Coffee Talk #213: My Biggest Gaming Disappointment of 2010

I’ve been meaning to write my (not a) review for the “Witch Hunt” DLC for Dragon Age: Origins since last Thursday. I’ve played it a bunch of times and I’m certainly familiar with it, but for various reasons I haven’t pulled the trigger on my (not a) review. Part of it is that I don’t have much to say about the game. Here’s the short version: it’s incredibly disappointing. Here’s the long version: the gameplay, graphics, and voice acting are what you’d expect from Dragon Age, but the story — which was purported to be a grand finale that dramatically reveals the fate of Morrigan — is a total letdown. There’s nothing grand about “Witch Hunt”; it’s just another piece of good Dragon Age DLC.

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, Chad Ochocinco’s hosting job on WWE Raw, George Michael getting two months in the slammer for driving while high, or Oprah giving away the new Motorola Android phone, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’ve been meaning to write my (not a) review for the “Witch Hunt” DLC for Dragon Age: Origins since last Thursday. I’ve played it a bunch of times and I’m certainly familiar with it, but for various reasons I haven’t pulled the trigger on my (not a) review. Part of it is that I don’t have much to say about the game. Here’s the short version: it’s incredibly disappointing. Here’s the long version: the gameplay, graphics, and voice acting are what you’d expect from Dragon Age, but the story — which was purported to be a grand finale that dramatically reveals the fate of Morrigan — is a total letdown. There’s nothing grand about “Witch Hunt”; it’s just another piece of good Dragon Age DLC.

The other part is that I’m…uncomfortable being disappointed in BioWare. I adore the company’s games. Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk are fantastic people that I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with. Thankfully, I’m not working for a proper editorial site at the moment, so I don’t have to lie to you and pretend that these factors aren’t creeping around my brain. I just hold BioWare to incredibly high standards (perhaps unfairly so), so when the company releases a decent product that should have been more, it’s disappointing.

Anyway, I’m officially going to blame the whole not-writing-a-(not a)-review thing on jet lag. As for you, I want to hear about your gaming disappointments of 2010 (thus far). Shout it out (please)!

The First PlayStation Move Game I’ll Play Is…

…Heavy Rain, of course. Yeah, I’ve already played a bunch of the PlayStation Move launch titles, but this is the first game I’ll dive into. Sony Computer Entertainment America product marketing manager Jefferson “The Donger” Dong announced that PlayStation Move support for Heavy Rain arrives on September 22. I’m all over that!

Are any of you going to give Heavy Rain another go with PlayStation Move? Are there any Move games you’re interested in?

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Nintendo 3DS Hitting Japan in November 2010?

Kotaku has translated an interesting tweet allegedly made by KeysFactory employee Takahiro Amano who stated that accessories for the Nintendo 3DS will be available in November 2010. If the accessories are available then it stands to reason that the system will be available that month as well.

When I first wrote about the Nintendo 3DS, developers told me that they would have games ready by the end of the year. While some assclowns claimed that I made the whole thing up, my developer chats combined with this accessory dude’s tweet make it look like the 3DS will hit before the year ends. At the very least, this should be one of the more interesting stories to track during Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2010.

What do you think? Will the 3DS be available in Japan this November?

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Coffee Talk #212: WWE NXT’s AJ Lee is My Ultimate Woman

Thanks to WWE NXT, I have found my new “ultimate woman” for the next decade — AJ Lee. She’s obviously a beautiful woman that wrestles, but I’ve learned that she loves comic books and videogames. I don’t see how you can beat this combination. She could beat the crap out of baby seals with a baseball bat she made from a tree plucked from a rain forest she decimated and I’d still adore her. She seems to be the perfect combination of beauty, brains, athleticism, and nerdcore.

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, NFL week one, your favorite MTV VMA 2010 moments, or the big HTC/Nokia events this week, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Thanks to WWE NXT, I have found my new “ultimate woman” for the next decade — AJ Lee. She’s obviously a beautiful woman that wrestles, but I’ve learned that she loves comic books and videogames. I don’t see how you can beat this combination. She could beat the crap out of baby seals with a baseball bat she made from a tree plucked from a rain forest she decimated and I’d still adore her. She seems to be the perfect combination of beauty, brains, athleticism, and nerdcore.

In case you were wondering (and even if you weren’t), Zoe Flower, my dearest BB, was my ultimate woman last decade. Now she’s an ultimate mommy. Given her new stage in life and the new decade, it seemed like the perfect time to find a new ultimate woman. May the reign of AJ Lee be a tremendous one!

Naturally, I want to know what you think of AJ. Do you have an ultimate woman? Is there anyone you can think of that can match AJ’s blend of beauty and geekiness?

This Week’s Videogame Releases

This is a pretty huge week for the videogame business. In the short term, Halo Reach is out and it will surely be one of the biggest games of 2010. PlayStation Move is also out this week; while analysts are unsure of its short-term impact, Sony will be trying to make it a big deal for years to come. Lastly, Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest hits several platforms…which is great for gamers still living in 2004.

I know that some of you are buying Reach (thanks so much for those Amazon orders!). Anyone else want to fess up to their Halo purchases? Any other games on your wish list this week?

Sony’s YayButtons.com Pokes Fun at Kinect, Promotes Move

To promote PlayStation Move and poke fun at Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect, Sony has launched YayButtons.com. It’s a cute and snarky web site that’s a clever bit of marketing. When you visit the site, you can click on a PlayStation Move controller and bring up comments like:

It turns out that buttons are pretty important.

Some people don’t think you need buttons.

Could you imagine gaming without buttons?

Where would the control come from?

You couldn’t snipe.

You couldn’t fire any sort of weapon at all, really.

It’s simple and effective marketing that helps position PlayStation Move as the cooler product and the gamer’s choice. If you get a chance to play around with the site, please let me know what you think.

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Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Faces Five Years in Jail Over iPhone

Supremely talented boxer and amazing racist Floyd Mayweather, Jr. faces up to five years in prison over a domestic disturbance, according to The Associated Press. Mayweather’s ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris, has accused him of beating her and stealing her iPhone. Here’s a clip from the AP story:

Mayweather, 33, said nothing as he was released from the Clark County jail on $3,000 bail after being booked on a grand larceny charge. He could face up to five years in state prison if he is convicted of taking items valued at less than $2,500.

According to Mayweather’s attorney, the iPhone is simply lost:

Mayweather’s lawyer, Richard Wright, denied Mayweather was guilty of the criminal charges based on allegations by Josie Harris.

“He did not commit any grand larceny,” Wright told The Associated Press. “Josie can’t find her iPhone. We’re attempting to find it or replace it. We’ll cooperate in the investigation. We expect to get the matter resolved.” An iPhone typically costs less than $500.

Isn’t there an app that can help Harris locate her iPhone? Or does she have to be a Mobile Me subscriber to access that feature? Also, this story has me happier than I ought to be about a domestic disturbance. I’m reminded of the Thai phrase “som nom na”. *snicker*

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Coffee Talk #211: Gaming Binds Us Together

Warning: I’m going to get a little sappy on you today. You see, as I was in Asia playing Wordfeud for Android with Big Blak and Slickyfats, I was amazed at how gaming brought us all together. Whether it’s reading the stuff I write, talking it up in the comments section, or playing games together while thousands of miles apart, gaming binds us (like The Force in Star Wars). It’s just a powerful and awesome thing.

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, Felix Hernandez’s case for the AL Cy Young Award, Shelley Malil accidentally stabbing his girlfriend more than 20 times, or when the hell the MacBook Air will be refreshed, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Warning: I’m going to get a little sappy on you today. You see, as I was in Asia playing Wordfeud for Android with Big Blak and Slickyfats, I was amazed at how gaming brought us all together. Whether it’s reading the stuff I write, talking it up in the comments section, or playing games together while thousands of miles apart, gaming binds us (like The Force in Star Wars). It’s just a powerful and awesome thing.

I “met” most of you while I was at G4tv and for various reasons, we just clicked. I’m incredibly honored that you followed me here and spend part of your day with me. Sure, we talk about sports, pop culture, tech, GHM, and Adam Lambert icons, but at the end of the day we were brought together by our love of games. After all the crazy things that have happened to me in the last year, I’m just amazed by it all and super appreciative of your company/support.

Before I get misty, I’d love to hear some of your stories on how gaming introduced you to friends and loved ones. Hopefully it sets us all up for feel-good weekends!