Tag: Coffee Talk

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, Big Ben’s concussion saga, trying out for the New Jersey Nets, or walking four blocks when you really shouldn’t, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Thanksgiving is a special time for many of us. Getting together with friends and family, eating lots of turkey and trimmings, and watching football is what the holiday is all about for millions of Americans. For me, Thanksgiving was always a special gaming holiday. You see, I used to rent games at the local video store when I was a kid. The store didn’t charge for the holiday, so it was like getting an extra day for free (actually, it was totally like that)!

One of my favorite Thanksgivings of all time was spent (a little bit) with my wonderful family and (a lot) with The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. I played the hell out of that game from Wedensday through Friday. I’m pretty sure that’s when I developed the habit of playing games until I pass out with the controller. I had several Thanksgiving marathon sessions like that when I was in grade school and I remember them fondly.

Did any of you do the same thing? Was Thanksgiving designated as a national videogame holiday for you? I’d love to hear about your epic Turkey Day gaming sessions.

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 incredibly handsome Chris Taylor, Andre Ward bringing big-time boxing back to The Bay, or the unstoppable WWE Sheamus, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I love my mabari war hound, Cisco, in Dragon Age: Origins. He’s a faithful dog and a fearsome warrior. While he can’t equip all the nifty weapons and armor my other party members can, Cisco is an underrated combatant that’s incredibly useful for taking out opposing mages.

As Cisco was dispatching baddie after baddie in DA, I started thinking about other dogs in gaming. Cisco would beat the crap out of that lame-ass dog in Dead to Rights. I don’t care if that dog had its own button to activate his attacks. He sucks compared to Cisco. Having said that (Curb reference!), there are plenty of dogs that would give my Cisco a run for his money.

The dog from Duck Hunt is one of the oldest and best in the business. Dogmeat from Fallout 3 is a menacing force. The dog in Fable II was a bigger part of the game than I thought he’d be. Yamato from Shadow Dancer: The Legend of Shinobi had special ninja-dog training. It’s kind of crazy how many courageous canines have graced videogames.

Who are some of your favorite videogame dogs? (And no, Amaterasu from Okami doesn’t count. She’s a Shinto sun goddess!)

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, California laying the smack down on electricity-guzzling televisions, sports venues fighting it out for Pacquiao/Mayweather (which hasn’t even been negotiated yet), or Mick Foley’s appearance on The Daily Show, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

In the mid to late ’90s, I played games on every platform I could. It didn’t matter if it was on a console or on a PC — I played. Somewhere along the line, I totally dropped PC gaming. I’m not even sure when it happened, but I definitely know why it happened. I used to play PC games because they offered a wide variety of experiences that was better than most things on a console. That’s just not the case anymore.

Console have gotten better and better. The original PlayStation started a tremendous wave of mainstream popularity for home systems. As more and more people started gaming in their living rooms, more and more developers followed them. Meanwhile, PC gaming has stagnated and high-end PCs still carry a premium price tag. Sure, there are a handful of games that offer an experience you can’t get on a console, but to me it’s not worth the cost of admission.

I still remember playing all sorts of cool games on a Commodore 64 with my brother. Much later, I graduated to Civilization II, Baldur’s Gate, Doom, Total Annihilation, Age of Empires, and more. Those were fun times and they’ll be remembered fondly, but I just don’t see myself being a hardcore PC gamer ever again.

How about you? If you’re a lapsed PC gamer, can you see yourself getting back into the scene? If you’ve always been a console player, do you see yourself ever getting serious about PC games?

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, Manny Pacquiao’s amazing victory over Miguel Cotto, if you can throw more interceptions than Jay Cutler, or helping me find a new coffee company, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

[poll id=”8″]

Gaming is more expensive than ever. Consoles cost more. Games cost more. The addition of downloadable content adds to a game’s total cost of ownership. With a languishing economy, it’s no wonder that software sales are down.

As someone that has been writing about games for more than a decade, it’s sometimes hard for me to maintain a “real person’s” perspective on gaming economics. While I no longer receive most game releases automatically, it’s usually not a problem for me to call a publisher to get a game that I want to play.

With all that in mind, I wanted to see what your game purchasing was like in 2009. Be sure to add your choice in today’s poll and give an estimate of how many titles you’ll end up buying this year. Did you buy less than usual due to economic conditions? Are you renting more than buying? Or is your gaming budget immune to an economic downturn?

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 awesomeness of Oddworld’s Lorne Lanning, Cotto vs. Pacquiao 24/7, or the brilliance of Eddie Izzard, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

A lot of gamers have been bad mouthing Activision for its penchant for churning out sequels and licensed games as fast as a nine-year old churns out Nike’s in China. People have said that Activision is a circle of hell and CEO Bobby Kotick rules it with a pitchfork. Yet a lot of the gamers that denounce the company happily snatched up Modern Warfare 2 on day one.

It’s an interesting predicament. Do you buy MW2, simply because it will provide you with excellent entertainment? Or do you boycott Activision because you believe the company is bad for the business? Taking a stand, one way or the other, is fine, but too many gamers say one thing and do another. I can picture Chris Jericho telling all the ATVI haters that bought MW2 that they’re “parasites and hypocrites”.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be all holier than thou. I fully admit that I’m part of the problem. For example, I think that releasing paid downloadable content in conjunction with a game’s release is a bad practice. It’s a disturbing trend that’s surely going to become more prevalent in the next year. I don’t want to encourage it, yet I bought the Dragon Age: Origins DLC because I love the company’s games and I knew it would enrich my DA experience. I shouldn’t have bought it…but but but…it’s BioWare!

I wanted to see where you stand on the “entertainment vs. principles” matter. Do you just buy whatever games you want because you’ll enjoy them? Do you pass on titles you’d like to play because you want to take a stand? Or do you make exceptions (and wince on the inside when you do) for your favorite developers or series?

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, Verizon possibly getting a CDMA iPhone, how Filipinos around the world are preparing for Saturday’s Manny Pacquiao fight, or the odd things happening at Oddworld (hint, hint), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Today’s Coffee Talk is probably going to be a little weird. I’m going to chalk it up to spending most of my nights playing Dragon Age: Origins until I’m passed out on my sofa. Maybe it’s because some of my game time has been logged while I’m loopy, but there are several things in DA that I find unintentionally hilarious.

Let’s start with Teryn Loghain. Whenever I hear his name, I think of how many Asian people reverse their L’s and R’s. Lots of Asian peeps — including a lot of my friends and family — would call him Teryn Rogaine. If that were really his name, Ferelden would be safe from male pattern baldness.

Then there are the dwarven cities that are call “ortans”, as in Ortan Thaig. As a WWE fan, I can’t help but think of Randy Orton whenever these towns pop up. So yeah, I was totally adventuring in Randy Ortan Thaig.

I actually had a third one to mention, but then I realized that none of these things are that funny. They might be hilarious at 4AM when you can barely keep your eyes open or hold your controller, but Dragon Age already has all the humor you need. After all, it has a bisexual elf assassin in it — pretty hard to top that.

Can you remember any instances when a game railed you with unintentional comedy? How about a time when you found something in a game hilarious, but realized it wasn’t the next day?