fitbabits
11-02-2008, 03:52 PM
First things first, please accept my apologies for no roundup last week. My only PC crashed and burned on me. Well, the motherboard pooped out.
Anyway, I'm typing this on a Mac, so I'll make it brief:
California, that Western bastion of tolerance, has decided to try once more to pass an anti-violent games bill (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1776). Whether or not it will be successful is anyone's guess, but I guess the people authoring these types of bills are doing so in the understanding that the more bills you throw at the wall, the more likely it is that one will stick.
Speaking of violence, Bethesda found itself in an uncomfortable position when they were forced to yank all online trailers for Fallout 3 (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1803). Why? How about exploding heads, giblets aplenty, and a general feel of doom, gloom and destruction. Oh, and the ESRB's guidelines likely had something to do with it as well.
Tenuously related, Sony announced that they were making the PlayStation two an open platform and scrapping the certification process for releases on the console (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1829). This opens the floodgates to all manner of independent releases, the quality of which will be very hit or miss.
On the subject of Sony, our network pals at Co-Optimus cobbled together an exclusive LittleBigPlanet wallpaper (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1952), as well as offering some lucky scamp a free copy of said game. There seems to be a stunning lack of chatter on LittleBigPlanet since release, which makes me a http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/sadpanda.gif (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/sadpanda.gif%5B/IMG%5D).
Before I forget, Co-Optimus (yes, them again), got to spend some hands-on time with Electronic Arts' Lord of the Rings: Conqest (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1749).
No doubt influenced in some way by the political goings-on in the nation, Pandemic announced that democratic predidential nominee Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential Republican nominee, will be appearing in Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1953). No news on whether Joe the Plumber will be un(b)lockable in the future.
What else...?
Ah, how could I forget? If I was to pick a least welcome time for my Xbox 360 to red ring, it would be during the holiday rush. You know, the time of year when most of the AAA titles are due for release. Well, it just so happens that my Xbox 360 did indeed decide to up and punk out on me recently. I called Microsoft, sent it in for repair, and received it back in record time (five days). Too good to be true? Yes, sadly. Very much so (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1648). If anyone from Microsoft happens to be reading this, please take note of the following: releasing a sub-standard console to market, then accusing users of console abuse because you failed in your promise to repair the consoles that are sent back is NOT good customer service.
Anyway, to happier matters. Anyone who has very fond memories of Starbreeze's Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay on Xbox and PC will have been cheered no end with the news that the next generation re-imagining is still on course (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1906). Not only that, the developers are promising it will be a whole new game! As an owner and lover of both Xbox and PC versions of the game, I can't convery adequately how happy I am about this.
It's always nice to end these roundups on a positive note, so I'll end this one on the above news. There's so much more I could add to these roundups, but half the fun is discovering these things for yourself.
Anyway, I'm typing this on a Mac, so I'll make it brief:
California, that Western bastion of tolerance, has decided to try once more to pass an anti-violent games bill (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1776). Whether or not it will be successful is anyone's guess, but I guess the people authoring these types of bills are doing so in the understanding that the more bills you throw at the wall, the more likely it is that one will stick.
Speaking of violence, Bethesda found itself in an uncomfortable position when they were forced to yank all online trailers for Fallout 3 (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1803). Why? How about exploding heads, giblets aplenty, and a general feel of doom, gloom and destruction. Oh, and the ESRB's guidelines likely had something to do with it as well.
Tenuously related, Sony announced that they were making the PlayStation two an open platform and scrapping the certification process for releases on the console (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1829). This opens the floodgates to all manner of independent releases, the quality of which will be very hit or miss.
On the subject of Sony, our network pals at Co-Optimus cobbled together an exclusive LittleBigPlanet wallpaper (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1952), as well as offering some lucky scamp a free copy of said game. There seems to be a stunning lack of chatter on LittleBigPlanet since release, which makes me a http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/sadpanda.gif (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/sadpanda.gif%5B/IMG%5D).
Before I forget, Co-Optimus (yes, them again), got to spend some hands-on time with Electronic Arts' Lord of the Rings: Conqest (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1749).
No doubt influenced in some way by the political goings-on in the nation, Pandemic announced that democratic predidential nominee Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential Republican nominee, will be appearing in Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1953). No news on whether Joe the Plumber will be un(b)lockable in the future.
What else...?
Ah, how could I forget? If I was to pick a least welcome time for my Xbox 360 to red ring, it would be during the holiday rush. You know, the time of year when most of the AAA titles are due for release. Well, it just so happens that my Xbox 360 did indeed decide to up and punk out on me recently. I called Microsoft, sent it in for repair, and received it back in record time (five days). Too good to be true? Yes, sadly. Very much so (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1648). If anyone from Microsoft happens to be reading this, please take note of the following: releasing a sub-standard console to market, then accusing users of console abuse because you failed in your promise to repair the consoles that are sent back is NOT good customer service.
Anyway, to happier matters. Anyone who has very fond memories of Starbreeze's Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay on Xbox and PC will have been cheered no end with the news that the next generation re-imagining is still on course (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1906). Not only that, the developers are promising it will be a whole new game! As an owner and lover of both Xbox and PC versions of the game, I can't convery adequately how happy I am about this.
It's always nice to end these roundups on a positive note, so I'll end this one on the above news. There's so much more I could add to these roundups, but half the fun is discovering these things for yourself.