Patrick and I talk about EA

Excerpt from a conversation that Patrick and I had on Facebook:

Patrick: When the heck are we going to see a true sequel to Paradise City? I still pop that in and cause some good ole' mayhem.

Kelly: Never. Criterion is on Need for Speed duty. And making the mediocre franchise pretty awesome now, too. The new Hot Pursuit game had Burnout written all over it.

Patrick: I don't care what they call it, as long as it's open world and gorgeous to look at steel frames crunching under the kinetic energy being unleashed upon it.
     It could be called Dick and Jane go for a Drive. As long as it's more awesome Paradise City. It had the potential to just continue getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Kind of like how Madden has the potential to just have release every three years and sell an updated roster. Oh wait, then they wouldn't be ripping off our customer base.

Kelly: Eh, yeah. That is unlikely. But after seeing Hot Pursuit in action, I may give it a shot. I hate that EA pulled the plug on Burnout and Paradise City, though.

     Not sure how I feel about Need For Speed: The Run though. Why should the series have a narrative with "characters" and a story? Seems stupid.
     EA is probably gonna force Criterion to make their games the way they want Criterion to, then when people say "Hey, these games suck!" they'll pull the plug on Criterion and shut em down.

Patrick: Yay for shutting down creativity!

Kelly: Pft, like EA knows what that is.

Multimedia Solutions

This past Black Friday weekend, my parents expressed interest in purchasing a Xbox 360. They told me that my siblings were regularly using the Wii to play games, so they moved it out into the rec room so the kids could play games and they could have the bigger TV in the living room. The problem is that the Wii is what they use for Netflix streaming.

I became exited, as my parents have generally shunned video games in the past, and saw this as opportunity to introduce my parents to a side of my hobby that the Wii, though I really like it, can't do for them. Then I hit a  brick wall. Microsoft requires a Xbox LIVE Gold Membership to use services such as Netflix and Hulu Plus. I pay for LIVE because I enjoy the full LIVE experience. My parents really just want to watch movies and maybe download Tetris. What they don't want is to pay two different companies to stream movies.

So, I will be writing about the pros and cons of choosing a game console for reasons other than gaming, which one's meet certain needs, and also explore choosing a different device type, such as a web enabled Blu-Ray player instead. I'll pass the reigns off to Kelly for talking about the advantages and disadvantages of choosing a PlayStation 3. Keep in mind that this list is meant more for people who want to stream media to their TV first. Playing games is just icing on the cake.

Patrick and I talk about Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Excerpt from a conversation that Patrick and I had on facebook:

Patrick: I pre-ordered Halo CE: Anniversary from Amazon... [blahblah about the package being late not important]
 
Kelly: The only reason I can think that you would actually get that is cause your an achievement whore. I mean, the campaign is awful.

I guess you at least have good multiplayer to look forward to. Can you play online?

Patrick: Unfortunately, the multiplayer is Reach's with Halo CE maps (the maps are also available to Reach owners via DLC for $15). I love campaign, despite it's flaws. It brings back memories and gives me a chance to earn achievements for one of my favorite FPSes.
 
Kelly: Wow, you could have saved a ton of money and shelf space and just bought the DLC. I am sorry, the campaign would be the worst thing ever if Halo 2 hadn't happened.

Patrick: Dude, it's fun. I like it. It's not like I spent $60 on a MW2 Map Pack. You like colorful ponies. Shush.
 
Kelly: But the Ponies bring happiness into the world, unlike Halo's campaign, which only brings pain.

Patrick: Halo's campaign brought substance and plot to an otherwise mindless genre.
 
Kelly: Too bad they didn't back that up with a campaign that was fun to play.

Patrick: Go play with your dolls.
 
Kelly: I will. Lalalalala....

Yeah, I'm gonna file that under "Win for Kelly."

Child's Play

A few weeks ago, Kelly came up to Memphis for a visit. During one of our nerd conversations, he passively mentioned that he had an idea to hold a tournament where adults play children's games for charity. He mentioned that he had the idea a few weeks ago but didn't really think it was that good of an idea. I disagreed, but we quickly changed the subject to whatever the next nerdy thing we could think of was.

Thoughts on Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, stepping down.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple last week. Though he did not discuss the reasons for this move, there is no reason at all to think that it is not directly related to his health.

The Art of Choosing a Wireless Provider and Handset: Part 2

Now that you've picked your poison, it's time to decide what cup you drink it from. Picking a handset is way more difficult than picking a carrier, though picking a carrier has limited you to what handsets you have available, so that helps.

Before you choose a handset, you need to decide what you want to do with your handset. Handsets fall into one of three categories.

The Art of Choosing a Wireless Provider and Handset: Part 1

Recently, I've been involved in more than a few conversations about wireless carriers and phones and which ones to choose. Every time I have the discussion, my point of view changes a little. This is because everyone comes to the conversation from a different place. So, rather than tell you what I think you should do, I'd like to tell you things you should know before you start.

The Price of Free

PSN users are quick to point out PSN's one advantage over Xbox LIVE. PSN is free. Recently, though, that price of free has gotten to be pretty expensive.

My Infatuation with PokeMon

I've been playing PokeMon since the first two games, Red and Blue, were release for the original GameBoy back in 1996. Over the years, many new installments and remakes have released. On the surface, not much has changed. Under the hood though, this series continues to evolve in ways that virtually no other game has.

Control: The Many Input Devices of Games

Every game has an input device. Mouse and keyboard, digital directional pads, cameras, no matter what you're playing, something is between you and the game. Arguably, the input device is the most important thing to consider right after "is the game I'm playing any good." Recently, Nintendo has based entire press conferences on revealing input devices. You may or may not agree that a Wii Remote is worth all the fuss, but it doesn't mean that input devices are any less important.

Below, I will draw attention to the many input devices used over the years and discuss why each one is or is not important, why each one was or was not successful, and rate them based on my personal preference. In my rating, I will consider comfort, ease of use, and the ways in which software developers used it. This article will include only core input devices. Don't expect to see the NES Light Gun or Samba De Amigo Maracas here. Also, controller redesigns will be ignored or only briefly mentioned, except in the case of the PlayStation controller redesign, the DUAL SHOCK, because it became the main controller later in PSX's life.

PattyCakes' E3 Impressions

I was out of town and largely without internet throughout the majority of E3. I missed the press conferences and the big reveals of the first few days and have spent a few hours playing catch up.

Nintendo and the Staggered Console Release Situation

Many of you have no doubt heard the news that Nintendo plans to officially reveal their newest console endeavor, code named Project Cafe (or Stream, depending what nerd web sites you visit [Update: Now officially being called Wii-U]). I'm not really here to discuss the console itself, but rather, the very interesting position that it puts the gaming industry in. But, to understand that, we need to travel back in time almost a decade.

Silly Outrage

I recently came across this article. If you don't feel like reading, I'll sum it up for you.

Recently, Kage Games released Dog Wars, a dog fighting RPG. Now, I haven't played it, but my understanding leads me to believe that the object is to capture dogs, train and raise them, and place them in fights with other dog trainers. The Android Market and the interwebs are full of comments of outrage over the game content. I have to say, I'm a little confused. Why, you ask? The game is about a horrible, illegal act that I don't, personally, believe is a good thing to do. So why don't I get a little sick to my stomach when I see something like this? Well....

The Struggle

It's been two weeks since anything new happened here on DualAnalogs.net, and that reality raises a questions for me. What exactly am I doing here? And to be honest, I don't have a clear answer.

I enjoy writing. I enjoy writing about the things I like to do and sharing that with others. I like the rise I get out of people when I say something controversial or that someone else doesn't like. I enjoy getting feedback on those things.

But two things have kept me from doing this more regularly.

The first one would be solved by my doing it more regularly and then spreading the word. There's not a lot of activity here at DualAnalogs.net. There's many reasons for this, but Kelly and I can't actually expect people to keep coming back if there's never anything new here.This is why I am going to commit to making at least one post a week. I realize that that isn't a lot, but I do have a life that requires my attention occasionally.

The second thing is that this blog actually keeps me from doing the things that I like to get on here and talk about. I like video games more than I like writing. I like movies more than I like writing. I like watching football more than I like writing. On top of that, I have to make a paycheck and put food on the table and spend time with my wife. The writing has to take a back seat to those things sometimes.

But there is struggle. I'd love to have this by how I make some money. I'd love for a script that I write and turn into a film to be how I make my living. If I can make that happen, I could not work at a job that, while I do like it, don't want to be doing when I'm 40.

So, I need to remind myself that, if I'd just put the DS down for a few minutes, not play that Xbox 360 game right now, and that Harry Potter will still be battling the forces of evil on that disc 20 minutes from now, and sit down and write, one day this might become my career. If that happens, I'll have more time to do the other things I love. I'll have more time to triple jump over goombas. I'll have more time to watch the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings. I'll have more time to catch 'em all. And, hopefully, you'll enjoy what it is that Kelly and I do here.

Thanks for reading, all 3 of you.

Battle: Los Angeles

I got my first glimpse of Battle: Los Angeles weeks before it's release. That simple 30 second tease had me hooked. I looked at my wife and said, "We have to see that movie."

 The Super Bowl trailer that had me hooked.

Beyond Good and Evil

No matter where your loyalty lies today, it's difficult to argue that Nintendo is the best at what they do. Side scrollers, platformers, kart racers, dungeon crawlers, you name it, if Nintendo's made one, it's unmatched. That having been said, I still enjoy many of those games types made by developers other than Nintendo. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World 1 and 2 are the best that sidscrolling platformers have to offer. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the Genesis era Sonic the Hedgehogs. Mario Kart 64 is the kart racer that all others strive to be, that includes the Mario Karts that have been released since. That doesn't mean ModNation Racers isn't excellent. Some may argue this next one with me, but I say that there is no on-rails shooter like Star Fox 64. Yet, I still enjoy many other similar titles like Afterburner.

Retrospective: Burnout Paradise City

I've got a lot of games in my collection that I haven't finished or performed what is necessary to get to the 'end' of the game's main goal (i.e. successfully navigated Mario through the path a least resistance from Yoshi's House to Bowser's Castle and defeat Bowser in Super Mario World). There are even more games in my collection that I have yet to complete (i.e. unlock all 96 exits in Super Mario World). I even have games that I've obtained recently that I have yet to even place in the console.

The Tech Companies I Love and Hate: Google

People don't web search something anymore; they Google it. No one Yahoos or Bings, they Google. People don't use the yellow pages, they Google. You're favorite web site's search bar is likely powered by Google. It's fast. It's efficient. It's smart. Even though that's what Google is known for, it's not why I love them.

I had been using Microsoft's Hotmail for years when I received an invite to use Gmail. I wasn't interested in switching emails, but I decided to give it a whirl. It's awesome. It's quick. It's simple. It's very Google. from there, I started using Google Calendar. I was using iCal prior to this. I promptly stopped. You see, iCal is an Apple software available only to those using Macs. Google Calendar works anywhere that there's an internet connection and a web browser. And yet, these things are still not why I love Google the way that I do.

The Tech Companies I Love and Hate: Microsoft

Microsoft was my first love. This was during Apple's ever increasing decline into it's darkest years and pre-Google. If you had a computer, it ran Windows. My family's computer ran Windows 95. I was hooked. I wasn't afraid to push buttons and open folders. I explored it until I was sure I exhausted it. Of course, I was only 11 or so, so I didn't know the half of it. I personally upgraded us to Windows 98 with no tutorials. It was simple. It was intuitive. At least, that's how I perceived it.

People would actually come to me for simple PC problems. Everything in Windows universe just made sense to me. But as the software giant became more and more bloated, so did their flagship platform. This is how my love for them started to wane.

The Tech Companies I Love and Hate: Apple

Most of my friends are Apple zombies. Some of them really like Apple's products. I don't fit into either of those categories. Because of this, most of my friends see me as a blind, Apple hating wacko. My facebook threads and Tweets don't help me prove them wrong. I thought I'd take a moment and shed some light on my true feelings about the Cupertino, CA, based company.