Bout Fraggin Time

Hey guys sorry it's been a while some good and bad things came up I had to take care of. Now Im back and with more flair than before. This blogpost will be a story of a fragging experience recently


The game- Battlefield Bad Company 2...AND I LOST THE GAME

Anyway...I was in a match with my coworkers and we were chillin and all of a sudden I got sniped. I respawn take 3 steps and get a triple hand grenade kill for a hand grenade I did not throw O.o.


Story 2- I was dueling a guy online with a knife and he side stepped plunging me off a cliff into suicide for a knife lunge. The next hours were yelling at a tv.


Final Story- I was chillin with a frag and about to get my second when all of a sudden I died. A Medic came up to my body and noticed the sniper. To PROTECT himself he waiting for a second for the scope to stop moving and proceeded to defib me as the sniper shot protecting himself and again killing me and he ran away...>:(.


These are a few stories to fill the time while I write my next review today

Catherine Review

Hey guys first review of the month is Catherine for the Xbox 360, and the PS3.

Catherine is an Anime Based Romantic Horror Puzzle Platforming game about a guy named Vincent who has a girlfriend named Katherine but cheats on her with a girl named Catherine. After Vincent sleeps with Catherine he starts to have nightmares about blocks and puzzles and if he dies in the nightmare he dies in real life.

Graphics- The Graphics in Catherine are an anime CGI sort of style. They have parts that are CGI and parts that are anime but still entertaining and nice on the eyes.

Gameplay- Gameplay is a mix of puzzle and platforming. You are stuck in a nightmare and you gotta climb to the top without dying. The puzzles are easy at first but brutal later on and the platforming can mess you up. The gameplay remains fun with bosses that instead of fighting you run from and they keep interesting with different styles of handling the situation. The cutscenes are a bit longer than usual and to make up all the levels of that "night" are bunched into one meaning cutscenes then only gameplay then it loops.

Sound-The sound fits the game with the creepy yet upbeat style and makes the game sound cooler with an opening rap to go with the amusing credits.

My Verdict- Catherine is a fun tease game that kept me occupied for 2 days. While short it kept me amused for the ride. My main annoyance and love is the difficulty level. A common complaint of mine is that games now a days are way to easy. This is remedied in this game as on easy on the later levels I found myself struggling and frustrated to the point of boiling over. The game later on gets frustrating to where you find yourself screaming obscenities and getting pissed off worse than a 12/13 year old Call Of Duty Player. This game really had me jaw dropped at the end with its stunningly unexpected ending that tore apart my whole fabric of playing.

This game was a great game for me and if you love Puzzle platforming japanese games get catherine. It will make your day.

August 1st

Happy August First! Some new tips to expect this month...

New reviews

Bringing back the retro game of week

New Ingame Stories and bits of fiction

MMO Report of the month

Gameplay videos as i linked this blog to my youtube

AND MORE...STAY TUNED

First Thoughts On Catherine

After Picking up Catherine Deluxe Edition for the xbox 360 I was eager to try it out. I looked through all the stuff that came with it and then put the game in and played for a good 3 hrs or so. The gameplay was suprisingly well played with puzzles every couple minutes and cutscenes in between to make the game mainly story. Hell the only reason I played the puzzles was to see what happened next and the story is good enough to where it works out perfectly. Catherine had parts where i was on the edge of my seat trying to watch what would happen next and I ended up really excited whenever I saw a new cutscene. My major shock came from the difficulty. Even on easy the later levels became killer hard and Hard mode kept me on level 2 for 30 minutes straight T_T. Anyway check out my review july 28th for more on what happens with this game

In Other News

Hey guys no review yet because my next review will be on the game Catherine for the PS3 and the Xbox and it is set to hit July 26th, 2011.

Until Then though I will have a few tips to get you set and not suffering as bad waiting for the newest games to hit the market.

Tip 1-MMO's. The worlds biggest time killer does work until those new games hit the market. For instance recently I restarted World of Warcraft and it has kept me occupied while waiting for the latest games making it enjoyable. It also takes out the game depression by being different than the game releases taking my mind off of it.

Tip 2- Hang out with friends. Friends can take your mind of the video game until release unless they love that series like you then well you wont forget it as you will talk about it constantly.

Tip 3- Watch movies. Movies can pass the time by wiping your mind clean of the game during the movie. Any movies you like just watch them.

Tip 4-Shopping. Whenever the others don't work I go shopping. Usually seeing all that cool stuff in the windows and such will take your mind off of the games. Just avoid gamestop.

Lastly Find something a group of you can do such as lazer tag and stuff to keep yourself busy.

Follow these tips and you may find the newest game releases are hours away instead of forever away

Why the Sega Saturn Failed

The Sega Saturn was not a huge hit despite revolutionary games and great graphics. Why you ask? Well for one in the past sega has experianced alot of failures with systems such as the Sega 32x and the Sega CD. People just did not trust Sega anymore due to all of these failures and that contributed to the failure of the Sega Saturn. Also the marketing was not the best out there so it did not really help the Saturn either.

When the Sega Saturn entered the market it's competition was against Sony and its Playstation and the Nintendo 64. Of course though the incredible reputation this system and the company got from the Sega Genisis did give them a pretty good start. Also something that did not help the Saturn was the fact the President of Sega Tom Kalinske announced that "Saturnday" as it was dubbed was a ruse and it was available the very day he announced this. This caught all sorts of retailers off guard like Walmart and some other places(Toys R Us included).

This move shocked retailers and even game developers as they did not know the actual release date of the Saturn they could not finish games in time for the release date. Also on top of that the Saturn was a whopping $399 100 dollars more than the Sony Playstation. Now another reason the system failed was due to its massive rush to market (first is not the best always). It also had 2 chips each one slightly slower than the Playstation and made games hard to program to the saturn. The 2 chips made it stronger than the Playstation but since it had 2 chips and a small user base developers chose the Playstation over the Saturn due to the Playstations huge fan base and easy to program ability.

Of course with the Playstation releasing games so quick it ended up getting the massive attention due to such a huge library of games. Also the Playstation and its huge pockets bought exclusive rights to game titles meaning saturn didnt get any of them and was left without good titles. Sega of Japan and Sega of America also did not communicate like they were supposed to and they did not release alot of good japanese games in the U.S. therefore meaning many good games never saw release. So this meant that the system was already at a disadvantage early on and it stayed that way and then died out and Sony took over the market along with Nintendo

Playing at a Gaming Lounge VS Home

Ok so yes this might be somewhat biased considering I work at a gaming lounge known as Strafe but still I thought about it and ima list the pros and cons of both and say my own opinion and all as usual.


Video Gaming Lounges-

Video game lounges are places you go to and pay a set amount for an hour or the whole day and you play their library of games.

Pros- You can enter tournaments making it more competitive than home often

You can meet new people and make new friends there

You can usually play the latest and greatest and get to beat them

You can also bring your accounts in and earn stuff on them

You can also have a sense of community hooking up with random people there and having a good old time

The connection for games is usually top notch

Cons- The price to enter can be bad as it isnt exactly free

If the gaming lounge doesn't get games quickly enough you may only be stuck with old games or lack of variety

If the staff aren't friendly or know about video games then you may find yourself frustrated with the people working there

Sometimes the sounds can make you go deaf especially if you work there


Home-

Ahh Home the place of homing. The place where video games are played most after buying.

Pros-

You can relax and play games with any setup you want seeing as it's your home

You can oftentimes play games that general public won't let you play

You have the comfort of your home

Wont have to pay by the hour

Cons-

Won't have the sense of community unless you have a ton of systems and also a ton of friends nearby

The connection of the game often depends on how much you are willing to pay out of pocket

Won't have the latest games day of release unless your willing to buy them yourself

Library of games may not be as big unless your willing to buy alot


Honestly Gaming Lounges are great to play at especially if you want the community, Latest games, and the ability to play with little lag. Home may be more personal but it lacks the community and the latest games are only there if you pay out of pocket directly making it expensive. Considering im almost never home my gaming is done at work when not busy and honestly I love being able to join random customers and play and talk with them and be able to chat afterwards. I also love how knifing on Gun Game at work got the Damnit Jon club started and is spreading wildly to this day. So if a gaming lounge is in your area check it out you may like it

Playing with Friends VS Strangers

OK guys im here today to talk about something thats affected my gaming experience recently. Recently I have been playing with friends and then when I go online to play randomly I end up shutting the game off and the question is why.

Well when playing with friends I enjoy myself more because it is with friends and we can joke and work like a team. With strangers the comfort and community feeling don't seem there making it harder to play online.

Also Playing with friends has allotted me some of the funniest stories out there of in game experience that has rushed around where I live like wildfire. For instance in Battlefield Bad Company 2 I was rushing to heal my friends Crayon and Rob's tank when they got into a fight with a tank. Well being the engineer I am I rush to help them and the tank shot misses them by an inch and hits me in the chest directly and my friend Paul was laughing and saying he saw the whole thing and I pulled a rag-doll effect. Stuff like that for some reason doesn't like to happen with strangers.

Enough of personal preference let us see the pros and cons of playing with friends vs strangers


Pros of Friends

-More enjoyable experience as you know them and can have a better time

-More communication between you and friends as you guys know eachother in real life making communications easier

-Funny stuff seems to happen more with friends than strangers

Cons

-Less playing time online so less time to get better

-Friends might try to annoy you

-Friends more often than not will take advantage of your hospitality and hide behind you when killer objects fly making you the primary target

-Friends will alert your enemies if you make a joke about them in any way making you a big target

-Friends might want the object before you and as a warning shoot you in the back


Playing with strangers

Pros

-More time online

-Some have higher skill levels making you have a challenge

-Less likeliness of them messing around and a more direct approach

-Might become friends

Cons

-Complete strangers so less fun and communications

-possibility of more griefing

-Lack of comfortability

-Less likely to have alot of fun


These are some of the pros and cons of playing with friends and strangers. enjoy

Software Review-Steam

Hey guys first software review and it is on the Popular Software Steam.

Steam is a Cross-Platform Gaming Center per say that allows you to buy and play games, connect with friends, and participate in a very large community.

We will go over the tabs and the stuff with it

Store- The store in steam is where you buy all the games and they have some very good deals. Every Weekend deals go on and offer games for on the super cheap and they are downloaded second you buy them and then are available from your account on any PC that you download the game on as long as you have that account. It makes disks unnecessary and the thought of losing games nearly invalid. Gifting games is also easy because at check out you can either buy game for yourself or you can buy as a gift and gift it to a friend

Library- The Library is where all of your games are kept and they are kept in a nice and neat order with icons and everything making finding the game to play a breeze. Also has achievements listed in the library links to community stuff and more making it a very accessible area.


News- The news makes access to the latest gaming news simple and a breeze. It also has news affecting steam and many other parts making everything easy to stay updated.

Community- Community tab is where you can get your group invites, talk with friends, update profile, and make events and all.  The tab is very well organized with alot shown at once but in a nice way.

Steam makes everything simple. Buying Games, Downloading Games, and Talking/Playing with friends is all done simply and seamlessly. And since a steam account is free and some games are free you know what you should do? GET STEAM

Retro Game of the Week.

This weeks Retro Game of the Week goes to the Bullet-Time introductory game

Max Payne is a 3rd Person Shooter made back in 2001 by Remedy Entertainment. It got rated in the top 50 of best games of all time for its noir style and comic like cut scenes.

Graphics- The graphics were especially good for it's time and are aged to todays standards but not as bad as other games. They follow a gritty and psychotic sort of art style making the mood very fitting for the game.

Gameplay- The gameplay is 3rd-Person Shoot em up with bullet time effects added on. Bullet Time is when the world slows down and you can see bullets but you move in real-time giving you an advantage which this game sets up to be required often. At times there is platforming or puzzle but most of the time it is straightforward shooting. The game spans about 4 hours or so of gameplay and is known for a high difficulty level and frustrating puzzles.

Story- The story is about an undercover cop named Max Payne who goes on a vigilante massacre after his wife and kid are murdered on a drug case involving the very addicting drug Valkyr. He travels through the cities and tries his best to find out who killed his family while bringing down the mob, corrupt politicians, and drug rings.

Sound- The sound is on a general level good. The acting is pretty good and the sounds make the game psychotically creepy and sad. At times the sound doesn't seem to fit the level but 99% of the time it does.


My Opinion- This game is an excellent game that definitely deserved the BAFTA award. The game kept me hooked from start to finish, frustrating me at the right times and toning it down when I got to the point of smashing my keyboard in. I found it amusing how one guy could take down an entire mob and it seemed a bit cheesy when I started but after a bit of playing, I realized how much deeper and more disturbing this game was. Honestly I recommend a pickup.

Split Second Review

Hey guys and welcome to a review of the Disney racing game Split Second.

Split Second is a racing game where every thing changes and nothing is the same from turn to turn and lap to lap. Try to be on Split Second the brand new racing reality show and become the best. Let's see how well this racing game fares.

Graphics- The graphics make the game good to gaze at and make everything detailed and helps with the intensity of the game.

Gameplay- On the surface this game looks like a simpleton racing game but on the inside it is more complex. Power plays are obtained by drifting, jumping, and drafting and make this game have a mario kart sort of feel by activating hazards around the level to crash cars. You beat the game by running through episodes and trying to complete them all to be the top racer. There are tons of Race modes such as Air Raid when you try to dodge incoming missiles to regular racing.

Sound- The sound is suitable to the environment and helps with the intensity of the game. At times the sound can be a bit annoying or distracting but overall helpful to the mood

Opinion- This game is INTENSE. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time trying to run through without being beaten and I was throughly impressed. All the different game modes make it fresh and new and still intense. Honestly I enjoyed playing this game to the point of disbelief

10 Strikes Bill Explanation and Thoughts

Congress will be voting on S. 978 aka the “10 Strikes Bill” that could put bloggers, your favorite websites, your family members or friends in jail for 5 years if they embed a video onto their website that has copyrighted material and its played 10 times.

 That means if you post a video of karaoke or your montage with copyrighted music in it and it gets 10+ views you get a free visit from the people arresting you and a free ride to jail for 5+ years. Now don't worry this doesn't effect EVERYONE only 85% or more of the internet.

This isn't right as the videos are pretty much free promotion. I have bought countless games and songs after watching these videos. Doesn't this violate the first amendment?

Anyway those of you who oppose send a message to your congressmen requesting opposition. Also feel free to leave a comment about your view on it.

Emulators- Legal or not?

I decided to clear this up as I have seen a lot of fighting on if emulation is illegal or legal and after long hours of research and contacting law firms I have cleared things up and will talk about them here.

Emulation it turns out IS legal under the case of Sony V Connectix when they copied the Sony Playstation BIOS to reverse engineer the Playstation to make the emulator. The courts decided nothing illegal was going on as long as they did not provide copies of BIOS images or ROM images they could use it. Emulators in themselves are not illegal as they fall under the Fair Usage terms.

ROM Images are legal ONLY if you own the game and its a backup for YOU and ONLY YOU. EX. If you have Zelda Ocarina of Time on the N64 and you want a back up and you get a ROM image of the game IT IS LEGAL. It is a backup of the game for you to have and therefore it falls under the Fair Usage Terms. If you distribute the ROM image around then it becomes illegal.
         
Quoted from multiple sites and 3 different law firms

Section 117 of the US Copyright Law gives the owner of a software package the right to make an additional copy under certain provisions. If you adhere to the provisions then making ROM images is perfectly legal. However, legislation has been passed to prevent software piracy that makes game copying devices illegal. Using such a device to create a ROM image makes the resulting image illegal as well. Also you have to remeber that there is a large amount of freeware / public domain roms that you can download from the internet, and only way to play them is to use emulator or a flash card!

ROM Images only become legal to distribute and such if it is for a discontinued system that manufacturers cannot make money off of and the copyrights for said system and ROM images are lifted due to the company no longer existing OR if the ROM Image is a public domain game or homebrew. EX. Arcade ROMS and Atari 2600 ROMS are legal due to the system being discontinued so no money whatsoever is being made on any part.

Flash Carts such as the R4 ARE legal if they are being used for legal purposes AKA Backups or public domain games and homebrew. They only become illegal if the flash carts are being used to play illegal copies of the games.

Hopefully this cleared up a bit and this blog post is now officially the longest researched post taking 3 weeks of intensive research.

Promotional Contest

Ok those who read my blog i have my first contest for some gamestop official medal of honor seat covers. Promote and have new readers who will be a regular reader sign up and post your name and most will win seat covers and a tshirt. Promo contest is over 3 weeks and here are rules

No messing with the other contestants

No bribing

No signing up or faking votes

Only counts if reads regularly over 3 week period and later and such

If rules need updated will update but good luck

Team Fotress 2 Review

I was asked recently "Jon im sick of Call of Duty and all those regular shooters. Whats a good team based shooter not like them?" I said why the game choice is obvious...

Team Fortress 2 is a class based shooter that took the world by storm way back when and is back to rock but let's see how this game really is...

Graphics- The Graphics are Colorful, Toony and Cel-Shaded. It really suits the game considering the game itself is very cartoon based.

Gameplay- The gameplay is like other FPS's as in you have a HUD and guns but also plays so differently. The whole game is team based and there are 9 classes to choose from and all have their differences.  The Classes are as follows:

Scout can run faster and jump higher but is weaker and can die quicker. Scouts can also Capture Points alot quicker than other classes. Scouts have a Scattergun, a Pistol, and a Bat. Effective at close range

Soldier- Soldier is the rocket launcher class. Soldier has mid range health, defense, and agility. The soldier is good for mid range combat as he wields a Rocket Launcher, a Shotgun, and a Shovel.

Pyro- The Flamethrower class of the game, the Pyro is able to detect disguised spies easily and is a medium build class. Weilds the Flamethrower, Shotgun, and Axe

Demoman- The Grenade/Pipe Bomb Launcher class the Demoman is a medium class mainly used for strategy to place stickys and explode them with enemies. He is a mainly defensive class. Wields the Sticky Launcher, Pipe Bomb Launcher, and the Bottle of Alcohol

Heavy- The Heavy is the tank of TF2. He moves slow takes alot of damage and kills really quickly. Often accompanied by a Medic with ubercharge ready. Wields a Gatling Gun, Shotgun, and Fists

Engineer- Engineer is a lightweight and the smart alek class of TF2. Is capable of building Turrets and such and can also teleport his teammates to designated areas. Wields the Shotgun, Pistol, Wrench, Builder, and Demolisher

 Medic- The Healer of the game Medics can heal and can make teammates invincible for short amounts of time. Can't shut up though so you can tell when Ubercharge is ready or if they are walking by voice commands. Wields a Healing Gun, Syringe Gun, and a Bonesaw

Sniper- Sniper is the sniper of TF2 and is a simple class. Lightweight and capable of headshots Sniper can be very dangerous on bigger maps. Sniper wields the Sniper Rifle, SMG and Machete

Spy- Considered the toughest class to master Spy disguises, sneaks up and backstabs enemies. Spy is lightest class and has lowest health making it a bad choice for the front line. Spy wields the Revolver, Sapper, Butterfly Knife, Disguise Kit.

To add on to the team based concept there are modes such as King of the Hill and Capture the Bag.

Sound- The music fits well and the voice acting is very well done. Each thing sounds just as the character would say them and what is said fits the current situation making it an immersive experience.

My Opinion- Ive put 300+ Hours into this game and enjoy every second. All the classes make the gameplay and mindset of the team constantly. Each class felt different but after playing a bit spy became my favorite class. As I found out the mindset used in this game as a spy carried on to other games I played. Everything fit together very well and made it beyond belief good. Honestly I recommend this game to everyone.

Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 Review

Jon Gillem here with another review on a game thats taken up a ton of my time...Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4

Lego Harry Potter is the next installment in the Lego game series and is definitely interesting considering lego and harry potter are 2 very famous and popular things. Anyway on with the review

Graphics- The game is a Lego game so expect Blocky (hehe) graphics but the game still manages to keep very fluid movements and good on the eyes visuals.

Gameplay- The gameplay follows the other lego games as in you build stuff, unlock stuff, and run around in the harry potter world collecting studs and learning the story in a humorous non talkative way. It has tidbits of platforming, hack-n-slash, and adventure.

Sound- The sound is very nice. Voice acting is nada because the characters mime everything out. The music is very nice and all the sounds just make everything humorous and nice.

My Opinion- This game got reviewed not so nicely but this game is my favorite out of the Lego series. The humor is here that Lego games offer and the gameplay is similar but some new stuff. For instance Character unlocks aren't simply bought. You have to find the character stud and then buy it making it a treasure hunt for everything. Being a harry potter fan this game made me laugh seeing some of the oh so serious scenes turning funny. My only complaint is the loading screens and cutscenes can sometimes be to long. Great stuff and I highly say play it

MMO Report-What are MMO's

Hey everyone im here to talk about a trend more and more people are getting immersed into called MMO's.

MMO's or Massively Multiplayer Online Games are vast worlds where millions of players can meet up, battle monsters, take on quests, and just hang out. MMO's have become multi-million dollar and player games with such hits as World Of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and Runescape. MMO's are different from eachother in terms of landscape, community, and gameplay ideas. WoW takes place in the world of Azeroth where the original Warcraft games take place while LOTRO takes place in Middle-Earth where the books and movies take place. The community varies amongst each as each game has a different audience and target set so some games you might have a mature community and another all little whiny kids.

The system requirements are also indeed different. While LOTRO and WoW take installs and such, Runescape merely needs java and a browser. While MMO's may be really addictive, fun, and breathtaking to many be wary, many MMO's require a monthly fee before you can enjoy it fully so be prepped to put down at least 5 a month and usually 15 a month for MMO's.

Retro Game of the Week

Welcome to my 2nd retro game of the week post. This week will be about retro game Phantasy Star Online.

Phantasy Star Online or PSO is a Dreamcast original turned pc game that came out with the dreamcast. It is often credited as one of the first console online games.

Graphics- The graphics came out in the late 90's early 2000's so the graphics are not top notch for todays time.

Gameplay- An Offline/Online Hack n Slash game with swords, guns, and other things to kill with makes the gameplay feel very familiar. The Hub of the game is a ship called pioneer 2 with all sorts of shops and a Hunters Guild where you can take up quests to further the story and your character. The fighting and questing takes place in 4 areas in episode 1 and 4 in episode 2. Forest, Ruins, Mines, Caves, and all the VR testing areas make up the questing and fighting. The bosses consist of cutscenes showing off massive bosses before fighting them making boss fights feel epic and shows the boss to be pretty bad ass.

Nice Vicious Giant as all Get Out Dragon

Sound- The sound is fitting to the game and all the areas making the sound good. It can be a bore at times with the constant loop but other wise good.

My Opinion- This game has sucked so much time from me and will keep sucking time from me. It has fun combat and keeps me entertained for hours especially with the online. Nothing beats finding 3 other old friends and us hitting up PSO for a night of leveling and such. The community suprisingly is alot more mature than other games and still has a good following. The sound problematic looping is averted when i put my own soundtrack on and listen. Honestly i like this game alot and I recommend you all try it.

Xbox360 VS PS3 Version 1

Ok there is a console war going on with PS3 Vs Xbox360 on which is better...so which is better?

This will cover the unbiased facts of both sides and will tell you which is better to suit you.

PS3 Pros and Cons

Pros- Blu Ray Player and Disks make large games 1 disk only due to room on Blu Ray is bigger than regular disks. Also saves money on Blu Ray player

Free Online makes those unable to pay a monthly fee happy due to no required monthly fee to enjoy the online features

The Interface is very self explanatory and easy to maneuver

Blu Ray adds pretty graphics to the games making everything so much better looking

Music and Videos seem easy to add and access making it simple to see the latest entertainment

They have Playstation 1 games to buy on the store making a retro sony trip possible

Updates are still available to those without PS3 internet as you can update by USB

Some Great Exclusive titles

Cons-At times the internet crashes or disconnects

Games take a bit to install on first time making new games take a bit before playable

Games are a bit more expensive due to the disks being Blu Ray

The online community can be a bit annoying to deal with at times

Lack of personalization with profile

Xbox360

Pros-Avatars can be created and customized any way you want

Updates constantly making everything run smoothly

Can get good deals on stuff that others can't due to amount of time and money Microsoft has

Kinect and special hardware adds some great features to it such as voice control and more

Better Security due to ability to pay people to keep things secure

Cons

Pay to play online monthly

At times the interface can be confusing or frustrating

Some of the community is annoying

Some game titles are put together rather quick or stripped of some features Mortal Kombat 2010 I am looking at you

PS3 is good for the entertainment side of things
Xbox is good for the competitive gaming part


I know this isn't all of the stuff and might be slightly biased but this is version 1. Version 2 will be released later on.
Hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned

5 Tips to Introducing People To Gaming

Hey guys and girls I have 5 tips to get that non-gamer to give gaming a try

Tip 1- Try finding a game similar to hobbies. EX...If he or she likes cooking try Cooking Mama

Tip 2- Start off with something active and casual like Bejeweled or Wii Sports or the likes.

Tip 3-Party games are enjoyable with many people and games like Mario Party that keep things lighthearted and fun should be interesting

Tip 4-Games with things familiar to the person might spark an interest. EX-Scene it or I-Spy or Where's Waldo or something similar

Tip 5- Make a deal with them such as your soul for 3 hours of gaming to try to convince them to game and pray they enjoy it to not take your soul

And those are 5 hopefully helpful tips to try to get a non-gamer gaming

Alice Madness Returns DLC Review

This is a review for the Alice: Madness Returns DLC...

Recommended- You beat the game at least once and trying a Nightmare difficulty run or trying to hit 100%/Achievement Whore before you activate this DLC and use it as it adds a few balance issues.

**WARNING**-Using Fleshmaiden and mass amounts of Hysteria has been known to glitch the final fight to make it impossible to finish without a restart. Spam Hysteria at your own risk

This DLC is for Xbox360 costs 2 dollars and includes new costumes and weapons.

Additions to current game- Just some new costumes and weapons nothing big but still amusing for 2 dollars. The stuff definitely has separate designs and effects making all the DLC stuff seem unique and different.

In-Game Changes- Some of the dresses throw off the balance completely (I.E. Fleshmaiden and its unlimited hysteria spam of death) making a first run way to easy especially on easy or normal. Definitely can be useful for nightmare runs and all though for those wanting to beat hardest difficulty without difficulty

All costumes from left to right:  Checkmate, Late but Lucky Dress, Fleshmaiden, Cheshire Dress, Caterpillar Dress, The Hattress

Here is a List of Weapons and Dresses and the effects they provide:

Weapons

• Pepper Grinder — Called the Octo-grinder, this weapon increases ammo limit and provides double the ammo.
• Hobby Horse — The Knightmare restores gamers’ health with each hit.
• Teapot Cannon — Known as the Catnip Cannon, this weapon increases damage to enemies by 50 percent.
• Vorpal Blade — The Vorpal Cleaver reduces damage from enemies by 50 percent.

Clothing

• Flesh Dress — The Fleshmaiden dress causes hysteria at any time.
• Mad Hatter Dress — The Hattress causes a player to lose teeth instead of health.
• Chess Dress — The Checkmate deals out double the damage for all weapons.
• Rabbit Dress — The Late but Lucky Dress imbues a player’s health with the power of Shrinking Violets.
• Cheshire Dress — The Cheshire Dress disables all Rose Drops from enemies.
• Caterpillar Dress — The Caterpillar Dress keeps Shrink Sonar active.

 My Opinion- Honestly for 2 bucks this was a steal. At first I was saying "Oh God not another Dead Space 2 DLC copycat". But I load it up and to my surprise i find everything looks different and adds on to the game. My main problem is the balance destruction it causes and the glitch that made me restart final fight. Other than that I was surprised and right after running the game on normal I got my DLC on for a nightmare run. The Caterpillar Dress made getting 100% a breeze and the weapon upgrades made nightmare a breeze.

Ok guys update...i will be starting a vlog about nerd stuff in 1 week. tune in for more and check in tomorrow for a new review

Alice Madness Returns Review

Hello everyone Jon here for yet another review this one on Alice Madness Returns for the Xbox360, PS3, And PC

This Game is a Hack N Slash/Platformer that takes Alice from Alice in Wonderland back into wonderland for a new adventure. 11 years after the fire that took her parents from her Alice starts to lose her sanity again and she is sucked back into wonderland to figure things out.

This Game takes total about 12 hours to beat not including all of the side stuff.

Backstory- A few months after Through The Looking Glass Alice is asleep when all of a sudden a fire breaks out killing her family and forcing her to go insane. While in the asylum wonderland calls asking for her to save them and as she goes back wonderland is screwed up. Alice travels through fixing wonderland and at the same time fixing her mind. 11 Years later Alice returns to wonderland as something is messed up again...

Anyway let's get on with the review...

Graphics- The graphics in this game look beautiful and well crafted. Each world has it's own unique look that makes it so much more unique and seems to make you want to see what is in the next world.

Gameplay- The gameplay is Hack N Slash and is very similar to the Zelda series and such but with the Alice twists. Alice wields a Vorpal Blade to attack with initially and can gather a slew of other menacingly cool and powerful weapons to fight with. She can get everything from an Umbrella to a Teapot Cannon and none of the weapons have the same fighting style. Also the ability to upgrade said weapons and immediately tell a difference makes upgrading each weapon a good thing even if it is just to see all the cool weapon designs.

 

 

 

May be a unicorn but can kick some ass

Sound- The sound is crafted to where it fits each and every area your in. From the Chinese sounding tunes of the samurai world to the peaceful sounding tunes of the Vale of Tears the music fits very well.

Storytelling- Alice is trying to figure out why things people have told her about the fire seem to fit. As she ventures wonderland saving everyone she also sorts out memories and tries to find the truth.The story is told in a pace people can keep up with and also is told with backstory slipped in between the current story effectively allowing newcomers to understand what is going on. At times the story does get a little confusing to newcomers but is quickly remedied in the next little portion.


My Opinion- The game really isn't given justice by most reviews. I found the game very enjoyable and very addictive. For those of us waiting 11 years Alice Madness Returns was no disappointment. Getting to venture wonderland and find out what happened really gave me a taste of satisfaction as I ventured wonderland completely. The main complaint was about the graphics which in my opinion really looked beautiful. The gameplay while the same as other games still had it's Alice twist making it a joy to sit through.

I recommend this game but don't just listen to me try it yourself 

Retro Game of the Week.

So as many people know I am a huge retro gamer. The thought of visiting the past to rock games thrills me and I found a perfect game to fit the bill for the blogs first RETRO GAME OF THE WEEK.

The game is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game

Now when I first played this game I found myself sucked in by beautiful graphics, stunning gameplay, and a frustratingly awesome difficulty.

So I was browsing Gamestop.com for some new stuff to play with and I found TMNT Arcade.

Pricing- The price for the XBLA version was a mere 6 dollars so it didn't hurt the bank so i rate that a 10/10

Graphics- The graphics were held to original standards making it a blast from the past 10/10

Gameplay- For those who have never played the game, It is a sidescrolling hack n slash with very high difficulty...but it withstands time and kept me sucked in for many hours before realizing it had been 6 hrs 10/10

Replayability-The game is very difficult yet fun enough to keep you hooked to beat your old times making this very playable and very replayable 8/10

Overall- If your looking for a new game to last a little bit while waiting, or a cheap game that will not break the bank and you have an Xbox Live Account then get TMNT:Arcade... for 6 bucks you get hours of fun and definitely get to play 4 players making it so fun. So why sit here reading this when you can get it for a mere 6 bucks

Duke Nukem Review

Hey Guys and Gals Jon here with a new review. Duke Nukem Forever. Now before you say oh god this got horrid ratings so he will say its horrible hear me out. Im gonna list everything here for you the good and the bad.

Game ISN'T MEANT FOR KIDS!!!
Rated M For Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol


Graphics- The graphics may not of been freaking Blu-Ray but they were great considering it's a game of 12 years.

Gameplay- The gameplay is First Person Shooter with it's Duke Nukem twist. instead of adrenaline or something of a similar sort it's beer. Instead of a mushroom it's steroids. You get the picture... It has it's jokes and it's Duke Twists such as strippers and lesbian scenes and all the goodies men like and moms hate. But there are 2 sides so lets see both...

Single Player- The single player is the same old Duke. Kill baddies while making jokes. You can see strippers, Fight aliens, punch bosses in the balls, fight 3 boobed aliens and more. Run n Gun gameplay with the same old duke humor makes single player fun to sit through. the only real problem is the story is shorter than many will have expected though

Multiplayer- The multiplayer plays similar to quake but with duke twists. freeze rays, shrink rays the good stuff. As you level you get new clothes and stuff for your house instead of weapons and the sort making the leveling refreshing enough. The servers though are hard to connect to and oftentimes people are booted or lagged out making it hard to play. But if you like the classic best gun obtained first wins then you will enjoy the MP.

Sound- The voice acting was ok but the music really seemed to fit the mood. you get to be reminesent of the old days with updated sound bytes and the like so nostalgia is something you will feel.

My Opinion- The Game was reviewed horribly and I wanna kill the reviewers. I felt the game was great in single player down the the last cutscene. My only problem is the multiplayer. It was frustrating to connect and when i did games were shortlived before i disconnected again making multiplayer something i wanted to shoot dead and ship to Thailand. But honestly still it was a good game and i recommend you at least try it

Video Game Reviews--The Rant/Talk/Whatever

Guys and Girls i usually don't rant but this round i do. I want to rant about current video game reviews such as game informer and many others. Firstly a couple things I have noticed...

1. Game Informer and many other reviewers rate the mainstream and top selling games high even if they are a pile of crap or the same thing with 1 addition this time around (sports games im looking at you).

2. The Indie and Hidden Gems are very rarely recognized even if they have a multi million selling rate and fanbase

and lastly the reviews are biased and many a time do not go indepth to all the features but cover the ones they dislike/like.

Now i rant about this because many a people rely on reviews to buy a game and not their own likes and dislikes. this means many games are being unnoticed because they got rated bad or never got a rating. For instance the newest Alice and Duke Nukem got horrid ratings yet when i played them i had a blast. now your like Jon you play all games so you don't count.

Well i may play all games but i know one i can enjoy and one i dislike with every fiber of my being. For instance i dislike many a sports games yet i see 8's and 9's with every single one in the review. so i don't go near them even though im recommended them by people who say "It got a good review so therefore it must be good". And lo and behold I try them and guess what...I still hate them...

Just Remember reviews aren't everything and try a game before dissing it because of a bad review...

Rant/Talk Over

Medal of Honor review

Hey all my first post will be for Medal of Honor for PS3 and Xbox360. Now my first impression was Hey wasn't this the game that came before call of duty?...well yes it did and i was like well COD:BO is really big so i dunno if this will be any good at all. turned it on and here was what i noticed and my reaction after 4 hr gameplay.

Graphics- Graphics are not so outdated to where graphic loving people would vomit at it.

Gameplay- The gameplay seemed somewhat similar to the other Medal of Honors and to Call of Duty making it feel like the others except a little bit more real. ANY Fps player will know and be at home with the controls almost immediately.

Sound- The one thing people complained about was the gun sound and such. Though they do bear a resemblance i don't see how this could affect gameplay

Playability/Replayability- The game does what it should. It absorbs you and makes you want to play more and more. enough said

Learning Curve- If your used to the feel of Call of Duty or something like that Medal of Honor will be hard at first. But trust me it gets easier if you stick with it


My Opinion- This game was nice and had absorbed me for 4+ hours before i finally set it down. It was a great break from the Call of Duty Series and will be keeping me busy until Catherine comes out in july. It definitely had everything a shooter should have guns, people, killing, stuff to keep said people busy, and relatively few bugs and glitches. I recommend this game if you dislike Call of Duty or if you just need a break from other shooters, OR if you need something to occupy time

Welcome

Hey all Jon Gillem here and all i can say is im looking forward to blogging about gaming with you all. Ill be posting gaming info about the latest AT midnight releases and ill be posting gameplay tips and all on the go as i learn them. stay tuned for more updates