I still have the violence in gaming debate in my head. Armed with some new information that you will find very interesting, I am hoping to quell the debate for now. I know it won’t die permanently, but it may convince you that a violent gamer is not a violent person.
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Last week I had the pleasure of participating in the media only beta of the new Neverwinter MMO. While I have talked about the potential pitfalls of MMOs in the past, I do want to take the time to talk about how they can be beneficial and why some MMOs succeed where others fail.
The other day I was asked about why the recommended / minimum age levels for our game reviews tend to be even numbers. It’s an excellent question with a somewhat complex answer that deserved a bit more attention than what could be addressed in a simple email. So I’ve decided to answer that and a few other questions I’ve gotten recently.
I will preface this comment by saying there are not words to express the horrible thing that happened in Connecticut on December 14th. I’m not going to even pretend to be able to understand the grief and loss associated with such an event. I am fortunate to have never experienced something of that magnitude, and hope that I never will.
I follow gaming trends fairly closely so it’s a rare occurrence when something gaming related slips by me unnoticed. One thing that I just recently noticed is an inadvertent result of a current trend. The trend is that more video games that would have been entirely single-player ten years ago are now adding on multiplayer modes. What’s the inadvertent result?
E3 2012 has come and gone. I have had a full night to collect my thoughts and reflect back on everything that I saw this year. I took the time to check out 28 different games over 21 hours. It was a pretty hectic three days. But I found myself repeating questions when talking to the developers who were showcasing these games. “What can we expect to find that’s different from [previous game(s) in series]?” “What are you doing to separate yourself from [competitor game with similar style / features]?” I was subtly trying to ask “Why should I pony up another $60+ for this game?”.
Day 3 has finally ended and with it so has E3 2012. What did we get a chance to do today? Closed door meetings with Bethesda and Epic games? Read more to find out!
Day two has come and gone. One again there is a good list of games, including what could quite possibly be my favorite game of E3. What game could possibly earn this sacred title? Read more to find out!
Day one of E3 2012 has come to an end and it was an unbelievably full day. What did we manage to get to? Check here and find out!
I sat calmly, sipping my ginger ale and watching digital representations of fictional characters run around my screen. I wanted to feel the euphoria that I had in years past, that desire for my turn to control the pixels on the screen. Yet this feeling did not come. Were the rumors true? Have I become spoiled to the awesome power of these games? Or is there some more sinister power at play?
If you have taken any time to troll the internet for news about games, you’re almost certainly aware of the current problems that Bioware is having with the endings for Mass Effect 3. I finally gave in and decided to take a look at what the hubbub was about so that I could make a relatively informed article on my thoughts and potential solutions to this problem.
Walk into any local video game store and you'll notice there have been a ton of "3"s coming out. Gears of War 3, Uncharted 3, Mass Effect 3, Modern Warfare 3. Unfortunately, most of these sequels are, at best, as good as their predecessors. Ever wondered why? It's a symptom of a few big problems plaguing the gaming industry right now.
Greed is good. It drives us to want more, to always pursue the impossible perfection, to never become complacent. Yet sometimes, greed goes too far. Parents, your kids are greedy with their video games. I'm here to help you understand how and what you can do about it.
_ Dear Santa,
I know I haven’t been perfect this year. I asked for the Balls of Steel Edition of Duke Nukem Forever for my birthday, and there’s very little that could possibly make up for that. I claimed it was because it’s the game that shouldn’t exist (and really, it still shouldn’t), but if you ignore that huge gaping hole in my near spotless gaming streak I think you’ll see that I should be on the “nice” list. So just in case I am, here’s what I really want for Christmas this year: _ Now that the dust has officially settled, it’s about time that I discuss something that has long needed discussion. There is an epidemic amongst video game developers and it’s about time someone addressed it. So, like it or not, here’s what I have to say.
The past decade has seen the explosion of multiplayer game modes included in games that would have previously been purely single-player. This change, while popular, does have its downsides. It's about time that someone discussed these downsides.
Side Story Games is the only review site that also includes information on a game's "mods". However, this category can be a lot more complex than what the surface shows. I've decided to clear up how we review the "mods" and some of the problems we occasionally encounter.
Recently a little known man named Christopher Poole spoke at the Web 2.0 Summit on “internet identities”. He claimed that Facebook and Google Plus are incorrect in their ideas on how people want to see themselves on the internet. In case you have no idea what he’s talking about or why you should listen to him, I have some clarifications for you.
A 14-year-old girl had to email the COO of Electronic Arts to get them to wake up to the fact that girls play video games. People have been trying to find a solution to the "problem" of girls playing the same video games that boys do, but only a select few companies have covered any real ground in this area. So here's my solution to the whole thing.
We discuss “mature” content on this site. It’s really all this site is about. What I worry we don’t discuss enough is the fact that there are different types of mature content. I’m not talking about the differences between violence and sexuality, but the differences between mature sexuality and immature sexuality or mature violence and immature violence.
Recent news about gamers dying because of "marathon" gaming sessions has prompted me to briefly discuss gaming addiction. If you're concerned your kid is getting addicted to games, don't panic. Just read on.
The Supreme Court struck down a California law banning video game retailers from selling “ultra-violent” video games to children. Why is this important and what does it mean for parents? Read on!
The numbers are in and May was the worst month for video game sales since 2006. Why did this occur, what does it mean for the future, and what does Carmine have to say about the whiners and nay-sayers? Read more to find out!
The final day of E3 has come and gone but rest assured that we’ve saved some of the best games for last. Want to know what to expect from Aliens: Colonial Marines or Resistance 3? Well then read on!
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The Legendary Carmine
Andrew Clayton (a.k.a. The Legendary Carmine) is SSG's Executive Editor. He toils at the stone to make sure this site brings its readers valuable content on a daily basis. Like what we do? Want to see more? Donate to the site using the button below!
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