Okay, Let's Talk About VIDEO GAMES

[Anthony Ng]

Now that political discussion is prohibited, let's talk about the next best thing -- video games! For those who *think* video games are for kids, you'll need A LOT of catching up. Once an old school arcade gamer (who clocked more than a thousand hours of Galaga back in the 1980s), I was not exactly impressed by early console games until PS2 (Playstation 2) reached its "half-life" round 2005 when both gameplay and graphics were sophisticated enough with God of War, Resident Evil 4 and the like.

The best part of video games over e.g. movies as mainstream entertainment is it being interactive, which engages the audience and pushes Aristotelian CATHARSIS to a new level. Rhetoric aside, video games are simply FUN to play.

Out of more than 100 games that I've played, these are my favorite:

PS2

• God of War (2005) - I actually "wowed" more than a dozen of times throughout the game. The sceneries are "grand", and the story fascinating.
• Resident Evil 4 (2005) - Said to have influenced the Uncharted series.
• Shadow of the Colossus (2005) - Voted most favorite PS2 games by industry insiders (game developers).
• Black (2006) - I played through every level and every episode for multiple times, until I knew exactly what would happened the next second.

PS3

• The Orange Box (2007) - Miss Portal , and you don't know what makes good video games.
• Fallout 3 (2008) - Kind of disappointed by Resistance (Fall of Man) and Far Cry 2, I eventually found a game that really stood out. I basically LIVED in that world for more than a month.
• Mirror's Edge (2008) - The bold colors alone makes it to the list.
• Flower (2009) - A very good escape from all those first person shooters.

So what video game(s) are you playing or like most?

[Tia Wood]

I don't really play video games but I have Resident Evil and Luigi's Mansion that I like to play from time to time.

[CureCancer]

My favorite game: Tetris

[randomo]

Been waiting years for Pikmin 3 to come out already!

[Anthony Ng]

I never own a GameCube (so no luck with Luigi or Pikmin), but I have played a lot of Tetris on Game Boy.

[Anthony Ng]

My wife forwarded this link to me yesterday:

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged...192001926.html

"I am selling my 22 year old husband," the ad read. "He enjoys eating and playing video games all day. Easy to maintain, just feed and water every 3-5 hours. You must have Internet and space for gaming. Got tired of waiting so free to good home. If acceptable replacement is offered will trade."

I have played 12 hours straight (nothing else but water and washroom) overnight. First person shooters like Modern Warfare COULD be very addictive. I was playing Black (on PS2 back then) in case you're curious.

[SeafoodMonger]

I'm thinking of developing my VG.com domain into a video game site (VG = Video Games)

Thoughts ?

[hugegrowth]

VG would be a great use of a directory or blog on video gaming. 'V' is great for Video or Virtual.

I don't game at all, can't imagine spending many hours just playing a game and having nothing to show for it at the end, especially on a daily basis. I can do a few minutes on a game like Tetris, or something that is quick, but that's it. I'm glad today's games weren't around when I was a teen because I probably would have become addicted. I did play a lot of video games and pinball in arcades in the 80's. But I realize gaming is a huge $$$ industry and super popular, just not for me. Maybe when I retire and have more time - lol.

[draggar]

I'm still playing NES games.

[Jeroen]

The good old C64 had some nice games; Bruce Lee, Impossible Mission, Ghost 'n Goblins and lot more which names i forgot.
PC oldies; Half Life, Splinter Cell and classics like tetris too.
Probably, I logged thousands of hours on MS Flight Simulator since FSII on the C64, Amiga up until FS2004 on the PC.

Still love playing games but I would feel too guilty not spending the time on domaining; first get this right, then play

[Stian]

Video games, definitely my favorite topic. I'm a hardcore retro gamer though. I mostly play the same games that I grew up with, ranging from Commodore 64 to Amiga, NES and SNES games. Also, I have built a couple of multi-game arcade machines in the past and matter of fact I am building a new one right now.

For those who are interested, you can check out my last project in this Youtube vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7htdELD8XPw

[hugegrowth]

I didn't realize so many people still play the old 80's computer games! today's video games are becoming so realistic, sometimes I don't know if an ad on tv is for a new movie coming out or a video game.

[CureCancer]

80s all the way!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anthony Ng]

I'm a hardcore retro gamer though

It's interesting. And I guess it's natural that people stick with games they grew up with. When I picked up video games more seriously again (around 2005), the first thing I did is to comb through the PS2 catalog for arcade games. I found Namco Museum (incl. Galaga), Taito Legends (incl. Pheonix), Activision Anthology, and Intellivision Lives. (Old time gamers should be familiar with these powerhouses.)

However, many "reloaded" versions of these classic games (from Galaga Legions, Pac-Man Championship to Tetris 3D) are disappointing to say the least. And I would say, with HD and widescreen (even at 720p), there's simply no way to port these retro games to the latest generation consoles. Albeit Sony's own bragging, God of War Origins Collection (ported from PSP to PS3), for example, came up with some sub-par graphics.

But then video games have come a looong way. I didn't expect what I saw back in 2005 (thought I knew all about video games already back then, apparently not), and things have changed in leaps and bounds again over the last few years.

[Jeroen]

For those who are interested, you can check out my last project in this Youtube vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7htdELD8XPw

Awesome!

[RobM]

Eve Online

[Anthony Ng]

Violent Video Games Alter Brain Function in Young Men:

A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis of long-term effects of violent video game play on the brain has found changes in brain regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control in young adult men after one week of game play. The results of the study were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...134591303.html

I do have problems with PARENTS allowing their underage kids to play M(ature)-rated video games. It's NOT okay for kids to drink and smoke and drive and f***, and play violent video games. I'm not a medical professional, but have covered child development and adolescent delinquency in grad school. My understanding is, those games are rated M for a reason.

[/ Go back to play Modern Warfare 2 again]

[Arrogance]

Glad to see this thread.
Currently playing Arkham City on PS3 (game is brilliant), just finished up the campaign on MW3

[Stian]

BTW. I got a new arcade cabinet project going on now. This time with a western theme. It's not a scratch build, but I'm restoring an old multi-game cabinet. Basically tearing out all the insides, putting on new custom artwork and building a new control panel for it.

I've posted a few albums of the building/restoration process on Google+:

The Saloon Arcade - Day 1

The Saloon Arcade - Day 2

The Saloon Arcade - Day 3

The Saloon Arcade - Day 4

[Jeroen]

I've posted a few albums of the building/restoration process on Google+:

The Saloon Arcade - Day 1

The Saloon Arcade - Day 2

The Saloon Arcade - Day 3

The Saloon Arcade - Day 4

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