Check Out My Nier Review (Please)!

My Nier review is up on Machinima.com. Please check it out if you get a chance. This was a tough one to write. Some aspects of the game were cool, but others were frustratingly annoying. It added up to a middling experience. It’s easy to write reviews on games that suck and games that are awesome. The ones that are mediocre…not so much. I’m going to quote myself for amusement:

While some aspects of the gameplay are good, there are several facets that are poor and annoying to the point where it detracts from the overall experience. The incessant backtracking and frustrating minigames are enough to turn off many gamers.

So yeah! Kindly read it, let me know what you think, and leave a comment (on Machinima). If you do leave a comment, please include “RPadtv” in the handle so I can keep an eye on it and reply to you directly (yes, it also helps me market this site). For example, on Machinima, smartguy would be RPadtv_smartguy or something like that.

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Android 2.2 (FroYo) Improves Performance by 450%?

The buzz on Android 2.2 (aka FroYo) is that most of its improvements are under-the-hood performance gains and not flashy new features. If the tests conducted by Android Police are accurate then the performance increase will be extraordinary, largely due to an improvemend JIT (just-in-time) compiler. Using the Linpack tool, the site reported a 450 percent increase over Android 2.1 on a Google Nexus One:

Think about this for a second. 37.6, compared to 6.5-7 — that’s about a 450% speed improvement.

These results are so impressive, most likely due to the introduction of the long awaited JIT compilation into the kernel, that we felt they deserved immediate attention.

That’s pretty sick, hey? Hopefully I’ll be seeing Android FroYo in action next week at Google I/O.

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Off to Google I/O Next Week — What Do You Want?

I mentioned this to RPadholic N8R yesterday and I wanted to let y’all know that I’m attending Google I/O next week in San Francisco. My priorities are digging up info on Android gaming, Android 2.2 (FroYo), and what’s going on with Chrome OS. That said, I’ll try to pursue any angles you’re interested in as well. Check out the agenda and let me know if there are any sessions you’re interested in. If I’m not in a meeting, I’ll hit it up for you and write about it.

Coffee Talk #143: Do You Have a Dream Job in Gaming?

Yesterday I told you about a recurring BioWare dream that I’ve had for the last ten years. For the last three years or so, I’ve been having this other dream about BioWare. I’m living in southern Thailand — probably Phuket or Koh Phangan — and telecommuting as a BioWare community manager. Life and work are pretty much perfect. It’s such a lovely dream. *sigh*

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, Lost, Lebron James’ ailing elbow, or your favorite island, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Yesterday I told you about a recurring BioWare dream that I’ve had for the last ten years. I’ve been having this other dream about BioWare for the last three years or so. I’m living in southern Thailand — probably Phuket or Koh Phangan — and telecommuting as a BioWare community manager. Life and work are pretty much perfect. It’s such a lovely dream. *sigh*

Don’t get me wrong — I love writing and interacting with an audience. What I’m doing now is absolutely what I want to be doing (though making money would be nice). The only other job that I really want (off the top of my head) is working as a community manager for a developer I love. Hell, I’d work for a developer I midly disliked if I could telecommute from Thailand. Ha!

I was wondering if you have a dream job in the gaming business. Is there a certain company or game designer that you dream of working for? RPadholic bsukenyan has mentioned that he’s interested in becoming a gaming analyst, but I’m not sure about the rest of you. Kindly share your videogame dream job(s) in the comments section!

iPhone HD/4G Caught on Video

I love this video of the Apple iPhone HD/4G, but not because it shows off one of the most anticipated consumer electronic devices of 2010. Don’t get me wrong — that part is definitely cool, but this video’s use of the Vietnamese language and the Bee Gees is brilliant. I’m pretty sure this clip would win several awards at Cannes. Also, I can hear Steve Jobs asking, “And it’s me you need to show, how deep is your love?”

Amazon Offering PS3 Game Bundles with Dual Shock 3 Controller

Need an extra Dual Shock 3 and want a great game to go with it? In the immortal words of Sally Struthers, “Sure, we all do!” Amazon has these great bundles which include one game and a Dual Shock 3 for $59.99. You can choose from LittleBigPlanet, InFamous, Killzone 2, and Resistance 2.

Today’s Poll: Battle of the HBO Super Agents — Ari vs. Arliss

I know how this poll is going to pan out, but I’m going to run it anyway. At lunch I was telling my friend Paul about my wish for HBO Blu-ray sets for The Larry Sanders Show and Arli$. He was totally with me on the former and totally not with me on the latter. As a sports fan, I loved Arli$$. It blended sports, humor, and HBO’s way of mixing fiction with reality. The last bit is part of why I enjoy shows like Larry Sanders, Arli$$, and Entourage — it’s fun watching famous people play themselves (or in Seth Green’s case, a totally fictional version of himself).

While Entourage is more popular than Arli$$ ever was, I believe that Arliss Michaels could hold his own with Ari Gold. So in the battle of made up HBO super agents, who’s side are you on?

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More iPhone / AT&T / Verizon Rumors

Ah, the rumors of the Apple iPhone going to Verizon and the speculation that it will remain exclusive with AT&T never end. Here’s a double dose for you today. First up is Engadget Mobile’s Nilay Patel, who confirmed that AT&T and Apple entered into a five-year contract in 2007, but questions whether it’s still valid:

Contracts can be canceled, amended, and breached in many ways, and AT&T’s spotty recent service history plus the explosion of the iPhone and the mobile market in general have given Apple any number of reasons to revisit the deal. In addition, the two companies obviously hit the negotiating table again to hammer out the iPad’s pricing plans, and there’s no way of knowing whether that deal involves the iPhone as well.

Next up is CrunchGear’s John Biggs. He received a tip that Verizon’s advertising agency is working on a campaign for the upcoming iPhone:

A company called Landor Associates “working on an advertising campaign” for Verizon for the upcoming iPhone (you know, the one that the police knocked down Jason Chen’s door down to get generally more information about?). Ladnor has been working on Verizon branding since 2007 and is, according to a tipster, now hard at work preparing for the iPhone HD launch.

Naturally I’m more interested in how these rumors impact your purchasing decisions. Are you going wait for an iPhone on Verizon or go with an excellent alternative like the HTC Incredible? Will you stick with AT&T if it remains America’s exclusive iPhone carrier? Share your feelings — like a Care Bear…or not — in the comments section (please)!

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Win a Limited Edition Lost Planet 2 T-Shirt

It’s contest time boys and girls! Up for grabs is a super cool Lost Planet 2 t-shirt. It’s a limited edition print from the excellent people at I Am 8-Bit. As some of you know, I picked it up at Capcom’s fine LP2 launch party last week. The shirt is an American Apparel XL, which is a tad small for me (American Apparel runs tight). I could diet for the next six months so that I could fit into it or I could give it to one of you. The second option is easier.

Anyway, to win this shirt, just leave a comment that lists the 2010 game you’re looking forward to the most and why. The winner will be specially selected (Tortoise Brand) and revealed on Friday.

Valve Launching Steam for Mac OS Tomorrow

Just in case any of you Macheads forgot, Valve is launching its Steam gaming service for Apple Mac OS tomorrow with Portal and Torchlight leading the way. This is tremendous news and arguably the biggest leap for Mac gaming in years. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

The first collection of Mac titles will demonstrate “Steam Play,” which allows customers to purchase a game once and play it on all Steam supported platforms. Gamers who have previously purchased games on Steam will find them available in their account on the Mac as they are released.

While Mac users are surely thrilled by Steam finally arriving to their beloved platform, developers are probably even more excited. Here are some of the enticing features that will wow game creators:

In addition to bringing the online functionality of Steam to the Mac, Valve will also make its Steamworks suite of publishing and development tools available on the Mac platform. These include product key authentication, copy protection, auto-updating, social networking, matchmaking, anti-cheat technology, and more. The features and services available in Steamworks are offered free of charge and may be used for both electronic and tangible versions of games.

I know that quite a few of you are Apple fanatics. How psyched are you for Steam on Mac? I’m guessing some of you will become Torchlight addicts soon enough. Ha!