Category: Random

On the Etiquette of Gaming

The thing that unites us here at GamerSushi is our unhealthy love and adoration of all things related to gaming. I’d like to think it creates a unique bond between us. Something that forms a common knowledge through shared experiences, a collective set of ethics and codes that we follow. Sure we deviate on issues here and there (Splinter Cell Conviction and night vision, for instance), but for the most part, we seem to understand one another.

With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of a few things that I’ve been curious about in terms of gaming etiquette. Things that tend to cause awkwardness in gaming circles or in the online atmosphere. I want to hear what you guys think about these things. Feel free to give as much or as little response as you like. Let’s roll.
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GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

wyp?
Happy Turkey Day to my fellow Canucks, and um, happy Columbus Day to my friends in the States. Seeing as how this is a nice long weekend, perfect for unwinding from the stresses of our daily lives, I thought it would be pertinent to do our monthly checkup on your gaming habits.

Personally, I had a nice zombie-themed day yesterday with a few of my friends, and just zoned out on Nazi Zombies and Left 4 Dead. To cap it all off, we checked out Zombieland, which gets two hearty thumbs up from me. Check it out if you like laughter…or gore.

Besides zombies, I picked up Operation: Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, and so far it’s really engaging. It’s a lot more “realistic” than, say, Call of Duty, which makes it perfect for my mood right now. I’ve only played an hour or so, and it’s got my hungry for more.

What about you guys, though? I know Uncharted 2 and Brütal Legend don’t come out until Tuesday (who was the genius that came up with releasing these games after a long weekend?), but I’m planning on picking them up anyways, following up with some Borderlands. Are you planning on getting any of these titles, and what’s in your box, station, or PC right now? Answer, or we shall make you play Wii shovel-ware from now until the release of the 2012 movie, which we will force you to watch. It will be torture unending.

UK Police Enlist Gamers to Catch Crooks, Form Combine

combine
Now here’s something you don’t see every day. Apparently, the British Police are developing a video game in which ordinary citizens can look through the lenses of actual CCTV cameras and try to catch a crime in progress. If they do see some shifty stuff going down, they just have to click their mouse and the operator on the receiving end is sent a text message including a picture of the alleged dirty deed.

Called Internet Eyes (Eagle Eye was taken), this web-based initiative will launch next month in a town called Stratford-upon-Avon. The site for the game has a “Hall of Fame” for the caught criminals, and will offer £1,000 to the most successful sleuth.

This raises all sorts of questions about, first off all, how the Police determines that something is actually a crime, and not just someone who locked their keys in their car. This system is open to abuse that way, where a griefer (and you know there will be griefers), will spam the site with a whole bunch of pictures of nothing. While I’m sure there are contingency plans in place to deal with potential problems, this might backfire in a pretty spectacular way.

I still think it’s a neat idea, just not one without its possible pitfalls. But, what do you guys think? Is this a brilliant scheme by the British Police, or does this cross a line? Can you see something like this spreading around the globe?

Source: Destructoid

Getting the Gaming Craving

firefightOh man, what a weekend and a week. You guys may have noticed a lack of posting on my part. That is because my life is just a poopstorm of activity these days, with a slight chance of things slowing down finally. We’ll see. My wife and I just bought a house a couple of weeks ago, and have finally moved in. In addition, I’ve been working on Web Zeroes and not to mention my full time job. Mitch, likewise has just started a new job as well, and Anthony’s PC broke. So, we’re doing our best, and I think things are finally about to return to normal.

Since I’ve been so busy, I’ve missed out on the chance to play some games over the last week. And the thing is, the longer it goes, the more I’m starting to crave it again. I find myself oddly dying to play games I haven’t touched in a while, like Resident Evil 5 or Fallout 3. Though another part of me just wants to kick back and do some Firefight in ODST.

So what about you guys? When’s the last time you’ve had to go awhile without playing any games? What games do you start to crave when you haven’t played in awhile?

GamerSushi Asks: What are you Playing, August Edition

mgsIt’s about that time again. Time to check in with you guys and see what you’re currently tackling in the video game front. It’s hard to believe we’re already in August, but it’s here, and the slew of video game releases (though slightly lighter now than it was going to be) is almost upon us.

As I don’t have access to my consoles at the moment due to an awesome vacation, I am currently working through both Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy 7 on the PSP. It’s great to get reminded of old classics like that, and I’m loving the way they look on the PSP’s screen as well. Before that though, I’ve been playing some 1 Vs 100, Secret of Monkey Island, Battlefield 1943 and Civilization Revolution. In the near future though, I’m going to move on to Red Faction, Turtles in Time (out next week!), Fat Princess and Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

What about you guys? What are you playing?

GamerSushi Asks: Save Systems?

monkey-islandHowdy all. Been a long and relaxing weekend, hence the lack of posts. I’m kind of a weird creature in that the less I have on my plate, the less I tend to do. The busier I am, the more time I make for posting on GamerSushi, working out, etc. It’s odd.

Anywho, after playing Battlefield 1943, 1 Vs 100, Mass Effect and last but not least, the Secret of Monkey Island, this weekend has been monumental for me in terms of gaming. Lots of great flavors. Mass Effect and Monkey Island got me thinking about save systems, though. In those games you can save the game whenever and wherever you want. While this is great in lots of ways (it’s nice to just be able to save and turn off a game without having to wait to find a save point), in some ways you can get screwed if you’ve saved yourself into a corner.

So what do you guys think? Is there any particular game where you’ve really enjoyed the save system? Have you been screwed over by a save point in a game before? Go!

Gaming’s Best Quotes

barrelrollOver the years, gaming has produced quite a few fond memories for me. There are the emotional moments, the rushes of pure adrenaline, the challenges, all of these things have created a slew of experiences for me to draw from. However, there’s another thing that gaming is great for, and that’s memorable quotes.

GamesRadar has put together a list of the 40 Most Repeated Game Quotes, ranging from error messages to ridiculous things said by a co-pilot rabbit in space. While I’ve heard most of the ones on the list, there were a few that I wasn’t quite as familiar with, so I was glad for the sound bytes they provided. I’d have to say my favorite gaming quote is probably the “master of unlocking” line from Resident Evil. So painfully bad and hilarious.

What about you guys? Are you familiar with the quotes on this list? What’s your favorite?

Source- GamesRadar

Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition is Silly and Hot

mw2prestigeI’m all about collecting absurd video game paraphernalia. I mean, I’m the guy that bought the stupid Legendary edition of Halo 3 so I can have that Master Chief helmet chilling in my living room next to my shelves o’ DVDs. I also eye those Final Fantasy figures from time to time.

But the Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2 is a different kind of animal all together. Not only does it come with the totally rad Modern Warfare 2, a sweet art book and some other goodies… but it also sports a real, functioning and completely excessive pair of night vision goggles. Wow.

I have to say that while I would never buy this, a small and dorky part of me is beyond tempted to. I mean, people use those things for wars, and I could have them in my home. Way better than a Halo helmet, if you ask me.

So what do you guys think? Cool, lame or meh? Go!

Source- Destructoid

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing, July 4th Edition

wolverineSo it’s a great big awesome holiday weekend for us Americanos, and I know that I for one will be hitting up the gaming in a major way. I really don’t get a whole lot of free time these days, and I’m really looking forward to playing my fill of some very good games.

Right now I’m working my way through Fight Night Round 4, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (which is surprisingly very fun), Star Ocean and hopefully some Metal Gear Solid via PSN. In particular Wolverine has really shocked me with just how good it is. It’s the exact kind of Wolverine game that should have been made years ago, and proof that licensed games are getting better and better as gaming has been taken more seriously as a medium.

So what about you guys? What are you playing this weekend?

GamerSushi Asks: Gaming Thumbs?

fnr4There are some things that I think you all should know. Fight Night Round 4 came out last week. Fight Night Round 4 has realistic face punching physics. Fight Night Round 4 is a hell of a lot of fun. Seriously, I can’t stop playing this game. The legacy mode is deep and engaging, and your character even ages as you progress through scheduling your fights for the year.

However, one bad thing about the game is that it is giving me gaming thumbs. I think you know what I’m talking about. When you play a game so much that it starts to give you new callouses on your thumbs because you haven’t played a game like that in a while. Well right now, I’ve got those bad, because I seriously can’t seem to put it down. My brother came over the other night, and we squared off for nearly two hours throwing punches, dodging and dishing out uppercuts. It was heavenly and I highly recommend it.

So what about you guys? What was the last game that gave you gaming thumbs? Also, who else has played this game or wants to? Go!

GamerSushi Asks: Guilty Pleasure Gaming

50centOk, that post title sounded much more dirty than I intended it to. Oh well. Anywho, every now and then there’s that game that comes along and surprises us with how fun it is. This isn’t exactly extraordinary, however, sometimes it’s a game that you might not be too particularly fond of admitting that you like.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand has been that game for me this weekend. I know, I know, but hear me out. After a few weeks of hearing that this ridiculous game was actually kind of fun, I had to satisfy my curiosity and check it out, and lo and behold, it really is an enjoyable game. Ridiculous plot aside (50 Cent is hunting down Iraqi gangsters to find a diamond studded skull- yes, in Iraq- and yes, seriously), the game has some refreshing mechanics and plays like an arcade version of Gears of War. I was surprised by just how much I’ve been getting into it. I ended up playing it for about four hours yesterday.

So what about you guys? Have you ever had that guilty pleasure game that you weren’t too excited to come clean about to others? Go!

Developer Talk

valveWe’ve all got our favorite developers when it comes to video game makers. Dudes that we really look up to, respect, or perhaps want to be in the world of our favorite pastime. Whether we’ve been following them for years, or gained newfound love of them due to a recent title, we hinge on nearly everything they do and say.

For me, two of those developers would be Bungie and Valve. Valve has yet again re-solidified that position after their recent bought of TF2 blog posts in the light of the leaked “Meet The Spy” video. Seriously, they’re hilarious. Anywho, it got me thinking: if you could ask your favorite developer one question, what would it be and why?

I would probably talk to either Valve or Bungie and get their thoughts on multiplayer balance, because both of them seem so darn good at it. What about you guys?

GamerSushi Asks: Anticipation?

lostAfter waiting for the season finale of Lost all week (don’t worry, no spoilers here), I started thinking about the idea of anticipation. You see, I was so pumped for this episode of one of my favorite shows that I literally could not stop thinking of it in the days leading up to it. It consumed every waking moment practically, and I couldn’t wait.

I think the last time I got like that over a game might have been Gears of War 2, but I think the time that I had the most anticipation for a game ever would have to be Halo 2. After a nearly 4 year gap between the two Bungie titles, the excitement had gone to a fever pitch amongst me and my friends. We waited in line for a couple of hours (with hundreds of others) in order to get our copy, and then proceeded to play it like mad over the next few weeks and months.

What about you guys? What was the most excited you’ve ever been over the release of a video game? What was the most recent time?

Beyond Good and Evil 2 Parody

Funny stuff right here. Looks like the dudes over at Destructoid did a parody of the Beyond Good Evil 2 leak that was circulating over the weekend. In order to prove that it was, in fact, gameplay, they added some of the context-sensitive button pushing seen in some of the more recent Ubisoft titles. Gave me a good laugh.

Today’s Awesome: Team Fortress 2 Meets Smash Bros

We’ve all seen mash-ups, and while they are either hit-or-miss, this one is particularly sweet. Someone took the original Smash Bros 64 intro cut-scene and re-filmed it completely with GMod, using Team Fortress 2 characters. And it totally works. Definitely jealous of this idea and the execution. Team Fortress 2 meets Smash Bros 64. Who would have thought?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bbH632PSpw[/youtube]

Mega64 Tackles Shadow of the Colossus

Mega64 is up to their old tricks again, this time bringing the likes of the legendary PS2 game Shadow of the Colossus to the real world. While they typically just rehash and repeat the same material in these kinds of videos, I couldn’t help but laugh the first time he jumped on the suited Colossus’s back. Pure hilarity.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqd9GiaJUos[/youtube]

Real Life Mirror’s Edge Is Awesome

I don’t really have a lot of words for this, except that a dude runs around with a camera and does lots of real life Mirror’s Edge style parkour craziness. Pretty impressive that he did all of this one handed. He also puts in some magic tricks. Thanks to Smarty for the link.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTrf5anN4k8[/youtube]

GamerSushi Asks: True Gaming Confessions

confessionIn my life, there are lots of things that I’m not proud of. First, I’m a girl when it comes to horror movies. Or horror anything, really. I’m easily frightened, jumpy, and pretty much a big sissy when you break it all down. True story: when I think something scary is going to happen in the middle of a movie, I literally cower done in my seat and stick one finger in one ear, thus hopefully blocking out some of the inevitable noise whenever the scary thing pops out. Yes, it’s as pathetic as it sounds.

See? Lots of things that I’m not keen to admit to people, much less all of the Internet, but what the heck. The funny thing is, since gaming is such a big part of our lives, I’m sure that we all have things like that when it comes to gaming. Things that we don’t necessarily talk about or that we hide from other people for fear of public humiliation and rejection.

So, here are some questions that hopefully pull some gaming confessions out of you dudes. Answer with as much or little as you want.
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Cliches I Never Want To See In Game Reviews Again

idol_lVideo game reviews have a difficult existence. Some people use them to decide whether or not to buy games, others use them as ammunition in the Console Wars. Usually, very strong emotions are attached to these reviews. But one thing we seem to be missing that we should get mad about is the lazy and irritating cliches that constantly pop up in reviews, even from such esteemed sources as EGM.
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GamerSushi Asks: Gaming Easter Eggs?

easterHappy Easter, dudes. I know I’m a day late, but hey, it’s all good. While I didn’t have a long weekend due to days off and holidays, I know that some of you probably did, so I hope you got in lots of good gaming time while you could.

When thinking about the Easter season and gaming, I naturally thought about those oh-so-awesome gaming easter eggs that are sprinkled throughout our favorite titles. I’m a big fan of easter eggs, and I love replaying some of my favorites to go through and find those hidden gems that are put there by developers.

I’d have to say some of my favorite easter eggs are found in the Halo series, as there are dozens of them. I think the coolest one would have to be the uber fuel rod cannon found in Halo 2’s first level. Also, I think the alternate way of killing The End in MGS3 (by turning your PS2’s clock forward) is hilarious.

So what about you guys? What are your favorite gaming easter eggs?