Sex should be fun, free, and feel good, but the reality is that it’s not always easy to get in the mood for sex. Many things can cause a couple, or partner, to be turned off of sex. Here’s a quickie list of mood killers and tricks for recharging your sexual energy. Read the rest of this entry »
I normally don’t like trashing games because of gameplay length. I think if a game is fun and well-made and sucks you in, it almost doesn’t matter how long it takes to play it through. I love my scores of hours spent on Fallout 3, but I also love the condensed fun of a well-constructed shooter or action game like Call of Duty (not a perfect analogy, as Call of Duty has all that great multi-player action, but I would have bought Call of Duty 4 just for that single player campaign; it was that good). So I’m no short game hater. But Terminator Salvation? Come the hell on! This isn’t a game, that is 1/3rd of a game. That is DLC. This is a demo.
This isn’t a game … This is a demo.
The game is a prequel to the new movie, which still makes it a sequel to the older movies and the TV show. You play as a young adult John Conner, who hasn’t yet taken on leadership in the Resistance against Skynet. I kind of thought the whole point was that John Conner would start the Resistance, but whatever, fine. In this game you’re just one of the guys, out in the wilds of post Judgement Day Los Angeles, blowing up robots. When you get a distress call from some fellow Resistance fighters, your commanding officer won’t risk the lives of the many to save a stranded and doomed few. But you’re John Conner damnit, and you’ll leave no human life behind to those machines. The rest of the game is about traversing Terminator-controlled L.A. and saving those stranded but apparently well-ensconced soldiers from certain mechanized doom.
(Gameplay video after the jump)
Here’s a sentence you don’t see very often: “The video game is better than the movie.”
Most of the time movie-based games are rush jobs, made to cash in on whatever success the movie might have at the box office. They have a low shelf-life and even lower expectations among gamers. Most of the time, they’re a safe bet to avoid. But what about when the movie’s really bad (like X-Men Origins: Wolverine)? Will the game be that much worse, or will it manage to overcome its nasty origins and work as a good game all on its own?
In this case, it’s absolutely clear that it’s the movie pulling the game down, and not the other way around. I can say with some confidence that the vast majority of the problems I had with X-Men Origins: Wolverine (the game) are directly related to story and plot elements they were saddled with from the film. Whenever the game developers had freedom or pushed boundaries, the game excelled.
My whole basis for judging value in an entertainment product comes from Street Fighter. Back in my late high school/early college days, my friends and I played a heluva lota Street Fighter 2 at the arcade. It’s a quick game, and at a quarter a pop, you could spend a lot of money fast if you die too fast, too often (which I did at first). But eventually we all got better. I remember one regular at the arcade was so good he’d actually pay for other people to play against him because no one would throw away their quarters with him at the joystick. He would even give lessons on how to pull off a special move or time the perfect throw. I never got great at the game, but I got decent, and could pretty much count on $5 in quarters lasting me a solid hour in the arcade. I decided that $5 was therefore just about the right amount of money for an hour’s entertainment. Weirdly enough, almost two decades later I still think that’s the right price, although I’ve sure as hell spent lots more money for much shorter entertainments since then. At $60 though, Street Fighter IV is a bargain.
Okay, so maybe heading out for all the craziness going on at Gasparilla isn’t really your cup of tea. Or perhaps you’d just like to relive our yearly invasion from the comfort of your own home – you know, once that rum-soaked hangover wears off. Whatever your reason may be, if you’re in the mood for some adventure on the high seas without a high price tag, here’s five pirate games that won’t leave yer wallet walkin’ the plank, mateys.
As one of the biggest entries in the game’s series and the first multi-platform one (not counting the online-only Final Fantasy XI), Final Fantasy XIII has an almost incalculable amount of hype to live up to. While the game still remains largely shrouded in mystery, Square-Enix has released some clear gameplay footage from the game which showcases the new battle system:
Sooner Holley: In addition to the constant ribbing I’m getting lately about how “Tebow is Superman – just admit it” and how I better start mining for kryptonite, there’s a more personal Holley-criticism which is coming to me more and more frequently: Apparently, I lack objectivity. By not admitting that Tim Tebow 
may as well be Zeus and Apollo combined because he has faced more top 50 defenses than Sammy B. and the Sooner offense, I am failing to recognize some legitimate facts and therefore, am not an objective fan.
Objective….Fan….Objective….Fan….there’s something that doesn’t feel right about that pairing of words.
Oh, it’s that they are completely contradictory.
If you are a “fan”, you have a bias. That is the definition of the word. You support a particular team, group, cause, ice cream flavor, grocery store, yada yada yada. Objectivity doesn’t really have a place in “fandom” or “fannery” or “fanaticism”. (I think that last one is the correct noun, but honestly, I like “fannery” the best. It has a nice ring, doesn’t it?)
Example: Read the rest of this entry »
Emerald City Comics has been in business almost 20 years, so the shop has weathered its share of economic storms (like the big comic bust of the mid-’90s). Now it’s bigger and more colorful than ever, loaded with all the necessities for a properly geeked life: racks and racks of comic-book back-issues, loaded with everything from near-mint, early Amazing Spider-Man to a less well-preserved Ewoks #1; shelves of new comics, graphic novels, D&D books and other role-playing games; war-gaming miniatures and the latest trading card games; and action figures covering every available space.
Emerald’s friendly staff will pull your favorite comics every week, suggest titles you may have missed, demo the latest games and remember your name when you hit the counter, all without ever letting their guts spill over their belts. It’s a classy joint. (Don’t even bring up the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.)
Gift this: Watchmen, Absolute Edition, $59.99.
9249 Seminole Blvd., Seminole, 727-398-2665 and 2475 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater, 727-797-0664 or emeraldcitycomics.com.
For more stops on the Indie Holiday Shopping Spree, click here.
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