Since E3 is next week and I won’t be there, I have nothing to do but make a wish list of things I’d like to see.

1. A DS light redesign
2. An active Hard drive for the Nintendo Wii. This could either be an external USB hard drive or allow SD cards to be used for this purpose (Am I really the only one that has 0 blocks left?).
3. The game Sadness will be released. And if I’m lucky Duke Nukem Forever will be released in my lifetime.
4. Blizzard to surprise us with an August 1, 2008 simultaneous release of Starcraft II, Diablo III, and Wrath of the Lich.
5. An awesome non-turned based RPG from Square-Enix or from any company for that matter.
6. A new adventure game that is neither a sequel or a prequel
7. Google to announce the G-Box gaming console
8. All consoles to ditch their online models and join Xbox live. Why not! Most PC’s run windows, why not have most consoles run Xbox Live. Fine! If you don’t like Microsoft, then they can all join Valve’s Steam. As long as they are all in the same place.
9. Companies to be fined for delaying or pushing back game launch dates.
10. For one of the major console makers to invent an idea I had for a long time. A “Single Avatar Character Model”. What this super-awesome idea would mean is you create one ‘Mii’ or whatever. You would have the option to use this avatar in almost every game available for that console. This avatar would not only keep track of all scores, achievements, games beaten, and your entire history of playing anything, it will also look the same in any game you play. You should have the option to customize this character whenever you want. Treat it like a virtual you. Also when you take this ‘You’ online, other players you meet can view your history of anything you have achieved in all your gaming since you created the character. Plus this way you can say “Hey I remember you from Halo 2, nice to see you again! I see you put on some weight.” It’s taking the Mii/PSN Home idea to the next level. Hey, I’m allowed to wish for whatever I can dream up!

I have been left very cynical from my experiences playing Final Fantasy XI (online). Yet, I continued to search for an ideal online multiplayer experience. I moved onto EVE online. The game was very attractive to me being a science fiction game. It was very nice for a while. I began working on upgrading my ship by mining ores and selling them. Buying raw materials on one planet and selling it for more on an other. One day I ventured deeper in space. The nightmare returned…PK. It’s an understatement to say that PK is part of EVE. The game is built around player killing. After getting shot down while mining for no reason at all, I abandoned ship. Sadly, the human nature to destroy anything whenever it is possible without any reason whatsoever, will always ruin the online experience (I’m staring at you, Xbox Live). (more…)

The first true modern Multiplayer game I got into was Final Fantasy Online. I have been a fan of Squaresoft games (now Square-Enix) and figured an online game based on the series would have been, ideal. Unfortunatly, I was in for a rude awakening. I cant explain my experience playing Final Fantasy Online any less than calling it self torture software. I felt like every aspect of the game was built to take up hours and hours of my time achieving nothing and leaving me miserable. This is the only game I ever played where every time I stopped, it left me in such a bad mood I wished you never started playing. (more…)

I know it’s becoming an age old question at this point, but is there life after World of Warcraft (WoW)? In my opinion, WoW took some of the best ideas from all other online games, perfected them and put them in one package. Unfortunately, there still lies a few issues that even WoW hasn’t solved. I’ve dabbled in online role playing games ever since the days of MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons, yeah, that ages me doesn’t it). My next few blog posts will be on this subject. I have such a long history I had to break it up in parts.

My first graphical online game was the first one of it’s kind, Neverwinter Nights on America Online. Back then, the thrill of being online at all was exhilarating enough, let alone playing a role playing game with other people. America Online soon got to expensive for my part time job wages and I had to abandon Neverwinter Nights for good. (more…)

I was shocked when I first read the Wii would have built in 512 MB of hard drive space. Compared to the Xbox 360’s 20 gigabyte drive, this is hardly anything at all. However, I gave them the benefit of the doubt when I also read the Wii would support SD cards and include two usb ports. However, to my horror, I found that you can not use the SD cards as an active hard drive. Meaning, you can’t run any games or saved games directly off the card, nor can you use any usb hard drive for that purpose.

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A few days ago Forbes has posted an article titled “America’s All-Time Favorite Videogames’.  An article at Aeropause,  Joe Fourhman brings up some good points that question the motives of Forbes. Ok even if you accept the skewed parameters and the blatant exclusion of any Nintendo titles, why absence of The World of Warcraft. Also, what about The Sims? Something is definitely fishy here.

Article here

I really don’t understand how there are game review sites and blogs out there that are claiming that using Wii Fit cannot get you in shape. That’s almost impossible. If you bother putting the energy it takes to turn on the power put in the disc and start up Wii Fit, you’ll find that you’ll be doing real exercises. For instance, one has you lying on your back working your abdomen muscles by lifting your legs and arms to meet in the air. For those that know, this is a V-crunch. How can you make the claim that doing 15-30 reps of V-crunches a day will not eventually lead to a loss of fat if not tight abs? You dont need a gym to get a 6 pack, you only need a floor and the will power to do it. So does that mean game reviewers are going to say using the floor wont get you fit either?

Although Iwata stated that Wii Fit’s purpose was to make you more aware and not necessarily make you fit, the latter is a given if done intelligently. You can’t do crunches a day and NOT get a result. However, if you use Wii Fit and you are shoving Fried Chicken, Cheeseburgers and French fries with Ranch Dressing in your mouth, then yes, you are wasting your time. Nintendo did not include instructions on how to diet, so it’s pretty clear to me that if you want to get fit you have to learn how to do that part on your own. It’s not Nintendo’s Industry to tell you how to eat right. Given that, I imagine Iwata said that Wii Fit is not intened to make you Fit as a CYOA statement (‘Cover Your Own Ass’). However, Nintendo did create software that states “look if you do exercise daily, we will measure it for you and even make mini games out of it”. Unfortunately, neither Nintendo nor NASA has the technology that will make people do exercise on a daily basis. I’m sure there are millions of people that would prefer Wii Fit be nothing but an In-Home-Do-It-Yourself liposuction kit.

It’s almost a no brainer that Wii Fit will be a hit. It was only a few years ago, Nintendo would have been ridiculed for coming up with such an idea. Now, it wouldn’t surprise me to see numerous knock offs of Wii Fit by the end of the year. There are many game review sites that believe Wii Fit will not do that well. I strongly disagree. The target audience was practically standing in line before the game was ever dreamed up.

People spend not hundreds but thousands of dollars on exercise equipment they will only use once. The biggest culprits are those who buy treadmills. For this reason, if your serious about getting a treadmill, buy one used; it’s virtually brand new. Forking out $250 for a Wii and an additional $90 for Wii Fit is a bargain. Spending $350 as opposed to $3500 along with a promise that exercise will be fun! Come on, this game is going to be in just about every Wii owners living room.

Personally, I plan to get Wii Fit as soon as I can. I have a feeling it may be a little hard to find so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Finally, the following games may not have suffered completely from poor sales,  but I believe they could have received more love if they were also released on the Xbox 360.

Lost Kingdoms
Sadly, many people don’t even know this series existed. This GameCube exclusive is what you’d call a card-based action game. Unlike most card battle video games, you are still required to fight in real time. So if you have a sword card, you press a to swing the sword. You can only swing your sword as many times as sword cards in your deck. As with traditional card battle games, your deck is face down and you are dealt them as they come. So if you want good weaponry, include good weapons. This game is a full adventure with maps and puzzles to discover as opposed to what you’d think a card battle game would be. So why would this be better on Xbox? Xbox Live of course. This, not only opens up multiplayer battles and coop adventures, but the ability to trade, sell, or buy new cards online. You could go as far as build an in-game auction house where you could buy or sell your rare cards. As with Guitar Hero’s music downloads, I’m sure Activision would be more than happy to allow you to purchase ‘Booster Packs’ or other specialty cards from the Xbox Live Market Place. (more…)

Glenn Beck of CNN thinks video game bloggers are all losers. As a working professional and a video game blogger, I do take direct offense of such a statement. What exactly is his definition of ‘loser’ first of all? I could care less about CNN or him but I have no interest in attacking news industry. Aside from his blatant immaturity, the co-author of Grand Theft Childhood, Cheryl K. Olson, makes some very interesting points. Her statements make me really want to check out her book. In this video, Glenn Beck comes across what we gamers call a 12 year old. You know, those people in games (especially online) that are immature for no reason at all other than to attempt to gain attention with what they think is humorous.