American McGee

            “I want to be the next Walt Disney, only a little more wicked” (American). This is the mission statement of game developer American McGee.  So far he has proven this to be true. American McGee was born on “December 13^th, 1972” (American) and he is currently “living in Shanghai, China” (American). American McGee is running his own game company Spicy Horse. 

Top 10 Reasons Why the Wii Sucks

1. Controls

The Wii is geared towards making the player get their butt off the couch and moving, so the controls are based off of how hard you can whip the remote around. This ideology is not player friendly, if the player whips the remote around too hard things will be broken and somebody will get hurt. The games for the consul that do not require are often confusing because of the Wii’s remote’s over whelming number of buttons , 1, 2 ,home, c,z, b, a, and the control pad.

Top Ten Handheld Games

1. Angry Birds

One of the world’s cheapest and most accessible game for apple products is Angry Birds. The objective of this game as most of you may know is to launch these cutely designed wingless birds at pigs via slingshot. This game has become so widely popular that people of all ages and versatility play it, even people that you would never have thought would ever play *gasp* a video game.

Todd Howard

Todd Howard is recognized by Game Informer Magazine as one of the Top 20 Most Influential People in Gaming in the past 20 years and is known best for his works such as the Elder Scrolls Series and Fallout. Todd had humble beginnings being born in Pennsylvania and attending the College of William & Mary in Virginia where he studied financing (which he believed would be the easiest way to get through college). He decide that putting a focus on his passion of video games would be more fulfilling and worth the risk as opposed to the boring secure work in finance.

Assassin's Creed Storyline Review

A storyline is an essential part of a videogame just as in a movie. If a story is not interesting it will be disappointing to the gamer and will be a flop in sales. The Assassin’s Creed series is an excellent series that is excellent for weekend or hardcore gamers.

Introducing The Vintage Gamers’ New Love Affair, The NeoGeo X:

            Created by Blaze, the NeoGeo X is the next up and coming handheld game console for 2012.  It is based off the original Neo Geo and appears to be similar to the iphone in design. This version is created exclusively for vintage gamers but it bears an overwhelming price tag. The Neo Geo X is over $700, way more than the cost of PS Vista or the 3D DS.  The price has not been set in stone yet thought.

Top Ten Coolest Weapons

Golden Gun – Golden Eye

            Who didn’t want this gun? One shot one kill. Single was that it was about the smallest gun they had in the game. Everyone wanted to find this and just get kills after kills with this gun. Even when I played I wanted it. When a mission called for something else I’d still want that gun because it was just the cool to carry.

Techland

Founded in 1991 this Polish Video game developer started their time distributing software in Poland. They later branched off and by the late nineties they were selling outside of Poland. Now they have a focus on creating high-budget video games like the Call of Juarez. Their focusing on three platforms;

Bass Pro Review

            You must really love to fish for it to be fun, and I am talking about real fishing. Sitting there in a boat waiting for a fish to go after the bait, for a very long time is not very exciting.  But, being out in the middle of the water with the wind and the sound of the water splashing against the boat or even on a dock is peaceful. In real life it’s a relaxing activity like sitting by a fire. However in a video game it’s one of the most boring things you can do.

Alan Wake Review

Alan Wake an action thriller game developed by Remedy follows an unaccepted protagonist Alan Wake. His dream of a quiet peaceful getaway from the fame of being a well acclaimed fiction writer with his wife turns into a living nightmare. In the cleverly named town of Bright Falls a dark and mysterious force has kidnapped and now attacks Alan Wake. The only way to destroy them is through the powers of light and bullets. He must fight his way through eerie woods, abandon wood mills, and other areas of the little town of Bright Falls to find his beloved wife who is coincidentally afraid of the dark.

Left 4 Dead 2 Review

Left for Dead 2

 Do you like blasting through hordes of the undead? Do you like doing this with buddies? Well if your answer is yes then Left for Dead is for you. You play as one of four survivors in a world infested with all different types of zombies. The main concept of the game is to survive,simple enough. Survive and blast away hundreds of zombies with Uzis and shotguns. How can life get any better than this? The answer to that is with friends. This game has a huge multiplayer concept. You can play with three other people online and go through the campaign with help.

Top 10 Zombies in a Video Game

Top ten Zombies in a video game

10. Left for Dead - common zombie
            Left for Dead both the first and second have great creatures to fight. However when it comes to the realism of the zombie it starts to fade away. They have some of the qualities of a good zombie but have a major flaw that puts them at number 10. Like all zombies they are devoted to going after you and trying to kill you. they are found in hordes which is always good but they run. Some zombies can be acceptable with a small run but these ones are far from that. They full on sprint towards you. A decaying body should not be able to move that quickly. Other zombies below this one may run but these out rank them due to the fact that these are sprints that may or may not be faster than I am.

9. Borderland regular zombies 
      In borderlands' Island of Doctor Ned you encounter several different types of zombies. These zombies are not the ideal zombie in most cases. The one zombie that does make it to the top ten list though is the common zombie. They are slow moving which is always good when looking at the quality of a zombie but they have one quality that bothers me enough to put them at number 9. After killing one of these zombies they drop a brain! I know it’s just part of the game but still why is this zombie dropping a brain. Zombies are not supposed to only go after the brain, it’s actually one of the parts of the body they normally would not touch its to protected by the skull. These little details and the fact that they are not decaying enough as a zombie in a swamp environment put them at number 9.

                                                8. Dead Island Thug

          In Dead Island you play as a survivor trying to well survive on this undead island. The zombies in this game are very well done with the graphics. But, one in particular makes it to number 8. The thugs in this game show many good zombie qualities that make them pleasing to a zombie fanatic. They have that decaying body look that is always a plus when looking at zombies. It’s the worst when you go to kill a zombie and the only difference from him and you is that he has a little red under his eye. These zombies share the perfect zombie quality of being slow. In my eyes that is so much creepier than a fast zombie. As well as their monstrous roar they give off a feeling of danger and death. However they do have some mutated qualities that make them different from most of the ideal zombies out there. They are much larger than the normal zombie due to a bone growth from infection. They are also much stronger than their normal human life. Zombies due not change any physical abilities when they turn. They now have no care about their body and they will do anything to get to you. Because of this they will stretch their physical abilities to their limits which sometimes will harm themselves. But, gaining a massive amount of strength is not one of the characteristics that makes a good zombie.


7. Undead Nightmare Bruisers

      A true zombie will not do anything to you if it does not see you. They can smell you very well but if they do not see you they will not go after you. In Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare the Bruisers share these same characteristics. You can avoid them just by keeping away from their line of sight. But, if they see you the will do everything to kill you so be careful. They also have a very well done decay to them. Not too much to make them gory but enough to distinguish them from a living person and easily classify them as a zombie. Their strength makes sense due to the fact that these zombies were, in their living form, fat. So, when becoming a zombie they were now a two hundred pound walking dead flesh eating blob coming after you. And the only sufficient way to kill them is to shoot or destroy the brain. This is a huge characteristic that many games do not use that should be done. The only true way to kill any zombie is to attack the brain. The only problem I have with these bruisers is the fact that they will charge at you. Not just a run but a full on sprint. The dead are supposed to be uncoordinated they cannot sprint!

6. Call of Duty Nazi Zombies    

In the add-on to some of the Call of Duty games they have the option to play Nazi Zombies. The zombies here have potential to be great zombies but some characteristics persuade me to put them as number 6. At first the zombies are slow. They go after you in a shambling pace. Slow enough where you can walk up to them and knife them and get out of the way quick enough so they will not touch you. When shooting their legs or blowing them up with a grenade they will go down to the ground and now crawl towards you. This makes perfect sense. When a grenade blows up it shoots shrapnel everywhere and a shock wave that will hit only targets in a short distance from the origin. The shrapnel is usually what kills a person, tearing into their vital organs and losing too much blood. Zombies do not care if they have a missing liver or heart they will keep going on. But, if the explosion destroys the legs making it impossible to use they will just crawl. The best way to kill these zombies is by shooting the head. Again a perfect characteristic of a good zombie. It is possible to kill them otherwise but it is much more difficult. With these zombies the only concern I have is that they know exactly where you are at all times and the higher you get in the levels the more they will run. But, just looking at the slow ones they are almost perfect. Except for that little fact that they will find you no matter where you are.

5. Zombie Infection common Zombie

       For those of you who like to play the games on your phone Zombie infection has great zombies. They are only killed if shot in the head. They even give you the satisfaction of always blowing the head up completely when shot. This is not a good characteristic of a zombie mainly because that will never happen unless the gun is of a very high caliber or a shotgun at a close distance and that goes for a living person’s head as well but that is only a small problem that the enjoyment makes up for. Almost all of the zombies are slow they make pick up some pace when they get close to you but that is normal, it’s only a shambling fast walk. For a smart phone game the zombies have a very well done dead look to them. There is obvious bight marks and blood and decay on the zombies that really lets you know that these things are not alive. You can even tear off their limbs and still have them being dead or undead as I should put it. This is fantastic in the mind of a zombie fanatic. They will even grab onto you and try to BITE you. Not scratch or slap or punch but bite like a zombie should. My fault for them however is the fact that they are too animalistic. They will roar when they go after you. Not moan but roar like a lion would. These are still humans just their dead and have become cannibalistic. The roar is too threatening and like I keep saying animalistic. The only reason why a zombie would moan is because there is still some air going into their lungs and out it’s just not doing anything. They almost have no control over it. But, roaring like a lion that is going too far.

4. Undead Nightmare Traditional zombie

       Most zombies are found in games of more recent history like that of the zombies found in Left for Dead. The oldest that has been seen was that in Call of Duty World at War. But, now Red Dead Redemption has its own version of a zombie game called Undead Nightmare. Again this is a game with many Zombies but the best of them all would have to be their Traditional zombie. Their best feature is the fact that they have to be shot in the head. There is no other way of killing them. They do run sadly but at least this run is more shambling than a real run. This is the only thing that makes them from being any closer to the number one zombie. These zombies are freshly made so in that case they do not need to be torn apart too much. Like I just said they are not torn up but when you do see them they are obviously zombies with blood all over their body shambling around with no purpose when they do not know your there that is.

3. Resident Evil 3 common Zombie

    One of the most renowned zombie games is Resident Evil. There are countless versions with even more different types of zombies. From all of these zombies one really stands out from the rest; the common zombie in Resident Evil 3. They are almost the perfect zombie. Walking slowly never fast, slow enough that you can actually walk past them. They are definitely zombies when you see them. The blood and overall demeanor is very zombie-like. The graphics are not too good due to the time period so that has to be put in consideration but the graphics does harm to the zombies enough to make them at number 3. Other than that killing them is great, having to shoot the head and the way they attack is fantastic! They actually bite your character’s neck! They do not punch you or slap or anything like that. Just if they are close enough they will dig their teeth into your flesh.

2. Dead Island Walker

     In a more recent game, Dead Island, they have a zombie that is close to perfect, the walker. Almost every aspect about it is perfect. They all have some sort of mutilation going on and they have different appearances. It’s not all the same looking walker. Some have their ribs showing others have torn arms or legs and they are not always found just standing around. After falling a zombie may not get back up if there is no need. With that in mind some of the zombies may look dead but when you get close they SLOWLY get up to attack you. When they do so their coordination is terrible and it’s brilliant. A dead body should not be able to have balance and these zombies do not have any. Just kicking them in the chest may knock them over or at least push them back so they almost fall. If you do not kick them your weapons can still give you an advantage. Hitting their arms may not knock them over or make them stop attacking you but it may disarm them, literally so they cannot use that arm or maybe hitting their legs with disleg them. These zombies also have the characteristic that makes it so the surest way to kill them is by smashing their heads in. From the game’s story line the zombies are set up amazingly. They stay in groups but not right on top of each other. They are spread apart from each other. When there are not too many zombies in an area they are not going to bunch together if there is no desired human to attack. But, when there is a human they all go together. Again such a brilliant zombie characteristic that is present in this game. Even there speed is good. Like the coordination mentioned above they do have a shamble and will only speed up when they get close to you. And at that point it is not even a super-fast speed. It is mostly a quick burst of reaching for you. A zombie characteristic that is found almost everywhere. They are not that difficult to avoid either. A quick kick or hit will move them out of your way and your now golden and free to go about your business.

1.     Dead Rising zombies  

        The number 1 zombie in a video game with the most zombie characteristics and presence is found in Dead Rising. Unlike all the other games with many types of zombies this game’s zombies are all number 1. Located in a mall there are hundreds of zombies which is understandable considering a mall gets crowded. The mall is filled with them. Yet maneuvering around them is no problem. A zombie is not supposed to be fast the only speed they have is when they are right next to you and that is the deal here. If they see you they will slowly walk over to you but quickly throwing a trash can at them will stall them enough to walk by them yourself. Really that is not even needed. They are slow enough to walk around them with ease. This should always be the case for a small group of zombies. They should not be a problem at all. One or two or even six zombies is not going to kill you if you know what to do. A zombie is the strongest when they are in huge hordes. Which again is found in these zombies. You can encounter them in small groups and be fine or you could go to places like the parking garage where the zombies are piled wall to wall. In that situation it is almost impossible to make it out alive. Shooting them in the head always kills them nicely and they never get harder. The more you level up in the game these zombies will stay the way they are. There may be more of them but they do not mutate or change into a faster stronger zombie they just stay as the slow zombie that only attacks when they are latched onto you making them the best zombie in any zombie game. 

author: Luke Rivers

Top 10 Gaming Companies

Nintendo

Nintendo is known for the hard core gamers, its more for the laid back people or the ones being introduced to games. Some are people that are older and still play, like people are more  addicted to Mario, Zelda, even Bubble Bobble, ect. This company is well known a go to brand. I would consider Mario Galaxy a solid Mario game; stars shouldn’t talk to you just collect them. Then again it’s Mario

Top 10 Best Platformer Games

10.Sonic Adventure 2- This game featured fast 3-d sonic platforming in arguably Sonic’s best 3d game to date. It featured story elements of the first game but showed great improvement with better gameflow and better, more expansive stages. Though the game features some treasure hunting/ shooter levels, the adrenaline pumping action of the Sonic and Shadow levels featured about the fastest 3-d platforming at that time.

Pokemon Black and White 2 Preview

               For everyone that doesn’t know, Pokemon is a long running rpg in which the player plays as a pokemon trainer with a goal of trading and fighting monsters known as pokemon, in order to catch em’ all and become a pokemon master. The Pokemon series is one which usually features minimal new additions and features each generation in order to save more new stuff to put into the next generation.

Shigeru Miyamoto

Shigeru Miyamoto

                  Shigeru Miyamoto is one of the most influential developers ever. Though coming from the humble beginnings of a middle class family in Kyoto, Japan, Miyamoto created  some of the most famous franchises like Mario and the Legend of Zelda as well as lower profile series like Pikmin and F-Zero. This man is what turned the moderately successful Japanese toy company of Nintendo into a worldwide hit. This was ultimately done with the release of Donkey Kong, the first Nintendo arcade game to be successful outside of Japan.

Chrono Trigger Analysis

Chrono Trigger Story Analysis

               The storyline in Chrono Trigger is one of redemption. Basically the characters have to travel through time to make things right by way of performing an action or solving an ongoing conflict, therefore preventing it from happening in the present. One interesting element of the game is that each of the partner characters in the game come from a respective time period each with their own story backgrounds and moves that fit there time period.

Sonic the Hedgehog 6-story analysis-BAD

Sonic the Hedgehog 06 Story Analysis

                  The storyline in Sonic the Hedgehog for the xbox 360 was random and abysmal which made a poorly designed game even worse. The first problem with it before I even get to the plot is that there are way too many characters for this type of game. There are three many characters to play as, each with a storyline to play through and also each with an additional two or three characters to play as in each story. There are three problems with this story set up.

Sonic Generations Review

The game Sonic Generations is a refreshing re-imagining of the glory days of Sonic on the Sega consoles as well as possibly the best playing 3d Sonic game to date. The game has the player control both classic sonic and modern sonic in 9 different stages, with a level for each sonic to play through in each. The stages are simply redesigned levels from 3 eras which include classic, dreamcast, and modern. The stages include Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog, City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2, and Rooftop Run from Sonic Unleashed, among others. The player navigates to these worlds via portals in a hub world which is very well done with designs from their respective games which are part of the scenery around the level. The levels are actually a lot of fun to play as both classic and modern sonic. Classic sonic’s gameplay features vivid 2d levels with some 3d effects while modern sonic’s gameplay features 3d levels with some use of 2d perspective. In terms of move sets classic sonic has the basic spin jump to attack enemies as well as the spin dash, while modern sonic has the homing attack as well as the boost which is burst of speed used to make sonic run faster. The main difference with the gameplay of the different sonics is that classic sonic’s gameplay has a larger focus on platforming while modern sonic’s gameplay has a larger focus on speed. The controls for both sonics are responsive and work fine. The only small complaint I have about the game play that the frame rate can dip a little bit in the modern sonic levels buts its not a big deal as it doesn’t happen much. The levels, despite being redone levels from already established games still felt fresh for the most part, partially because the retro stages have never been done in 3d and the modern stages have never been done in 2d. The flow of the game is also well done in that the progression is quick and easy unlike some of sonic’s more recent outings which forced the player to collect things to move on. The only thing you have to do to move on is beat both levels in each stage and beat 1 out of 6 missions from each of the stages. The missions are fairly bearable with easy objectives such as collecting rings, racing a character, or getting through a specially designed level. There are also a lot of bonuses in the game which are rewarded to the player for completing missions and collecting the red rings in which there are 5 in each of the 18 levels. The bonus content includes music which can be used in any of the levels as well as artwork from the past games and special abilities such as super sonic and the homing attack for use with classic sonic. If you’ve ever enjoyed a sonic game whether it be nearly 20 years ago or now then Sonic Generations is a solid pick up with a good amount of nostalgia and strong gameplay. It is isn’t the longest or deepest game , though it is one of Sonic’s best and a worthy pick up for any long time fan or newcomer who wants to get into the series.

Top 10 Best/Coolest/Most Innovative Controllers

                              Top 10 Best/Coolest/Most innovative Controllers Final

10. NES Advantage- This was one of best controls for the Nintendo Entertainment System because it sported several cool features such as the large joy stick on the left of the controller and 2 sets of buttons on the right. The joy stick was attached to simulate an arcade experience while one of the sets of buttons were turbo buttons and the others were normal. The turbo buttons allowed you to speed of the movement of game play with an adjustable knob.

9. Super Scope- The Super Scope was a huge wireless bazooka that Nintendo created for use for with several shoot-em-up games such as Super Scope 6 and Terminator 2: The Arcade Game. It worked through the use of infrared technology signaled by electron beams on the screen. Too bad this beast required 6 AA batteries and a lot of patience to hit your target.