GAMES: GameSpot: Best of 2008 | GameFAQs | SportsGamer MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Previous  |  Next Showing 1 - 7 of 7
Reliving history through games

So I stopped by the local Barnes and Noble today, and picked up a pictoral history of World War II, which I couldn't put down until the last page. As I was reading about the various battles, I kept having flashbacks to my gaming experiences in "Call of Duty 2" and "CoD: World at War." It may sound silly to suggest this, but I think my understanding of history was enhanced by those video games.

I remembered laying prostrate in the snows of Stalingrad, dodging enemy snipers. Or repeatedly attempting to storm the defenses at the Parliament building in Berlin, only to fall time and time again. Of course, they're video games, so the so-called "hardships" I endured were only virtual in nature. Nevertheless, they gave me a glimpse, an experiential reference from a first-person perspective, of how challenging it must have been to survive in those circumstances.

In turn, reading about World War II battles gave me greater appreciation for the "Call of Duty" games themselves. The fact that images of World War II could evoke memories of my experiences in a video game made me realize how much care and effort must have gone into bringing those battles to life in a convincing way. It goes to show, I think, that video games are not necessarily all ***** and giggles all the time, that they don't have to glorify violence for violence's sake, that games can have some educational value on a visual and emotional level.

Have you ever played a game that taught you something or made you appreciate something more, from an educational perspective?

posted Sunday, May 24, 2009 11:46pm  |  Comments (5)
Some_One_Plays: Independent Project Update: March. Mon. 23, 2009

Work has started on the "first unbiased gaming journalism website" since I'm a team of one things are moving a lot slower than I thought. At this rate I'm guessing the site should be opened to the public at the end of April or mid May. Everything on the site is created by me to the layout right down to the design of the site so it'll take some time and this is excluding the content being put on it once done. The wait is almost over.

posted Monday, March 23, 2009 4:02am  |  Comments (4)
Will the PS3 ever see its true potential?

The bottomline is the PS3 will never have the opportunity to be better than the 360 if developers continue to develop for the 360 first. The best scenerio out of a port is equality. And in most cases there are little hickups that give hints to one being the lead platform. Whether that be a blurry image (that you can only tell by viewing both versions of the game), bad framerates, or poor texture/lighting. Oblivion and GRAW 2 are the only exception, but they spent a lot of extra time on both of those.

I sure hope this changes and more developers follow Infinity Ward by having separate teams and splitting the load. The PS3 may have more potential but we as gamers may never see it from certain developers. The two producers/developers I see this being an issue with are Ubisoft and EA. That is why for now, I choose to buy games from these two producers/developers for my 360.

Games have definitely improved over the past year for PS3. In my opinon the PS3 has done better than the 360 did its first year, but games will only be as good as they are made. And it just so happens two of the biggest names out there care more about 360 owners. This is obviously due to install base, but how is the install base supposed to improve for the PS3 if these key companies don't get their act together. Its a vicious circle. Our only hope is for Sony to support and "instruct" the developers and hopefully they'll get it eventually. I still have high hopes for my PS3. I honestly prefer the controller and just plain like the machine more than my loud white beast.

posted Thursday, November 15, 2007 4:48pm  |  Comments (4)

So I finally got a 360 Elite...
...with Call of Duty 3, Dead Rising, and a pre-order for Halo 3. I'll be eating Ramen noodles and discount pizza from Costco for the next few months but it's probably worth it. My gamer tag is Desert Writer.
posted Saturday, September 22, 2007 5:08pm  |  Comments (37)
360 = average.

The main thng that stopped me buying a 360 is thats its just to average. I feel it does nothing for gaming at all, and it has nothing over the other consoles, apart from its slightly better online service. Anyways,

Hardware

    PS3 360 CPU cell microprocessor + seven synergistic units @ 3.2 ghz ghz three chips running  3.2 Ghz GPU NVIDIA + sny RSX chip running @ 550 Mhz ATI xenos chip @ 500 Mhz  MEMORY 512mb512mb  HDD60 GB20 GB  DISC Blu-ray 50 GB9 GB DVD 

As you can see, the PS3 is more powerful. Meaning developer can build bigge and better games when they concentrate souly on the PS3's architecture and not multi-plat. Playstation 3 also has blu-ray, which is currently owning HD-DVD, by 2-1. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=24395.

While on the subject of hardware, It not helping 360 with all these 3 rings of death storys. people claim to be on there 3rd 360 already, and its not Microsoft with the high number of 360 they have to fix.

Additionally, the PS3 six-axis controller allow immersion into games. Motion controllers are turning out to be really successful, as demonstated by the wii-mote.

Games

Right now, the 360 does have a Superior range with more AAA and so on. however, the Playstations range is looking very strong, with Meatl gear 4, Final fantasy 13 and versus, Uncharted, Heavenly sword, lair, tekken 6 all exclusive. Plus multi-plats such as GTA4 and Assassin creed will do more for Ps3 than 360. Allot of people, like me for one, are waiting for the GTA 4 Ps3 combo. 360 has some awesome games, such as gear and halo, but both of these are inthe same genre, as well as mass effect, sci-fi shooter. IMO, 360 lacks a decent range of games. It has some great looking rpgs on the way, like fable 2, but fable 1 was only AA. blue dragon will be quiet easily AAA, but the PS3 has final fantasy, which has been AAA continuosly for years.

Online

A strength of the 360 over PS3. But allot of lemming give it to much credit. XBL will cost you $150+ for free years. And what does it offer you thats worth that money over PSN? Both system have online arcades, both system have downloadable content for games, which cost money. Xbox use xbox points, Playstation uses real money in micro-transactions. heres a video of Playstation network, i'd like to hear what XBL has over it thats worth that sum of money.

With PSN offering innovative features such home and little big planet, Sony is closing the margin of Online service features. here a video of what the PSN can do. http://www.gametrailers.com/index.php?p=ps3 check out Playstation network showcase.

Conclusion

the PS3 offer so much more than the 360, in hardware, potentially games, and not only that , the PS3 games have something for everyone. Where the 360 seems to be strong at fragging aliens. Soon, the Ps3 game library will be supprior (unless all og its upcoming exclusives flop, then i will be truly owned ) The 360 may have better shooters, but the pS3 offer a better range, and if the team at Guerrilla learn from there mistakes will Killzone 1, Killzone 2 could be AAA, maybe better.

I'm not saying the 360 rubbish, by no means, me and my mate have a great time kicking *** on gears and smackdown, but it just feels so average. And thats why the PS3 will overtake it, maybe not this year, but in the Long-run. Good day .

posted Thursday, June 7, 2007 5:18pm  |  Comments (6)
Feeling Sad? Why not just go into Depression by learning about the universe?

Well I've recently been reading up on philosophical questions, like "where do we come from", or "how did it all start?" and I have stumbled on some great articles and videos that have sparked my interest in quantum physics and the universe. The world we live in is SO MUCH LARGER than we think and is so much more complex and mysterious than we realise. Things like the Big Bang theory, the theory of ekpyrosis, the movement patterns of electrons and sub atomic mass, and so much much more...No matter how much I learn and get enlightened, I do not become happy because of my newfound knowledge....I go into depression...I realise how meaningless this life is and how damn insignificant we truly are...The sadder part is that we will never be able to know the whole truths.....Well I guess its time for me to pass on the depression....here, look at these sites and never smile again:

Som great articles on the theories to our creation and future

http://www.discover.com/issues/feb-04/cover/?page=1

http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_uni/uni_101fate.html

Kicka** Quantum physics brought to you by ytmnd.com.

http://quantumiscool1.ytmnd.com/

http://quantamiscool2.ytmnd.com/

http://yqpic3.ytmnd.com/

Some ytmnds about our universe:

http://newsizeofourworld.ytmnd.com/

http://atinyglimpse.ytmnd.com/

http://openyoureyes.ytmnd.com/

I'll end it with a site that has some BEAUTIFUL pictures of nebulas and places in our universe...that sadly, we will never be able to reach

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-astro-nebula.html

Hope I didn't turn you guys into Emos

posted Tuesday, November 28, 2006 8:49pm  |  Comments (7)
Journal Entry Numba 5
I need more games, need more money to buy games, need more time to play games, and need more people to play them with me
posted Sunday, December 4, 2005 9:26pm  |  Comments (0)
Click Here
Data Warehouse Clear Gif