The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 89

In this weeks podcast we discuss video games, anime and the state of Nintendo as a business! We are stepping just a liitle outside our normal comfort zone on this one.

The notes may be found here

MW3 Releases

So I am in the 1%. No, not the financial 1%, that would be nice, but no.  I am in the 1% of people that are not super excited about Modern Warfare 3 coming out tonight at midnight.  But that does not mean that I don't respect the fandom.  I went to a GameStop by my work to take care of a preorder and found a line of 6 people.  This was A) 3:00 PM and the events for the night did not start until around 10:00 PM and B) It was about 45˚ F and dropping to an estimated 26˚F by midnight.  To me this a a great devotion of the fandom to the series and something that shows what it means to be true hardcore gamer.

So while I may not be playing the game tonight or tomorrow, I do salute you Moder Warefare 3 gamer. You are a true gamer and you help keep this industry alive so I may play the games I am looking forward to. GAME ON!

PS. Don't forget your Mountain Dew codes.  You will need the extra XP.

"To Zanarkand" from FFX performed by IrishPride

Hey everybody!  This is my first attempt to play an actual song on the piano and it happens to be the beautiful song from Final Fantasy X, "To Zanarkand."  I recorded this on a better device so I'm going to remove the old video.  If you didn't see the old video and this is your first time watching, I hope you enjoy it!

~IrishPride

The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 88

We are back in the grove. We come back with a not only another full episode, but all three of us are together again. We have a new contest in this podcast. How did you zombie plan turn out this year? Did you survive?

The notes are yonder.

Episode 88

Game Over: Warhammer 40K Space Marine

The Orks have been defeated and Chaos has been pushed back.  The Imperium of Man has saved the Forge World Graia, but at what cost?  In this edition of Game Over we will look at the ending of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine and what I thought of it.  So if you are still fighting the good fight, come back later. Otherwise you can continue to read this after the jump.

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The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 87

All three of us return in the epic adventure of podcasting. So join us on this adventure and earn some experience to add to your levels in gaming.

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Note may be found beyond this vail.

Conversations with IrishPride Episode 11

It's 2:00pm, You Know What the Means!  

 

Hello!  Welcome to episode 11 of Conversations with IrishPride.  It's been another crazy week for me with little video games that I have played, but that's okay, I'm still here to ramble about stuff!

 

Today I'm going to talk about the importance of naps.  Growing up, we all had the pleasure of nap time in preschool and kindergarten.  But after that, the world told us NO, you cannot have nap time in the middle of the day.  My question for everyone is, why the hell not!  Whoever implemented the afternoon nap in school was really onto something and I believe we have to implement the afternoon nap in all of our adult lives.Who wouldn't want this?

 

Here me out.  We all have days where we feel like we can't continue.  2:00pm rolls around and you can barely keep your eyes open.  Your eyes hurt, your irritable and you snap at people.  It's a bad situation for everyone involved.  But, if we had our afternoon nap, everyone would feel better.  You would feel energized and refreshed.  Your eyes would sparkle in rejoice, you would tell people hi and your co-workers won't hate you...as much.  If we could only have our afternoon naps like before; people (including yourself) would be so much happier!  Who doesn't love a good twenty minute power nap in the middle of the afternoon!?!  So let's start a revolution.  When you're at work and 2:00pm hits (or a good afternoon time for your own personal work schedule), go take a nap!  Let's go back to our kindergarten days and have nap time.  We all want it, we all could use it and the world would be a better place.

 

This is IrishPride signing out and until next time, nappers unite!

 

~IrishPride

Too Much Pre-Release Info?

With the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword about a month away from release, I wanted to share my thoughts about the pre-release information on the game.  The information has me both excited, but also apprehensive.  In this digital age, I feel like I have too much information available on games that I want to purchase and play, such as Skyward Sword.  With this wealth of information available on future game titles, is it too much of a good thing?

Skyward Sword is the Zelda title I have been most excited about since Ocarina of Time (OoT) was released.  Back at that time, my greatest source of game information was my Nintendo Power subscription.  It would give tidbits about OoT and how the game was progressing.  There would be an article with a few pictures.  At the game’s release there would be a couple of short walk-throughs for the beginning section of the game.  At the time, I didn’t use the Internet much, mostly because it was a pretty new thing and AOL charged by the minute and not by the month yet.  The information I had available at that time was limited.  Sometimes a friend would have a few more tidbits from another gaming magazine or a wild rumor they heard from a friend of a friend of a friend.  Information was limited.  I felt like I had enough to formulate some thoughts about the game and if it was worth going for, even if I didn’t know everything; which is the problem I encounter now in the gaming world: knowing everything.

Even though I didn’t know about every place or mechanic in the game, I knew enough to make a decision on whether to play the game.  However, my knowledge was limited leaving some mystery to the game.  That’s the thing I feel is lacking in today’s coverage, the mystique of the game.  If I know about the game’s every secret before it is released, why should I play it?  To get the sheer joy out of checking those items off on my game progress list?  Currently with Skyward Sword, I can find an over abundance of information: screen shots, articles, videos, music tracks, podcasts, interviews, game play and opinion pieces.  Some of this information I desire, such as release dates, general stats in pre-orders, or interviews, but I don’t want to see every screen shot or video.  I don’t want to know everything about the game, just a convincing summary.  I want some surprise when I play the game.  I want some mystery that has been hidden from my knowledge.  

It’s like avoiding spoilers on that new movie you haven’t seen yet or that book you’ve been meaning to read.  There is so much information being flung around that it’s hard not to know what happens or what it’s all about.  I have purposely started to not read articles or look at videos to avoid what I feel are spoilers for Skyward Sword.  There seems to be something new every single day, even if it’s only a few more screen shots or game play video.  I did demo Skyward Sword at E3, mostly to see how it looked moving.  I was placed into a dungeon but not given a clear goal, just allowed to explore and test out the controls.  That’s the sort of information I want, concise and to the point.  I’m given the general goal of the game and some of its flavor, but the rest remains hidden for me to explore at my leisure when I begin to play.

Assimilator argues that as game reporters we don’t have the luxury on not knowing about upcoming games and what’s happening with them.  People want to know about them.  That’s true, but do they want to know everything?  Does every new screenshot have to convince someone again that they want to purchase and play this game or does it take that extra screen shot, that extra info to make them want the game?  Where do we strike a balance?  I’m not against all information, I’m just against too much information.  Let there be a little mystery and surprise around a title so the player can get to enjoy that experience while participating in the story, not before the game is released.