Soapbox.

I found this to be quite interesing and thought provoking. I will admit to having little knowledge of the California Violent Video Games law and am ashamed of that fact. My poor state, it can be a pretty stupid place to live sometimes.

Video after the break!

It's Bitter Sweet.

I'm sure by now most if not all have heard of the announcement that Star Wars Galaxies will officially be shutting down come December 15th. When I read the announcement this morning before work I was hit with two emotions - sadness and relief. Everyone at some point had to know this day would come see as how a new Star Wars MMO is just around the corner, but it didn't make the announcement any less surprising. At least for myself.

The closure of SWG is bitter sweet for me. On one hand I have wanted the game to fail and go away for a very long time. But on the other I have always had a fondness and love for the game. Even though Dark Age of Camelot was my first MMO, Galaxies was the game that cemented my addiction to the genre.

Galaxies is like that friend or family member that when they were little you loved to spend time with. But as they got older they just became a major screw up, making one bad decision after another. Eventually as they get older they realize that maybe they hadn't made the best decisions in life and try to get their life back on track. Even though they have disappointed you over the years, deep down you still love them and hope the best. That's how I have viewed SWG over the years.

Almost a year ago I wrote up a post about my time with the SWG emulator and how my fond memories of my time in Pre-CU Galaxies were tainted in the color rose. The words I wrote then are still valid today. Even though the realization that SWG was a mess back in the day, nothing will replace the fond memories I have of my time in Galaxies during that period.

Where Oh Where Has My Wallet Gone!

Man I really need to exercise more discipline and discretion with regards to buying games! So in the past thirty days I bought in order: The First Templar, The Witcher 2, LA Noire for the PS3, Red Faction Armageddon, Brink, Bulletstorm on sale for twelve bucks and I picked up My FEAR 3 and Dungeon Siege 3 pre-orders from Gamestop today. That is a lot of gaming.

I have finished LA Noire and Red Faction and was close to completing The First Templar, but I just couldn't take more of that awful game. I do think I am getting better with my game purchase to completion percentage. But, a spending spree like this is what back logs are made of.

The plan is to start with Dungeon Siege 3, then get to FEAR 3 next with a healthy dose of Brink in between. There's also the matter of MMO's - I am getting the itch to play them again. Either way, I've got enough gaming to tide me over till Warhammer 40k Space Marine arrives in late August!

I Don't Get It.

What has happened to the gaming community these days? If it makes a console gamer happy then the PC gamer is complaining. If the PC gamer is happy(which seems like never) then the console gamer is complaining. This game received this score so I think that game deserves that score because I think it's better than this other game. What do you mean I can use a controller for this game? Everyone knows PC gamers only use mouse and keyboard.

This game is so awesome. It looks great, has a better story, and.....wait it's coming to Xbox? Then this game is a dirty console port, can't you tell by the.....

Message boards are full of anger, disappointment, ignorance and just all around vitriol. It's really sad because games are suppose to be fun and relaxing. Instead games have become this thing that people want to latch onto and take up the cause for or against them. There's this fanaticism that seems to drive gamers to lash out whenever someone has a differing view or opinion about a game.

With each new release on the PC there comes the inevitable 'console port' criticism along with the 'you must not be a PC gamer' or 'you have no idea what you're talking about' comments. PC gamers have this idea that their game should have a differing experience because they are playing on the PC. I don't get that. I think that train of thought is born out of some nostalgic idea of what gaming was like at one time.

Gamers have forgotten how to enjoy themselves. Instead they have become angry and bitter and will accept no other opinion than their own. Too bad really.

A Bit of Nothing.

I have just spent the past couple of hours on the web looking up topics such as subjectivity and objectivity, the idea of being entitled to having an opinion and of course reading the Steam message board. I have actually found the time quite enlightening to be honest.

So from that a few thoughts came to mind, mostly game related. What makes a game good or bad? Are game reviews suppose to be objective or subjective? If a game review is the opinion of the author, then why does the author or reviewer suddenly have less credibility because one disagrees with the review? Are we truly entitled to have an opinion and is it to be respected? Why do people become so devoted to a product or company that drives them to close mindedness? Do you think that when Ben Kenobi was talking about the Mos Eisely spaceport, that he was really talking about message boards in general? Why am I still typing this and not playing games? And finally, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

I may not know the answer to all of this, but I do know that a few months ago I didn't really care about to know the answers. It wasn't until I jumped on the Steam forums and began to read the most nonsensical, ignorant and elitist statements that made me want to know the answers.

It seems to me that gamers have forgotten how to have fun and not to worry so much about what others think as long as they are enjoying themselves.

EDIT: Here's another question: would a review be better if it stated only the facts and was devoid of any sort of emotional slant? Is that even possible?

More TOR Goodness!

Again, I think I just messed in my pants!

SW:TOR E3 Video!

I think I just messed in my pants! I would be lying if I didn't say that I am quite excited for TOR to be released.