Kid Play

As a mom, I am always looking for great games for my four year old (Sophia) to play. This Christmas, she received a lot of Target gifts cards, which we put to good use. Sophia just bought a Leapster2 and at first my husband and debated whether she would have the hand/eye coordination required for the handheld game. But we got home and she took to it like a duck in water. We got her the Backyardigans game, which she is enjoying as I write this.

We also ordered the VSmile V-Motion system for her as well. I am excited to see how she likes this as well. It is similiar to a Wii for kids and the games are all educational. I’ll have to let you know how it goes when we get it.

Tags: Backyardigans, Children, Game Systems, Leapster, Vmotion, VSmile

Blu-Ray shopping

Oy! The hunt for the perfect Blu-Ray player within our price range ($200 - 250)! I am married to a comparision shopper, which for bigger ticket items is good, but then there are the times that I just get frustrated and want to buy whatever one looks good. This is not one of those times.

I have been looking into the Panasonic DMP-BD35 player. It seems to have everything that I want within my price range. If you are into comparison shopping and don’t feel like leaving the house and driving to 50 different stores to look at the exact same item, just check out Yahoo Shopping. It not only lets you look at the products and prices, but you can compare them all side by side, which really helps especially when it comes to just a few subtle differences in the items.

The insomniac Xbox experience

Don’t you love it when a.) you can’t get to sleep because of a great Xbox game or b.) you wake up and decide to play Xbox at 2am? I sure do. Although I love my Xbox, it has caused many a sleepless nights in my household and there are only two of us that currently play this console! Wait until my daughter is old enough to really game on it!

The days of warm milk and cookies to help you sleep are over, Xbox has soured the milk and burned the cookies for all of us Xbox users. You can usually tell us Xbox insomniacs when we get into to work the next day, you can find us mumbling about the level we were last playing (as if we were still in the game) or you will notice that we absently button mash while at our cubicles. We are also usually equipped with either a Red Bull, RockStar or a seriously huge Mountain Dew and are slugging away at it with no abandon.

So, for all you late night Xbox’ers or PS3′ers, for that matter, I toast you with my Mountain Dew here at 2:30am!

Tags: Console Platforms, Games, Mountain Dew, PlayStation 3, Red Bull, Video game, Xbox

Target needs to train about video games!

Why is it that whenever I go into Target’s Electronics department, I am surrounded by people who know nothing about video gaming? I am not talking about the customers here, I am talking about the employees. I am astounded at the fact that these employees can keep their jobs in a department where the video games are their primary source of income.

I have heard so many bad reviews or false advertisements about gaming consoles or games that, although, I am not a real outspoken person in real life, I feel that the ground will swallow me up and send me to Hell if I don’t say something! Even knowing the difference between what is age-appropriate or not would be useful knowledge.

I was in Target today getting some last minute shopping done, due to the almost three feet of snow at our house, when a lady asked the Target associate if Gears of War 2 was appropriate for a child. The associate said yes. ARE YOU FOR REAL?!?! I jumped in and asked how old the child was and what type of games he liked. The child was 6 years old. Needless to say, I advised the lady of the content of Gears and let her make the decision for herself. She decided that this was not a good idea. Then she asked if there were any other games that her son might like. The associate then named Bully as a great game. Are you serious?!?! The lady immediately looked at my shocked face and thanked him for his help. He then left. When he was out of earshot, she asked me for help. I had recommended Lego Star Wars, Lego Indiana Jones and Lego Batman, after actually asked her what where some of the things that her son liked to do or play with. She told me he liked Legos. Obvious choice here. Granted, the rating is E+10, on these video games, they are pretty age appropriate for him, according to his mom.

It doesn’t take much to recommend the right type of game for a person. Ask a few probing questions, find out what they like and it’s not too hard.

So, Target, train your people about video games!!! This is ridiculous, that is unless you want to endorse gamer blogs, then keep doing what you are doing, I don’t mind!

Tags: Gears of War 2, Lego, Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Star Wars, Toys, Video game

RIAA, thank you for shutting down the internet!!!

The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has decided to stop suing everyone who downloads music through shareware such as Limewire and Bit Torrent to name a couple. Instead, when they catch you, they will send a notification to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), who will then send you a warning email to cease and desist. After one more warning, instead of the FBI showing up, your ISP will shut you down. Bye, bye Internet! If you are in a great place where you can only receive Internet from one provider, good luck, you are screwed.

Apparently, the RIAA is already doing this in Europe and pissing off the Europeans left and right. I guess pissing off our across the pond friends wasn’t enough, now they are gunning for us.

Why game developers should be nice to gamers at PAX

It was brought to my attention that I may have been a bit harsh on my review of Guitar Hero World Tour. (See the “attention” link’s comment.) The commenter is a good friend of mine, so I am not posting this as retaliation for his comment, I just want people to understand why developers should treat gamers well.

Okay, so I am a bit biased towards Rock Band. I will fully admit it. However, the people at Harmonix are some of the coolest people that I know. When we (Brad, Sophia & I) were at PAX this year, Harmonix peppered Sophia with as many Rock Band stickers as she wanted, and they let her dance on stage! How cool is that for a four year old! She rocked out and they were so cool with it! They even took publicity pics of her dancing on stage. I liked how cool they were with Brad, whom they remembered from his campuses ITT Technical Institute booth the previous year, and myself.

Whereas, the Guitar Hero:World Tour booth wasn’t as nice to Sophia or myself. I was a little saddened by that. Especially since they were promoting it as a family/friends oriented game at PAX.

That is not to say that I don’t like any Guitar Hero games. I still play Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix) and I really enjoyed Guitar Hero:Aerosmith (Neversoft).  But when you treat me, the player with a lack of respect, I am no longer impressed with you, the developer. So, Neversoft, the gauntlet has been thrown. Treat people with families with better respect at gaming conventions like PAX, and then I might promote your games!

Sophia rocking out at the Harmonix stage at Penny Arcade 2008

Tags: Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero:World Tour, Harmonix Music Systems, Neversoft, Penny Arc, Rock Band

Why Rock Band2 is fun for the whole family!

I’ve posted before about Rock Band2 and why I think it’s great. The songlists are awesome and the different modes of play are pretty fun as well. But for all you parents out there, here the best reason:

We were playing Rock Band2 with some friends when our four year old, Sophia, started singing along. It was “Eye of the Tiger” and instead of singing Eye of the Tiger, she thought the words were I am the Tiger. So she ran around the house singing “I Am the Tiger!” at the top of her lungs! If that wasn’t funny enough, when we started to play “We’ve Got the Beat” she started singing “We’ve Got the Bee”. Kids are just too cute!

Tags: Family Video Games, Music Video Games, Rock Band2

Spike 2008 Video Game Award World Premieres

This year’s Video Game Awards hosted by Spike Tv launched nine World Premieres for new video games or video game add-ons. Here’s the recap:

Gears of War 2 Combustible Map Pack: This map pack had three maps that each looked amazing.This is now available for download through Xbox Live!

1. Flood: In this map, you have to get to the high ground and quick, because the walls will close in on you before you know it!
2. Gold Rush: This is a great multi-level map and provides lots of shooting fun.
3. Fuel Station: This is an objective-based map that requires that you secure the facility. Head for the high ground for the best shooting point.

UFC 2009 Undisputed: I’m not much a boxing game person, but the graphics and play looked good.

God of War: This game looked interesting, too early to say whether it’s a rent or buy.

Rock Band 2: Pearl Jam’s album, 10 will be available soon as downloadable content! Pearl Jam fans of the world, unite!

Dante’s Inferno: I have actually read The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri years ago. This game really does a great job of bringing Dante’s words to life. I will be honest however, I can’t tell from the preview of the main character is breaking out of the nine levels of hell, or breaking in. It doesn’t really matter, I’ll still put it in my Gamefly queue!

Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned: This newest installment in the Grand Theft Auto series will really appeal to fans of the FX show, Sons of Anarchy. In this game, you are part of a biker gang, doing the regular Grand Theft Auto style fighting, stealing and etc.

Brutal Legend: This game boasts the voice talent of Jack Black, who stars as the roadie who fights his way to the top. I’m not sure what I think about this game yet. It looked kinda dumb from a storyline point of view. The graphics looked pretty good, but as any gamer knows, graphics aren’t enough to save a game. I could be wrong, we’ll see after it releases.

Fight Night, Round 4: This game looked really cool. I am not a boxing game person, but I want to play Tyson vs. Ali. That is a fight I could get into!

Terminator: Salvation: This game is based on the upcoming movie of the same name starring Christian Bale as John Connor. Personally, I felt that this was a game that should have been released a few years ago! This game looked really good and the graphics looked great as well.

Mafia 2: This game is based in the 1950s and is a action-shooter. I couldn’t tell much about the storyline in the trailer shown, but the graphics were some of the best I have ever seen.

Watchmen: The World is Nigh: This game looked like your typical “based off of a movie” game. I am not really a big fan of games made after movies, the graphics usually aren’t that great, the storyline is redundant and it’s just not that fun to play. If you don’t believe me, start watching G4TV’s “XPlay“. Adam Sessler (who is the nicest person!) and Morgan Webb have a lot to say about them and it’s typically not good!

Those were all the World Premieres and I am most excited about the Gears of War 2 map pack, Pearl Jam’s album release for Rock Band 2 and Dante’s Inferno.

What do you think will be the next big game?

Tags: Action, Dante Alighieri, dantes-inferno, Divine Comedy, Electronic Art, Games, Video game, Video Game Awards

Spike’s 2008 Video Game Awards Recap

This year’s Video Game Awards hosted by Spike TV were huge! There were some great names that won this year.

The Awards show started out with an awesome intro by Jack Black, this year’s host. (I would post the video, but it was a little risque for those with kiddos at home! So just click on the intro link to see it.) This VGA had nine World Premieres, which I will talk about later in this post. But first, let’s get to the winners!

Best Shooter: Gears of War 2 by Epic Games Gears of War, need I say more, this game rocks!

Best Xbox Game: Gears of War 2 by Epic Games

Best Independant Game: World of Goo by 2D Boy This game looked weird to me, but it looked like it could be fun.

Big Name in the Game: This award went to Kiefer Sutherlund for his work in Call of Duty: World at War.
Kiefer stated in his acceptance speech that it took 6 months to do all of the voice work and he had to say over 1600 lines a least 9 or 10 different ways. Bet you thought your job was easy!

Gamer God Award: Will Wright, creator of SIMS and Spore. This man not only creates fun games, but he is wicked smart!

Best RPG (Role Playing Game): Fallout 3 by Bethseda Games. This game is awesome! If you liked Oblivion, you will like this post-apocolyptic RPG. It is a true RPG and have great graphics to boot.

Best Music Game: Rock Band 2 by Harmonix.  We own this game and we love it. We have hosted a few Rock Band 2 parties and it is always a blast. The music selection is awesome, with bands like The Presidents of the United States, Joan Jett, and a ton of downloadable content and albums from bands like Metallica , and Led Zepplin.

Studio of the Year: Media Molecule, creators of Little Big Planet. I demo’d this game at the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo and it was a lot of fun to play. I was sad when I had to leave to try other games.

Best Driving Game: Burnout Paradise by Criterion Games.

Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show: Lego Indiana Jones by LucasArts. I was glad to see this win an award, I am a huge fan of the Lego series and it is a game that is a little bit challenging and I don’t have to worry when my four year old watches me play, the content is clean.

Best Fighting Game: Soul Caliber 4 by Namco Bandai. I haven’t played this game yet, but it is in my Gamefly queue. It looks like a fun fighting game with nice graphics and play.

Best PC & Multiplayer Game: Left 4 Dead by Valve. I want to try this game, however, since I have a four year old, finding the time to play when a.) she’s not around and b.) when I am not fighting my hubby for the Xbox is problematic.

Best Handheld Game: Professor Layton and the Curious Village by Level 5. I don’t know too much about this game, as I do not have a Nintendo DS (yet). If you have tried this, let me know what you think.

Best Wii Game: Boom Blox by Steven Spielberg and EA Games. This looked like a ton of fun, especially on those days when you need a little bit of stress relief! I added it to my Gamefly queue.

Best Individual Sports Game: Shaun White Snowboarding by Ubisoft. My whole family demo’d this game at Penny Arcade and we had a ton of fun. My four year old kicked some serious tail on this game and she has never snowboarded. She now wants to learn.

Best Graphics and Original Score: Metal Gears Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots by Konami. I’ll be honest, I haven’t played this one yet, so again, if it rocks, let me know!

And lastly, GAME OF THE YEAR: Grand Theft Auto 4 by Rockstar Games North. I will be honest, I don’t play any of the GTA series, only because the storylines don’t really interest me. I’m not a person to “smack the ho” and steal cars, but I have friends that really love this series, so go Rockstar!

This year’s VGA had not only some big winners, but some great music and hosting as well. Jack Black was perfect for hosting the VGAs. Next year ought to be interesting with all of new games coming out.If you want to know about the World Premieres at the VGA’s, you’ll have to read my next post.

Tags: Electronic Arts, Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto IV, Harmonix, Joan Jett, Nintendo, Penny Arcade, Spike TV, Steven Spielberg, Video game

Baby scare

I haven’t been writing like I should this last week. For that I am sorry. I am currently five months pregnant and we had a bit of a scare in regards to the baby last week. Okay, a bit of a scare is putting it really mildly.It is really hard to write when you are at a high level of stress at all times.

I will be back this week writing like always and I hope that you enjoy!