Techland's Gem - Dead Island

Techland is a developer that has not provided the industry with the greatest quality of games throughout its history with rare exceptions given to its western-themed shooter Call of Juarez and, most recently, Dead Island.
Dead Island, zombie-island shooter taking place on a glorious tropical paradise that can be compared to a wonderful vacation spot... gone wrong.  The game pits you, one of four survivors, in a situation where you must use your skills (ranging from a knife specialist to a gun-toting fem fatale) to defend you, your teammates, and whoever you encounter along your way. Overall, the game delivers everything that it promises: a unique multiplayer experience where you and your friends are pitted against hordes of flesh-eating zombies. Sounds good, right? Well, yes, it delivers, however, it fulfills all these aspects to varying degrees. For one, the game looks beautiful with Techland putting my average-powered i5 PC to the test with impressive visuals and amazing use of lighting. Due to the fact that it is an online game, lag occurs occasionally but, for the most part, the game pulls through for tens of thousands of gamers daily. My roommate and I enjoyed playing this game for a few hours a week in the midst of exams and homework why, you might ask? Because the game was fun! That is all that should matter, right? Wrong!

Don't let the game's teaser trailer fool you, this title is in dire need of constructive criticism!

For those of you who have purchased the game, I hope that you have not had the same luck with the game that me and many of my compadres have encountered. Game-breaking bugs that seriously diminished the experience and forced you to literally give up after a good while of rebooting the game and your computer. For example, I once found myself, quite literally, stuck inside a safe house early on in the game's campaign only to find that I had to join another player in order to advance - a choice that was not prompted to me in any way. Another game-changing bug that occurs infrequently (but always at the most inopportune times) is the inability to retrieve projectiles that are thrown at enemies - a game mechanic that I heavily employed. The game includes a throwing mechanic that allows the player to thrust knives, machetes, daggers and the like at the undead in an effort to inflict damage; however, this ability's practicality goes hopelessly awry when a glitch in the game makes your thrown weapons disappear! Imagine your disgust after having thrown your prized, fully-modded dagger at a half-witted undead only to find that your weapon has vanished from sight! It would make anyone burn with rage. Whatever my opinions may include, I can only speak on the existence of these bugs on the PC as I have not played the console versions of the game; but for an otherwise great title these bugs made it an average title to me. A must-buy until it went awry.
Until next time... so long.

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Bioshock - 2K Did it right!

I recently went back and purchased Bioshock from Steam and was humbly reminded of the incredible game that 2K Boston had developed. If you have not sat down and given that game a run through I heavily encourage you to reconsider your decision not to do so.

A Big Daddy. A new villain to add to the great halls of the video game  hall of fame.

To give you a rundown of what the game is: you play a character who was in a plane that crashed in an unknown location - of course! You find your way into a city that is submerged underwater - Rapture. The game grabs you right from the get go by presenting the player with a story that is not told by other characters perse but, rather, through the heavy use of imagery and sound (specifically the voice recordings that are found throughout the game that illuminate certain portions of the story as you go along). A strange, Orwellian world that seems so mysterious yet so very intriguing during the first run through. Overall, a must buy!

Until next time... so long.

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"The Beginning" of Futuristic Gaming

Remember this gem?
Right around the Sony's Playstation 2 launch, their ad campaign included a strange yet awe-inspiring video depicting a gamer in the year 2078 who recently gained ownership of a palm-sized sphere with the logo "PS9" embedded on it.
As a 7 year old at the time, images of futuristic games that included holograms and the like was, as I said before, awe-inspiring and resulted in me begging my parents for a PS2 for years to come.
Anyways, enjoy, I recently stumbled upon it on Youtube.

PS9 Commercial

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E3

It is that time of the year again: E3!!!!
For those of you who have stumbled upon this new, infrequently updated blog and are unfamiliar with the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3), it is one of the largest electronics shows in the world with thousands of people flying to California's Bay Area once a year to partake in an epic display of nerd-dom. Not to mention the millions of others who watch the event online (myself included) Of course, the term nerd being used subjectively and not in a negative context. The truth is that I am a nerd and to all my fellow nerds out there who chose to hide behind the social mores of life in order to appear more acceptable by peers, coworkers, et cetera: Fear not! For you are not alone. You are but one of a large multitude of individuals who enjoy, consume, live, and breath the entertainment industry. Believe it or not but without nerds, entertainment would be a different world entirely. Until next time.... so long.