I just got an email from a reader who shall remain anonymous complaining that I didn’t mark the half-dozen or so different versions of Still Alive as spoilers.
I don’t make a habit of calling out people who complain, in fact I welcome criticism since it helps improve the blog and I usually do my best to fix the problem, but when I said “complaining” this time I meant “spewing forth a string of profanity that makes Gordon Ramsay sound like Mr. Rodgers.”
Rather than explain why I didn’t consider it to be a spoiler, here’s the conversation my friend Dave and I had on the topic. It pretty much covers my stance on the matter:
Dave: Hey, guess what! When you complete a line in Tetris, it disappears. OH CRAZY SPOILER BURN!
Danny: OH SNAP THE GAME IS RUINED NOW THANKS A LOT! I’m going to play SimCity next SO DON’T SPOIL THAT NOW!
Dave: IT COSTS TEN BUCKS TO BUILD A ROAD
Danny: I HATE YOU!
We here at Gamester would never post a spoiler to a long game with a plot. We will, however, reference story details of three-hour puzzle games when they’re included in wildly popular songs. So be forewarned.
From the screenshots, Ubisoft’s new Wii game Emergency Heroes looks action packed. Described as an arcade racer, players will have to control different police, fire and EMT vehicles. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for a few chopper missions.
As for gameplay, it sounds like it will be an open world title, with the bland name of San Alto. There’s co-op feature that will be interesting. I’m guessing that it will play like the ambulance and viligante missions in Grand Theft Auto series albeit with a lot less blood and violence. You hear about a crisis and race to the scene. This is a family game after all.
It was announced during GDC that Still Alive, the cult hit Portal theme and the catchiest song since Feel Good Inc., would be coming to Rock Band. (In fact I saw the great JoCo himself play through the song at his concert at the Great American Music Hall.) I was perfectly willing to throw handfuls of cash at my TV, to empty my bank account and mail it in a big burlap sack to Harmonix, for the opportunity to have it. And I certainly wasn’t alone.
Harmonix listened to this feedback and based on that set the price: nothing.
UPDATE: They jumped the gun! It’s not under New Releases but it is under Songs. 360 owners can go download it now. So go! Now! PS3 owners…well, go hang out with a friend who has a 360.
New computers were delivered to the Child Support Enforcement Division in the Department of Public Health and Human Services without Solitaire and Minesweeper. The employees complained and the games were installed. Of course something this absurd didn’t take long to make it to the papers and due to the public outcry they were soon uninstalled.
The reasons the complaining employees gave? The games used to be on the computers and they’re on the computers for other departments.
Here’s what I want to know: Who goes to their bosses and complains that they can’t play games anymore on company time? Isn’t that an admission that you spent a lot of company time playing games before, as well as an admission you’re going to spend a lot of company time playing games in the future? And why did it work? I wonder if it would work for me…
Note to my editors: I couldn’t help but notice Peggle wasn’t installed on my new computer. I really think you should notify Systems and have that situation rectified as soon as possible.
Microsoft has struck a deal with the Safran Company to provide original content to Xbox Live, according to the New York Times.
Mr. Peter Safran (I like how the Times uses courtesy titles) said the first shows are 1) coming out this fall, 2) will be scripted and 3) last about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the Times quotes Scott Nocas, global marketing manager for programming of the Xbox Live entertainment service, as saying the move will be “the first of many.” Hmm, I wonder who else would be jumping aboard. Definitely, not Columbia Pictures that’s for sure.
What shows would you want to see on an Xbox TV? I’d be crossing my fingers for something along the lines of Drunk History on FunnyorDie.com or maybe another season of Jericho? (Ha, fat chance)
There’s been some angry gamers after Electronic Arts’ announcement that some weapons in Battlefield: Bad Company. In my opinion, the whole thing is a sordid mess. Not only is it confusing (so if I buy that Gold Edition does that mean I get weapons regular folk don’t?), it’s also pissing off fans like the ones from the SarcasticGamer.com. The folks there made a boycott video that gave us a few chuckles.
We’re down by four. There are seven games left to be played. If we nail every one we’re still in we’ll get six points to his three.
I’ll save you some math. The best we can do is lose 42-41. Man has triumphed over machine.
But there is good news! We totally called Davidson. Its the end of the line for them, but we called them going this far. And…that’s it for the good news.
Four of our Elite Eight are still in it, including three of our Final Four: Louisville, Kansas and UCLA. So we’ll see. The goal now is to save face and keep it close.
American Idol is in full swing so it’s a good time to take a look at the Xbox 360 tie-in. This new edition boasts better graphics, an updated song list and most importantly, Paula Abdul.
In the previous version, Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Abdul was replaced by a stand-in named Laura. Although she resembled the 1980s pop star, she was no where near as crazy and some of the charm of the show was lost. So it’s an important change that the show’s judges panel is finally complete. Read the rest of this entry »
2k Sports’ Major League Baseball 2k8 is a good game wrapped in a frustrating mess.
On the one hand it has very solid graphics and great animations. Pitchers and hitters move like their real-life counterparts. It’s so accurate it gets a little creepy at times. And, at its core, the gameplay is simple but challenging.
Unfortunately, wrapped around that core are the new pitching and fielding systems.
