Video Games

EA's uber franchise PS2-era snowboarding masterpiece SSX finally hits stores today for the PS3, and here's the release trailer, to give you some indication of just how awesome this game will be.

I'll be posting my review in a few days after I get some time with it.

If you're unsure if SSX is for you check out my blog's coverage of SSX @ willsfreeswim.blogspot.com/search/label/SSX

Krog, D & I will see you on the mountains tonight! Get ready to eat our powder! 

For the longest time, I was a bystander to gaming trends. Outside of an occasional PC version (say NHL06 may be the last game I had purchased), that is. Well, I may still be a bystander, but we broke down and purchased a console for Christmas - an XBOX 360. I didn't push getting it - if you can believe it - Mrs. Rel did. It is the first system I've had since the Magnavox Odyssey² in the early 1980s. That's right, pre Coleco Vision. 

Ok, sure, this is embarassing -- but I have to give this guy a lot of credit just for the physical stunts he pulls off. He falls down very convincingly!

There's a Slate article that asks why video game developers don't put more civilians into their games, specifically targeting first person shooting game franchises like 'Rainbow Six' and 'Modern Warfare' that supposedly thrive on their adherence to depicting 'realistic' violence.

It's an interesting article that asks a silly question. Follow the jump to see why the article misses the point entirely.

There are so many games on the horizon at all times these days, it's hard to find a good overview of them all whether you look in magazines or on websites. I've had a cursory glance at both, as I do from time to time, and noticed a few that stand out as being either interesting, innovative, or just blatantly destined for solid high quality given the nature of their predecessors. Here they are.

Lifehacker has a great article discussing whether there are ways to make personal finance decision-making into a more gamelike experience. Imagine if we could focus the same kind of passion and energy devoted to video gaming towards personal finance? Or is that absurd?

Honestly, I think it's a great idea for a game. The keys are nicely laid out in the LF article, but should go into more detail. The article correctly points out that the key to 'gametizing' (not actually a word) personal finance is scoring. How can you gauge your progress? The article goes into good detail on how to mentally impose a gaming mindset on personal finance decision-making.

For example: if you've got a debt you want to reduce to zero, picture it as a boulder or endgame boss that you plan on defeating. Your net worth can be considered your 'score'. But what about more complex decisions -- should you rent or buy a home? Can these decisions be gametized?

But what about making personal finance into an actual game? Could it be done? And if so, what form would it take? Would it be fun to play, or feel like Quicken with fireballs?

Some observations after the jump.

 Ello! I said I'd write a quick intro post, so here it is. It will be quick, mind, because I'm not really sure what to write.

I enjoy playing video games, and have done since I was pretty young. My older brother was nuts for video games and used to collect them like some people collect postage stamps. I actually have no idea how he afforded it to be honest. I guess EVERY birthday and Christmas was dedicated to expanding the selection. In any case, it worked out pretty well for me because it meant I could have a whale of a time with this big ol' games catalogue for free! And without dedicating any of my own birthdays etc. to it! Back of the net.

I play games a lot less these days, which is just a by-product of (supposedly) being an adult, which involves lots of those horrible responsibility things. Still, I generally prefer to chill out either by playing a game or writing (pretty rubbish) music as opposed to watching TV, so there's still ample game-time for me. 

This just in: the new Call of Duty: Black Ops video game to be released next week has got communists in a stir. Seems that one of the early missions in the game includes the assassination of Fidel Castro. The game's mission supposedly takes place around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Breitbart reports:

Cuba's state-run media and bloggers are not amused at "Call of Duty: Black Ops," a new videogame in which the player can join a secret operation in the 1960s to assassinate former leader Fidel Castro.

"What the United States government did not manage to do in 50 years, now it attempts to accomplish by virtual means," said comments Wednesday on the website Cubadebate, where Castro regularly publishes opinion pieces.

Really?