Articles by Wootini
Dear Diary,
Big doings in Narnia this week! It was Halloween, which was a lot of fun, but then things took a sad turn. Make the jump and I'll explain it all...
For its innovation in taking videogaming on the road, Nintendo's Game Boy has now been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. I mean, there had been some handheld gaming devices, but the Game Boy really took it to a whole new level. And it continued to expand and basically take over. I'm pretty sure that we've all owned at least one iteration of the device, whether you were playing it in black and white (well, green, really), or color.
The National Toy Hall of Fame at Strong National Museum of Play recognizes toys that have reached a certain level of renown, so the Game Boy was inducted alongside the ball and Big Wheel, and joins such memorable products as the Atari 2600, Barbie, Candy Land, Easy-Bake Oven, Silly Putty and the Teddy Bear, among others.
A well-deserved honor for the Game Boy, which will now go down in history as the most iconic handheld gaming system ever. (Too bad they had such a jank Mario at the induction ceremony!)
And we have a stylish and savvy winner! Well, he will be as soon as he dons this tiny little Style Savvy promotional T-shirt! And I wasn't kidding — you are literally winning the shirt off my back! So technically it is slightly used. Hope you don't mind, Jaimie G! Enjoy!
Because of my lack of fashion and decorating skills, I often fear that the Gay Mafia is going to come and take away my membership card one day. Luckily, Style Savvy for the Nintendo DS doesn't require you to know anything about fashion aside from matching like colors and not trying to mix punk and preppy. I also want to make it clear up front that this is not a game about fashion designing. You are a stylist, which means you will take the 10,000 different items of clothing to create fabulous ensembles. Technically, there is a teeny bit of designing, but it only amounts to a label asking you to pick the colors for one of their clothing items.
Obviously this game isn't going to be for everyone, but long story short, I had a complete blast. Full details after the jump!
Any major game release gets its own collector's edition these days. I mean, all the cool kids are doing it. So when BioWare's Mass Effect 2 touches down on January 26, it will also be available in a deluxe edition with special content.
"We're really excited to roll out this Collectors' Edition featuring so many unique items, including special Collectors' Edition armor and weapons and content that will surprise Mass Effect fans," said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. "The limited edition comic book and bonus DVD will really enhance and expand the overall Mass Effect 2 experience."
The Collector's Edition will come in a premium tin case and include a 48-page hardcover Art of Mass Effect 2 book, the first issue of the Mass Effect Redemption comic book, a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes and making-of videos... oh, yeah, and the game, too. Almost forgot about the game. In addition, you'll also have access to unique in-game weapons and armor only available with the purchase of this special edition.
I kind of hate when the special editions of games have extra weapons, armor or quests and stuff, but honestly, this is the first special edition I'm actually probably going to buy, and not for that. The original Mass Effect remains one of my favorite video game experiences ever, so I'm really interested in the art book and the making-of DVD. But you know what really sold me on it? The fact that it's only going to retail for $69.99 — that's only an extra $10 above the regular game! Sold!
Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson recently posted a warning that they are currently banning consoles from Xbox LIVE if they have been modified to play pirated games.
Our commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of our Xbox LIVE community remains a top priority. All consumers should know that piracy is illegal, and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs, violates the Xbox LIVE terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox LIVE. The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them.
He also warns that 360 warranties are not transferrable, so purchasing a banned console will mean you can't connect to Xbox LIVE. This is as good a reason as any to be cautious buying used consoles. In fact, one of the comments is from a GameStop employee who reveals that because they have no way to check if the 360 that someone is trading in is bricked, most of them are just put out on the shelf without any testing or refurbishing. Which makes it an ideal place for the owner of a banned 360 to get some cash for it. At least if you buy it at a store, you can return the console there for another one until you get one that works. I'd be super wary of buying one on eBay now!
Xbox 360 Console Bans [Major Nelson]
I didn't pick up the recently released Tekken 6, but apparently, the online play is pretty laggy (an unfortunately common problem with fighting games online). Thankfully for you fans, Namco Bandai wants you to know they are on top of the problem and are "developing a downloadable update which will be available as soon as it has passed rigorous testing procedures."
Details regarding the availability and content of the update aren't yet known, but as soon as they are, I'll pass them on. Oh, and this is separate from the online co-op Scenario Campaign mode update which is currently scheduled to release this winter. So until the patch hits, you'll have to fight amongst yourselves...
At the Style Savvy preview event, Nintendo passed on this Style Savvy T-shirt, but as you can see, I am neither small enough or gay enough to be able to wear this... especially not out in public! But I thought that perhaps one of our readers might be interested in it. It's a white 100% cotton pre-shrunk T-shirt with a pink pattern and Style Savvy logo on the front, the DS logo on the sleeve, and the pattern repeats on the back. Please keep in mind that this is a women's small, so you'll have to be awfully petite to wear it comfortably. Fair warning!
On the plus side, while the prize may not be for everyone, entering the contest is super-easy. If you're interested, all you have to do is shoot me an E-mail with "Style Savvy Shirt" as the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body. You have 48 hours from when this post goes live, which means that as of 9:00 PM on Thursday evening, I'm cutting off the entries. Then, from the available entries, I will randomly select a winner and mail them their prize. Simple enough for you? Good luck!
BioWare has announced today that the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars will headline the in-game soundtrack for the just-released Dragon Age: Origins. The title track from their new album This Is War will be making its world debut in the RPG in advance of the album's release on December 8.
"We always like to push the envelope in the entertainment and media space and debuting our title track in a game of this caliber is a great way to communicate our music to fans around the world," said Jared Leto, lead singer of Thirty Seconds to Mars. "We've come a long way from having to rely solely on radio to approach and engage music fans, and Dragon Age: Origins is the perfect game to do this with."
Not sure why this is a selling point, because if you were on the fence about picking this game up, I doubt that the soundtrack is really going to sell you if it's not a music game. Although in addition to being mildly informative, writing this article allows me to run a photo of Jordan Catalano, who will forever remain the perfect high school crush. Don't you love the way he leans?
I have a confession to make. As a city boy who came from a suburban upbringing, I haven't had a lot of experience with hunting. I don't really like the idea. But when I noticed a demo of Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2010 had popped up on Xbox LIVE, I decided to see what it was all about. I knew that Cabela had a whole series of games, but didn't know anything about them. So I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
The demo is essentially the first level of the game, which walks you through the controls. The graphics on the Xbox 360 are gorgeous, and impressively realistic, although the constant need to activate your "hunter sense" sucks because that makes everything black-and-white except for the specific targets that you sense. What I found quite appealing is that it's like a FPS where you have to move slowly and snipe your targets from a distance. Whenever I play an FPS, that's usually what I prefer to do anyway, so it's like this was made for me!
On the plus side, it's never too tedious to sneak up on your prey (which in the first level are all various kinds of deer), and they have shooting gallery sections in between to break up the monotony. First you take shots at ducks flying overhead, then later you'll aim your trusty shotgun at scampering bunny rabbits. These bits I found less entertaining because it's all fast-paced, so my accuracy suffers tremendously. Plus, it takes forever to reload! The level concludes with their version of a boss battle, which in this case is a mountain lion. You have to shoot it dead before it kills you. If it does get its claws into you, it's a simple matter of mashing buttons until you can push it off an take another shot.
I would never go hunting in reality, but I have to admit that virtual hunting was kind of engrossing. I loved sneaking around in the tree line and finding just the right spot with some cover so I could carefully line up my shot and pick out the buck with the biggest rack so it would get me the most points. It's surprisingly stingy with the points, though, making it difficult to get gold medals. I guess that'll help with replayability. There is something disturbingly satisfying, though, about lining up the shot and then watching that one bullet take down your prey.
Does that make me a horrible person? I hope not, because I have another confession to make... I now own Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2010, so I'm going to be killing all kinds of innocent wildlife! Look out!
If you're getting bored shredding to the same old songs, Activision would like you to know that there's a bunch of new tuneage coming in November for Guitar Hero. As I mentioned before, on November 5, you'll be able to import 69 tracks from Guitar Hero 5 into Band Hero, or go the other way and import 61 tracks from Band Hero into Guitar Hero 5. (The Guitar Hero website has a FAQ with more information about compatibility)
November 12 will bring a three song pack from Lenny Kravitz featuring "Let Love Rule," "Lady" and "Fly Away." The following week, on the 19th, KISS has a triple pack including "Modern Day Delilah," "Lick It Up" and "I Was Made For Loving You." Naturally, you can also buy the songs seperately for the usual price on the 360, PS3 and Wii.
On November 24, Neversoft is releasing a free six song track pack from bands featuring their own employees! You've got "Lemon Frosting" by Bunny Knutson, "RockNRola" by Nancy Fullforce, "From the Blue/Point of No Return/T.T.R.T.S." by An Endless Sporadic, "Love Holds It Down" by Dom Liberati, "You Really Like Me" by Davidicus and "Guilty Pleasures" by Tony Solis. However, this special free pack will only be available for the 360 and PS3.
Things aren't all bad for Wii Guitar Heroes and Heroines, though, because starting on the 24th, you'll be able to download 8 more tracks from Metallica's Death Magnetic album previously only available on the other consoles. The songs, which will be available only as singles, are "All Nightmare Long," "That Was Just Your Life," "The Day That Never Comes," "The Judas Kiss," "The End of the Line," "The Unforgiven III," "Suicide & Redemption J.H." and "Suicide & Redemption K.H."
That should hopefully be enough to keep you all busy on Thanksgiving during that horrible time between finishing the turkey and being able to sit down to pie!
Dear Diary,
As Halloween approaches, things started to get scary. But hopefully I was able to head things off at the pass. I also decided to change into something more seasonally appropriate and kept buying all the candy I can from Nook in preparation for the big day at the end of the month! Of course, that'll have to wait until next week's entry because it's tomorrow... This week is after the jump!
And girls who like girls who like rumble packs!
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