In a move that should surprise no one, EA has decided to milk… I mean provide their fine customers a chance to enhance their purchase of Battlefield: Bad Company with a selection of several additional weapons via the various digital marketplaces. It’s common knowledge that EA, Namco and really just about all the big boys nowadays, have learned to embrace the digital distribution channels available with the current gen systems, but some have made their offerings more consumer friendly and or worthwhile than others. I mean who can forget Oblivion’s horse armor? It was armor… for your horse… that, unlike in an MMORPG, no one else but you would ever really enjoy, and served no practical purpose in the game.

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I know, I know. You’re all wondering where I’ve been this past week or so. Playing a boat load of games maybe? Reading “How to Blog about games for idiots” perchance? Maybe working on my own design doc for the next great game? No… I had to have a bunch of dental work done. Not very exciting I know. But I did bite the bullet and decided to get a more up to date PC rig.

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The fires are starting to burn out, the dogs tied up and Kaim and company are coming home.  Finally on the 4th and last disc of this Odyssey that while not lost most assuredly will be missed.  There have been some recent twists and turns in the plot but nothing that would surprise most people that have played any other RPGs in the past.  Even finally starting to grind a bit due to the last half of the 3rd disc being chock full of cutscenes.  Out of the few complaints I have for this game that would be a big one. Read more

To avoid spoilers for those that have yet to play this game (and you WILL play it) I will not elaborate on the title.  Suffice to say the grandma is indeed hot.  Breezing on through to disc 3 of Lost Odyssey and still moving at a comfortable pace. 

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So the dude that has his one of a kind autographed Xbox360 refurbed made out like a bandit with a surprise goody pack from Bungie themselves. The saga continues over at Hawty’s Blog with some pics and details. Now I want to make sure it’s clear that my post about the issue was not meant to downplay the crap factor of the situation, I know I would be super pissed had it happened to me. But it was more to complain about all the hate generated towards M$ from the comments and forums (which is often filled with idiots anyhow). I can understand that maybe this guy was clueless about how these sort of things work, I still say the blame is half him half repair center (for also being clueless).

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Alright, first Microsoft gives you kids XNA. Then Nintendo throws out some budget dev apps for WiiWare. Now Sony has thrown their hat into the ring with PSN Developer kits. Long winded details from Gamasutra mention that for the low, low price of $1200 you too can get this all in one debug unit and PSN distribution kit. And if you act now they’ll throw in a free PhyreEngine middleware app to make the next best selling title with.

Truth be told this is a good deal for budding talent with out the connections to get signed by a big publisher, or maybe for any defunct former PC development teams looking to regroup and keep doing what they love. Bottom line is, there is no good reason for you amateurs not to be making me some killer new games to play on the cheap. Now get crackin’… cracky!

Seriously … This is THE worst gamer tat. Not only aesthetically, but psychologically as well. Imagine the dude who has to stare at the sniggering dog while going for the gold. Young gamers associate the shame of ineptitude with the Dog’s haunting giggle, so to be faced with that secret shame while performing his manly duty is terrifying.

Seriously folks, the idea of the PC as a real gaming platform just needs to die. This is a monster that is constantly cannibalizing itself and anyone who dares to try to tame it with their wares. Case in point: a very bitter Michael Fitch speaks on the now defunct Iron Lore Entertainment which has closed their doors after the release of the modestly successful “Titan Quest.” This was said to be due to the fact that they could not secure enough funding for their next project, and the details of how that takes place on the business side is beyond me, but Mr. Fitch felt a need to give us his two cents in a rather pathetic rant bemoaning PC game piracy, and all the stupid reviewers out there. Now I do not advocate piracy, nor do I really think that it is “destroying profits” as most of big business would like us to believe. And I have read a review or two that made me think the person writing may have been mentally challenged. But that is neither here nor there as far as I’m concerned.

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Upwards and onwards on my merry adventures with Kaim and his crew of pirates. I mean soldiers. I mean traveling insurance salesmen. Oh never mind, I forgot who they were. What I do know is the gameplay is really starting to click with me now after some time with it. It’s hit that magical balance of deep enough to keep me interested yet not so tedious and cumbersome to drive me mad. They have also hit that median of leveling that someone could just play through without grinding and so far be just fine in boss battles. Which is good considering how story heavy this game is.

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