February 2011
26 posts
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“I think motion controls are a complete dead end for gaming. The popularity of...”
– The Escapist: Extra Consideration - Console Gaming
Ben Crowshaw hits one out of the park with this statement. Afterwards, James Portnow says something smart, and Bob Chipman makes himself look like a doofus. Then again, that’s par for the course, considering he’s a moron.
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How to be a better journalist pt 2 - Empathy and...
I must be a glutton for punishment, because I took a second look at Jim Sterling’s </rant> series, and found something rather amusing. As you can see, I’m not starting this with a quote, so he’s not completely wrong about something this time around. The point that Jim makes in discussing Greg Miller’s awful review of Dead Space 2 is that it’s impossible to...
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How to be a better journalist pt 1 - Nihil Sub...
I remember getting a little bit of boxing advice from a friend back in high school, talking about straights and hooks. For those who don’t know, a right hook is a punch that always comes from a curved arm at the same angle, using kinetic linking to put power behind it. Like so:
Anyone who throws a proper left hook will throw it like that. Hand by the chin, perfect angle. If you...
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“In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and...”
– Ellen Goodman tells it like it is
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“Now, you may be asking what the big deal is, and why something so absolutely...”
– Uh, no.
For those wondering where this quote was from, Gamefront has a weekly opinion piece called </rant> that Jim Sterling does, and it’s really not worth describing beyond that. Not so much because Jim writes it, but it’s mostly because weekly opinion articles are a dime a...
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Why I don't care about most unfinished content.
One of the best articles that I’ve ever written is probably the piece I did on the Knights of the Old Republic 2 restored content. It was a unique opportunity to finally get the chance to feel like I actually finished that game. Beyond that, I really enjoyed getting the chance to reach out to Blistered Thumbs’ community and gather their thoughts on the fact that many of them...
“To say Topware has been suffering from bad PR lately is to put it lightly. A...”
– NOT SHIT JOURNALISM - Destructoid, Jim Sterling: Allegations, sleaze, & treachery: A tale of Two Worlds [February 20th, 2011]
Fascinating read into the influence publishers have over the press and, if true, a sad indication of the nature of the industry’s grip, for want of a better word, on its...
WatchSo, Sony sent me an odd little package today. I got Killzone 3 to review, but I also got some toy soldiers. Weird, eh?
philwrir asked: Do you really think CoD: Black Ops was deserving of an 8? Its the exact same thing as the past few titles in the series and really lacks much in the way of depth. Sure its pretty and the voice acting wasn't horrible, but its so recycled and bland overall I cant see it being more than a 6.
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High Scores: Do I give too many of them out?
Someone on Blistered Thumbs told me today that “you guys give out too many high scores” on my New Vegas review. I can’t speak for other people on the site, but I wanted to go back through all of my reviews thus far, and really outline which I would consider to be “good” reviews.
Fallout: New Vegas - 9
Mindjack - 2
Metal Gear Solid 4 - 9
EA Sports MMA - 6
...
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Some New Vegas talk. →
aninventoryofthepossible asked: Just a general thought, re: games, story and art.
One of Ebert's recurring maxims, probably the one he mentions the most in his film reviews, is that it's not what a movie is about, but how it is about it. In other words, the delivery -- from the wit of the writing to cinematography to sound design -- is MORE IMPORTANT than the mechanics by which the characters move from...
One of Ebert's recurring maxims, probably the one he mentions the most in his film reviews, is that it's not what a movie is about, but how it is about it. In other words, the delivery -- from the wit of the writing to cinematography to sound design -- is MORE IMPORTANT than the mechanics by which the characters move from...
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“I submit that those two viewpoints are in direct opposition to each other....”
– Ben Paddon from GJAIF. Link
I’m tossing my agreement in with this answer to a question he was presented. Far too often we’ll see people use the “it’s just a game” excuse, which is idiotic. Though I do think that fun gameplay can save a game with a bad plot, that...
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“By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with...”
– - Oscar Wilde
I enjoy how relevant this quote is now.
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Thoughts on Dead Space 2, New Vegas
Yeah, yeah, I’m a little bit late to the party on this one. Well, I’m late with New Vegas, anyway. For those of you new to my blog stuff, I will usually put forward a posting called “Random thoughts on….” and then go to town on stuff that I wouldn’t put on a professional site. So, with that in mind, let’s talk about a couple of games.
- When it comes to...
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WatchCall of Duty: Black Ops in 5 seconds
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“An explanation of cause is not a justification by reason.”
– C.S. Lewis
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Me and my Philosophy
There’s been something that’s left me scratching my head as of late. I get a lot of people telling me that such and such person is a cynic. I’m sorry, but no. Chances are, if you’re calling yourself a cynic, you’re more than likely a pessimist. You see the glass half empty. You think that equality comes from hating everything equally. That’s not how cynicism...
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Domination of Fan Opinion Has Failed Gamers
Before I begin this particular blog entry of mine, let me first say that this is going to be the last entry on my old domain, as I’ve decided to switch over to Tumblr from now on. Why, you may ask? Simply ease of access.
Now, let’s dig into the meat of this particular entry. What exactly do I mean by “domination of fan opinion” and why has it failed gamers? Well, I think...
