Food for Thought

Happy 2008 to everyone!  I hope everyone got what they wanted and needed over the holidays.  I wanted to write a quick post to give my food for thought on the present state of the game consoles and companies.While everyone made their predictions (and most came true) last year and many recent articles had the best of's and Top 25, etc, I just realized that noone has actually compared game console companies to food.. at least not yet... So, here is my take, let me know what you think....

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Nintendo is like McDonald's: Well liked, charming and loved by kids and families the most.  Inexpensive to buy, yet, rejected by some adults with more 'refined tastes', and they're all out of the one happy meal toy that everyone wants.

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Sony is like Panda Express: Great take out, beautiful package, a little more upscale, and, nutritious in several ways even.  But, with most chinese food, a few hours later just leaves a little something to be desired.

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Microsoft is like Pizza Hut: It looks good enough.  Tastes good, but, is awfully greasy, and not cheap either. Yet, its very filling and available anywhere, but if you don't down a salad (cost of xbox live) with it, you're left feeling bloated or 'tapped out'.

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That's just my 2 centavos ;o)  From one gamer to another.. Have a safe, healthy and happy new year!
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Trowback Thursday: Pitfall

 Once again it is Thursday, and you all know what that means, Throwback Thursday is here once more. I awoke this morning to the sound of ice pellets bouncing off the pavement outside my house, and thought to myself that I would work from home today. So with all the danger outside my door I thought I'd put some old school danger into my article.

  The year was 1982, Ronald Reagan was president, the Toyota Camry was introduced to the public, and a little known system called the Commodore 64 is released. It was a good time, Reaganomics were at full blast sending the country into a small recession. In 82 I was seven, and everything seemed so simple back then. I had two friends then, Godzilla Movies on Saturday, and my Atari 2600. Well I guess that statement isn't totally true, I did have a few close friends I used to kick it with on the playground. Anyway after school I would rush home, run up three flights of stairs, say hello to my 2 foot Godzilla action figure, and turn on my Atari 2600. One of my most favorite games back in that era was "Pitfall" made by Activision, and here is where Throwback Thursday begins.

 'Pitfall' was an extremely popular title in its day selling over four million copies. This number propelled the title to being one of the most popular games on the Atari 2600.

  You start the game off as "Pitfall Harry" an Indiana Jones type character maneuvering his way through the dangerous jungle environment in search of treasures. While on your adventure through the 2D side scroller you are met with many obstacles to overcome. Some of these obstacles include tar pits, water ...

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Super Mario Galaxy Reviewed by Ol'Skool Gamer

I'm a 30 year old gamer, so I'm a bit ol'skool when I review SMG here.  Before I review: Yes, I DO know the differences between all 2D/old Mario games and 3D/Super Mario 64 and Sunshine.  Yes, Super Mario 64 (SM64) was very fun and SMG has been compared to SM64... And, where everyone else says SMG is SM64's sequel (in essence), I feel SMG is somewhat disappointing in the gameplay area (namely) compared to SM64, but not as bad as Super Mario Sunshine.Ok, so what score would I give SMG?  Well, for a quick comparison, I think SM64 when it was released years ago was around a 9.3+.. (Today, after replaying it some more, it is still a 9.0+..) I think this game (Galaxy) isn't a 0, nor is it a 10... In fact, I think all 10+/10 reviews are way off, (maybe written by Nintendo fanboi's, girlz, reviewers whom want to get in good graces with Nintendo, perhaps?).But, since I am none of the above: I think it is a solid 8, or 8.4 in my opinion. What can I say about it that someone else hasn't already?  I think the graphics are very nice and probably the best part of this game.. (and the wii-mote control scheme is nice too).. However, the game itself is sorta far from perfect. So, what keeps this from being a 9 or 10?  Mandatory lessons, dialogue, star feeding or tutorials that are largely un-necessary (namely, the 2-part manta ray lesson isn't skippable) and the sometimes sluggish or (early in the game) upside down camera is annoying.This game is great for younger gamers (and people new to gaming), but if you've played any 8-bit or 16-bit mario games, this may leave you that ...
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Throwback Thursday....GTA3

 On this addition of Throwback Thursday I thought I would give a big hug to the people at Playstation, because sometimes it looks like they need one.

 The year: 2001. The location: a little place known as Liberty City. If you haven't guessed by now I will be talking about Grand Theft Auto 3 for the Playstation 2 today. This was the third installment from the now famous Rockstar North group. The thing that really made this game special is that it was the first 3D version of the game to come out. This was a huge move from their previous top-down camera view and allowed more freedom of movement in the harsh city environment. The combination of a third person shooter slash driving game was brilliant. The amount of blood sweat and tears put into this title by Rockstar really showed on the PS2. With great titles comes great controversy though and the GTA series is probably is the king of controversy. With it's violent game play and sexual nature Rockstar has probably gotten more death threats than Santa got Christmas letters that year.

  I will only say this once....this was one of the best video games I've ever played...

  The story starts you off robbing the Liberty City Bank with your girlfriend and another accomplice. While making your getaway your are betrayed by your girlfriend and left for dead in a side alley. After being arrested by the cops you are sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence. Fortunately for you this story is somewhat  like Kayne and Lynch and you are freed in route to the jail. This is where the story really starts. After your "escape for good behavior" you start your ...
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Turning Point: Not Just Another War Game

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
PC, Xbox360, PS3 1/22/08


Well boys and girls strap on your helmets and get ready for war again. Many games have brought war to you in many different ways. In the end the story is always the same, you go to a foreign country, kick some ass, then get the heck out.
We have seen it a million times before done in a million ways and yet we still end up with the same game, just redone and put in a different wrapper. Don't get me wrong Call of Duty was a spectacular title, but even they saw it was getting a little redundant.

On that note I'll discuss a little World War 2 game that didn't look like all the others. The game is titled Turning Point: Fall of Liberty made by the people at Spark Unlimited. This game takes the WW2 genre to a whole other level to say the least. The year is 1953 and you are a construction worker in a little town known as New York City. One day while banging your hammer around you notice a Zeppelin flying around the area, "strange" you think to yourself. The next thing you know there are various waves of paratroopers falling from the skies above. Does anything seem different about this game yet? Yes, that is right "WE" are being invaded. What a new approach to a WW2 title I thought, them invading us.

Since America has never been invaded by an outside Country, I thought it was a good start to a great story line. The graphics look simply amazing on this title. In the one scene that you will see with the man in a taxi, ...

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