortly with several big titles due out by Christmas).

But as an rpg nut who has been dealing with a real lack of rpgs lately, I'm by far most interested in Disgaea 4 for the PS3. Sadly aside from Skyrim rpg gamers don't have a whole lot to look forward to. While I absolutely love most Nippon Ichi titles and really enjoyed the first two Disgaea titles, the third seemed like just a little too much of the same. This latest entry however looks to solve most of those issues with a whole ton of stuff to do along with online integration in ways you wouldn't see in any other series. Throw in the series trademark over the top insanity and humor and you might have the sleeper rpg of the year on your hands. Too bad it might get buried under all the bigger releases.

Ok that's all for today, I should have another post up by Tuesday. In the meantime here's your BIG BANG OF THE WEEK:

No Sony, you can't go Home again...

It's generally agreed that Sony's Home program, designed to be a virtual space for gamers is a interestingly muddled experiment at the best of times. It's cumbersome, pointless, filled with annoying ads, and no one really uses it. Yet Sony seems determined to try and turn it into something gamers actually give a shit about. Their latest "genius" revamp? Turning it into some kind of MMO theme park. Really, a virtual theme park? Who the hell cares? This just seems like they are desperate to please at this point. It just seems ridiculously complicated like Home has always been. XBox live works because it keeps things streamlined and simple. It's virtually effortless to find people to play with on your level or any level you want.  Now I have to go to some vaguely described section of a "theme park"? Why would I want to do that? And you plan on making it something else to play? If I wanted to be in a social MMO I would be in one, there's tons out there, all free to play, and better organized than anything Sony will come up with. Home is a lost cause, Sony should just dump it altogether and probably just try and ape Xbox live as best they can. People pay for that service because it's by far the best, Sony is free because no one in their right mind would pay for it, and shit like Home continues to re-enforce that fact.

That's all for today, I have a fairly packed weekend, but with a little luck I should have a post up Sunday. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Infestor

Welcome Back Kevin Butler....

Yeah I wasn't completely aware he "left" either, but apparently he's back. Come to think of it though, Butler's been MIA since the whole hacking fiasco so it's good to see him back in action, because he's easily the most awesome thing Sony has ever come up with in terms of advertising.

Were you an early 3DS adopter? Well the sting of missing out on the sudden and massive price drop should be relieved a bit by the 10 Free NES games you get starting tomorrow. The full list has finally been revealed and as should be expected, it's  bit of  mixed bag, but with some genuine classics in there so nobody should really be complaining. Now if we could get a real date on the GBA titles not to mention be told what the last 5 are that'd be nice too.

Can Mass Effect continue without Commander Shepard? I guess we will find out, as Bioware has stated that while there will most likely be more titles set in the Mass Effect Universe, the third chapter wraps up Shepard's story and any new games would have a new protagonist. I'm sort of torn on this. It's good to not wear out a character, but on the other hand it's sort of like replacing any iconic character of a franchise, it feels weird. Plus it might be more personal for most, since each Shepard is unique to each person's decisions throughout the series, so it's someone that's grown with the player. But admittedly, assuming you beat Mass Effect 3 you just saved the whole goddamn universe, there's really nowhere to go but down with that character (although that could be something to explore as well). I guess we'll see if this decision pays off whenever the 4th Mass Effect title comes out.

That's really it for today, I should be back to a regular posting schedule so look for another post in the next day or two. In the meantime here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Hunger Games

Short Hiatus time again...

Things have been going crazy this week with a new job opportunity (while still working my current job so I still have money to do basic things like buy food. I've been running ragged the whole week and it might not stop until I officially start at the new job so this blog is going dark til then. Hopefully shouldn't be more than a couple weeks, no more than a month tops.

Games are too expensive. Except of course our games...

The price debate on games has pretty much been going on since the advent of cds. People thought hey, cds cost mere pennies to manufacture, surely games won't be nearly as expensive now, right? And while we didn't see the occasional $80-100 game like we had during the cartridge era, the average price of games stayed fairly steady, and for the most part actually climbed to the $60 price point most major console games are now.

Developers & publishers have for years told the very plausible line of rising development and marketing costs. Big games can cost as much as a small budget movie to make these days, and obviously to make that money back they have to sell lots of copies. However with console cycles lasting much longer and digital distribution becoming a bigger piece of the pie shouldn't prices be going down? Surprisingly several developers have actually come out and said $60 is too much for game. Is their answer to lower prices? Of course not, their answer is too make sure that you get your $60 worth out of game. And sure, there are some titles that can probably easily make their case.

Take Skyrim, the latest Elder Scrolls title hitting in a few months. The Elder Scrolls titles literally have hundreds of hours of gameplay to offer, so that's a no-brainer to argue for the price point. What about games that don't offer nearly that many hours? Most games offer high enough production values of course, but the average length is far shorter, taking 10-15 hours. How do those justify a similar price tag? Some tack on pointless multi-player, but many who buy those games buy them for one or the other, not really both. Why should we pay for both? I'm pretty excited about Uncharted 3, but I have no interest in the multi-player content. If I was offered the single-player mode by itself for cheaper, I would snatch that up in a heartbeat. Everybody seems to be sharing these kind of sentiments-that games should in general be cheaper, possibly offering different options. But nobody seems to be willing to actually take that step. Hopefully someone will break that price barrier soon, as I believe it would benefit everybody.

That's all for today, I should have my next post up in the the next couple of days. In the meantime, here's your BIG BANG CLIP OF THE WEEK:

10 awesomely nerdy music videos

This is most definitely not some kind of list of best nerdy music videos, because there's so many out there I'm bound to not even really know half of them. But when extreme Nerdery and music combine, often it's a beautiful, beautiful thing, so here are 10 I just really like either for the song itself or something to do with the video:

#10: Bruno Mars-The Lazy Song



Bruno Mars is decidedly not nerdy in the least, but Leonard Nimoy is of course one of the great geek icons and is doing  brilliant send up of himself. If it was just any old guy in video it wouldn't be anything special of course, but Spock flipping people off, buying porn mags and practicing the Vulcan greeting in the mirror are just things only us nerds & geeks would find so ridiculously entertaining.

#9: Goldfish-We Come Together



I really shouldn't even have to explain why this video is so awesome and amazing when one viewing will say it all for me. The great animation paying homage to the 8 & 16-bit glory days combined with nods to so many classic characters and memes that you see something you missed every new viewing makes this a mandatory viewing for any geek.

#8-Jonathon Coulton-Re: Your Brains



Zombies have been all the rage lately but Jonathon Coulton had an anthem ready for the living impaired long before they were popping up in everything from hit cable shows to Jane Austen. Long  a geek favorite, it actually didn't really have a music video  til recently, but what an awesome video it is.

#7-Midichlorian Rhapsody



 A parody of nerdy music favorite Bohemian Rhapsody, and a completely brilliant one at that.  The prequels are a disgrace of of course, but when it can result in stuff like this, it becomes a little harder to hate (as long as I don't have to actually watch them again at any rate).

#6-The Guild-Game On



I only wanted to put one Guild video up, and admittedly it was a little hard to choose between this and "Do You Want to Date My Avatar", but the homage/mocking of Bollywood-style musicals gives Game On a slight edge in my nerdy opinion. Also the fact that it's basically all bout getting someone pumped to play a video game is a level of nerdiness few songs could hope to achieve.

#5-College Humor-Run this Raid



There are plenty of WoW videos out there, but this one is probably the best and funniest without being insulting or just plain lame since it accurately describes both what's awesome about the world's biggest MMO and what is really frustrating about it as well.

#4-Tonight I'm Frakking You



The capper of this celebration of many things nerd is that Raj from Big Bang Theory is in it. I'm also told the girl in the Leia bikini is from Caprica but since that was a terrible show I have no idea. It is also a pretty solid parody of the rather douchey Enrique Iglesias song.

#3-Broken Record Films: Roll a D6



No list like this would be complete without  a D & D tribute and this is definitely one of the better ones out there. I haven't even played old school D & D in over a decade and this song makes me want to gather a crew in my basement and roll some dice.

#2-Sam Hart: Mario Kart Love Song



This is easily my personal fave because it's so original, simple and beautiful while managing to be touchingly funny as well. Sam Hart is simply incredibly talented (seriously check out his other songs) and really deserves to be much more than the youtube celebrity he is at the moment.

#1-Weird Al: White and Nerdy



You know this list isn't complete without at least one Weird Al video, and "White & Nerdy" is considered by many to be the closest thing to a nerd anthem. Yankovic is of course  giant nerd himself and revels in it, but what really sells this video for me personally is Donny Osmond completely spazzing out, which I could watch for days on end.

Ok that's it for today but I should have another post up this weekend. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Lee-Lee's Quest

How much should you be paying for a 3DS game?

One of the major flaws that has been brought up as a big reason for the 3DS not selling so hot is the seemingly high price of $40 across the board for all titles. With most mobile devices offering games for pennies many feel the $40 price tag is absolutely ridiculous, claiming 3DS games should run much lower, like in the $20-25 range/ Would this solve the issue? It might help, but I think it really needs a two-pronged approach. Premium AAA titles such as Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart, etc. Probably can justify the $40 price tag. Their production values are top notch and they offers tons of hours of playtime. But smaller or under the radar titles should be cheaper. There is no reason for me to be paying $40 for Pac-Man/Galaga Dimensions, especially when I can get those titles on my home console for half the price. As much as I enjoyed Ghost Recon, the production values on that game were terrible, it screamed budget title, yet still runs $40 brand new. The DS has a wide range of titles varying in price anywhere from $20-35, and many of the lower priced titles are of consistently good quality. There's really little reason 3DS games couldn't have similar pricing. It would give smaller profile titles a much better chance, and make the 3DS catalog a little more appealing overall. Of course at the end of the day having a wide range of quality titles will be one of the most important factors regardless of the price. Currently the 3DS has nothing close to that, and it has to change soon.

That's it for today, should have another post up tomorrow or Friday. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: In Time

We need an actual network for gamers....

Anybody who has actually watched G4 over the last several years know it has de-volved into a Spike/MTV wannabe with a slight nerd edge, getting rid of the majority of their personalities and programming about gaming and just replacing them with pretty models and Dane Cook wannabes. Cops 2.0 and extreme lameness like Code Monkeys & Spaceballs the animated series (which looks like it costs about $5 an episode and is written by guys not good enough to get on Mad TV). Now the argument may be that gamers don't want to watch TV about gaming when they could be playing games, but given that the recent EVO tournament had over 2 million streams (which would be a decent number of watchers for most cable shows) and the fact that each console has wide range of programming it does to promote it's product shows that their is audience for this sort of thing.

Programming wouldn't be that difficult, just transplant most of the shows already on consoles like Quore and Major's minute, throw in some classically cheesy gamer TV like Nick Arcade and Captain N, current stuff people actually watch like The Guild and Mega 64. Then throw in some obvious original programming like a review show, news show and a competition show or two and you're pretty much set.

This is actually not that different from how G4 was at the beginning, arguably it's only real weakness was lack of variety which could've easily been fixed if it had actually been given a few years to grow into its own real network rather than the awkward merger with Tech TV then quickly turning into the abomination it is today.

Ok that's all for now, this was meant to be my weekend post but I worked a lot and didn't quite have the energy to finish. There may be another post later today but Tuesday is more likely. Until then, here's your BIG BANG CLIP OF THE WEEK:

Nintendo is ignoring its biggest weapon on the 3DS...

So Nintendo has more or less admitted that the 3DS is in critical condition, but to their credit they are taking fairly drastic steps to turn it around, namely with a huge price drop and an emphasis on what looks to be a pretty strong holiday lineup with the trio of Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart and Kid Icarus Uprising.

That's a pretty good start, but I really think that Nintendo is ignoring a major aspect of its system that they have barely mentioned even though the potential applications are huge. Much like the Wii, the 3DS has a Mii system, where you can make little simple avatars or you, your friends and family or even famous faces and characters. The new hitch to this is Mii Plaza combined with the 3DS' street pass feature. Essentially you carry your 3DS with you wherever you go and odds your 3DS will contact someone else's 3DS and you'll swap Mii's to be used in the simple but surprisingly addictive Find Mii RPG. It's a fun but limited application of what this feature could really be. With the right steps this could be a huge social media tool, right up there with facebook or twitter. Add in new games to play, incentives to meet people (you already can get hats for your Mii through playing Find Mii, getting more exclusive items for your Mii through playing new games or simply meeting enough Miis would add a lot of variety to this feature). The 3DS has internet capability as well, so integrating this into something like Facebook or Twitter could make it all the more appealing.

Social Media and networking is a huge thing. We know this. Nintendo has something that can really take advantage of that fact and they are virtually ignoring it. Don't get me wrong I'll prefer a slate of really solid software over social media bullshit any day but it doesn't change the fact that tons of people do similar stuff on facebook already and if Nintendo really pushed and marketed this right it could be one of the defining selling points of the system that really helps it stand out from all the portable competition. But odds are that won't happen because if there's one thing Nintendo's really known for, it's introducing a really cool new idea and then barely even bothering to support it...

That's all for today, I should theoretically have another post up this weekend. Until then, here's your free game of the week: Penguin Overlords

Will your new games start requiring a subscription?

So we already have Xbox live, Playstation +, and other various services where basically you pay a company money to use services that should arguably be free or mostly get stuff for free you never would've payed for anyways (as much as I enjoy and tout the value of PS+, at least half the games I've downloaded for free get little to no playtime, but it's still worth it IMHO). And now EA is really getting into the whole subscription game with their EA Sports Season Ticket, which essentially allows early access to games, dlc discounts and vague "premium content", whatever that means (you know, like the tip videos & cheats EA charged you for previously that should've been free to begin with). Now, there is definitely arguable value here. DLC can cost as much or more than the initial purchase, so for somebody who wants to get all or most of it that might be worth it alone (especially since it covers all of EA Sports, not just one game).

However, I think the realistic and likely worry is this will cause a have/have not situation that may worsen if more companies go in on it. There may be only a handful of mega-publishers these days, but everyone's trying to make that cash flow for as long as possible, that's already why DLC exists, getting you to pay more for a product you've already bought. Sometimes it's great stuff to help extend and add value but almost as often it's something that seems like a cheap cash grab or something that should've been in the game in the first place. Right now its perks like early access and discounts, which if somebody wants to pay a premium for, more power to them, it's really hard to argue how that's going to affect the guy brown bagging it to work so he can keep feeding his gaming habit and can't really afford to subscribe to all these premium services. But at some point it might become more than that. Stat boosts? Extra powerful in-game items? Online access and multi-player? The ending? Sure it's a slippery slope but we already have certain games that require constant online access to work even if they don't include online play, is other seemingly mandatory content next? I'm honestly not sure. It seems unlikely, but then You'd think no one would pay money just for the ability to go online with their system when the competitors allow you to do that for free....

That's all for today, sorry for no post over the weekend, I just honestly had a pretty bad case of writer's block. I should have another post up tomorrow or Thursday. In the meantime here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK:  Tower Heist

Is the 3DS the new Virtual Boy?

Cancelled titles, flagging sales only 2 months in, a software lineup that even Atari Jaguar owners would laugh at. Is the 3DS doomed to be a quickly forgotten experiment? That's what some seem to be suggesting in the wake of not only the latest sales numbers, but Nintendo's big announcement this morning that they will be slashing the price of the 3DS a whopping $70 to a much more attractive $170. And just to be sure they don't piss off the early adopters, everybody who has or gets one before the price drop gets TWENTY free games. Sure they are downloadable old NES and GBA titles, but it's hard to be mad when I'm getting stuff like Ice Cimbers & Mario Kart: Super Circuit for free.

Does this move seem drastic and possibly desperate considering the PS Vita isn't even out yet? Maybe, but this is a very different time than when the DS launched. The economy was better and there weren't tons of portable phones and tablets and whatnot all vying for your time and your dollars. What this does IMHO is send a message that Nintendo is being extremely aggressive this time around and it'll most likely pay off come this holiday when the new low price is combined with the release of games like Mario Kart, Super Mario 3DS and Kid Icarus.

Now, in reference to the heading, many naysayers are claiming that the 3DS is already the next Virtual Boy, essentially a huge blunder best left forgotten. But there are quite a few differences here, namely that the Virtual Boy's biggest issues were all major design flaws (horrible red graphics, stupid helmet that was heavy and gave people headaches). You can turn off the 3D and you are still essentially left with something that's quite a visual step up from the DS which companies can make quality games for without having to shoehorn 3D into everything. Will the 3D remain a key component since the public seems kind of ambivalent at best about that technology? That's really up to Nintendo and 3rd party developers to decide. Making games that really use the 3D feature in new and innovative ways rather than just doing it because they can will make it a key feature and a differentiator from most competition, and it's really up to them to make that happen. I fully expect once solid titles really start rolling out (which they will in the coming months) sales will easily skyrocket with the new price point and a year from now everyone will wonder what the worry was about as they are playing Blast Corps in 3D (hopefully).

That's all for today, I should have another post up this weekend sometime. In the meantime, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Sushi Boy Thunder

A legacy worth mentioning?

Admittedly as I've mentioned before, most DLC isn't even worth looking at and Bioware's is no exception as the large majority for previous titles has been overpriced short and uninteresting. Dragon Age II's Legacy is none of those things so far frankly. I'm a little over 90 minutes in (which is on average about as long as most previous Bioware DLC has been) and just seem to be getting into it. Granted, they could cut it short like they did with pretty much the third act, but I'm sensing there are at least a couple more hours here which certainly makes it well worth the $10. There's even some replay value there for not only new dialogue banter between party characters but also obviously depending where you are in the game, you may have a wider variety of characters to play through it with. The story is intriguing so far as well. Hopefully future DA II dlc will measure up to this very worthy first release.

Don't have DA II or looking for something new in the summer doldrums? Xbox's Summer of Arcade may have your answer yet again with the very original From Dust. I haven't downloaded the trial yet, but I should get a chance to play around with it this weekend. The early reviews are very positive. It'd be nice if XBLA releases could be regularly this kind of quality instead of being so inconsistent, especially with the prices on average going up.

That's really all I have for today, but I should have another post up tomorrow or Friday (if it's Friday I might have a Cowboys and Aliens review as I am planning on seeing it this weekend), until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: The Knights of Badassdom

A man out of time....

Well actually I did happen to be able to go catch Captain America on Friday night and I really enjoyed it overall. Evans was damn good in the role and the action was spectacular. It does almost seem like a film that was lifted straight out of the early days of film making in its style and dialogue. It has that same serial vibe going for it that Lucas infused the Indiana Jones movies with. It doesn't take a lot of risks or try and be edgy, but it doesn't really need to be. My one minor complaint would be that both Peggy Carter and Cap's squadron of Howling Commandos don't get much screen time and since it seems like only the first movie will take place in WWII, there's a bit of missed opportunity there. I think the Howling Commandos could certainly make for a good film, but odds are they're a little too far down on the Marvel food chain for that to happen.

So the WiiU won't be compatible with Gamecube games but that doesn't necessarily mean we won't have any opportunity to play them as it's been suggested that they will probably be released on Wiiware once the WiiU is actually out. Depending on pricing this could be a pretty awesome prospect, though considering the huge leap in size of the games, it does make one wonder how we would store given Nintendo's rather half-assed storage measures to date. Hopefully they'll have something close to on par with the storage space the PS3 & 360 have now and it won't be an issue.

Finally in potentially awesome news, Lego has recently required the rights to make Marvel & DC Lego characters and sets. This is obviously awesome for any Lego fan, and while I haven't bought any Legos in years, the real exciting potential would be for a Marvel or DC-based lego videogame. Of course, Marvel & DC together in a Lego game would arguably be the biggest Nerdgasm of all time, but odds are that's not going to happen, so I'd just be pretty stoked to have something with the Avengers or the Justice League.

That's all for today, I should have another post up Monday or Tuesday. Until then, here's your BIG BANG CLIP OF THE WEEK:

Chris Evans can't be Captain America, he's already the Human Torch!!!

Admittedly there's been some joking of this sort since Evans was cast as Marvel's iconic all-American soldier. But,  possibly because the Fantastic 4 movies are considered some of the worst comic book films of the last couple years, the usual fans don't really seem bothered by it. It'd be different if say Hugh Jackman was cast in the role, not only would he probably be really wrong for it, the guy is so ingrained in fans' minds as Wolverine I think some people's heads would explode trying to comprehend that. There was also some doubt on Evans ability but aside from the really solid reviews, I've always found Evans a really solid and fun actor to watch from things like Sunshine & Push to more just fun stuff like Scott Pilgrim. Hopefully Captain America and the Avengers next year will push him into bigger stardom because he's actually been doing really solid work for a few years now and deserves it frankly. I'm excited to see the film, but my weekend's pretty packed already so I might not be seeing it til I have a day off next week. I'll be sure to post my thoughts then.

Ok Xbox's Summer of Arcade has started! Are you pumped? Why not? Could it be because nearly every year "SoA" seems like an apology for the fact that 3 months go by without any cool titles and even for the lowered expectations of digital titles these usually seem underwhelming? Well, obviously I can't speak for the rest of the SoA titles (except Fruit Ninja Kinect, just fuck you Microsoft on that one) because they haven't come out yet but the first one is actually pretty awesome. Bastion, best described as an isometric dungeon-crawler is just oozing style, creativity and coolness. The action is solid but fairly boiler-plater shooting and hitting the hell out of anything that moves with a decent array of weaponry,What really makes it fun is the clever narrator that tells you story, and not in a canned fashion, he actually adjusts on the fly. I don't own it yet as I'm saving my $$$ for the Dragon Age II: Legacy DLC set to hit next week but I pan to purchase it not long after and you should as well if you want to support good original downloadable titles.



So the new Spider-Man trailer is out, and everyone's biggest complaint seems to be "not another origin story!". Which given that the Sam Raimi films weren't all that long ago, seems like a somewhat valid complaint, but they've recast everybody, put Peter in High School and even given him back his old-school web shooters. While comic book fans and internet nerds might be able to just accept that, the general movie going-public will just be confused and think they are at the wrong movie. Besides, the last time they tried rebooting a series without an origin story, we got Superman Returns. Granted, maybe Sony should've waited a few more years so the last 3 films weren't so fresh in everyone's mind, but given that there's money to be made that just wasn't a realistic expectation. I for one am excited all over again.

Ok that's it for today I should have another post up tomorrow or Sunday. Until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: War Horse