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!

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 30: The Whites Are Coming

Just like we did with the Portal 2 podcast a few weeks back, we thought we’d have ourselves a spoiler-slathered episode all about L.A. Noire for this week. Basically, we talk about the game up until the end of homicide without worry of monitoring ourselves, and the result is some in-depth discussion about Team Bondi’s achievements and how we feel about the game itself.

After that, Nick brings us a game of percentages, where we rate the chances of purchasing Modern Warfare 3, the eventual production and release of the infamous Uncharted movie and the removal of DRM from more PC games. We also dip a bit into some absurd trailer-mongering, which I think you guys will get a kick out of. Or at the very least, we got a kick out of it. As long as someone is entertained, right?

Here we go, gents and ladies. Listen up. Rate. Chuckle. Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 30: The Whites Are Coming

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E3: Stripping out the Hype

Brink

One thing that can be a bit unnerving about the way the gaming media conducts itself is when it inadvertently (or purposefully, in some cases) acts as the extended reach of the PR team for a given publisher. In the attempt at being completely objective and unbiased, sometimes it’s easy for the marketing speak to climb into posts or previews of upcoming games, precisely because it’s the only information that’s being made available to the gaming media at the time that it’s covered. You don’t want to make any assumptions, so you go with the answers you’ve been given – which have been carefully constructed by some marketing copywriters.

Like I said, I haven’t been in this position myself, but that’s always seemed to be the struggle from an outside point of view. However, games writer Dennis Scimeca has been in that position, and writes about it over on his blog in a post titled Don’t Look at the Game Behind the Curtain. It’s actually a really interesting look at the trial-and-error process of a games journalist and how he handles different previews from E3. He mainly singles out both Brink and Homefront, two games that turned out to be, by many accounts, mediocre, but received a substantial amount of hype through cleverly designed preview events and trailers.

Personally, I would love to see the kind of “stripped” version of games reporting that he talks about here. Speaking from the experience of walking around on the PAX floor, it’s easy to let the smoke and mirrors cloud the real game that’s being shown. E3, as awesome as it is from a news perspective, has kind of become this huge circus that all the publishers and journalists are playing to. That being said, I still want to go to there.

What do you guys think of this kind of hype? Would you rather see more of it stripped out of games coverage? Or do you like getting whipped up into a fervor and judging for yourself what pulls its own weight? Does E3 excite you or irritate you for this exact reason?

Punching Snakes

Hindsight: Looking Back at Dragon Age II

Dragon Age 2

I know that a fair number of us at GamerSushi have played through the depths of Dragon Age II, exploring the streets of Kirkwall and siding with Mages, Templars or both. I also know that a few of us (including myself) have had some discussions about the shortcomings of Dragon Age II, places where it might have been lacking in comparison to the epic original.

These gripes are well-documented around da Webz, and it seems that Bioware has been listening to people’s issues and complaints. After some flack received about different comments made about Dragon Age II’s design choices, here’s what lead designer Mike Laidlaw had to say on a recent forum post, addressing the swell of criticisms that have been leveled against the sequel:

I am absolutely aware of the concerns voiced here. Issues like level re-use, the implementation of wave combat, concerns about the narrative and significance of choice and so on have all been not only noted, but examined, inspected and even aided me (and many, many others on the team) in formulating future plans. Further, I’m not only aware of the concerns, but I agree that there are aspects of DA II that not only can but must be improved in future installments. And that is precisely our intent.

I’m not really posting this to alert everyone of its existence, but rather use this as a spoiler-filled forum for us to talk about how we feel about Dragon Age II, looking back. We don’t do that often enough on GamerSushi, so I want to start making it a point to revisit these games and talk about them in a more open way. Continue reading Hindsight: Looking Back at Dragon Age II

Filling out the Party: Friends that Game?

KOTOR Party

One of the inevitable consequences of doing something as a career is that it will eventually worm its way into your personal life as well. I suppose this is all fine and dandy if you do something like play video games or landed a role being professionally awesome somewhere, but that’s not always the case. A good chunk of my job pertains to social media and how to use it. In monitoring online conversations, I’ve found that I tend to treat my own Facebook and Twitter accounts the same way at times, separating things out into their proper places.

Something odd I’ve found is that over time, I’ve come to view Twitter as the place where I post about video games, and Facebook is for most of the other stuff. I realized that the reason I do this is simply because not that many of my real life friends are gamers. Sure, there are those that would classify themselves as gamers, but that means that while they may play games like Red Dead Redemption on a whim because it’s $20 at GameStop, most of the rest of their gaming is tied up in sports games or the occasional bout of Call of Duty.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not disparaging their tastes in gaming. But I simply don’t connect with that kind of gamer, as it’s only a fairly casual interest on their part. For as much as gaming has grown over the years, I still find that I’m a closet gamer around many of my real life friends. It’s not so much that there’s a stigma associated with it (although sometimes that is the case with a few individuals), but just that I know it won’t really help us connect. I can really only name a handful of people I see on a regular basis that get why KOTOR changed my life or why I went to GameStop at midnight to go pick up L.A. Noire, or Portal 2, or what have you.

So, I guess I wanted to ask you guys: do your friends game? Are they just as into video games as you are? If not, how does it tend to affect your real life relationships? Go!

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 29: Colluders

Here’s a new podcast that’s not exactly new, seeing as how we recorded it a couple of weeks ago. That being said, it’s still a hoot. Is that what the kids are saying these days?

We talk about a variety of topics once the cast kicks off, from PSN to Brink and even a bit of the Gears of War 3 Beta, and just how much I want to have its babies. True story. After that, we kick things up a non-Minecraft notch with a game of Either/Or. For real, it’s good times. I only wish you all could join us during these games, because Nick does a great job of picking topics.

Oh, that’s right. You can. In the comments. Join in, dudes.

Alright, time to listen up. And when you’re done, go rate. Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 29: Colluders

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Forgiving the Game its Faults

LA Noire

Not to overload everyone with impressions on L.A. Noire before a proper review goes up, but I’ve had a few thoughts about games as a whole while I’ve been busting through it the last few nights. You see, as much as I love the game (it’s already one of my frontrunners for GotY, even halfway through), it’s got quite a few bugs and glitches that I’ve run into.

In one case, I was told to immediately return to the Coroner for urgent news, so I went there instead of the next place on my list of locations. When I arrived, the cutscene that played essentially pretended like I had been to the previous location, and actually spoiled some of the case for me by assuming I’d already done those things. Later in the game, I had the choice to charge one of two suspects for murder. However, the game wouldn’t allow me to pick the suspect I really wanted to nail for the crime. I had to pick the other one by default, and yet, all the cut scenes since then have acted like I picked the suspect I couldn’t pick to begin with.

Needless to say, these outcomes are a little annoying, for as much work as the cases are, particularly when you’re as meticulous about finding the clues and exploring every avenue of the interrogation as I am. The interesting thing is, these issues don’t keep me from loving the game, even though they tend to be frustrating. I remember feeling the same way about Mass Effect, a wonderful game with lots of glitches. One particularly keen review I read of that game had the reviewer seeing those bugs as the sweat on an Olympic athlete. I feel the same way here with L.A. Noire.

So my question is this: at what point do we stop forgiving a game all of its faults and bugs? For other games, I probably would have been fed up after some of those story issues happened, but L.A. Noire has me so enthralled I just kept playing. When do you guys get too fed up with games to continue? What bugs and issues would you consider game breaking? Go!

Gaming Pop Quiz: Soapbox Edition

Alright friends, it’s been a few months since we’ve done a GamerSushi Pop Quiz, so I figured it was time to drop one in the bucket for you piranhas to devour.

Now that some of the huge titles of 2011 have been released (Portal 2, Little Big Planet 2, Dragon Age 2, Crysis 2, L.A. Noire, Brink and The Witcher 2), I had some questions on my mind about the nature of hype and how games live up to it. The year is already halfway over, and we’ve had some major surprises and major letdowns to boot. I’m curious how you guys feel about how 2011 is shaping up. At the end, you’ll even have a soapbox opportunity to talk about whatever gaming issue is on your mind.

As always with our getting-to-know-you type games, feel free to answer with as much or as little as you like. Answer to the best of your ability. Have at it, gents and ladies. Continue reading Gaming Pop Quiz: Soapbox Edition

GamerSushi Asks: Skipping for Games?

Uncharted 3

It’s the temptation all gamers know, deep in their hearts: the desire to ditch all responsibilities and do nothing but revel in the glow of a great game. I think we’ve all been there from time to time (some of us more so than others). In reality, sometimes it’s just easier to sink a whole day into a title, rather than just knocking out little bits of it at a time, even if it’s at the expense of “real life”.

I got to thinking about this topic after our most recent podcast, where we posed the same question in regards to gaming binges and this fall’s releases. I’m actually fairly happy about the Mass Effect 3 delay, because that was a day I was probably going to request off from work. Now that that’s not happening, I’m thinking of taking a vacation day for either Uncharted 3 or Skyrim. Luckily, I’ve still got time to make my decision.

What about you guys? What games have made you take a day off from responsibilities before? What games would you consider doing the same for this fall? Go!

Roll Call: L.A. Noire

LA Noire

L. A. Noire is here, folks. Team Bondi and Rockstar have delivered the last big release before the summer drought, and now the entire world is immersing itself in the harrowing mysteries of 1940s L.A. Or at least, that’s what’s going on in my house, anyway.

I’ve only played a few hours of L.A. Noire at this point, but already it’s made a great impression on me. In the same way that calling Red Dead Redemption “GTA with horses” was a bit off the mark, calling L. A. Noire “GTA in the 1940s” misses the point as well. The game plays out like a much more polished Heavy Rain in some ways, and in other ways feels like playing through a pulp mystery novel. The investigation mechanics are a nice change of pace from other Rockstar releases, and the whole thing has already sucked me in a bit. And of course, as everyone’s saying, the facial animations are astounding. We’ll see how well the whole thing holds up over 20-30 hours.

What about you guys? Who else is playing some L.A. Noire? Roll call!

GamerSushi Asks: Why Do You Game?

MGS 3 We’ve talked an awful lot on GamerSushi about our gaming preferences before, but I don’t know if we’ve ever asked you guys why you continue to play games, and what got you started on this beloved hobby of ours. I started thinking about this over the weekend while playing through the Mass Effect 2 Arrival DLC, and finding myself missing the Mass Effect universe all over again. It’s like putting on a favorite sweater once winter starts up again. It’s comfortable, warm and familiar all at once.

I’m at the point now where playing video games is as natural as the process of taking off my shoes and khakis after being in the office all day. Just as normal as getting up and preparing breakfast. It’s a part of my routine, inseparable from who I am as a person. If I didn’t have games, I simply wouldn’t be me.

When I consider why it is that I game, it ultimately comes down to escape. Not that I have anything about my life that I’m particularly disdainful of, mind you. I think I just love that feeling of total absorption, where I forget I’m sitting on the couch and playing Metal Gear Solid 3 for several hours straight. I enjoy the momentary flight to some place far away, whether it be a sci-fi world where I shoot aliens or something closer to home where I chase outlaws down on horseback. There’s something about that transportation that sinks its hooks into me and has never let go since I was a kid.

So what about you guys? What is it about games that you love, and that keeps you gaming? When did you first start? Go!

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 28: R2-Cast2

GamerSushi shot first!

I’m a little late in posting this, so my apologies to Nick, who edited it, and all of you that are no doubt going into the shakes from desperation. Like you do. I know that’s how much you like hearing us chat about games and acting the fool.

We recorded this episode back in Star Wars week, so the big portion of the beginning is all about that fair series, and what games we loved that came out of the beloved Star Wars universe. We have a pretty lively discussion about it, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the nerdery.

Other topics of the podcast include the Mass Effect 3 delay, Assassin’s Creed 3 and more. Nick drops in with a game of grades, where we rate some of the goings-on around the industry. So yeah. Typical podcast stuff.

Go on, dudes. Listen, rate and enjoy. Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 28: R2-Cast2

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Wishing De_Dust a Happy 12th Birthday

De_Dust

Yup. You read that right. Legendary Counter-Strike map de_dust is now a healthy preteen. Dave Johnston, who created the iconic multiplayer map (plus its counterpart de_dust2) posted about the birthday yesterday on Twitter. He later went on to amend that first tweet (in which he claimed that it was 13 instead of 12) with this follow-up correction.

Johnston currently works as a Senior Level Designer for Splash Damage, creators of the newly released FPS Brink. Kind of crazy to consider the fact that he made such a hugely popular level (and really, one that stands among the greatest of any multiplayer mode) at such a young age. Makes me wonder what I was doing at 16. Oh yeah, playing video games.

So let me be the first here to say happy birthday to Dust. I’ll always remember de_dust as being one of the things I saw the most in college. For me, it’s practically synonymous with the time I spent at school, locked away in my room, trying to gain some epic headshots. It was actually my introduction to online gaming as a whole.

What about you guys? What memories do you have of de_dust? Go!

Why I Feel Sorry for this Generation’s Kid Gamers

FF7I feel sorry for this generation’s kid gamers.

I’ll unpack that, but first I’m going to apologize up front for a couple of things.

For starters, I’m going to sound like a crotchety jaded gamer. I may only be 27 years old, but as a gamer that practically makes me ancient, someone that grew up with gaming’s hallowed yesteryear, raised on the classics and growing up right alongside my favorite hobby. Such a thing can be said about few other mediums.

Secondly, I’m not going to say anything wholly original. This has all been said before, and probably in much better, prettier, or funnier ways. I’ll probably come across as some kind of gaming elitist, or the equivalent to the guy that sits on his porch with a bum leg and says “back in my day,” but I’m OK with that.

Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll say it again. I feel sorry for the crop of youngsters (how’s that for a crotchety word) that’s growing up in this generation of games. Continue reading Why I Feel Sorry for this Generation’s Kid Gamers

Today’s WTF: Obsidian Regrets New Vegas Bugs

Obsidian

Seriously, Obsidian?

I’m not trying to be a troll or anything, but this one really gave me a combination of laughs and head-scratching. You remember all of that fuss last year, back when Fallout: New Vegas had its buggy launch? Well, so does Obsidian, and they are none too pleased, thank you very much.

Here’s what Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart had to say about his company’s reputation for releasing buggy games in a recent article with Play Magazine.

I think it’s fair and unfair at the same time, because in the same conversation that I hear how buggy KOTOR and Alpha Protocol were, I also hear how great they were… Now in the case of Fallout: New Vegas, we made a gigantic game, and I’m proud with what we were able to do but I wish it wasn’t as glitchy when it came out. The criticisms people had are fair but it’s difficult to get a game the size of New Vegas bug free. But that’s an excuse and it doesn’t matter when someone’s paid $60 for a game. It’s something we need to work on.

He goes on to pump their new game Dungeon Siege III, but that was the meat of it. Maybe I’m reaching a bit here, but in my mind, if you’re the CEO, why don’t you do something to ensure that the games don’t go out the door with so many bugs? You’re in charge, last I checked. Delay the game if you have to, or work with your managers to get a better schedule for release so your developers aren’t cramming like crazy. On the flip side, it really is nice to see a CEO being open and honest about this kind of criticism, rather than just brushing it aside. So kudos for that.

What do you guys think? Fair or foul here? Go!

Source – NowGamer

Team Fortress 2 Introduces the Director/Replays

Saxxy Awards

It looks like Valve has added replays to Team Fortress 2, along with a fancy new machinima contest of sorts. The Saxxy Awards are designed to let users explore all of their filmmaking abilities in a Thunderdome fashion, where awards will be handed out based on YouTube views and all manner of categories such as “Most Pwnage”, “Most Epic Fail” and “Best Team Costume”. Basically, you have until May 19th to submit your awesomely edited piece and receive your lootz. They’ve got a Saxxy trailer up (see what I did there) which will tell you all you need to know.

In addition to all this, Valve tucked a TF2 comic into the update called Meet the Director, and I have to say I’m intrigued. Perhaps I’m looking too deeply into this, but it seems to be pushing at the universe of TF2 and giving us a cool new story to go on. Not to mention the art, which is fantastic.

Anyway, this will probably make me jump back into TF2 a little. My last PC could only barely run it, and I imagine it will sing on the new one. Who knows, maybe I’ll dabble with some machinima. Old habits die hard, after all…

What about you guys? Is anybody excited about this? What do you think of the comic? Go!

Source –Team Fortress 2

GamerSushi Asks: Do Games Fail at Endings?

Red Dead Redemption

We’ve talked about video game endings multiple times on this site, but I just had to bring the issue back up after reading an excellent article about today by Christian Higley over at Digital Hippo about How Video Games Fail to End.

In it, Higley explores the idea that many games fail at a very basic level of storytelling: narrative structure. While stories typically have a first, second and final act, most games end the game right after the second act, before the real conclusion can actually set in. Red Dead Redemption is one of the few games I can think of that actually gives gamers a third act (and does it to great effect), in that Marston is allowed to return home, and the player spends time winding the story down before its sad but powerful conclusion.

While that’s not a new argument, the writer goes a step further by pointing out that most games are even missing the first act, choosing instead to thrust players right into the second act. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how true it is: games typically begin at the “inciting incident”. It’s the equivalent of starting A New Hope at the very moment Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed. Or in many cases, even after that. Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Do Games Fail at Endings?

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 27: The Portal One

Well, it was only inevitable that when we all finished Portal 2, the next podcast would be mostly dominated by that discussion. So, Episode 27 is the fruition of that idea. In it, we chat for a very long time about Portal 2, and then we move on to other big topics from the last couple of weeks, including Nintendo’s Project Cafe and the crazy huge hack of PSN.

After all of that tomfoolery, we jump into an exciting game of Fill in the Blank that was extremely well-played by myself. Trust me, you’ll want to hold onto your butts from my amazing vocabulaciousness. Anyway, be careful of the Portal 2 section, which makes up the first half hour, because the discussion comes complete with single player spoilers. If you’re not wanting to hear those, feel free to skip about 30 minutes ahead, as indicated by the time chart below.

What are you waiting for? Listen, rate and enjoy, yo. Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 27: The Portal One

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GamerSushi Asks: Star Wars?

Star Wars

Since I’m positive the majority of you are somewhere near the same level of nerdiness as myself, I’m going to go ahead and assume that you all are happily aware that today was Star Wars Day. I thought there was some deeper meaning behind it besides the “May the Fourth be with you” pun, but a Wikipedia search tells me that I am dead wrong about that.

All the same, though, happy Star Wars Day! My love for Star Wars is something I can barely even put into words, because it’s such a huge part of my childhood and my desire to tell awesome stories with fun characters for a living. To me, Star Wars represents the best part of the magic only a good story can conjure, with tales of good and evil, joy and woe, sacrifice and spaceships. It’s such a hard thing to describe all the ways it helped shape me when I was little, and the way its universe continues to do so today.

Anthony sent this around in an e-mail today, and I thought I would post it here, too. Think of it as a Star Wars survey of sorts. Who says all we have to do is talk about video games? Hit the jump to check it out. Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Star Wars?

Today’s Sadface: Mass Effect 3 Delayed to 2012

Mass Effect 3

Say it isn’t so!

Well, it looks like the first of the AAA delay casualties has struck, and boy if it isn’t a big one. It was only a matter of time before one of the many gaming titles threw up the white flag for 2011, and it looks Mass Effect 3 is the first. Today a Bioware employee posted a quote on the Bioware forums from Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series, announcing the delay.

Today we have confirmed that Mass Effect 3 will be released in the first three months of 2012. The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone’s expectations.

Pretty standard delay business, really. Honestly, I’m not too surprised, seeing as how the turn around time between ME2 and ME3 seemed to defy all logic anyway. We can only hope that this makes the game better in the long run. In the short term, my wallet can breathe a little easier this fall.

So what do you guys think? Upset? Disappointed? How do you feel about the reason for the delay, which seems to be to adjust mechanics that will increase Mass Effect 3’s market opportunity? Go!

Sources – Bioware Forums, Joystiq

Diablo III on the “Home Stretch”

Diablo 3

Urge to squee… rising…

OK, I think I can hold off long enough to type for a few minutes. In the midst of all of Sony’s craziness, plus that whole Bin Laden thing, you might have missed out on some Diablo III news this past weekend. And of course, who could blame you?

And what’s the news, you ask? Well, Blizzard gave a bit of a hands-on preview of Diablo 3 to the New York Times last week. While the article has some nice tidbits about the game that we mostly knew, and a few we didn’t know (such as a much simpler trading availability), the big shocker comes near the end of the article. Jay Wilson, Diablo III’s director, had this to say about the game’s development.

“We’re definitely in the home stretch. We’re crunching. This is when the magic happens.”

Now, maybe I’m just reaching here, but does this mean we could possibly see a Diablo III release in 2011? Blizzard as of yet has been noncommittal about when the game is going to come out, and have seemingly gone back and forth on it a few times.

What do you guys think? Am I being too optimistic here? Place your bets on 2011 or 2012. Go!

Source – NYTimes