video game culture

2010 Year in Review: Time Magazine’s Top 10 Video Games of the Year

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Game of the Year lists are a dime a dozen. You can’t throw a rock without hitting five different game of the year lists from any gaming website, message board or blog. If you’re hardcore enough about video games to follow my blog, you’re probably already checking out the Game of the Year coverage from major sites like IGN and Gamespot. From a gamer’s perspective, I don’t expect we’ll see any major surprises cause we all sort of have the same view.

Time Magazine as a publication is pretty far from the gaming zeitgeist. They usually have more pressing world issues to cover. However, they’ve been producing top 10 lists for video games since 2007, which is a great step towards gaming acceptance among the masses. Does their top 10 have any interesting picks? Do they have their ear to the streets when it comes to hardcore gaming? Or is this a list another example of people who just don’t get it?

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Plants vs. Zombies Soundtrack Now Available for Purchase

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In a move that’s been long overdue, the Plants vs. Zombies soundtrack is now available for purchase.

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Street Fighter and the Execution Barrier

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One of the players I admire most in the Street Fighter IV scene is Sako. He’s notorious for rarely ever leaving his house to play in tournaments, but he’s built quite a buzz for himself through God’s Garden online tournaments, his appearance at SoCal Regionals and from all of the YouTube exposure he gets from fans who upload all of his public matches. Why the buzz? Because he has the most amazing execution the world has ever seen in the Street Fighter IV series. He’s able to do combos that no one else in the world can do, and he can pull them off every time, in live matches, without breaking a sweat. The above combo video is an example of some of the stuff that only he can do.

Watching Sako play as Cammy inspired me to hop into training mode and give her a shot. I was hoping to at least master one Sako-like combo before moving onto something else. I didn’t even come close.

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The Canada Cup Begins Today

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These last few weeks have been awesome for followers and players in the pro fighting game scene. We had Season’s Beatings a few weeks ago, SoCal Regionals and South Florida Challenge just last week and NorCal Regionals coming up next week. All of these events have (and will) feature the best fighting game talent from around the world, which has led to some amazing matches (and antics) for us to see.

Happening any minute now is the Canada Cup, which as far as I know, is the first major Canadian fighting game tournament. This one should be as big and entertaining as everything else the fighting game community has been spoiled with of late.

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Movember Special: Gaming’s Definitive Moustaches

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I’m not sure if Movemeber is an international movement, but it’s a really big thing in North America. Many men (and maybe women, I’m not discriminating) are growing moustaches to raise awareness for prostate cancer. I am not growing a moustache, because I do not have the facial hair follicles to grow anything that looks halfway respectable, but I will definitely donate to the cause at some point.

As a way of raising awareness to the cause, I thought it’d be cool to highlight some of gaming’s most definitive moustaches. This is far from a complete list, so I’d love to see what moustaches you think deserve recognition!

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The Most Epic Street Fighter Win

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Taunting has been part of fighting games since the dawn of Street Fighter II. Hate it or love it, someone out there is talking trash to the person they’re playing against, hitting the taunt command just before finishing them off or sending others bitter messages over XBOX Live or PSN. In the right context, I think there’s absolutely a place in the scene for taunting, whether that be to mentally guard break your opponent or as a means of celebration. A lot of people do it the wrong way, which gives taunting a bad name, but when done right, I’m all for it.

Below is an example of it done right. So right. In fact, this might be the most epic fighting game celebration to date.
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Game Length and Adulthood

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A few months ago, I picked up Okami for the Wii. I heard a lot of great things about the game and was looking forward to playing it. I played it for a bit, but not really enough to get a feel for the game. Before I could even give the game a fair shake, I traded it away.

Why? For one, I heard that EBGames was giving out extra credit on this game. Second (and more more importantly), I heard the game was roughly 40 hours long. In my younger days, that meant I could expect good times for a long time to come. As an adult with responsibilities, playing through a 40-hour game is a tough thought to swallow.

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Let’s Talk About Buying Video Games New vs. Used

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When it comes to video game shopping, I don’t think the average customer cares much about whether or not they buy a game new or used. I think when they want a game, they buy the game and get it at the best value they can. However, among gaming press, online gaming communities and anywhere else where serious video game discussion takes place, the topic of buying new vs. buying used always seems to crop up. The main argument for buying new is that your money supports the creators of the game and the main argument for buying used is that you get the game at a discounted price.

I don’t think this is a binary argument. There are a number of reasons for consumers to do both. I buy games both new and used. This post highlights the reasons I buy new and the reasons I buy used.

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Daigo Umehara Coming to Canada?

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Ever since I began to seriously follow the fighting game scene, it’s been a dream of mine to face off against Daigo Umehara. Even though I think he’s light-years ahead of me in every way (as far as Street Fighter is concerned), I would be honoured to face-off against the Michael Jordan of Street Fighter.

Due to the huge resurgence of the fighting game scene and a recent announcement on Shoryuken.com, I may at the very least, get to watch Daigo in person.

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Peaceful Jay’s Colosseum

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I’m trying not to sound like an old man when I say this, but back in my day, Street Fighter was all about a bunch of players crowded around an arcade machine. There were always two people battling it out, while others watched the action, talking to each other while waiting for their turns. This was the foundation for many local Street Fighter communities around the world. Unfortunately, most of that community has disappeared in North America due to the death of the arcade.

However, in 2010, a Justin.tv user Peaceful Jay may have created the modern equivalent of that community on a much bigger scale.

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