Eddy has written a total of 422,116 words on this site.

I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing, Thanksgiving Edition

Halo CE Anniversary

Oh man. As cliche as it is to make a post on Thanksgiving about how much food you’ve eaten, I can’t help but do just that. I feel like I’m at least partially absolved of this crime because I ran a 10K this morning, but even then, I know I’ll still have to beg your forgiveness just a little bit.

All that to say: Happy Thanksgiving, dudes. I know not all of you are from our fat states, but I want to wish you all a good one either way. Maybe it’s because I’m food drunk, but I do want to say that I’m thankful for this community and for all of you. Shucks and stuff.

Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to the good stuff. Naturally, holidays means video games for many of us. As for me, I’ve been playing lots of Skyrim (of course), but now that the holidays are underway, I’ve been struck by the nostalgia bug, as I knew I would be. This means I’ve got a sudden and intense hankering to play not only Ico and Shadow of the Colossus HD, but also Halo: CE Anniversary and the MGS HD Collection. Christmas really can’t come soon enough.

So what about you guys? What are you playing this fine holiday weekend? Go!

Fan Feedback and Fixing Uncharted 3’s Shooting

Uncharted 3

I’ve been trying to save some of my opinions about Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (or Decepticons if you’re feeling especially nerdy) for our upcoming review of the game, but I couldn’t help myself on this one. As fun as the game can be, I had major problems with it’s shooting mechanics, which felt a bit spastic and dare I say broken in comparison to Uncharted 2’s excellent gunplay. When I first started playing the game, I couldn’t tell if my skills had diminished, or if I was just a crazy person, but something felt… off. This became even more apparent when Anthony tried a run of some multiplayer, where the shooting mechanics felt much better, and vastly different from their singleplayer counterpart.

Apparently I’m not the only one. It seems that quite a few Uncharted fans, both on Naughty Dog’s website and NeoGAF, have taken to drafting charts, filming comparison videos and dissecting the difference between Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3’s gunplay. The main offender is a strange bit of input lag, plus a snap-to grid for diagonal aiming that isn’t present in Uncharted 2.

While all of that is typical for the Internet, the interesting part of the story is that Naughty Dog listened and tried to figure out the difference themselves… but couldn’t. So they then asked several of the outspoken NeoGAF posters to come into the studio to present their case firsthand. As a result, Naughty Dog is working on a patch that allows players to choose between the mechanics of each game for the singleplayer campaign.

How about that for listening to your community? I really have to commend Naughty Dog for hearing the complaints and addressing them, although I don’t understand how they couldn’t figure out the difference between two of their own games. Have any of you played Uncharted 3? Any issues with the aiming? And what do you think of this move by Naughty Dog? Go!

Source – GiantBomb

Gorgeous Skyrim Time Lapse Video

You guys, Skyrim. Skyrim, guys.

I’m sorry that there are so many mentions of Skyrim happening on the ol’ Sushi, but it can’t be helped. I’m fully vested in this game and its world, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away from it any time soon. It’s just one of those games that hits me in the right way (or the wrong way depending on how you look at it).

For anyone that has experienced it, you’ll understand when I say that Skyrim is a truly engaging world. In fact, I’d venture to say it’s one of video games most real-feeling worlds that I’ve ever played.

To prove it, I’m posting this gorgeous Skyrim time lapse video. Watch. And be amazed and stuff.

GamerSushi Asks: Doomsday Tuesday Roll Call?

Assassin's Creed Revelations

Wow. I think out of all the days that could have decked us in the Fall, it was today that I was most worried about. As Mitch has lovingly dubbed it, Doomsday Tuesday happened today, and with it came a veritable salvo of gaming entertainment. Or horrors, if you’re concerned about what this means for your wallet.

While I’m no doubt going to leave somebody out, the big games that dropped today include Saint’s Row: The Third, Halo: CE Anniversary and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. So, yeah. Lots of stuff to play, I guess.

Rather than doing a slew of posts roll call-ing for each of these gems, I thought I’d put it all together in one post and just ask you straight up: which of these are you getting today? Are you getting any of them at all? As for me, I received Halo: CE Anniversary in the mail, and hope to add Saint’s Row: The Third and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations over time. But for now, Skyrim rules all.

So what about you dudes? Time to weight in on the roll call. Go!

GamerSushi Asks: Getting Your Attention?

Skyrim Whiterun

At 10 hours into Skyrim, you’d think that I would be a walking bad ass by now. Townspeople would weep or cry out in joy at my passing. Animals would steer clear of my manly musk. Dragons would swoop down to bow before me in reverent awe. My weapons would sing with the crackle of lightning and the sharp hiss of steel and silver. In short, you would think that I’ve already started bending the world of Skyrim to my digital will.

Actually, I’m picking flowers just outside of Whiterun. You see, I’m trying to learn some new recipes and the properties of various ingredients for alchemy, just so I can sell some potions and make enough money on the side to buy a house. You know the type: a starter home, with a nice view of the Jarl’s place up on the hill. It’s quaint, but it’ll get me by long enough to stow all of my stolen items until I can contact someone in the Thieves’ Guild to purchase them for me. I might get around to that once I’ve searched the nearby brewery or taken a few more Smithing lessons up at the Skyforge. That’s just how I roll.

While none of those things sounds particularly exciting, they’ve somehow gotten me totally snared by Elder Scrolls V’s dark and fantastical clutches. Every preview of the game showed spellcasting, shield bashing, dragon shouting and dragon fighting. Yet all I’m doing is the mundane, the ordinary, the stuff that nobody in their right mind would do.

And I love it.

You see, I’ve got certain triggers when it comes to video games. Certain things that scratch just the right spot or catch me at just the right moment. This happens from time to time, and even though it shouldn’t surprise me, it still totally does. I wrote just a few weeks back about how Batman: Arkham City made me feel like a kid again. Skyrim is sort of similar, but there’s something more to it: it just has my attention.

I can’t really describe what it means when I say that a game has gotten my attention. The only mental image I have is of a small child, with a street performer snapping in front of him to hold his gaze while he does a sleight of hand routine. And I guess that’s what video games do to us. The best ones leave us transfixed, totally beholden to whatever spectacles are playing themselves out on the screen. I won’t declare Skyrim game of the year or say that it’s one of my favorites. But I will say that it’s already put me under its spell.

So my question to you guys is this: what does a game have to do to get your attention? What kinds of things tend to really suck you into a game and keep you from doing anything else? Does it have to have a good intro? A great story? Great mechanics? A combination of those things? What types of games tend to leave you obsessed? Go!

Gaming’s Greatest Griefs

Team Fortress 2

Any day that I get to use alliteration in a post title is a swell day for me, and perhaps all of mankind. OK, probably not.

I’ve taken this brief break from my weekend of playing Skyrim until my thumbs fall off to point your attention to a hilarious post I saw over on Ranker. This humorous list chronicles the 13 Greatest Moments in Video Game Griefing History, and I think it’s worth every second you spend looking at it.

While griefing is a mostly vile and contemptible practice, I can’t help but laugh when griefers really get creative and think beyond the box of the typical racial and homophobic slurs. Case in point: the number one entry on the list, where a clever Spy in TF2 posted sprays of models in order to knife other players in the back when they stopped to oggle.

What are your favorite entries on the list? Have you ever seen some creative and hilarious griefing that you couldn’t help but admire? Go!

Source – Ranked

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Roll Call!

Skyrim

Goodbye, cruel world.

I am leaving you for better, greener pastures. Well, sometimes they’re greener. Sometimes they’re frozen tundras swarming with dragons. Other times they’re cavernous holds for bandits. It doesn’t really matter what they look like, all I know is that I’m going to the world of The Elder Scrolls, and I don’t know if I’ll ever return from those fair peaks and dark dungeons.

This could last awhile.

As you know, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is out tomorrow (or in just a few moments on the East Coast), and the world will never be the same. I for one plan on playing this game through the end of the year, forsaking all other suitors that plead for my time. With a ton of great, mostly perfect reviews out for the game, along with the reports that it will have never-ending sidequests, it almost seems like a no-brainer to pick this one up.

So I guess my question to you guys is this: who’s getting Skyrim? Roll call! Go!

The Greatest Video Game Music on the Cheap

video game musicThis is happening right now, and you should take advantage of it: Amazon is offering “The Greatest Video Game Music” on sale for only $2.99. This is a compilation of popular video game songs recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and I will say that it is kind of rad.

If you’re hesitant to part with your money, here’s a list of tracks:

1. Advent Rising: Muse
2. Legend of Zelda: Suite
3. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2: Theme
4. Angry Birds: Main Theme
5. Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali
6. Super Mario Bros: Theme
7. Uncharted – Drake’s Fortune: Nate’s Theme
8. Grand Theft Auto IV: Soviet Connection
9. World of Warcraft: Seasons of War
10. Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty Theme
11. Tetris Theme (Korobeiniki)
12. Battlefield 2: Theme
13. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
14. Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare: Main Menu Theme
15. Mass Effect: Suicide Mission
16. Splinter Cell: Conviction
17. Final Fantasy: Main Theme
18. Bioshock: The Ocean on his Shoulders
19. Halo 3: One Final Effort
20. Fallout 3: Theme
21. Super Mario Galaxy: Gusty Garden Galaxy
22. Bonus Track: Dead Space: Welcome Aboard The U.S.G. Ishimura

So yeah. I’ve already jumped on top of this offer. Anybody else joining?

Source – Amazon

Mass Effect 3 Leak and the Customizable Experience

mass effect 3 single player

Whoops.

So it seems that the other day, an error by Microsoft resulted in the testers of the new XBox 360 dashboard update being able to get their hands on an early build of Mass Effect 3. This accidental leak (which was meant for private internal testing) included portions of both the single player and multiplayer, some of which were missing sound and textures.

While this is certainly a bit of a goof, the more interesting part of the story is the menu that showed up for these players, which revealed something that we didn’t know about the game. Basically, it gave players the option for the single player game to choose to highlight certain components for their playthrough, each with an emphasis on different aspects. Here are the three choices:

  • Action Mode: For those who want to emphasize action and combat and minimize story management. Action mode will set automatic replies in conversation and a normal difficulty.
  • Story Mode: For those who want to emphasize story immersion and minimize combat pressure. Story mode will set manually-selectable replies in conversation and a minimal combat difficulty.
  • RPG Mode: For those who want to explore both realms of story and combat. RPG mode will set manually-selectable replies in conversation and a normal combat difficulty.

This seems like a direct response to the complaints that Bioware received about Mass Effect 2 being “dumbed down.” While none of this is final, it’s certainly an interesting way to tackle the problem – too many games these days try to be all things to all people, and it’s something that doesn’t always work. Bioware has responded to the leak, saying that these options will give players an even greater degree of control over their personal experience with the campaign.

What do you guys think of the idea of splitting the campaign into these different modes? At first glance, it appears to be a creative way to let each player get the Mass Effect 3 that they want. Give us your thoughts, though. Go!

Source – VG247

A Look at the Modern Quake

Ah, modern gaming. How often you’re lambasted these days for your simplistic ways.

This is always a tricky subject for me. We generally try to keep the discourse around here less cynical, but sometimes we do talk about the things we miss about gaming. Let’s face it: games have changed, and there’s no point beating around the bush about it.

I guess that means there’s no bush-beating in this video. It asks the question: what if Quake was made today? And agree or disagree with its conclusions, it’s hard to deny that it makes at least a few points, and hilariously at that.

While I genuinely think that in some ways, games are better than ever, I’ll admit that the things in this video are pretty spot on. I don’t know if I buy into all the negativity that I hear from the gaming community about this issue, but it’s still worth noting.

So what do you guys think about the ideas this video raises? Do you like/dislike the direction of modern games? Is it a more complicated issue than the video lays out? Go!

Today’s WTF: Win $10K for Grabbing Drake’s Ring

OK, we’ve seen some absolutely wild, are-you-freaking-kidding-me type promotional stunts pulled for games quite a bit in the last few years. Hearing about the new, wacky schemes that these companies will go to in order to win over some fans or promote their games is starting to become old hat. We’re sort of used to these antics by now.

Sort of.

You see, Kevin Butler (or Sony, if you want to be uppity about it), VP of everything PS3, is offering gamers $10,000 for whoever can hold out their arms the longest via webcam. Yes, really.

The “Uncharted 3: Grab the Ring” contest rewards those with superior arm-holding stamina up to $500 each day (for the winner of the day) and $10,000 for the overall best time. The current champion at the moment has done so for over 2 hours.

Normally our daily WTFs are things that we think are appalling, but this one is just plain silly. I really don’t have much of an opinion on it. So yeah. Get to those webcams if you want in on this ridiculous promotion. Any takers?

Source – Grab the Ring

Grand Theft Auto V Debut Trailer

So this just happened. It’s kind of big news, I guess.

There’s not much to say about the Grand Theft Auto V trailer that you haven’t heard already. It’s been several years since GTA IV came out, and Rockstar definitely has a lot to live up to in terms of expectations. Do they rise to the occasion? I guess you can watch and find out.

So what are your reactions to the trailer? As much as I’m not a graphics guy, I have to say that the detail and the quality of the animations shown in the trailer are really impressive. It also seems to me that we’re back in Los Santos, though it’s hard to tell if it’s going to include the same amount of real estate that we saw in San Andreas.

While I’m curious to see more of this game, we all know that I wasn’t a huge fan of Grand Theft Auto IV, so they’ll have to show me something new and interesting to get me more pumped for this than I am for Saint’s Row 3. That’s just my opinion, though. Let’s hear yours. Go!

GamerSushi Asks: Gaming Trick-or-Treats?

MGS 2Happy Halloween, Sushians!

Or I suppose it’ll be the day after Halloween by the time you read this, but that’s no reason to be any less festive, is it? Every year, we try to give some kind of feature towards the day of ghouls and goblins, and 2011 is no different. While in the past we may have covered a list of scariest games or done a Halloween Pop Quiz, this year I wanted to skew in a bit of a different direction. Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Gaming Trick-or-Treats?

The Complicated Process of Buying Games

Skyrim Collector's Edition

What happened to the simple days of our youth, when we had no idea that a new game was coming out until we saw an advertisement on TV or accidentally stumbled across the actual title on store shelves? In the age of information overload (which I’ve written about here before), such an occurrence is less and less likely to happen.

It’s funny thinking back to my anticipation level for titles over the years as I’ve grown up. It started with magazine subscriptions and previews and eventually worked its way up to disc-based demos, kiosks and ultimately the Internet. Nowadays, it’s getting much more difficult to ignore all of the media associated with the games we’re dying to play. No matter where you look, there’s some kind of data bombardment, beckoning you to pre-order from this or that store, trying to get you to buy the ultra mega editions and watch every last 10 second non-game footage teaser trailer.

What happened to simplicity? That’s what Kotaku writer Kirk Hamilton (or Eddy’s boyfriend, as Nick refers to him) asks in a hilarious piece which looks at buying a book versus buying a video game. In it, he lampoons pre-order bonuses, betas, previews and everything else under the sun.

It’s great stuff, and really makes one wonder about just how far we’ve come. Although you could also wonder just how much gaming sites contribute to all this madness. Just a thought. What do you guys think about all this? Do you think video game purchasing has become needlessly complex? Go!

Source – Kotaku

What Seems to be the Review Consensus on Uncharted 3?

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

My insider sources tell me: pretty good. Actually, I don’t have any insider sources, I just go by wild reports I read on the Internet. And we all know how trustworthy those things can be.

The much ballyhooed sequel to the critically acclaimed Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (our first S review, if you’ll recall) drops into eager PS3 disc drives next week after months of hype regarding both the single player and multiplayer outings. After such a successful release, Uncharted 3 represents a huge challenge for Naughty Dog, especially in a day and age where everyone expects to be wowed with each new title.

As far as the reviews go, it seems that Naughty Dog has certainly risen to the occasion. You can obviously judge that for yourselves from the following reviews, but so far it sounds to me that while Uncharted 3 is more of the same, what it offers is a really great experience with tons of content.

  • IGN
  • Joystiq
  • GiantBomb
  • 1UP
  • GamePro
  • CVG
  • GameTrailers
  • Eurogamer

    • It’s worth noting that the last link to Eurogamer is to a more “controversial” (I use that in scare quotes facetiously) review, where the writer blasphemed against all things holy by giving Uncharted 3 the dreaded 8 (or hate) out of 10. His reasoning: The game is great fun, but takes away too much control from the player. Definitely a criticism worth noting as that’s not some people’s cup of tea, but I don’t mind the occasional experience that does that, especially when they do it so darn well. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

    So, who else is ready to do some deceiving of their own with Nathan Drake next week? Go!

GamerSushi Asks: Tackling Life with a New Game Plus

Mass Effect 3

The kinds of features that become commonplace in video games can take on a life of their own over the course of each generation. Things that we couldn’t have imagined a decade ago are now a staple, it seems. Cover-based shooting. RPG elements attached to everything, the list goes on. One of the more recent trends in games would have to be the idea of the New Game Plus.

Granted, this has been around for some time (Chrono Cross had it on the Playstation, for instance), but it’s only been in this generation that we’ve seen it become a fixture. The appeal behind New Game Plus is certainly appealing. Combined with the advent of RPG mechanics, this mode allows players in games like Batman: Arkham City and Mass Effect to take their skills with them into an entirely new adventure, making exciting strides and seeing things from a more powerful perspective than before.

In keeping with this idea, Kotaku writer Lisa Foiles tackles the rather philosophical question of if life had a New Game Plus, how would you replay it? The concept itself is very Groundhog Day, but it’s a fun idea that I’ve thought about from time to time. I know that many of us are still young, but I just thought I’d throw the same question at you guys: how would you handle a New Life Plus feature? Any differently?

Go!

Source – Kotaku

Finding New Thrills in Gaming in 2011

Confession time, gents and ladies. Playing Batman: Arkham City makes me feel like a kid again, and I don’t really care who knows it. As of right now, it’s my game of the year. I’ll tell you why in a moment.

Arkham City Concept Art

But first, there’s something you may have already guessed about me, but I thought I should confess that as well: sometimes I can be a bit of a cynic. I always try to look at the brighter side of things, but in this day and age, the overwhelming cynical voice of the Internet can be a bit of a bog that all of us get stuck in. Especially when it comes to gaming. Continue reading Finding New Thrills in Gaming in 2011

Skyward Sword and the Customizable Experience

Skyward Sword

Oh, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. You look like a fairly interesting take on the Zelda universe, complete with a sky diving Link, imaginative monsters and some of that fancy Nintendo art design that has made your series famous. But you seem to have some confusion regarding your control scheme.

I guess it’s kind of rude of me to keep having this conversation with a video game while ignoring my fellow Sushi-ans, so I’ll clue you in. As you guys all know, Skyward Sword is a game slated for release on the Nintendo Wii, and as such, requires playing the game with a Wii-mote. Unfortunately for southpaws, though, there is no left-handed control scheme, despite earlier reports that it would end up in the game.

Now, I’m not going to bash Nintendo for this, even though it seems like a drastic oversight. Plenty of game companies don’t allow for control schemes that work for everyone. In fact, it’s often a big deal now when video games come packaged with options for handicapped players, like what Modern Warfare 3 is doing.

I guess my big question is why more developers aren’t allowing for these kinds of options in games? One of the biggest advantages to PC gaming in my mind is that you can customize your keyboard to play the game however you want to play it, and it doesn’t make any difference to anybody. I get that there needs to be some kind of standardized way to play, but would it hurt games to have a more customizable experience in that regard?

What do you guys think of this? Fair/foul on Nintendo? Should more games allow for changing the controls as you see fit? Go!

Source – Kotaku

Game Budgets Versus Industry Innovation

Halo Anniversary

I won’t presume to speak for the gamer population at large, but one of my recent concerns about the trajectory of the video game industry would have to do with the lack of innovation. I try to keep my griping about “shooter fatigue” to a minimum around these parts, simply because at the end of the day, I still like playing shooters, even if I would like something to come along from time to time to mix up the monotony.

But what exactly is the cause behind the predominant trend of shooter saturation over the last few years? Have gamers changed? Have developers changed? Is the idea of a shooter the most immersive form of game design? Hardly, says Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch. He believes that out of control budgets for AAA titles are what’s causing the innovation funk. Here’s what the studio head behind Halo: Anniversary had to say on the matter in a recent interview:

Publishers will spend so much money to make a game. It becomes so bloated that you can’t innovate, because if you’re spending $15 million on something, you want to make sure that it’s a safe bet so you can’t take those risks.

Ultimately you end up with the fourth or fifth sequel of a game, which really is a tried and true formula without much innovation… I think there are so many things fundamentally wrong with the way the games industry is run that need to change.

I really think the solution is coming up with ways to give people smaller, more varied experiences for less money. A perfect example is LA Noire. Here’s a game that people like to play for the first couple of hours, then it got repetitive and by the second or third hour they were done with it. So why not give them a two or three hour experience for 10 pounds instead of giving them a £50 game? Why not give them a smaller, bite size experience?

While the studio’s track record doesn’t necessarily help them (Halo: Anniversary isn’t exactly breaking the mold anymore than their previous title Battle Los Angeles), it’s nice to note that some game studio heads are thinking this way. As much as I’m excited about the many sequels that are coming out this year, I can’t help but think that I’d love to see something new.

What do you guys think about the idea of game budgets getting out of hand? Do you think something needs to shift in the gaming industry? Go!

Source – CVG

Saint’s Row: The Third Attacks BF3 and MW3

It’s the battle of the three-quels.

Everyone knows about the recent and heated feud between the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises, as kicked into high gear by EA. With both of these juggernauts bearing down on each other this Fall season, it’s looked something like Godzilla versus Mothra, the two beasts lumbering into our collective view and ready to do battle.

However, there’s another number three hitting this season, and it doesn’t want to be forgotten: Saint’s Row: The Third. The newest installment of the open world gangster playground from THQ is now on the scene, trolling on both Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 with this brand new trailer, which also happens to be packed full of win.

Every new bit of media I see about this game ensures that it’s going to be a day one pick up. What about you guys?