Welcome to the Home of Game Strategies and Stories
29 Dec 06
The news section of the site may be up and down this weekend with some upgrades. If you guessed they were of a security type nature, give yourself a gold star. I've been cleaning out some more spam. Some of the problems have been fixed, but holes remain. I'll keep plugging away.
Drop me an email or leave a comment if you have some ideas for the game of the year nominations. It seemed like a great year for gaming in general, and there were some shining stars in the strategy and tactical realms. I'm putting together a rough list, but it shouldn't just be my ideas.
The hectic holidays are almost over and Joshua is finally starting to sleep for longer stretches at night. I hope to get back to a normal schedule soon.
Here are some things to look forward to in the near future. I'd like to do a recap on the console launches and sort of a state of the industry thing. One of our gifts this Christmas was a Roomba. That's given me some thoughts on technology, AI and methodology. Another gift I received was a new cell. It's a Helio Drift. I'd like to write up some initial impressions on it. I still owe you some Gears of War impressions (though to be fair, I've still only got through the tutorial). Finally, instead of writing up a specific story from our gaming, I think I'll write up a little history of gaming and my Dad. It's an interesting story. Perhaps you'll enjoy it.
Thanks for your patience through this disrupted period. By the way, I still haven't found a Wii, but I sense I'm close. Oh, my Dad might be in the market for an original Xbox. If you know of any new units available, let me know. They're starting to get hard to find. I heard more than one parent asking about them over the holidays. If we can't find one, I'll let you know if we start looking for used units.
Jason
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26 Dec 06
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you were all truly blessed this holiday season. It's been busy around here with family and friends. Of course, that's on top of the two boys and their demands. I'll try to get things bolted down soon.
I've been getting a little gaming in recently. I mentioned the bongos. It seems they're reducing the price even more soon. You might want to check out your EB/Gamestop if you're interested. The reported price will be $9.99 for Donkey Kong Jungle Fever and an extra set of bongos. I received a few games for Christmas. Gears of War is probably the most notable. I'll probably post some impressions later on. Mostly I've been playing some old Xbox Tom Clancy games co op with my Dad. That's been fun. If we have a good mission, I'll write it up.
Jason
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20 Dec 06
Like I said, short update today. I know some of you read the descendents of Gone Gold, Gaming Trend, Octopus Overlords and Bovine Conspiracy. I suppose you could argue that this place is a spin off as well. Perhaps, but I tend to think of it more as one of those side stories that big Japanese gaming series always get. Same universe, unrelated.
That's not my point though. Thanks to the people that pointed out that there's a new gaming story up at BC. It's a Rise of Legends AAR and you can read it Here.
Some of you may recall that EB/Gamestop had a sale on Donkey Kong Jungle Fever and an extra set of bongos for $15. That was too cheap for me to ignore. In fact, it was too cheap for my wife to ignore, and she ran out and bought them. I won't say they're the greatest thing ever, but you can see the kernel of the Wii in them. They have a very simplified control scheme, but build surprisingly deep gameplay off that. The bongo games are fun to play, and they're fun to watch someone else play. It's a low level of physical exertion, but it's fun to feel so involved in the game. I think you can see the connections to the Wii there. It kind of makes me wonder what would have happened if the bongo series had failed. Fortunately, we don't have to find out.
Well, it looks like I failed to find a Wii before Christmas. I'm not too worried though. I'll grab one some time next year. I'll report back when I do.
Jason
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18 Dec 06
I'm not doing very well am I. I'm afraid I haven't been able to manage anything like a normal schedule. I can see light at the end of the tunnel, but it's still a ways off. Please bear with me. I'll try to do shorter, more regular updates and then (hopefully) return to a more normal schedule.
Today I wanted to talk about reviews. I've mentioned that I don't really like doing them any more. It's just that I feel that you have to try out a little of everything with a game to review it. With deep strategy games, that can be all consuming. Then I get behind. Suddenly the value of the review has dropped to near nothing.
Things are changing though. There have been some interesting trends. Many sites and magazines are rebooting their scoring scales to use the full range. This has the effect of lowering scores across the board. We've gotten to the point where anything below a 75 average is crap. That seriously inflates some grades while handicapping others. Now some are pushing for a true 50 average (in quality). Once consumers adjust and that scoring becomes standardized we'll win. The interim could be chaos.
Combining with this trend is a new style of review. In some ways it's over due while in other ways it's frightening. The new review style is borrowing from the movies, something I've advocated on more than one occasion. It's what I call the experiential review. It's a review based on how the game moves the reviewer. It doesn't dwell on technical accomplishments or play as compared to genre standards. The reviewer just asks am I having fun? He doesn't ask if the interface is innovative or bog standard, it's am I comfortable with the interface?
That's great in the sense that it frees the reviewer to give unvarnished impressions of a game. Reviews like that can help turn the trend on inflated review scores for more of the same games. It can also help the feeling of disillusionment from the highly rated game that does all these technically wonderful things but is a chore to play.
The down side is that games that take chances run the risk of being crushed because they turn out different than what the reviewer expected. There's also the risk that challenging games won't get a fair shake if reviewers get turned off easily.
I'm not sure what this will all mean once it shakes out, but I do know that while it's on going, just looking at a Gamerankings number won't cut it anymore.
Jason
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12 Dec 06
Forgive me for thinking out loud. After such an absence, I might well be talking to myself anyway. Of course, that would mean that all that site traffic is hacking attempts. That's just a little too depressing to think about. So I'll assume that there are a few people who still check in on the place.
I notice the wiki hasn't been a hotbed of activity. I didn't expect it to start quickly. If they work, things like that usually build slowly.
I was thinking about some blog ideas. Would anyone be interested in more of a G-log? It's a gaming log. Instead of deep thoughts, you'd just note what you're playing. You might include some details like mission, map, single or multi, etc. That way people could share strategies, suggest similar games (or even better games) and maybe find an online partner or opponent. It seems like something your average blog software could do. I have a couple of options there. As always, I could use some feedback.
I've done a sort of review of the whole site. It seems clear that the best story inputs came from our contests. I should probably move more in that direction. So I need feedback again. Would you like fewer contests with bigger prizes or more contests with just a game or two.
I passed on two Wii bundles online and a PS3 bundle. My willpower is holding out. Of course, the stupid bundles add to my resolve. We'll see how long I last.
Sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday. I was having connectivity troubles. Then I hit the exhaustion wall. That happens much more quickly with two kids than it did with one.
Jason
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8 Dec 06
Wouldn't you know that as soon as I try to get the site updated again, my healthy streak runs out. Pretty nasty flu this time. You would not believe how many fluids I've downed this week. I'm feeling much better now, but I'm going to get some rest to avoid a relapse. Let's try again on Monday.
4 Dec 06
I'm going to try to get back to regular updates and getting everything else in order. I'm still light on sleep. Not that my coherence level is ever that high, but please bear with me. I've set up the wiki. Perhaps it's a test wiki. Maybe it will work out. It's wikka wakka wiki and come highly recommended. I didn't much like it at first, but it's growing on me.
I was trying to fill out the content and then decide whether we'd go with the capitalization technique that the wiki encourages or go more traditional, but then I realized that if I tried too hard to guide the wiki, I'd be killing its very purpose. So play around with it. Add what you'd like. Tell me what you'd like me or others to add. Once you get a feel for it, give me some feedback. It's a bold new world. We'll see where this path takes us.
Jason
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