I just thought I would update my blog here so that everyone is in the know. I’ve been very privileged to be able to join the editorial team over at The ECA’s publication site - Game Culture dot com which means I’ll be mostly posting my blogs and thoughts on their website from now on. I’ll continue to blog here on the off chance that I’m not posting there but you might see less of me here and more of me there (hint hint).
So thank-you to everyone who supported me here at Game Culture especially Casper from Steel Series who was nice enough to send me products to review (I know I still owe you a review Casper!) and to all my gaming buds – thanks for reading and not commenting LOL! Maybe you guys can check out my work over at Game Culture dot com 
I won’t be leaving permanently, just spending a little less time here is all 
I’ve just posted a new article over at GC dot com so check it out!
Xenith out (for now!)
I was reading this thread over at the ECA forums which got me thinking about how fascinated some gamers become with their own characters or even with other characters in the games they play. Game developers are now at the point where they can create characters and animations that become more and more realistic with every game. What is it about the characters in a video game that we seem to find so appealing?
I was reading an excellent article over at The Psychology of Games blog about achievements and loss aversion and it got me thinking about gamers and their (almost unhealthy) attachment to video game achievements and gamerscore. I can’t boast about possessing a large gamerscore on either my Xbox 360 or my PS3.
I’ll never forget my first experience of discussing the finer points of team strategy in a Gears of War lobby with a six year old. Ah yes, the initial shock was followed soon after by ‘wtf?’ I decided to ask this kid how he could possibly be playing an R16 game when he was only six and then proceeded to ask him what his parents thought of the idea. He said his parents didn’t care and that his uncle bought the game for him so he could play it.
I felt like being a little dramatic with the title of this post because Dante’s Inferno brings out the poet in me… and as it should. The game is based on ‘The Divine Comedy’ and is riddled with excerpts from the poem written by Dante Alighieri in the 14th century. If you haven’t the faintest idea what The Divine Comedy is, that’s OK too, you won’t need to know to be able to enjoy Dante’s Inferno but it helps if you want the full experience.
Cheat: –verb (definition on Dictionary.com)
To practice fraud or deceit or to violate rules or regulations
I dunno about you but when it comes to game cheats, I’m not a fan. I’ve never understood the term ‘game cheat’ because I was brought up to believe that the word ‘cheat’ had only one meaning. That was before they invented the ‘cheat code’ or game cheat as it’s commonly referred to.
Sig files or ’signature’ files are a serious aspect of a gamer’s personality. Most forums these days allow their users to create their own sig files so their posts are easily identified. Some of these sig files can be anything from a simple URL linking to someone’s personal blog or website to masterpieces and works of art.
As you can tell, I am all over Mass Effect 2 and I am happy to announce that if you’re an ME fan you will ABSOLUTELY love what is coming. ME2 doesn’t release in New Zealand until the 29th of January but it is easily one of the most anticipated sequels of the year. I will admit though that initially, I was not a serious ME fan when it released. Without sounding like I am dumping all over the Xbox 360 console here, I honestly believe that part of that feeling came from playing ME on the 360 rather than the PC. The experience I am having now playing Mass Effect 2 on the PC is a whole lot more fun and intense. I can’t pinpoint exactly what is different other than ME2 seems like a much more polished game – not to mention the fantastic storyline work the writers have done and some of the hippest dialogue I’ve seen/heard in a game for a while.
I’ve got my hands on Dark Void for Xbox 360 now and I feel special as the game doesn’t officially release until next week here in New Zealand. I love getting game review code early – there’s nothing better than knowing you’re part of a very small and privileged group of people who are able to see games earlier than the public. Of course, game retailers get stuff even before us media peeps do but meh… who needs game retailers (lol, yes I AM KIDDING) 
I’m a bit concerned about my anti-NCSoft stance on games lately. It seems that the experiences I’ve had with the lacklustre gaming content in Aion has really affected me. I’m usually not this emotionally charged when it comes to disliking a game but I guess Aion really got under my skin. So when I was playing Aion the other day, an online friend of mine thought he’d mention NCSoft’s new game in development called ‘Blade and Soul’. He described it as a Martial Arts adventure MMO where you can do “killing blows that kick people’s asses!”. My initial response to this in vent was “Oooooo” but I can’t recall if I was being serious at the time or just being a smarty pants. Any game that has the propensity for senseless violence against another gamer online always gets the “Oooooo” reaction from me! Apparently, I’m easily excitable 
