Attack of the Midnight Launches

launchIf there’s something that I’ve learned about gamers, it’s that we like to torture ourselves. Seriously, it’s true. Whether it’s with a dungeon, a particularly hard boss, or maybe obtaining a certain achievement or level in a multiplayer game, we will beat our faces against the screen until we are a bloody mess in order to satisfy our goals. We’re masochists, really.

I think one of the more obvious symbols of this self-induced flaying would have to be the storied midnight launch. The midnight launch, the method of instant releases for both systems and games, brings a real life obstacle for a gamer to grind his way through. Something to set our hopes on and try to tackle. Though I’ve participated in many midnight launches in my day, none was so arduous as the quest to obtain my Playstation 2 back in 2000.
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The Boldest Series Of All Time: Final Fantasy

final-fantasyVideo game sequels are so different from movie sequels. Video games have the advantage of trying new things out, listening to what worked and what didn’t and then forging ahead with that knowledge in mind. Movies could do that, but clearly, they choose not to. The point of this is that some game sequels are way out there compared to the originals.

The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is a prime example, as is Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. Both were sequels to very successful games and both were met with a tepid response. Oh, sure, you will find someone who will try to tell you that both games were the actual pinnacle of each respective series, but that same person probably thinks they understand David Lynch’s movies…and they don’t. Trust me.
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GameCop Vs LameCop #6

GameCop vs. LameCop is a feature where Anthony and I argue about video game issues, playing the role of either the GameCop or the LameCop as we do so. We switch roles each time. The GameCop has your best interests as gamers at heart, while the LameCop is just what he sounds like: a total loser.

This week, we tackle several issues including multiplayer in single player games, Nintendo’s lackluster GTA: Chinatown Wars sales and E3 predictions.

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The Video Game Level Hall of Fame

Levels are the staples of most video games, new and old. Throughout my life, there are video game levels that are so iconic that they have left a permanent imprint on who I am as a gamer. Whether it’s the challenge, the design, the music or the sheer fun factor, the best video game levels manage to be both memorable and entertaining, thrilling gamers for hours on end.

In this new regular feature, The Video Game Level Hall of Fame, we induct a few of our favorite video game levels of all time to an ongoing list. Since there are too many awesome levels from video games past to include, we thought that would be a good way to handle it.

So, here are the first five video game level inductees into our Hall of Fame, in no particular order.
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Seething In SimCity

simcity-winceAs newly elected mayor of SimCity (thanks to my Virtual Console) I pledged to finally do what I had never been able to when I originally played this as a kid: create a town with a population of 500,000 citizens. As I write this, I have 460,000 people and things have been running very smoothly…until now.

See, my citizens have developed a case of the dreaded, “We So Stupid” Syndrome. For those of you that don’t know, WSSS is a horrible disease that affects people all over the world, not just in video game simulations. I have used all the land in my city. I have been a decent leader, who built all industrial zones around the edge of town, minimizing pollution. Of course, that didn’t stop the little artificial bastards from bitching about it!

I built all their houses far away, so the only time they would ever enter an area with anything less than pristine air would be…IF THEY WORKED THERE! And if you work in a place that pollutes the air, but rather than get a job at the mall (I built lots of those, too!), you would prefer to blame the mayor for the desecration of the air, which you in fact cause by working there… kill yourself.

No, wait. I need you for the population count. Which brings me to next point: if I build a residential zone, I want houses built there, not schools or hospitals! All I want is to cram enough of these little morons into the limited space I have available to me (apparently, invading the neighboring towns is out of the questions) in order to get to the half million mark to get that damn Mario statue I have always longed for. And these fools decide to build 14 hospitals and 12 schools, including 2 hospitals right next to each other!

Well, I certainly hope there weren’t that many sick or enfeebled people in 13 of those hospitals because I got a little trigger happy with my bulldozer and kinda demolished them all. Course, my little resiliant Sim-tards decided to rebuild one of them right in the same spot. I felt like the Joker in The Dark Knight, walking out of Gotham County General, tapping that detonator. Eventually the mooks learned their lesson. And as for those schools, well…that was just fun. Don’t worry, I left one of them standing. Too bad it’s all the way on the other side of the river! Good luck with that commute everyday!

sim3-winceSpeaking of commutes, when you to a certain point, the Sim-jerks start getting uppity and demanding things. “Residents Demand A Stadium” started flashing on the bottom of the screen. Well, sure they do. But that’s going to raise the tax rate and if it dares hover anywhere over 3%, they start tea bagging each other! I mean, throwing tea parties. Or something. Then they wanted an airport. Now, I am not a cruel leader. I like to think of myself as a benevolent dictator. So I granted them their airport. Hell, can’t be bad for growth and business right?

Wrong. Literally 2 minutes later, a plane crashed. So either I built my airport just before happy hour ended or I have terrorists running around my city, which is a giant problem since I didn’t build any fire departments. And we all know fire departments is how you fight terrorism. So I had to lock the city down for a bit, demolish the nuclear power plants in order to prevent any yellow cake from getting stolen and then I realized I had better destroy any bakeries as well, because I am pretty sure they have yellow cake, too.

Crisis averted, I think. I saw one of our planes take off and fly over the city, so I am going to assume that was my personal army on its way to Borat’s country to deliver giant cans of whip-ass to anyone who speaks a different language. With any luck, I will manage to sardine some more Sim-fools into my city and get that Mario statue and finally achieve a boyhood dream. Wow…games sure do make you feel like a loser sometimes, but God, is it worth it.

Anyhow, what’s the hardest you’ve ever worked for an in-game secret?

GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

Summer is almost here and it’s time to bust out all the games that you haven’t finished yet. I figured that means it’s time for another Would You Rather.

In Would You Rather, I simply ask a series of questions, and you follow up with your answers. Give as much or as little explanation as you want for your choices, but we all know that we like to see the reasoning behind the madness.

However, if your answers suck, there will be zombies marching upon your abode. Zombies spitting swine flu. So yeah, you’d better make it good.

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GamerSushi Asks: Chicken Soup for the Gamer’s Soul

dr_mario2We all get sick and have to miss work or class or other obligations. Sometimes we get so sick that we can barely lift our heads off the pillow. Sometimes it’s merely a stomach virus and when not giving birth to food babies, we manage to find time for games. And sometimes, we don’t care and play through the pain anyway. After all, the world needs saving!

I remember in high school, I was taking summer classes to lighten my load for my senior year. I came down with a horrible case of mono. Awesome. Not only was I nursing a broken heart due to a certain girl, but I got to lay in bed all day and not be able to move! Seriously, I had to crawl to the kitchen the first few days just to get some cereal. But it wasn’t all bad because that summer, I played two of my favorite games ever for the very first time.
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Where Have All the JRPG’s Gone?

lost-odysseyGrowing up, gaming was all the same thing to me. Things were either platformers, brawlers/shoot-em-ups, or fighters. That’s all that gaming fell into, and I was happy with it for a time. But then something magical happened. I played a Japanese RPG, and my world changed. I didn’t know that gaming could tell a story. I had no idea up until that point that I could care about a game’s characters or miss them when I had read the last bit of text. It was truly an eye-opening experience.

Since then, I have played a lot of JRPG’s. Probably too many, to be honest. In college, I remember I would rent anything that looked remotely like a JRPG, and played it until my eyes bled. I loved the concepts, the stories, and I really liked being able to level some guys up and fight through hordes of baddies. It was all extremely appealing to me. However, somewhere along the line, things have taken a drastic turn southward in JRPG-land.
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GamerSushi Asks: What Are Your Gaming Quirks?

monk173dqGame time. I turn on the PS3, go to the bathroom and wash my hands. I hate sticky controllers and my hands get sweaty when I find myself in a vicious cock fight with the Helghast of Killzone 2. I sit on the bed, make sure my cell phone and the TV remote are in front of me, slightly to the left and if my controller is charging, I make sure the wire is not snagged on anything in case I have to make a sudden move. I sit Indian-style on my bed, never laying down because this is no time to relax. I check my message box and then sign off. I don’t need to be bothered during killing time with invites.

My laser-like focus will not be moved.

So, as you can see from reading the above, I am a little quirky when it comes to playing games. I am pretty set in my ways and I like things the way I like them, even outside of games. You should see my organizing system for my books! So what quirks do you guys exhibit when you play games?

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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