The week of E3 is an exciting time to learn about what’s coming up in the world of gaming. Yet as I watch E3 unfold this week, through coverage on G4TV and on gaming sites like Kotaku and Joystiq, I tend to feel “alone in the dark” with regards to my gaming preferences. Maybe I missed the memo, but when did the word videogame come to only mean first-person shooter? But I thought about it more and more as the week has gone on, and I’ve come to realize that I maybe I’m really not as alone as I thought I was.
Archive for the ‘Sony’ Category
Alone In The Dark: Zark’s E3 Rant
June 4, 2009Game Impressions: Age of Booty
March 12, 2009
Introduction
I am not a fan of real-time strategy (RTS) games. I can certainly see the appeal. Maybe they’re intimidating, having to order little little troops hither and yon. Maybe they give me the impression that in order to be any good at them, you have to invest a considerable amount of time learning all the nuances, and I just don’t want to limit myself to one thing. So it’s odd, to say the least, to see me giving my game impressions of a RTS game. I read about Certain Affinity’s downloadable game Age of Booty in a gaming magazine and the concept intrigued me. I checked out the demo on Xbox Live Arcade, and decided to take the plunge. So do I now have a Certain Affinity for piratey RTS games?
Game Impressions: Flower
March 8, 2009
Introduction
Every once in awhile, a developer will come along with a game that makes people question the nature of what is a game. Indie games and/or games that are available only for download as WiiWare, or the Xbox Arcade, or the PSN store tend to take more risks and expand the boundaries a bit more than games delivered on more traditional media. The first offering from the folks at thatcamecompany, fløw, was definitely a mold breaker. Does their second offering, Flower, soar?
Game Impressions: Final Fantasy XII
January 28, 2009
Before you say “Why is he giving game impressions on a game that came out in 2006,” let me say (a) I don’t care, and (b) any decent game is worth playing at any time, not just within so many days of release. I actually started playing Final Fantasy XII shortly after it was released. Unfortunately, it was released on October 31, 2006 in North America, a mere 20 days before a little console called the Nintendo Wii came out. I got distracted by the release of the Wii started playing Zelda Twilight Princess. I tried to juggle both and ended up finishing neither. But the lure of Final Fantasy XII persisted, and I picked it back up again in the Fall of ’08, finally finishing the main storyline in January 2009. So was it worth a two year playthrough?
The Nintendo Dilemma
January 27, 2009
I’ve started and deleted this post several times, because I’ve been having a hard time collating my thoughts into a coherent post. I probably won’t succeed this time either. But I keep having this nagging jumble of thoughts that I need to get out. It’s gonna be a long ride. It’s about what I like to call The Nintendo Dilemma.
Zark’s Most Anticipated PSP Games of 2009
January 24, 2009
The PSP deserves less ports and more original content. Will it be getting it in 2009?
Zark’s Most Anticipated MultiPlatform Games of 2009
January 23, 2009
It’s time for the multiplatform list. Given the lack of exclusives this year so far on everything except the Wii, this list is substantially longer than some other lists.
Zark’s Most Anticipated PS3 Games of 2009
January 22, 2009
The PS3 is faring slightly better so far this year than the Xbox in terms of exclusives. Will this be the year of the PS3? Here’s my list of most anticipated PS3 games of 2009.
Free Stuff
December 11, 2008
Hey, who doesn’t like free stuff, right? There has been a lot of talk in gaming circles the last few years about microtransactions, which are typically small monetary transactions for digital content. These could be actual games, like WiiWare or Xbox Live Arcade. Or they could be add-on content for games, like map packs, skins, songs, new weapons, new levels, and the like. Or they could be new themes, or gamerpics, or avatar clothes… usually anything to get the consumer to fork out more money.
Not that I’m taking some moral high road here… I’ve bought my fair share. Probably more than I’d like to admit. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of things you can get for free with the right timing and a little patience. Here are a few I’ve heard of in just the last few days:
Rant: Blu-ray Cases
November 11, 2008
I feel a bit like Andy Rooney, but what’s the deal with that stupid little closing flap on Blu-ray cases? You know, the ones on the edge where you open the case. You first have to pry open the little flap, and then pop open the case. When you close the case, you click it closed, then have to close the little end flap. Even though the case clicks closed and stays closed without the flap.
