Archives for August 2010

What’s going on in the world of Video Games and video game blogging? Here’s my observations.

1. (1) Starcraft II – Yep, people are still playing it and talking about it. It’s still going strong.

2. (-) Borderlands DLC – This one stinks — Borderlands developer Gearbox accidently left a folder on the PC version of Borderlands detailing the story behind their upcoming downloadable expansion. Like that’s going to stop any of us from picking it up.

3. (-) Zombrex – While I haven’t been chomping at the bit to get my hands on Dead Rising 2 yet (and I stress yet), I am still interested in what they’re doing with these Zombrex mini-movies, which are being released on Xbox Live. Have you been watching?

4. (-) OnLive – Yep, I’m not letting this one die. Now is the time to get in on the ground floor with a solid investment: OnLive is worth a lot of money.

5. (-) Syndicate -I have been watching the Syndicate news ebb and flow and I’m getting a little frustrated. Will someone just make this game and get it over with already!?

6. (-) Two Worlds II – James and I were both interested in Two Worlds was announced, but neither of us actually took the plunge. I avoided after I read review after review, reading about what a stinker it was. It’s funny to see that marketing for the sequel, Two Worlds II is actually making fun of how bad the first one was.

7. (-) Epic Case Mod – This Warhammer 40k case mod is awesome.

8. (-) Quinn Pitcock – This one hits close to home. Pitcock was a former college football player who played at my alma mater, Ohio State. He was a very got defensive linemen and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL. He fell off the map and quit football a couple years ago. An introvert to begin with, he battled depression with video games, which ultimately became an addiction. Hopefully he will be able to rebound and put his addiction behind him. I have always been a huge fan of Pitcock.

This week’s power rankings are fairly sparse. Mostly Starcraft 2 and not a whole lot more.

1. (2) Starcraft II It came out and some buttonmashers have already picked it up but the internet can’t stop talking about it. Nat isn’t the only one who felt that the game was “unfinished” in the sense that it’s only 1/3rd of game. So it’s unfinished and, oh, it can ruin your video card. Sorry ’bout that, folks.

I could go on about how popular this game is, but I’ll save my time linking all the different blog posts and just point you here.

2. (-) Gamespot buys Kongregate – Possibly seeing the future of digital distribution cramping their money making style severely, Gamestop purchased the gaming “hub” Kongregate. Kongregate is free-to-play (or F2P if you’re one of the cool kids). Gamestop really likes making LOTS of money. It seems that these are at odds with each other.

3. (-) EverQuest 2 – James blogged the Sony announcement that they were taking the free to play route with EQ2, in a way that only Sony would try. Ardwulf has played in the Alpha and came away with a positive impression. He also has a good roundup of other people’s reactions to the announcement.

4. (-) Disney buys Playdom Speaking of buying game companies, Disney purchased the social gaming company Playdom for a tidy sum.

5. (-) Plants v. Zombies – Dancing Michael Jackson Zombies will not be dancing the Thriller through your backyard any longer.

Wow, that was even shorter than I originally thought it would be. I guess August is going to be a boring gaming month.