Tag: gamersushi

GamerSushi Asks: Site Updating?

You might notice a few changes around these parts.

We’re gearing up sometime in the next month or two to roll out some bigger updates to GamerSushi’s design and layout. But in the meantime, we’ve introduced some new shorter format posts, which you’ve probably already seen.

The idea behind these is as we get busier and as the focus of the site is changing to more discussion, we really wanted to be able to do some quick and dirty posts. The new GS (whenever it happens) will likely focus more on our mission statement of “byte-sized” posts with a bigger emphasis on comments. You know, you guys. Since you all make this place so awesome.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that these new, different posts aren’t some kind of glitch in the system. Would you guys have any requests for a new site? Something you’d love to see, or that you want to be sure we port over from this design/format? Go!

GamerSushi: Summer Schedule

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Hola friends, bro-mans, Sushians — and welcome to GamerSushi, summer style. If you are up to date on the latest podcast (and if you’re not, then why aren’t you, because we talk about XBox One and it is fantastic) then you know that Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer for us here at Sushi land, and we take that thing pretty seriously. It helps us to take a slight break while game news trickles to a crawl just after E3, and gives us a chance to recharge a bit and continue doing this thing year after year. For real, we’d probably have hit each other with hammers and blown up the site if we didn’t get a chance to do this, and then what podcast would you listen to?

With the summer schedule we’ll be posting 3 times per week instead of the normal 5-7. That means you’ll still get plenty of gaming content and commentary, just not at the normal frequency. You’ll find the schedule below. Continue reading GamerSushi: Summer Schedule

GamerSushi on Twitch.Tv!

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Sushians! As part of our new content spree of 2013 (which we’ve honorably dubbed as “Year of the Sushi” around these parts), we’ve started up our very own GamerSushi Twitch TV channel.

Last night I streamed the second half of Hotline Miami as a bit of a test, and a few of you joined and hung out for a little bit. And right now, Nick and I are streaming some Borderlands 2. Obviously if you see this a bit later, you’ll have missed out on the fun, but we’re working on some kind of loose schedule when we’ll be streaming some different games.

So yeah, join in on the fun. Year of the Sushi!

Update: All done playing now, but you can find the play session after the jump! Continue reading GamerSushi on Twitch.Tv!

Happy 4th Birthday to GamerSushi

Portal Cake

So this kind of happens every now and then. Or rather, it would be more specific to say that it happens once a year — GamerSushi has another birthday.

It’s hard to believe that we started this little venture up four years ago, but here we are, almost 2500 posts, 630,000 words and 20,000 comments later.

We’re still writing about the games we love, still hanging out with you guys, still trying to review titles honestly and doing our best to have some thoughtful reflection on the world’s greatest hobby. If you haven’t noticed, we’re back to our regular posting schedule, and another “season” of the podcast is starting very soon. Honestly, we couldn’t ask for a better community, and it’s wonderful that so many of you are on here participating and sharing your thoughts with us.

It hits us right in the feels, as the kids say.

So raise your glasses, gents and ladies. Here’s to another four years and then some on GamerSushi. When did you stumble across this little gaming nook? Go!

Update: GamerSushi Grade Chart

Along with the fresh coat of paint for the site, you may have noticed a few other updates around the house as well. One of those is an update to ye olde GamerSushi grade chart, which explains the way our review system works, and gives a few examples of where games tend to fall on the scale. It’s mostly the same in terms of content, but with a few extra details to help distinguish between the grades. Nick did a killer job of it, and I’m kind of in love with it.

We’ve been kicking around our grade system a little bit lately, and we’re of the belief that over the course of time we’ll continue to make tweaks and find better ways to look at games. I really like the way we do it right now, and I think the new grade chart is a nice refinement.

Anyway, take a look at it after the jump or head over to the grade chart page. Continue reading Update: GamerSushi Grade Chart

Welcome to GamerSushi 2.0

Hello, you beautiful gamers. As you can see, GamerSushi is different. We were hoping to get this done for our 2nd birthday, but hey, we’re close enough, right? It’s kind of like that Monkey Ball game. The one that’s like ski ball, but with monkeys. The point is, we still get points.

For the most part, things are the same, but with a few notable differences: first and foremost, the sliding feature bar, which highlights the most recent features. I dig it. In addition, there’s the new “browse by system” bar, plus we’ve made the podcasts and older features more accessible in the top navigation. You’ll also notice the rotating podcast reviews banner in the top right hand corner, with user reviews on each one. So, review the podcast on iTunes, and you just might get your quote up there, too.

Anyway, I’ll let you see everything else for yourself. Be sure to give muchos props to Jeff and Nick for all the hard work they did over the last two weeks on this. Personally, I think they crushed it, in the best possible way. Feel free to leave your own feedback below!

Update: Apparently the site is having some issues in Internet Explorer 7, and it obscures the log-in box for users, so you haven’t been able to tell us if you’re on that version and having that problem. First of all, why are you using that browser, you crazy person? Second, we’re working on a fix for later tonight. The site seems fine in other browsers, including IE8. So if you are one of the random few affected, just fix your life and upgrade.

Update 2: This is now fixed. You should still upgrade, though.

Two Years of GamerSushi

portal-cakeThere’s an old saw that I think we all know that goes “time flies when you’re having fun”, and I can’t think of anything more fun than video games. Seriously, it’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since GamerSushi started, because it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. Granted, I’ve only been posting on the site since last year, starting with the Battlefield 1943 PC delay, but I was commenting on the site before that.

I’m sure most of us came here from Smooth Few Films, but I don’t think that any of us could have predicted the cool community that would have grown around a few dudes talking about games. Honestly, this site has had some of the best discussion on the theory around gaming that I can think of, mostly because we take the time to read each others thoughts and we don’t get buried in a sea of fanboy-centric comments. We may disagree at times, but we’re all united in a love of gaming.

So, thanks to you guys for sticking around for two years, and thanks to Eddy, Nick, Jeff and Anthony for starting this website and keeping it going. It’s been an awesome ride so far, and there are definitely cool things on the horizon!

What about you guys? Any awesome discussions you remember, or a post that you really liked? Keep in mind that this is our birthday, so you’re allowed to shower us with praise.

Submit Your Podcast Questions!

MicrophoneIt’s that time again! Next week, we’re going to be releasing the 4th episode of The GamerSushi Show. That means that we need you guys to supply us some of those awesome questions we’ve been fielding during the recording session.

If we’ve neglected your questions before, we apologize. Sometimes we get rolling and we just don’t have the time to get to everything we want- but we seriously love the topics you guys have submitted! We’ll be recording the ‘cast on Sunday or Monday, just before all the craziness of E3 2010 begins, so feel free to make them E3 related if you wish. We’re also thinking of doing a post E3 wrap-up since there’s no possible way we’ll be able to keep up with the volume rolling in around that time.

So, what are your questions? Go!

GamerSushi Asks: Give Us Your Feedback!

Every now and then, we like to see what you guys think about how things are going on the site, because ultimately, this place is about the community here and how we all interact. I think enough time has passed since the last time we did this, so I wanted to ask the question again: care to give us some feedback?

Here are some questions to consider:

1. What kinds of features would you like to see more of?
2. How often do you check this site?
3. What would you like to see more coverage of (within reason, of course)?
4. Do you want more/less updates?
5. What would make this place even more awesome?

Seriously, we’d love to hear what you guys think. Don’t be afraid to leave some criticism, as long as it is constructive. We’re all about making this place even better. We have some cool ideas for the future, and Nick is already working on a new layout that will really put the cool discussions you guys create front and center, with almost equal value to the posts themselves.

So, let’s hear it. Go!

Submit Your Podcast Questions!

microphoneWe’ve finally started releasing GamerSushi podcasts, and we couldn’t be happier. For real, I’ve been obsessing over doing the next edition ever since we recorded the first. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it, too.

We’ll be recording a new episode on either Sunday or Tuesday, so the time to start asking questions or topics that you’d like for us to talk about is now. Feel free to ask about whatever, as long as it is generally game related, and we’ll pick our favorite submissions to discuss on the podcast. You can already rest assured that EA’s new game codes will be on the list, as well as Little Big Planet 2 and Alan Wake.

What are you waiting for, fools? Submit your questions.

A New GamerSushi Feature Approaches, Send Us Your Questions and Topics!

As you guys know, we here at GamerSushi are all about community, and we feel like we’ve got a pretty good back and forth going. How it’s been working so far, though, is that we pose questions to you guys in the form of posts and features, and then you tell us what you think. We have thought about mixing this up a little, and for an upcoming feature, we’d like you guys to ask us the questions or give us topics you’d like to hear us discuss.

It’s simple enough, just drop your suggestions in the comments, and we’ll pick a few and have the GS staff riff on them for a bit. Any ones we don’t get to this time around, we’ll go over in the next installment. Try to keep it video game related, and fire away!

GamerSushi Community Game: XBox 360!

OK dudes, we talked about this stinking forever ago, but we’re finally doing the deed tomorrow afternoon. Let’s all hook up for some cool time playing some games together, in what is hopefully the first of many such occasions.

For our first community function, we’ll be playing either Halo 3 or Modern Warfare 2, depending on what more of you guys have. We’ll be playing tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 PM CST, so check to see what time that is for you. And for you PC or PS3 dudes, don’t worry, we’ll be doing more of these soon. The idea right now is to do a PC one some time next week, with a PS3 one in the near future.

So here’s how this is going to work. Leave your gamertag here along with which of the games you have. Tomorrow, either Mitch or I will add you and then invite you to a game that we set up at 2:30 PM CST. I’d say just to go ahead and send me a friend request, but that could just get chaotic as I have to clear some room out first. Rest assured that once I play with you I will more than likely leave you on it (since you’re from GamerSushi), unless you are a total jerk. If it turns out we get way too many people, we’ll just set up another day for the ones that don’t make it in to the best of our ability.

If you are a PC or PS3 person, we’ll have a new topic up soon for you guys to sign in on and we’ll decide there what games we’re playing and when. Let’s do this!

Introducing: GamerSushi Reviews Page

premiereWell, aren’t we fancy? We just keep adding these features, don’t we? Soon, you’ll all revolt, longing to go back to the “GamerSushi that was”…

But until then, enjoy the brand spanking new GamerSushi Reviews page, which compiles all of our reviews in an easy-to-browse manner. This should hopefully be helpful in the future as we continue to add more games. Much thanks to JJ, who really killed it with putting the layout together.

In terms of more functionality and updating, we’ve got more stuff we’re working on for the near future with GamerSushi. Any other features you would love to see on this site? What do you think of the review page? Go!

GamerSushi Grade Chart Part Deux

grade-sheet-smallA month back or so, we asked for your input on how our grading scale worked for the games we review here at GamerSushi. You all weighted in with you thoughts, and gave some really valuable input that helped us in our discussions about how we should address our grading system going forward. Seriously, it really pointed us in the right direction. So, it is with great pleasure that we introduce to you the brand new version of the grade chart.

We’ve created a new page that has a breakdown (written by Anthony) of how the updated grading scale works. We basically combined several ideas that people gave us.

Our problem before was that since we are a small site with limited resources beyond our own wits (and even that isn’t much), there’s no way we’re going to be reviewing games that are truly worthy of D’s or F’s. Even C’s for that matter. All of our scores ended up being in the same zone for this reason, because half of our scale was useless.

What we’ve done now is address that issue by re-scaling the chart so that it basically only takes into account the hyped or AAA titles. That means that even a D could still be a good game, just a blockbuster title we didn’t enjoy as much as others. On top of all that, we ditched the +/- system, and added a new grade of “S” for the truly special games. This took care of the issues we were having where a game like Resident Evil 5 deserved an A+, but on our old scale, that would mean it was one of the “greatest games of all time”, along with Uncharted 2. In our new scale, RE5 becomes an A and Uncharted 2 becomes an S.

Anywho, Anthony explains all of that much better on the new grade chart page. I’d suggest checking it out and leaving your thoughts here! We’ll be re-scoring all of our reviews over the next weekend, so tell us your thoughts on those, too.

EDIT: Nick made the sweet graphic of the grade chart. He yelled at me for not telling you guys that. Whoops. NICK MADE IT.

The Twitter Initiative

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Good news, everyone! Thanks to a temporal rift that caused a fluctuation in the space time continuum, I’m happy to announce that GamerSushi now has a Twitter account. You can follow GamerSushi on Twitter by clicking on the link contained within this sentence.

Also, because this is as good a time to remind you guys as any, those of you wishing to have a little Avatar pop up in your posts instead of that blank picture need to go to Gravatar and sign up for an account. Just remember to use the same email for that service as you did for this website, and everything should be hunky-dory.

What are you still doing here? Go follow us!

GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

Wow, it’s been quite a while since we’ve been graced with the presence of a Would You Rather. In fact, nearly half a year! So, before the salvo of new Fall titles drop, let’s give it another shot.

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.

Don’t let your answers suck, though. You will be excommunicated and labeled with some kind of vulgar name. Believe it.

Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

GamerSushi Reviews: Quick Hits

quick-hitsWe play lots of games here around GamerSushi. So many, in fact, that there’s not possibly time to write reviews for all of them. While we would love to give some in-depth analysis of every title that graces our screens, we just don’t always get a chance to.

So, rather than neglect this bunch of titles, and make way for the deluge of blockbuster games that are about to appear on the queue, Mitch, Anthony and I decided to give you guys a new feature called Quick Hits.

What are Quick Hits? Quick Hits are fast and to-the-point reviews of several titles we’ve played recently, machine gunner style. Feel free to discuss the games at article’s end, and let us know what you think of them.
Continue reading GamerSushi Reviews: Quick Hits

GamerSushi Top Six: Freed Franchises

freedomWell folks, it’s time for another GamerSushi Top Six, where Anthony and I dissect the gaming world and come up with a list of six spectacular things. Why six? Because six sells. Our feature this week even has a holiday theme.

In the spirit of Independence Day, when us Americans threw off the shackles of tyranny by some other snooty country that nobody even remembers the name of, we have compiled a dream list of franchises that could be liberated from their current developers and sent to live with someone who will treat them in a way they’ve never been treated before.
Continue reading GamerSushi Top Six: Freed Franchises

GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

On the eve of E3, it’s time for gamers young and old to dream up a world of possibilities for our next year of gaming. With that in mind, I figured it was a great chance for a new 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.

Don’t let your answers suck, though. You’ll be tarred, feathered and quite possibly beaten like you stole something.

Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?