Archive – Page 34 – The Recycle Bin

ESRB Musings on DOA Paradise

This article from TheSixthAxis was just too funny not to quote. This is probably not safe for work (text description). I’m not going to offer a quote – no point in the T&A bots picking up this post.

White Knight Chronicles International – Off the Pot

One of my favorite pastimes in a silly sort of way is watching the metacritic scores roll in to see how the “critic” review scores line up with the “user” rating scores. As mentioned previously, White Knight Chronicles International was getting flogged by the so called pundits, but a funny thing happened as the users, presumably RPG fans, started voting – 65% (6 critics reviews) to 8.1 (36 user votes). I’m still waiting on one of the better RPG review sites to offer up a score; that should be the telltale sign of where the game actually stands.

Just for the hell of it, I decided to get off the pot; do my business so to speak and order the game. It should be here tomorrow. Worst case is that I either don’t have enough time to play the game (typical on a lot of my impulse purchases) or maybe I don’t like the game. There is always eBay, right? At least I can offer up some other than peanut gallery comments.

Average Signing Day for Georgia

I have always maintained that ranking signing classes was a crap shoot. You never know how an eighteen year old is going to react in his first year away from home, family, and his sweetheart. Of course you also do not know what happens when kids start “hanging” with the wrong crowd. The real world is just a different situation for some of these kids.

I am not at all surprised to see that Georgia pulled in a mediocre (by their standard) recruiting class. That is what happens in the midst of uncertainty, but hopefully this is just a bump in the road towards ultimate success. It has been a long time since 1980!

“Recruiting is about relationships built, and we knew when we went through a process like we did with our coaching changes, that some relationships were broken,” coach Mark Richt said. “It put a strain on some young men, and we know that some of them changed their minds and didn’t stick with their commitment.”

Still, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham got some nice pieces to play with as he revamps the defense. Freakish athletes such as Jakar Hamilton and Alec Ogletree could contribute quickly and several defensive linemen were added. On offense, the list is short on superstar recruits after missing out on receivers Da’Rick Rogers and Christian Green.

Let’s judge this class in 3-4 years, after the flunkouts, legal issues, and homesickness are resolved. It is one thing to say that the Dawgs now suck – such is the dejection of a 16th overall rivals.com class – but it’s another thing to see how these boys actually produce a few years down the road.

White Knight Chronicles International – Early Reviews Less Than Favorable

I’m closely watching White Knight Chronicles; call it research to justify a purchase. The first four reviews, not necessarily by my trusted regular reading sources, have rated the game with a ho-hum score of 69%. Although the critic score should receive a small bump later in the day when the metacritic editors realize there is an error with the GameRevolution review score (metacritic show 67%, but the actual review shows a “B-”).

It will be interesting to see how the RPG sites rate the game, and how the user votes compare to the critic review score.

White Knight Chronicles – Or how to piss off your fan base.

I still have not decided what to do with White Knight Chronicles International. I know if I purchase it I will not have enough time to play, or get my money’s worth. Besides there is that backlog of RPGs that I mentioned yesterday, but I digress.

This article from the “official” PlayStation Blog is sure to royally tick off some folks.

For those of you who are going to be investing significant time in your characters, there will be an option to remake them without having to start the game over by purchasing a special key through the PlayStation Store for only $4.99. This will allow you to redesign your avatar at any point and keep all that hard work you’ve put in intact. This feature will go live this Thursday on the PlayStation Store.

Ouch! I am sure it is considered innovative to change your character’s appearance mid-game, but charging almost $5 to make the change (and of course keep your current progression) is just a bit much. Oh well, with the cost of modern game development, I guess Sony has to figure out how to squeeze additional revenue sources from its games.

Still, I think it would have been better to wait on this announcement. Instead it sort of comes off as “F-you! We know you will pay anyway!”

MLB 10: The Show

I decided to pre-order MLB 10: The Show earlier tonight. Of course I used Amazon, which gives me release day delivery for a total of $56.99. No shipping, no tax, same day service, what a deal.

As part of the pre-order special, a bonus code will be made available, which will unlock six classic stadiums.

Pre-order MLB 10 The Show, for PS3, and gain access to six classic stadiums (Shibe Park, Forbes Field, Polo Grounds, Crosley Field, Sportsman’s Park and Griffith Stadium). Access code will be e-mailed within ten business days after the game releases. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com, while supplies last. Limit one per customer.

With the newest installment of MLB on the way, plenty of FIFA action to be had (in the form of FIFA 10, the upcoming DLC Ultimate Mode, or 2010 FIFA World Cup), and of course Madden Ultimate Team action, I think I have sports games covered for the immediate future!

More Economic Game Industry Rumblings

According to IGN, Codemasters will be closing down its small U.S. presence, as ten marketing types are being laid off. I hate to end the day on a low note, with back-to-back “bad news” articles, but our economy is seriously broken.

Yes, call me Captain Obvious, but when you set aside the real world by using gaming as a fun hobby/distraction, it pretty much sucks to see that even this great pastime of ours continues to be affected by our poor economic climate.

Economy Continues to Affect Videogame Industry

I was sad to see the news from joystiq [always an entertaining read] that Studio Liverpool (formally Psygnosis) has laid off at least 50% of their employees. This economy completely sucks, which job losses across all sectors continuing to mount.

Over the years, especially in the PSX days, Psygnosis developed a lot of great titles. I have found memories of Colony Wars, Destruction Derby, numerous F1 titles that helped grow my love for the real world sport and racing simulations, and of course the WipeOut titles.

My PSP – Just Go

I am not sure if this story from TheSixthAxis [always a great read] is also true for the U.S., but I thought it was interesting that the PSPgo is not doing well in Europe. A price drop and marking re-launch are imminent.

I cannot think of the last time I played my PSP, but I see no reason to “upgrade” to a PSPgo until Sony offers some sort of UMD trade-in incentive. At this point even a price drop is not really all that enticing to me – I could just pick up a DSi.

I was thinking about once again returning picking up some portable sports games. Maybe MLB 10: The Show or 2010 FIFA World Cup on the PSP, but the prices are ridiculous at $39.99 a pop. If the PSP, PSPgo, or whatever the next version is called, is going to thrive, Sony needs to really consider slicing the MSRP for new games.

Waiting for the White Knight Verdict

I am strongly considering picking up White Knight Chronicles: International Edition, but I think for now I will have to live vicariously through the reviews, opinions, and blogs of others because my back catalog of games is just too full right now.

For RPGs alone, I have (in reverse order of length of ownership) Dragon Age: Origins, Demon’s Souls, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I picked up Dragon Age from Amazon as a Christmas present during the Thanksgiving sales, but I have not had a chance to open it yet. Demon’s Souls was an impulse purchase – I read some interesting opinions of the game and just had to preorder. Oblivion was one of my first three PS3 game purchases, along with F1 and the original Uncharted, but I have done little to explore Oblivion’s great depths and everything it has to offer.

This is where I get in trouble; building up a gaming library that sits idle collecting dust is an expensive endeavor, a waste of resources (i.e. my paycheck!). Even in the best of gaming times, when I am in a wonderful gaming zone, fully committed to quality time in front of the TV with a Dualshock in hand, along with enough free time to be somewhat carefree, my collection can often be insurmountable; I’ll never get my money’s worth or play everything. I know this is a pathetic and sad state of affairs, but it is sort of a sick form of addiction – the rush from getting a new game.

Here I sit staring at my shopping cart trying not to do the needful, while White Knight Chronicles: International Edition is calling. Will I listen?

1994’s Lasting Impact on Videogames

I thought this was a great article – kotaku talks about the impact of the 1994 MLB Player’s Strike on five replacement players that crossed picket lines and have been forever banished from the MLBPA.

Although these replacements later made full major league rosters, some of them contributing memorably, they are forever denied membership in the Major League Baseball Players Association, and thus their likenesses can never be used in any MLBPA licensed merchandise.

I never thought about this before; these players cannot show up in MLB licensed videogames. Baseball fans and videogame enthusiasts should give the article a read.

MUT – Cards from Heaven

Hmmm … I had to pack it in early from work today. A family emergency came up and I had to get home to take care of the kids; saying some prayers that everything turns out fine. Thankfully videogames offer us a nice diversion and temporary escape from real life.

I loaded up Madden 10 to check on my MUT auctions to see if I made a further dent in my march towards 1500 coins and my next Silver pack. I know; small potatoes to the experts, but I understand my limits.

Imagine my surprise that magically I had a Legendary Playoff Drew Brees card. MUT cards from Heaven? What sort of server mess up could cause such an issue? EA had schedule maintenance at 2PM EST, so I figured that a goof up was in order, but it looks like the Brees card was a free gift as part of the “Madden Ultimate Team 100k Challenge.”

This card’s coin value is listed at 1000, but on the PS3 the Legendary Playoff Drew Brees card is already being sold at low, low prices. I’ll probably keep the card around for another week or so and see if the prices go back up.

It was funny to plug in Brees and see my rating go from 73 to 80; tempting.

God of War III (March 16) – Still Sitting on the Fence

I wonder if I am the only PS3 owner in existence that is kind of lukewarm on GoW:III, which is being released March 16. I am sure it is going to be the next great “all that and a bag of chips” game of the year experience, but I doubt I would come close to getting my money’s worth.

The days of buying everything on release day, just for the experience, are for the most part a thing of my past. Besides, I suck at this type of button pressing, real time strategic, action adventure game. Also, I never got around to playing GoW:I, much less GoW:II, but I saw in the Sunday paper that this week Best Buy has a deal for me – GoW Collection, complete with pretty HD graphics for only $29.99. In fact, I think it is now generally available at this new low, low price. Joy!

January – Month in Review (The Winds of Change are Blowing)

I thought it would be interesting to do a quick recap of January. From a gaming perspective, I lost my soul months ago, so longtime readers can appreciate that content provided for your viewing pleasure has been all over the map. Ah, but the winds of change are blowing, and the Recycle Bin (dare I say Calvert Games) is once again featuring a healthy dose of gaming.

For January 2010, the score reads (63 articles**):

19 video game (30%)
33 sports (52%)
11 stuffs (17%)
2 D&D (3%)

**Percentage breakdown totals 102% – 1 article was categorized as sports and stuffs; 1 article was categorized as sports and videogames.

You may ask how this compares to Calvert Games historical averages. I am glad you did! Calvert Games has maintained its current format since August 2004, which is a span of 66 months. During that time 1975 articles have been written, which amounts to almost 30 articles per month, or an amazing one article per day. Take my breath away!

As with the January monthly percentages, the “lifetime” totals are calculated based on category counts applied to total articles, which slightly skews the results higher than the expected 100%. In other words, there are ~100 articles that are in multiple categories.

All-Time (current format as of August 2004):

Stuffs 39%
Sports 33%
Videogames 30%
Miscellaneous 4%***

***Miscellaneous contains Airguns (61), Birdwatching (5), Chronicles (7 – which are really Videogame related articles), and D&D (8) articles.

Twisted, DS, and MUT Chemistry

February is here, with promises of great Super Bowl Sunday football (Lord I hope for a Colts victory), V-Day and inappropriate lingerie (keeping my fingers crossed), the start of a new NASCAR season, and yes of course, a brand new month for me to rehash old videogames. Yes, I am a broke bloke.

PS3 Gets Twisted
Over the weekend PlayStation LifeStyle ran an article that sort of, kind of, hinted (hopefully confirmed) that a re-boot of Twisted Metal is on the way. Twisted Metal 1 and 2 are still all-time favorites. Not so much with the others, but Black was a distant third.

Silly rabbit, DS is for kids!
In Retrospective: Listen, We Have to Talk, EuroGamer writer John Walker waxes and wanes about the dark days of mass market gaming on the DS. This is a great read, and any gamers with kids will be sure to appreciate how far the DS has fallen. Sure, there are still some gems to be found, if you can escape the sticky sweet goo from all the “my pretty pink princess pony pet shop” games.

MUT Chemistry
I dedicated time to eight Madden Ultimate Team (MUT) articles last week, so it would be a major contradiction to start off a new month without another daily dose of MUT. This time I will keep it brief.

In theory your team can be much better than the ratings indicate. How? By playing around with something called chemistry, and while I have a BS in Mathematics, I usually looked at the hot chick’s ass in chemistry class.

As you can tell from past MUT articles, I have not had time to concentrate on building a team with any sort of chemistry; instead I have concentrated in survival. If I could build a decent base, I could turn my attention towards my chemistry rating, but for now that seems to be a way off.

The good news is that just by playing around with my depth chart I was able to improve my chemistry several points (to 59), hopefully allowing me to put off a few contracts from expiring for another two or three games.

As mentioned yesterday, right now my MUT strategy is threefold and fairly simple. I do not want to have to inject a lot of “real” money, I do my best to hold on to any Bronze 70 rated cards, and I try to make judicious use of selling cards in the auction house to help fund new Bronze (and hopefully one day, Silver) packs. Right now I am just trying to put together a decent team with 70ish rated cards. Much like that hot girl’s ass, chemistry will have to wait. And no, I never really had a chance with that girl, but I landed pretty damn well.

Happy Monday!