Review - Star Trek: The Game

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This review can be summed up to one sentence. I really wanted to like Star Trek The Game. As a long term trekkie I love when something new based in the Star Trek universe comes out. I have third person Trek games, first person games, encyclopedias, a voice activated omnipedia, trivia games, and turn based strategy games; most of them I really liked. So when I learned that Namco was making a Star Trek game with the Gorn as the main enemies at least E3 I was excited. To learn that they had the actors from the new series reprising their roles for voices told me that I could at least expect the acting in the game to be good. I had high hopes for this game. Too bad they were misplaced.
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Nintendo's E3 Games at Best Buy

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Are you unable to make it to E3 this year? Do you want to play the newest games that Nintendo has to offer though? Well Nintendo has good news. At select Best Buys you will be able to play the same games that Nintendo will have at their E3 booth. Different way to promote games that traditionally have only be accessible to those at E3, yes. A great idea, also yes. I guess since Nintendo is saving money on not doing a press conference this is a great use of those resources.

EA Quits Online Pass

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Back in 2010 I purchased Mass Effect 2 for the Xbox 360. Along with my game came a code to join the Cerberus network. This was the first of many online passes that I would get in future games that are used to detour the sale of used games. They essentially were $10 DLC passes that came with a new game. Most gamers did not take kindly to this online pass idea. And while a number of companies are using it, EA is no longer counted in their number. Recently they have decided to kill the online pass program they started after finding that it was not popular. This was confirmed by EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg. 

This means all new EA games will be finding a different way to get extra money from us gamers. Perhaps buying crafting materials like in Dead Space 3. That would be something right up their proverbial alley.

Play Breakout in Google Image Search

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Do you enjoy wasting hours doing a simple repetitive task that despite having no real meaning at all is strangly entertaining? If so, then go to the Google Image search and look for Atari Breakout. If you have an addictive personality and find your self easily caught up in stuff, then don't go to Google Image search and look for Atari Breakout if you value the rest of your evening.

And if you are wondering, once you clear a level it populates a new one with another image search.

The Last of Us

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Naughty Dog's newest creation, The Last of Us is set to come out right in the middle of E3 on June 14th. First time I saw it I could have sworn it was a new Uncharted game, but no. This game shows what would really happen in an apocalypse. People will do what it takes to survive, morals be damned.

Piracy Ruins Game When Pirated

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So I thought I was done for the night, until I stumbled on this gem. Greenheart Games has recently released a game called Game Dev Tycoon. In the game you play a game studio trying to make it big. When they released the game they had two versions, a legitimate version that costs a wallet shattering $8.00 and a cracked torrent version. If you bought the game it works just fine. If you were cheap and decided to play the cracked version, well this is what you would run into:

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Xbox "Insert name here" Won't Need an Always On Network Connection

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Yes folks, despite what a number of people have said, the next iteration of the Xbox will not require you to have a constantly active Internet connection. You will still be able play a Blu-ray, watch live TV, and play single player games while you are off the grid. There is still some controversy on if you will need a connection to setup the game for its inaugural run (much like how Steam works). But at least we will be able to play solo when the Comcast (or whomever your provider is) goes done for maintenance.

EA to Publish in a Galaxy Far Far Away

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Today it was announced that Disney has given EA the rights to publish games based on the Star Wars universe for multiple years. This comes shortly after Disney axed Lucas Arts leaving a number of games in limbo, including Star Wars 1313. Still no word on if that game will actually ever see the light of day, but at least we have a new hope.

This deal EA will be responsible for creating games for "the most popular gaming genres and platforms" while Disney will have limited rights to make games for mobile, social, and Web platforms.  EA has three studios already signed up to make games, BioWare (duh), DICE and Visceral will all be producing games in this universe for us to enjoy.

EA is quite excited about this opportunity, citing EA Labels President Frank Gibeau "Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe". While I appreciate his excitement the cynic in me has a few problems. 1) What if that developer is a die hard Trekkie? He might hate making a game in the Star Wars universe. 2) How much are they going to make me pay for lightsaber parts?

In all seriousness EA knows they have to do this right. They have now been voted the worst company in America, twice. This will give them a chance to endear themselves back to gamers by making quality Star Wars games. This their big chance to not just be a souless empire , but a company we admire. Please EA, turn back from the dark side; you can still redeem yourself.