Go onto Xbox live if you can

On Xbox live, check out a free video of some dudes in red jump suits playing Xbox on Jimmie Fallon with no controller.  Or you can just Google it, I'm sure it's all over the web by now.  Ok, they are not actually playing Xbox on Jimmy Fallon the person, they are guests on the show.  Although, if they were actually standing on Jimmy Fallon while playing Xbox in a red jumbsuit and no controller, that would also be a pretty good video.

Is Controllerless Gaming the Future?

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, no, it's not.  It's only a part of the future of gaming.  I think there can be a ton done with it and it will be interesting to see what game designers will come out with which utilizies the technology.  I can tell you right now, playing kickball isn't gonna cut it.  I thinks it's safe to say that as long as there are video games to be played there will be buttons to be mashed, triggers to be pulled, and thumbsticks to be tweaked.  I'm not jumping out of chair about this controllerless stuff just yet, but I do wanna where I can get one of those red jumpsuits.  An official Project Natal one, that'd be cool.

Resident Evil 5 Due Out Soon

Knowing Resident Evil 5 is due out soon and knowing what a great franchise it has been in the past, I downloaded the demo off X-Box live for a little co-op action with the little bro the other night and I gotta say,, interesting.  I liked this game for a few reasons.  Character controls were sound and made sense.  Graphics were awesome.  Player movement and environement interaction were good and smooth, very little frustrating hang ups.  Like when you're trying to dash up some stairs and you get hung up on crap for no reason,, I hate that.  So, for 1, all in all, the game was smooth, which is probably one of the first things I look for.

What Puts It Over The Top?

Having good graphics and smooth movement on the field of battle is one thing, but what really stood out to me on this title was the AI, or Artificial Intelligence.  I can't really recall a game right now that I'd compare it to.  The AI metering is such that you can actually feel the build up happening and try to anticipate your game play to handle it.  In other words, if you prepare in advance, you can coordinate a game plan to handle the onslaught of enemies, but in such a way that it is truly challenging, engaging and ever changing. The AI adapts to your game plan and does it well, so prepare to think on your toes. Not much in the way of linear gameplay here, you gotta know what's up, act and react to the enemy.  It's kind of hard to describe, but it's spot on, and Resident Evil 5 does it better than any game I've played so far.

Why This Matters?

Having this quality is key, and games like Call of Duty 4 and 5 get it up to a point, however, Res5 makes it a little more real.  Any good shooter is gonna give you plenty of enemies to site down on and a lot of them do this well.  It's just the way the action unfolds in Res5 that in my opinion makes it unique and engaging.  To put it simply, there is more than one way to skin a cat.  Res5, again, has achieved this unraveling of game play and refined it to a point I've yet to witness and the most impressive thing about this is that it plays perfectly into this titles strong hand, which is to provide ground breaking online co-op play.  Ammo seems limited and valuable in this game, which it should be. 

Game Hint:

You and your team mate can handle different weapons but may be too busy at the time to get the ammo you need for your weopon.  So pick up the ammo for the weopons your buddy needs if he can't get to it and give it to him when you guys can catch a breather.  He should do the same for you.

Gamer Hint:

If you're looking for something that you can play co-op online with your friend and you like shooters, get Resident Evil 5, period, exclamation point, and get some GhostGrip while you're at it.  You don't wanna slip up when you know 20 more hostiles are out there sniffin you out.  

Get Resident Evil 5, get your GhostGrip, Dab Rub Clap, and remember,,, watch your precious ammo,you're gonna need it.

There's the top 10 and then there's my top 10

Top ten lists are great, I mean, look at David Letterman, the dude's made a living off them.  Everyone like's a top 10, it kinda helps us put things into perspective.  So 2008 is over, and everybodies gotta top 10 for 2008.  They all line up and put in their 2 cents, hundreds of websites, publications, bloggers, editors, and millions of Gamers, all of them have a top 10 and each of their top 10 is different from the next.  

Put it into perspective

So here's the thing, I may have just discovered Soduko or whatever it's called in 2008 or maybe Connect 4 and played it a bunch.  So does Connect 4 make my list?  How about this scenario, I found some obscure independent game made in Norway in 2008 that I think is the show, does that make the top 10?  In order to have a top 10, we gotta first lay out some ground rules.  Number one, my top 10 list will contain games played on major gaming consoles (xbox, playstation, nintendo.  Number two, I said consoles, not some handheld device like a PSP or Nintendo DS.  Number three, these games will have been available to the general public, I'm not gonna pull some game out of my a$$ that only a few played but it never got released or made it anywhere.  No diss to independant labels and stuff like that, actually, if you wanna send my something I can spin on my 360 or PC I'm game to give it a go and it may make the top 10 independant games list sometime.  So, be fair.  I'm not gonna list my top 10 NHL players of 2008 and just randomly throw some WHL dudes in there.  

The top 10 listed and in one sentence, why.  Drumbroll...

10.  Little Big Planet - Reminds me of some early Atari computer games, I think Adventure comes to mind.  Allows players creative input.

9.   Deadspace - Graphics, intuitive controls, great sound, and some scary moments,, golden.

8.  Fifa 08 - Great soccer, good online play, very nice.

7.  Burnout Paradise - Awesome addition to this franchise.

6.  Wii Sports -  A staple and great introduction to the Wii, besides Super Mario Brothers, probably the best game to actually be shipped with the console.

5.  Assassins Creed -  Can get a little repetitive, but groundbreaking gameplay, smooth, awesome graphics, epic.

4.  Left 4 Dead - Simple to the point and fun, think Galaga, Centipede, or PacMan with good graphics.  Grab your gun and start shooting.

3.  Fable 2 - A great follow up to Fable.  No dissapointments here.

2.  Gears of War 2 - There's just something about chainsawing locusts,, call me crazy.

1.  Fallout 3 - To me, this is Bioshock on crack, excellent. 

Till next time, keep your hands dry and keep those zombies in check.

Atari 2600, the beginning 

What the!?  Slam, Atari 2600 controller goes flying across the room.  Then it's off to find a screwdriver to take the thing apart, again, and clean the contacts, especially on the lone "Little Red Fire Button".  If you know anything about old school Atari games, you know that that red button got pounded on more than,,, well, let's just say ALOT!  I don't know about you, but the thing always seemed to hit the picket lines when I was playing Moon Patrol, Dig Dug, or Star Wars (the Empire Strikes Back). 

Cool kid on the block

Right in the middle of jumping a crater, facing a flame throwing Fygar (the little green dragon dudes), or trying to get my snowspeeder to hit the little flashing square (said to be an open bomb hatch, put a round here, and you destroy the Walker in one shot) on a Walker.  I don't remember how old I was at the time I would beg my mom to go to the kids apartment that had a 2600, I just remember that that guy was the most popular dude on the block.  Kids would offer him all sorts of perks for some game time, anything from straight out sweaty stinky wet nickels, dimes, and quarters, to cold hard Hot Wheels and Go-Bots (we all knew the value of Transformers back then, come on man, what kind of fool would offer up a Transformer to play an Atari?).  I remember playing Pac-Man so much, I'd wake up in the middle of the night to the sounds of the beginning of the game, it was something like,,, doo-nah-ooh-naah.  Who can forget Combat on the 2600, it was like, so many options and layouts, it was crazy and seemed realistic at the time.  

Gaming is big time

So now your probably asking yourself, what's the point here?  Video games have been the focus of millions and millions around the world, from the average citizen to being a key issue of political campaigns and government.  So where's the harm?  Looking back on my experiences being a Gamer, starting with the 2600, there are tons of valuable abilities gained.  Gaming isn't a passive event, like watching a movie, it's an active mental and physical challenge.  It requires analytical thinking, strategy, pattern recognition, and bartering skills for those unfortunate enough to not have a machine (these guys sometimes turn out to be very successful in business, having aquired negotion skills at such an early age).  However, that's not the real purpose of this first little blog here, the real purpose is to introduce myself, let you know where I'm coming from.  I have a long history of Gaming, we're talking grass roots (from a consumer's POV, I'm not a programmer, although, I did make a few games in the Basic programming language on my Commadore 64).  This doesn't mean I pretend to know all there is about gaming, or that I'm an authority at all on gaming, because I believe I share a similar background in gaming to a TON of people out there. Gaming transcends alot of things. 

My Atari 2600 may be your X-box 360 or PS3

To read or participate in this blog, you don't even have to be my age (you can judge that with the Atari references, Google it if you have too) or even close to it.  My 2600 was your Sega Genesis (or Playstation, or X-Box, etc...), besides half the Mortal Kombat population out there would probably rip my skeleton out and I'm not even gonna talk about Madden or Fight Night.  I would say I'm a slightly above average gamer when it comes to skill, but I have a passion for gaming.  That's basically it, and, oh, one more thing, to all of the younger gamers making fun of us old dudes on X-Box Live or any other online gaming service, save it, and to all you older people thinking gaming is below you, there's nothing like an online multi-player head shot to take your mind off the BS office politics you went through a few hours earlier.  Either way, it's great gaming with people of various origins, race, age, whatever, that's part of the experience.  Gaming brings us all together and allows us to talk smack at the same time.  OUT!!