Rejected Gamer » Editorial

Games that need to be on the VC

MrB4 — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:55:12 +0000

Checking out the latest and greatest in the world of video games game can be fun, but sometimes we need a reminder of why we enjoy them so much in the first place. Before there were high res graphics, leaderboards, and gamerscores all that mattered was having a good time. Watching your friend crumble after a punishing fatality in Mortal Kombat(SNES and Genesis), or hitting a homerun in Ken Griffey Jr.’s Baseball(SNES), or finally defeating the final form of shredder in TMNT 3 (NES) are events that can only be experienced in their original form, until now.

The Virtual Console service was a brilliant idea when it was released at the Wii’s launch. Being able to play old school games, without the need to go on ebay to look for a system, made it much easier for us to relive some of those great moments from our past. That being said, there are still alot of games from my childhood in which i have yet to see come out for the VC. Here is a quick list of some of them, and keep in mind, these are my own personal experiences, so whether you like them or not, I’m still not going to change my opinion.

1. Ken Griffey Jr’s Major League Baseball (SNES)

Roster updates be damned, playing as a bunch of nameless nobodys surrounding one big star is where its at. This is one of the first sports games that I have ever played, and the main reason why I enjoy over the top arcade style sports titles like The Bigs 2 so much to this very day. Everything about it made my laugh my ass off, like running into a wall to go after a fly ball(hey that rhymed) and hearing the crunching sound of a missed opportunity, or hitting a ball damn near 700 feet for a homerun, or watching a player run like an orangutan with his arms flailing about, good times. Anyone else who shares these fond memories with me should plead to Nintendo to release this one to the VC ASAP.

2. Tetris Attack (SNES)

Who would have thought that a puzzle game with the name Tetris in the title would have nothing do with the franchise whatsoever, I sure didn’t. This little insignificant problem didn’t stop me from playing what is quite possibly one of the most challenging, fun, and underrated titles to ever be released for the SNES. It’s a simple match 3 sort of game, like bejewled, that requires the player to achieve chains or combos of a certain amount of objects in order to drop blocks that will fill up the space on the other players screen. The cute and cuddly shapes and colors are just a decoy however, be warned, this is no walk in the park at all. This is especially true if you choose to play against a friend, because if they are at the same skill level as you, the match will go on forever.

3. Any of the other TMNT games for the NES, SNES, or Sega Genesis

Anyone who knows me should not be surprised to see that the TMNT made the list. I mean come on, my all time favorite cartoon only has one title out for the VC, which is, and I mean this is the nicest way possible, one of the worst games ever made. When are the die hard fans going to get the chance to play those games that really paid homage to what the show was all about, over the top action and fun. Instead of beating up on Krang, mousers, foot soldiers, and saving the world from the likes of the Shredder, we will have to stick with beating up sandmen and frogs, and not being able to swim underwater until this whole mess gets resolved.

4. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island(SNES)

Don’t get me wrong, the first Super Mario World was an instant classic, but the fact of the matter is that it’s sequel, which is my personal favorite, has still not seen the light of day on the VC. Using Yoshi’s eggs to uncover obstacles sounds kind of strange, but the concept was so well implemented into the overall gameplay experience that It really didn’t matter all that much. Not to mention that the accuracy of the targeting system used in shooting the eggs was absolutely spot on. Baby Mario, despite his annoyingly loud crying, made a pretty good first impression in the video game world in this one.

Off the top of my head, these are all of the games that I would like to see come out for VC as of right now. Did you agree with my picks, or have some of your own that you would like to share with the rest of us. Let us know either way, and leave a comment below.

Making up our minds for us

MrB4 — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:37:56 +0000

Just because I am a gamer doesn’t mean that I don’t keep up with current events, especially when it’s related to video games. Back in 2005, California State Senator Leland Yee wrote up a bill that would propose a ban on the selling of violent video games to minors. It was signed into Law by the governator of California himself, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and would enforce a $1,000 fine to any retailer who would sell these types of games to minors, as well as make them place a two by two 18+ sticker on the front cover. In 2007, a Circuit Court judged said that the bill was unconstitutional, and last year, an Appellate judge made the same ruling.

Now the bill is being presented to the supreme court in hopes that it will finally get passed. Eleven different states, including Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, and Virginia, are now showing their support for the bill as well. Apparently somehow these people still have this thought firmly implanted in their brains that they have to make decisions for us, because obviously we are not smart not to decide what is, or what isn’t appropriate for our children. Then again, the decision is based solely on the responsibility of the parent, and sometimes they don’t make the best choices either.

I don’t claim to have expertise on any of this stuff at all, I am just offering my opinion, thats all. Whether you choose to listen to it or not is entirely up to you. There are just a few problems with this whole idea. To begin with, there is still no clear cut evidence to this day that shows that acts of violence committed by children, and young adults, have anything to do with video games whatsoever. Let me ask you parents out there this one question, when was the last time you saw your kid playing a violent video game, then when he or she was done, they went out and performed a criminal act based on the game that they were playing? The answer is never, its never happened. If, under any circumstance, this has happened, i apologize sincerely, but honestly, it probably had nothing to do with the game at all.

Secondly, if this is the major issue that any government is worried about in this day and age, then they they are either really bored and have nothing else to do, or can’t figure out how to solve any of the countries real problems, and try to look productive by doing something like this. Oh no, we are in a recession, lots of people don’t have jobs or homes, there’s an oil spill, and soldiers in our military are dying every day, that’s okay though, let’s get a pointless bill passed first before we worry about that stuff. Now correct me if im wrong, but isn’t this something that is protected by the first amendment to begin with. Guess freedom towards our own beliefs and ideas has become a thing of the past.

Last, but certainly not least, let’s say the bill does get passed, do they really think that it will stop parents from buying games for their kids?, hell no. For one, it’s a way for parents to keep their kids quiet, and two, if the kid enjoys an activity like this, why take it away from them. Kids aren’t stupid either, if you teach them the difference between reality and fantasy when it comes to video games, they will be able to pick up on that idea very quickly. Even if this does happen, the kid could still go to a friend, who is of age, and have him or her buy the game for them anyways.

Sorry if this comes off as angry or misguided, but it was a story that just rubbed me the wrong way. Video games are meant to be played for a simple reason, because they are fun. Trying to believe that they have anything to do with the real world as a whole is a misguided idea. Here’s a crazy thought, instead of making up our minds for us, let us do it. I know this sounds like a scary thing, but it just might work.

The Link to the original story can be found here

Live – The Electronic Addiction

X3R0 9 — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:31:11 +0000

Won’t anti-video game lobbyist love the title of this post? The joke will be on them though because it won’t be what they think it’s going to be about. Now if you follow me on Twitter or if you’re on my 360 friends list, you already know that I’ve had a bit of bad luck as of late. First I had a serious tire issue on the way back home from vacation. Then last Monday on my way home from work, I check the mail like I always do and my truck wouldn’t start. Luckily it was only my battery – probably couldn’t take the heat from sitting so long, plus it was over five years old. And according to superstition, “bad luck comes in threes,” which brings me to the third bout of bad luck. During a typical afternoon thundershower, lighting had struck nearby and zapped part of my router and my Xbox 360 ethernet port. While losing connection to Xbox Live through an ethernet cable isn’t a total loss, it is financially when you consider the cost of an adapter and any possible future repair costs, to the price of a new console. But the real loss is losing a way to socialize with friends.

While there are many ways to socialize with online friends, like Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Myspace (if that even exists anymore), but nothing beats hoping on Live to chat with friends while playing some multiplayer games. There are folks out there that would say that myself, and many others in a similar situation are addicted to games, but honestly most of us aren’t. I think that most of us enjoy sharing the OMG moments with our friends. It gives us something to talk about for days on end until the next Kilimanjaro happens, or watching a friend take out a helicopter that falls on top of a tank and destroys that too in Battlefield Bad Company 2.

On the bright side to all this, I now have plenty of time to play all my single player campaigns. I can now finish Dragon’s Age, Bioshock 2 (that never really impressed me), Oblivion (that feels to be an ongoing game), and hey, I have loads of time to find all 500 Agility Orbs and 300 Hidden Orbs in Crackdown 2. My word of advice to all the complaints about Live, while it may feel that it costs a lot and we may feel that we’re getting screwed, either remember or imagine gaming without Live.

Sanity Saving iPhone Games

X3R0 9 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:47:23 +0000

I know last week I mentioned that I was going to share my thoughts on games that I have played during my hiatus, but because I had left my power cable at home during my vacation, I wasn’t able to share those thoughts. Now that I’m home, I want to share my thoughts on a few iPhone games that I have been playing the past few months.

First up is a game that tests your true ninja skills while climbing up trees. Ninjatown: Trees of Doom! is a great 2D game using a very simplistic, but challenging concept! Playing as a Wee Ninja, players challenge themselves and others on a global leaderboard, to see just how high they can climb while avoiding foes and obstacles. Your objective during this game is to climb, jumping from tree to tree or climbing as high as you can on one tree until you run into an obstacle. These obstacles vary. You have devilish looking creatures that fly between the trees, you will have to avoid tree warriors as they try to stab you with their spears or shoot you with purple ooze, purple ooze that seeps out of the trees, parts of trees that are bare and slippery, and smiley face bees that attempt to knock you off the tree, and that’s only the ones I ran into. You may think this game won’t interest you, but once you play it, you’ll be hooked. With trying to outdo my high score and others on leaderboard, Ninjatown: Trees of Doom! makes the list as one of my most addictive games on my phone.

The next game deals with a lot of pig looking egg thiefs and a whole lot of angry birds. Angry Birds is a unique game that delivers great physics and different ways to destroy the enemy pigs. The story of the game is really simple – save the bird race by rescuing the bird eggs the pigs have stolen from the nest. Each level you play is unique in how the pigs are protected by ice, wood, and/or stone blocks. Along with the unique levels, the birds vary and have their own “special” powers like speed, egg bombs, boomerang, mulitshot, and a bird that acts as a grenade. For a 2D game, Angry Birds is a great physics based game and visually looks great too. Just like Ninjatown: Trees of Doom!, Angry Birds is also on my list of games that will not leave my iPhone.

The last game I want to mention that helped keep my sanity was Tweet Defense. Tweet Defense is what it sounds like, a tower defense game that uses your Twitter stats to give you bonuses. What’s different about this game is that you’re protecting your backyard from invading zombies. You have six different towers at your disposal that have different abilities to use against the various forms of nasty zombies. Some of the zombies are basic and easy to destroy, while some take a lot of firepower to bring down and pack a surprise after you destroy them. With ten different levels to play on with three difficulties, this makes for a quick pick-up-and-play game while putting your Twitter account to another good use.

Now these three weren’t the only iPhone games that I played. I did get a chance to play Crap of Defense, Silent Swords, and Dragon’s Lair. I’ll share my thoughts on these games in the upcoming days. If you haven’t played any of the three that I shared my thoughts about, make sure you do because they are highly worth the price and you won’t be disappointed.

Move vs. Kinect

MrB4 — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:59:47 +0000

Seems like copying ideas from others is the name of the game when it comes to the latest and greatest in gaming technology nowadays. Whenever I would talk to a fellow gamer, they would tell me one of the reasons that they didn’t buy a Wii was how stupid the wiggling of the Wii remote and Nunchuck would make them look, as well as the lack of hardcore titles being released on the system. All of them thought that a controller in your hands was the best way to play a game. Apparently, Sony and Microsoft do not feel the same way at this point, and are now trying to succeed in the casual market with both the move controller, and the Kinect Camera peripheral. So who has the better device, let’s take a look.

Sony’s latest invention, the Move controller, just looks like a blatant ripoff of the Wii remote and Nunchuk if you ask me. Looking at it from a non fanboy point of view however, there may be a few games with this feature that could end up being alot of fun to play. The different spells and attacks in the game Sorcery look like they would be exciting to pull off, and the onscreen activity between the gamer and the in-game character in Eyepet could give the term “interaction” a whole new meaning.

Making you use two controllers(other than the nunchuk controller) for just one character in one game could end up being a little bit on the pricey side, which could turn plenty of gamers with a limited budget away from it real fast. Not sure if this is true or not, but I heard that you will need to purchase a playstation eye camera in order to play each of the games. Why couldn’t it just come with a sensor bar or something, instead of making us have to pay even more money for something that may or may not work.

Now moving on to Microsoft’s latest toy, the Kinect Camera. The idea of controller-less gaming sounds like an awesome concept, but unless you bring some quality games to the table that really show off the potential of what it could do, all you’re left with is another fad that will die out in a couple of years. As I said in my impressions of the E3 Microsoft Press Conference, the third-party titles shown were way more interesting than the first party ones. Honestly, the girl showing off Kinectimals freaked me out, and watching people do hurdles in Kinect Sports made me sick to my stomach. As stupid as it looked, Harmonix’s Dance Central could be a big hit at parties, and Ubisoft’s Your Shape Fitness Evolved could be the next big step in the world of excercising in video games, so there is some potential here.

My only real gripe with this device is how much it is going to cost. Just like with the move controller, paying an obscene amount of money, such as $149.99(which is how much it costs) for something like this just seems like an outrageous thing to do. The 360 itself costs $299, and for those people who don’t own the system yet, and are looking to get one because of Kinect will have to pay in upwards of $450, plus the price of games in order to experience the total package. If it does come bundled with a few games, and i’m sure it will, then this may not be a hard one to swallow, but at the moment, this feels like gamers are getting the short end of the stick.

The Winner is: Microsoft and their Kinect Peripheral

In the end, I had to go with Kinect as the better device, simply because it is a step in the right direction. Sony took the easy way out on this one. The Playstation Move left a been there, done that sort of feeling in the pit of my stomach. At least Microsoft had the gull to try something new, and whether it ends up succeeding or not, at least it is something creative and unique.

Did you agree with my pick or not, either way, leave a comment below, and share your thoughts.

Blame is an Easy Thing to Shift

Guest Writer — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:28:31 +0000

I had the opportunity to go home for the 4th of July with my family and was reminded how ignorant some folks can be. Living in the city you will not hear a parent complaining about how a video game has corrupted their child, but that they have to buy the game due the child not being of the chosen age for a particular game. During an outing to pick up a copy of Crackdown 2 with my husband, I had the pleasure of standing in line behind what would have to be one of those parents that would blame her child’s illegal behavior on a game. Apparently the cashier was having a difficult time with a customer on the phone and the customer turned out to be an adolescent using vulgar language. When apologizing for the inconvenience, the cashier explained to the parent waiting in line what was going on. I’m not one to talk bad about random folks, but this mother stated that the rude behavior was due to video games and that she was battling the same problems with her son. Once I heard the unintelligent statement that came out of this woman’s mouth I became enraged.

A video game has nothing to do with the child’s behavior and if the parent seems to think it does, then the parent needs to prevent their child from playing it. To blame a video game on a misbehaving child is like blaming a dog on a misbehaving child. Even if the game is the cause of an attitude adjustment, the parent needs to take the game away or better yet, don’t buy it for them. What kills me about the entire situation is that the mother knew she was going to have to pay for the game being that her child did not meet the ESRB Rating requirements, but then had the gull to blame the game. Is it the child’s fault, is it the parent’s fault, or is the game to blame? This has been an ongoing battle for many years and will most likely continue to be ongoing issue. Parents do not want to deal with their kids, so they figure the best form of a baby sitter is a video game.

A video game is not the cause of a child being disrespectful, violent, or disregarding the law. The parent is the one who teaches these things and if the moral compass is off for the child, then the parent needs to take a long hard look at their selves. A video game is not with the child telling them to rip off a store or to back mouth a teacher. A video game is not there telling the child to beat another human being or to shoot a cop. Is any of this depicted in a game….of course, but since when is it ok to allow fantasy the ability to run your life? Blame is an easy thing to shift, especially when you do not want to claim it yourself. Blaming a video game makes the parent feel better. Blaming a video game means that the parent does not have to claim the consequences to the actions you choose with your child. A video game is simply an object that has no conscience and a definite end. A child’s morality grows and molds to what it’s taught. If you only teach that blame can be shifted than the parent deserves the disrespect, attitude, and complete disregard.

While this parent was part of the 93% of parents present during the purchase of a game, she definitely didn’t fit into the 64% that thought games have a positive impact on her child’s life (theeca.com). While the ESRB and all these games stores are working together to make sure the ratings are in plain sight for parents, parents need to conduct research on games their children want to play. While this may be a rare instance, I feel that parents and video game retailers need to communicate more prior to a purchase to find something that satisfies the child’s requests and the parent’s comfort level.

- Heather K.

A Week with Toradora!

Qualitybeats84 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:47:09 +0000

I spent a week with one of Japan’s cutest anime series. My thoughts and opinions after the break.

NIS America needs to be thanked. Not just thanked for plugging an American market into Japanese culture, but for also sending me a Premium Edition copy of one of the cutest Anime series Japan (may) have. A perfect gift for a lady-friend who has shown signs of interest for Japanese animation and TV series. And to be honest, dudes are going to love this show too.
I’ll admit I was a bit worried to have to do a write-up about my wonderful gift. Three episodes later those woes were washed away. Yuyuko Takemiya doesn’t just pen great characters and relationships, he also plugs into american-culture refrences making the Toradora series an easy watch for a first time anime viewer.

Finish the following sentence:

Boy bumps into short, cute girl in high-school hallway and …

A: he helps pick up her things
B: they feel like they’ve found love at first sight
C: he gets knocked out for not watching where he’s going
D: she becomes his stalker

If you choose C, then your probably watching Toradora. The antics of a “bitchy” yet super-clumsy high-school female desperately in love with a certain someone, and a self-sufficient boy with girl-troubles may seem totally cliché and plastic, but the personality behind each of them makes for great TV. That is if you don’t have a problem with sub-titles; which you shouldn’t considering most dubbed anime is crap.
The voice-actors all seem to express honest emotion, and have generally a great voice for the character they play making the characters much more likeable and the experience much more tolerable.

The packaging is beautiful, heavy-duty, and screams to be placed as a coffee-table art piece along with the art book the premium edition came with. I’m a sucker for slim-DVD cases so I was happy in that department, and ultimately happy with the entire package.

Yes; Toradora is a romantic-comedy. That being said, it is just the right thing to sit down with a fine female and watch. If she’s not the anime type, by episode 3 she’ll be hooked. There is just too much chemistry between the characters in Toradora to not feel for them. And the way Vol.1 plays out is exactly what the doctor ordered when you asked for a little heart-warming enjoyment.
Guys, pay attention. You can’t find the key to a women’s heart without knowing how to unlock your own. Sitting down and watching Toradora with that special someone, is no less worst of an experience than watching ANY of Disney’s classic features. You’re going to enjoy this series as much as she will, and maybe you’ll finally have her asking to watch more Japanese features by episode 13. Wait, not maybe — indefinitely!

- Jeffrey d

Guess Who’s Back!?

X3R0 9 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:56:22 +0000

That’s right everybody, I’m back!! After a few month hiatus because of school, I’m finally back full time. After four and a half long years and two universities later, I have finally graduated again. But enough about me, I just want to let you all know that I’ll be back supporting the other writers with fresh content, new views on news that is coming out, and anything that I feel you may need to know. Throughout the week I’ll be sharing what games I’ve been playing, my thoughts on them, and anything else that I want to share that is gaming related.

Throughout the week I’ll be writing about games like Angry Birds, TweetDefense, Trees of Doom, Crap of Defense, Silent Swords, and Future Fight for the iPhone. I’ll also do write ups for Split Second, Alan Wake, Alpha Protocol, and Battlefield Bad Company 2 to name a few of the Xbox 360 and PS3 games that have helped keep my sanity during my school.

Top 5, or 6 Worst Wii Games

MrB4 — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:35:23 +0000

As much as I am a lover of all things Nintendo, there are those rare instances that occur when I actually get the chance to play a horrible game for one of their systems. For those of you out there who own a Wii, you might think that every bad game on the system comes from a third party, and for the most part, you would be right. That doesn’t mean Nintendo is exempt from this, because they have sholved out some crap over the years as well. So just for fun, I thought I would share my opinion about some of the worst games that the Wii has to offer. Whether it was the terrible gimmick, horrible controls, or the aged graphical design, each one of these games was horrible in its own way, let’s get started.

1. Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

Originally intended to be a Gamecube title that supported the use of the bongo drum controller from Jungle Beat, Barrel Blast was an interesting idea that wasn’t executed properly. The Wii offers great motion controls, and in most games that I have played that support them, they usually are not too overbearing. This game decided to take this idea in the opposite direction, and create a control scheme that is more exhausting than fun. Drumming back and forth with the Nunchuk and Wii remote was a waste of the systems capabilities, and when you don’t support the original controller that it was supposed to have, you are just asking for trouble. Mario Kart Wii is much more fun, has some Donkey Kong characters in it, and is less tiring on the upper body, so just play that game instead.

2. The Monkey King: The Legend Begins

This was quite possibly the easiest Wii game that I have ever played, and honestly, thats a bad thing. The cover looked cool, so I decided to rent it, something I will never do again. Monkey King is an on-rails shooter that can be finished in 45 minutes (no joke). There was no sense of challenge, no depth to the gameplay, and even though the use of tilt control was a nice idea, it felt unnecessary.

Just to put a cherry on top of this boring sundae, each story was exactly the same, (zzzzz). Games like this should be on Wiiware for 500 Wii points based on the content alone. There are plenty of other shooters out there that are way more challenging than this one, please avoid it at all costs.

3. Ninjabread Man + Anubis II (AKA Ninja Anubis Man 2)

There are a couple of reasons as to why I put these two games together as one pick. For one thing, they are the same exact game with slight differences in level design. It was also very hard to pick the worst of the two since each one is bad for all of the same reasons. When any Wii title requires you to do motion controls for jumping, that is an immediate red flag in my book.

Not only that, it baffles me that you can jump with the z button of the Nunchuk, if you could do that in the first place why the hell was it not the original control scheme to begin with. The Nintendo 64 is dead and gone people, why are blocky character designs and textures still allowed in video games, its just a shame. The worst thing about these games are the fact that they are sold seperately. Unless you’re looking for a new coaster for your drinks, there is no reason to play either of these atrocities.

4. Destiny of Zorro

One day an email was sent to me from Gamefly saying that there were only a few days left before my ten Gamefly dollars would be gone. So instead of losing Money, I used it to buy one of the worst games ever made, The Destiny of Zorro. The most important part of the gameplay experience, which is the swordplay, was unresponsive, the loading times between levels were excruciatingly long, and the level design was ugly and repetitive. The worst part of the game was the voice acting. There were times in which the words that the characters were saying in no way matched up to the text being displayed onscreen. If you are a fan of the Zorro franchise, do yourself a favor, and avoid this embarrassment.

5. Sonic and the Black Knight

He is quite possibly my favorite video game character of all time, but for some reason the 3D world hasn’t been so nice to him as of late. Who am I talking about, well I’ll give you a hint, he runs through loops, has friends named tails and knuckles, and is always going after an evil man named robotnik. If those hints didn’t help, you obviously had a sheltered life when it comes to video games, it’s Sonic the Hedgehog.

It must of have been a slow day at the Sega office when they come up with the idea for Sonic and the Black Knight. Why in the hell would you give Sonic a sword, it’s like asking a kid to run with scissors, you just don’t do it. It slows every aspect of the game down to a crawl, and literally forces you to make Sonic stop, attack a few enemies, and then start running again. Staying still for any longer than a few seconds is not what this spikey haired hedgehog was trained to do. A good online sharing system and great graphics cannot save the poor gameplay mechanics in this one, please stay away from it.

Those were some of the worst Wii games that I have ever played. If you have played worse games than this for this system, and I’m sure you have, leave a comment below and share your story. Just remember this my friends, every good game developer can push out crap from time to time. Don’t be naive and think that a name means quality, because it doesn’t.

E3 2010: Nintendo PC Highlights

MrB4 — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:22:28 +0000

Wow is about the only word that I can use when it comes to the Nintendo press conference at this year’s E3. Keeping my fanboyisms aside, they brought it in a big way. The unveiling of the 3DS, the impressive amount of new games from just about every known franchise, and the showing of some quality third-party titles just kept my head spinning. Let’s calm down for a minute, and take a look at some of the highlights from the show.

1. Franchises, Franchises, Franchises

When the new Zelda trailer was shown, I knew for a fact that this was going to be an event that went back to the tride and true, and I was right. Along with the hero in the green tunic, other beloved characters like Donkey Kong, Kirby, Mario, Metroid, and even Kid Icarus had trailers shown for their upcoming games. Metroid: Other M might be an announcement from last year, but getting an updated look at it before it’s release was the icing on a humongous cake of big game releases. It’s disappointing that some of these great titles won’t be released until next year, but at least we know that we are not being left high and dry anymore.

2. Third Party gets some love

It’s pretty obvious at this point that the main thing that the Wii is lacking is decent third-party support. Now the Just Dance 2 trailer did make me cringe a little bit, but the footage shown from Epic Mickey and Goldeneye 007 proves that there is still hope. The impressive amount of developers and publishers backing the 3DS was nice to see as well. I can’t wait to relive some classic moments from each one of these beloved classic franchises.

3. 3D glasses are a thing of the past

While there is no set release date or price for it as of right now, the unveiling of the 3DS was undoubtedly one of the high points of the conference. I was sold when it was announced that you would be able to watch movies from Warner Bros., Dreamworks, and from Disney in 3D. Kid Icarus getting a launch for it wasn’t too bad either. You already read about my thoughts on the third party support, so there is no need to go any further into that. All we know other than for now is that the screens are two different sizes, a motion sensor and gyrosensor (have no clue what that is) have been added, a slide pad is included, you can take 3D photos of friends, and it will be compatible with DSi games. Keep an eye out for this one, it could change the world of gaming in a big way.

4. A classic has returned

As I stated briefly in the second highlight of this article, a remake of one of the greatest first-person shooters in gaming history is finally here. Goldeneye for the N64 was one of the most addictive games that I have ever played on that system. Take all of that shooting greatness, add a 16 player mp mode with perks and achievements, give the campaign a nice graphical upgrade, and you have a game that should appeal to longtime fans of the series. As weird as it was to find out that Daniel Craig will be the bond character in this one instead of Pierce Bronson, I’m sure that this choice will not effect the overall experience.

5. Epic is the Word

Until today, not much was known about warren spector’s upcoming game featuring one of the most beloved cartoon characters of all time, Mickey Mouse. When the developers showed the Steamboat Willie level, and the ability to use paint in order to create and remove specific objects from the environment, I was hooked. It was also mentioned that this game will be a hybrid of role-playing and platforming, not sure how it will work, but can’t wait to see it. Looks like the darker side of the Disney universe may be just what the doctor ordered.

That about sums up my thoughts on the E3 2010 Nintendo Press Conference. Did you agree with my picks, or did you feel like I left something out?. Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Stay tuned until tomorrow to read my impressions of the Sony Press Conference right here at rejectedgamer.com.

E3 2010: MS Press Conference Highlights

MrB4 — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:31:03 +0000

The first press conference of E3 2010 is finally over, and Microsoft showed us everything new and exciting that they have to offer, kind of. Other than a few new titles from already existing franchises, and a tech demo of the new motion control peripheral, the majority of this presentation was rather dull in my opinion. There was one major announcement that saved this from being a total disaster, but more on that later. For now, let’s take the time to go over some of the highlights from the show.

1. Kinect Third-party Titles

As cool as having a controller free device to play your games with might sound, I don’t think that the first party titles that MS is offering will have as much success as Nintendo does with theirs, and here’s why. Most of what’s on offer here is something that has been done before, which will leave people asking “Why should I play this, when there’s already something else out there that is exactly like it?”. That being said, I think some of the third-party developers have the right idea when it comes to making titles that will represent exactly what Kinetic is all about, fun and innovation. The new Your-Shape game from Ubisoft has some interesting workout ideas, and Harmonix’s Dance Central is an interesting take on the music genre, even it does make you look stupid.

2. It’s all about the Shooters

One way or another, most experienced gamers out there enjoy a good shooter every once in awhile, and if that’s your thing, what was shown today will fulfill your innermost desires. Not only are they just games that will allow you to release some aggression, but they are also titles from some of the most popular franchises in the video game industry. Cliffy B. showed some exciting co-op action from Gears of War 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops looks as brutal as ever, and Bungie’s campaign trailer of Halo: Reach looks like it won’t disappoint die hard fans of the series. There is nothing new or innovate going on here, just some good old fashioned fun , that’s it.

3. MGS Rising Gameplay

Announced at least year’s E3, the first title in Hideo Kojima’s popular franchise to be on the 360 had fans of the series waiting in anticipation to see what it’s all about. Even though we still don’t know too much about the story up this point, it has now been revealed that this entry into the franchise is going to be something that looks similar to a hack and slash game. From the looks of things, it might support the use of Kinect in order to perform sword kills, but honestly, I’m just speculating that at this point. Either way, the first gameplay footage looks amazing, and will definitely excite at least some of the fans of the Metal Gear Solid games.

4. ESPN coming to the 360

I hate to say it, but the announcement of ESPN partnering up with Microsoft was one of my favorite parts of the show. As lame as all of the Kinect features of it might be (other than video highlights and scores), and they are, the ability to watch games from each one of the ESPN channels, without paying an extra fee, is an awesome thing. Most of us working class people out there who enjoying watching sports games usually don’t have enough extra money to get these channels, and now they can. Just hope they don’t include a rewind option for Browns games, that would be torture.

5. New Slim Xbox 360 Announcement

Coming in just in the nick of time to save the press conference from being a total wash, a new Xbox 360 console was revealed. It is unknown up to his point as to what the new name of this SKU will be, but some major details regarding the specs of the system were announced. The price of it will still remain at $299, and will feature built-in wi-fi technology, as well as a 250 GB hard drive. This sounds like a solid investment for newcomers, as well for long time owners because now they will be able to have a console that doesn’t take much up room in the house, or cost an extra 100 dollars just to acquire online access. Everything about this sounds promising, now if Microsoft could just fix that pesky three-red lights problem we would be all set.

That about sums up my thoughts on the E3 2010 Microsoft Press Conference. Did you agree with my picks, or did you feel like I left something out?. Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Stay tuned until tomorrow to read my impressions of the Nintendo Press Conference right here at rejectedgamer.com.

Microview: Alpha Protocol

Qualitybeats84 — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 23:41:28 +0000

Not every game can be a 10 million dollar project that sweeps the industry off its feet with it’s years of polish and technical advancements. Most of the time, it is the “little thing” in a game that can make it a part of your personal favorites list. Alpha Protocol is one of those games. While it won’t impress anyone visually, it’s those “little things” it has that make this spy-RPG a game you should give attention to.

It’s not the prettiest game. It’s not the most mechanically sound, either. But everything else about Alpha Protocol makes it an enjoyable experience. Conversations and character interactions are done better in AP than anywhere else. Character development — including perks, and enhancements — keeps the game well paced and more exciting. And of course, the shooting — which requires patience and timing to do correctly — is in my opinion a small step above Mass Effects.

Let’s not forget Alpha Protocol is an RPG. At it’s core, it was designed to be played at a much slower pace than many people will tend to play this title. Those who find themselves playing at the proper pace will look past the un-polish of AP and dive into an RPG experience like no other. Full review coming soon~

In a nut-shell: If you liked Mass Effect but aren’t the biggest Sci-Fi fan, this game is screaming your name.

The Death of Used Games

MrB4 — Thu, 27 May 2010 20:37:34 +0000

This topic has been on my mind for awhile, and I figured now was as good of time as any to share my thoughts on it with all of you. Over the past couple of weeks, certain video game companies have started playing around with the idea of charging people who buy used games a certain fee to access their online services. EA Sports has announced the Online Pass service(which has you pay one fee for online access to all of their games), and THQ has already started making people pay for these features by offering them as DLC for UFC Undisputed 2010. What really (as Peter Griffin would say) grinds my gears about this whole thing is that people who buy used games cannot afford new copies for a reason, and making them pay for something that should be a part of experience to begin with is just plain stupid.

Before I get on to ranting and raving about why this is pissing me off, let me explain what is going on here. When a video game store such as Gamestop sells a used title to someone, they make a profit off of it instead of the people who made the game. So in order to combat the amount of money lost from used game sales, developers have decided to charge a set fee for all used games sold in order to make some sort of profit from the transaction. The beginning and end of it is, one side is making money, one isn’t, and that side wants something out of it. It’s all about greed, and the people who are getting the short end of the stick in this situation are the gamers.

This concept pisses me off for a couple of reasons. First of all, being a person who doesn’t have alot of money, I know what it feels like to not be able to buy the game you want because you cannot afford the $50 or $60 dollar price tag. There are gamers out there that do not have a reserve of money lying around that they can just purge that kind of cash from every time, and when you ask us to pay more than we can afford, for features we should already have, you are screwing over the less fortunate. People don’t care about how much money developers and publishers make(unless they are one themselves), all they want to have is the same enjoyable experience for 10 dollars that somebody who paid 60 dollars for the game is getting, that’s it.

The idea of offering an online mode as DLC is ridiculous as well. DLC by definition is downloadable content, which to my understanding means that this extra content or unlockables that will enhance your gaming experience. Apparently it also means companies can now fly in under the radar, and make people think that they are adding a mode or feature that the original release did not have, but instead they are giving you something that should have been there in the first place. I’m pretty sure most of us gamers out there are smart enough to tell when they are getting ripped off, so going this route probably wasn’t the wisest choice either.

I could keep going, but I think you get the idea of the point i’m trying to get across here. The questions I have for all of you now are do you think that this spells the end for Used Game sales as we know it? Will all companies eventually try to find a way to charge gamers more for buying used games? Or will this just be a fad that will die off in time and will not affect you in anyway whatsoever?

No matter how you answer these questions, keep one thing in mind, we are the reason that the industry is still alive, and nobody can change that.

Looking for a Writer

MrB4 — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:14:33 +0000

As you may have already noticed, the amount of content on the site has been a little on the short side as of recently. The reason why this has been occurring is because our lives are so hectic, and we just haven’t had as much time to update all of you about what is going on in the world of gaming. The point that I will eventually get to is that if you are looking to be a writer, and have a passion for Video Games, then you might be able to help us out.

Here is what you need to do, just send in a quick write up about anything that relates to Video Games, and after each one of us has had a chance to look it over, we will decide who will become our new writer. Don’t worry about being perfect, just make sure you know how to spell, and how to write in complete sentences. I know it sounds demeaning, but trust me on this one, there are alot of bloggers out there whose writing is so terrible it looks like they were just randomly slapping the keyboard with their fingers.

So if you think you have a style that matches what Rejected Gamer is all about, send us your entry at feedback@rejectedgamer.com right now.

Good Luck Everybody!

Play as a Moogle in 3DDotGameHeroes!

Qualitybeats84 — Tue, 18 May 2010 02:43:06 +0000

3DDotGameHeroes has finally arrived in the U.S, and since I’ve got my hands on it I’ve spent a handful of hours editing my own 3DDotHero. In the weeks that follow I will be posting my favorite 3DDotHeroes right here on RejectedGamer.

My first Hero is a Moogle; of the Final Fantasy series.
Enjoy!
Leave comments!
Download Moogle for 3DDotGameHeroes HERE! (Right-click, save as)

Customer Support Sucks

MrB4 — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:57:23 +0000

At one point or another, we all have to deal with it. Even if we don’t like to do so, they are the only source of information we have when it comes to fixing problems with our consoles. Who am I talking about you might ask?, I am talking about Customer Support. Now I don’t know about your previous experiences in dealing with these people, but there had to be at least one time that they screwed up in trying to help you with your problem. And now I would like to share with all of you a story about someone i just met, who just encountered this situation a couple of days ago.

Giving names away causes problems, but I will say that this was someone I met through another friend of mine on Xbox Live. My buddy wanted to play some co-op on Halo 3 with him with a few of his other friends, one of which had downloaded the game through the Games on Demand Service in the Game Marketplace (This is the person who had the problem). We played through the first mission together, and when we were about to start the second mission, a message appears on this guys screen saying that he is unable to load the content for the oncoming level.

Naturally, he gets pissed off at what just happened, and decides to call Xbox Customer Support to get some help, trust me, it gets better. After the 10 or 15 minutes or so in which it took to answer the phone, someone finally picks up, and asks him to explain his problem. After that is done and over with, the MS representative tells him to clean out his hard drive cache, and reboot the game. This may sound like a surprise (insert sarcasm), but after trying out this solution, Halo 3 still didn’t work for him. The representative then transferred him to someone else to see if they could help, and from what you will read next, they didn’t help him out at all whatsoever.

When the next person picks up the phone, he explains the problem once again. After clearly stating that the game he was having a problem with was Halo 3, the guy on the other line says “Did you try to download the stimulus package for it, because you do need to have the content that the other players have in order to play the game with them” to which he replied “No, I’m not playing Modern Warfare 2, i’m playing Halo 3″. After some heated insults, a refusal to refund his money, and a few swear words, the conversation ended. The guy eventually just decided to delete and redownload the game away, so this process in the end was a complete waste of time.

I wanted to share this story with you for a reason, and no it’s not to boycott against a group of people, or to insult them in anyway, it’s deeper than that. Generally when I call a Customer Support line, I expect my problem to either be fixed with my system, or at least be told what to do next. Most importantly, I expect the person in which I am talking to remember what game we were talking about during the conversation. If the people working for a support line can’t help you, then what are they doing there in the first place? At least get someone in there who doesn’t have short-term memory, a blatant disregard for common courtesy towards customers, and little to no knowledge of the problem at hand, it’s just sad.

All I can say to this person is that many of us gamers out there have had to deal with this problem at one point or another, and we feel for you. The key here is to learn as much you can about these systems, so that one day, if this problem occurs again, you will be able to fix it on your own. Either that, or find a friend who can fix it for you, and have them do it. Just remember one thing, with any problem, there is always a solution.

Deadly Premonition – “Movie mania on the drive” ; A Creator’s Blog

Qualitybeats84 — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:21:29 +0000

“Movie mania on the drive”

Author: SWERY (ACCESS GAMES Inc.,)

Hi Everyone,

It’s SWERY, game director of Deadly Premonition.

The game’s been released for a month now I think, and I’ve actually gotten a lot of feedback.

I was also glad to see so many people tweeting about the game on the Deadly Premonition Twitter account and had good fun reading the comments.

Actually, all the feedback and impressions I received were really informative!

And for my future titles, I will definitely take into account what has been said about Deadly Premonition.

Anyway, this post will be my last one and I would like to take some time first to

thank all of who have followed this blog from the beginning, and also to thank future readers.

So, let’s close this creator’s blog.

I don’t want my last blog to be a boring one, so let’s discuss something interesting such as…

OK, I know, it will be (again) a little off topic but let’s discuss about cinema.

Why am I talking about movies?

I think for those who played Deadly Premonition, they understand why.

You don’t remember!? C’mon! When you drive and York is talking to Zack. Do you remember now?

Yeah, that’s it, when they are talking about the movies they saw during the 80′s.

In Deadly Premonition, there are plenty of those references to 80′s movies.

It started with “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”, then you have “Tremors”, “Cat People”, and “Blue Thunder”.

I hope you movie fans enjoyed the trivia and small talk bout these movies.

Did Zach and York buy the videos of these movies, or were they too small to see them in theater?

By having them talking about these old movies, I wanted to give them some humanity; a past to make them more human.

Did you feel kinda close to them as if they were real characters?

That’s why I think these chats are important to some extent.

For those who haven’t listened to these conversations when you are driving, please push the “talk” button below.

It looks like Zach is in the mood to talk about movies from the 90′s.

Hope you have some time to listen.

The 90′s for me was the decade when I graduated from school and entered adult society, when I still thought I was young.

During this period, there were three movies that had a strong impact on me.

The first movie I’d like to talk about was based on a book from Donald McCaig.

The main character is a veteran from the Vietnam war who works in a post office and has strange nightmares that he can’t dissociate from the reality.

Which one is the dream? Which one is real? The main character was wonderfully interpreted by Tim Robbins in this really intelligent story.

I could discuss the ending with you for hours.

Zach, do you know which movie I’m talking about?

Yes, it’s “Jacob’s Ladder” directed by Adrian Lyne and released in 1990.

Jacob’s son, Gabe, was interpreted by Macauley Culkin and was one of his earliest roles before becoming a star.

That reminds me, I’d like to talk about “Home Alone” but let’s discuss that next time.

Today, we are just talking about movies from the 90′s.

The next movie I want to discuss is this one.

All the guys who saw this movie, walked out from the theater as if they were looking for a brawl.

I’m talking about David Fincher’s movie “Fight Club” that was released in 1999.

Even now, there are still some of us we do not talk about Fight Club.

This film was very influential for me.

Especially the character of Tyler Durden!

I particularly like the scene explaning how they were making soap using human grease.

I can try to explain why I like it so much but there will always be something missing as the way it was done makes it unique.

So, let’s move on.

By the way, Edward Norton who played the main character was credited as the “Narrator” at the end.

Actually, did he have a name in the movie? Does anyone know?

Damn, now I’m gonna have to check it later.

And the last movie I’d like to discuss that I think most of you know…

Actually, we shouldn’t even discuss it as it’s so obvious.

But I need to discuss it as it’s our last blog, Zach.

This movie got nominated for Academy Awards in 7 categories in 1994 and even won the Palm d’Or at Cannes.

It’s actually structured around two mob hitmen with some really unique and weird characters surrounding them.

There are distinct storylines but that are eventually woven together to make a unique story.

After seeing this movie, I went to France and remembered ordering “Le Big Mac” and a “Royal with Cheese” in a MacDonald’s there.

Of course I’m talking about “Pulp Fiction” from the genius Quentin Tarantino.

After this movie was released, you could see that this nonlinear storytelling became a kind of standard.

And even after 15 years, this movie still has this unique touch that makes it still feel new.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely see it now!

Whether it’s in DVD or Blu-Ray, the fun is still the same, so go rent it or buy it!

In the 80′s-90′s, you could stay for as long as you like in the theater

So, since I had time and even though I didn’t have much money, I could still watch the same movie agan and again.

That time was priceless.

If Deadly Premonition can become one of these pieces of work that you keep coming back for, it would be great.

Don’t you think so, Zach?

I put a lot of sweat and blood into this game,

and it took a lot of time to get from concept to the final product to the release.

I think that writing this blog has been another great experience, actually.

To all of you who have stuck with me, to the development staff,

to the publisher, to my friends and family, and everyone who supported me.

To all of you, thank you very much!

Farewells are always sudden…

That’s why I’m trying to make it brief,

and make it beautiful…

Don’t you think so, Zach?

April 07, 2010　SWERY

Controller King Awards

MrB4 — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:00:59 +0000

Would you like the chance to share your gaming accomplishments with the world, or perhaps pimp out your gaming community’s website? Maybe you just want to have your 15 minutes of fame that you can show off to your other friends, or maybe you would like to share your stories about being a gamer, and being rejected by others, then come on in and be a part of the Rejected Gamer’s Controller King Awards podcast.

What is it?:

The Controller King Awards is going to be a podcast that will air once a month, and will feature one member in particular that we find to be unique and interesting. This will be determined by a number of factors, such as having the most interesting story, achieving a high score on online leaderboards for any particular game, or being a part of a website that wants their voice to be heard.

How will it work, and how will we choose the guests?:

The process will go a little something like this, throughout the month, our website will take the time to interview local, and interesting, gamers from each one of our respective communities. At the end of the month, I (MrB4) will pick one gamer in particular that is the most interesting, and sit down with them for a quick 10-15 minute interview about their accomplishments. The show will air a few days later for everyone to hear, and that’s it.

How and where do I sign up to be a guest for the show?:

All you have to do to be a guest for the show is to send us your story to feedback@rejectedgamer.com, and we will then contact you if you are chosen to be our guest for that specific month.

And that is what the Controller King Awards show is all about. So get on out there, and keep ranking up those high scores, because one day, you might be able to share your story with the world.

Kickin it Old School

MrB4 — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:30:17 +0000

Now that the Pax plague is officially over, i thought that this would be a good time for me to share my thoughts about some of the the experiences that I had at the event. As enjoyable as all of these new and innovative games were to play, taking a look back at the games from my childhood up to now was alot of fun as well. The classic console freeplay room satisfied my craving for not only some old school gaming fun, but it was just a place where I felt liked I belonged, especially since I spent most of my life playing all of the games that were there.

As nostalgic a experience as it was, the room also represented most of the successes and failures from the generation of gamers that I grew up with, and even some that were before my generation. It is really weird that at the age of 25 years old, being at a mega video game event like Pax, where I could get my hands on any game I wanted for all of the current consoles, there I am playing games on the Vectrix and Colecovision, it was mind boggling. Just because it gave me a chance to remember the games from my past, doesn’t mean that these systems didn’t come with their fair share of problems as well. For one, the controller on the Colecovision was terrible, and if I played the Vectrix any longer than the 30 min that I was allowed to play it, a seizure was not too far away from happening.

The best part about checking out the freeplay room was the chance to share my gaming experiences from my childhood with others. It is really an amazing thing when you find out that there is someone out there who to this day can still not beat the same level in Battletoads as you can, or still has trouble trying to figure out the blitz battle command in Final Fantasy III (SNES version), or for the life of them still cannot beat the carnival night zone in Sonic 3 (Genesis). The point that I’m getting at is that it is all about the memories when it comes to games like these, and being able to share them with someone who is just as passionate about games as you are makes it all worthwhile.

That being said, there is one more thing that I want to talk about. As Mike, Jeff, and I were making our way through the room, one thought kept lingering through our minds over and over again. After we left the room, Jeff and I started talking about how the gamers of this generation are really missing out on seeing the progression of technology in the video game industry. As cool as the 360, PS3, and Wii are, there was a time where we all thought that Donkey Kong Country was the S**T, Mario 64 was king, and blast processing was the way of the future. For us it was all about what new form of technology are these companies going to use for their next system, and how far can video games go before they reach their limit of what they are capable of doing, instead of just worrying about what new FPS or gory action game was going to come out next.

I’m not saying that gamers nowadays are better or worse than the gamers from a decade ago, I’m just saying that their point of view on what to expect is limited to what has been given to them, that’s all. Whether you agree or don’t agree with this, just remember one thing, you are a gamer, and you play games for one reason and one reason only, to have fun.

The Angry Video Game Nerd

MrB4 — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:29 +0000

He’s Gonna Take You Back To The Past

Which is what he does best.

I would like to take the time to write about a person who has been one of the main reasons that I have stayed a gamer all these years, his name is the Angry Video Nerd. Portrayed by James D. Rolfe, the Nerd shares his amusing thoughts about all of the terrible, and some good, games from his past, and explains why they are either way too hard to complete, or why they suck so bad that no one should ever even try to play them. He has shown the world that it is ok to not only be mad at the games that have frustrated us over the years, but to also understand that bad games have existed well before this generation, and there is no excuse for us to just let these developers get away with making this crap.

I identify with this character alot, and have shared many of the same frustrations that he has had with some of these games back when I was a kid. To this day, I can still not beat the first Ninja Turtles game for the NES. That stupid platform that was way too close to the ceiling frustrated me for years, and when I found out from him that you could just walk over it instead of jumping, I was just as pissed off about it as he was.

You name a game, or system that he has reviewed, and I have either played it, seen someone else play it, or avoided it all together based on how bad it is. The Virtual Boy still makes me blind just thinking about it, the underground vehicle level in Battletoads is still quite possibly the hardest level in a video game ever, and the fact that Superman 64 turned out to be a Starfox Tutorial was quite possibly the worst thing that I have ever seen or played as a gamer. I could go on, but I think you get the idea, its all about the memories, whether they are good, bad, frustrating, or just flat out exciting, they are still our memories from being gamers during this time period(late 80′s-late 90′s).

Other than just identifying with him, the other reason why I like the Nerd so much is that he is never afraid to go above and beyond to get a laugh from his fans. I will still never forget the time that once he was fed up with Superman 64, he tore off his shirt, revealing an superman logo, and destroyed the game once and for all by throwing it into the sun. That moment made me cheer, as well as laugh my ass off, just for the simple fact that he was willing to take the joke that far. There was another incident in which he beat the game Ghostbusters for the NES, only to be greeted with a poorly misspelled thank you message, and then critiquing each and every part of it made me laugh until I almost peed my pants.

There is one more thing that I would like to clear up before I wrap up this article, and that is the fact that there are people out there who actually take everything that James’s Nerd Character says literally, and treat him according to his opinions on the games that he plays. Having your own opinion about a game that you have played from your past is one thing, but telling someone that they are wrong just because they don’t share the same opinion as you do is missing the whole point of why we are gamers in the first place. If James was not frustrated with some of these games as a kid, then he would not be making these videos for you today, and that is the bottom line.

Whether James does this for 10 more years, or stops making the AVGN videos right now, he will always have a special place in our hearts as one of the major influences in the gaming community. Keep up the good work, and keep us laughing and having fond memories about video games as long as you possibly can.