Sunday (Aug. 18, 2013) Update

I've got a few things to talk about in this update. The first thing I need to mention is in regards to my upcoming review of "Painkiller: Hell & Damnation". While the promo copy I recieved shows me enough of the game to be able to review it it is not the game you'd be getting by any means, and being as flawed as it is doesn't help my opinion towards the game. As such I find myself thinking about possibly not doing the review. I want to be able to give you honest, and truthful details about the game you'd get should you decided to buy it. Having a flawed promo copy instead of the final product just doesn't allow me to do so.

Blog Update Aug. 15, 2013

I know there's been a lack of published content lately, but I assure you that I'm working hard behind the scenes trying to secure some new review material for future reviews. Some of the hopeful review material includes "Diablo III", and maybe even "DOA5: Ultimate". I'll also be posting my review of "Painkiller: Hell & Damnation" on the 30th of this month, so that's at least something to look forward to. Kickbeat, by Zen Studios is also another game that I'll be covering here in the near future. I hope that you continue to stick around, and that while you're awaiting new reading material you stop by twitter for a chat. My Twitter username is (@OtakuDante), and I can be found there a lot of the time. I'm all for a good conversation, as long as that conversation is positive. Also keep in mind when following me that I have reached my Twitter following limit, so I will not be able to follow you back. It's an unfortunate drawback to the Twitter program.

Dawn of the Fred (XBLIG)

The zombie genre is a hot topic in many forms of entertainment these days. You'll find zombie survival guides at your local bookstore, zombie television shows via your cable subscription, zombie movies on dvd/blu-ray, and even a crap ton of zombie shmups on the XBLIG marketplace. While I'm not a fan of overused ideas I think StickyDPad Games does well enough with their creation to consider it a "Unique" indie title. Their creation, otherwise known as "Dawn of the Fred" aims to capture your attention with nods to other video games as well as some tribute material that pays homage to earlier zombie movies. The really cool thing about this particular indie though is that the characters, and zombie creatures were all designed by the StickyDPad Games development team. It is this artistic attention to detail that gets the most respect from me. Not many developers would be bold enough to incorporate their own character designs within a game, but in doing so I think the lads, and lasses over at StickyDPad Games deserve some recognition for doing such an amazing job breathing life back into this slowly dying genre of indie shmups.

Let's Talk - "Proper PR Etiquette"

I've mentioned my opinions of certain gaming PRs several times throughout my (unpaid) career as a gaming journalist. Some of my opinions were harsh, and some filled with praise. None of my remarks were without merit though. Through personal experience I've come to know that some PRs in the business are very pleasant people to work with while there are others that are total assholes (for lack of a better term). The fact is that public relations representatives (PRs) can either be helpful (as they are meant to be), or be a pain in the ass if they are not fit to fill the position that they are currently in. Any which way you put it being a PR is a job, and should be managed as if it were one.

XboxOne: "Enhanced Reputation And Enforcement"

During my routine browsing of majornelson.com today I ran across an article about the XboxOne's "Enhanced Reputation and Enforcement". Basically this article tries to confuse the gamer by throwing in a few glamorized sentences, and some fancy words while practically stating that the reporting system will be handled exactly the same way it already is. This same old "judgement by peers" system will still take in account how you negatively, or positively affect other gamers, just as it always has. The only significant difference this time around (According to what I can interpret from Microsoft's play on words) is that instead of simply allowing other gamers to be the final judge on your behalf your own in-game actions will also be monitored, and you will judged accordingly.

When I read this I thought to myself "How the f*ck is that supposed to work!?". Perhaps with Microsoft's/XboxOne's all seeing eye, otherwise known as the next-gen Kinect? Anyways, the article on Major Nelson's site states that such things as grieving, and even the joining of certain higher ranked lobbies with the intention of disrupting them will result in reputation demotions. What the hell!? What if I wanted to join a veteran lobby without the intention of disrupting it? How's Microsoft going to know my intentions? It's this type of uneducated nonsense, and half-assed solutions that have me worried about the future of gaming altogether.