What have I done?
Archives for December 2012
Deus Ex: Human Revolutions take-down-a-thon
After months of researching and planning for my new computer build, and after the excitement of beginning the building process and software setup last month, and, just today, having finally acquired a sleek new Dell monitor and Gigabyte graphics card I’m ready to game like a baus. Therefore, it only makes sense to turn my back to the computer and reach for my PS3 controller to satisfy an itch I’ve had to begin a new Deus Ex: Human Revolution game. And this time there shall be no distance kills – no firearms at all – for I shall eliminate every immediate threat with a brutal Adam Jensen takedown. I think this mechanic is way awesome and never became boring or repetitive. Each cut scene is a brutal exhibition of nondiscrimination; Adam Jensen is no respecter of persons.  My decision may or may not have been influenced by the following video.
The shoulder tap approach is my favorite…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJc1lt50gQs
Weekend Holiday Gaming
We’re coming up on what for most people in the U.S. will be an extended Holiday weekend, a time when many will be celebrating their winter holiday of choice (for us, it’s Christmas) and exchanging gifts, visiting with family and, for us gamers, increasing the stack of games to be played in the upcoming year.
I usually use the week between Christmas and New Years to catch up on all the games I’ve started or wanted to play during the year. It’s also at this time when I think back about what games were my favorite games to play, or as we call them around here, Fun Game of the Year. So I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me to at least sample everything I know came out this year that was high quality.
So as far as stacking games, I’ll be adding a whole new console to our family’s repetoire (we’ll get to that in a later post) and adding games to my Steam library during the dreaded Steam Sale. But I’ll also be heading out of town for a while, so that will limit what I can play to portable devices and my laptop (which is anything but) portable.
When I get back, I’d like to finally wrap up Mass Effect 3 (and all its DLC), the Mr. Torgue DLC for Borderlands 2, The Walking Dead and Deus Ex. And maybe, just maybe reactivate my EVE Online account. GULP.
But for now, I’m keeping it simple over the weekend. I hope to get a little PC gaming in during the Holiday downtime including more Diablo 3 and my huge Steam library. What will you be playing?
Buttonmashing YouTube channel!
Dude, we could post individual and group ‘Let’s Play’s. Do some serious vlogging, reviews, rants, raves, tutorials. Music videos… Let’s do it!
And by ‘Let’s do it!’ I really mean for you set it up, research capture software, cameras – do all that footwork – and then tell me how to do it. kthxbye
In My Hands
It’s actually been in my hands for a couple weeks now but with holidays and Borderlands 2, I just haven’t had a chance to play it. I’m going to remedy that tonight.
Video Games and Marketing
Video game marketing and TV commercials have come a long way since I’ve been a gamer. We’ve gone from these “corny” Zelda commercials (I say “corny” lovingly, because at the time I thought they were pretty awesome) to having a “World Premier Trailer” show up during an NBA playoff game. We’ve gone
As I’ve been thinking about it, I’ve also been thinking a little about marketing these games to kids. To be fair, those Zelda commercials were targeted to kids (albeit older kids) and maybe that’s why, twenty-five years later, they appear corny to my jaded eyes. But now, during the holiday season, I have become more acutely aware of how kids are targeted from all sides with commercials and marketing geared specifically for their attention. And it works. With the date of a hot new game release approaching, you can bet that the promotional efforts for the game will seemingly become more amplified. It seems like every time you walk into electronics section at Wal-Mart and other major stores, there are employees and displays with various products to offer as a promotion resource for the latest new videogame. If I were a kid, how could I resist.
They are effective. I recently read this good article by JP Sherman at the Escapist and suggest everyone go read. What struck me the most telling was that web advertising is still the wild frontier. While there is hardly any marketing of violent video games to kid audiences, websites that kids frequent still routinely show ads for M-rated games. Even shows that cater to the younger teenagers have decreased their advertising of violent video games, which was a surprise to me.
In the end, it’s still about monitoring not only the content our kids are consuming, but what is on the periphery as well. We let our kids use sites like Kizi, which houses tons of flash-based games, but the ads are still troublesome. We still look to find ways to let them have fun online but maintain that safety net at the same time.
I’d love to hear any techniques you guys use. Or sites you have found to be mostly safe.
December Releases
December creeped up on me and before I even realized it, the first Tuesday of the month had passed and I hadn’t poste the monthly releases. And BOY what a doozy December is. Decembers in general are weak for video game releases, but this year is particularly anemic.
Week of December 4th
Far Cry 3
Week of December 11th
The Walking Dead
Week of December 4th
Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth
Week of December 11th
007 Legends
No new Nintendo Wii releases.
No new Nintendo 3DS releases.
No new Nintendo DS releases.
Week of December 4th
Far Cry 3
Sniper Elite V2
Week of December 11th
Haunted
Week of December 4th
Far Cry 3
Week of December 11th
The Walking Dead
Week of December 25th
WRC FIA World Rally Championship
Week of December 18th
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed
No new Sony PSP releases.
What are you picking up?
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