video games

Let’s Talk About Black Friday

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Black Friday is a bit of a weird subject for me. As a Canadian, I’ve never actually experienced the madness that is Black Friday. However, I can totally relate. In Canada, we celebrate Boxing Day, which is the Canadian Black Friday equivalent that takes place on the day after Christmas. As a huge Boxing Day fan, I can relate to the experience of planning my shopping trip days in advance with the aid of flyers and online resources, as well as the experience of lining up and dealing with mobs to take advantage of great deals. I’ve taken advantage of a few Boxing Day video game deals in the past and I’ll probably do so again this year.

With that said, let’s talk about Black Friday.

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Girlfriend Gaming: Help Me Recommend PS3 Games

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My girlfriend is a life-long PlayStation fan. Way before I entered her life, she grew up playing Crash Team Racing on her PlayStation One. She’s since picked up a SNES and a Wii, but she’s had her eye on a PlayStation 3 for a long time now. At the very least, she’s wanted one long before I ever started thinking about it.

She feels like now is the right time to take the plunge and pick up a PS3. She’s asked for my help in recommending games for her to try, but my PS3 knowledge isn’t that great compared to what I know about the other systems. This is why I’m enlisting you for help. What should she buy or try out on the PS3?

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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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Why Isn’t There A Video Game About The Notebook?

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Love is the most popular subject matter in virtually every medium across every culture. Much of the music we listen to, television shows we watch and books we read deal with the subjects of love, dating and romance. Personally, I’m a sucker for a good love song, though I can pass on most chick flicks and romance novels.

With that said, where are the video games about love, dating and romance? Why hasn’t the most universal subject matter made a splash in the medium of video games? I acknowledge the fact that Mass Effect has a relationship mechanic, but its a small part in a big game about shooting aliens. Final Fantasy VIII tells a love story, but its wrapped around a fantasy world where you kill monsters and level up. I am also aware of the dating simulators in Japan, but cultural differences wouldn’t allow for direct ports of those games to other regions. My question is, where is the video game equivalent of The Notebook?

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Is Def Jam Rapstar Hip-Hop’s First Great Music Game?

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Hip-hop has historically gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to quality music games. While rock, pop and dance have been adequately served, hip-hop fans got DJ Hero (which was half not hip-hop), the obligatory Beastie Boys song in the rock games and Get On Da Mic (which was awful).

Def Jam Rapstar aims to finally bring gamers a good rap video game. I don’t know enough about the gameplay or feature set to talk intelligently about it, but so far it appears as though they’ve got the most important part right: the soundtrack.

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Advance Wars: If Only Real War Was This Fun

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A lot of people tend to gloss over the fact that Nintendo does more than just Mario, Zelda and Metroid. If you look far enough into their catalogue, you’ll find a number of different games and franchises that span almost every genre. Some of these games maintain cult followings and steady sales, such as Fire Emblem and Kirby, while others fall by the wayside with only a few people caring that it likely won’t come back (unfortunately, I’m looking at you, Elite Beat Agents).

Though Advance Wars made its North American debut in the early 2000s, the series originated in the late 80s in Japan. Why did it take so long to make it to North America? I don’t know. But I can tell you that when it did, it blew my mind.
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Let’s Talk About Collector’s Editions of Video Games

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Back in 2007, the hype surrounding Halo 3 was massive. This was going to be the biggest and best-selling media launch of all-time. In particular, the hardest of hardcore gamers were salivating over the Legendary Edition of Halo 3, which featured of all things, a miniature replica of Master Chief’s helmet. Video game collector’s editions were still new at the time, and we’d never seen anything this epic (or expensive) before.

Part of the appeal in the Legendary Edition was the fact that it was supposed to be super rare. Instead, it stands as one of the biggest jokes in the short history of video game collector’s editions. I can name multiple stores in my city that have these in stock right now, collecting dust on the shelf at 1/3 of the original asking price. Even at that price point, retailers still can’t rid of them. If you paid $150 for it at launch in hopes of getting something truly special, I bet you’re bitter that the monetary and financial value of this set has dropped dramatically.

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Hiding My Video Game ‘Shame’

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Imagine yourself at a job interview. You’re nearing the end of the process, and this question (or a version of it) is asked to you: “What do you do in your spare time?”

I’m all for pushing towards mass acceptance of the video game medium, but would you tell this potential employer that you play video games? Having been through a number of interviews at ad agencies over the past year, I can tell you exactly what I say. I start by saying that I like to spend time with my family. Then I talk about how I play musical instruments. Then I talk about how I like to blog. Then, should the employer want to know more, I mention video games in passing, usually in the context of, “The video game Rock Band helped me learn how to play real drums.” All of these statements are true, but I admit to being a bit…selective.

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Ocarina of Time: Timeless

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1998 was a monumental year for gaming. Metal Gear Solid rocked the faces of Playstation One owners, while Half-Life revolutionized first-person shooters and the single-player experience on the PC. I’m sure there are other examples of gaming brilliance I can discuss, but the one I want to talk about here may be the most important game to come out of 1998. It played a major role in revolutionizing 3D gaming and to many, still stands as the gold standard of this entire medium.

I’m not here to debate its place in the pantheon of video games. What I am here to say is, the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time left an impact on me in 1998 that I still feel today.

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Girlfriend Gaming: Knockin’ Boots

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Usually, when I’m in the car alone, I listen to video game podcasts. I usually spend about two hours a day driving, so it’s a great time to catch up on the latest and greatest in gaming. When my girlfriend is in the car though, I recognize that she doesn’t care to listen to nerds talking about StarCraft II or NPD sales.

She has listened to a few episodes of the Giant Bombcast, which she does enjoy to some extent. However, there is one sort of gaming podcast that she absolutely loves to listen to and one we now listen to together: Game Scoop! Presents Knockin’ Boots.

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