Xbox - there's 2 x's for a reason!

Is it okay, if it's online?

2010-02-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

Let's discuss online interactions - whether it be through XBox LIVE, facebook, myspace, twitter, other social networking sites, PSN, etc. How real are we, really? On LIVE, say you message someone telling them how awful they are, you hate them and then the general insults. Would you do that to someone's face? I doubt it. So why do we feel it's okay to do it 'virtually'?

I've recently been receiving harassing messages and picture messages (you don't even want to know what sort of pictures). It's gotten to the point where I've blocked communications from anyone not on my friends list. The messages I was receiving were sexually harassing, would that be acceptable "in real life"? No, it wouldn't. So again, why do people think it's okay to do it, across a messaging service? I know many people will say 'meh, ignore it' or 'it's just a joke' - but, why should I have to ignore abuse, from someone I don't even know? I file a complaint, block them, then receive even more abuse from other GTs. Also, if it was a joke, I'd be laughing.

It just really gets to me that people think it's okay to verbally abuse each other, just because it's over the Internet. So long as it's not face-to-face, it's okay? Harassment, whether it's in the workplace, school or online, is still harassment! I've talked to friends about 'cyber-bullying', and they actually laughed, then asked how you can bully someone online, very easily! Just because you're not being physically hurt, doesn't mean you're not being bullied or harassed.

I understand why people bully one another 'in real life', but I cannot grasp why they would do it to a complete stranger...? Anyone want to enlighten me? Is it so they can feel superior in some way? If so, then...wow...the world is in a worse state, than I originally thought...

Sorry, just had to get this off my chest. Treat others, the way you want to be treat - aka, treat each other well, no matter what gender, race, etc.

Are we gaming, more than living?

2009-06-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

How many hours a day do you spend on your XBox360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, iPhone/iPod touch, PC? If you're like me, the answer will probably be quite high. I fully admit that if I'm not asleep or otherwise engaged, I'm either on my XBox, playing with my iPod touch or doing something on my laptop. I love gaming, it's a huge part of my life, but is it too big of a part? How much gaming, is too much?

Are we starting to lose touch with reality, because we spend so much time in our virtual worlds? Games have become so immersive and engaging, that you can get lost in them. Are we just being entertained or are we losing out on life?

I've read countless articles about people injuring, even murdering friends, family, etc. because they lost at a game, were banned from a game or because there weren't as good as another person. I've read about people actually dying, where they sat because they didn't sleep or eat, they just kept playing...when you think about it, the hold gaming has over some people is frightening.

So how much, is too much? Do we need to set ourselves cut off times or even 'rest' days? Do we blame the game developers for creating worlds that are so enticing and submersive, that we can just get lost in them for hours on end? Or, do we blame ourselves, for not being able to switch off?

If someone murders someone over a game, that game will get alot of heat. But, is it the game or the game developers fault, that someone is essentially pschotic? Sooner of later, this person was going to snap, they were just waiting on something to trigger it. If we, as humans can't seperate actual reality from virtual reality, then you need to put down the controller and, get some help.

Edit: this post is a "work in progress" - this is NOT the finished peice.

You are not your gamerscore! ...Or are you?

2009-06-12T07:07:00.000-07:00

Are we, as gamers, indentified by our gamertag or our gamerscore? Does it really matter how many achievements you have or haven't got? As of late, the answer seems to be a resounding yes. Are people friends with gamers with high gamerscore, because they like the person or their achievement unlocking abilities? Sadly, I think it's the latter.

Are we playing for fun or achievements? The answer is usually achievements. When was the last time you put a game into your Xbox360 console, with the sole purpose of just enjoying that game, without trying to gain an achievement?

I love the idea of achievements, I think it's great that you're being rewarded with something, for being good at a game. I love it even more, when an achievement just pops up, without you actually trying to get it. Playing for hours on end, with just achievements in mind defeats the point of a game being fun.

Why do we care so much about achievements? Are we gaining them for ourselves or for others? Does it really just boil down to wanting attention and admiration? Not in all cases, some people are just genuinely that good.

However, instead of being able to accept that some people are good at games, some people are average and some people just do want to play and not bother trying for achievements, there are those who can't handle not being as good as someone with a gamerscore bigger than theirs. Which brings us onto the question of legit gamerscore and cheaters. Obviously the cheaters fall into the catergory of wanting achievements for attention and admiration, instead they usually get flamed and reset.

What about boosting? Is that cheating? I tend to think yes, if you can't unlock an achievement without having to boost (getting friends to help you. ie - sticky grenade kill 10 people) then it is, to a degree cheating.

I know some great gamers, with very high gamerscore, who are legit. Yet, instead of being admired they get hassel and are accused of cheating. People need to grow up and realise that gamerscore is a number, whether it's big, small or non-existant, it's just a number.

Happy gaming =)

Edit: in regards to boosting, I had a chat with a good friend of mine and, I didn't make myself very clear on where I sit with boosting. I feel that boosting is cheating if you do it on a game such as Halo 3, this game is still played alot, there should be no need to boost on it, unless you're lazy. However, for older games, that no one really plays anymore, you have no choice but to boost or settle for not being able to 1k the game. Hope I've made myself slightly clearer.

Zombies, 'nuff said.

2009-03-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'm going to make a confession. Zombies are my biggest fear, honest. Illogical, I know. They really do scare the hell out of me! But, I love zombie films and zombie games.

[Sidenote: 'Quarantine' (DVD) is bloody awful. Avoid it, unless you like dozing off half way through films! It's basically an American rip-off, of the Spanish 'Rec'.]

Where was I? Oh yea, zombies! (I'm not reviewing, I'm just writing about some of my newly favoured zombie games. Honestly, I'm waiting for the downstairs TV to be free, for RE5, hehe.)

Dead Rising - (available on XB360 and also on Wii - Dead Rising: Chop til you drop!) now that's a good zombie game! You can play it again and again and again! It just doesn't get old. This is due to the fact that you can avoid certain tasks (bloody Otis!) and depending on how you play, depends on which ending you recieve. This is a fun zombie game, as it's not scary. (Well, it's creepy for someone scared of zombies, but it's a 'lol' sort of creepy.) The ability to place lego heads on zombies = legendary. Plus, being able to use all manner of wacky items as weapons is awesome. Tis a great zombie game. It's almost cartoon-ish in the gore and horror department. Also, keep a lookout for Dead Rising 2.

House of the Dead: Overkill - available on the Wii. This game is what I like to call a 'B-movie game'. To me, this is the game version of Planet Terror. It's a fun shooter, especially if you have either Wii gun or HotD: Overkill Hand Cannon gun - fun peices of equipment! Overall, a fun (if slightly silly) game.

Onechanbara: Binkini Samurai Squad - button basher. Erm...not much else to say. =D

Dead Space - they're 'Necromorphs' not zombies...but, they're creepy and zombie-esq (oh yea!). So, it counts, sort of. Good game, truly. Scary and a very engrossing storyline. Don't want to give anything away, as it's a really great storyline, but the end is quite jumpy! Play!

*Sighs* more of a time filler post, than an actual serious one! Of course, RE5 isn't on here, as I haven't played it yet, grr! That shall change in 50 minutes! I'm probably gonna edit this post abit and put in some more decent zombie games.

GTA IV & 1600 MS Points

2009-02-19T20:05:00.000-08:00

So you've purchased GTA IV for £39.99. (although, I have seen it for cheaper, other places. Let's go with the £39.99 price, as that's what people would have generally paid for it, when it first came out.)

You've played through the campaign and multiplayer and, finally! New DLC (aka downloadable content)! When I first heard of the DLC, I assumed it would be 800MS Points, even 1200 at a push. How wrong I was! 1600 Points! Yikes! I appreciate that it's a whole new add-on campaign with achievements worth 250GS. But, after already paying £39.99 for the game, do I really want to pay £17.50 for 2100MS Points or £13,99 for 1600 GTA IV Edition MS Points?

Honestly? I'd rather use my points on an Arcade game or horde them for the upcoming CoD:WaW map pack, as I personally will get far more enjoyment from that DLC. Also, it will last me longer, as I never tire of TDM MP.

I appreciate that many people will be more than happy to pay the money for the points, then the points for the download. I however, am not. I think 1600 points is far too expensive, 1200 points would have been more than adequate for the download.

Sorry, but I won't be bothering with this episode. I'm probably one of very few though. I hope whoever does purchase the DLC enjoys it. I guess I'm just a cheapskate! =p

Lord of the Rings: Conquest Review

2009-02-05T16:40:00.000-08:00

LotR: Conquest - the link is to play.com, as it's a great place to buy things and you get reviews from people who have either tried the demo or the full game.

Before renting this game, I read alot of the reviews from the linked site and at first was slightly put off. However, I downloaded the demo and was on it for literally 4 hours. Once I got the hang of the multiplayer, there was no getting me off it! So the following day I rented it.

Now, the game has recieved alot of criticism. It's not visually stunning, the voice acting is below parr, if you get knocked down - you get drilled and cannot stand back up, resulting in an irritating death, the campaigns are very short. But! It is still a good game! I don't know if I'd go so far as to purchase it, £39.99 is still quite expensive for it, in my opinion. If it was perhaps £29.99 or £32.99 I would consider it. Anyway, back to the game!

You start out in a training mode, this gets you used to the 4 "classes". Warrior: sword for close range attacks, throwing axes for ranged attacks, flame sword ability - you get an energy bar which you have to fill to use the flame abilities. Scout: invisibility - very good in MP, especially if you're health is low, throw on the old invisibility and run!, stealth attack from behind, 2 small swords, satchel bombs. Mage: heal ability for yourself and teammates, flame wall - ball of flame, lightning - doesn't need to be recharged so it's great for keeping warriors and scouts away from you, protective shield that deflects arrows, axes and other magic. Archer (my personal favourite): flame arrows - great for knocking back enemies closing in on you, poison arrows - again, great for attacking enemies as it poisons them over time and slows them down, multiple arrows - brilliant attack, if you've got a couple of enemies it'll hit both or if just one, they'll all hit just the single target, plus you can stand well clear of battle and just take out enemies from afar - evil little sniper! Wow, I do go on, don't I?

So the campaign, you start out on the 'good' side. You have various 'missions' throughout each level. Such as killing a specific person, capturing a certain point or taking something to a specific location. Sounds boring, but it goes by very fast. The levels are really very short. Before I knew what was happening, I was killing Saruman, then straight onto the 'evil' side of the campaign. The evil side is actually even shorter than the good side! As previously stated, the game is not visually stunning, but still quite addictive.

The gameplay is essentially just 'Dynasty Warriors' with hobbits, elves, dwarves and walking trees - ents, hehe. Achievements are very easy to get and very regular.

Onto the fun part! Multiplayer!

The multiplayer for this game is what could persuade me into buying it, actually. There's regular team deathmatch - first to 50 kills wins, capture the ring - first to 3 captures wins - grab the ring, run to the enemy base and viola! A point! Conquest - first to 1000 points - you have the capture specific locations on the map, if you have a decent team that is communicating it's easy, if not, just run about and die alot. Hero tdm - same as regular tdm, but you start out as a 'hero' from whichever side you're playing on ie. Legolas, Aragorn for good and Lurtz, Saruman for evil.

Getting a match is quite difficult as not many people play, but if you're lucky enough to get a full team, it can be very fun and addictive. Of course, it'll never touch the CoD or GoW multiplayer games, but it is a fun and different way to play.

I would definetly reccommend renting the game before purchasing though! Also, if you're expecting GoW like graphics, please steer clear!

NOTE: my first 'review', not sure if it's any good or even if it's very informative...ah well, I'll learn...I hope!

Xbox Live VS "Girl Gamers"

2009-02-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

I wonder why some males feel that females shouldn't play video games? Along with, why do they seem to think that a female playing an online multiplayer game, is automatically looking for a boyfriend?

Random messages I've recieved in the last few days and weeks:

Suck my d*** - that's a popular one.
Get the d*** out of your mouth and play - fair enough, I left the game to get a drink and forgot to back out of the lobby.
Get off the game and go have some babies.
You're a f***ing tease, stop chasing me - sent while playing TDM on COD5.
You're a guy pretending to be a chick.
Do you want to cyber?
Will you go on cam and show me your breasts? - they didn't use that term, they used t***. Mature, very.

It goes on and on like that. I've also recieved picture messages, I've since learnt to never open them. I had to bleach my eyes.

Seriously though, why do alot of male gamers revert back to 12 years old? They're perfectly normal when you enter a lobby (I'm using COD5 as my example, as it happens on there to me the most) and suddenly some of them notice a female orientated gamertag and zone in. Randomly shouting out my gamertag and asking me to go on mic.

One thing I did find amusing and quite sweet a couple of days ago, was one person who kept saying congrats or well done everytime I got a kill, bless. It wasn't needed, but still nice. Better than being verbally abused anyway!

My point is, girl gamers aren't special. We don't lounge around playing games in our sexy underwear, just waiting for a guy to try and friend us. Well...at least I don't and neither do most of the females I talk to. We're no different to guy gamers, so why are we treat differently?

I can play a game of COD5 with 3 other males in my party and they won't get a speck of bother. They can have a k/d of 5/22 and not get told to wake up or be shouted at. I can have a k/d of 10/4 and be shouted at, called names and targeted, even by my own team! Fair enough, they can't team kill me, but they still follow me about, randomly knifing me and throwing grenades off me...why do that? It's not going to make me quit playing, it's going to make me submit a bad review and file a complaint!

Onto the "raping/humping" issue. Yes, yes it's absolutely hilarious, even after the 12th time -.- I know alot of people find it humiliating and uncalled for, I find it uncalled for. However, I like to look at it from the person doing the "acts" perspective. How pathetic must their life be...? That is how they get their kicks. I figure, knock yourself out, I'll make sure I know where you are (COD's killcam), skip the "show", then fire a rocket at your face.