The year 2003 is starting off on a high note for me. After all the trouble I had the previous year with the mass power surge that fried my equipment (now I find out my computer was also affected), as well as the "Big One" crash that left me without a car for over a month, it is about time that good fortune came my way. Christmas Eve is usually a slow time for me, except for the fact that my woman and I celebrate our anniversary. I received a phone call that afternoon, but it wasn't from her, but … Continue reading Surprise, You Are Rich!→
Christmas is a time when all good little gamers can get some quality button bashing in – in-between peace on earth and family stuff of course. But now it's 2003 and a year of work stretches before us. This is not aided by long winter nights and cold winter mornings, unless you live somewhere hot, in which case pipe down. If only there was some sort of gamer hibernation program that meant we get to huddle up in front of consoles and PCs for the winter months. Fear not dear playmates, although I paint a gloomy picture thus far, all … Continue reading A New Dawn→
Remember the "Video killed the Radio Star" song? Well, video – as in the MTV video brand – also killed the computer game industry back in 1984 that was previously riding high with success following success. But today is not 1984. In addition to the sudden rise in music video popularity, market leader of the time Atari shot itself in the foot by only selling seven million Pac-man cartridges instead of the projected 20 million. This was quickly followed by only selling one million of their horrible ET game, when they thought they would sell 25 million. Rumor is that … Continue reading This Is Not 1984→
Or At Least The Year Has 2002 ended already? It seems like it was just starting! Then again, with some of the problems I had this year (the massive power surge, The Big One, and car insurance hell to name a few), maybe the sooner 2003 will get here, the better off I'd be. Still, despite all I went through this year, it was an amazing year for gamers everywhere. I could go on and on about each and every title that I tested out and loved (or hated), but that would take forever. The year's end also brings our … Continue reading The End Of An Era→
Yes it's that time again folks. The terminally unemployed are stuffed into Santa costumes and given a bell and a box for charity, housing estates around the country are transported into the upper echelons of bad taste (usually featuring light-up reindeer on the roof and plastic light up elves on the lawn) and I can delight in the comic wonder of Jim Carrey in The Grinch. Yes, it's Christmas time. It's around this time that journalists everywhere just can't be arsed to think of anything original so they look back bleary-eyed at the past year. Don't look at me for … Continue reading The Holiday’s Are Here Again→
Over the last few weeks, I have been noticeably absent from my bi-weekly commentary. Sad to say, it has become tough lately for me to come up with a column because a lot of personal matters have come up over the last month. I already mentioned the mass EMP that fried my GameCube, Xbox, and PS2. Thankfully they have all been repaired, but it bridged to another major disaster in my hellish schedule. The last of my repairs was to take place two weeks ago. I got a call from Starland telling me that my GameCube was repaired, and just … Continue reading Things Have To Look Up→
This week dear play chums I am lamenting the loss of my dearly beloved Game Boy Advance. The GiN columnists aren't having much luck with gaming machinery lately. Although my loss can hardly compare to the General's casualties of war, it is never the less a loss. At this point I must admit that the lost GBA is partly my own fault. The event occurred after a genial evening of post work drinking in a most hospitable pub. After much merriment, I went home. It wasn't until the morning, when I went to grab my bag for work that I … Continue reading Bloody Thieving Bastards→
As I pack my bags and head off to the Comdex computer show in Las Vegas, I wonder if the game industry will have a large presence at this largely computer-hardware type show. You see, last year was interesting because the tech industry (read non-game related technologies) were in a huge slump. Now we know this slump was just the beginning of what has become a long financial nightmare. The game industry by contrast was doing quite well, with three consoles to choose from and a healthy PC market. Even the old Macintosh game market looked like it might make … Continue reading Comdex Is About Games Too→
It has to be said, I have viewed the coming of Splinter Cell with some suspicion. I mean, I don't like Metal Gear, so why on earth would I put myself through the trauma of looking forward to and being disappointed by another sneak-em-up. Right from the very first screen shots, all I could see was some bloke crouched behind a crate, a gun held up against his cheekbone. Here we go again, think we've all seen this before, I said to myself. Yet another feeble attempt to step into the platinum "oh my God he's so wonderful" shoes of … Continue reading Suspect The Splinter Cell→
As if Islamic extremists flying airplanes into buildings and snipers wreaking havoc around this area isn't bad enough. To bring up my stress level, consider this" Two weeks ago, I headed off to my local EB to see if Red Faction 2 was released. Since this is the start of the busy holiday title season, I wanted to get a head start. After all, we are talking Red Faction 2, Contra: Shattered Soldier, Shenmue 2, Metroid Prime, Metal Gear Solid Substance, Splinter Cell, etc., etc., etc. As usual, I found out that RF2 was actually coming out the day after … Continue reading EMP Pulse Dancing→
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