T-minus 3 days and counting until the First Carnival of Gamers! Don’t forget to submit your entry ASAP!
All the info can be found here!
Guild Wars
And the game? Guild Wars is beautiful. The reviews are out there, you can read all about the beauty and immersiveness from other sources. But one thing is certain – sometimes you just have to take the scenery in. I am compelled to look around and stand in awe. The scale and wonder can be breathtaking.
But of course it’s more than just beauty and lush environments. The nuts and bolts under the hood really make this a fun game to play. This review says it better than I can.
But, instead, it’s easy to think about “Guild Wars” as a carefully researched and constructed product, one that combines the pixie dust of fantasy with the sawdust of a well-crafted game.
It is indeed a well-crafted game.
So I can see myself playing Guild Wars for the foreseeable future. The Gamecube and Xbox will be neglected and gather dust but them’s the breaks. I’ve got some monsters to kill and I don’t think I’ve even scratched surface of what the game has to offer.
Come join the Carnival of Gamers!
As I mentioned last week, we’re starting the Carnival of Gamers! The inaugural edition of the CoG will be Thursday, May 26th.
I know a lot of you will be to winding down from E3 so I hope this isn’t too soon, but I assumed that by Sunday night everyone would be back in normal mode and we can get some of those great pieces submitted. If there is a consensus that this isn’t enough time we can postpone it a week.
So what do you submit? Just select one of your recent (or not so recent, doesn’t matter) blog posts you really liked and really want others to read. Submit that to me, with a little background if you want, and I’ll group all the links on one page. Then, we’ll spread the word about the Carnival. This will point everyone to our blogs and we’ll be popular and people will like us. Or at least come away with more video game knowledge then they ever wanted. This is our chance to make gamers look semi-normal, so don’t screw it up with your Pokemon fantasies.
So, if you are interested in submitting a blog post to be included in the Carnival, please email them to me at buttonmashing@gmail.com. There aren’t any real guidelines. They certainly should be about video games in one way or another but that’s about all the guidance I have. I’m all about free speech and creativity, but let’s try to avoid the obscene, profane overly profane, racist, sexist, you get the picture. Let’s just have some fun and see where this can go.
So submit away! Let’s have a great Carnival of Gamers!
Update:
A couple updates — first, as Foton pointed out, I put a guideline of nothing “profane”. What I meant is nothing over-the-top profane, like what you get in just about every game of Halo 2 on Live. With that in mind, I’ve modified the guidelines above. I mentioned to Foton that profanity and video games go hand-in-hand. Or in the case of frustrating games, controller flying out of one’s hand-in-hand. I know bloggers love their colorful use of language and I don’t want to discourage any submissions that contain words of the four-letter variety. As Ralphie (from The Christmas Story) said, swearing is an art medium like oils or clay. And while I personally don’t work with such a palette, others do with good (usually hilarious) results. So as long as it adds flavor to the meal, go right ahead.
Second — the submissions have begun to arrive, which is great! If you haven’t submitted yet, what’s holding you back?! Make sure, though, that you submit a link to your blog with the article you’d like to submit. If nothing more, it will make my life easier. (Hey, I’m lazy!). Also, I haven’t decided how I’ll handle multiple submissions. I may include both/all or I may choose one. We’ll see!
Nintendo will win this generation?
Something strange is happening. If you avoid the forum trolls and fanboys and talk to people that can string two sentences together, you’ll find that there’s a groundswell of optimism for the Revolution. Mike at GGA thinks this “virtual library of games” can work:
However, then Nintendo dropped the bomb for me. “Virtual console.” The ability to play 20 years of Nintendo, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64 first-party (and hopefully third-party) games. Wow. Wow-oh-wow. This was what caught my attention. This is what I’m excited about with Nintendo’s new console, and I doubt I’m the only one.
No, you’re definitely not the only one. This may actually be a cool idea.
Amit thinks so, too
I’d like to slip in the theory that no matter what the Revolution promises to deliver, the fact that it plays every game Nintendo’s ever released is a revolution on its own.
And it’s not just the bloggers. Talking to my buddy today and he tells me that when he heard about the ability to download old games he decided that the Revolution would be his first console purchase of the next generation. And the game he was most excited about downloading? Earthbound? No. Super Metroid? Nope. Tecmo Super Bowl. Tecmo Super “Bo Frickin’ Jackson” Bowl. I hadn’t even thought about that one. There are so many games that could be available, it just boggles the mind.
It will be interesting to see what kind of library will be available. Will it just be Nintendo titles or do they maintain publishing rights to everybody’s games? There are some A-list games that are not Nintendo’s IP so I’m interested to know if I’ll be able to download Final Fantasy III or RC Pro Am. If they release the whole library, HOLY CRAP ON A STICK, watch out. And prices? If they are a buck for run-of-the-mill titles and five to ten bucks for A-list games they will make a killing. Killing. And what if they release games that never made it over here to the states? My brain hurts thinking of the possibilities.
This is some cool stuff.
Update: I forgot to mention this earlier – buttonmashing.com was linked by the L.A. Times here. I hope the Los Angelinos enjoyed their visit and that they come back often!
Are you trying to get invited to my next Barbeque?!
Ahhh, that was my favorite unit response from Starcraft. Any way, Joystiq has a hands-on with Starcraft Ghost, a game I’ve been very interested in since it was announced, oh before the birth of my FIRST CHILD. Anyway, it sounds like a fun game, comparisons maybe to Unreal Tournament? I thought it was supposed to be stealth action, but it appears to be more of a shooter, with different units. I really like the sound of that, this one looks hot.
I love Beams … 2?!
Just found this via Spaceworlder: Moz La Punk – Your E3 Expo Source – web-log.nl
Nintendo is fooling the world this E3 show.
Seems Microsoft is the only ARG in town. I don’t have the desire to follow all the clues, just go check the site out…
Guild Wars is Mine!
I then read Kieron’s review of Guild Wars at Eurogamer (which was excellent) and salivation continued.
Well a copy of this wonderful game is in my hands. And it is with much sadness that it will not be played tonight, as it is late and I am tired. MMOGs are not to be taken lightly and should not be started on a night that precedes a work day so I will resist. Tomorrow looks bleak, as well. But I will play.
Oh yes, I will.
E3 this and that
So as you may or may not know, I am not at E3. I’m perfectly okay with that, I have no desire to be around such a nerd herd that is the Expo. But I can’t deny how exciting it would be to see the press conferences, wander the floor in awe, meet cool people and play even cooler games. Alas, such is not my lot in life. But bloggers are there en masse and I am cool with that.
I would frequent Gamespy/IGN and Gamespot for my E3 fixes in years past. Not this year. I’m sticking to my fellow bloggers for my information. Funny how that works. They know what the gamers want and are covering the Expo with aplomb.
The major 3 consoles have held there press conferences and I have mixed feelings. Sony’s and Microsoft’s presentations sounded more like pissing contests while Nintendo was low-key and focused on the games. (I tip my hat in Joystiq’s direction, they have done a bang-up job on their coverage)
Nintendo seems to be catching a lot of flak for their presentation and their direction in general (although some people seemed to have enjoyed it). After last years trash-kicking (see: Reggie-lution) the bar was set unfavorably high for them. From what I’ve read, Nintendo did just fine. They avoided the muscle flexing and were more about the games. That works for me. I’d love to see Nintendo contend this generation (and I think they will) I just wish they’d get more respect. They’re not George Lucas, for crying out loud! The Micro this is a little weird, but come on! I can play games ON, not WITH an NES controller. Cool, if it costs 39 bucks or less.
Currently I’m torn between the Xbox 360 and the PS3. I will buy a Revolution, that much is clear. (hat tip to Kotaku for the great spec coverage and Top Of Cool has a great comparison of specs here) Now the question comes down to the other console (I don’t have the cash or desire to own all three). Halo 3 weighs heavily on the decision. The PS3 controller looks horrible in its present form but I’d like to feel it and see how well it flies when I’m tee-oh’ed. That bomerang shape may come in handy. Right now I could go either way with my 2nd console.
Of course, it comes down to the games and that’s my current beef. Outside of Gears of War, I’m not seeing anything original. What is this, Hollywood? Nevertheless, Nintendo could release a thousand Zelda games, I’d play them all and love every minute of it. I mean look at this stuff!
Wondering how the food at E3 is? Damned Machines has it covered!
I haven’t even mentioned PC games yet (which I admit that I don’t play as much as consoles) but I do love the Strategy genre and I am pumped about Age of Empires 3. Troy, at Portico, has a great list of E3 Strategy games here. I’d like to see what E3 holds in store for Guild Wars (and other MMOGs). On the shooter front, Quake 4 looks rock solid.
Something wicked this way comes…
My bloglines feed reader is virtually empty.
Something big must be happening.
Live Blogging Xbox 360
Since I’ve got nothing better to do, I’ll be live blogging MTV’s Xbox Next Generation infomercial special. Looks like Kyle, Kotaku, and Joystiq will be doing so as well.
I’m not really sold on the Xbox 360 just yet. The whole MTV special just stinks of piles of Microsoft money being thrown around trying to get the ever popular 18-39 audience. I’m the list of “stars” that will be there don’t do it for me, either. The fact that Maurice Clarett is there almost prevents me from watching it all together (I’m an Ohio State fan, what can I say?). I’ll reserve judgement until after the show, but I can’t shake this feeling of deja vu.
On a side note, I’d like to see Xbox Live numbers between 9:30 – 10:00 pm EST.
Update: Okay, here we are, 9:30 and it’s go time:
Lets get the hype and hyperbole going right away! The Next Xbox will “Literally change the face of entertainment”. Phew, they start piling it on thick right way.
(Kotaku has some nice high-res images up already. Again, I’m not feeling the new design. I keep getting this nagging feeling that Microsoft is making a big mistake releasing this so early. More on that later.)
9:31 pm – Alright, so unrecognizable girl brought it out and yep, it looks just like we’ve known for a while now – ugly white and standing upright. Blech.
9:35 pm – “What do you think of the new Xbox 360?” (Elijah Wood)
“I’m looking forward to getting a free one. Hah ha!” (Li’l John? Some dude with a chalice)
9:39 pm – Alrighty then, they’ve shown the Xbox 360/Samsung commercial during the same break. The first time I saw that I thought it said “Microsoft and Samus” Heh. Madden, NFSU:MW and TW 2006 clips – are they real or simply “possible” gameplay. We’ll see. Need for Speed looked hot but Madden and Tiger Woods looked wierd.
Now we’re gonna pimp the Xbox. I thought this was about the new one.
Wireless was just confirmed – and a RING OF LIGHT. Whoa. That is hawt. Those face plates are embarassing.
The Live Marketplace – another bad idea. After watching that demonstration I had the image of MS taking money out of my pocket without me even knowing it was happening.
9:50 – Some more games – Gears of War looked good as did Qauke 4. The other brief games didn’t look interesting. So now it’s Perfect Dark time. But first let’s listen to some Gaming Pros. Zyos just called it the “Xbox 2”. I guess he didn’t get that memo. Now they’re talking about Perfect Dark Zero. 50 players at once sounds very, very tasty. Fully destructible environments. We’ll see about that. It’s been promised before. Ms. PMSgamer likes to swear a lot. That’s so gamer.
Watching the deathmatch, the controllers look small. Too small?
“Xbox 360 is gonna be amazing.” – Elijah Wood.
10:03 pm – That was over sooner than I thought it would be. A couple observations –
1.) Xbox 360 is supposed to usher in the HD era. But as Bill at DQ points out, why not broadcast the show in HD? There wouldn’t be a better way to convince us that it is, indeed, the HD era. I’m not convinced yet. I also noted that they really didn’t play up the HD aspect of the 360. Not sure why, but I didn’t notice any mentions.
2.) Even though it was still MTV, the production value was well done. While I asked Spike TV for two hours they stole from me last year, MTV kept it short and relatively sweet. Spike TV could take some advice from MTV how to host a Video Game show. I didn’t notice any gratuitous cleavage shots (except during the deathmatch which was too bad) or any celebrities trying to act like gamers. Well played, MTV.
Well, that was actually anti-climactic. I’m still interested in the next generation of consoles, including the Xbox. Things looked great. But like I said earlier, there’s still that nagging feeling that I can’t shake. With the marketplace, the ugly design (with a ring of light!), and the “HD era” things feel gimmicky. I know Microsoft knows what they’re doing, so I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Update #2: Here are some of the other bloggers talking about the Xbox 360 – Damned Machines, SmashBOT, Video Games Ombudsman, Dubious Quality, Joystiq, Nomad Gamer, Listen Up, Sports Gamer, Arena of Ideas, Also Coin Operated, and others, I’m sure. The consesus seems to be MTV sucks, the Xbox 360 didn’t impress, and everyone will still be buying one. Mission Accomplished.