Vidya of 2009
It’s been a really interesting year for me, partly because this year in 2009, I have bought more video game than I have for the previous 3 years combined *thinks* I’m pretty sure, that’s just an estimate, but it sounds about right. Either way, a lot of games were bought and played and now that it’s extremely close to 2010, it’s time to have a look back at the year that was.
2009 has been an awesome year for me. Back in 2008 I managed to get a PS3 for free and also bought a 360 elite during end of 2008. This meant that going into 2009 I had access to a DS, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 (if you only count the current generation line-up). This meant that I had a lot of opportunity to play a hell of a lot of different kinds of video games.
Is this site suitable for civilised society?
I am very upset at the moment… I’m giving you fair warning right now that I will end up offending someone, somewhere, with the content of this entry.
Senator Conroy says some internet content is simply not suitable in a civilised society.
The Australian government has put out a media release today announcing that they’re pushing forward with their efforts to censor the Internet. The release titled as “Measures to improve safety of the internet for families” basically states that whatever content that falls under the “Refused Classification” listing in this country will be blocked nationally through every ISP in this country.
To put it in simpler terms: If I load videos of the new Aliens vs Predator game onto this site (whether it be hosted locally on this server or from YouTube), then this web site, or at least that specific page would end up being put on the filter list. The reason for this is because the game has recently been refused classification in this country due to another related issue that I have talked about on Twilight Lynk for quite some time now.
(UPDATE: Aliens vs Predator has since been re-rated to MA15+ in its complete and uncut form.)
Is this web site suitable for civilised society? Whether it is or is not is not the issue, what is the issue and what I absolutely HATE is that the determination, if the government has its way, will no longer be left to free thinking adults themselves. “Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and free” my ass… in this respect we’ll become no different to China, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Super Guide: It killed your family and kicked your dog
The Super Guide is your enemy, it has killed, imprisoned and raped your countrymen and will be the cause of the end of civilisation the world over… or at least that’s the kind of melodramatic nonsense some would like you to believe about Nintendo’s newest experimental feature that has made its debut on New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
So what exactly IS the Super Guide and why should you care or not care? In short, the Super Guide is a feature that when activated will play the game for you… and this kind of description is what has put a lot of people up in arms and have condemned the feature outright without them even looking into what it really is.
Put your rage and your conclusions aside and let’s continue on and see what this is really all about…
One gamer’s take on the controversial scene from Modern Warfare 2
Unless you’ve decided to poke your eyes out and become a deaf-mute, you would have heard about a certain highly controversial scene from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that has hit a bit of a tender spot among various people.
I’ll try to get through this without giving too much away in terms of spoilers for all those concerned… and there will be warning where I have given some it away…
Following paragraph contains some minor spoilers.
The scene in question where you, the player, take part in massacring innocent civilians in a terrorist act during the game was apparently leaked to the public not long ago. Before too long, the game and developer, Infinity Ward, was being accused of promoting terrorism. It has even made a few gamers question whether they really want to play through this themselves.
// End of spoilers… for now.
Obviously it’s going to make people feel uneasy (or worse) about taking part in such a horrifying act, even if it is just pixels on a screen and no one real is getting hurt. You aren’t meant to feel good about it no matter where you stand on the issue… and that really is the point of why that scene is in the game.
Game Spotlight: Dead Space: Extraction
I do admit that I’ve been posting up a lot of Game Spotlight entries for Wii titles lately and I really should focus on some more 360 and PS3 games, but I think I should get this game out of the way since I have already posted up an entry about the original Dead Space.
The first game in the series gave us sights and sounds that created quite the atmospheric dark and lonely experience. If you didn’t have a huge HDTV, a Dolby Digital capable surround sound system and a room where you could turn the lights out, draw the curtains and sit in the pitch black darkness with only the glow of the TV in front of you, then you weren’t experiencing the game the way it really is meant to be played.
On the other hand, Dead Space: Extraction is an entirely different beast to the original…