Category: Videogames

PlayStation Move Commercial Encourages Family Taunting

The latest Sony commercial for PlayStation Move features the excellent Kevin Butler, but this time around he’s not the funniest thing in the spot. The fictitious Maguire family has fun taunting mom as she plays some PS3 golf. Gramps belts out a hilarious, “You’re adopted!” taunt in mid-swing. The gang bombards mom with the inimitably irritating sound of vuvuzelas. It’s awesome…but surprisingly not because of Kevin Butler.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this Sony spot. Shout it out in the comments section (please)!

Coffee Talk #226: How Many Hours of Games Do You Play?

Today’s Coffee Talk is real simple — I want to know how many hours of games you play each week. Sure, there are times when gaming dominates your life, but there are also times when you have other things to attend to or other forms of entertainment you enjoy. Give it some thought, average it out, vote in the poll, and discuss your answer in the comments section (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, today’s Windows Phone 7 hardware announcements, the Yankees resting up for the ALDS, or instant replay in MLB, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s Coffee Talk is real simple — I want to know how many hours of games you play each week. Sure, there are times when gaming dominates your life, but there are also times when you have other things to attend to or other forms of entertainment you enjoy. Give it some thought, average it out, vote in the poll, and discuss your answer in the comments section (please!).

[poll id=”78″]

This Week’s Videogame Releases

There so many great games coming out this week, ranging from major releases to several game-of-the-year editions to a follow-up to an incredibly innovative DS title. Leading the way is Medal of Honor (which one of you was kind enough to order through my Amazon links — thanks!). Bundled editions include Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition, Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition, and Uncharted 2: Game of the Year Edition. Just Dance 2 is going to be a wildly popular game for the Wii (it’s already #8 on Amazon’s videogame charts). DS fans have Super Scribblenauts and Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals to gobble up. As a La Parka mark, I’m really looking forward to Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes of the Ring.

*sigh* There are like four games I want to buy this week. How about you? What new games do you plan on picking up?

DC Universe Online Trailer Makes Me Go Fanboy

It’s a bummer that DC Universe Online has been delayed until 2011, but this trailer should make you feel a wee bit better about things. It’s fast, slick, and full of awesome DCU heroes. Check it out and let me know what you think (please). Super Buddies unite!!!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

After playing dozens of hours of Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, I need to take a break from the game. My review is done, but there are still some odds and ends I want to take care of…but that can wait for later. A bunch of my friends that can read Japanese are playing Pokemon Black/White. I’m extremely jealous and I wish I took more than a semester of Japanese in college. Hmph. I suppose playing some Pokemon SoulSilver will make me feel better. Yes, that’s what I’ll do this weekend!

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Coffee Talk #224: Problems with Videogame Storytelling

Today’s article is brought to you by RPadholic Iceman. Yesterday he pointed me to this IGN article on Greg Kasavin’s GDC Online talk on game writing. Kasavin, a former GameSpot editor btw, brought up some interesting points on storytelling flaws gaming. Some games are paced poorly, others rely too heavily on cutscenes, some bombard you with too much information at the beginning, and others leave too much for the end.

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 Yankees winning against the Twins (again), whether Derek Jeter is washed up, or A Tribe Called Quest, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s article is brought to you by RPadholic Iceman. Yesterday he pointed me to this IGN article on Greg Kasavin’s GDC Online talk on game writing. Kasavin, a former GameSpot editor btw, brought up some interesting points on storytelling flaws gaming. Some games are paced poorly, others rely too heavily on cutscenes, some bombard you with too much information at the beginning, and others leave too much for the end.

The flawless writing in SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 aside — it’s so unfair to compare that game to others — I’d love hear about your problems with and preferences on storytelling in games. Do you like the Kojima-style cutscene-heavy way? Or do you think that’s too “wannabe movie maker”? Do you want to know as much as you can up front in case something comes along and you don’t finish the game? Or does front loading ruin things for you? Let’s talk it up on behalf Iceman and all the fantastic game writers in the business.

Morrigan to Return in Dragon Age II?

BioWare appeared to set up Dragon Age: Origins’ Morrigan’s final fate in the (incredibly disappointing) “Witch Hunt” DLC, but it looks like the wicked witch will be back in Dragon Age II. Lead designer Mike Laidlaw told NowGamer:

Morrigan’s story’s not over even after the Witch Hunt DLC, and although I can’t go too far into it, I can say that she’s not done with this world by any stretch of the imagination.

I’m hoping for something meaningful for Morrigan in Dragon Age II. I had tremendous expectations for “Witch Hunt” and was so let down by the storytelling. Is that redemption I sense???

Anyway, let me know what you think Morrigan will be up to in Dragon Age II.

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Double Fine’s Costume Quest Will Rock Your Halloween

Check out this excellent trailer for Double Fine’s Costume Quest for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. It’s a cute and stylish RPG with a Halloween theme and (seemingly) all the things you love about Double Fine. I’m super psyched for the game — I love the art style, I love RPGs, and transforming into a unicorn is just awesome!

Costume Quest will be available for download on October 19, 2010. Anyone else interested in this one?

Coffee Talk #223: Do You Buy Complete Editions?

With Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Editions and Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete revealed in the last week, I’ve been thinking about “collected” editions of videogames. With DLC being so new, it’s a relatively new practice to offer a disc that contains the full game and all the released online content. It’s a great value, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy one. If I’m interested in a game, I’ll snatch it up before it gets old enough to be collected. Bundling it with a bunch of DLC and other goodies isn’t enough to push me to buy a game I wasn’t sure about, no matter the value.

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 crap-ass Red Sox buying crap-ass Livepool, Intelligentsia’s Kenya Karimikui, or getting excited for an event in February 2011, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

With Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition and Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete revealed in the last week, I’ve been thinking about “collected” editions of videogames. With DLC being so new, it’s a relatively new practice to offer a disc that contains the full game and all the released online content. I’m curious to see where these things go and how they’ll affect future bundles.

Complete editions are a great value, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy one. If I’m interested in a game, I’ll snatch it up before it gets old enough to be collected. Bundling games with a bunch of DLC and other goodies isn’t enough to push me to buy a game I wasn’t sure about, no matter the value. Besides, game prices almost always drop in a matter of months, so it’s not too big a deal to wait things out.

What do you think of these complete editions? Does the value appeal to you? Are there any that you plan on buying? Will this practice make you wait on buying a game?