Poll: Which Type of Shooter Do You Prefer?

Last night, I fired up Halo: Reach for the first time in several weeks. I think it was something of a coping mechanism, since I know I’m going to be holding out on Call of Duty: Black Ops until around Christmas. It was pretty nuts to see everyone on my friends list in the new CoD, and meanwhile I was playing the classic space marine scenario.

The funny thing is, I had a lot more fun than I expected to, even though I’m itching for Black Ops more than I can say. One of the things I’ve always loved about Halo is the ability to have these isolated little firefights, epic stand-offs between you and one other player that feels separated from the rest of the match. The only reason this is possible is because of the way the game’s health system works. I remember Goldeneye playing much the same way back in the old days.

It seems that as time goes on, more shooters go in a different direction. Like Counter-Strike, the health in CoD pretty much works on the “one shot, one kill” method, which is a big part of what makes it so addictive I think. The ability to respawn and immediately jump back into the fray and rack up more kills has a lot of appeal to it, for a totally different reason than a shooter like Gears of War or Halo.

Thinking about these two styles of play, I thought I’d make a poll to see what you guys think. Got a preference?

Which type of multiplayer shooter do you prefer?

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GamerSushi Poll: How Many Hours a Week Do You Spend Playing Video Games?

It seems like forever ago, but a discussion happened on our podcast that covered the topic of how many hours a week a “hardcore” gamers spends on playing games (the answer was something ridiculous like 45+). We decided that this survey was a bit skewed, and it only occurred to me just now that we never conducted a census of our own.

I’m here to remedy this situation with a new poll, which you shall cast your votes on. It’s rather simple, we just want to know how many hours a week you spend glued to your TV or PC monitor. Personally, I’d say about 10-15 because anymore than that interferes with “real life”, that bothersome thing that keeps making me go to work and pay rent. That’s just me though. What about you?

How Many Hours a Week Do You Play Games?

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Poll: Fable III, Force Unleashed II and Rock Band 3

Funny how quickly the big releases sneak up on us, huh? Here I am enjoying Halo: Reach and Minecraft and suddenly several games are out that I want to sink some time into. Not sure how it happened really, but there you go.

If you’re unaware, today marks the release of three of fall’s most anticipated titles. Together, Fable III, Force Unleashed II and Rock Band 3 form a triumvirate of gaming, a three headed Cerberus to close out the month of October with a bang. Personally, I’m itching to play Force Unleashed II the most out of these, with Rock Band 3 as a close second because of that sweet keyboard.

I thought I’d let you guys vote on these three games yourselves. What say you?

Which of these three games do you want to play most?

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Today’s WTF: Gran Turismo 5 Delayed Again to “Holiday Season”

Well, after all of the to-do about Gran Turismo 5’s supposedly final rigid launch date of November 2, 2010, it looks like that might not be the case. Yup, adding to a string of WTF-inducing delays, SCEA has announced that Polyphony Digital want to keep working on the game some more, thus pushing the new launch date back to some other time in the nebulous holiday season. Here’s the full word from Sony:

We can confirm that Gran Turismo 5 will not be available this November 2nd, but the game’s release will be coming this holiday season.

We sincerely apologize to GT fans for the delay, however, creator Kazunori Yamauchi and the team at Polyphony Digital want to make certain they are creating the perfect racing experience, and we are confident that this ambitious game will exceed expectations when it launches.

Kind of crazy that this game was first unveiled all the way back in 2006, and it still has yet to see release. This begs the question if a change is needed in the games industry: should developers hold their tongues and stop showing these things off years before release?

And the follow-up question, you get to vote on.

What's more likely to happen first?

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Source – PlayStation Blog

Poll: Twitter or Faceback Connectivity In Games?

A recent trend in video games that has slowly been building steam is linking your games to Facebook or Twitter, so all your classmates, coworkers and family members can see exactly why you left the family reunion early: to finally finish Uncharted 2 on Crushing.

Now, this kind of thing isn’t really for me, not because I’m ashamed of my nerdom status, but mainly because I don’t like to reveal my whole life on the Internet. Sadly, I think I am in the minority these days. I was curious if this was a generational hang-up or if my fellow gamers agree that they don’t really like these features. What say you?

What's Your Opinion On Twitter/Facebook Connectivity In Games?

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Poll: Which Unannounced Sequel Do You Want First?

While we generally know the lists of titles available in the coming months, including Spring of 2011, we’re still unsure about what all lies in store for next year. There’s plenty of room for surprise when it comes to gaming release dates, and anybody’s guess is as good as mine.

That being said, I started thinking about a list of sequels that we haven’t really heard any rumblings about in a while, with no idea as to when they’re going to come. This “unannounced sequels list” includes: Half-Life 2: Episode 3, The Elder Scrolls V, Counter-Strike 2, Grand Theft Auto V, Mass Effect 3 and Uncharted 3. Really, looking at them, that’s an incredible line-up, and I wouldn’t be sorry to see all of them drop in the same year, say 2012 or so.

It’s actually hard to decide which one I’d want to tackle first, so I thought I’d let you guys decide. Go.

Which do you want to play first?

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GamerSushi Poll: Favorite Halo Game

Well, we’ve finally reached (get it?) September, the month where Bungie will bid adieu to the Halo franchise with the highly anticipated, even by me, Halo: Reach. In honor of this momentous and bittersweet occasion, I thought I would ask you guys which game in the Halo series stands out to you as the best.

I never played Halo: Combat Evolved until 2007, when I finally bought a used Xbox for fifty bucks from a friend. Even years after its release, it was still a blast to play and all the whining about the Library level was way overblown. The backtracking did suck, though. Honestly, I think that one is still my favorite to this day, although I haven’t played ODST yet, but a certain Canadian speaks very highly of it. And the less said about Halo 2’s ending, or lack thereof, the better.

So what do you guys think? What game is your favorite and why? Is there a particular one that you don’t think stands up the high quality of the others? Let your opinions Flood (ha ha) over this post…now!

What's Your Favorite Halo Game?

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Game Music Face Off!!! Super Metroid vs. Earthworm Jim

16 Bit era music is still my favorite, so I thought two side-scrolling games pitted against each other might be a fun change. Also, Metroid: Other M is coming out this month on the 31st, so I wanted to do something to commemorate it.

Super Metroid’s Lower Norfair is a deeply atmospheric song, a slow burn, with a ticking noise in that plays throughout, heightening the tension as you descend deeper and deeper to the labyrinth of Norfair.

New Junk City, from Earthworm Jim is one of those tracks I love that slowly builds layer upon layer of new instruments, all the while getting catchier and catchier. The funky riff is perfect for a level called New Junk City and I love the bass solo that comes later.

So which one wins this week, kids?

Super Metroid – Lower Norfair
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98RdRDaOsNg[/youtube]

Earthworm Jim – New Junk City
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgh2nhx2pW0[/youtube]

Which song do you prefer?

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Mafia 2 and the Question of Realism

When I first played Grand Theft Auto 4 many moons ago, the city seemed so vivid and real (like a double rainbow) that I was almost afraid to be bad in it. I wanted to obey traffic laws such as stopping at stop signs or maintaining a proper and safe speed limit. Eventually, the guise wears away and you’re off on your mayhem.

However, the release of the Mafia 2 demo (the full game is coming on August 24 to PC, PS3 and 360) brings with it a new question to the method of driving in a sandbox world: if a cop sees you speeding, they give chase. Now, in many other open world GTA clones, cops will pursue you if you are breaking other laws, but speeding always seems to be OK.

My first reaction to hearing about this was that it was cool to have that level of realism in the open world. But the more I thought about it, it would be like asking someone playing Crackdown not to leap across buildings, or someone playing Prototype not to fly. The thought of 20 hours in, obeying the speed limit really doesn’t seem like something I’d like to do. But I could be alone. What do you guys think? Vote!

What do you think of the Mafia 2 driving system?

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GamerSushi Poll: Which Do You Think Will Sell Better: Move or Kinect?

We are about a month away from the launch of Sony’s Playstation Move and in November, Microsoft will release Kinect. The two devices, rather than being similar, are actually quite different and seem to cater to two different mindsets of gamers out there.

Personally, I’m not looking seriously at buying either one of them, but if I had to choose, I think Move has that hardcore edge I would be looking for. Plus, I like buttons and I’m lazy.That being said, I think Kinect will outsell Move by a wide margin. The money of Microsoft and the allure of something so high tech will trap the casual game market more so than the precision that Move seems to offer.

So my question is…

Which do you think will sell more units?

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A Theory I Must Test To Keep My Sanity

Huh.

Sometimes you crazy lot of gamers surprise me. This happens in all kinds of ways. But nothing could prepare me for the Pokemon fest that happened in the top 10 bestsellers of 2010 thread the other day. I honestly had no idea that we had any Pokemon lovers in our ranks besides Mitch. Now I have to know if it’s more widespread or not.

Let’s find out.

I would like to make it known that I have nothing against Pokemon or its many (apparently) millions of adoring and crazed fans. I’m sure I would have loved it if I played it when I was 8, too. Did you see what I just did there? How I just burned all the Pokemon lovers? Get back at me by winning this thing.

Pokemon sucks

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Poll: Do You Read Video Game Books?

Besides being a fanatic gamer, one of my other hobbies (other than tearing up the drums) is being an avid reader. I’ve been in and out of it the past few years, but recently I’ve begun to pick up books again. One of my favorite authors at the moment is Karen Traviss, who you might know from her successful Republic Commando novels (which themselves were based off of a video game). Recently, Karen has been doing the writing duties on both the Gears of War novels and the third game, but she’s also announced that she’s taking up the mantel of Halo after Greg Bear is done with his Forerunner trilogy. Novel tie-ins are becoming more and more pronounced in the games industry, so I pose this question to you guys: have you ever read a video game book?

Do You Read Video Game Books?

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Poll: Impatience and Upgrading

Starcraft II. It’s out. It’s been clamored for since last decade. And now everybody and their mom seems to be playing it. Well, everybody that is, except me. You see, I’ve found myself in a bit of a pickle over Starcraft II’s epic release.

Here’s the rundown: it’s been almost 5 years since I upgraded my PC. I think I did it the year I got married, which was all the way back in 2005, before the days of Leet World. In fact, TLW was part of the reason that I upgraded in the first place, in order to get ready for that kind of work. As such, my PC can just barely play SCII, much to my sadness.

So, I’m left with a bit of a choice. I was hoping to upgrade sometime in the next 5-6 months, which will make my PC able to easily tackle this grand RTS. However, I still want to play it, and play it now, because I feel like I’m missing out on all the fun. The problem is, on my crappy system, I’m not sure how much fun it will actually be.

What would you guys do if you were in my shoes? I thought I’d put it to a vote. Go!

What would you do?

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Game Music Face Off!!! Castlevania II vs. Dragon Quest IX

For this week’s music post, I thought I would change things up a bit and put two pieces of music up and let you guys vote which ones you prefer. If this sort of thing becomes popular, then maybe I will do some sort of tournament one day, but don’t get your hopes up.

Today’s selections are Bloody Tears from Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest for the NES and Cursed Places from Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies for the DS. Bloody Tears is a song that appears in most Castlevania games, but its entry in this game was highly memorable, in my opinion.

It’s no secret that I have been playing DQ IX and this song is the first one that really jumped out at me, so much so that I would go into a town just to hear the music play. When I saved the town from the plague that had been ravaging it, the music changed to a bouncier theme and I was pretty upset. Thankfully, I found it online, so let me know what you guys think and vote now! VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW!

Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – Bloody Tears

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

Which song do you prefer?

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Poll: What Kind of Gamer Are You?

In a recent and totally sweet podcast, Nick made the comment that most of our users were probably PC gamers. I’ve always thought this as well, mainly considering that our news posts that get the most comments are often about PC games, and the fact that many of you came over due to an affinity for The Leet World, created in Source. But we’ve never really asked, we’ve only assumed. And you know what they say about assumptions.

Anyway, I wanted to do a poll to figure out if you guys actually are PC gamers, console gamers, or if you consider yourselves a mixture of both. This isn’t a question about what’s better, so no flame wars, folks, but feel free to state your preferences in the comments as well. I used to consider myself a mixture of the two, but have recently been leaning more towards consoles. However, the release of Starcraft II and a future upgrade to my PC are probably going to push me back to being a mixture.

So how about you guys? Vote away!

What kind of gamer are you?

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Head to Head: Co-Op or Versus

I think one of the most interesting discussions in gaming right now is the idea of what’s more essential in terms of a multiplayer experience.

For years, co-op was the name of the game, with game studios offering chances for us to play through things with two players on our old school consoles. However, that eventually gave way to the rise of the versus mode through PC gaming, which then bled almost a decade later to the consoles. Now, we’re seeing a renaissance of sorts, with co-operative play coming back to the forefront of many AAA games. In fact, if there’s a multiplayer component, co-operative play is almost expected these days, where it wasn’t before.

For me, I think co-op is the more essential experience, but I know that others feel differently. Over this weekend, in fact, I’ve played several bouts of co-op in both Uncharted 2 and Bad Company 2, and had much more fun than I have in deathmatch modes for most games.

So I’ve put together a poll for you guys. Let the answers do battle!

What is the better multiplayer experience?

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GamerSushi Asks: Most Anticipated Titles?

I know we’ve asked this question a few times before, but that was before the bevy of games that we were blasted with over the last few months. Plus, I like polls, so shutup. They rule.

As we all know, the last few months for our hobby have kind of ruled pretty hard. I’m still in the throes of chugging through Final Fantasy XIII at the moment (50 hours in!), and I think I’m finally getting towards the end. And honestly, I can’t wait either, because then I’m going to hop into Splinter Cell: Conviction and the Halo: Reach beta next week like they stole something from me.

Anyway, I thought I’d take the time to ask what you guys are excited about that’s on the docket for 2010 or early 2011. What games are you still really looking forward to, now that a lot of the big ones are freshly out of the way? Vote and tell us what you think in the comments.

What is your most anticipated unreleased game?

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Vote on the Multiplayer Shooter Grudge Match

Given how much I’ve been absorbed into Battlefield: Bad Company 2 lately, I’ve had some time to do some thinking. Namely, I’m reminiscing on all the great multiplayer shooters of days gone by, thinking fondly back to the amount of time I’ve invested into each one. There were highs, lows and rage quits galore, sure, but a truly great multiplayer shooter is a dime a dozen. They’re not always easy to come by.

So, it got me thinking: what was my favorite multiplayer shooter of all time? What one game or franchise, when stacked up against all the others, provided what I felt to be the long-last memories that only a special game can bring. That’s why I decided to create this nifty poll.

What is the best multiplayer shooter franchise of all time?

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Eventually, Counter-Strike won the match for me. As fun as everything else is, I just can’t get away from all the time I sank into CS for all those years. Even now, I find myself tempted to play it, even after all the time I spent using it to make Leet World. So, you should vote and tell us what your favorite multiplayer shooter of all time is. Go!