LulzSec Goes Byebye

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So the hacker group that goes by the name LulzSec has announced they are shutting down (Thank God).  Now for those of you that are not in the know, LulzSec is responsible for attacks against Sony, Nintendo and Bethesda as well as online games such as Eve Online and Minecraft, accessing customer information and orchestrating denial of service attacks.

Apparently they only planned to be in operation for 50 days and they amounted to a group of 6 people.  Supposedly the group are big supporters of the AntiSec movement. The group left this, "We hope, wish, even beg, that the movement manifests itself into a revolution that can continue on without us".  Which I personally don't see happening given the only people this group really would have gotten the notice of are gamers, and all they did was piss all of us off.  So good job guys.

Video Games Win at the Supreme Court

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You may remember that WAY back on November 2, 2010 the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the state of California could ban the sale of violent video games to minors (if you don't you can read about it here).  Well they finally made a decision today.  The call was 7-2 in favor of the Entertainment Merchants Association. Which means that they have found the video games are protected by the First Amendment as free speech.  If you would like you can read the whole release at the Supreme Courts site using this convenient link. From what I hear Justice Scalia has some real gems in there.  One of them being "disgust is not a valid basis for restricting expression."

Both sides had things to say about his.  Speaking on the side of gamers I would have to say f*** you California.  On the other side Leland Yee (he wrote this waste of our time) had this to say:

“Unfortunately, the majority of the Supreme Court once again put the interests of corporate America before the interests of our children,” said Senator Leland Yee in a statement. “As a result of their decision, Wal-Mart and the video game industry will continue to make billions of dollars at the expense of our kids’ mental health and the safety of our community. It is simply wrong that the video game industry can be allowed to put their profit margins over the rights of parents and the well-being of children.”

“While we did not win today, I am certain that this eight year legislative and legal battle has raised the consciousness of this issue for many parents and grandparents, and has forced the video game industry to do a better job at appropriately rating these games,"

Now given I am a little biased on all this if you really want to hear a fair and balanced talk about this you will need to head elsewhere.

I'll Just Shoot This Goat Head to Turn On the Lights...

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Umm, yeah.  As I was browsing my gaming sites, I checked out the new releases section at Gamespot to see what came out this week.  There was one title that intrigued me because I had not heard of it, Shadows of the Damned.  As luck would have it, the game was already reviewed and had a video review to go with it.  Yeah, this is one crazy ass trip though hell, literally.  Check out the video review to see what I mean.  To be honest, kind of want to play this game...

 

 

Mario Kart

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Mario Kart


Next to Star Fox, my next most anticipated 3DS game was Mario Kart, which after playing it, should have been my most anticipated 3DS game.  When it was my turn to play, I was pleased to see that you could select any player.  Naturally, I selected the greatest kart racer in Mario Kart, Yoshi.  I participated in two races where the game got to show of its fantastic 3D graphics and smooth gameplay.  The kart handled just like you would want it to.  A cool feature in this iteration of Mario Kart is the introduction of customizing your kart.  Now when you play either solo or with friends, you can dictate how you want your ride to look.  An even cooler feature is the hang-glider and water propeller.  When jumping off high cliffs during a race, your kart will automatically deploy a hang-glider and you glide down to the track below you, pretty neat feature.  The second track I raced in was a water race.  I was doing my thing racing on the track and fell into the water.  I was thinking to myself, “Ah crap, now I’m going to have to wait for Lakitu to pull me out of the water to start racing again!”  But wait, I was still driving!  We now have a water propeller that comes out of the back of the kart that allows us to keep with the kart action, awesome!  I was worried that driving under the water would impede my speed, but fortunately that’s not the case.  After getting first place on both tracks, I wanted to continue playing because it was just an appetizer to the main course.  Mario Kart was a blast to play and can see myself sinking quality hours into it upon its release.

Gameslave Hyper Meter:

IrishPride - 10/10

Metal Gear Solid 3

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Metal Gear Solid 3


I consider myself a Metal Gear Solid fan.  While I never owned the original Nintendo version, Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation really sold me on the series.  So, I’m a little bit embarrassed to say that I never completed Metal Gear Solid 3; in fact, I really didn’t play much of it.  Luckily, I’ll have a new format to play and beat in on with the 3DS.  It was hard for me to get started playing because the previous player left Solid Snake in between three guards.  I was able to dispatch my foes and got to see how everything felt on the 3DS.  First off, the face buttons are essentially your right control stick on a regular control.  At first it felt kind of strange rotating the camera around using the face button, but a few minutes into the game, it felt like second nature.  It was wise to us the face buttons to act as the right control stick; otherwise this game would have been a pain in the ass to play.  What little bit I played was entertaining and am curious how the entire package will shape up.

Gameslave Hype Meter:

IrishPride - 6/10

Star Fox

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Star Fox


Fox McCloud and company are back in 3D glory with Star Fox for the Nintendo 3DS.  Unlike Luigi’s Mansion 2, I really wanted to play Star Fox because of how much I enjoyed the Nintendo 64 version.  The 3DS version feels even better than before.  First off, the graphics look amazing and I feel that the 3D works great for flying type games.  Others don’t share the same feelings.  The person in front of me actually turned off the 3D graphics, WTF?  Anyway, the game was fluid, smooth and engaging.  This was also the first game I extensively used the gyro-motion controls that the 3DS has.  Flying my ship worked so well with the gyro-motion, I never used the joystick to move, not once.  It felt more authentic and immersive using the gyro-motion controls.  Unfortunately, the only problem I had with Star Fox was the fact my play session had ended.  I’m definitely looking forward to reliving my childhood memories with my pals Fox, Falco, Peppy and Slippy.

Gameslave Hype Meter:

IrishPride - 9/10

Luigi’s Mansion 2

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Luigi’s Mansion 2


Now I’ll admit, I never played the first Luigi’s Mansion for the GameCube.  I thought it looked cheesy and kind of lame.  However, if the first one is anything like the sequel, I really should go back and play it.  I was hesitant to try the new 3DS Luigi’s Mansion 2 because of my skepticism of the first one, but decided to wait in line and give it a go.  To my surprise, it was a lot of fun!  Luigi was easy to control and sucking up ghosts with his vacuum was simply enjoyable.  Luigi’s Mansion 2 also really showed of the capabilities of the 3DS.  There was a real sense of depth and the art detail was nicely done.  After hearing about its release at the Nintendo Press Conference, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to try Luigi’s Mansion 2.  Luckily, I put my skepticism aside and gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised just how fun it is.

Gameslave Hype Meter:

IrishPride - 8/10

Kid Icarus

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Kid Icarus


Nintendo had a very strong lineup of 3DS games this year, thanks to a multitude of 1st party titles we all know and love.  The first 3DS game I got my mitts on was Kid Icarus.  I didn’t realize that I was in the multiplayer group, but since it was open, I jumped right on.  Multiplayer is a 3v3 battle between Light Angels and Dark Angels.  As a member of each faction, you have to defeat the other team by depleting the teams’ health bar.  Each kill you rack up slowly diminishes the opposing teams’ health bar.  The game is pretty simple to play as you run with the control stick, use the stylus to turn and aim and use the L shoulder button to shoot.  While the controls are quite simple; the action was fast paced and a lot of fun.  Our team lost in the end, but only by a sliver.  After playing the multiplayer and enjoying it, I’m excited to see what the single player campaign has to offer.

Gameslave Hype Meter:

IrishPride - 6/10