XBOX live game: Ilomilo

Can't wait to try this one!

WTF? Gayest Video Game Ever

on so many levels...

Kids playing orchestral video game themes

This is just outstanding!

Video Game Review: Tales of Vesparia XBOX 360

I hate RPGs for the most part, they seem tedious and long winded to me. Tales of Vesparia satisfied my need for button mashing punch-kicky and that seems to be what I craved when it came to this genre of gaming. I'm more interested in action and reward then hunting around, grinding and leveling up when I play video games. I loved this game, although I personally don't give it much replay value. The colors are fantastic and the graphics are beautifully illustrated. The creators really seemed to delve into stylizing the characters and giving them emotion and their own personalities. The storyline was good but could be quite long winded and a tad bit confusing at times. The monster illustrations show imagination and the bosses are fantastic. One of the best parts of this game is the local multi-player function. J and I got to play it together. I played as Yuri, the hero; and he was Repede, his faithful canine companion. Although you could choose to play as any of your party's members at before any battles, we often stuck to the same characters. I'm sure it was just because we had memorized our character's special moves and had their preferences set just right. Another great feature about this game is that the members of your party level up even if they aren't involved in battle. One downfall of the local multiplayer feature is game acheivement points can only be gained by the main profile player. J is currently playing his own profile just to get those points he missed out on. I had rented this game through Gamefly and we were a little confused without the manual about some of the features in the game. We purchased it and much was cleared up after having access to the instructions. Cooking in the game is a great way to save your player's potions. I underestimated it's value until late in the game. Recipes are hidden throughout the game and released to you by a chef disguised as a different item in each city. Overall, I highly recommend this game if you are looking for something to immerse yourself in.

The Urge To Win, Why Men Get More Reward From Video Games Then Women

I noticed a difference between the way I play video games and how my male friends play. When I play the same game as my male counterparts, it seems they want to win every time on the first try. It doesn't bother me to get a lower score or lose every once in a while. I'm in it for the experience. Finally, someone chose to investigate the matter.Here is an article from the Telegraph in which scientists explain male drive to conquer as triggering a reward center in the brain.

"Playing on computer consoles activates parts of the male brain which are linked to rewarding feelings and addiction, scans have shown. The more opponents they vanquish and points they score, the more stimulated this region becomes.

In contrast, these parts of women's brains are much less likely to be triggered by sessions on the Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii or Xbox.

Professor Allan Reiss of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research at Stanford University, California, who led the research, said that women understood computer games just as well as men but did not have the same neurological drive to win." Link

Shooting Zombies in the Face

We bought "Left 4 Dead" for XBOX 360 a while ago but I haven't had the opportunity to review it here yet. Ummm. It fucking rules! I have never considered myself a 1st person shooter fan but with the introduction to this game, I'm totally sold. The controls are instinctive and to the delight of M, you can crouch and walk at the same time. I usually play as the female character, Zoe who, for once is a fully clothed, fully capable woman in a video game. I haven't ever used the online player co-op mode of any game until we picked up this beauty. J and I play side by side and team up online with one of his coworkers. Our headsets insure that all our teammates can hear us browbeat those damn dirty zombies as we shoot them in the face. The graphics are great, the gameplay is seamless, it even shows stats at each chapter to heighten the competition. J usually dies the most and I usually take the most damage. I look forward to playing this game all day. It's something that helps me take out the aggression of work. Although if I play too close to bedtime I have zombie dreams. Really, what more could you ask for?As far as I'm concened, this game helps us prepare for the coming apocalypse.

Video Game Costumes

People love to play dress up. I happen to be one of them. Here is a site that lists the 31 best video game costumes out there.

Tabletop Video Games: Not a thing of the past

My favorite pizza place in my hometown, "The Other Place", had flat top video arcade games. My friend, Tex, and I are supposed to build one eventually. Here's some inspiration for us to get going and get 'ur done!

Austin Events: RESET / PLAY

A friend sent this to me, it's an art exhibition that integrates video game influences. It starts tomorrow at the Arthouse in Austin.

The video game as a medium and a style of life has reached its middle age along with the first generation of people who grew up playing them. The non-linear, interactive, processor based narratives, which at first mimicked Hollywood and struggled to convey their simple content with 8-bit processors, gradually became the largest entertainment industry in the history of electronic media. RESET/PLAY is a critical exploration of contemporary art inspired by video games. Questioning the history, control mechanisms, political and art-historical implications of electronic games, RESET/PLAY assembles a formidable group of international artists who are making a significant impact on this growing post-game artistic sub-genre. Artists include Cory Arcangel, Michael Bell-Smith, Mike Beradino, Brody Condon, Alex Galloway, JODI, Guthrie Lonergan, Kristin Lucas, Joe McKay, Michael Smith, Eddo Stern and Keita Takahashi.

UNITQM: New Arcade in Austin: Arcade UFO

UNITQM: New Arcade in Austin: Arcade UFO
If I had a really cool job, this would be my briefcase and I would work at this place.
Who loves old school games! I do I do! Check this out. I can't wait to go.
Here's some of what they have:
* Street Fighter IV
* Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core
* Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
* Marvel vs Capcom 2
* Vs. Super Mario Bros
* Vs. The Goonies
* Donkey Kong
* Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
* Senko no Ronde

Wii : Cursed Mountain

Yay! A grown up game for the Wii. I'm tired of all the nicey-nicey titles released for the Wii. I know it's more family oriented, but they shouldn't ignore the entire genre of horror gaming. I really enjoyed "Resident Evil 4" for the Wii. The difficulty was on point, the graphics were great and the experience was just scary enough that I would scream out loud occasionally. The publisher/developer Deep Silver is releasing "Cursed Mountain" next year and according to IGN
the game is going to make use of the Wii Controls in an innovative way. Which is what every game for the Wii claims. Here is what the article stated:
"Seifert also elaborated on the game controls. "Controlling the character in the physical world is straight forward. In certain situations we utilize motion sensing for climbing, balancing, chases etc.," he said. "But when you enter the Bardo, the shadow world, you sense the enemies with the IR pointer and you use praying and fighting gestures to defeat the evil sprits. Depending on the difficulty of your opponents you will fight with simpler or more complex gestures and with one or two hands." I am intrigued, but only gameplay will tell if they have succeeded. Link

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One

Let's talk video games. I had no idea about this game until J downloaded it and said, " I think you'll like this." Let's get this out of the way, I don't like RPGs. I can't stand to play or watch someone else play Final Fantasy VIXXVIXVIIII. I've tried. I wasn't into turn based play. It just seems silly to me to fight something and not mash buttons. I NEED to take out my anger on that controller. I also love leaving things to chance, such as combos. Most would call this a non-strategy, but I call it fun.
Anywho, back to the game. It. Is. Awesome. There I said it. I found an RPG that I like. It's been a while since I played it because I think we downloaded it the weekend it came out and I played like a madwoman to beat it and haven't picked it up since. J left and went somewhere for 4 hours and I was still playing it when he got back. I'm going to have to play it again, which is something I rarely do with a game, so you know it's good. The story is well written and right up my ally. The bad guys are robots, homeless people, and clowns. Everyone knows I HATE clowns. I'm from Chicago, um excuse me, John Wayne Gacy. That goes without saying. The setting is 1920's with a little of present day humor thrown in. It's rated mature which doesn't really mean anything in video games anymore because anything past smiley faces and hugs gets a mature rating. The use of insults and profanities is exquisite. The cut scenes are unique because they are done comic book panel style with the last panel actually fading into game play - a nice touch. Game play is not clunky at all, even for an rpg-hater like me. The specials moves are fucking awesome. I'm not going to tell you what they are, so you'll have to buy the game yourself.

Apparently, I'm late to the game in appreciating the guys that created it. Their website is called penny arcade. I love the style and humor in their comics. It's totally geeky, and to me, uber-sexy. I love geeks, dorks, nerds and dweebies. Always have, always will. It takes a real man to be smart, witty and not popular. That gets me HOT! Hopefully, they don't mind I'm using an image from their daily comic on my blog.

Waging the Blubber War!

I started calorie counting yesterday. I've done it before and had success with it. It keeps me from stuffing my face and gives me something to obsess about. I signed up for an account at www.fitday.com. The site is a little hard to navigate, but hey, it's free. I set my goal for a daily intake of 1550 calories. That's what is recommended for my size gal to lose weight.

I have been going to the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week but I have been eating whatever I want in any portion. On Tuesday and Thursday, I use the Wii Fit. What a great combination of something I hate (exercise) and something I do everyday (video games). I only have minor complaints about the wii fit. My boyfriend and I can't play the exercise games together. We can't both be logged in and compete with each other. The game shows me when he played by himself and has gotten a higher score on something, which infuriates me. I really like the balance games & yoga in the game. The strength training is good too, except I HATE push-ups and everything similar. Such a wuss. Running in place seems to wear on my joints, but the cool part is you can change the channel and watch real television.