Category: PC Gaming

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, an ex-ref fighting Dominique Wilkins at a basketball game, Yankees baseball, or your favorite April fool’s day joke, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The first quarter of 2011 was loaded with outstanding games. Now that there quarter has come to a close, I want to know what your three favorite games of Q1 2011 were? As for me, that’s an easy list to whip up. Check it out.

1. Dragon Age II — While there are some aspects of the original that I prefer, there’s a lot I love about this game. Don’t believe all the whiners and haters out there. This is another high quality RPG from BioWare.
2. Tactics Ogre — I absolutely love the developers that worked on this game. They went on to make Final Fantasy Tactics, which is my all-time favorite. The gameplay, music, and Queen references are awesome.
3. DC Universe Online — I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this MMO…but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. As a comics fans, I had loads of mark out moments while adventuring with established heroes, but it was more fun beating up baddies with my friends.

Now it’s your turn! What were your three favorite games of Q1 2011?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the NCAA basketball final four, Wyclef Jean getting shot, or a Montanta Radio Shack offering free guns with Dish Network, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I was surprised to find that several Dragon Age II players are bothered by the homosexual romance options in the game — particularly the male romances. Some players are uncomfortable with their male Hawke being courted by Anders and Fenris. Some players wish that there was an option to turn off homosexual romances. I found these sentiments a bit backwards and homophobic, but I”m trying to understand why these gamers feel the way that they do.

I think it’s great that gamers have the option for their male Hawke to have a relationship with a whiny male apostate like Anders. I think it’s wonderful that players can have their female Hawke fall in love with a filthy pirate wench like Isabela. If players rather have a heterosexual relationship, those options are there too, of course. This is a role-playing game and I appreciate the diversity of romantic roles Dragon Age II offers. I don’t understand why some gamers have a problem with being hit on by a character of the same sex. If that’s not what you want then respond accordingly, no?

Do any of you have issues with the homosexual romances in Dragon Age II or other games? Does it make you uncomfortable? Or do you not care? I’m curious to hear your opinions. Let’s share and have a candid discussion. No judging please!

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Hulk Hogan punching out Ryan Seacrest on American Idol, Scarlett Johansson dating Sean Penn, or getting people to call Facebook “The Facebook”, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Last night a friend totally stumped me when he asked, “What do you think the funniest game ever is?” Hours later, I’m still not sure of my answer. I immediately thought of several Tim Schafer games, as well as Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Erik Wolpaw’s work on Portal was some of the funniest writing ever in a videogame. Right now I’m leaning towards Portal…but I’m still not sure.

That’s where you come in! What are some of the funniest games you’ve played?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the Barry Bonds trial, Chris Brown vs. windows, or Christina Aguilera getting a Twitter account, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

My video review of Dragon Age II finally posted. As expected, there were tons of negative comments from people that can’t see past their own perspective. Additionally, there were a lot of people that complained about the score being posted in the title of the review (not my decision, btw). For some reason, this was a big spoiler. Really?!?

Several of you know that I have all sorts of problems with the review process and score is a biggie. Considering how random and undefined most scoring systems are, it’s disappointing that so many gamers are fixated on an arbitrary number. If you’re interested in a game then don’t you owe it to yourself to find out why a game received the score that it did? Isn’t the reasoning behind the score more important than the score itself?

Am I expecting too much from the average gamer? (You guys and gals are all way above average, for the record.) Are most gamers too lazy or indifferent to learn the reasoning behind the score? Or do they just want to see a number and argue about it (without knowing whether a 5/10 or a 7/10 is average based on the outlet’s criteria)? Will gamers be able to get past scores? Or will they always be fixated on the number? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section.

(And if you have extra time, please give my review a “thumbs up” on YouTube and leave a comment.)

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, hot phone announcements from CTIA 2011, the Lizard being in the next Spider-Man movie, or Carmelo Anthony poisoning the Knicks, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Some of the best software in the world was created by a bunch of kids in a dorm room or a handful of friends in a garage. Sometimes small, independent groups lead to world-changing innovations. Just look at companies like Apple, Facebook, etc. With that spirit in mind, it was disappointing to see Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime speak out against so-called “garage developers”. In a recent interview with Gamasutra he said:

I would separate out the true independent developer vs. the hobbyist. We are absolutely reaching out to the independent developer. Where we’ve drawn the line is we are not looking to do business today with the garage developer. In our view, that’s not a business we want to pursue.

On one hand, managing and reaching out to “garage developers” would cost a lot of money and consume a lot of time. There’s no guarantee of finding a pearl in a sea of indie developers. From a business perspective, I totally understand where Fils-Aime is coming from.

That said, I believe that he chose his words poorly (which is surprising for such a smooth talker). He made Nintendo appear snobbish, as if the company looks down on small developers. His comments fed into the belief that Nintendo is anti-innovation when it comes to third parties. For a company that has a poor track record with third-party developers, why alienate puppies that could grow up to be pit bulls that will bite you in the ass? I also bet there are some people in dorm rooms and garages that no longer dream of making Nintendo games because of what Fils-Aime said.

What do you think of Reggie’s comments? Is he just talking about smart business? Or is he sending a negative message to aspiring developers?