Hey everybody. Jim here. Remember me? The guy with the charming good looks, severe weight problem, and occasional Hitler/priest joke? Some of you might be wondering where I've been these past few months. Most of you don't care. I'm going to tell you anyways. I've been through the looking glass, people, and I've lived to tell the tale. I've been living in the world of *gasp* casual gaming.
My new day job (or new-ish - I've been at it for a while now) is as the assistant editor of Gamezebo.com. Gamezebo is a great place that gives me the chance to explore the worlds of social, casual, and iPhone gaming - but it doesn't let me get my hands dirty like God of War does, and I miss getting my hands dirty. I miss the cramped palms and sweaty controllers that an all-night Arkham Asylum binge can bring on, or the satisfaction of pwning the proverbial n00b in some Uncharted 2 multiplayer (yes I liked the god damned UC2 multiplayer, and I'm not ashamed to say so). Most of all, I missed being here with my friends and colleagues at theBBPS. So I'm announcing my triumphant return!
While I'll still spend my days toiling away on the latest and greatest casual releases, I'm going to re-embrace my early days with theBBPS in a big way. This place was my home for more than 3 years, and more than anything else I've ever done, it's shaped me into the games journalist I am today.
Some might see my move into casual territory as a step away from traditional gaming, but that couldn't be further from the truth. There's room enough in my heart for both Hotel City and Heavy Rain. Besides - my Gamezebo career has helped open my eyes to some amazing titles that, while not a fit for GZ, would easily be of interest to you guys. Even better, these are titles that aren't necessarily on your radar. Super titles. Secret titles. Shh-shhh titles. You'll see what I'm talking about in the coming days.
So I'm back! And I'm bringing the good ol' days with me (I hope). If there's anything you'd like to see me writing about, please let me know in the comments below. While I know the direction I'm looking to move in with my return, consider me play-doh in your 4 year old hands.
It's good to be home. You may begin throwing tomatoes at the stage ......NOW.
It’s been called “The Hipster Bible,” and “The Pitchfork of Print,” but NYC’s own L Magazine has quite an interesting cover story in their current issue. As a supplement to questioning whether or not art is dead in New York, and placed between the reviews of obscure bands and movies that are never good enough, and blunt sex advice, they also take a look at video games as art.
The articles are just short sidebars, but they make a case in favor of some of the current orchestra performed game soundtracks and how they should be held in the same regard as things going on at Carnegie Hall. There’s also an interesting point made that while current cellphone rings are annoying as all be, old school 8-bit game themes could loop endlessly while we smile. There’s even a few indie game creators praised for their out of the box thinking and more artsy approach to gaming. Makers of Punishment: The Punishing, World of Pong, Das Cube, and Canabalt are all profiled on their quirky and interesting contributions to the medium.
It’s quite an interesting read, so if you’re in NYC pick up the pocket sized mag for free out of one of its many kiosks, or check out their online site here.
It's pretty easy to pick out which imports to buy when the Internet is at your fingertips. But when you're at the store, it's hard to figure out what games you're looking at if you can't read the three alphabets of the Japanese language. That's when you take a shot in the dark and hope for the best. I gamble on a Super Famicom cart featuring a white blob with wings on his head. Lucky for me, the game turned out to be Flying Hero, a cute 'em up from Sofel. Flying monkeys, giant robots, and oodles of cupcakes ensued.
You probably have fond memories of Aladdin. Not only was it a great movie in the heyday of Disney animation, but the Genesis game was spectacular! You controlled the title character, running around Agrabah, trying to keep one jump ahead of guards (who don’t appreciate you’re broke) by throwing apples and swinging swords. Your faithful pal Abu tagged along behind, and even got the chance to pick up some extra cash for you.
A friend of mine told me recently she had only ever played the SNES version. I assumed they were the same. But having just now played both back to back on their respective consoles, the Genesis version is far and away better. Why? Read on.
It's reasonable to say that gamers will eat up anything Nintendo puts out. And that's not a bad thing since the vast majority of their games are great. So it might be surprising that a lot of their series that we Western gamers have recently gotten to play are actually old news for the Japanese. Even worse, there are several games that Nintendo still hasn't bothered bringing to the West. Let's take a look at all the games that we haven't gotten to play (and all the profit Nintendo has missed out on).
Did you read our Bayonetta review? Then you know how kick ass Bayonetta can be. You probably found yourself wishing how you could get a little more Bayonetta into your life, perhaps as a desk enhancer in action figure form. Well... wish no more!
She's not due out till September, but that'll give you ample time to come up with a story to tell your wife/girlfriend/mother why you need a half naked pistol wielding girl on your desk. Good luck!
By now those of you who pay attention to what the rest of the world might think (though you might not necessarily care) have noticed that somehow, someway and somewhere along the line being a "nerd", "geek" or "dork" has become "cool". Granted, I've never needed anyone else to tell me that I'm pretty damn rad, but it's kind of nice to even consider hiding my Nerd Flag these days. Hell, the way the internet and computers have taken over everything we've all been way ahead of the times and now the nerds shall inherit the Earth.
So yeah. Dan and I are a couple of cool dudes chatting about some cool stuff on this most current episode of the BitCast.
Several years ago, I saw the above image in a magazine and my jaw dropped. So this was what I had been waiting for my PS3 to be able to do. And I wasn't just excited by the photorealistic graphics. Having played Indigo Prophecy / Fahrenheit, I knew that Quantic Dream were capable of creating an engrossing game and an addictive story (I played through the game in only two sittings). It was a long time coming, but Heavy Rain is finally here. But was it worth the wait? Did I forecast correctly, or am I going to have to rain on David Cage's parade?
Most chiptune artists choose one side or the other: LSDJ, or Nanoloop. (Hell, quite a few use both even!) In this friendly game of software loyalty, Nanoloop may have just raised the bar a little bit by introducing the software on the iPod Touch and iPhone.
At $8.99, it may seem steep for a music creation app, but when compared to the at least $70+ price tag for an actual cartrdige, let alone getting yourself a nice DMG, pro-sounding and backlighting it, it's really a steal.
No More Heroes was, without a doubt, one of the best games ever made, if you ask me. But that's not to say it was a perfect game; it had plenty of quirks that kept some gamers from enjoying the ultraviolent excursion. So does the sequel refine the first game's flaws, or does it struggle to satisfy?
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 