Friday, October 21. 2005PA vs. Jack
Wow, this whole Jack Thompson episode is really escalating. Jack sent a letter to the Florida Bar Association (basically a threat that he would sue them if they tried to disbar him) in which he refers to gamers by the term "pixelantes." Well, it didn't take long to get a shirt out that is sure to be a hot item on my Christmas list.
It seems that Jack finally realized he is in over his head. He's called for backup. I, for one, look forward to the Legion of Doom's response. I know this stuff is all posted on the Penny Arcade site, but seriously, I don't think it can get enough attention. Gabe says he'd rather have Jack as the voice of the "anti-violence in games" crowd than some smooth talker with half a brain, but I respectfully disagree. Jack's public persona is that of a raving lunatic, and in my opinion, that draws attention away from the valid parts of his argument. Games like Grand Theft Auto should not be in the hands of thirteen-year-olds. If an adult wants to play it, that's fine. I personally didn't think it was the game for me, but I'm often accused of standing too deep in the Lawful Good area of the alignment chart. My point is getting lost here. A smooth talking spokesman with half a brain could probably get people to come to a reasonable compromise. Parents need to understand that buying the hottest new release for their kid without any kind of research is a bad idea. While most games don't have any content kids couldn't see in a rated R movie, most parents probably don't want their kids in the theater for those kind of shows. I don't know that regulating video games is such a good idea, (after all, it's not illegal for movie theaters to sell kids tickets to rated R movies) but some education so parents can make a smart decision would be really helpful. Thursday, October 20. 2005Karma. Gotta Love It
You know, sometimes you just really have to admire Karma. For those who don't know Jack Thompson is the current leader of the "games are corrupting our youth" crowd, that seems bent on removing any parental responsibility from the world.
He's recently had run-ins with Gabe and Tycho at Penny-Arcade, and has had some organizations make it loud and clear that they want nothing to do with him. Now, he's being investigated by the Florida Bar Association for some of his tactics. Now I don't think anything will come of it, but you know, I love it when Karma comes back and bites someone right square on the ole buttocks. Wednesday, October 5. 2005Spore watch, 2005
With "fiscal September" officially closed, we now know that the following blurb is the only information we're going to get regarding Spore for Summer, 2005.
"09 SEP: EA this week announced some internal shuffling of the company's PR staff. Tiffany Spencer has moved to EA headquarters in Redwood City to head PR on Sims and Spore. Spencer previously worked at EA's LA studio as PR coordinator, working on such titles as Medal of Honor and Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle-earth. Prior to joining EA, Spencer led PR for Ubisoft's Tom Clancy franchise." *sigh* Wednesday, September 28. 2005The Shadows of Amn
This was posted in Slashdot's Games section, but I figured it was worth a re-posting here. Baldur's Gate 2 came out five years ago and GameBanshee is running a special feature on it. It's difficult for me to overestimate the impact that game had on my life. From quitting school entirely (at least mentally) to learning a little something about the D&D system, it definitely earned Bioware and Black Isle a special place in my heart. The hours and hours and hours I spent playing and replaying that game was time well-spent. And just think how much it influences my Dungeon Mastering. :)
Update (2005-09-29 10:33) Ok, in reply to Wren's comment, I've added the following commentary. I started writing this in the comments section, but then it got too long. Continue reading "The Shadows of Amn" Thursday, July 28. 2005I'll see your "litigious" and raise you "moronic".
Okay to be fair, I've thought all along that the stink raised over the HotCoffeeMod was always a little idiotic, if only because the game should have been rated Adult's Only in the first place, and was pretty bad before the mini game was found.
Now comes the news that an 85 year old woman has sued Rockstar Games for damage caused to her because she claims that she was "damaged" when she discovered that the the rated M for Mature audiences game she purchased for her grandson had sexual minigames. At the time the game was purchased, the grandson was 14 years of age. Nevermind the fact that on the case of the game it already stated "Strong Sexual Content" prior to the increase in rating. What the heck was she doing buying a game rated for 17 year olds and higher, to her 14 year old grandson in the first place? If everyone is so worried about the content in the games that kids are playing, maybe they should look less at the developers and more at the people who are buying or letting the kids play these games. As bad of a game as GTA:San Andreas is, in this case at least, it would seem to me that the problem is the Grandma herself. Then again, since the Grandma is getting on in years she probably saw this as a quick way to make a couple bucks for an inheritance for the aforementioned grandson! Friday, July 1. 2005
Classic Moments in Gaming: Football Posted by The Mad Giggler
in Gaming at
18:19
Comments (-1) Trackbacks (0) Classic Moments in Gaming: Football
I know, another article about sports. Daboo and [nameless one] will resort to skimming at this point, no doubt. Anyway, since the NBA finally wrapped up its season (for all of 1 week), it's time to start getting ready for football (as Sideshow already noted). I've been playing some NFL 2K5 in the evenings to get my mind prepared for all the worn-out cliches about to hit the airwaves. Sega's entry in the video game football genre lacks the pizazz of hearing John Madden proclaim "I love this game" two or three times a minute, but it makes up for it in other ways (see price tag). And I get to hear about the value of tearing a page out of War and Peace - it doesn't make much of a dent.
"Flag on the play." To move more into the vein of Classic gaming, I have to say that Pat Summerall will go down in history for his work on the Madden football franchise. Sure, just mentioning the guy means I have to be careful not to sound too much like Bill Simmons (ESPN's Sports Guy - who's had some great jokes at Summerall's expense), but it's impossible to talk about video game football without mentioning all those classic lines delivered in the early (and not-so-early) Madden games. I think I can say with complete honesty that I've never heard a more exciting monotone. "Uh-oh. There's a man down." This is one of my favorite Summerall lines. There used to be an exploit in these games where you could move your guy around after the whistle was blown and tackle players on the opposing team. I remember all those times when the game was on the line, and my opponent's quarterback just couldn't be stopped; so I would go after the QB with a lineman. \*Badly garbled crunching sound\* and. . .wait for it. YES! I have successfully played the Cobra Kai card. This game is mine. All those real NFL players out there can be thankful I'm not the opposing coach. "Boom!" While cheating was good for a laugh (especially when playing against friends who would get surprisingly angry to see their star QB in the locker room for the rest of the game), it was far better to win the game as the clock is winding down. This may be why Adam Vinatieri is my favorite NFL placekicker. \*cough\* Taking home the Lombardi trophy on a last second field goal is great, but for trash-talking purposes, it doesn't seem to compare with that drive-killing interception in the red zone. Nothing takes the wind out of your sails like driving all the way down the field, knowing the win is in your grasp, only to see Ty Law pluck the ball out of the sky. Let me know if you want any more lemon juice in the paper cut, AoD. |
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